A joint venture between a microelectronics company and a medical diagnostics company has produced the world’s first “lab-on-chip” portable device for detecting various types of flu, including bird flu, at the point of need.

The launch of VereFlu, described as a “breakthrough molecular diagnostic test that can detect infection with high accuracy and sensitivity”, was announced on Monday by its makers, STMicroelectronics of Switzerland and Veredus Laboratories of Singapore. The device was successfully trialled at the National University Hospital of Singapore.

Unlike other existing methods that take days and weeks, the new device can give genetic information about an infection within two hours. It is also portable, freeing the diagnostic process from the lab and allowing it to happen at the point of need.

VereFlu combines the In-Check lab-on-chip platform from STMicroelectronics, along with the bio-application capability from Veredus.

The device integrates two powerful molecular biological applications to identify and differentiate, using a single test, human strains of Influenza virus types A and B, along with the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu.

This portable “mini-lab” allows the diagnostician to analyze a patient sample like blood, serum and respiratory swabs, on a single disposable thumbnail-sized chip.

As well as the obvious advantages of less cost and time, this method also reduces the risk of sample cross contamination that can occur in the conventional lab setting, said STMicroelectronics in a press statement.

Head of Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital in Singapore, Associate Professor Raymond Lin said:

“We are pleased to report that our evaluation trials show the suitability of the VereFlu diagnostic application for field testing and deployment.”

He called the new device a “powerful weapon against future influenza pandemics”.

Chief Executive Officer of Veredus Laboratories, Dr Rosemary Tan said:

VereFlu will enable healthcare professionals to effectively monitor mutations of flu viruses and quickly identify the main strain of the season.”

This will increase the effectiveness of flu vaccination, she added, which should reduce the public wellness risks that arise when a new flu strain emerges.

Corporate VP and General Manager of ST’s Computer Peripherals Group, Gian Luca Bertino said:

“The launch of VereFlu marks a substantial breakthrough in enabling rapid identification of the infectious agent to limit the spread of the disease and speed patients’ treatment.”

He said the combination of the diagnostic knowledge from Veredus and ST’s microfluidic lab-on-chip technology has bred the first solution that:

“Detects multiple flu viruses at the point of need in a fraction of the time, cost, and complexity of conventional diagnostic systems.”

An obvious application of the portable minilab is screening at airports and borders.

The success of the new venture has prompted the two companies to set up a joint lab to develop new biomedical applications using the same technology in new areas like other infectious diseases, oncology and markers for heart disease. The new Bio-Application Lab is based at the Science Park in Singapore and will be headed up by Tan.

Source: STMicroelectronics press release.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

CANTEL MEDICAL CORP. (NYSE:CMN) and also the National Safety Council (“NSC”) announced a joint advertising and distribution agreement to help companies along with other organizations prepare for the threat of a flu pandemic and equivalent infectious illnesses. The World Wellness Organization continues to track the incidence of avian bird flu throughout the globe and warns of the potential of mutation of the H5N1 virus that could result in a widespread human-to-human pandemic.

Under this agreement, Cantel Medical, an established leader in Infection Prevention and Control merchandise to the medical and dental markets, via its Saf-T-Pak and Crosstex company units, will manufacture National Safety Council/Saf-T-Pak co-branded Flu Defense Kits as well as other product configurations which will contain Crosstex face masks, hand sanitizers, gloves and surface disinfecting products. Cantel and National Safety Council will co-market these products, together with providing preparing and educational services, to a lot more than 50,000 NSC members that represent a broad spectrum of industries and more than 8.five million workers.

The National Safety Council supports a mission to educate and influence men and women in stopping accidental injury and death. They work closely having a range of federal safety and wellness agencies to supply education and safety goods for employers, staff and their families.

Based on Donna Siegfried, Executive Director, Emergency Care Programs, National Safety Council, “The National Safety Council sought to complement its ‘Prescription for the Flu’ educational program with infection prevention and control merchandise which are verified to be effective. We selected Cantel Medical due to its product top quality and capability to give a full range of preparing services, customized kitting and global distribution capabilities. Together, we can support employers keep their workers and their workers’ families as secure and productive as achievable.”

According to R. Scott Jones, Cantel Medical’s President & CEO, “Cantel is pleased to partner with the National Safety Council. Co-marketing with NSC enables us to further execute on our strategy of bringing our infection prevention and control products to broader alternate markets. Much more importantly, by partnering with the National Safety Council, we can support businesses as well as other organizations to keep their staff aware, educated, safe and productive in the face of growing biological threats in the general population.”

