News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – US influenza policy experts who gathered in Washington, DC, today called for better vaccines and other steps for improving pandemic and seasonal flu preparedness, themes echoed in an action plan released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

(CIDRAP News) – Saying current treatment practices vary widely, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) today released lengthy guidelines for treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, which the group said now account for most of the skin infections that send people to emergency rooms.

(CIDRAP News) – One third of US adults aged 65 and older are not vaccinated against pneumonia, according to a national report that describes them as representative of millions of adult Americans who are vulnerable to diseases that can be forestalled by vaccines.

(CIDRAP News) – Studies published today confirm that influenza A/H1N1 viruses have become widely resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), the leading flu drug, without losing their ability to make people sick—thereby underlining the need for new antiviral drugs.

(CIDRAP News) – An analysis of historical records in 43 US cities indicates that the early use of nonpharmaceutical measures, such as isolating the sick and banning public gatherings, saved lives in the influenza pandemic of 1918-19.