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Study Confirms Slight Rise in Paralysis Risk After Swine Flu Shot
Posted 13 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 13 – People who were vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus had a slightly increased risk of a paralysis disorder, according to a new study, but the benefits of vaccination greatly outweighed the risks. Researchers analyzed data from 23 million people in the United States who received the vaccine during the 2009 outbreak – the largest mass vaccination in recent U.S. history – and found that they had a small excess risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome. The disorder of the nervous system results in temporary or longer-term paralysis, and sometimes causes death. The researchers found that 77 people developed Guillain-Barre syndrome up to 91 days after receiving the H1N1 vaccine. They concluded that there were 1.6 excess cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome in every 1 million people vaccinated, according to the study, which was published online March 12 in ... Read more
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H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Tied to Sleep Disorder in British Children
Posted 26 Feb 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 26 – A British study finds that children and teens who were vaccinated during the 2009 swine flu outbreak are at increased risk for narcolepsy, a disorder that causes people to fall asleep during the day. The particular flu vaccine involved has never been licensed for use in the United States, according a statement on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Researchers looked at data from children and teens aged 4 to 18 who were treated at sleep centers and neurology centers in England, and concluded that receiving the Pandemrix vaccine was associated with a 14- to 16-fold increased risk of developing narcolepsy. They also determined that one in 52,000 to 57,500 doses of the vaccine are associated with narcolepsy, according to the study published online Feb. 26 in the journal BMJ. The findings are consistent with previous studies in other countries, ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Influenza Prophylaxis, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Inactivated
Fetal Deaths Up Among Unvaccinated Moms in H1N1 Pandemic: Study
Posted 16 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 – Pregnant women were urged to get a flu shot during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and new evidence supports that advice. Norwegian researchers have found that vaccination in pregnancy was safe for mother and child, and that fetal deaths were more common among unvaccinated moms-to-be. Influenza is a serious threat to a pregnant woman and her unborn child, said Dr. Camilla Stoltenberg, director general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, lead researcher of the new study. "Our study indicates that influenza during pregnancy was a risk factor for stillbirth during the pandemic in 2009," she said. "We find no indication that pandemic vaccination in the second or third trimester increased the risk of stillbirth." With this year's flu pummeling many people across the United States, experts say the best way a pregnant woman can protect her unborn baby from flu ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Influenza Prophylaxis, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Inactivated
FDA Expands Tamiflu's Use to Treat Children Younger Than One Year
Posted 21 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com
December 21, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) to treat children as young as 2 weeks old who have shown symptoms of flu for no longer than two days. The drug is not approved to prevent flu infection in this population. In addition, the safety and efficacy of Tamiflu to treat flu infection has not been established in children younger than 2 weeks old. Tamiflu was approved in 1999 to treat adults infected with flu who have shown symptoms for no longer than two days. It has since been approved to treat flu in children ages 1 year and older who have shown symptoms of flu for no longer than two days, and to prevent flu in adults and children ages 1 year and older. Although there is a fixed dosing regimen for patients 1 year and older according to weight categories, the dosing for children younger than 1 year must be ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Tamiflu, Swine Influenza, Oseltamivir, Influenza Prophylaxis, Swine Flu, Flu Prevention, Flu
Flu Season's Approaching So Roll Up Your Sleeve
Posted 27 Sep 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Sept. 27 – The only thing predictable about the flu is its unpredictability, U.S. health officials said Thursday, as they urged virtually all Americans to get vaccinated for the coming season. Even though last year's flu season was one of the mildest on record, that's no sign of what this season will bring. It was only two years ago, officials noted, that the H1N1 pandemic flu swept around the world, sickening millions. "The last several years have demonstrated that influenza is predictably unpredictable," Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during a morning news conference. "Even mild seasons can lead to suffering and death," Koh added. "Sadly, last year there were some 34 influenza-associated pediatric deaths." Every year an estimated 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu, leading to ... Read more
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Sharp Spike Seen in Swine Flu Cases: CDC