About Cantel Medical Corp.

Cantel Medical Corp. (NYSE:CMN) is a leading provider of infection prevention and control goods in the healthcare industry. Cantel’s products incorporate specialized medical device reprocessing systems for renal dialysis and endoscopy, dialysate concentrates along with other dialysis supplies, disposable infection control products for the dental industry and broader alternate markets, water purification equipment, sterilants, disinfectants and cleaners, hollow fiber membrane filtration and separation items for medical and non-medical applications, and specialty packaging for infectious and biological specimens. Cantel also provides technical maintenance for its products and offers compliance training services for the transport of infectious and biological specimens.

Cantel Medical Corp.

About National Safety Council

The National Safety Council is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, international public service organization dedicated to educating and influencing folks to prevent accidental injuries and deaths. Members of the NSC consist of much more than 50,000 corporations, labor organizations, schools, public agencies, private groups and individuals. Founded in 1913 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1953, the primary focus of the NSC is promoting safety and well being in the workplace, in transportation, and in homes and communities.

National Safety Council

New Method May possibly Lead to Efficient H5N1 Influenza A Virus Vaccine

Manipulating a previously identified protein may be the key to developing an effective H5N1 influenza A virus vaccine say researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and also the University of Tokyo. They report their findings within the March 2008 issue of the Journal of Virology.

Since its emergence in 1997, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) has affected wild birds and poultry in more than 10 Asian countries as properly as Europe and Africa. A total of 321 confirmed human cases have occurred since late 2003 resulting in 194 deaths and a fatality rate of roughly 60%. Although there are currently some antiviral drugs offered for treatment of influenza virus infection, H5N1 has proven resistant to most, therefore emphasizing the need to have for an effective vaccine.

The influenza A virus M2 protein consists of three structural domains, 1 of which is a 54-amino acid cytoplasmic tail domain. In a previous study the researchers demonstrated that deleting the M2 cytoplasmic tail caused a growth defect within the H1N1 influenza virus, indicating that the M2 cytoplasmic tail plays a vital role in virus replication. Inside the current study they created an M2 tail mutant H5N1 virus, vaccinated mice with it and challenged the mice having a lethal dose of influenza virus. Results showed that the mice were protected from death suggesting that the virus could not replicate and could therefore be utilized as a vaccine.

“Here, we demonstrate that an M2 cytoplasmic tail deletion mutant protects mice from lethal challenge having a extremely pathogenic H5N1 virus, suggesting the prospective of M2 tail mutants as live attenuated vaccines against H5N1 influenza virus infection,” say the researchers.

(T. Watanabe, S. Watanabe, J. Hyun Kim, M. Hatta, Y. Kawaoka. 2008. Novel approach towards the development of efficient H5N1 influenza A virus vaccines: use of M2 cytoplasmic tail mutants. Journal of Virology, 82. 5: 2486-2492.)

Salmonella Strains in Humans Distinct from Animals

A new study suggests salmonella strains collected from human salamonellosis patients to be distinct from those of animal origin, a finding that could significantly impact the development of treatment techniques for foodborne illnesses. The researchers report their findings within the March 2008 journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Salmonella enterica, one of the most infectious foodborne pathogens inflicting humans right now, is commonly transmitted by way of consumption of meat and food products that have been contaminated with animal waste. Currently more than two,300 types of S. enterica have been identified, and although useful epidemiologically, they give limited data concerning bacterial diversity, evolutionary relatedness and pathogenicity. Virulence determinants and degree of pathogenicity in a particular animal host are not yet nicely understood.

In the study researchers tested the virulence capacities of 184 human and animal S. enterica isolates in mice. Results showed that all 21 serovar typhimurium isolates derived from animals had been virulent in mice, while only 16 of 41 serovar typhimurium isolates collected from human salmonellosis patients were virulent. In contrast to all animal and human bacteremia samples tested, only 10 of 29 serovar typhimurium isolates from gastroenteritis patients were virulent. Lastly, among the serovar typhimurium isolates harboring virulent Salmonella, 6 of 31 from human salmonellosis patients had been avirulent in mice, in direct contrast towards the virulence exhibited by all of the animal isolates studied.

