Vietnam Health RSS News Feed by Intellasia.net

Bird flu outbreaks spread through most of S Korea

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Bird flu outbreaks have spread to most of South Korea despite the massive culling of chickens and ducks across the country, the agriculture ministry said Friday.

Vietnam bird flu vaccine has 'pleasing' results

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Vietnam says it has had good results with the first stage of human testing of its locally developed bird flu vaccine.

WHO seeks more collaborative research on bird flu

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

The World Health Organisation called on Friday for more collaborative research into the bird flu virus, which it said could help reduce death and illness in a human influenza pandemic.

Bird flu resurfaces in West Bengal

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

A fresh outbreak of bird-flu has occurred in West Bengal. Bhopal's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory confirmed on Friday night that samples sent from Raghunathganj and Jiaganj from Murshidabad district are positive with the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus.

Vietnam spots new bird flu outbreak

Sat, 10 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Bird flu has stricken fowl flocks in Vietnam's southern Can Tho city over the past few days, raising the total number of affected localities in the country to three, according to Vietnam's Department of Animal Health on Thursday.

Soldier's illness not bird flu: KCDC

Sat, 10 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that a 22-year-old soldier hospitalised after helping with the slaughter of suspected bird-flu infected poultry, has tested negative for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

Indonesia sees cultural divide on bird flu sharing

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Indonesia is trying to defend the interests of poorer nations by refusing to share bird flu samples with the West and is locked in a cultural misunderstanding over the issue, Jakarta's health minister said on Wednesday.

Bill Gates to help Indonesia develop human bird-flu vaccine

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Bill Gates, founder of the Microsoft Corporation, will help Indonesia develop a human bird-flu vaccine, the Jakarta Post reported Wednesday.

Bird flu pandemic risk just as real and probably growing

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Experts are warning that the risk of a human bird flu pandemic remains just as real and is in fact probably growing.

Virulent H5N1 bird flu strikes in South Korea's capital Seoul close to a zoo

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

The first bird flu outbreak in South Korea's capital has been confirmed as the dangerous H5N1 strain, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday.

WHO fears Burma disease outbreaks in wake of cyclone

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:00:10 PST

Disease outbreaks spread by mosquitoes, dirty water and poor sanitation were among the World Health Organisation's biggest concerns after a devastating cyclone hit Burma, home to one of the world's shoddiest health care systems.

EV71 virus has caused deaths in Vietnam: health official

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:00:09 PST

A virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease has infected around 400 people in Vietnam this year and led to an unknown number of deaths, a health official in the communist country said Tuesday.

New disease outbreaks in China, 12K children infected

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

New outbreaks reported Tuesday in three Chinese provinces and Beijing put the number of children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 12,000 and the death toll has risen to at least 26 across the country.

China virus not a threat to Olympics

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

A highly infectious virus that has killed 24 children in China is unlikely to be a threat to the Beijing Olympics, although it is too early to tell whether it has peaked, the World Health Organisation said Sunday.

Dead swans tested H5N1 positive in northern Japan

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Two dead swans found respectively on April 24 and Monday in northern Japan's Hokkaido Prefecture have been tested positive of the highly virulent H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, Kyodo News reported.

Bird flu drug supply flagging: researchers

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Researchers say Australia needs to look at how it will deal with a bird flu pandemic if the nation's stockpile of anti-viral drugs is not renewed.

North Korea inoculates poultry against bird flu following outbreak in South Korea

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

North Korea said Monday it has inoculated poultry against bird flu to prevent the spread of the virus from neighbouring South Korea.

Chian denies holding back virus information as child deaths climb to 24

Tue, 06 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

A common illness that typically causes little more than a fever and rash has killed 24 children in China, and health officials fear the worst may be yet to come as outbreaks occur in neighbouring countries.

