Flu pandemic differences produced ‘confusion’: WHO probe. The head of a World Health Organisation probe into the international handling of the swine flu pandemic said Wednesday that multiple definitions of pandemic caused "confusion" and muddled the response. [News Source]

A flu jab too close for comfort. Sharron Coppin was flabbergasted to discover some of the federal Department of Health and Ageing's top immunisation advisers have links with the drug company that created the vaccine that landed her kids in hospital. The flu shots, provided free by West Australian health authorities, had never been tested in children through clinical trials. [News Source]

Vaccine investigator Peter Doherty shuns biotech links. Nobel Prize-winning scientist Peter Doherty has ruled out working for biotech companies, saying he wants the independence to "speak freely". Professor Doherty is spearheading the federal government's investigation into why the seasonal flu vaccine triggered seizures in more than 100 Australian children this year. [News Source]

NHS warns of new swine flu threat. Scotland is facing a new wave of swine flu, which experts warned could claim more lives than last year's. The NHS will unveil a campaign next week to vaccinate thousands of Scots in response to fears the virus will return this winter in a more virulent form. [News Source]

Protecting Against Animal Pandemics – A Biological Solution EUREKA project E! 4104 ECOPROMAT has developed a novel and environmentally-friendly type of matting for use in protection against the spread of contagious animal diseases such as avian influenza, and for routine hygiene in animal and food production. Soaked with disinfectant solution, the matting can be used for disinfecting vehicle tyres, and the shoes and boots of personnel. As it is made of ... [News Source]

Animal Health Consultant The Vietnam Integrated National Program on Avian Influenza, Pandemic Preparedness and “One Health”, 2011-2015 seeks an International Consultant on Expert on Animal Health and Livestock Production - Appraisal of draft national sectoral plans and provision of written inputs on the animal health and livestock production sections of the Vietnam Integrated National Program on Avian Influenza ... [News Source]

Human Health Consultant During the past decade, Vietnam has experienced successive significant threats to public health and economic growth from the international transmission of new strains of zoonotic viruses including SARS, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) and the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. The Vietnam Integrated National Operational Program for Avian Influenza (OPI), 2006-2010 (the “Green Book”), has provided a ... [News Source]

International Consultant on Eco-systems Health / Dealing with Zoonotic Diseases at the Animal-Human-Environment … The Vietnam Integrated National Program on Avian Influenza, Pandemic Preparedness and “One Health”, 2011-2015 seeks an International Consultant on Eco-systems Health / Dealing with Zoonotic Diseases at the Animal-Human-Environment Interface. [News Source]

International Consultant on Cost Estimates to Prepare a Consolidated Cost Estimate The Vietnam Integrated National Program on Avian Influenza, Pandemic Preparedness and “One Health”, 2011-2015 seeks an International Consultant on Cost Estimates to prepare a consolidated cost estimate. [News Source]

Archive >> February 22, 2007 This iconic spectacle of the Russian culture has always enjoyed great popularity with both Soviet and Russian politicians. President Putin is not an exception. [News Source]

Novartis Obtains CHMP Positive Opinion For Its Investigational Pre-pandemic Influenza Vaccine Aflunov® To Help Protect … Novartis announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for Aflunov®, an investigational pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine. The CHMP is endorsing the approval of Aflunov for active immunization against H5N1 subtype of Influenza A virus in adults 18 years of age and older. H5N1 (commonly referred to as avian or ... [News Source]

How to fight a scourge: Scenes from the bedbug summit. It's possible that bedbugs are simply the latest in a long string of public panics over epidemics that eventually proved to be manageable, from killer bees to bird flu. But that would not quite capture the grim mood of a big bedbug summit. [News Source]