News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A new study suggests that a lab-derived hybrid H5N1 influenza virus that is capable of airborne transmission among ferrets may well be capable of doing the same thing in humans.

(CIDRAP News) – The United Kingdom today released an update of its flu pandemic plan, which for the first time addresses three varying levels of impact.

The revision updates the region's 2007 plan, and many of the changes revolve around lessons learned during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the latest scientific evidence, the Department of Health said in a press release.

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers who combed through scores of serologic studies estimate that the global cumulative incidence of pandemic H1N1 influenza infection before vaccines became available was probably below 20%, far lower than the 50% that pandemic planners had envisioned as a possible worst case.

(CIDRAP News) – The US House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved legislation to renew and fine-tune a 2006 law that has been credited with significantly improving the nation's preparedness for public health emergencies.

(CIDRAP News) – A five-country study from Europe indicates that the use of adjuvanted vaccines against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus probably did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), but the investigators could not firmly rule out a slightly greater chance of suffering the paralytic condition.

(CIDRAP News) – Health officials in the United Kingdom today released proposed revisions to its pandemic preparedness strategy, which take into account lessons learned during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, such as a need for flexible plans covering a range of severity scenarios.