|
|
|
|
New York Health Care Workers Resist Flu Vaccine Rule |
|
| New York Times |
|
| September 20, 2009 |
|
| "When she cleans the rooms of
patients with swine flu symptoms, Jana Newton, a housekeeper at Maimonides
Medical Center in Brooklyn, has to suit up for her own protection in a mask,
gloves, gown and hairnet. Jana Newton, an aide at Maimonides Medical Center
in Brooklyn, said she has not been sick and sees no reason for a shot. But
she still does not want the one thing that would give her a far better
defense — a flu shot. 'Some people's immune system is good, like me,'
Ms. Newton said. 'I've been here five years and never been sick. Why mess
with something that's not broken...'" |
|
Metro Health Nearly Mandates Health Care Workers Receive Flu Shots |
|
| Cleveland Leader |
|
| September 19, 2009 |
|
| "Metro Health workers that
don't receive a flu shot will be sticking out like sore thumbs this year.
The hospital system is urging their workers receive a vaccination as Swine
Flu threatens to wreak havoc on the United States. Metro sent an email to
staff saying whoever does not receive a flu shot this year will be forced to
wear surgical masks while working with patients..." |
|
Shortages of Flu Supply are Spotty |
|
| Minneapolis Star Tribune |
|
| September 18, 2009 |
|
| "So many Minnesotans have
rushed to get seasonal flu shots that temporary spot shortages have cropped
up around the state. But, according to the Minnesota Health Department,
there doesn't appear to be a full-blown shortage of the vaccine. 'There's no
reason to believe we're going to run out,' department spokesman Buddy
Ferguson said Friday. 'We aren't anticipating a shortage.' That said, the
department's advice that people get vaccinated early, coupled with intense
media coverage of the looming H1N1 flu pandemic, has caused a stampede at
clinics and commercial businesses selling the vaccine..." |
|
Hospitals Pushing Workers to get Flu Vaccines |
|
| St. Petersburg Times (FL) |
|
| September 17, 2009 |
|
| "Health care workers usually
don't follow their own advice. Every year, fewer than half of them get
vaccinated... Hospitals here and nationally are stepping up efforts to
vaccinate workers against both seasonal flu and H1N1. One state - New York -
is even making flu vaccinations mandatory for health care workers..." |
|
How to Fight Seasonal Flu |
|
| CBS News |
|
| September 17, 2009 |
|
| "Talk of the H1N1 vaccine has
been on people's minds lately, but it's also time to get vaccinated with the
regular flu vaccine, which has recently been released. The vaccine is now
available in pharmacies, hospitals and doctor's offices. CBS News medical
correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said it's very important for people to get
the flu shot because the seasonal flu can be serious, and kills upwards of
36,000 Americans a year. She said around 90 percent of those fatalities
occur among older people. Ashton added some states, such as New York, are
making the flu shot mandatory for health care workers for the seasonal flu
and the H1N1 vaccine..." |
|
American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza Campaign Stresses the
Importance of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination |
|
| Reuters |
|
| September 16, 2009 |
|
| "The American Lung Association
is intensifying its seasonal influenza public education initiative to urge
families to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The Faces of Influenza
campaign aims to ensure Americans get immunized against seasonal influenza,
which each year causes an estimated 36,000 deaths and over 226,000
hospitalizations from the virus and its related complications. The Faces of
Influenza campaign, which includes expanded awareness initiatives nationally
and in many major cities, supports the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) call for Americans to get vaccinated against seasonal
influenza this and every year..." |
|
Hospitals to Require Flu Shots
for Workers |
|
| Des Moines Register |
|
| September 10, 2009 |
|
| "Des Moines' two main health-care companies will require most of their
employees to receive flu shots this fall. Mercy
Medical Center and Iowa Health-Des Moines told workers this week that they
must be immunized against seasonal influenza
unless they have a medical or religious reason not to be. If they receive an
exemption, they will be required to wear masks
when treating patients after Dec. 1..." |
|
Students Targeted for Flu Shots |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| September 6, 2009 |
|
| "Back in the days of the polio epidemic, health officials decided to
immunize children against the deadly disease by
administering shots at school. Baby Boomers will recall lining up with
schoolmates in the mid-1950s for a quick stick in the
arm, and perhaps getting rewarded for the courage with a lollipop or an
extra recess..." |
|
Emory, Grady Make Seasonal Flu
Shots Mandatory |
|
| Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
|
| September 3, 2009 |
|
"Emory Healthcare and Grady hospitals are requiring employees to take the
seasonal flu vaccine, officials said Thursday. The
new mandates reflect increasing concern that metro Atlanta is headed into a
bad flu season, in which the seasonal flu could
circulate along with the swine flu. Usually, hospital officials urge
staffers to take the vaccine but don't require it. Emory
officials said about 70 percent of Emory staffers usually take the vaccine
but the national average is much lower. Grady
officials said about 30 percent took it last year. Several factors led Emory
officials to make taking the seasonal flu
vaccine mandatory — protecting patients and providing a safe environment for
workers; the fact that the seasonal flu and
swine flu will be circulating at the same time; and the successful implementation of mandatory flu vaccinations in other
healthcare systems..." |
|
CVS, Walgreens to Offer Free Flu Shots to Unemployed |
|
| Bloomberg |
|
| August 31, 2009 |
|
| "CVS and Walgreens, the
nation's two largest drugstore chains, will soon offer millions of dollars
of free seasonal flu shots to unemployed and uninsured people. CVS Caremark
Corp. will offer 100,000 free shots valued at about $3 million to job
seekers, the Rhode Island-based company said yesterday in a statement.
Walgreen Co., based in Illinois, will distribute $1 million in shots to the
uninsured through its 7,000 U.S. stores and clinics..." |
|
Back to Flu |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| August 31, 2009 |
|
| "He's one of the nation's top
flu fighters. But for Dr. Marty Cetron, the battle begins at home. That's
where, like parents all across the country, he is preparing his three
children - they're 9 to 15 years old - for the arrival of a fall flu season
unlike any in their lifetimes. This will be the season of our dual
discontent: Disease trackers expect both seasonal influenza and the novel
swine strain to circulate. And swine flu, which made its US debut in the
spring, has shown an unusual propensity for making the young sick while
sparing the old..." |
|
Op-ed: Not Enough Children Get Vaccinated for the Flu
Dr. Howard Schlansky is a pediatrician with St. John's Mercy Children's
Hospital |
|
| St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
|
| August 27, 2009 |
|
| "The annual flu season will
soon be upon us, peaking anywhere from October to May. This year there are
additional concerns about the swine flu virus. The flu is a viral illness
with symptoms that include fever, cough, sore throat, aches, chills and
fatigue, and also can result in more severe symptoms including pneumonia. It
is the No. 1 vaccine preventable illness in the United States. Vaccinations
could help prevent many of the nearly 60 million illnesses, 25 million
doctor visits, 225,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths that occur each
year resulting from the flu..." |
|
Study Questions U.S. Flu Vaccine Guidelines |
|
|
Reuters |
|
|
August 20, 2009 |
|
|
"Contrary to current U.S. strategy, vaccinating school children and their
parents against the flu is the best way to protect the nation from
influenza, including the new pandemic swine flu, U.S. researchers said on
Thursday. They said vaccine priority should be given to people most likely
to spread the virus, not those most at risk of serious complications from
it. Seasonal and H1N1 vaccination guidelines from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention currently target people who are likely to
become the most ill if infected..." |
|
State Requires Flu Vaccination for Caregivers |
|
| New York Times |
|
| August 18, 2009 |
|
| "The State Health Department is requiring
tens of thousands of health care workers across the state to be vaccinated
for flu, amid fears that swine flu will return in the fall. The new
regulation, quietly adopted as an emergency on Thursday, affects workers at
hospitals, in home health care agencies and in hospice care, but, because of
a technicality in state law, not in nursing homes. The regulation raised
protest Tuesday from New York's largest health care union, 1199 S.E.I.U.
United Healthcare Workers East, whose president, George Gresham, said that
the policy was 'completely unprecedented' and could become punitive if the
religious or cultural beliefs of workers prevented them from being
vaccinated..." |
|
For Flu, Vaccines Better Than Antiviral Drugs |
|
| Reuters |
|
| August 10, 2009 |
|
| "Healthy adults are likely to fare better
during the flu season by getting a flu shot than by depending on antiviral
drugs to make them feel better, new research from the UK shows. The research
team headed by Dr. Jane Burch found that Tamiflu (oseltamivir), a flu drug
made by Swiss-based Roche, and Relenza (zanamivir), made by GlaxoSmithKline,
will quash symptoms no more than one day earlier than no drugs at all.
