The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice
In a jargon-laced statement August 10, World Health Organization director-general Dr. Margaret Chan declared an end to the Swine Flu pandemic.
The United Nations’ health organization head proclaimed that the "world is no longer in phase 6 of influenza pandemic alert" and that the H1N1 influenza virus had entered into a "post-pandemic period."
Intelligent Medical Devices Inc. won emergency clearance from the Food & Drug Administration for a test that can detect the presence of Swine Flu in about 90 minutes.
The Food & Drug Administration issues a pair of warnings to Millipore Corp. (NYSE:MIL) and Cardiac Sciences Corp. (NSDQ:CSCX) and put out a Class I recall of Synthes USA’s (SIX:SYST) Synex II vertebral implant.
Millipore warned on Swine Flu diagnostics claims
The FDA sent the Billerica, Mass.-based lab instruments maker a warning letter in September of last year about a promotional email the company sent out touting its influenza diagnostics.
Kissing under the mistletoe might be back on this Christmas, as long as whoever you’re kissing is a willing participant.
That’s because the threat of Swine Flu putting a damper on the holidays may be fading, according to Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE:DGX), which says that reports of the H1N1 influenza virus are down 75 percent since an October peak.
The Madison, N.J.-based company’s “H1N1 Testing in America: End of the Second Wave?” report follows similar news put out in November by Quest, which said then that Swine Flu peaked in October.
In its monthly “Health Trends” report released Nov. 20, researchers at Quest Diagnostics Inc. found that demand for the company’s 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test kit started to slide since Oct. 27. Positive test results also began to drop across most age groups and in most regions of the country, according to the report.
There were two important exceptions to the otherwise positive news. Infection rates continued to grow in the Northeast, more than doubling during the two weeks ended Nov. 10 compared with the prior two weeks. Swine Flu also remains a significant risk to older adults, with the rate of infection tripling in people over age 65 since late August, the study found.
GE Healthcare and the Centers For Disease Control struck a one-year deal to set up what the healthcare conglomerate calls a “real-time” monitor of Swine Flu activity in the United States.
Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. put some black ink on its balance sheet during the third quarter, logging a 22.1 percent increase in revenues compared with Q3 2008, largely on a jump in sales of its influenza diagnostic tests and contributions from acquisitions.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the use of Quest Diagnostics’ Simplexa 24-hour Swine Flu test on equipment made by 3M, in a move aimed at boosting lab capacity for the test during flu season.
Another study showing the ineffectiveness of rapid tests for Swine Flu has the Centers for Disease Control advising doctors and patients not to bother with the tests at all, the Reuters news service reported.
A study by researchers at Connecticut’s Greenwich Hospital and Greenwich Dept. of Health found that Thermo Fisher Scientific‘s Remel Xpect Flu A&B rapid test missed 53 percent of cases later confirmed by genetic tests.
There’s a group of ferrets carrying something particularly nasty in a Centers for Disease Control lab.
That’s where CDC researchers innoculated the animals with both the rare but deadly avian influenza strain and Swine Flu, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The idea is to determine whether the H1N1 influenza virus — the Swine Flu — is capable of re-assorting, or combining with another strain like the H5N1 avian virus.
Looking for a silver lining to that pesky pandemic?
London-based investment bank Barclays put out a note Thursday highlighting a handful of stocks poised for a boost if the H1N1 influenza virus outbreak is as serious as predicted this fall.
Using market data from the first wave of Swine Flu news back in April, analysts at Barclays came up with a list of stocks investors should consider buying and sectors to stay away from, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