“These studies suggest that Salmonella isolates derived from human salmonellosis patients are distinct from those of animal origin,” say the researchers. “The characterization of these bacterial strain variants could give insight into their relative pathogenicities as well as into the development of treatment and prophylactic techniques for salmonellosis.”

(D.M. Heithoff, W.R. Shimp, P.W. Lau, G.Badie, E.Y. Enioutina, R.A. Daynes, B.A. Byrne, J.K. House, M.J. Mahan. 2008. Human Salmonella clinical isolates distinct from those of animal origin. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 74. 6: 1757-1766.)

New Study Compares Antibiotic Resistance in Wild American Bison and Farm Cattle

The initial ever study of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in free-living American bison finds resistance rates, although comparatively low, are nonetheless higher than expected. The researchers from Kansas State University report their findings in the March 2008 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Currently, more than 50% of antibiotic use within the United States is attributed to the animal business. As antibiotic resistance continues to rise researchers have extensively studied the link in between humans and farm animals, even so little is known about the spread of antibiotic resistance in wild animal populations.

Enterococci are among the most typical organisms associated with nosocomial infections worldwide and are also considered a reservoir for acquisition and distribution of antibiotic resistant genes. Inside the study enterococci isolates were collected from an American bison (Bison bison) population on a native tall-grass prairie preserve in Kansas. Bison showed resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin at rates of 8% and 4% which although higher than expected, nonetheless comparatively low when compared to resistance rates of 42.9% and 12.7% in domestic cattle.

“This will be the very first study of antibiotic resistance in enterococci associated with American bison,” say the researchers. “The outcomes provide us with an opportunity to gain insight into the origin of antibiotic resistance along with the flow of genetic elements between environments.”

(J.F. Anderson, T.D. Parrish, M. Akhtar, L. Zurek, H. Hirt. 2008. Antibiotic resistance of enterococci in American bison (Bison bison) from a nature preserve compared to that of enterococci in pastured cattle. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 74. 6: 1726-1730.)

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Source: Carrie Slijepcevic
American Society for Microbiology

Fujian Center for Illness Control & Prevention, China, reported the molecular evolution of influenza A (H3N2) viruses in Fujian Province, south of China during the period 1996D?D2004 and demonstrated some key codons responsible for antigenic drift. The study is reported in Issue 51 (April, 2008) of the Science in China Series C: Life Science due to the fact of its significant impact.

The FJ/411/02-like virus strains caused influenza epidemics worldwide inside the 2003-04 influenza seasons. It has been shown that the viruses causing pandemics, and even year-to-year epidemics, emerge from Asia. So it really is essential to do surveillance and analyses of the mutation of HA1 gene of influenza virus in south of China. A/Fujian/411/2002(H3N2)-like influenza virus was recommended as one of the compositions of 2003-04 trivalent influenza vaccine for the south hemisphere and 2004-05 trivalent influenza vaccine for the north hemisphere.

Phylogenetic analysis was carried out for genes encoding hemagglutinin1 (HA1) of influenza A virus (14 new and 11 previously reported reference sequences) in this study. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that progressive drifts occurred among our H3N2 influenza isolates over the eight flu seasons. The mutations of HA1 genes occurred from time to time, which had been responsible for about four times of antigenic drift of influenza H3N2 viruses in Fujian, China.

The data demonstrated that amino acid changes were limited to some key codons at or near antibody binding sites A via E on the HA1 molecule. “The changes at the antibody binding site B or A or sialic acid receptor binding site 226 had been critical for antigenic drift,” noted principal investigator WenQiong Xiu, associate professor of the Department of Virology in the Fujian Center for Disease Control & Prevention, China. “The antigenic sites might change as well as the key codons for antigenic drift may change as influenza viruses evolve.”

The study involved a lot of experiments. The influenza strains of Fujian were directly isolated from clinical samples grown in MDCK cells or embryonated chicken eggs. Then viral RNA was extracted from the isolating fluids and was amplified by RT-PCR . Sequencing was performed as well as the nucleotide sequences had been determined. Finally, sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the sequencing information was carried out.

We also found that potential glycosylation sites had been accumulated with evolution. Influenza viruses are volatile so that you can survive in human body, and the viability was indeed a heritable trait of codons. The HA three-dimensional structure remains constant during antigenic drift, presumably so that the biological function of HA can be maintained. Amino acid changes in natural isolates were principally chosen from changeable substitutions that do not disrupt HA activity.

