The COVID-19 vaccines can be "tweaked" to provide protection against new variants of the virus, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria said.
Detection of about 12 Swine flu cases in the last fortnight has put the health authorities In Pune on an alert, as two patients are reported to be in a critical condition.
The ten-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival came to an end on Thursday with devotees participating in the immersion of the idols in Pune. Devotees took out processions amidst beating of drums in the farewell ritual.
Under this, Biological E would produce vaccine for India and other South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The central government's decision to stockpile another 20 million capsules of generic Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) to strengthen its preparedness to fight the H1N1 epidemic has alerted domestic pharmaceutical companies.
The Bollywood actress and her personal trainer have been infected with the H1N1 virus, reports Haresh Pandya from Rajkot.
40 more people have succumbed to the virus while the number of those affected crossed 18,000 on Friday.
The victim, a 14-year-old girl, was admitted to a hospital last month with symptoms of sore throat, runny nose and headaches, a government statement said.
Two software engineers, who arrived at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) from the US, were today quarantined for suspected H1N1 influenza, a senior health official said.
Tough US import controls on biological materials, introduced after the September 11 2001 attacks, hindered the rapid identification of the H1N1 virus because samples from infected Mexican patients had to be sent to Canada for analysis instead of the US.
The new application uses the HealthMap technology, an online resource that collects, filters, maps and disseminates information about emerging infectious diseases, and provides a new, contextualised view of a user's specific location.
With swine flu cases across India rising sharply, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday issued fresh guidelines specifying screening and testing module for patients, to contain the disease in the country. As per guidelines, all individuals seeking consultation for flu-like symptoms would be screened at healthcare facilities -- both government and private -- or examined by a doctor and will be categorised broadly under three categories A, B and C depending on their health.
Leading automakers such as Tata Motors, Skoda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mahindra Renault, General Motors and Bajaj have production facilities or offices in Pune, the epicentre of H1N1 virus, and other parts of Maharashtra. The swine flu has claimed 10 victims in Pune and scores have tested positive in the region.
Fahmida Panwala, a resident of Mumbai who was diabetic and suffered from hypertension succumbed on Saturday. Enough medicines were available for swine flu and four more H1N1 virus test centres were being set up in the peripheral hospitals in Mumbai, the city's mayor said.
The company has developed detailed logistical plans and tools to support effective vaccine transport, storage, and temperature monitoring. Sohini Das and Ruchika Chitravanshi report.
With 12 new deaths owing to swine flu being reported, a World Health Organisation official has said that the deadly pandemic has become 'unstoppable', and all nations need an immediate access to vaccines.A group of vaccination experts concluded after a recent meeting that "the H1N1 pandemic is unstoppable and therefore all countries would need to have access to vaccines."
Government on Tuesday said an indigenous Indian vaccine for H1N1 would be ready by the beginning of April, even as it demanded an inquiry into the 'panic' created by international bodies on the scale of the epidemic.
A leading Australian expert has said that the outbreak of H1N1 was falsely exaggerated by pharmaceutical industries to create a huge market for vaccines. According to The Sun, Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, insists that major firms organised a "campaign of panic" to put pressure on the World Health Organisation to declare a pandemic.
The Union health ministry advisory that urges Indians to avoid international travel as a precaution against swine flu has family travellers worried and the travel industry more so.
A passenger, who arrived at the Bengaluru International Airport from Netherlands with suspected symptoms of the H1N1 flu, has been quarantined, a top health official said on Monday. "The passenger, who arrived at BIA from Netherlands via Frankfurt late on Sunday night, has been quarantined at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases," Usha Vasunkar, director of Health & Family Welfare Services, said. The man's throat culture samples have been sent for further tests.
The Indian cricket team heaved a sigh of relief after opener Gautam Gambhir, manager Mayank Parekh and video analyst Dhananjay tested negative for Swine Flu in Mohali on Saturday.
Olympique Marseille and Paris St Germain supporters clashed on Sunday after their Ligue 1 game was postponed and the whole PSG team quarantined when three players were diagnosed with H1N1 flu.
