H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – With most Americans already possessing some degree of immunity to the 2009 H1N1 virus, the history of pandemics suggests that it's not very likely to make a big comeback anytime soon, according to three experts at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Sep 27, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity is showing a late-season flourish in some parts of the Southern Hemisphere, such as Chile, where levels in some areas exceed last year's pandemic peak, and in parts of Australia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its most rent influenza update.

Sep 24, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – The European Medicine Agency (EMA) said today it is not clear if there is any link between narcolepsy cases and the Pandemrix vaccine for 2009 H1N1 influenza, and it will take 3 to 6 months to investigate the possibility fully.

Sep 23, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – Coming a month after federal officials released a blueprint for overhauling the nation's civilian biodefense program, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the award of eight contracts worth up to $100 million to modernize and speed the development of countermeasures against natural and man-made disease threats.

Sep 20, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued new guidance for preventing flu in healthcare settings that reflects a year's worth of new information about the 2009 H1N1 virus and recommends surgical masks rather than N-95 respirators when providing routine care for flu patients.

(CIDRAP News) – The 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine generated more adverse-event reports than recent seasonal flu vaccines, but this was probably due in part to heavy publicity, and the vaccine's safety profile appears similar to that of seasonal vaccines, according to a new analysis by federal scientists.