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South Korea may aid North Korea's flu fight
(CIDRAP News) Researchers who analyzed H1N1 influenza hospitalization and death data from the early months of the pandemic say the fall-winter phase of the contagion may bring fewer deaths than an average flu season, barring any changes that would make the virus more virulent, but the deaths are likely to be in younger age-groups.
Dec 9, 2009 (CIDRAP News) In an update of a review on the role of neuraminidase inhibitors in seasonal flu prevention and treatment, the authors reversed a previous conclusion that oseltamivir (Tamiflu) prevents complications like pneumonia in healthy patients because they were unable to reconstruct the data in one of the key studies that found a benefit.
Dec 7, 2009
(CIDRAP News) Preliminary studies indicate that the pandemic H1N1 vaccine is just as safe as seasonal flu vaccines and is very unlikely to increase the risk of the paralytic condition that derailed the 1976 swine flu vaccination campaign, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
Dec 4, 2009
(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization's (WHO's) top influenza expert said today it's too soon to judge whether the H1N1 influenza pandemic has passed its peak, though he acknowledged that cases are dropping in the United States and Canada.
Johns Hopkins finds resistant strain in 2 patients
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that oseltamivir (Tamiflu)-resistant pandemic H1N1 cases in hospital settings suggest that treatment doses may need to be increased in immunocompromised patients who have flu symptoms.
The agency made this statement after a teleconference with experts about two recent clusters of resistant cases. It also concluded that the events don't signal a public health threat.
Dec 2, 2009
(CIDRAP News) A second seasonal influenza vaccine made by Novartis was approved recently by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the company said some doses may reach the market this flu season.
(CIDRAP News) Decreasing pandemic flu activity and growing supplies of vaccine offer a window of opportunity for people to protect themselves from the virus, especially if the nation experiences a third wave of infections, Thomas Frieden, MD, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
Dec 1, 2009
Nov 30, 2009
(CIDRAP News) The number of states with widespread pandemic flu activity dropped for the third week in a row, but the virus continued to take a heavy toll on children, with at least 27 more pediatric deaths reported the week of Nov 15 to 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
(CIDRAP News) In a worrisome but not unexpected pandemic-related development, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that it is seeing a spike in serious pneumococcal disease, particularly in younger patients.
Nov 25, 2009