Cashing in on the alarming swine flu scare in the country, private companies are launching new products and advocating innovative ways to tackle the spread of the virus.
The World Health Organisation is urging people around the world to brace themselves for a second wave of the swine flu pandemic as the heavily populated northern hemisphere edges towards the cooler season when flu thrives. WHO Director General Margaret Chan warned on Friday that there had been instances of second and third waves when pandemics had struck earlier."We cannot say for certain whether the worst is over or the worst is yet to come," Chan said.
Gayatri, the victim was shifted to the Kempe Gowda Hospital on August 17, after she had complained of breathlessness. She was administered Tamiflu on arrival at the hospital. However she passed away on August 20. The test results which reached the hospital on Friday showed that she had died after contracting the deadly H1N1 virus.
The senior men's National championship, to be staged in Pune next month, was postponed due to the prevailing H1N1 conditions.
A senior secretary revealed that he had not slept well for more than a month, especially after the United Progressive Alliance returned to power.
Amidst growing concern on the increasing spread of the H1N1 virus in India, renowned yoga guru Baba Ramdev has prescribed yoga as a cure for the disease. "People with strong immune system cannot be affected with swine flu. Through yoga and pranayama, you can keep your immune system, particularly the respiratory system, strong," he added.He further said that the media was creating panic among the people.
Despite the best efforts of Indian vaccine makers to develop the H1N1(swine flu) vaccine, Swiss drug major Novartis and Australian vaccine maker CSL may be the first ones to bag the orders from the central government for its supply.
South Africa faces a possible health crisis if a swine flu outbreak strikes during the soccer World Cup this year, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told parliament on Monday.
A 17-year-old soccer player from Shillong who returned from England last week, has been detected to be suffering from H1N1 virus infection, according to test report received by Shillong Civil Hospital authority from a Kolkata lab, on Tuesday.
A Malaysian coach was quarantined with swine flu symptoms at the world badminton championships in Hyderabad on Tuesday, while a doubles pair from Thailand pulled out of a match after one of them complained of fever. K Subhakar, a government official, told reporters that a member of the Malaysian coaching staff has been admitted to the regional chest hospital after displaying H1N1 virus symptoms.
Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug for swine flu, may do more harm than good to children afflicted with the H1N1 virus, a new study published on Monday says. The research published in the British Medical Journal says that antivirals Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (Relenza) are unlikely to prevent complications in childrenwho have swine flu.
The World Health Organisation has announced that the first vaccines for the swine flu pandemic are likely to be ready for use by September this year. Many pharma companies in China, Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Germany have already made the first batches of the H1N1 vaccine and these are being clinically tested, reports the BBC.Pregnant women and young children are expected to be the first recipients of the vaccine.
A three-year-old boy, who arrived in Chennai from Colombo on Thursday morning, was referred to a government hospital after he showed symptoms of swine flu.Officials said the boy, who had arrived along with his family of seven, was found to be suffering from cold and fever. He was immediately referred to the Communicable Diseases Hospital at Tondiarpet in Chennai.
Fresh cases were reported from Chennai (4), Bengaluru (2), Mumbai (2) and Delhi (1).
India has confirmed a total of 23 cases of swine flu in the country, with the World Health Organisation declaring the outbreak as a pandemic.
With the highest number of confirmed swine flu cases getting registered in Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh government has sounded a health alert across the state and directed the authorities to further intensify the screenings of all the inbound passengers at the Hyderabad International Airport.
According to McAfee security experts, Internet domain registrations mentioning the word 'swine' have gone up, ndicating a rise in malicious sites that take advantage of the scare. A new site offers a dodgy 'Swine Flu Prevention Guide' for $19.95, Mcafee says, while another company claims H1N1 cure that works in 12 hours, the report says.
Samples of 20 suspected cases of swine flu were found to be negative while results of three persons are awaited, even as the government on Wednesday issued an advisory warning against indiscriminate use of the medicine Tamiflu, which is the only drug to cure the disease.
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