Although the researchers did not compare the benefits of vaccines to the
benefits of antiviral drugs, they note that vaccination has the advantage of
being a preventive measure..." |
|
Quick Tests for the Flu Found Often Inaccurate |
|
| New York Times |
|
| August 6, 2009 |
|
"As the swine flu spreads,
many doctors and hospitals are turning to rapid tests that can determine
within minutes whether an anxious patient has the flu. Sales of such tests
are soaring. But the tests have a severe limitation: They may fail more than
half the time to detect swine flu infections, according to newly published
studies and to experts in medical testing..." |
|
CDC Says Pregnant Women with Flu Symptoms Should Receive Anti-Viral Drugs |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| July 29, 2009 |
|
| “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday pregnant women suspected of having the flu should be promptly treated with antiviral medications. The CDC, in a study set to be published in the medical journal Lancet, said pregnant women are more severely impacted by the H1N1 virus. CDC said pregnant women had higher rates of hospitalization and a greater risk of death compared to the general population...“ |
|
First Defense Against Swine Flu - Seasonal Vaccine |
|
| Reuters |
|
| July 24, 2009 |
|
| “U.S. health officials strengthened their recommendations for seasonal flu vaccines on Friday, saying all children aged 6 months to 18 years should be immunized -- especially because of the H1N1 flu pandemic. The seasonal vaccine provides little or no protection against H1N1 swine flu, but immunization will help prevent people from being infected with both at once and can help minimize the effects of the pandemic on schools, workplaces and the economy in general, health experts say....“ |
|
FDA Approves Next Seasonal Flu Vaccines |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| July 22, 2009 |
|
| “The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it approved vaccines for the upcoming 2009-2010 seasonal influenza season in the U.S. The vaccines won’t protect against the new H1N1 influenza strain, which was declared a pandemic last month by the World Health Organization. The manufacturing process for a vaccine that would protect against that strain is just beginning, and it won’t be available until October at the earliest...“ |
|
U.S. Influenza Vaccination Rates Suboptimal in Adults with Asthma |
|
| RT Magazine (Reuters) |
|
| July 7, 2009 |
|
| "Influenza vaccination rates among U.S.
adults with asthma remain well below national goals, report health officials
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. "Increased
state and national efforts are needed to improve influenza vaccination
levels among this population and particularly among those aged 18-49 years,"
Dr. Peng-jun Lu and colleagues conclude in a report in the August issue of
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The Healthy People 2010
national objectives call for yearly influenza vaccination of at least 60% of
adults aged 18 to 64 years who have asthma and other conditions linked with
increased risks of complications from the flu, the researchers note..." |
|
| Wayne Marasco: A Shot at a Universal Flu Vaccine |
|
| US News and World Report |
|
| June 30, 2009 |
|
| “Wayne Marasco is no doubt the only Harvard medical researcher who abandoned a successful construction firm, Waymar Roofing and Siding, to become an immunologist. The man with the unorthodox history recently made a striking discovery: a human antibody that attacks a newfound vulnerability in flu viruses. His finding could be the key to a single, perennial vaccine against all forms of influenza, including swine flu. Vaccines work by training the body's immune system to recognize distinctive molecules on the surface of a virus. The body then makes antibodies that grab those molecules and disable the virus. But flu viruses constantly change the shape of their surface molecules. So the vaccine that 143 million Americans get annually has to be matched each year to the mutating virus. That process takes months, making it hard to quickly cook up a vaccine for a new bug. After SARS, Marasco started searching for antibodies to the H5N1 bird flu virus. By 2007, he had found an antibody that stuck to all four circulating bird flu strains, the 1918 pandemic flu, and representatives of 8,000 other flu strains..." |
|
|
US Invests in Advanced Flu Vaccine Method |
|
| Washington Post |
|
| June 24, 2009 |
|
| "The U.S. government is investing in
a new technique for making flu vaccines that it hopes will help the
nation respond quickly to outbreaks such as the H1N1 swine flu virus.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday
her department had awarded a $35 million contract to privately held
Protein Sciences Corp Inc of Meriden, Connecticut, to use its new
gene-based techniques to develop a vaccine and test it in clinical
trials. If testing goes well, the contract could be expanded over five
years for a total of nearly $150 million..." |
|
|
Experts See Bad, but not Disastrous, Flu Season |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| June 19, 2009 |
|
| "So what are health officials doing
to help us prepare for the upcoming flu season? According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, which also oversees the Centers
for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration, the government
has now shifted its pandemic planning focus from H5N1 to H1N1 for the
upcoming flu season. Seasonal flu still remains a priority. The
government is still asking the five U.S.-licensed flu vaccine makers to
supply the U.S. market with about 100 million doses of seasonal flu
vaccine, a request on par with those of recent years..." |
|
|
Get Your Shots for Seasonal Flu — A Hidden Threat |
|
| Seattle Times |
|
| May 22, 2009 |
|
| "The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimated that at least 13,000 people died from influenza in
the United States in four months. That recent news item is not a fiction
or a forecast, it is fact. But there's a twist. This CDC estimate is
from one month ago, before the arrival of the new A H1N1 flu strain
(also referred to as swine flu). These 13,000 deaths between January and
late April were from seasonal influenza that strikes this country every
winter and that over the past several months has been killing 800
Americans a week..." |
|
|
WHO Says Existing Vaccine Little Use Against New Flu |
|
| Reuters |
|
| May 1, 2009 |
|
| "Testing shows that the current
vaccine against seasonal flu would not be effective against the new H1N1
strain, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. Marie-Paule
Kieny, director of the WHO's initiative for vaccine research, said that
making a successful vaccine against the new strain is possible, but it
would take between four and six months for it to be available. Samples
needed to make a vaccine would be ready for manufacturers by mid to late
May..." |
|
|
Officials Face a Tough Decision over Ordering Vaccine |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| April 30, 2009 |
|
| "Global health officials trying to
gauge the severity of the swine-flu outbreak face a tough call on how
quickly to move on creating a vaccine for the new virus. As confirmed
cases of the new A/H1N1 flu virus mount and spread around the world,
health officials must balance the desire to stop the spread quickly with
some serious risks of moving too fast. Even with a full push, it would
take months to get a vaccine ready, and the effort could force drug
companies to cut corners or reduce production of regular flu vaccine
needed for the winter. But waiting too long could allow the swine-flu
virus to have a much more deadly impact. Work has already begun on a
vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta
has the basic components for a swine-flu vaccine, and is studying the
makeup of the virus to better understand a central mystery: why it has
caused serious illness and deaths in Mexico but generally milder
symptoms elsewhere." |
|
|
Editorial: The New Swine Flu |
|
| New York Times |
|
|
April 28, 2009 |
|
|
"Is the new swine flu virus that has killed many people in Mexico and
has spread to the United States and other countries the start of a much
feared pandemic? Or is this yet another false alarm - the latest in a
long history of worrying that some day a hugely lethal flu strain might
sweep through the world and kill tens of millions of people, much as it
did in 1918-1919? The answer at this point is that nobody knows for
sure. There are some disquieting elements about the severity of the
symptoms appearing in Mexico, offset by the apparently far milder
behavior of the virus in the United States. Experts clearly need to
learn more about the origins, transmissibility and lethality of the new
virus in coming weeks..." |
|
|
Europe Warned on U.S. Travel |
|
| New York Times |
|
| April 27, 2009 |
|
| "Hoping to head off a global pandemic
of swine flu that has surfaced in North America, the European Union’s
health commissioner on Monday urged Europeans to avoid traveling to the
United States or Mexico if doing so was not essential. The warning came
as health officials in Spain confirmed early Monday that a man
hospitalized in eastern Spain had tested positive for swine flu,
becoming what appeared to be Europe’s first case of the disease..." |
|
|
U.S. Steps Up Alert as More Swine Flu Is Found; Precaution Taken Despite
Mildness of Cases Detected Domestically |
|
| Washington Post |
|
| April 27, 2009 |
|
| "The United States declared a "public
health emergency" yesterday as countries from New Zealand to Scotland
investigated suspected cases of illness that they feared might be a
strain of swine flu that has been identified in Mexico, the United
States and Canada. As of yesterday, however, no confirmed cases of the
newly emerged flu strain had been found outside those three countries.
