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By Category: International

NTU designs social media and web system that can predict dengue hotspots

(EurekAlert) When it comes to stopping dengue, social media posts, tweets and a web system may be just what the doctor ordered. Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed a social media-based system called Mo-Buzz that can predict where and when dengue might occur. It combines a web system that taps into historical data Read More »

June 12, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, International, Public Health, and Research
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WHO simplifies pandemic alert system after criticism

(Health24) The World Health Organisation on Monday published a new plan on how to alert the world to possible flu pandemics, following harsh criticism of its handling of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009. The UN’s health agency said it had simplified its alert system and redefined what constitutes a pandemic to put more Read More »

June 12, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Thailand expecting record number of dengue fever deaths

(TheSacramentoBee) Thailand is heading for a record-breaking number of dengue fever cases in 2013, having lost 44 people to the mosquito-transmitted virus already, officials warned Saturday. The health ministry predicts Thailand this year will see at least 100,000 dengue cases and more than 100 deaths, a three-fold increase from last year and a record-high for Read More »

June 10, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Studies showing how bird flu viruses could adapt to humans offer surveillance and vaccine strategies

(EurekAlert) Bird flu viruses are potentially highly lethal and pose a global threat, but relatively little is known about why certain strains spread more easily to humans than others. Two studies published by Cell Press June 6th in the journal Cell identify mutations that increase the infectivity of H5N1 and H7N9 viruses through improved binding Read More »

June 7, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
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London biomedical hub sets its research agenda

(Nature) Construction is well under way on the Francis Crick Institute. The £650-million (US$1-billion) biomedical super-laboratory, set to open in 2015, is already looming over St Pancras International railway station in central London. The institute is tasked with integrating the wishes of six founders: Britain’s three biggest biomedical funders, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Read More »