Bali bird flu drill tests pandemic preparedness

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Indonesia, indeed the world, had never seen anything like it. In a sleepy Balinese village, panic flares as some 20 people are feared to have suddenly been infected with avian influenza. The village is quarantined as medical workers clad in full protective body gear swing into action. The military and police are drafted in to halt what could be the beginnings of a deadly and disastrous global human bird flu pandemic.

Thailand free of bird flu—ministry

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Thailand on Friday declared itself free of bird flu after no outbreaks of the deadly virus were reported over the past 90 days.

Adenovirus-based H5N1 vaccine broadly protective in mice

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

An H5N1 influenza vaccine based on a weakened adenovirus was tested successfully in mice and may offer advantages as a tool for combating a human flu pandemic, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Purdue University.

Bird flu deaths advance southeast

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Bird flu outbreaks in Korea are spreading to Korea��s southeast as poultry deaths from the H5 virus were reported in the cities of Busan and Daegu this week. The cases came one day after two new cases were confirmed Thursday in Ulsan, 69 kilometres (43 miles) from Busan and Yeongcheon, 35 kilometers from Daegu, officials said yesterday.

Dead swan in Hokkaido tests positive for bird flu

Sat, 03 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

A dead swan found in the Notsuke Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido has tested positive for bird flu virus, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.

Bird flu spreads in S Korea

Sat, 03 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

South Korea has culled three million farmed birds and confirmed three more outbreaks of bird flu, as the country grapples with its worst avian influenza outbreak in four-years.

Researchers find quick way to make human monoclonal antibodies against flu

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)�highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single cell�against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Bird flu vaccines get first thumbs up

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Two bird flu vaccines have won the first nod from a government committee for registration to protect Australians against an avian flu pandemic.

China tries to calm fears about virus outbreak

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Chinese health officials have tried to calm public fears about a virus that has killed at least 20 children, saying the situation did not resemble 2003's Sars epidemic and there had been no cover-up. They said people could take simple hygiene steps to prevent the spread of enterovirus 71, or EV71, which began spreading in Fuyang in the eastern province of Anhui in early March but was only publicly reported on Sunday.

Bird flu kills boy in Indonesia

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

A 3-year-old boy in Indonesia died from bird flu, boosting the death toll in the country hardest hit by the disease to 108, the health ministry announced Wednesday April 30. The toddler from Central Java province first showed the flu-like symptoms of high fever and breathing difficulties on April 17.

Bird flu vaccines get first thumbs up

Fri, 02 May 2008 07:00:00 PST

Two bird flu vaccines have won the first nod from a government committee for registration to protect Australians against an avian flu pandemic. The vaccines, called Pandemrix and Panvex, have become the first to reach the final step towards registration in Australia, the pharmaceutical bulletin Pharma in Focus says.

Bird flu hits one more Vietnamese locality

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:03:00 PST

Bird flu has recently hit Vietnam's northern Son La province, raising the total number of localities currently affected by the disease to three, according to local newspaper Young People reported Monday.

Japan finds H5 virus in swans, India, Vietnam cite outbreaks

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PST

Animal health officials in Japan were awaiting final tests on four wild swans that recently tested positive for an H5 strain of avian influenza, as authorities in Vietnam and India's Tripura state moved to quash new outbreaks caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.

Bird flu alert issued in Eastern districts

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PST

In view of the perceived threat of bird flu, six of the 16 districts in the eastern region of the country have been declared high-risk zones.

Sanofi-Aventis wins new US$192.5m order for avian flu vaccine from US govt

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PST

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis, said it has received an order worth US$192.5 million from the US government for vaccines against a new strain of avian influenza.

Indonesia runs airport bird flu drill

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PST

Indonesian authorities on Sunday wrapped up a major three-day bird flu drill on the resort island of Bali with an exercise focused on passengers at the island's international airport.

Indonesia runs massive bird flu drill

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PST

Hundreds of Indonesian villagers and health workers took part in a massive drill here Friday to prepare for a potentially devastating outbreak of human-to-human bird flu.