Experts in Hong Kong are reporting that the human H5N1 strain which surfaced in northern Vietnam this year had proved to be resistant to Tamiflu (generic name, oseltamivir). “There are now resistant H5N1 strains appearing, and we can’t totally rely on one drug (Tamiflu),” William Chui, honorary associate professor with the department of pharmacology at [...]

Sir Liam Donaldson, UK’s chief medical officer, has said that it is a “biological inevitability” that a flu pandemic will hit the United Kingdom badly, this according to BBC News. He also added that the UK’s contingency plans are based on 50,000 Britons dying from flu. The problem is one of predicting when it will [...]

According to new satellite imagery, the sea ice in the Arctic is melting considerably faster as the air temperatures in the region rises sharply. And the climate change seems unnervingly sudden – average air temperatures across most of the Arctic region from January to August 2005 were as much as 5.4 degrees warmer than average [...]

Dr David Nabarro, a top United Nations public health expert has warned that a new influenza pandemic could kill as many as 150 million people and could hit at any time. He is calling on governments to take immediate action to address the threat. “We expect the next influenza pandemic to come at any time [...]

Data released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Boulder, Colorado shows that Arctic ice has shrunk for the fourth consecutive year. Mark Serreze, speaking to BBC News, said: “September 2005 will set a new record minimum in the amount of Arctic sea ice cover. It’s the least sea ice we’ve seen in [...]