The main conclusion reported by the investigators is the fact that it truly is important to monitor new H3 isolates for mutations inside the positively selected codons of HA1 gene in south of Asia.

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The grant of WHO influenza surveillance supported this research.

This study deserves publication because it is properly written and also the experiments are sound. In addition, there may possibly be a significant impact for the control of influenza.

Reference: Xiu WQ, Wen YW, Shen XN, Xie JF, Yang SQ, Wu BS, Wang MA. Molecular evolution of influenza A (H3N2) viruses circulated in Fujian Province, China during the 1996-2004 period. Science in China Series C: Life Sciences 2008; 51(4): 1-8http://www.scichina.com/

Source: Xiu WenQiong
Science in China Press

Replikins Ltd. has found that the Replikin Count(TM) of the H1N1 strain of influenza virus has recently increased to 7.6 (plus/minus 1.4), its highest level since the 1918 H1N1 pandemic (p value much less than 0.001). A rising Replikin Count of a particular influenza strain, indicating rapid replication of the virus, is an early warning which has been followed consistently by an outbreak of the specific strain. The current increase appears to be specific to H1N1; there was a concurrent 80% decline inside the Replikin Count of H3N2, for instance.

The current H1N1 appears to be rapidly replicating simultaneously inside the U.S. and Austria. It might succeed H5N1 as the leading candidate for the next expected overdue pandemic. However, the same virus replikin structures detected by FluForecast(R) software in all three prior pandemics, namely 1918 H1N1, 1957 H2N2, and 1968 H3N2, as well as in H5N1, have not yet been detected in the currently evolving H1N1.

There’s evidence that several variables, such as virus structure, host receptivity, and the environment, together with infectivity and rapid replication, have to converge for a pandemic to occur. For H5N1, the high human mortality rate, which peaked at over 80% in 2006-07 in Indonesia, as properly as current low infectivity, each appear to limit H5N1′s capability to produce a pandemic. Furthermore, the H5N1 rapid replication cycle which began in 1996 now appears to be more than. The H5N1 virus produced much less than 300 World Wellness Organization confirmed deaths over the past 10 years.

On the other hand, H1N1, with an estimated human mortality rate of only two.5 to 10%, but with considerably higher infectivity, produced an estimated 50 million deaths inside the 1918 pandemic. A number of countermeasures exist nowadays which did not exist in 1918, nonetheless. Among these is Replikins’ capability to manufacture synthetic vaccines based on current sequences, with a 7-day production turnaround.

http://www.Replikins.com

Testsindicate that a father diagnosed with bird flu in China most likely caughtthe disease from his son, only increasing concern about transmission ofthe virus among humans. This was published early on-line and in theApril 2008 issue of The Lancet.

As of April two, 2008,there have been 376 circumstances of infection using the highly pathogenic avianinfluenza A (H5N1) virus with 238 deaths reported in 14 differentcountries since November 2003. Although most circumstances have been scattered,about 1 quarter of all cases have been in clusters of two or morepeople.

These two men, diagnosed within a week of 1 another,had been investigated by Professor Yu Wang, Chinese Centre for DiseaseControl and Prevention, Beijing, China, and colleagues in December 2007in China’s Jiangsu Province. Both laboratory and field tests wereperformed immediately to establish a positive H5N1 infection in bothcases. Additionally, 91 folks with whom they had come intocloseexposure, and more removed contacts who became at all ill were tested.

Theson, aged 24, died, although his 52 year old father survived afterreceiving early antiviral treatment and post-vaccination plasma from aparticipant in an H5N1 vaccine trial. The only prospective point ofexposure of the son’s was a visit to a poultry market six days beforethe illness’s onset. In the meanwhile, the father had considerableunprotected exposure to his sick son.

All 91 exposed contactsgave consent for examination — of these, 78 were administeredanti-retroviral prophylaxis and two suffered from mild illness.Even so, all 91 tested negative for H5N1. The viruses isolated fromfather and son were genetically identical using the exception of onesmall base change inside the nucleic acid chain creating up the H5N1 geneticstructure.

The authors conclude that the transmissionwas probably among the two men. “Limited, non-sustainedperson-to-person transmission of H5N1 virus possibly occurred in thisfamily cluster…Viral characteristics required for sustainedperson-to-person transmission remain unknown. H5N1 clusters requireurgent investigation because of the possibility that a change in theepidemiology of H5N1 instances could indicate that H5N1 viruses haveacquired the ability to spread more easily among individuals.”

