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'Bird' Flu May Be More Common in Humans, But Less Deadly
Posted 23 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 23 – The avian flu, which killed almost 60 percent of those known to be infected, actually struck many more people worldwide but didn't make them very sick, a new analysis finds. The actual fatality rate of the H5N1 flu strain, therefore, is probably less than 60 percent considering that millions of people may have been infected over the past eight years, the researchers report. The analysis results confirm earlier findings, said one expert, Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at New York University. It's still not clear how fatal the strain actually is, but the research "emphasizes that H5N1 is not as deadly in humans as is being proposed by some people," said Siegel, author of Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic. Siegel added that he doesn't think "this particular virus is going to mutate to go easily from human to human. ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Avian Influenza
How Did Generation X Respond to the H1N1 'Swine' Flu Epidemic?
Posted 24 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 24 – Only about one in five American adults aged 36 to 39 got a flu shot during the H1N1 swine flu epidemic of 2009-2010, even though about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the disease and nearly 60 percent claimed to follow the issue moderately or very closely. That's the finding of a University of Michigan report detailing how this age group monitored the epidemic and what they did to protect themselves and their families. The analysis of data collected from almost 3,000 young adults during the outbreak also showed that those with young children at home were most concerned and most likely to follow the news about the epidemic. Overall, young adults were most likely to get information about the epidemic from friends, co-workers and family members. But their most-trusted sources of information were doctors, followed by the U.S. National Institutes of ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Vaccination and Prophlaxis
Flu Season Off to Slow Start, So Far
Posted 18 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 – Could this be the flu season that wasn't? After the H1N1-linked drama of prior years, the low number of cases of influenza currently circulating in the United States is reassuring, experts said. But that doesn't mean the virus couldn't still become the wily foe it so often is, they added. "If you look at the nation as a whole, we are seeing low activity across the country," said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. He stressed, however, that flu season generally peaks in the first couple of months of the year. "As we move to February, we expect that activity will increase," Skinner added. Health-care providers across the country echoed those findings. On the East Coast, all has been relatively quiet. "The activity is pretty low here," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist with Lenox Hill Hospital in ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Influenza Prophylaxis
Cases of Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Concern Experts
Posted 28 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 – World Health Organization researchers are reporting an apparent spike in Australia in the number of seasonal influenza cases resistant to Tamiflu, the most commonly used antiviral drug. The jump in such cases involving the pandemic 2009 A(H1N1) flu strain, also known as swine flu, took place during Australia's most recent winter: May through August of 2011. "In 2007/2008, a different A(H1N1) influenza virus developed Tamiflu-resistance," explained WHO research scientist Aeron C. Hurt, who reported the spike. "On that occasion, it was first detected in large numbers in Europe. However, within 12 months the virus had spread globally, such that virtually every A(H1N1) virus around the world was resistant to this drug," he explained. "This previous situation demonstrated the speed and potential for a Tamiflu-resistant virus to spread worldwide," Hurt added. "Our ... Read more
Related support groups: Tamiflu, Swine Influenza, Oseltamivir
Oxygenating Blood of Hospitalized H1N1 Flu Patients Saved Lives: Study
Posted 6 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 6 – Technology that directly oxygenates the blood reduced the risk of death in patients who were severely sickened by the H1N1 flu virus, a new British study shows. The researchers cautioned that their study had limitations, and they noted that debate continues about the use of the technology, which is expensive. At issue is a treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which oxygenates the blood. It's used to treat people with severe respiratory conditions that prevent their lungs from getting enough oxygen to the blood on their own. The researchers looked at patients who developed severe respiratory problems due to the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, in the United Kingdom during the winter of 2009-2010. The study was published online Oct. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza
Fear Proves Prime Motivator for Vaccinations
Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Sometimes a little fear might be a good thing. To run an effective public vaccination program, you've got to make sure that adequate amounts of the vaccine are available and there are enough staff members to administer it, said Dr. Adewale Troutman, director of the public health practice program at the University of South Florida, who, until recently, headed the Department of Public Health and Wellness in Louisville. You also have to figure out when the public will be available to come get the vaccinations you offer. And, of course, you need to make sure they are properly frightened. Fear has proven to be the most potent motivator in getting people to not shrug off important immunizations, like an annual flu shot, Troutman said. "The influenza vaccine is really an important immunization that people discount because, ehh, it's just the flu," he said. "But tens of ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Herpes Zoster, Swine Influenza, Zostavax, FluLaval, Afluria, FluMist, Fluzone, Flushield, Fluzone SV, Zoster Vaccine Live, Agriflu, Influenza Prophylaxis, Fluzone Preservative-Free, Influenza Virus Vaccine, Live, Trivalent
Don't Skip This Year's Flu Shot: CDC
Posted 18 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 18 – The 2011-12 flu vaccine protects against seasonal flu and H1N1, just like last year's, but that doesn't mean it's OK to skip your yearly flu shot, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn. "All people aged 6 months and older should be vaccinated," said Dr. Carolyn Bridges, an associate director for adult immunization at the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Protection wanes over the course of a year, so "even people who got a flu vaccine last year should get one again to make sure they are optimally protected," she said. The new recommendations are published in the Aug. 18 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The fact that the vaccines are identical does change things slightly for children aged 6 months to 8 years. In general, children in this age range should get two doses of the ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, FluLaval, Afluria, FluMist, Fluzone, Flushield, Fluzone SV, Agriflu, Influenza Virus Vaccine, Inactivated, Fluzone Preservative-Free, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Inactivated, Fluzone WV, Fluogen, Influenza Prophylaxis
