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By Category: Public Health

Researchers make a significant step forward in combating antibiotic resistance

(EurekAlert) Antibiotic resistance is a global problem. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that for tuberculosis alone multi-drug resistance accounts for more than 150,000 deaths each year. WHO warns of “a doomsday scenario of a world without antibiotics,” in which antibiotic resistance will turn common infections into incurable killers and make routine surgeries a high-risk Read More »

April 25, 2013
| Filed under Public Health
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Biogeographic barrier that protects Australia from avian flu does not stop Nipah virus

(Public Library of Science) An invisible barrier separates land animals in Australia from those in south-east Asia may also restrict the spillover of animal-borne diseases like avian flu, but researchers have found that fruit bats on either side of this line can carry Nipah virus, a pathogen that causes severe human disease. The findings are Read More »

April 24, 2013
| Filed under Public Health
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Mapping the H7N9 avian flu outbreaks – Nature.com

CBC.caMapping the H7N9 avian flu outbreaksNature.comRisk maps developed for human infection by another, well-established avian flu virus — H5N1 — may help to target H7N9 surveillance and control efforts. The map shows human cases of H7N9 (blue circles) superimposed on a risk map developed for H5N1, …Influenza A(H7N9): Impacts on the Poultry IndustryThePoultrySite.comWHO: New flu Read More »

April 23, 2013
| Filed under Public Health
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Combating H7N9: Using Lessons Learned from recent studies on H5N1

(ScienceDaily) The recent human cases of H7N9 avian influenza demonstrate the importance of adopting the lessons learned from H5N1 avian influenza. Studies on this disease recently completed by researchers from the Asia Partnership on Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (APEIR) developed a series of messages for policy makers that are highly relevant to the current outbreak.

April 23, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific and Public Health
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Improved Detection Test Developed To Identify Food Contamination, Aid Bioterrorism Defense

(MedicalNewsToday) Sales of chicken products in China plummeted recently during an outbreak of a deadly new strain of bird flu. From bird flu to mad cow disease, numerous food scares have made global headlines in recent years. A technique developed by University of Missouri Professor of Engineering Shubhra Gangopadhyay’s group may make food contamination testing Read More »