DrJeremy Farrar, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi minh City,Vietnam, and colleagues, wrote an accompanying comment, in which theysay: “Whatever the underlying determinants, if we continue toexperience widespread, uncontrolled outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry, theappearance of strains properly adapted to human beings may possibly just be matterof time. Within the meantime, all family contacts of a patient withprobable or confirmed H5N1 should be given chemoprophylaxis and placedunder surveillance. Personal protection and advice must be extended tothe family members and wellness workers visiting and searching afterpatients in hospital.”

“Today’s study is really a superb piece ofwork showing the benefit of a longstanding and trusting internationalcollaboration that began during the severe acute respiratory syndromeepidemic. Such collaborations sustained more than several years, centred inaffected countries, and closely linked with WHO are our greatest chance ofcombating current and future threats to international wellness andensuring that benefits are shared worldwide.”

Probable limited person-to-person transmission of highlypathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in China
HuaWang, Zijian Feng, Yuelong Shu, Hongjie Yu, Lei Zhou, Rongqiang Zu,Yang Huai, Jie Dong, Changjun Bao, Leying Wen, Hong Wang, Peng Yang,Wei Zhao, Libo Dong, Minghao Zhou, Qiaohong Liao, Haitao Yang, MinWang, Xiaojun Lu, Zhiyang Shi, Wei Wang, Ling Gu, Fengcai Zhu, Qun Li,Weidong Yin, Weizhong Yang, Dexin Li, Timothy M Uyeki, Yu Wang
The Lancet, April 8, 2008
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60493-6
Click Here For Journal

Person-to-person transmission of influenza A (H5N1)
Nguyen Tran Hien, Jeremy Farrar, Peter Horby
The Lancet, April 8, 2008
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60494-8
Click Here For Journal

Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Nowadays

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Wellmune WGP?, a natural immune-enhancing ingredient from Biothera, reduced the incidence of fever and eliminated the need to have for study subjects to miss work or school due towards the cold-like symptoms, researchers reported at the 2008 Experimental Biology annual meeting.

Don Cox, Ph.D., Vice President of Study & Development for Biothera’s Healthcare Group, stated, “This study’s results are exciting simply because they show the prospective for Wellmune WGP to naturally enhance the body’s innate immune response to protect against and ameliorate the symptoms of one thing that every single one of us encounters – the typical cold. These results are consistent with several other immune well being studies conducted with our ingredient, and indicate the real-life benefits that Wellmune WGP supplementation can offer.”

The investigation was presented by Douglas Kalman, Ph.D., RD, FACN, a Director at Miami Research Associates, which conducted the study for Biothera. An abstract of the study is accessible at http://www.biothera.com/healthcare.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted during the cold season with 40 wholesome subjects, aged 18-65. The subjects were treated daily with either 250mg of Wellmune WGP or a placebo for 90 days. Wellmune WGP is a natural carbohydrate that activates key immune cells, which includes macrophages and neutrophils, to more quickly recognize and kill foreign challenges. The item engages the body’s natural defenses to promote health, wellness and vitality. In contrast with the placebo group, study participants who received Wellmune WGP daily reported:

* No incidence of medically verified fever.

* An increase in common health markers, such as physical energy and emotional well-being, as measured by a clinically validated wellness survey questionnaire (SF-36v-2).

* No must take a “sick day” off of function or school (compared with 1.38 days of work/school missed for the placebo group).

In addition, although there were no differences between groups in the number of colds, in the end of the 12-week test period the Wellmune WGP-supplemented group exhibited significant improvements in Physical Component Summary scores as defined inside the SF-36v-2 wellness survey.

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About Wellmune WGP

Wellmune WGP can be a functional food, beverage and dietary supplement ingredient offered worldwide through Biothera and its distributors. This natural compound (gluco polysaccharide) is isolated from the cell walls of a strain of yeast. Wellmune WGP is patented, GRAS-approved, Kosher, non-allergenic and GMO-free. Quite a few peer-reviewed studies support the safety and efficacy of Wellmune WGP, which is the culmination of years of investigation and a technology investment of more than $250 million. Wellmune WGP is accessible as a soluble and dispersible powder for ease of formulation in a wide range of foods and beverages, such as clear liquids.

