Study shows one dose of H1N1 vaccine may be enough for children. Australian researchers have shown that a single dose of vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza can provide effective immunity against the swine flu virus in infants and children. [News Source]

Autism now diagnosed in 1 in 110 children. Government researchers have documented a 57% increase in the prevalence of childhood autism, according to the latest official statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC termed the epidemic an "urgent public health concern." [News Source]

The upside of a pandemic: Experts say lots learned from H1N1 experience (Fort Frances Times) TORONTO — Thanks to the threat of H5N1 avian influenza, tons of work was done in the past five years or so to prepare for a flu pandemic. But in the end that dangerous virus, more commonly known as bird flu, didn’t spark the first pandemic in four decades. [News Source]

Compound Found To Safely Counter Deadly Bird Flu (Medical News Today) The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public health officials awake at night. Now, however, a study published this week (Dec. 21) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests that a new compound, one on the threshold of final testing in humans, may be more potent and safer for treating "bird flu" than the ... [News Source]

Medicago Reports Positive Phase I Results For Its Avian Flu Pandemic Vaccine (Medical News Today) Medicago Inc. (TSX-V: MDG) a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and affordable vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), reported positive interim results from a Phase I human clinical trial with its H5N1 Avian Influenza vaccine candidate ("H5N1 vaccine"). The vaccine was found to be safe, well tolerated and also induced a ... [News Source]

Experimental compound found effective against deadly bird flu (New Kerala) Washington, Dec 22 : An experimental compound might prove to be a potent weapon against drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza also known as bird flu, say researchers. [News Source]

New medicine fights bird flu better (MalaysiaNews.net) Washington, Dec 22 (IANS) A new drug on the threshold of final testing in humans may be more potent and safer for treating the deadly bird flu than the antiviral drug Tamiflu, scientists have found. [News Source]