It would take just a small change in DNA to create a mutation of the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” virus that could spread more easily, concluded US scientists in a recent PLoS ONE paper where they also showed that their method could be used to monitor the evolution of H1N1, particularly that part of its DNA that determines how well the virus binds to the respiratory tract and potentially result in a more widespread pandemic with more deaths. The fear among scientists and health experts is that the 2009 H1N1 virus will follow the same pattern that we have seen in previous pandemics: one year...

by Steve White, Daily Mirror A NEW mum is fighting for her life with swine flu – after being put in a coma to save her child before the birth. Leanne Gunnell, 21, suffered brain damage after doctors took the decision to protect her unborn infant, which was then delivered prematurely by caesarean, weighing just 3lb. The mother, who was six-and-a-half months pregnant, gave birth seven weeks ago but has still not come out of the coma. Her parents are awaiting further tests and she might never she her child. The tot is doing well but the mum’s family fear she will not recover and they may have...

By Steve Farrell A pregnant mother of four was yesterday fighting for life after contracting swine flu. Fallon Devaney, 25, is in a critical condition in intensive care. Her mother, Linda Fearney, said Fallon had not been vaccinated against the virus and was rushed to hospital on Tuesday struggling for breath. She said: ‘She’s near to death and it’s touch and go. We don’t know if she’s going to survive. Everyone in the family has had the vaccination since Fallon was taken ill.’ So far this winter 17 people have been killed by flu, including six children. Fourteen of the deaths are...

Links with pharmaceutical companies declared for 5 of 15 advisors on pandemic The World Health Organization has released the names of experts with ties to the pharmaceutical industry who advised the UN agency about the swine flu pandemic. Of the 15 experts the WHO used when deciding to designate the H1N1 outbreak a pandemic, six declared potential conflicts of interest, including receiving support from the pharmaceutical industry and vaccine manufacturers. The experts were from the fields of epidemiology, public health, international air travel and health and came from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin...

Swine flu will return in the winter and thousands of people could become infected, scientists have warned. By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor The pandemic is not over and the H1N1 virus is likely to return in the winter when flu would normally be expected, scientists have said. Despite the feeling that most people have already had the bug, even if they didn’t show symptoms, tests have shown that in some areas of the country 85 per cent have not yet contracted H1N1. Read more…

(Reuters) – The H1N1 swine flu virus can develop resistance quickly to antivirals used to treat it, U.S. doctors reported on Friday. Government researchers reported on the cases of two people with compromised immune systems who developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy. Read More…

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The H1N1 swine flu virus may have been new to humanity in many ways but in one key feature its closest relative was the 1918 pandemic virus, researchers reported on Wednesday. Their findings could point to better ways to design vaccines and help explain why the swine flu pandemic largely spared the elderly. Read More…

(Reuters) – The Dutch government wants to sell 21 million unused H1N1 flu vaccine doses back to their manufacturers after they proved unnecessary and no other country wanted to buy them, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. A spokeswoman for the ministry said it had approached manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis about buying back the doses. She added that it was not clear what their total value was. She also declined comment on the status of the talks, saying the ministry would inform parliament of the details at a later date. Read More…

Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor (Reuters) – First, people were clamoring for H1N1 vaccines, but there were not enough to go around. By the time vaccines were available in any quantity, most of the public had lost interest. And no one knew just how unpredictable the production of vaccines would turn out to be, top U.S. public health leaders agreed on Friday. Getting the U.S. public to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated was definitely one of the biggest challenges to managing the pandemic of H1N1 swine flu, speaker after speaker agreed at a conference on influenza regrets. Read...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 12,000 have died from H1N1 infection, far fewer than in a typical flu season. Other data suggest the pandemic is waning. By Thomas H. Maugh II An estimated 57 million Americans have contracted pandemic H1N1 influenza since the outbreak began last April, about 257,000 have been hospitalized with complications from it, and nearly 12,000 have died, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More…