Many of the people under observation around the world reported recent
travel to Mexico. With the U.S. announcement, civilian and military
stockpiles of antiviral drugs were being readied for rapid distribution
in the event that transmission of swine flu virus accelerates. The
declaration also called for greater vigilance at border crossings and in
airports for travelers who are coughing or appear ill..." |
|
|
As Vaccine Development Kicks Off, Caution Urged |
|
| NPR |
|
| April 27, 2009 |
|
| "The last time the nation raced to
contain an outbreak of swine flu, the result was a controversial - and
ultimately flawed - national immunization program. That 1976 outbreak,
which began with the death of a military recruit at Fort Dix, N.J., was
believed to have been the first major incidence of swine flu in humans
since the 1918-19 pandemic. Known as the "Spanish" flu, the 1918 strain
killed more than 50 million people..." |
|
|
Swine Flu Vaccine Would Take Months to Develop, Distribute |
|
| USA TODAY |
|
| April 27, 2009 |
|
| "As new swine flu cases continue to
mount, the question of developing a vaccine is a growing concern. World
Health Organization officials say we are more prepared for a potential
flu pandemic than we were five years ago. Yet, if the decision is made
to create one for this flu strain, it will still likely take months
before it's available..." |
|
|
Science Races to Parse New Virus; Bug, a Genetic Hybrid, Contains
Elements Foreign to Humans, Posing Pandemic Risk |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| April 27, 2009 |
|
| "Avian flu and SARS rudely awoke the
world to the possibility of a new pandemic. Could a seemingly more
mundane bug now put the world to the test? The swine flu virus that may
have killed more than 80 people in Mexico and appears to have sickened
hundreds more is still a mystery contagion. But this much is known: The
virus is unusually made up of genetic material from avian, pig and human
viruses; it can transmit from person to person; and in many people, it
only triggers mild symptoms seen in garden-variety influenza..." |
|
|
Swine Flu Cases Prompt a Search for the Source |
|
|
Los Angeles Times |
|
|
April 22, 2009 |
|
|
"Two mysterious cases of swine flu have been found in Imperial and
San Diego counties, leading to an investigation by local, state and
federal health officials to find the source. A 9-year-old girl in
Imperial County and a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County were
identified as having had the virus, officials said Tuesday. Neither
needed hospitalization and both have recovered. But health officials
remained puzzled because neither patient had been in contact with pigs
or with each other, and the strain of the flu is one never seen before
in the United States..." |
|
|
6 Schools Will Offer Nasal Influenza Vaccine |
|
|
Newnan Times-Herald (GA) |
|
|
April 15, 2009 |
|
|
"A half-dozen or more elementary schools in Coweta County, Ga., will
be taking part in Academic Clinics LLC's "Flu-Free Schools" program next
fall. In conjunction with District 4 Public Health Services, county
health departments, Emergency Medical Services, nursing schools, and the
Foundation for Education, Academic Clinics will offer the FluMist nasal
vaccines to students. Given that fewer than 20 percent of school-age
children receive the yearly flu vaccine, the program aims to vaccinate
students to minimize flu-related illness and curb absenteeism. Parents
will need to give permission to have their children vaccinated, and
those with private health insurance will pay a small fee for the
vaccine..." |
|
|
Flu Strikes a Milder Blow This Season |
|
| Forbes |
|
| April 7, 2009 |
|
| "Effective vaccine and more
vaccinations among young people helped, experts say. As the flu season
winds down, experts say this has been the mildest season in years. Less
severe strains of influenza and a good vaccine match for the strains
that were circulating combined to create a milder season this year than
last, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
'If we look at mortality and the rate of hospitalizations, it seems like
this year is less severe compared to last year and more similar to the
years prior to last year,' said Dr. Alicia M. Fry, a CDC epidemiologist.
'The flu did not reach an epidemic threshold this year.'..." |
|
|
Influenza Vaccination Advised for Travelers to Southern Hemisphere |
|
|
Reuters Health Medical News |
|
|
April 2, 2009 |
|
|
"Although the influenza season is just ending in the northern
hemisphere, it is now beginning in the southern hemisphere. Northerners
traveling to the southern hemisphere -- or to the tropics, where
influenza virus circulates year round -- should be immunized to avoid
influenza illness, according to advice from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Atlanta. In the northern hemisphere, influenza
season runs from October to March, while in the southern hemisphere, the
season covers the remaining months, April to September..." |
|
|
Drug-Resistant Flu Strains Throw Doctors a Curve; Faster Diagnoses, New
Medications Could Be Needed |
|
| USA Today |
|
| March 23, 2009 |
|
| "Not long ago, when
infectious-disease specialist Connie Price saw a patient hospitalized
with flu at Denver Health Medical Center, she had a powerful weapon at
hand: a drug that could shorten the course of the illness and lessen its
misery. Now, the strength of that weapon, Tamiflu, has been undermined
by a widely circulating flu strain, type A H1N1, that has developed the
ability to resist the drug..." |
|
|
Remembering A Teenager Who Died From The Flu |
|
| CBS News |
|
| March 20, 2009 |
|
| "Information on the probable cause of
Emily Kaitlyn Sims' death is just now being made public. At one time or
another most people have probably had the flu or flu-like symptoms.
'Anytime you loose somebody to the flu you think you get the flu and you
get over it in a couple of days,' says Russell Withrow of Nitro. But for
Emily Kaitlyn Sims,15, a student at Saint Albans High School, she
suffered from the flu, and that sickness is believed to have contributed
to her death. Friends describe her as fun-loving and outgoing and say it
still seems like a dream that she's gone..." |
|
|
Flu Outbreak Arrives Late, Hits Hard in Region's Schools |
|
| News Tribune |
|
| March 19, 2009 |
|
| "A late flu outbreak is sweeping
through Western Washington schools, keeping hundreds of kids home with
high fevers, hacking coughs and body aches. Last week, 13 Pierce County
schools reported that more than 10 percent of their student bodies
absent because of the flu or flu-like symptoms. This week, as of
Wednesday, nine schools in the county had passed the 10 percent
threshold. This has led health officials to conclude the flu epidemic is
still on the rise, a month after the normal peak..." |
|
|
Flu Gains Strength After Going Easy on Iowa |
|
|
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) |
|
|
March 16, 2009 |
|
|
"Spring may be in the air, but it's still flu season for many Iowans,
especially children. Just a week after announcing that Iowa's influenza
season has been one of the mildest in several years, the Iowa Department
of Public Health noted Friday that flu is on the rise in many schools.
Spokeswoman Polly Carver Kimm said schools throughout the state,
including Eastern Iowa, are seeing an uptick in illness-related
absences. Last week alone, more than 15 Iowa schools reported
consecutive days in which 10 percent or more of students were absent
because of illness. Despite the recent increase, the overall level of
influenza activity for the state remains low, the department reported. A
relatively mild winter and a good match between the circulating strains
of flu and this season's flu vaccine were cited as reasons. Vaccination
is recommended even this late, and people who received the vaccine early
in the fall will still be protected, according to the health
department..." |
|
|
Surge in Flu Cases at WSU Health And Wellness Services |
|
|
WSU News |
|
|
March 12, 2009 |
|
|
"The number of students going to Washington State University Health
and Wellness Services (HWS) for the flu in the last two weeks is more
than triple the number of the last three months combined. "We've
diagnosed 28 students with influenza since the beginning of March. It's
a mixture of type A and B, and other clinics in the area as well as the
hospital have also seen an increase in the number of flu patients," said
Dr. Bruce Wright, director of HWS. "I've had a few phone calls from
faculty wondering if there's a new illness going around campus. But it
isn't something new, just a late flu season. This comes at a terrible
time for students who are trying to finish up mid-terms and head out of
town for spring break, but staff and faculty should be aware this is
happening and take precautions for themselves..." |
|
|
A Flu Bug Can Quickly Dunk a Basketball Team; College and pro squads put
up all manner of defenses against this other hoops fever |
|
| Los Angeles Times |
|
| March 10, 2009 |
|
| "A stubborn flu bug had pestered the
UCLA basketball team for weeks, hitting one player, then another. So
when the Bruins gathered for dinner recently, their athletic trainer
made an announcement. 'Hey, guys,' Carrie Rubertino Shearer recalled
saying, 'great opportunity to wash your hands right now.' They all
laughed, but she wasn't joking. When it comes to basketball -- from high
school through the pros -- influenza is the hidden opponent on
everyone's schedule. This other hoops fever has been part of the sport's
folklore since Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, when the Chicago Bulls'
Michael Jordan dragged himself out of bed to score 38 points against the
Utah Jazz..." |
|
|
Grosse Ile School Closed Because of Illness |
|
| Detroit Free Press |
|
| March 6, 2009 |
|
| "State health officials said this
year's flu season has been mild so far, but Grosse Ile school officials
had to close one of their two elementary schools Thursday because so
many kids have come down with respiratory infections..." |
|
|
S.L. County Infant's Death Tied to Flu |
|
| Salt Lake Tribune |
|
| March 5, 2009 |
|
| "A Salt Lake County infant is one of
at least 18 babies nationwide who have died from flu-related
complications since the season started in September. The Utah child, who
was under age 1, had not been immunized and his or her cause of death
was listed as influenza-related, according to the Salt Lake Valley
Health Department. Last year, two Utah children's deaths were associated
with the flu. There have also been 131 influenza-associated
hospitalizations in Utah, compared to 268 last year. Public health
officials continue to urge Utahns to get a flu shot, saying the season
has not peaked..." |
|
|
Man Who Died from Flu also Had Staph Infection MRSA |
|
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |
|
| March 5, 2009 |
|
| "A man who died of the flu and
pneumonia this week also had a drug-resistant staph infection, the
Allegheny County Health Department said today. The 25-year-old man,
whose identity has not been released, died Tuesday at an undisclosed
hospital. He was admitted Feb. 27 and received treatment for a
respiratory ailment, said Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole.
