Presents medical news briefs as of January 13, 1999. The international campaign for improved prevention and treatment of influenza; Tobacco death toll in China; Pfizer Inc. and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to combat blinding trachoma in five developing nations; Suggestion that a simple, inexpensive treatment for myocardial infarction (MI) that was abandoned more than 20 years ago may deserve a second chance.