News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers who took a detailed look at 2009 H1N1 deaths in Mexico, where the virus was first detected, found that the new flu virus was more deadly than most seasonal flu epidemics and more lethal than in other countries, which confirms impressions early in the pandemic that the disease was worse in Mexico.

(CIDRAP News) – Few US states have addressed ethical issues surrounding pandemic flu preparedness in recent years, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.

Also, the study authors found, states that have tackled the issues have focused rather narrowly, typically on allocating scarce hospital resources, while virtually ignoring such issues as community engagement surrounding isolation and quarantine plans.

(CIDRAP News) – Listeria monocytogenes found in samples of Jensen Farms cantaloupe from a sick patient's home and from retail outlets have the same genetic fingerprint as the strain that has sickened several patients in the outbreak, Colorado health officials have reported.