Tests showed he had the flu, pneumonia, a lung infection and the staph
infection known as MRSA..." |
|
|
Girl Dies from Flu-Related Complications |
|
| Press Enterprise (CA) |
|
| March 4, 2009 |
|
| "A Riverside County girl is one of
two children to be identified by state and local officials as the first
to die from influenza-related complications this flu season. The
unidentified girl, who was younger than 15 years old, died in late
February, said Barbara Cole, disease control director of the Riverside
County Department of Public Health. Cole would not say whether the girl
was 13-year-old Brittney Marie Peters, who died Feb. 20. The Norco
Intermediate School eighth-grader died of complications of pneumonia
after having influenza type B, according to her family..." |
|
|
Influenza Hospitalizations Down in Iowa |
|
| KCRG- TV (IA) |
|
| March 4, 2009 |
|
| "The Iowa Department of Health say
there has been an 86 percent drop in the number of people hospitalized
for the flu. In Dubuque, the number of people being hospitalized for the
flu is down both at Finley and at Mercy Medical Center. Although it
feels like spring is on the way. Health experts warn flu season is far
from over..." |
|
|
In the War Against Flu's Mutants, a Big Ally Is Weakened |
|
| Wall Street Journal |
|
| March 3, 2009 |
|
| "A flu strain has become impervious
to a widely used drug called Tamiflu, prompting scientists to worry
about the disease's ability to resist treatment. Just a few years ago,
many experts believed the drug was so cleverly designed that a
widespread outbreak of Tamiflu-resistant flu was unlikely. But through a
combination of mutations that scientists don't fully understand, the
most common strain of flu circulating this winter doesn't respond to
Tamiflu, according to a report published online Monday in the Journal of
the American Medical Association. This has led some scientists to
question whether it will ever be possible for a single drug to treat all
strains of the flu..." |
|
|
Another Nassau Child, 9, Most Likely Killed by Flu |
|
| Newsday (NY) |
|
| March 3, 2009 |
|
| "A 9-year-old Woodmere child who died
Saturday most probably had the flu, according to the Nassau County
Department of Health. If the presence of the virus is confirmed, the
death will be the second of a child in the county in a month from
influenza A..." |
|
|
Doctors: No definitive answers on flu deaths among young |
|
| CNN |
|
| March 2, 2009 |
|
| "For most, the flu is a winter
inconvenience -- stuffy nose, fever, body aches and a few days of bed
rest. But what seems fairly routine also can become life-threatening.
The majority of flu deaths strike the elderly and people with
pre-existing health problems. But flu also affects kids with no known
medical problems and can send them into critical condition, or even
death..." |
|
|
The Flu Kills Healthy Kids, but Flu Shots Can Still Help |
|
| US News & World Report Blog |
|
| March 2, 2009 |
|
| "Flu can kill healthy kids, and the
scariest part for parents is that it's impossible to know if your child
will be one of those horrible rare cases. The two Maryland teenagers who
died suddenly of the flu late last month—13-year-old Ian Willis of
Urbana and 15-year-old Zachary Weiland of Woodbine—seemed to be having
the typical miserable, achy run-in with the flu, until their symptoms
suddenly worsened. In both cases, the parents took their child swiftly
to the emergency room, but doctors weren't able to save the boys..." |
|
|
In Adults, Shots Are Best for Flu |
|
| New York Times |
|
| March 2, 2009 |
|
| "For the best protection against
winter flu, adults may just have to roll up their sleeves and take shots
the old-fashioned way. After reviewing the medical records of more than
one million members of the United States military over a three-year
period, researchers have found that conventional intramuscular shots
reduced doctor visits for flulike symptoms by up to 54 percent, while an
intranasal vaccine curbed flu-related visits by just 21 percent at best.
The intranasal vaccine, FluMist, is primarily marketed for use in
children and is believed to be more effective than the conventional
vaccine for them..." |
|
|
Teen Deaths Bring Flu Vaccine Reminder |
|
| Daily Times |
|
| March 1, 2009 |
|
| "Citing February deaths of teenagers in Howard and Frederick counties,
the Wicomico County Health
Department has issued a late-season reminder that 'it is not too late to
get vaccinated against
seasonal influenza.' The number of confirmed cases is down so far this
season in most places,
although health officials are braced for flu activity in the months
ahead, citing an increase in
the number of Maryland cases late in the season that suggests the bug's
far from done..." |
|
|
Doctors Should Be Pushing for Influenza Vaccinations |
|
Tennessean
By William Schaffner, MD |
|
| March 1, 2009 |
|
| "Influenza activity is now widespread
in Tennessee, and Tennesseans need to know that getting vaccinated at
this time remains beneficial. Health-care professionals also need to do
their part by recommending vaccination at every opportunity. Since it
takes only about two weeks to develop protection after receiving the
vaccine — and since we can expect influenza to continue circulating
in our area for even longer — getting vaccinated now can be a
lifesaver..." |
|
|
Teens' Deaths Show Flu's Broad Reach |
|
| Washington Post |
|
| March 1, 2009 |
|
| "The recent influenza-related deaths
of two Maryland teens calls attention to the flu's unpredictable nature.
It's not clear whether the boys, 13-year-old Ian Willis of Urbana and
15-year-old Zachary Weiland of Woodbine, had received flu vaccinations,
but it appears that both were healthy teens -- not the compromised or
frail people typically thought of as being susceptible. The deaths
aren't entirely anomalies. Every year, 36,000 U.S. deaths are attributed
to influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Last flu season, 83 flu deaths struck people under 18; this
time, with the flu season just underway, 17 children have died, not
counting Ian and Zachary..." |
|
|
2nd Md. Teen's Death Also Blamed on Flu; Officials Urge Shots |
|
| The Washington Post |
|
| February 27, 2009 |
|
| "The flu-related deaths of two
Maryland teenagers in the past two weeks have prompted health officials
across the region to urge people of all ages to get flu shots if they
haven't already. Zachary Weiland, 15, of Woodbine in Howard County died
Sunday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and Ian M. Willis, 13, of
Urbana in Frederick County died Feb. 19 at Children's National Medical
Center in the District, health officials said..." |
|
|
WHO to Give Poor Countries Flu Vaccine Technology |
|
| Los Angeles Times |
|
| February 24, 2009 |
|
| "The World Health Organization said
Tuesday that a deal with U.S. drug maker Schering-Plough Corp. will
allow it to provide poor countries with improved vaccine-making
technology to prepare for a possible flu pandemic. WHO will license the
technology free of charge to vaccine manufacturers in developing
countries who take part in a U.N. action plan to stop a global outbreak
of the deadly H5N1 flu strain. Schering-Plough, based in Kenilworth, New
Jersey, said in a statement that the new technology allows vaccines to
be delivered more efficiently using a single-dose intranasal spray..." |
|
|
Antibodies Offer a New Path for Fighting Flu |
|
| New York Times |
|
| February 23, 2009 |
|
| "In a discovery that could radically
change how the world fights influenza, researchers have engineered
antibodies that protect against many strains of the virus, including
even the 1918 Spanish flu and the H5N1 bird flu. The discovery, experts
said, could lead to the development of a flu vaccine that would not have
to be changed yearly. And the antibodies already developed can be
injected as a treatment, going after the virus in ways that drugs like
Tamiflu do not. Clinical trials to prove that the antibodies are safe in
humans could begin within three years, a researcher estimated..." |
|
|
Op-ed: Continue Fighting Flu with Timely Vaccinations |
|
By Dr. William Schaffner
Charleston Gazette |
|
| February 20, 2009 |
|
| "By the end of every fall season,
influenza vaccination rates drop off considerably, a trend that prevents
millions of Americans from getting the benefits of annual immunization.
