►December 2003 - Evaluation of clinical and immunological effects of inactivated influenza vaccine in children with asthma - journal article (Pediatric Allergy and Immunology)

►February 2004 - Impact of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines on otitis media - journal article (Current Opinion in Pediatrics) 

►February 7, 2004 - Increased susceptitibility to adverse effects from vaccinations (pdf) - by Teresa Binstock - submitted to the IOM Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism, to be held February 9, 2004

►February 7, 2004 - Israeli vaccine on trial that might foil the flu - Jerusalem Post Internet Edition - "If clinical trials on an Israeli-developed nose drop vaccine for influenza prove as successful as those that are nearing completion on mice, people of all ages will be protected for five years against all present and future strains of the flu."

►February 5, 2004 - Special-needs children to be focus of seminars - The Journal News

►February 6, 2004 - A sweet victory in North Salem - The Journal News

►February 7, 2004 - State Lawmakers Tackle Mercury Pollution - www.wbbm780.com - "May says the bill would ban the sale of mercury thermostats, switches, and relays. It would also require manufacturers to notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency of mercury-added products sold...The state is also expected to require power plants and factories to limit their mercury emissions."

►February 7, 2004 - New Treatment For Autism: An I-Team Report - www.wnem.com

►February 5, 2004 - High School Focus: One Of The Guys - The Modesto Bee

►February 6, 2004 - Commentary: Float and termination of rumors about bird flu - Bird flu has been attacking and harassing some Asian countries and regions, over the past few days, suspected and highly pathogenic bird flu epidemic has also occurred in many Chinese provinces and cities one after another. Meanwhile, rumors about bird flu have surfaced one after another at home and abroad. However, this time rumors have found no market. - People's Daily, China

►February 6, 2004 - WHO: Evidence not enough to prove bird flu infection in pigs - Xinhuanet via China View

►February 7, 2004 - Bird Flu Detected in U.S. as Virus Wanes in Asia - Reuters - "The first case of bird flu appeared in the United States just as hard-hit Thailand said it hoped to clear the last outbreak of an epidemic that has killed 18 people and decimated poultry flocks across Asia...More than 12,000 chickens have been quarantined in the U.S. state of Delaware and are due to be destroyed after they were found to have a strain of the virus which differs from the one that has killed people in Thailand and Vietnam, the Delaware State News reported on its Web site."

►February 7, 2004 - When viruses start jumping - Deadly diseases can leap across the gap between species with very little warning - Taipei Times

Comment:  And yet we have blithely used animal cell cultures for vaccines and other biologicals, with no apparent concern for them crossing the so-called "species barrier".  For more on this, go to Scandals: On "mad cows" and sick monkeys: From the people who brought you SV40 in vaccines.... and Scandals: Concern About Bird Flu But Indifference to Using Avian Cell Cultures To Create Vaccines, Including Flu Vaccine

►February 7, 2004 - Skin's immunity helped with a little stress - Medical News Today - "A series of studies in rats and mice suggests that short bouts of stress increase the skin's ability to fight infections and heal minor wounds...The immune response of animals exposed to acute stress – about two hours of restraint – was two to four times higher compared to non-stressed animals...This was true when the animals' skin was treated with chemical or protein antigens immediately after a stressful event. An antigen is any substance that the immune system reacts to by producing cells and antibodies...Stress plus exposure to the antigen triggered an immune response that remained strong for weeks to several months later, when the animals were re-exposed to the irritant without further restraint."

►February 7, 2004 - Short Bouts of Stress Boosts Immunity - UPI via COMTEX via WTOP News

►February 3, 2004 - Thai boy's bird flu death leaves somber questions - USA Today

►February 7, 2004 - WHO Examines Bird Flu Transmission - World Health Organization Rules Out Person-To-Person Transmission of Bird Flu in Vietnam - AP via ABC News - "The World Health Organization said the bird flu virus that killed two Vietnamese sisters did not contain human genes, meaning there is still no sign the virus sweeping Asia has mutated into a new, more contagious form."

►February 6, 2004 - United States: Drug Effective for Resistant Hepatitis B - Reuters Health via www.aegis.org

►February 6, 2004 - Lunch workshop at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting - Anti-interferon Beta Antibodies in MS Care: A Consensus - www.ketchum.com via www.eurekalert.org

►February 6, 2004 - Beef cattle and fish oil a healthy concoction - The New Zealand Herald

►February 7, 2004 - DOH: 470 CAR barangay are malaria-endemic -  www.sunstar.com.ph

►February 6, 2004 - Harvard Affiliates Discover Possible SARS Cure - Research team finds - The Crimson Daily

►February 6, 2004 - National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness And Information Day Is February 7 - NIH via www.intelihealth.com

►February 5, 2004 - Should U.S. follow U.K. on mad cow? - The Seattle Times