H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

May 21, 2010

Underlying risk factors common in UK deaths

(CIDRAP News) – If the trajectory of public opinion during the H1N1 influenza pandemic is any guide, safety worries and doubts about the severity of the disease threat may cause a good share of the public to shun vaccination the next time a pandemic emerges, according to a review of 10 months' worth of polls.

H1N1 review seeks confidential correspondence

(CIDRAP News) – An analysis of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, suggests that the government's initial policy of screening incoming travelers might have delayed the start of widespread community transmission of the virus by a few weeks.

May 18, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), opened in Geneva today with director-general Dr Margaret Chan praising the accomplishments of global partners with diseases such as smallpox and polio but noting that health officials got lucky with the pandemic H1N1 virus because it has not overwhelmed medical systems and is a good match with the vaccine.

May 17, 2010

(CIDRAP News) – Low levels of flu activity across the United States resemble a summer pattern, while globally only sporadic pandemic flu activity is occurring with the most active areas in parts of the Caribbean and Central America, according to updates today.

India approves pandemic vaccine
The pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila announced today it has gained approval from the drug controller general of India to become the first India-based firm to market a pandemic H1N1 vaccine in the country. The vaccine, VaxiFlu-S, will be marketed by Vaxxicare, part of a division of the company that focuses on preventives.