There's no good reason for this drop in rates. In fact, health-care
professionals need to be vigilant throughout the winter months about
protecting patients against influenza and its complications. Patients
also need to recognize the importance of getting the flu vaccine this
year - and every year..." |
|
|
First Child Flu Death of Year Reported in Arizona |
|
| AZ Central.com |
|
| February 20, 2009 |
|
| "The Arizona Department of Health
Services says a teenager in Coconino County has died of the flu, the
first youngster in the state to die of the disease this season. Dr.
Karen Lewis says the older teenage boy was healthy before being
stricken. Last week's death was announced on Friday..." |
|
|
Boston Latin Students to Be Offered Vaccines |
|
| Boston Herald |
|
| February 19, 2009 |
|
| "Boston school children will be
offered flu shots possibly as soon as next week in the wake of the
heartbreaking death of a 12-year-old Jamaica Plain boy struck down by
the illness Sunday. Aware of heightened interest after Hunter Pope's
death--the first reported from the flu this year - the Boston Public
Health Commission soon will notify parents of the city's 56,000 public
school students of the vaccination plan. The goal is to begin offering
the shots when kids return from February vacation next week, said BPH
spokeswoman Ann Scales. 'We've had a tragic loss of a child,' Scales
said..." |
|
|
Flu Kills 4 Children in 5 Weeks: For kids in Colorado, worst season in 5
years |
|
| The Denver Post |
|
| February 19, 2009 |
|
| "Four children have died of the flu
in Colorado since mid-January, alarming health officials who said that
at least some of the deaths could have been prevented if the children
were vaccinated. The deaths of three toddlers and one baby in the past
five weeks make this flu season the worst for children in the past five
years. One or two children have died each of the past four influenza
seasons, which last from October to May, said Dr. Ken Gershman, chief of
the communicable-disease program at the state health department. 'It is
very tragic,' said Gershman, who has read the medical reports about the
deaths..." |
|
|
Grand Prairie 7-year-old is Dallas County's 2nd Flu-Related Fatality in
2009 |
|
| Dallas Morning News (TX) |
|
| February 19, 2009 |
|
| "A 7-year-old Grand Prairie girl died
of the flu earlier this month, the second flu-related death in Dallas
County this year, health officials said. Brea Mercado, a student at
Milam Elementary School, died Feb. 8 at Children's Medical Center
Dallas, according to the Dallas County medical examiner. Jacqueline
Bell, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County Department of Health and Human
Services, said the cause of the girl's death was flu. She gave no
further details. Earlier this year, a 49-year-old Lancaster woman died
from complications related to the flu." |
|
|
FDA Advisers Recommend Slight Change in Seasonal Flu Vaccine |
|
| Los Angeles Times |
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
| "Government medical advisors on
Wednesday issued their recommendations for the 2009-10 flu vaccine. For
Type A flu, the most serious kind, the Food and Drug Administration
advisory panel recommended no change. Next season's vaccine will protect
against the same two Type A strains in circulation now. However, for the
milder Type B strain, next year's vaccine will replace a Type B/Florida
strain of the virus with a version called Type B/Brisbane..." |
|
|
Family Mourns Loss of Boy, 12, to Flu |
|
| The Boston Herald |
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
| "The grieving Jamaica Plain mother of
a 12-year-old Boston schoolboy officials believe is the state's first
reported child flu death this season said her son lost his permission
slip for the flu shot that might have saved his life. Tess Pope, 48,
wept last night in her home and struggled not to blame herself as she
recalled her "absent-minded" son, Hunter, a Boston Latin Academy
seventh-grader who died Sunday at Boston Medical Center. "I didn't know
until yesterday - he lost the (permission) sheet," the heartbroken mom
told the Herald while being comforted by family and friends in her
Wenham Street Victorian. While some parents distrust medicine, Pope said
she embraced it and would have eagerly encouraged him to have had the
school-sponsored flu shot, noting Hunter, his twin sister, Molly, and
15-year-old twin brothers, Connor and Ramsay, were all conceived through
in vitro fertilization. "The fact that he lived at all is through
medicine," said the distraught mother who runs a French horn
manufacturing business with her husband, Ken, 48, out of their home. Dr.
Al DeMaria, director of infectious diseases for the state Department of
Public Health, said that while the agency is still awaiting the final
results of blood tests to confirm the cause of death, "by all
indications it was related to influenza." |
|
|
Health Officials: Levittown child, 10, died of flu |
|
| Newsday |
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
| "The weekend death of a Levittown
elementary school student was likely caused by the flu and is the first
childhood death attributed to influenza on Long Island in the five years
since public health agencies have been required to report pediatric flu
deaths, officials said yesterday. Cynthia Brown, spokeswoman for the
Nassau County Health Department, said the 10-year-old died over the
weekend and that preliminary tests revealed the presence of an A-strain
of the flu. The child, who was not identified, had been a student at
Northside Elementary School. The school district's Web site reported the
death amid concerns that the child had meningitis. Tests have now ruled
out both viral and bacterial forms of the disease..." |
|
|
Deaths of Two Children From Flu Point to Importance of Vaccination |
|
| FOX News |
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
| "It's not too late to be vaccinated
against the flu. And the recent deaths of two children age 10 and 12 and
living in New York and Boston, respectively, points to the importance of
getting vaccinated every year..." |
|
|
WHO Perplexed by Panasonic's Move to Repatriate Staff Families over Flu
Fears |
|
| Canadian Press |
|
| February 12, 2009 |
|
| "A plan by Panasonic Corp. to
repatriate families of overseas employees because of fears of a flu
pandemic drew a perplexed reaction from the World Health Organization on
Tuesday. WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said there is no evidence that
the risk of a pandemic caused by the H5N1 avian flu virus is any higher
now than it was last year or the year before. "There's been no change in
the way that the virus is behaving," Hartl said from Geneva. "So there's
really no reason for anyone all of a sudden to take such actions.
Because today is no different from yesterday." Panasonic Corp. said
Tuesday it has ordered families of its Japanese overseas employees to
return home from countries or regions where the company believes there
may be a pandemic risk. The orders were issued in December but families
have until September to return to Japan..." |
|
|
Child, 6, Dies of Flu Complications as Illness Spreads |
|
| The News & Observer (North Carolina) |
|
| February 11, 2009 |
|
| "A 6-year-old North Carolina child
has died of complications from flu, health leaders reported Tuesday.The
child, whose sex and hometown in a rural county were not released to
protect the family's privacy, was the first youngster to die of
influenza this year in the state. Three children have died nationwide,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It really
is just heartbreaking," said Dr. Leah Devlin, state health director.
"There's no such thing as a touch of the flu. It's a very serious
illness, particularly for the very young and very old." Devlin
encouraged people to get a flu shot, which offers full protection
against the virus within two weeks. This year's vaccine, unlike last
season's, has been a good match for the strains of virus circulating,
she said. Despite the death, this year's flu season appears to be
average. Infection rates across the state have begun to increase, with
doctors now reporting widespread illness..." |
|
|
New York Flu Cases Climb, Feds See Resistance to Meds |
|
| Newsday |
|
| February 11, 2009 |
|
| "Flu cases have accelerated
significantly on Long Island and throughout New York within the past
week to 10 days, state health officials said yesterday as their federal
counterparts grappled with the resistance of a key influenza strain to
the leading antiviral medication. State health officials say the number
of people with the flu in recent days has increased dramatically
compared with previous weeks in the season...The problem served as a
signal for how vast the circulation of flu viruses can be. 'We don't
know why the resistance has occurred. It's probably not driven by
overuse of drug,' a usual cause of resistance, he said." |
|
|
First Child Flu Death of Season Reported in N.C.; Child Had Not Been
Vaccinated |
|
| Asheville Citizen- Times (NC) |
|
| February 10, 2009 |
|
| "North Carolina has reported its
first child death from flu for the 2008-2009 flu season. A six-year-old
child died Monday of complications from an influenza infection. The
child had not received flu vaccine this season. 'We are deeply saddened
to hear of this loss,' said State Health Director Leah Devlin. 'It is a
devastating reminder that flu can be a serious and even deadly illness.