Posted 9 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 9 – U.S. health authorities on Thursday reported a large jump in the number of H3N2 "swine" flu cases in humans. Last week, only 29 cases had been reported since July of 2011, when the virus first emerged. Sixteen of the cases appeared in the past month. But this week, the tally soared to 146 cases, one each in Hawaii, Utah and Illinois, 113 in Indiana and 30 reported from Ohio. This represents "clearly a significant increase," Dr. Joseph Bresee, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Influenza Division, said during an afternoon news conference. Authorities have seen no human-to-human transmissions yet this year – all people infected had had some contact with swine, usually at agricultural fairs – but they are nevertheless concerned about the virus because it contains an element seen in the pandemic 2009 swine flu strain, H1N1, which may make it more ... Read more
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CDC Preparing Vaccine for New Swine Flu
Posted 7 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Aug. 3 – Only 29 human cases of a new strain of "swine" flu have been identified in two years, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is making sure it's prepared should the H3N2 strain become more widespread. "This virus is still principally a swine virus, but it doesn't seem to have onward spread. It's still not a human virus," Dr. Joseph Bresee, from the CDC's influenza division, stressed during a noon press conference Friday. "Even so, a H3N2 candidate vaccine has been prepared and clinical trials are being planned for this year," he said. The reason the CDC is concerned about this particular virus is that it contains an element seen in the pandemic 2009 swine flu strain, H1N1, which may make it more likely for the virus to spread from person-to-person. All 29 cases were infected with strains of H3N2 "that contained the matrix (m) gene from the influenza A ... Read more
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Airports in N.Y., L.A., Hawaii Deemed Worst for Pandemic Spread
Posted 25 Jul 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 25 – Among airports in the United States, JFK in New York City, LAX in Los Angeles and Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii are most likely to play a major role in the spread of a pandemic, according to a new study. Recent global public health crises – such as the 2009 H1N1 "swine" flu pandemic that killed about 300,000 worldwide and the 2003 SARS outbreak that affected 37 countries and caused about 1,000 deaths – have increased awareness about how air travel can help quickly spread dangerous bacteria and viruses around the world. In this study, researchers in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used a new mathematical model to determine how the 40 largest U.S. airports would influence the spread of a contagious disease that originated in the cities where the airports are located. John F. Kennedy ... Read more
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H1N1 Flu Vaccine Safe for Expectant Moms, Offspring: Study
Posted 10 Jul 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, July 10 – Although hastily created in response to the pandemic threat posed by the H1N1 flu virus, the vaccine for H1N1 is safe, even for expectant mothers and their babies, new studies show. A Danish study that included more than 53,000 pregnant women, 13 percent of whom received the H1N1 vaccine, found no increased risk of major birth defects or pregnancy problems. "We compared the vaccinated with the unvaccinated pregnancies with respect to a number of adverse events – major birth defects, premature birth and fetal growth problems. None of these adverse events were more common among H1N1-vaccinated pregnancies. We conclude that H1N1-vaccinated pregnancies are not at increased risk of these adverse events," said Dr. Anders Hviid, a senior investigator at Statens Serum Institut, in Copenhagen. Results of the study are published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of the ... Read more
Related support groups: Swine Influenza, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Inactivated, Influenza Virus Vaccine, H1n1, Live
Pandemic H1N1 Flu Killed Far More Than Reported: Study
Posted 25 Jun 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 25 – The pandemic H1N1 flu in 2009 may have killed more than 500,000 people around the world, 15 times more than reported, a new study suggests. During the pandemic, 18,500 laboratory-confirmed deaths were reported to the World Health Organization from April 2009 through August 2010, but as many as 575,400 may have actually died, an international group of scientists now says. "This is a better approximation of the number of deaths that occurred," said researcher Dr. Marc-Alain Widdowson from the influenza division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This study also confirms that the majority of deaths were in the under-65s, which is very different than seasonal influenza, where the vast majority of deaths are in the over 65s," he added. In addition, the researchers estimate that regions in southeast Asia and Africa were more affected than the official ... Read more
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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
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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
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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
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