Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – A special committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is studying questions about the role of equipment such as masks, gowns, and gloves in protecting healthcare workers during an influenza pandemic and is expected to release a report in September.

(CIDRAP News) – A recent study has raised expectations that simple surgical masks might offer a reasonably good substitute for N-95 respirators for healthcare workers seeking protection from airborne viruses, but others say the study is seriously flawed.

(CIDRAP News) – A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel today recommended that the agency approve the nation's first H5N1 influenza vaccine, despite new evidence that the vaccine is less protective than reported in a clinical trial last year.

(CIDRAP News) – The nation's largest public health group, the American Public Health Association (APHA), yesterday released recommendations aimed at strengthening existing federal strategies for pandemic preparedness and encouraging local officials and businesses to play key roles.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today reported "encouraging progress" on development of H5N1 avian influenza vaccines, while cautioning that global capacity to make the vaccines remains very limited.

Following a 2-day meeting of vaccine experts in Geneva, the WHO said new vaccines aimed at various strains of H5N1—considered the likeliest candidate to spark a flu pandemic—look promising.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Labor (DOL) has introduced workplace health guidelines to help businesses understand their pandemic influenza risks and what they need to do to prepare.

(CIDRAP News) – Predictions and observations at this week's conference on business preparedness for pandemic influenza ran the gamut from how fast a pandemic would circle the globe to how well the Internet would hold up, with many topics in between.

(CIDRAP News) – The Bush administration's new budget proposes adding funds for pandemic preparedness while cutting some support for bioterrorism and local preparedness, drawing mixed reviews from national public health groups.

(CIDRAP News) – Orlando, FL – As businesses develop pandemic preparedness plans, they need to cut through a "fog" of uncertainty about exactly what pandemic influenza will look like and how their companies will be able to respond to it, infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, said at a summit in Orlando Monday.

(CIDRAP News) – Indonesia, the country that has seen more human deaths from avian influenza H5N1 than any other, has ceased sharing viruses isolated from its patients with international health authorities, challenging the global system for flu-strain identification and vaccine development.