We all need to do what we can to prevent the spread of flu in this
state, and vaccination is the best way to prevent the flu...'" |
|
|
Flu Mystery Solved? Why It Flourishes in Winter |
|
| National Geographic News |
|
| February 9, 2009 |
|
| "Why the flu strikes hard during the
winter but nearly vanishes in the summer has baffled epidemiologists for
decades. Now a new study may have the answer: Influenza germs last
longer and pass from person to person more effectively in lower absolute
humidity—i.e., when it's cold outside and the air is dryer..." |
|
|
Novartis Voluntarily Withdraws Five Lots of Flu Vaccine Fluvirin Lost
'Minimal' Amount of Potency |
|
| AAFP News |
|
| February 9, 2009 |
|
| "Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Inc.
has initiated a voluntary withdrawal of five lots of its seasonal
influenza vaccine Fluvirin in Luer-Lok prefilled syringes. The vaccine
manufacturer is asking health care providers to immediately discontinue
use of affected vaccine and return any remaining doses. According to
information posted Feb. 4 on the FDA Web site, routine stability testing
of the vaccine product revealed a "minor deviation in the potency of the
A/Brisbane (H1N1) component of the vaccine..." |
|
|
Kids and Their Families Are Hit Hardest During Flu Season, According to
Thomson Reuters Study |
|
| February 9, 2009 |
|
| "A research brief from the Healthcare
business of Thomson Reuters found that 5.6 percent of children used
health services due to influenza-like illness (ILI) during the 2005-2006
and 2006-2007 flu seasons -- more than double the rate for adults.
Overall, a greater proportion of families with children used healthcare
services for ILI than families without children -- 55 percent of
three-member families with children had at least one family member
treated for ILI, compared with 38 percent of families without
children..." |
|
|
Grown-ups Need Vaccinations, too |
|
| The Baltimore Sun |
|
| February 6, 2009 |
|
| "Vaccines, it turns out, aren't just
for children. Long the purview of the pediatrician's office,
immunizations are often forgotten about once patients turn 18. But the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as leading doctors
organizations, recommend that adults continue to receive certain routine
shots throughout their lives to keep up immunity against infectious
diseases, including tetanus, whooping cough, pneumonia and shingles..." |
|
|
Hospital Tries Doo-Wop to Push Flu Shots |
|
| The Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) |
|
| February 6, 2009 |
|
| "A usually reserved internist at the
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania dances with abandon, a
stethoscope around his neck. A cluster of workers sways gently in
Central Supply while nurses, technicians and patient reps get down in
the ER. Words can't quite describe this music video of hundreds of
health-care workers lip-synching to a Chinese a cappella group's doo-wop
beat..." |
|
|
Dallas County Reports First Flu-Related Death |
|
| Dallas Morning News (TX) |
|
| February 5, 2009 |
|
| "A 49-year-old Lancaster woman has
died while suffering from the flu, marking the first flu-related death
this year in Dallas County, health officials announced Thursday. The
woman, who was not publicly identified, died within the last two weeks,
said Jacqueline Bell, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County Department of
Health and Human Services. While the woman had the flu, she developed
MRSA pneumonia, which typically follows the onset of influenza,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those
who die from the flu typically are older, Bell said, but the flu can
leave anyone open to other deadly infections. "The passing of this
person reiterates that everyone is susceptible," Bell said. It's not too
late for people to get a flu shot, but it takes up to two weeks for the
vaccine to provide the maximum protection..." |
|
|
Flu Season Is Off to Slow Start, But for Va. |
|
| The Washington Post |
|
| February 2, 2009 |
|
| "Virginia is the first state in the
nation to report a widespread outbreak of the flu, and the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the chronic winter
illness might spread rapidly after a relatively slow start this season.
" We could really get slammed in two weeks," Anthony Fiore, a CDC
epidemiologist, responded when asked whether much of the nation might be
spared this year. "Oh, no, it'll get here." The weekly survey conducted
by the CDC during flu season found localized outbreaks of the illness in
Maryland and sporadic cases in the District, but Virginia was the only
state so far where the flu was widespread..." |
|
|
For Ian's Sake, Take Flu Seriously |
|
| January 30, 2009 |
|
| Kansas City (MO) Star |
|
| "Julie Moise thought she knew the
flu. Sure it could knock you flat. But in several days you'd be fine.
Tons of people got it. It was no big deal. The Southwest Airlines flight
attendant knows better now. The flu is serious. And it can be deadly.
Julie Moise lost her son Ian to the flu in 2003She learned that in the
hardest of ways. In December 2003, her 6-month-old son, Ian, started
showing mild influenza symptoms. Less than two days later, he was dead.
Now the 42-year-old Northland mother wants to spread the word about the
dangers of flu and the importance of flu vaccines..." |
|
|
Influenza May Trigger Guillain-Barre Syndrome |
|
| Reuters Health Medical News |
|
| January 28, 2009 |
|
| "Influenza may trigger Guillain-Barre
syndrome Influenza infection can infrequently precipitate the occurrence
of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), French researchers report in the
January issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. GBS "is usually triggered
by infectious disease or vaccine," senior investigator Dr. Elyanne Gault
told Reuters Health. "To date, influenza was associated with GBS through
vaccination, based on the report of a high number of GBS cases during a
mass vaccination campaign against swine influenza in the US." The
current study reports "virological evidence that influenza infection is
a trigger for GBS, with a frequency related to the level of influenza
epidemics," she explained..." |
|
|
Flu Strain Eludes Vaccine |
|
| Houston Chronicle |
|
| January 21, 2009 |
|
| "About half of the Houston influenza
specimens tested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in December were caused by a strain not covered by this year's flu
vaccine. Of the 19 flu positives, nine were influenza B, and most, if
not all, of those were in the "Victoria" lineage not included in the flu
vaccine, according to a report by Texas Children's Hospital's Diagnostic
Virology Laboratory, which collected the viral cultures. Texas
Children's also reported its first childhood flu death of the season, a
16-year-old boy with the influenza B virus. The hospital offered no
other details..." |
|
|
One Major Flu Strain Resistant to Tamiflu Treatment |
|
| The Seattle (WA) Times |
|
| January 15, 2009 |
|
| "One of the major strains of the
influenza virus this season has become resistant to Tamiflu rendering
the mainstay antiviral drug all but impotent and creating tough
treatment options for patients who come down with the flu. On Dec. 19,
the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) alerted local health
authorities that an early testing of the most common type of seasonal
flu found that it has become virtually impervious to Tamiflu. The
resistance, apparently triggered by a spontaneous mutation in the virus,
comes three years after a different subtype of the flu virus became
widely resistant to another drug class. In response, state and local
health officials are advising doctors to hedge their treatments by
simultaneously prescribing Tamiflu and a second antiviral medicine..." |
|
|
U.S. to Produce Cell-Based Flu Vaccine |
|
| UPI |
|
| January 15, 2009 |
|
| "The U.S. government said it has
awarded a $487 million contract to Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics for
cell-based flu vaccines. Novartis will be the first U.S. facility to
manufacture cell-based vaccines, which can be made faster and in greater
quantities than traditional influenza vaccine. The Department of Health
and Human Services said the new facility is expected to boost U.S.
capacity for pandemic influenza vaccine by at least 25 percent..." |
|
|
Major Flu Strain Found Resistant to Leading Drug, Puzzling Scientists |
|
| New York Times |
|
| January 9, 2009 |
|
| "Virtually all the dominant strain of
flu in the United States this season is resistant to the leading
antiviral drug Tamiflu, and scientists and health officials are trying
to figure out why...'" |
|
|
Texas Senator Pushing Bill for Flu Vaccines in Schools |
|
| CBS 42 News (TX) |
|
| January 8, 2009 |
|
| "It's the middle of flu season, and
state health officials are urging people to get their flu vaccine. But
if a new bill passes, students who are a part of a pilot program would
be able to receive flu shots directly from their schools...
Representative Howard says the idea behind the bill is to reach those
students who may not normally be able to access the vaccine. 'The more
we can get vaccinated the more we can impact the spread or lack thereof
of the disease,' she said. But parents are concerned that providing
vaccines to every student in the state, without knowing how each
individual child reacts to the vaccine, is not a good idea. Parent
Rebekah Gainsley is deeply involved with autism awareness, and questions
the program." |
|
|
South Dakota Reports First Influenza Death of 2008-2009 Season |
|
|
| January 4, 2009 |
|
| "South Dakota's first
influenza-associated death of this season was reported to the South
Dakota Department of Health today. The death was a resident of
southeastern South Dakota in the 80 to 89-year-old age group, who had
influenza A and other chronic health conditions. "While flu seemed to
start slowly this season, this unfortunate death is a reminder of how
serious the disease can be. It's important that people practice good
personal hygiene to prevent the spread of influenza," said Dr. Lon
Kightlinger, State Epidemiologist for the department..." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Researchers Unlock Secrets of 1918 Flu Pandemic |
|
| Reuters |
|
| December 29, 2008 |
|
| "Researchers have found a complex of
three genes--called PA, PB1, and PB2--that help the flu virus live and
reproduce deep in the lungs, causing pneumonia. These genes may be the
cause for the serious strain of flu involved in the 1918 pandemic and
its higher death rate. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin
and colleagues at the University of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan conducted
the study on ferrets, which develop flu similarly to humans. The flu
virus with the complex of three genes as well as a 1918 version of the
nucleoprotein made modern flu kill ferrets in the same way the original
1918 flu. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. |
|
|
Students, That Flu Shot Could Help Your Grades |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| December 2, 2008 |
|
| "If you've ever had to talk a college
student into getting a flu shot, researchers at the University of
Minnesota just made your case. Vaccinated students are: 46 percent less
likely to miss a class; 40 percent less likely to botch an assignment;
47 percent less likely to have a bad test; and 47 percent less likely to
have to go to the doctor..." |
|
|
College Students Also Need Flu Vaccine |
|
| ABC News |
|
| December 2, 2008 |
|
| "Although most college students
are part of the 17 percent of Americans not included in the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine recommendations, a new study
suggests that they may be among the major beneficiaries of a flu shot.
