Health Official: U.S. Won't Have Enough Bird Flu Vaccine for 3-5 Years
It will take the United States at least three years to have enough doses of flu vaccine to stave off a pandemic, according to Health and Human Services Secretary MIke Leavitt.
Speaking on the NBC TV progam, "Meet the Press," Leavitt said the U.S. doesn't have the manufacturing capacity to make and distribute the 300 million doses of a vaccine to protect the country's population, and it won't have that capacity for three to five years.
The issue of a major fatal flu outbreak has been heightened because incidents of avian flu killing 67 people in Asian countries in the past year have caused health officials to become concerned. So far, however, there have been no reports of the bird flu being transmitted from person to person.
"What we all learned from (Hurricane) Katrina is sometimes we have to think clearly about the unthinkable," the Associated Press quotes Leavitt as saying. "We're probably closer to a pandemic at any time in the last 37 years. We're not as prepared as we need to be."
While scientists can't predict what type of virus the avian flu could mutate into so that it would cause a pandemic, the wire service says The U.S. has only enough doses for 4.3 million people. And says the A.P., President Bush has proposed stockpiling enough of the anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza for 81 million people. There is some evidence that these drugs might be effective against a bird flu virus.
MRI Used to Track Path of Anti-Cancer Cells
Scientists continue to find new uses for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to view the functions of organs in the body. A team of scientists says it has developed a method to use the MRI to track how well a certain cancer therapy is working.
In the latest issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology , the researchers report that implanted tiny iron oxide particles were able to determine whether the cancer-fighting cells were on target.
"In four of the eight patients, MRI revealed that the implanted cells weren't where they needed to be to be effective for treatment," says Jeff Bulte, an associate professor of radiology at Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering who was part of the research team. A Johns Hopkins University news release says Bulte was the author of the report and developed methods to use the iron oxide particles with the anti-cancer cells.
The iron oxide technique was much more accurate than previous tracking methods like radioactivity and ultrasound, Bulte said in the news release. The cells in question are called dendritic cells, which scientists theorize can stimulate the body's immune system to fight malignant cells.
FDA Finds No Evidence Linking Tamiflu to Deaths
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday there was insufficient evidence to tie the flu drug Tamiflu to the deaths of 12 Japanese children or to hallucinations, encephalitis and other symptoms suffered by some Japanese patients.
One day after announcing it would review the deaths, the agency's staff said it wouldn't be necessary to update the drug's labeling to reflect those deaths or possible adverse effects. But the staff is recommending adding information to the label about serious skin reactions to Tamiflu, according to papers prepared for a meeting Friday of the FDA's Pediatric Advisory Committee, the Associated Press reported.
At the meeting itself, the chairman, Dr. Robert Nelson, said, "If we ever have a pandemic of avian flu, which is a debatable point, people want to know that they have a drug that will not cause more (harm) than the flu itself," said.
The advisory committee reviewed Tamiflu as part of a routine safety check of drugs whose original uses had been extended to cover children.
Melissa Truffa, of the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, told the panel earlier Friday that they found no direct link between the use of Tamiflu and the deaths in Japan.
The FDA staff said Tamiflu is used much more often in Japan than in the United States -- 11.6 million prescriptions for children in Japan between 2001 and 2005, compared to about 872,000 during that same period in the United States, AP reported.
There are no reports of deaths in the United States or Europe associated with Tamiflu.
China Gives OK to New Type of Cancer Drug
China has become the first country to approve a cancer therapy that uses a virus to attack only malignant tumor cells.
The New York Times reports that the drug, called H101, is actually a modified version of a treatment originated and abandoned by an American biotech company. The original drug was developed by a California company, Onyx Pharmaceuticals and was called -- appropriately -- Onyx-015.
Both Onyx-015 and H101 use a genetically engineered cold virus that zeroes in only on cells with a genetic defect found in cancer cells, the Times reports. There were some operational problems with the drug in America, the newspaper reports, and Onyx dropped the drug in 2003. It has since developed another anti-cancer drug that is awaiting approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Chinese company, Shanghai Sunway Biotech, has approval to market H101 to treat head and neck cancer, according to the Times.
Possible Cause of Kawasaki Disease Reported
Northwestern University scientists say that they have discovered a possible cause of Kawasaki disease, a heart ailment that strikes an estimated 15 of every 100,000 children in the United States. Kawasaki disease, first discovered in 1967, is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children.
Early diagnosis is extremely important, because the disease can be treated.
Kawasaki disease has long been believed to be caused by some sort of infection, but it has so far been unidentified. The latest research from Northwestern scientists indicates the cause may be viral.
In a news release, the university says its research team from the Feinberg School of Medicine and Children's Memorial Hospital completed findings that show how the virus spreads through a childs body. "The virus is likely to be taken up by white blood cells in the lung and carried through the bloodstream, infecting other tissues, including the coronary artery, and leading to coronary artery aneurysms, the most important adverse outcome of Kawasaki disease," said Dr. Anne H. Rowley, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology/immunology who led the research.
The findings are reported in the Nov. 15 issue of Journal of Infectious Disease.
Major Depression Afflicts 8 Percent of U.S. Adults
About eight percent (17 million) of U.S. adults reported suffering at least one bout of major depression during the previous year, according to a report released Friday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
About two-thirds of the people who reported major depression in the previous year said they'd received treatment, which included taking prescription medications or talking with a doctor or other health professional.
Illicit drug use within the previous month was almost twice as high among adults who reported major depression than among people who did not report major depression.
Food Fact:
Sweeter pineapple
Know what kind to buy, and you can triple the vitamin C. Golden Pineapple, a new variety tagged with a Golden label, is making a splash -- it's sweeter, juicier and contains 3 times as much vitamin C as other varieties of the tropical fruit. When choosing a pineapple, look for fresh, green leaves and be certain they are not wilted or brown. The pineapple should smell sweet and be firm with no soft spots. Diced or sliced fresh pineapple is the perfect way to end a meal. Toss it with some chopped candied ginger if you like.
Fitness Tip of the day:
Drink up.
By the time you feel thirsty during a workout, you may already be dehydrated! Your body requires constant hydration during exercise. Drink at least 8 oz. of water every 15 minutes while you are exercising.
FAQ of the day:
Are dried fruits safe if I'm sensitive to sulfites?
Sulfites that are added to many dried fruits can cause allergy-like reactions in some individuals -- in some cases these can be life-threatening. That's why the FDA now requires that any foods with sulfites say so on the label. If you are sulfite-sensitive, look for "unsulphured" dried fruits, sold in some supermarkets and natural food stores.
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