Federal researchers have found antibodies to the 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) flu virus in almost three fourths of sea otters they tested that were from off the coast of Washington state, according to a letter today in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Canadian scientists may have solved the mystery of low vaccine efficacy against the H3N2 strain.
China reported one new H7N9 infection today, as well as a death from the virus in a previously confirmed patient. Both are from Guangdong province, according to a health department statement translated and posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
A 2-year-old Cambodian girl has died from H5N1 avian flu, the country's ninth case this year, according to a joint statement today from Cambodia's Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The girl, from Kandal village in Kampot province, which borders Vietnam in southern Cambodia, developed a fever on Mar 8. She was admitted to a private clinic on Mar 10 and to Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh on Mar 13.
Libya's agriculture ministry today reported the country's first highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, according to a report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Study says this year's vaccine provided moderate protection against serious flu outcomes.
Connecticut children had lower rates of serious flu illness after shots were mandated in licensed centers.
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel today made its recommendation on strains to include for the next flu season vaccine. The move is part of a process that the Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) conducts to review the most current flu strains, surveillance, and updates on vaccine performance, uptake, and manufacturing.
CDC advisory panel defers action on recommending the nasal-spray flu vaccine in children.
The CDC says this year's vaccine yields 61% protection and that working-age adults have been hit hard by the flu.
