Join the 'Influenza A' group to help and get support from people like you. How it works
Influenza A Blog
| Tweet |
New Flu Discovered in Guatemalan Fruit Bats
Posted 28 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 – A new influenza A virus has been discovered in Guatemalan fruit bats, according to scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the bat flu does not currently pose a threat to humans, the CDC team cautioned that more research is needed to determine if the virus could be a possible source of human flu. "This is the first time an influenza virus has been identified in bats, but in its current form the virus is not a human health issue," study lead author Dr. Suxiang Tong, team leader of the Pathogen Discovery Program in the CDC's viral diseases division, said in a CDC news release. "The study is important because the research has identified a new animal species that may act as a source of flu viruses." For the bat flu to affect humans, the investigators pointed out that it would have to swap genetic information with another flu virus, ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza A
Study Finds Two-Seat 'Hot Zone' for Flu Spread on Planes
Posted 15 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, June 15 – During the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009, some people stopped flying out of fear of catching the virus while in the close quarters of an airplane cabin, but a new study shows that the "danger zone" for flu transmission is just a two-seat circumference around where you are sitting. It had been thought that this hot zone was much larger, according to research published in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists tracked illnesses among passengers on two long flights to Australia in May 2009, where several passengers were known to be infected with H1N1. Passengers were surveyed three months after arrival about any flu-like symptoms. Two percent of passengers had a flu-like illness during flight, and 5 percent (32) developed such an illness the week after they arrived at their ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis
U.S. Flu Season Picking Up, CDC Reports
Posted 17 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 17 – The flu season got off to a slow start in the United States last fall, but is now circulating in all 50 states and widespread in 37, health officials report. Pediatric deaths from flu tripled in the past month, jumping from 10 early in January to 30 by Feb. 5, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We still have a lot of flu out there," said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. "We saw activity really start to pick up in December, and it has continued through January into February, which is normal," he said. Outpatient doctor visits because of flu increased steadily from January to February, according to the report in the Feb. 18 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report covers the period from Oct. 3, 2010, to Feb. 5, 2011. While it's too early for exact numbers, the flu, which usually peaks in February, contributed to 8 ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza A
Deadly Hybrid Flu Possible
Posted 22 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 22 – Research in mice suggests the avian flu virus and the ordinary seasonal flu virus could combine to create a new deadly kind of flu, researchers say. A single bit of genetic material from the seasonal virus converted the avian flu – officially known as H5N1 – into a very dangerous form, the scientists report in a study published in the Feb. 22-26 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Some hybrids between H5N1 virus and seasonal influenza viruses were more pathogenic than the original H5N1 viruses. That is worrisome," study senior author Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a news release. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, has killed 262 people, according to the World Health Organization, but it hasn't become very infectious between people. The researchers warn that swine flu – H1N1 – ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Avian Influenza, Influenza A
School Kids, Parents Should Get Flu Vaccines First
Posted 12 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 20 – The best way to stop the spread of flu, be it the seasonal flu or swine flu, is to vaccinate those most likely to spread the virus, namely school children and their parents, new research suggests. These recommendations run counter to those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which call for targeting those most likely to develop complications from flu or die, say scientists at Clemson University and Yale University School of Medicine. "If there is a moderate amount of vaccine available, the ideal thing to do is vaccinate schoolchildren and people their parent's age," said lead researcher Jan Medlock, an assistant professor in the department of mathematical sciences at Clemson. "This would then indirectly protect the rest of the population. "Stopping the transmission in schools would then keep the kids from bringing it home to their parents, and ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis
Short School Closures Won't Shut Down Flu
Posted 8 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 8 – Schools need to be closed for at least eight weeks during an influenza epidemic to significantly reduce infection rates, according to a new study. Closing schools for less than two weeks, it found, has little effect. The findings stem from a series of computer simulations of flu transmission in Allegheny County, Pa. – the Pittsburgh area – conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Health Department and RTI International. During the current H1N1 swine flu pandemic, school closures have been used as a way to slow or halt the spread of the disease. Hundreds of schools across the United States were closed at different periods in 2009. "Since children are more susceptible to most influenza strains than adults, closing schools seems an obvious strategy to slow the spread of flu," Philip C. Cooley, assistant director of bioinformatics at ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis
Cholesterol Drugs May Help Prevent Flu Deaths
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 29 – Statins, frequently used to cut cholesterol levels, may also help prevent death from severe flu, a new study suggests. According to the researchers, a growing body of evidence suggests that statins – which include medicines such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor – can reduce death from severe infections. Whether they help with flu, however, has been more uncertain. "Statins may have a role in reducing mortality from influenza, but our findings do not justify broader use of statins without confirming these findings in the setting of randomized controlled trials," said study author Dr. Ann R. Thomas, from the Emerging Infections Program at the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division in Portland. "Statins may have a benefit, in conjunction with vaccine and antivirals, in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with influenza, likely due to their ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Simvastatin, Lipitor, Crestor, Pravastatin, Zocor, Lovastatin, Swine Influenza, Atorvastatin, Rosuvastatin, Red Yeast Rice, Pravachol, Lescol, Lescol XL, Influenza A
Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Might Fight Swine Flu
Posted 29 May 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 29 – Scientists are exploring the possibility that drugs that affect the immune system might one day serve as potent weapons to fight the flu, even the swine flu that's currently circulating around the globe. The concept has worked with a group of lab mice that were treated with the rheumatoid arthritis drug abatacept (Orencia) after being given a lethal dose of influenza A virus, researchers report. The mice were also loaded up with "memory" T-cells – white blood cells that were programmed to react to this strain of flu. Eighty percent of the treated mice lived, compared to only 50 percent of those left untreated, said Donna Farber, senior author of a paper published in the June 1 issue of The Journal of Immunology. Basically, the drug enabled infection-fighting "memory" T cells to fight off the initial infection, but prevented them from overactivating the immune system, ... Read more
Related support groups: Orencia, Influenza A
Pregnant Women Should Take Flu Drugs Promptly
Posted 13 May 2009 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, May 13 – U.S. health officials said Tuesday that they're seeing some complications among pregnant women as the swine flu continues to spread across the country, and that this high-risk group needs to take antivirals as soon as infection is suspected. "Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications of influenza, whether it's the seasonal influenza or pandemics of the past. We are also seeing some severe complications in women with this year's novel H1N1 virus," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's interim deputy director for science and public health program, said during an afternoon teleconference. The CDC is investigating 20 cases of pregnant women with the swine flu, several of whom experienced complications, Schuchat said. Complications can include pneumonia, dehydration and premature birth. "It is very important that doctors who ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Tamiflu, Influenza A, Relenza
Universal Flu Vaccine Shows Promise
Posted 27 Apr 2009 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 27 – A new, universal flu vaccine might protect against serious complications and death from different strains of flu, Saint Louis University researchers report. This type of vaccine could prove important in protecting people against flu outbreaks, such as the current swine flu crisis. Currently, new vaccines have to be developed each flu season to match circulating influenza strains. Adding a universal vaccine to a seasonal vaccine would boost protection against strains of influenza as they change each year, Dr. Robert Belshe, director of the university's Center for Vaccine Development, said in a school news release. They tested a vaccine made from the strains of influenza viruses A and B on 377 healthy adults. The volunteers received three injections of the Bivalent Influenza Peptide Conjugate Vaccine (BIPCV) over six months. The low dose of the vaccine was ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Influenza A, Influenza Prophylaxis