The study, in this weeks issue of the Archives of Pediatric and
Adolescent Medicine, found that college students who have been immunized
against the flu were 30 percent less likely to contract an influenza
illness, and were also less likely to miss class or become unable to
complete work because of flu-like illness..." |
|
|
Boston Launches Flu Shot Tracking |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| November 21, 2008 |
|
| "Using technology originally
developed for mass disasters, Boston disease trackers are embarking on a
novel experiment - one of the first in the country - aimed at eventually
creating a citywide registry of everyone who has had a flu vaccination.
The resulting vaccination map would allow swift intervention in
neighborhoods left vulnerable to the fast-moving respiratory illness.
The trial starts this afternoon, when several hundred people are
expected to queue up for immunizations at the headquarters of the Boston
Public Health Commission. Each of them will get a bracelet printed with
a unique identifier code. Information about the vaccine's recipients,
and the shot, will be entered into handheld devices similar to those
used by delivery truck drivers..." |
|
|
Teaching Moment Springs from School's Shared Sadness |
|
| Seattle Times |
|
| November 21, 2008 |
|
| "Half the kids in her second grade
had been out that winter. But no one imagined Marija Alumbaugh would
never come back to Laurelhurst Elementary over something as simple as
the flu. It happened, though. The influenza led to heart inflammation
called myocarditis, and in a matter of days in February 2007, the
8-year-old girl was gone..." |
|
|
Shots All Around! The Case for Immunizing Everyone Against the Flu |
|
| Slate.com |
|
| November 19, 2008 |
|
| "Problem: Influenza is a common viral
disease. Because it's so common (in any one year, somewhere between 5
percent and 20 percent of Americans will get the flu) and because people
tend to call any illness with fever, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea
a "flu," it is often taken casually—more a fact of life than a cause for
anxiety. Many of these misnamed infections are pretty minor, but true
influenza is often quite a serious disease, leading to more than 200,000
annual hospitalizations in the United States and about 36,000 deaths
every year..." |
|
|
Really? The Claim: Nasal-Spray Flu Vaccine Can Make you Sick |
|
| New York Times |
|
| November 18, 2008 |
|
| "Every year, myths about the flu
vaccine spread as widely as the flu itself. Most people seem to know
that the flu shot, which uses killed viruses, cannot cause symptoms. But
its newer counterpart, the nasal spray FluMist, is slightly different.
It uses live but weakened viruses, which can still replicate for as long
as three weeks. But that alone is not enough to cause sickness or result
in passing the virus to others..." |
|
|
Drive-By Flu Shots |
|
| Time Magazine |
|
| November 13, 2008 |
|
| "More hospitals are offering curbside
vaccinations. Sure, it's convenient, but is it safe?...But critics say
that the process is dangerous and that the last place you want to be if
something goes wrong is speeding down the highway. It takes time to hash
out the risk factors associated with flu shots, such as being allergic
to eggs or already having a fever when you get vaccinated..." |
|
|
Google Tool Uses Search Terms to Detect Flu Outbreaks |
|
| CNN |
|
| November 12, 2008 |
|
| "If you have a fever, headache and
runny nose, you might go to Google and type the words "flu symptoms" to
see whether you've come down with influenza. Google Flu Trends provides
a map of influenza activity in the U.S. at www.google.org/flutrends...
Google's new public health initiative, Google Flu Trends, looks at the
relative popularity of a slew of flu-related search terms to determine
where in the U.S. flu outbreaks may be occurring..." |
|
|
From Influenza A to Zanamivir, What You Need to Know This Flu Season |
|
| Chicago Daily Herald |
|
| November 10, 2008 |
|
| "It's a rite of autumn. The days
grow shorter, the temperature drops, footballs fly - and the flu
strikes. Influenza is so common that it's easy to dismiss this seasonal
affliction as "just a virus" or "just the flu." It's true that the flu
is caused by a virus and that most patients recover without specific
therapy. But it's also true that thousands of Americans die from the flu
each year, and millions are sick enough to miss work or school..." |
|
| Study Backs Up Flu Shot Advice for Kids |
|
| USA Today |
|
| November 2, 2008 |
|
| "New research confirms the benefits of vaccinating children against respiratory diseases. In a study in today's Pediatrics, doctors found that flu shots can keep kids out of the doctor's office, even when that season's vaccines aren't a perfect match for viruses in the community..." |
|
|
Idaho Health Officials Report First Flu Death |
|
| Associated Press |
|
| October 29, 2008 |
|
| "State health officials say a
50-year-old woman from northern Idaho has died from influenza
complications. The case was reported Tuesday and is the first
flu-related death of the season in Idaho. The case was reported Tuesday
and is the first flu-related death of the season in Idaho..." |
|
| Flu Widow's Message: Get your flu shot |
|
| Star Tribune |
|
| October 29, 2008 |
|
| "As the daughter of one Minneapolis firefighter and the wife of another, Linda DeLude thought she knew the dangers that her husband, Barry, faced on the job. The flu virus didn't even make the list. Until one day in 2007. In late January, Barry DeLude and his crew responded to a medical emergency at a nursing home. Two days later, he started feeling achy and complained of the worst headache of his life..." |
|
| Cast a Vote, Get Vaccinated, Nonprofit Urges |
|
| CNN.com |
|
| October 29, 2008 |
|
| "Record numbers of early voters are lining up across America, and one nonprofit hopes health is on at least some of their minds. The non-partisan program Vote & Vax is teaming up with local health agencies to provide flu vaccinations at 250 polling locations around the country. "It's a win-win situation for everyone," said Dr. Doug Shenson, national program director of Vote & Vax. "The providers are delivering flu shots. The community is protected. The election experience is an efficient and good one..." |
|
| Survivor Stresses Importance of Flu Shots |
|
| Lawrence Journal World (KS) |
|
| October 27, 2008 |
|
| "When doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka gave Ed Barnhart less than a 10 percent chance to live, pus had wrapped around his lungs and leached the air out of them, suffocating him from within. His temperature hit 106; his heart was beating dangerously fast. He'd contracted staph, strep throat and pneumonia. Barnhart, 57, was battling for his life against influenza A..." |
|
| Massive Flu Vaccine Dose Protects Elderly Better |
|
| Reuters |
|
| October 26, 2008 |
|
| "Giving four times the usual dose of flu vaccine helps protect elderly people better than the usual dose, researchers reported on Sunday, offering a potential solution to the problem of vaccinating seniors. Recent research has shown the standard flu vaccine does not reduce deaths noticeably among the elderly….but the high-dose vaccine appeared to work well in them all...Annual flu vaccines are recommended for most of the U.S. population, including people over the age of 50, people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, children and pregnant women. Globally, seasonal influenza kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people every year..." |
|
| Op-ed: Flu Vaccine for Preschoolers |
|
| New York Times |
|
| October 22, 2008 |
|
| "Hundreds of protesters rallied at the State House in Trenton in support of a bill that would allow parents to opt out of the mandate and all vaccine requirements. That would be a serious mistake for children and their parents. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children from the ages of 6 months through 18 years be vaccinated annually against the flu..." |
|
| Op-ed: Forgoing Vaccines Has a Social Cost |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| October 20, 2008 |
|
| "I love vaccines. The other day, at my 4-year-old son's annual check-up, a physician's assistant asked me whether I had any questions before she shot him up with a half-dozen varieties, including polio, mumps-measles-rubella and flu, and I said, 'Heck no, bring them on!' I have long known that vaccines are considered among the greatest advances of modern medicine. But it was last winter's flu epidemic that turned me into a fervid vaccine fan. In a flukish cluster of tragedy, I happened to know the families of two otherwise healthy children who died of complications of influenza..." |
|
| She Lost Son; Now Stresses Flu Shot Value |
|
| Register-Herald Reporter (WV) |
|
| October 9, 2008 |
|
| "When Diane McGowen of Nazareth, Pa., gave her son Martin Tylenol before putting him to bed on Feb. 8, 2005, she never imagined it would be the last time she would say goodnight to her son..." |
|
| School-Aged Children Advised to Get Flu Vaccine |
|
| Wasau Daily Herald (WI) |
|
| October 8, 2008 |
|
| "It's time to roll up the sleeves: Influenza season is around the corner, and this year, federal officials are advising school-age children become vaccinated, too. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending children ages 5 to 18 receive influenza vaccinations this year, said Eva Scheppa, a nurse who leads Marshfield Clinic's quality improvement and care management initiatives. Though healthy children in this age group are not likely to experience complications from influenza, they can spread the illness to younger siblings and older adults..." |
