*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of February 7, 2010
International News
A study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research has found that people who were not offered paid sick leave by their employers were more likely to show up for work when ill. Because these people often wind up infecting their co-workers, this may have caused an additional 7 million pandemic H1N1 infection cases and extended the outbreak. The study used data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and compared employment sectors that offer universal paid sick days to staff with sectors that do not. According to researchers, the “results suggest that the vast majority of employees infected with H1N1 would have stayed home if that were a viable option.” University of Minnesota CIDRAP
Vaccine News
British medical researchers at Oxford University and Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies have discovered a way to keep virus vaccines stable without refrigeration. The World Health Organization estimates it currently spends $200 million per year keeping vaccines refrigerated as they travel from manufacturer to patient. Maintenance of this “cold-chain” constitutes about 20% of each vaccination’s cost. However Matt Cottingham, who led the research project, says this new, relatively cheap and simple process can “greatly reduce cost and hugely improve access to vaccines. You could even picture someone with a backpack taking vaccine doses on a bike into remote villages." Reuters
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