The Upcoming Flu Season: What You Need to Know Now
Montefiore Health SystemNew vaccine and regulations to impact patient care, prompt early vaccination.
New vaccine and regulations to impact patient care, prompt early vaccination.
New flu strains prompt review of current research and a call to redouble the flu fight. Review article appears in online edition of American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
An international team of scientists has proved that the H7N9 influenza virus is efficiently transmitted when animals are in close contact -- defined in the study as touching, coughing and the exchange of bodily fluids.
Breaking research appearing online today in Clinical Chemistry, the journal of AACC, demonstrates that a recently developed diagnostic test can detect the new strain of influenza (H7N9) currently causing an outbreak in China.
Pandemic flu continues to threaten public health, especially in the wake of the recent emergence of an H7N9 low pathogenic avian influenza strain in humans.
Collaborating scientists from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified an important mechanism for stimulating protective immune responses following seasonal influenza vaccinations. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine, a journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Influenza virus-specific CD8+ T cells or virus-specific non-neutralizing antibodies are each relatively ineffective at conferring protective immunity alone. But, when combined, the virus-specific CD8 T cells and non-neutralizing antibodies cooperatively elicit robust protective immunity.
Each month, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) issues consumer tips on infection prevention. The February 2013 feature is titled "Outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics—what you need to know."
In light of the recent influenza outbreak, a SLU study finds that majority of businesses are not prepared for a pandemic
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The flu is a year-round focus for associate professor Geroge Dehner, who teaches world and environmental history at Wichita State University. Dehner's research has resulted in the writing of two books "Influenza: A Century of Science and Public Health Response" and "Global Flu and You: A History of Influenza."
With seasonal influenza activity high across many states in the United States, one question frequently asked is how to prevent the spread of flu among children. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Pittsburgh are currently investigating how the flu the spreads in schools based on how children interact with each other. They are seeking participants of all ages to take a brief online survey to aid this research.
New weekly statistical summary charts cases and offers medical tips from Loyola University Health System.
Loyola University Health System pediatric infectious disease expert separates fact from fiction.
Some people with the flu emit more of the air-borne virus than others, suggesting that the current recommendations for infection control among health care providers may not be adequate, according to a new study from researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
The American public can expect to add earlier and more severe flu seasons to the fallout from climate change, according to a research study published online Jan. 28 in PLOS Currents: Influenza.
It seems you can’t go anywhere these days without hearing “the flu this” or “the flu that.” Unfortunately, this season’s influenza outbreak is one of the worst in years. And it’s not just the flu virus that’s causing problems; there are also many myths about the flu that are keeping people from doing more to prevent it.
Johns Hopkins computer scientists and researchers in the School of Medicine have developed a new tweet-screening method that not only delivers real-time data on flu cases, but also filters out online chatter that is not linked to actual flu infections.
Investigators from 15 children’s medical centers, including Nationwide Children’s Hospital, observed and evaluated critically ill children with influenza to evaluate the relationships between levels of systemic inflammation, immune function and likelihood to die from the illness. The study appears in the January issue of Critical Care Medicine.
The widespread flu reports are a harsh reminder of the importance of influenza vaccines. This is particularly true for healthcare workers, says Elizabeth Sepper, JD, health law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “One-third of healthcare providers fail to protect themselves, their patients, and the public from influenza.” Sepper says that it is time for a national flu vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
According to researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the flu knows how much time it has to multiply, infect other cells, and spread to another human being. If it leaves a cell too soon, the virus is too weak. If it leaves too late, the immune system has time to kill the virus.
In recent weeks the intensive critical care units at University Health Network’s Toronto General Hospital have used Extra Corporeal Lung Support (ECLS) to support five influenza (flu) patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems.
Norwegian pregnant women who received a vaccine against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus showed no increased risk of pregnancy loss, while pregnant women who experienced influenza during pregnancy had an increased risk of miscarriages and still births, a study has found. The study suggests that influenza infection may increase the risk of fetal loss.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports flu outbreaks reaching epidemic levels and encourages all Americans to get flu shots, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reminds people they can help protect themselves against infections and boost their immunity through nutrition.
Loyola Occupational health expert helps businesses battle the flu season.
The flu could be especially severe for the 39.6 million older adults in the United States.
As many as two percent of children may not receive the flu vaccination due to an egg allergy. But according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and a recent study in Annals of Allergy, Asthma &Immunology, administration is safe even in children with a history of a severe allergic reaction to eggs.
Using an online computer game that simulates the spread of an infectious disease among its players, researchers at Wake Forest University learned more about what motivates people to protect themselves from infection – from the flu to whooping cough.
This year’s flu season is in full swing with 41 states now reporting widespread illness. Unfortunately, not enough children are getting the flu shot even though health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the vaccine. According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, less than 45 percent of children were vaccinated against the flu during a five-year study period.
Montefiore experts urge public to get vaccinated.
Loyola is one of two hospitals in Illinois that can simultaneously screen 20 pathogens in 60 minutes for accurate, fast diagnosis of the flu and other respiratory illnesses, saving health, time and money.
A Saint Louis University study finds many U.S. schools are not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics.
Patients with severe 2009 H1N1 influenza who developed respiratory failure and were treated with a system that adds oxygen to the patient's blood had a lower rate of in-hospital death than similar patients who did not receive this treatment, according to a study appearing in JAMA.
An analysis of the high incidence of the H1N1 swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) in 2009 in the Campania region of Southern Italy presents important findings that provide a “significant pattern for emerging viral agents at risk in global health approaches to early diagnosis and prompt therapy,” according to an article in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.
Be immunized against the flu every year to protect yourself and those around you.
H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines do not put patients at risk for neurologic conditions, a large new study shows.
In the current issue of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, public health experts assert that improved community engagement is needed to prevent the spread of pandemics. The observations are based on an assessment of distribution and vaccination trends for the H1N1 vaccine in Los Angeles County in 2009, with a special focus on the African American community. The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a Wolters Kluwer Health company.
Although the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic infected an estimated 60 million people and hospitalized more than 250,000 in the United States, it also brought one significant benefit—clues about how to make a vaccine that could protect against multiple strains of influenza.
According to the critical care experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital who treated him, Allen Bagents, 24, of Arlington, Va., is the least likely person anyone ever expects to get sick, let alone suffer a six-week, potentially fatal bout with the swine flu, better known as H1N1 influenza.
Results of a study conducted by researchers at Georgia Tech and the CDC suggest that strengthening routine influenza vaccination and health programs may help states improve their vaccination coverage against future pandemics or other health emergencies.
The H1N1 influenza pandemic has led to a sharp increase in the number of children with a serious "secondary" bacterial infection called empyema in children, suggests a study in the October issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
As the weather turns brisk and flu season begins, bad memories of last year’s H1N1pandemic may start surfacing. Luckily, microbiologist John Tudor, Ph.D., professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, anticipates a less violent outbreak of the virus this year.
Recent studies show most egg-allergic individuals can receive the flu vaccine safely under the care of their allergist or immunologist.