News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Two of China's provinces today reported three more H7N9 influenza infections, while another province awaits test results for what may be its first case, according to official and media reports today.

(CIDRAP News) – A new analysis of H7N9 genetic sequences from the first Chinese patients infected with the virus and from poultry markets found more signals that the virus can attach and replicate efficiently in the airways of humans and other mammals, raising concerns about the virus's pandemic potential.

(CIDRAP News) – A human isolate of the novel H7N9 influenza virus from China—needed for the development of diagnostic test kits and related efforts—is expected to arrive at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within 2 days, a CDC official said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese health officials yesterday announced three severe respiratory infections, two of them fatal, from H7N9 influenza, a subtype that has not been known to infect humans before.

(CIDRAP News) – The nation's flu markers show that the flu has probably peaked, though many states are still reporting plenty of infections and hospitalizations, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Though the percentage of doctors' visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) is still above baselines in all regions of the country, the overall national level fell from 3.6% to 3.2% last week, according to the CDC.

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers in other countries have found evidence that circulating strains of Bordetella pertussis have adapted to the acellular vaccine, and researchers today reported similar findings for the first time in US kids, based on genetic analysis of isolates from hospitalized children.