|
| Treatment: Flu Vaccine for Pregnant Women is 2 for 1 |
|
| New York Times |
|
| October 7, 2008 |
|
| "For the first time, a clinical trial has shown that pregnant women who receive the influenza vaccine provide immunity to their newborns as well. The vaccine is not licensed for infants younger than 6 months, but is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for all pregnant women. Babies whose mothers took the flu vaccine had a 63 percent reduction in influenza compared with the controls, and a 29 percent reduction in rates of respiratory illness with fever. 'I think that when it’s clear that immunizing the mother also has an effect on the baby’s health, there may be more interest in immunizing mothers,' said Dr. Mark C. Steinhoff, the senior author and a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins. 'This is a real two for one. You immunize the mother, you protect two people.' The small study was supported in part by money from two pharmaceutical companies..." |
|
| Jump Seen in Staph-Linked Flu Deaths in Kids |
|
| The Associated Press |
|
| October 6, 2008 |
|
| "More children have died from flu because they also had staph infections, according to a new government report that urges parents to have their kids get the flu shot. The number of deaths wasn't high -- 73 during the 2006-07 flu season -- but there was more than a fivefold increase in hard-to-treat complications...Public health officials say the numbers underscore the importance of a brand new recommendation that all children, from 6 months through 18 years, get routine flu shots..." |
|
| 86% of Americans Told to Get Flu Shot |
|
| Washington Post |
|
| September 25, 2008 |
|
| "A record-setting amount of influenza vaccine is available this fall for a record-setting number of people being advised to get it. That was the message yesterday from officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several private organizations, who convened in Washington to urge Americans to get flu shots. The number of people targeted for flu vaccination has grown steadily in recent years and now constitutes 86 percent of the population. For the first time, the federal government is recommending this year that children 5 to 18 years old get vaccinated, along with the previously targeted group of 6 months to 5 years..." |
|
| Schools Could Star in Battle vs Flu |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| September 25, 2008 |
|
| "It is a black-and-white portrait from a bygone era: children queued up in a school auditorium, arms bared for a shot of protection against a deadly disease...With the federal government urging for the first time that all children 6 months and older get the flu vaccine, the state is preparing for one of the most ambitious public health campaigns undertaken in years. Pediatricians would be inundated if they had to vaccinate most of the state's 1.5 million children every year, authorities said yesterday. So schools have emerged, much as they did half a century ago, as central to the effort. Pilot programs making the flu vaccine available in schools could start as early as influenza season this fall, said John Auerbach, the state's public health commissioner. And if those succeed, Auerbach said yesterday, the initiative would be primed for expansion...While the disease poses the greatest threat to the aged and infirm, it can prove deadly to children: Last flu season, more than 70 youngsters died from the illness. And researchers have found that children play a major role in spreading the disease, with day-care centers and schools acting like incubators for the virus..." |
|
| Behind The Scenes Of The Flu Vaccine |
|
| ABC News: Medical Unit |
|
| September 19, 2008 |
|
| "Each year, millions head to their doctors' offices for a shot to protect them from the strains of influenza that keep many in bed sick come the winter months. Simply developing that vaccine is a complicated process, involving guesswork, observation and even a trip to the farm..." |
|
| More Flu Vaccine Aimed at Key Flu Spreaders: Kids |
|
| Boston Globe |
|
| September 8, 2008 |
|
| "Lots of youngsters on your street? Watch out: Flu may strike your community sooner and harder than it hits the hip singles neighborhood down the road. Flu-shot season begins this month, and for the first time vaccination is being pushed for virtually all children — not just those under 5..." |
|
| Deciding Who Gets the Vaccine First |
|
| Indianapolis Star |
|
| July 16, 2008 |
|
| "Disease pandemic doesn't have to exist to have a discussion about ethical dilemmas that could come with it, including: How should limited, potentially life-saving resources like vaccines or ventilators be allocated? Do those who are sickest or those who are hardiest have first dibs when such resources are limited.." |
|
| Most People with Asthma in U.S. Don't Get a Flu Shot |
|
| Reuters.com |
|
| June 19, 2008 |
|
| "Despite being at increased risk for influenza-related complications, almost two-thirds of people with asthma in the US are not vaccinated against influenza each year, according to an analysis of data from the 2005-2006 flu season..." |
|
| Active Children Dead Within Days |
|
| Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
|
| May 4, 2008 |
|
| "Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating a troubling increase in children dying from staph and MRSA pneumonia after battling flu infections. Chelsie Glenn, an 11-year-old from Athens, and Christopher Fouts, a 13-year-old from Griffin, are two of the children whose deaths last year contributed to CDC's concern, records show..." |
|
| CDC: Flu Season Worst in 3 Years; Vaccine Didn't Work Well |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| April 17, 2008 |
|
| "This year's flu season has shaped up to be the worst in three years, partly because the vaccine didn't work well against the viruses that made most people sick, health officials said Thursday..." |
|
| Current Flu Season Worst in 4 Years |
|
| HealthDay |
|
| April 17, 2008 |
|
| "The current U.S. flu season has been the worst in four years, due, in part, to a vaccine that was not a good match for certain circulating strains of flu virus, U.S. health officials said Thursday..." |
|
| TV Researcher 'Brought Fatal Flu to Amazon Tribe' |
|
| The Times Online (UK) |
|
| March 27, 2008 |
|
| "Amazonian tribes have called for film and television crews to be banned from their territories after a British production company was accused of starting a flu epidemic that killed four members of a remote Indian people..." |
|
| 'Influenza-Like Illness' Kills 2 in Same Minnesota Family |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| March 20, 2008 |
|
| "The victims' wife and mother is in intensive care in a Duluth hospital. A state health official said the men had Type B strain. A father and his adult son from north-central Minnesota died this week from complications of an "influenza-like illness," health officials said Thursday..." |
|
| Girl, 12, Dies After Getting Flu |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| March 20, 2008 |
|
| "The victims' wife and mother is in intensive care in a Duluth hospital. A state health official said the men had Type B strain. A father and his adult son from north-central Minnesota died this week from complications of an "influenza-like illness," health officials said Thursday..." |
|
| Girl is 2nd Child to Die of Flu in State This Winter |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| March 14, 2008 |
|
| "Another child in Minnesota has died because of the flu, the second this winter. Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health identified the child as a 5-year-old from the Twin Cities area. She received a flu shot only after she was already ill, health officials said..." |
|
| Op-ed: Flu Vaccinations for Children Help Protect Us All |
|
| San Francisco Chronicle |
|
| March 14, 2008 |
|
| "We're coming to the end of another influenza season. Every year, millions of Americans suffer through a miserable week or two, and about 40,000 - mostly the elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems or serious underlying disease - die from flu-related medical complications..." |
|
| Hong Kong to Shut Schools to Contain Flu Outbreak |
|
| Reuters |
|
| March 13, 2008 |
|
| "Hong Kong's government ordered all kindergartens and primary schools to close for two weeks starting from Thursday to contain an outbreak of seasonal influenza in the territory..." |
|
| How to Get Flu Vaccine to Children En Masse |
|
| Star Tribune (MN) |
|
| March 10, 2008 |
|
| "With a federal panel now urging annual flu shots for all school-aged children, Minnesota health officials are looking for new and creative ways to offer the vaccine en masse..." |
|
| Op-ed: A Prescription for Flu Shots |
|
| New York Times |
|
| March 9, 2008 |
|
| "It is accepted sound public health policy to inoculate as many people as possible every year against influenza before they can become infected. That is why 47 states allow not just doctors and nurse practitioners but also pharmacists to administer vaccines. New York is one of the three states (Maine and West Virginia are the others) clinging to a wrongheaded policy that endangers everyone, especially the elderly and the very young..." |
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