University efforts monitor the appearance of the H5N1 virus — more commonly known as "bird flu" — at live bird markets from around the state.  Prof. K. A. Schat studies the genome of the virus, which has the potential to mutate and infect humans.

Scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have developed a new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses — a virus commonly found in South Asia — which cause mortality in 70 to 80 percent of cases, says researchers. The viruses are potential agents of bioterror attacks, but research on them may provide the clue to improving vaccinations for measles, mumps and ebola.

In a journey starting from an ordinary dairy farm, Prof. David Putnam, biomedical engineering, has moved onto developing biomaterials, vaccines and drug delivery techniques for patients.

It is estimated that over one-fifth of Pakistan went under water during the July 2010 floods. While the floods left only an estimated 1500 dead, they left over 21 million individuals without homes, as a result of what United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called, “slow moving tsunami”.  The destruction of essential infrastructure created a dangerous atmosphere, where survivors now face potentially endemic diseases.  UNICEF estimates that over 3.5 million children run the risk of contracting a waterborne disease as an aftermath of the flood.

Most Americans feel the prick of a pertussis vaccination when they are as young as two months old.  While the medical community largely considered pertussis – or whooping cough – to be eliminated in 1976 (with less than 1,000 cases in the United States), the disease has resurged in Michigan, South Carolina, New York and California, where the outbreak has reached the level of an epidemic with 2,774 reported cases. 

A line of people spilled out of the Straight Memorial Room onto Ho Plaza, took a bend outside the Cornell Store and stretched all the way to McGraw Tower Friday. The line could be spotted for the entire day, when about 2,000 people received their seasonal flu shot.

Gannett Health Service’s vaccination clinic, the first opportunity for many Cornellians to receive a flu shot this semester, was the largest clinic Gannett had ever held, according to Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations at Gannett.

However, uncertainly over the arrival of additional vaccine may delay future clinics.