Editor's Note: CIDRAP's Promising Practices: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Tools (www.pandemicpractices.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) A study of the blood of older people who survived the 1918 influenza pandemic reveals that antibodies to the strain have lasted a lifetime and can perhaps be engineered to protect future generations against similar strains.
(CIDRAP News) Scientists have warned it's impossible to predict which avian influenza virus will spark the next pandemic, and while most of the attention has been on highly pathogenic H5N1, one research group is reporting new findings that raise concerns about the threat from the low-pathogenic H9N2 virus.
(CIDRAP News) A new report from the British government ranks pandemic influenza very high on the list of major security threats to the United Kingdom.
(CIDRAP News) Two pharmaceutical companies that are developing a second-generation version of the inhaled antiviral drug zanamivir (Relenza) reported promising phase 2 results showing that one dose was as effective against influenza as a course of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
(CIDRAP News) Despite a wide range of pandemic planning guidance documents from federal and private groups, states say they still need more information from federal officials, particularly on community mitigation measures, fatality management, and supporting medical surge efforts, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported recently.
(CIDRAP News) – A recent survey of nursing homes in two states found that fewer than half had a plan for coping with pandemic influenza, according to a report in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
(CIDRAP News) Federal health officials today released their official guidance on allocating vaccine during an influenza pandemic, with few changes from a previous draft that put military personnel, critical health and emergency workers, pregnant women, and small children at the head of the line.
(CIDRAP News) A study from Indiana reveals a long list of problems hampering county-level planning for pandemic influenza, ranging from misunderstanding of the threat and lack of coordination and resources to rivalry between hospital systems.
Editor's Note: CIDRAP's Public Health Practices online database showcases expert-reviewed practices, including useful tools to help others. 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 and response.
