Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – A coalition of health policy groups today offered a "good news, bad news" evaluation of the US response to the novel H1N1 influenza epidemic so far.

The good news: The experience has shown that years of pandemic preparation have paid dividends, particularly with regard to coordination, communication, antiviral drugs, and vaccine development.

(CIDRAP News) – The global novel H1N1 influenza situation is drawing closer to the status of a true pandemic but is not there yet, the World Health Organization's (WHO's) lead spokesman on the issue said today.

"Globally we believe we're in phase 5 but are getting closer to phase 6," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO assistant director-general for health security and the environment, referring to the WHO's pandemic alert phases.

(CIDRAP News) – In response to concerns from various governments about the possible effects of declaring a full-scale influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) will call on outside experts to consider whether to revise the agency's definitions of pandemic alert phases, a WHO official announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Assembly ended today with no indication that the World Health Organization (WHO) would raise the pandemic alert level from 5 to 6, which sparked questions about why the group is holding back in the face of mounting global numbers of those infected with the novel H1N1 influenza virus.

(CIDRAP News) – In a search for factors that may give some patients a protective edge against novel H1N1 influenza, researchers said today that adults, especially those older than 60, appear to have some cross-antibody response but that seasonal influenza vaccines appear unlikely to offer any protection.

(CIDRAP News) – A federal influenza expert said today that the novel H1N1 flu virus seems to spread at about the same rate as seasonal flu viruses do, even though much of the population is believed to have little or no immunity to the virus.

(CIDRAP News) – In a first early look at trends in patients who have been hospitalized with novel influenza H1N1infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that all but one of a group of 30 patients presented with fever and that about two thirds of them had an underlying medical condition.

(CIDRAP News) – A new report from a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group predicts that global production of vaccine for the novel H1N1 influenza virus could be as much as 4.9 billon doses a year, far higher than previous estimates.

(CIDRAP News) – As the World Health Organization (WHO) convened its annual meeting today, several countries urged the agency to use caution in weighing whether to declare a full-scale pandemic, despite signs that the novel H1N1 influenza virus is now spreading in Japan.

(CIDRAP News) – An official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today that novel H1N1 influenza is expanding across the country, with 22 states reporting widespread or regional illnesses.