Journal retracts paper linking vaccine and narcolepsy
A paper that once promised to help unravel a medical mystery — why some children developed narcolepsy after receiving a flu vaccine — has been retracted. Read more
A paper that once promised to help unravel a medical mystery — why some children developed narcolepsy after receiving a flu vaccine — has been retracted. Read more
Chinese health authorities are urging calm as the circle of people infected with an elusive influenza virus widens. Read more
Omega-3 fatty acids, which have an important role in promoting healthy growth and development, have made headlines in recent years for, among other things, their possible cardiovascular benefits. Found in high levels in fish oil, these fatty acids are the most consumed non-vitamin or non-mineral supplement in the US. Now, researchers have discovered another potential use for these fat building blocks: using them as a treatment for flu. Read more
The case for a link between a vaccine used during the 2009 H1NI ‘swine flu’ pandemic to a serious sleeping disorder known as narcolepsy was bolstered by a study published this evening. Read more
A version of this editorial appears in the February 2013 print issue of Nature Medicine. Read more
Recent headlines have promised that a ‘universal flu vaccine’ may be within reach, pointing to antibodies that offer broad protection in animal studies. But the scientists behind this effort had to first overcome great skepticism from their peers—as well as an imperfect laboratory test. Hannah Hoag reports on one virologist’s 20-year effort to challenge the tenets of the field. Read more
After years of struggle, the production of seasonal flu vaccine in the United States has entered the modern era. On 20 November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its first seasonal flu vaccine made in cell culture, rather than in fertilized chicken eggs. Read more
Today the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the number of reported cases in an ongoing outbreak of an animal flu virus H3N2v that transmits between pigs and humans has jumped to 145 in the past week. Read more
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded contracts for the creation of three new centers tasked with responding to the threat of future pandemics and biological attacks. Based in Maryland, North Carolina and Texas, the three centres are comprised of academic and industry consortia whose role it will be to hasten the development and manufacturing of vaccines and medications in the event of an emerging biological threat. Read more
Canada this month announced that any research on mammalian-transmissible strains of the H5N1 avian flu virus in the country’s labs would need to be done at the strictest level of biocontainment, Biological Safety Level 4 (BSL-4). It’s the first country to issue a biosafety rating following the creation of such H5N1 strains in two recent controversial studies (see “Nature News Special: “Mutant Flu”). Read more