Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – Norwegian scientists today reported a pandemic H1N1 virus mutation that appears to be associated with severe disease, but a leading US flu expert said global data on the mutation don't show a clear connection with severe illness.

(CIDRAP News) – A laboratory at Hong Kong University (HKU) detected a reassortant made up of a swine influenza virus and the pandemic H1N1 virus in a sample obtained from a slaughterhouse pig as part of a surveillance program, officials announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Racial minority groups have been more heavily impacted by pandemic H1N1 flu hospitalizations, with severe illness during the fall wave hitting American Indian and Alaska Native populations especially hard, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in an update.

(CIDRAP News) – Some of the nation's emergency departments are noting increases in flu-like illness cases that appear to be pandemic H1N1, and colleges are reporting the first increase in flu-like illness since the end of November, but it's not clear if these are early signs of a third pandemic flu wave.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization's (WHO's) emergency committee of experts yesterday recommended holding at the current pandemic alert level based on evidence of new community spread of the virus in West Africa and the possibility of a second wave of illnesses as the Southern Hemisphere enters its winter months.

(CIDRAP News) – Given signs that the pandemic H1N1 virus will continue its dominance over other flu strains, the World Health Organization (WHO) today recommended adding the pandemic strain as the H1N1 component of the seasonal flu vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere's next flu season.

(CIDRAP News) – As pandemic flu activity across the nation wanes, federal health officials are already reviewing the government's response and lessons learned to help blunt the impact of the next national public health emergency, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – Employees without paid sick days were more likely to work when they were sick during the peak of the fall pandemic wave and may have extended the outbreak by infecting their coworkers, according to a research group.

(CIDRAP News) – With pandemic flu activity continuing to ease except in a few hot spots, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today it will convene its emergency group of experts at the end of the month to discuss a move to the post-peak phase of the pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) reported today that 225 cases of H1N1 flu with resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) have been found worldwide, and resistant viruses have spread from person to person in several clusters but have not spilled into the community.