About Miami Analysis Associates

Miami Analysis Associates (MRA, http://www.miamiresearch.com/) is really a multi-specialty clinical research facility in operation since 1996. It has 32 board-certified physician investigators and more than 25 ACRP Certified Clinical Study Coordinators. MRA conducts pharmaceutical trials at Phases I-IV and conducts studies involving nutraceuticals, medical devices and specialty products.

About Biothera, the Immune Health Business Biothera can be a biotechnology business dedicated to improving immune well being. The company is developing pharmaceuticals that engage the innate immune system to fight cancer. Biothera also manufactures and markets food-grade ingredients that support wholesome immune function to the nutritional supplement, functional food, cosmetic and animal nutrition markets. (http://www.biothera.co/)

Source: Dave Walsh
Strategic Communications

Closing schools inside the event of a flu pandemic could slow the spread of the virus and stop up to one in seven instances, according to a new study published these days within the journal Nature.

School closure may be the non-pharmaceutical policy option that health organisations and governments most frequently consider to control the spread of a future flu pandemic, but there had previously been little evidence about its prospective effectiveness.

Researchers from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, working with colleagues in France, utilized personal computer modelling to explore how school closure would impact the spread of a theoretical pandemic H5N1 avian flu virus which had mutated to pass between humans. They extrapolated from data collected by French GPs, showing how school holidays alter the patterns of influenza transmission in France.

The new study shows that shutting down schools for a prolonged period within the event of a pandemic could stop up to one in seven cases.

School closures would also slow and flatten the pandemic, reducing the numbers becoming ill within the worst week of the outbreak by up to 40%. The researchers suggest that this could be important in reducing pressures on healthcare services during this time so that hospitals and GP surgeries would be far better able to cope.

However, the researchers caution that closing schools for a prolonged period would be a very costly measure, particularly because of its impact on working parents. Taking away the childcare that schools provide could also affect the spread of the virus, in ways that are difficult to model utilizing existing details.

For example, parents may possibly share childcare with each and every other or place their children with child minders, so that children would still mix and spread the virus in between them, considerably as they would in a school setting. In addition, the number of healthcare professionals obtainable to care for those with the virus may fall if some needed to stay home to look after their children.

Dr Simon Cauchemez, one of the authors of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, said: “Our analysis shows that school closures could be a useful measure in terms of slowing the spread of a flu pandemic. Nevertheless, its effectiveness would very considerably depend on what other measures, like vaccination or antiviral drugs, had been put in place as nicely.”

Professor Neil Ferguson, another author of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, added: “Closing schools for a long time is not an option you can take lightly, due to the fact it has a huge economic and social impact, as well as the extent to which there would be a knock-on impact on transmission is hard to predict.

“Even though the children would not be in school, they would nonetheless mix with other children and adults in the community and spread the virus through this contact. We also think it’s likely that parents would should devise new childcare arrangements so that they could continue working, which means that they would be setting up the equivalent of small schools where the virus could easily be transmitted,” added Professor Ferguson.

The researchers reached their conclusions after analysing surveillance data collected since 1984 by 1,200 GPs in France, to see how the rate of influenza transmission is reduced during the country’s school holidays. This data showed that holidays lead to a 20-29% reduction inside the rate at which influenza is transmitted to children, but that they’ve no detectable effect on the contact patterns of adults. The French information also revealed that children were responsible for around 46% of all infections.

The researchers then extrapolated from this to explore how prolonged school closure may well have an effect on transmission inside the event of a pandemic of mutated H5N1 in a country like France.

At present, the H5N1 strain of influenza is transmitted to people by birds and person-to-person transmission is very rare. Nonetheless, the virus is so lethal that if it were to mutate and become more transmissible, as within the researchers’ new model, the consequences of a global pandemic could be disastrous.

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This research was funded by the Medical Investigation Council, the European Union, and the US National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Source: Laura Gallagher
Imperial College London

Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD) disclosed that it has initiated studies to test the in vitro effectiveness of the Aethlon Hemopurifier? to capture a partially reconstructed version of the Spanish Flu of 1918, a viral pandemic outbreak that killed roughly 40-50 million men and women during a 25-month time span. The reconstructed 1918 influenza employed within the Hemopurifier? studies is a recombinant virus that has two genes (the HA and NA) from the 1918 strain of influenza together with six genes from the Texas 91 influenza strain. The resulting analysis virus is known as 1918 HA/NA:TX/36/91.

