News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A new norovirus variant that emerged in Australia last year has been the leading cause of norovirus outbreaks in United States over the past few months, and federal health officials today warned that illnesses could increase in the months ahead.

(CIDRAP News) – New seasonal flu viruses can launch from one of many world urban centers, not just from tropical areas in Southeast and East Asia, as previously thought, a research group reported yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – Australian public health officials yesterday reported a cluster of oseltamivir (Tamiflu)-resistant 2009 H1N1 infections, one of the largest to date, centered in one region of New South Wales state.

(CIDRAP News) – Novel H1N1 influenza outbreaks are starting to wane in the southern hemisphere, and while most cases are still mild, clinicians are reporting some severe cases of viral pneumonia in young, previously healthy people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – As the World Health Organization (WHO) convened its annual meeting today, several countries urged the agency to use caution in weighing whether to declare a full-scale pandemic, despite signs that the novel H1N1 influenza virus is now spreading in Japan.