Chinese Herbs Equal to Tamiflu in Reducing H1N1 Fever: Study
Posted 15 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Aug. 15 – A traditional Chinese herbal treatment may reduce fever from H1N1 ("swine flu") influenza just as well as the prescription medication Tamiflu, a new study suggests. "For thousands of years, Chinese herbs have been used to treat influenza," study co-authors Dr. Chen Wang and Dr. Bin Cao, of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, in China, said in an email. "The pandemic influenza 2009 gave us the opportunity to evaluate a standard Chinese herb formula" designed to target the flu, they added. Cao and Wang, who specialize in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology, said the herbal recipe – known as maxingshigan-yinqiaosan (M-Y) – is easily accessible throughout China and much less expensive than Tamiflu (oseltamivir). However, finding the medicine in the United States is difficult, if not impossible, given that it contains the stimulant ephedra. ... Read more
Related support groups: Tamiflu, Swine Influenza
'Swine Flu' Shot May Be Cleared of Guillain-Barre Charges
Posted 13 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 13 – A new European study finds that the supercharged vaccines used to fight the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 may not have boosted the risk for a disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome after all. Guillain-Barre is a rare disorder, which causes a person's immune system to damage nerve cells, resulting in muscle weakness and even paralysis. In 1976, a vaccine used during a U.S. flu outbreak was linked to the disease, and the government halted vaccination. Debate has continued since then over whether vaccines in use could trigger the syndrome. In a study published July 13 in the journal BMJ, a consortium of researchers reported that the H1N1 vaccine posed little, if any, increased risk for the disease. "This study provides reassurance that adjuvanted pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 vaccines did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome substantially, if at all," they ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Inactivated, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Live
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
Tracking Swine Flu Virus in Pigs Reveals Mutations
Posted 26 May 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 26 – Changes in the swine flu virus over the past three decades can be traced, at least in part, to the transportation of live pigs, a new study reports. The finding stems from an analysis of viruses found in swine in Hong Kong. As pigs were transported from one region to another, the genetic material of the viruses mixed with local viruses, creating new combinations and increasing the diversity of the virus, according to the study, done by a collaboration of researchers from Duke University and the National University of Singapore. "These results provide important clues into the mechanism of influenza virus evolution in general," Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran, an assistant professor specializing in virus evolution at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore, said in a Duke news release. Although the mutations mean that the number of viruses people are likely to come ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza
H1N1 Flu Vaccine Very Effective: Study
Posted 5 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 3 – A single dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine was 93 percent effective during the 2009 pandemic, a new study found. In order to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine – known as the AS03-adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 vaccine – Canadian researchers looked at 552 patients with flu-like illness who visited clinics in four provinces between Nov. 8 and Dec. 5, 2009. Pandemic H1N1 was detected in 209 (38 percent) of the patients. Two (1 percent) of the patients with H1N1 flu had received a single dose of the H1N1 vaccine at least two weeks before they became ill, compared with 58 (17 percent) of patients who didn't have H1N1 infection. The findings show that the vaccine was 93 percent effective, said the researchers, who were led by Danuta Skowronski at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver. The findings apply not only to Canada but other countries where ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza
Last Year's H1N1 Flu Vaccine Was Safe, Study Finds
Posted 3 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 2 – Close to 100 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine were given out in 2009-2010 in China, with no pattern of serious side effects observed, a review by Chinese scientists finds. Moreover, no evidence surfaced that the swine flu vaccine, as it was called, increased the risk for Guillain-Barre syndrome, according to the report published in the Feb. 2 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. An outbreak of Guillain-Barre around the time of widespread vaccination against swine flu in 1976-1977 led some to blame the vaccine for the disease. In Guillain-Barre, the body's immune system attacks the nervous system causing muscle weakness and paralysis. Back then, some 1,000 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome were reported, about half in people vaccinated. Hypothetically, a case could have been made that they were a reaction to the H1N1 antigen in the vaccine, said flu ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza
H1N1 Flu Is Raging in Britain. Could U.S. Be Next?
Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 20 – This winter, influenza seems to be behaving very differently depending on what side of the Atlantic you're on. As of last week, for example, H1N1 ("swine") flu still predominated in Britain, where 112 people have died, hospitals are filling up with very ill flu patients, and some doctors report running out of vaccine, according to the BBC. Experts are concerned that the virus – known as 2009 H1N1 – could create a similar situation in mainland Europe. However, in the United States, clinicians are only now starting to see cases of the flu – mostly of the traditional, H3N2 variety – and the atmosphere is much more calm. Vaccine is plentiful and much of it is going unused. Still, with modern air travel allowing viruses to spread easily around the globe, could the British flu experience travel to America? That question remains unanswered. According to experts, it's ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza
For the Very Obese, H1N1 Was More Apt to Be Fatal
Posted 11 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 10 – Extremely obese people had a significantly greater chance of dying than did others infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus that became a pandemic last winter, a new study reports. Researchers analyzed data from 500 adults hospitalized in California with H1N1 flu during the first four months of 2009 and found that extreme obesity was associated with a nearly three-fold increased risk for death. Extreme obesity is defined as having a body-mass index (BMI) of 40 or greater. BMI is a statistical measure of whether a person is normal, overweight or obese based on whether weight and height are in proportion. The study, published online Jan. 5 and in the Feb. 1 print issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, did not include data on people who were pregnant or younger than 20. Dr. Janice K. Louie, of the California Department of Health and a study author, said that further ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Swine Influenza
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