The 1918 HA/NA:TX/36/91 studies are designed to evaluate the prospective of the Hemopurifier? to treat future outbreaks of pandemic influenza, and to further demonstrate the broad-spectrum effectiveness of the Hemopurifier? to capture viral pathogens. The studies will be conducted at a global contract research organization that previously collaborated with Aethlon Medical on pre-clinical testing of the Hemopurifier? against the highly fatal H5N1 Avian Flu Virus (bird flu). In those studies, the Hemopurifier? proved powerful in removing up to 99.4 percent of infectious H5N1 from cell culture fluids during a six-hour testing period.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently mandated that therapies able to demonstrate broad-spectrum effectiveness against multiple pathogens, including pandemic influenza, be the focal point of government programs that assistance the commercialization of candidate countermeasures against bioterror and pandemic threats. Aethlon Medical considers the Hemopurifier? to be the leading broad-spectrum candidate as evidenced by its breadth of pre-clinical data and human treatment expertise. Information resulting from the 1918 HA/NA:TX/36/91 study as well as other clinical programs will likely be included in a forthcoming submission to HHS as well as the recently established Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance the commercialization of the Hemopurifier? as a broad-spectrum countermeasure against bioterror and pandemic threats.

About the Spanish Flu of 1918

The Spanish Flu of 1918 lasted from March 1918 to June 1920 (25 months) and is estimated to have killed 40-50 million folks worldwide. As a comparison, roughly 25 million AIDS related deaths have occurred during the very first 25 years of the disease. In contrast to most influenza outbreaks, the primary victims of the Spanish Flu of 1918 had been healthy young adults. Researchers believe the virulence associated with the 1918 virus was triggered by an overreaction of the immune system, known as a cytokine storm. As a result, juveniles and elderly with weaker immune systems had a lower incidence of morbidity and mortality. The fatality rate of those infected using the Spanish Flu of 1918 is estimated at 2.5-5 percent. Scientists have reported the 1918 Spanish flu virus was initially a bird flu virus that evolved to be efficiently passed in human-to-human transmissions. Alarmingly, the greater than 50 percent human fatality rate of today’s H5N1 bird flu virus is also associated with the cytokine storm. Justifiably, researchers believe further studies of the reconstructed 1918 influenza virus could supply scientific insight required to advance therapeutic methods able to address future pandemic influenza outbreaks.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical will be the developer of the Hemopurifier?, a first-in-class medical device designed to treat infectious illness. The Hemopurifier? provides real-time therapeutic filtration of infectious viruses and immunosuppressive particles, and is positioned to address the treatment of drug and vaccine resistant viruses. The device also holds promise in cancer care, as analysis studies have verified the Hemopurifier? able to capture immunosuppressive particles that are secreted by tumors. The Hemopurifier? is targeted for use a stand-alone therapeutic, and as an adjunct treatment to enhance clinical benefit of established and candidate therapies. Pre-clinical studies conducted by researchers representing leading government and non-government health organizations each within the United States and abroad have documented the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier? in capturing pandemic threats, including H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu), and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) from circulation. Studies are also being conducted to assistance the use of the Hemopurifier? as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against bioterror threats, including Smallpox, and Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa hemorrhagic fever. Regulatory and commercialization initiatives within the United States are presently focused on bioterror threats, while international initiatives are directed toward naturally evolving pandemic threats, and chronic infectious disease conditions such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis-C (HCV). Aethlon has previously demonstrated safety of the Hemopurifier? in a 24-treatment human study at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi, India, and is currently conducting further human studies in the Fortis Hospital, also located in Delhi. The Business has submitted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) towards the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to advancing the Hemopurifier? as a broad-spectrum treatment countermeasure against category “A” bioterror threats. Extra information relating to Aethlon Medical and its Hemopurifier? technology is available on the web at http://www.aethlonmedical.com.

Certain of the statements herein may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties along with other elements which may possibly trigger the actual outcomes, efficiency or achievements of Aethlon Medical, Inc to be materially distinct from any future results, efficiency, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such prospective risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company’s capability to raise capital when needed, the Company’s capacity to complete the development of its planned products, the capability of the Organization to obtain FDA along with other regulatory approvals permitting the sale of its products, the Company’s capacity to manufacture its products and give its services, the impact of government regulations, patent protection on the Company’s proprietary technology, product liability exposure, uncertainty of market acceptance, competition, technological alter, and other risk aspects. In such instances, actual outcomes could differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, such as the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions along with other risk elements detailed within the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Aethlon Medical