H1N1 2009 Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – A spokesman for Roche, the maker of oseltamivir (Tamiflu), said yesterday that Denmark's report of resistance to the drug in a patient with novel H1N1 (swine) influenza, the first reported finding of its kind, wasn't surprising and that the news underscores the importance of monitoring for any viral changes.

(CIDRAP News) – To outside observers, the novel H1N1 virus spreading quickly to every corner of the globe must seem like it came out of nowhere, but the organism is a fourth generation of the 1918 pandemic virus and comes from an H1N1 family tree that is colorful and complex, according to two historical reviews that appear today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

(CIDRAP News) – Novel H1N1 influenza can cause severe respiratory illness, profound lung damage, and death even in patients with no underlying conditions to make them vulnerable, a team of physicians from Mexico report in a rush article published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Jun 29, 2009

Editor's note: CIDRAP's Promising Practices: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Tools (www.publichealthpractices.org) online database showcases peer-reviewed practices, including useful tools to help others with their planning. This article is one of a series exploring the development of these practices. We hope that describing the process and context of these practices enhances pandemic planning.

(CIDRAP News) – An official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that the nation just saw its largest weekly increase in cases since the beginning of the novel flu outbreak and that the virus has so far been detected at 34 summer camps in 16 states.

Jun 26, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently provided a shield against damage claims related to the use of the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) in the current H1N1 influenza pandemic.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius signed a notice extending liability protection under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. It was published in the Federal Register on Jun 19.

(CIDRAP News) – Against the backdrop of a global struggle to solve a dispute related to H5N1 avian influenza virus sharing and an anxious watch over the novel H1N1 virus sweeping the globe, a new public database for sharing influenza genetic sequences is easing the flow of data and winning the support of a growing community of researchers and health officials, even some from countries that have sparred in the past over intellectual property rights.

Jun 25, 2009