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Cholesterol drugs may boost survival from flu, study finds
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A new treatment for H1N1 flu may already be on pharmacy shelves -- cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor.
A large study -- involving 2,800 people in 2007-2008 -- found that people who were taking these drugs when they caught seasonal flu and had to be hospitalized were twice as likely to survive than those who were not on such medicines.
This doesn't prove that statins can cure flu, or that starting on them after catching the flu would help. A federal study is underway now to test that. Doctors are optimistic, because previous studies also found that statins may improve survival from infectious diseases.
SAUDIS WORK TO HEAD OFF FLU AT HAJJ
Some of the millions who travel to Saudi Arabia next month for the annual hajj will be greeted with face masks, hand sanitizer and fever checks as health officials strive to stem the spread of swine flu during the world's largest pilgrimage.
The Saudi health ministry, aided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is setting up an emergency operations center to get real-time reports from area hospitals and clinics to track how many are sick and will need the stockpiled anti-viral medication.
The density of the 2.5 million pilgrims, with shoulder-to-shoulder contact as they pray, provides "a perfect transmission atmosphere" for the H1N1 flu, said the CDC's Dr. Shahul Ebrahim and Dr. Ziad Memish, the Saudi deputy health minister.
Saudi health officials during the summer urged children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic diseases to postpone this year's trek.
OBAMA GIRLS NOT FIRST FOR SHOTS
With dad a world leader, Malia and Sasha Obama surely could have been first in line when H1N1 vaccinations began. They weren't, the White House says. But that hasn't stopped complaints that President Obama's daughters got preferential treatment.
Snarky comments began popping up on blogs and other online sites after Tuesday's announcement the girls got vaccinated last week. Children are one of the high-risk groups the government says should get the vaccine first. Even then, the Obama girls got their vaccine at least two weeks after the first Americans received their shots.
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