Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – In an effort to gauge how pandemic vaccine messages are being received outside the Washington, DC, beltway, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yesterday held a tabletop exercise in Minneapolis and included participants from local media outlets and public health departments.

(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic flu activity continues its vigorous spread across the United States, with 48 states experiencing widespread activity and reports of 18 more deaths in children, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) –An official from the World Health Organization (WHO) today said he expects serious cases and deaths as pandemic flu activity picks up in the Northern Hemisphere, and he warned people not to underestimate the virus, even though illnesses are often mild.

(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic flu activity is now widespread in 46 states, five more than the previous week, causing an increasing number of school closures and starting to hit the young adult age-group harder, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has seen a change in the ethnic distribution of fatal pandemic H1N1 influenza cases, a CDC official reported at a meeting of its vaccine advisory committee today.

(CIDRAP News) – In a move designed to lighten the burden on emergency departments and clinics, Minnesota officials today unveiled a flu triage line staffed by nurses who can discuss symptoms with sick patients, suggest treatment steps, and prescribe an antiviral drug if the caller is in a high-risk category.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today confirmed the pandemic H1N1 flu virus in a sample from a Minnesota pig, marking the first detection of the virus in pigs in the United States.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today issued eagerly awaited recommendations on pandemic H1N1 infection control in healthcare settings, which affirms its earlier guidance on N-95 respirators but spells out other options for when the respirators are in short supply.

(CIDRAP News) – About half of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine coming from manufacturers is now injectable doses, and shipments are on their way to states to use this week alongside the nasal-spray version that is already available, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – A collection of new studies is demonstrating once again the ability of the pandemic H1N1 virus to make some people desperately sick and is raising questions about the potential strain on critical-care resources this fall and winter.