Aidryane's blog

As the Bush administration puts the final touches on a massive response plan for a potential avian flu pandemic, experts -- including top-level administration officials -- are predicting that if and when the avian flu reaches American shores, it's not likely to be the disaster most once feared.

"It is impossible to predict whether we're going to have an H5N1 [the current strain of avian flu] pandemic and, if so, how severe it's going to be," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told HealthDay.  Read More »

As the fear of a potential bird flu pandemic mounts, researchers have used a computer model to figure out the best way of controlling a pandemic should it occur.

According to their model, fast treatment and isolation of infected cases and all their household contacts would be key to effective control of any flu outbreak. The model looks at a potential flu pandemic in both the United States and Great Britain.  Read More »

French researchers report that a preliminary vaccine for the H5N1 strain of bird flu appears to be safe and produced an immune response in healthy people.

It's not clear, however, that the vaccine would work in a real-life situation, or if it would be effective against other strains of bird, or avian, flu.

"The measures we used for the immune response are those used for the seasonal vaccine and there's quite a lot of data that suggest that these measures are likely to represent an effective vaccine," said Dr. Melanie Saville, co-author of the study and influenza franchise leader for clinical development at Sanofi Pasteur in Marcy l'Etoile, France.  Read More »

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America, a made-for-TV film that experts say played fast and loose with both biology and reality, has prompted U.S. health officials to note that the production was little more than a flight of fancy in the Hollywood tradition.

According to ABC, which broadcast the movie Tuesday night, it was a dramatization of a worst-case scenario. "It is a Hollywood account that exaggerates and condenses events to create an exciting story," the network said in a statement.  Read More »

If and when a bird flu pandemic occurs, experts estimate there will be only enough vaccine to protect one in every 10 Americans.

Now, an essay in the May 12 issue of Science is heating up the debate on who that lucky 10 percent should be.

Countering the federal government's policy of placing the elderly near the top of the list, two medical ethicists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) say that after doling out the vaccine to essential health workers, people between 13 and 40 years of age should be next in line to receive the shot.  Read More »

When you get injured or have surgery, you expect to hurt for a while, but you know that in time, you'll heal and the pain will leave. If you have a medical condition — from arthritis to heart disease to shingles — you recognize discomfort as a symptom and trust that treatment will help. While you wait for your body to mend, pain medication provides relief.  Read More »

1)Clean up. This is often one of the least expensive yet most significant things you can do to improve the look of your home. Simply picking up the front yard, putting away unused items such as lawn furniture or other random items, and cleaning up the driveway can make a world of difference.

2) Prune and plant. Cleaning up your landscaping is another relatively easy step. Start by pruning trees and shrubs to enhance their beauty. Then do some planting. Use trees to create majesty and focal points. Tall shrubs can frame and accent interesting features of your house and yard, and conceal unsightly garbage cans, structures, and the like. Low plants and groundcover tie everything together.  Read More »

Former Rep. Gillespie V. “Sonny” Montgomery, who during his 30 years in Congress pushed through a modernized GI Bill that boosted recruiting for the all-volunteer force, died Friday. He was 85.Montgomery, who underwent surgery to correct a bowel obstruction in December, died at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center in his native Meridian after a lengthy illness, said Kyle Steward, the former congressman’s spokesman.  Read More »