Influenza

Slide Show: Influenza Update

We present a look at influenza statistics for 2011-2012 as well as provide an outlook for the 2012-2013 influenza season, based on this year’s influenza news conference hosted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). ...More
September 30, 2012
Posted in Galleries, Policies and Practice, PPE & Standard Precautions
Slide Show: A Primer on Seasonal Influenza

We present a primer on seasonal influenza, including frequently asked questions and answers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ...More
September 30, 2012
Posted in Galleries, Policies and Practice, PPE & Standard Precautions
Public Health Experts Get Vaccinated, Urge Importance of Influenza Vaccines at NFID News Conference

Public health officials and medical experts practiced what they preach by getting vaccinated against influenza during a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) news conference Sept. 27. Urging the public to follow suit, experts cautioned that influenza is ...More
September 28, 2012
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Flu Antibody May Boost Effort Toward Universal Vaccine, New Therapies

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Sea Lane Biotechnologies have solved the co-crystal structure of a human antibody that can neutralize influenza viruses in a unique way. The antibody recognizes the crucial structure that flu viruses use to attach to host ...More
September 17, 2012
Posted in News
Scientists Working on a Flu-Fighting Nasal Spray

In an advance toward development of a nasal spray that protects against infection with influenza and spread of the disease, scientists are reporting identification of a substance that activates the first-line defense system against infection inside the nose. They describe ...More
September 12, 2012
Posted in News
Reconstructed 1918 Influenza Virus Yields Key Insights, Scientists Say

The genetic sequencing and reconstruction of the 1918 influenza virus that killed 50 million people worldwide have advanced scientists' understanding of influenza biology and yielded important information on how to prevent and control future pandemics, according to a new ...More
September 11, 2012
Posted in News
Can Dynamic Mapping Reveal Clues About Seasonality of Influenza?

Influenza outbreaks in the United States typically begin with the arrival of cold weather and then spread in seasonal waves across geographic zones. But the question of why epidemics can vary from one season to the next has baffled scientists. In a paper titled "Deviations ...More
September 7, 2012
Posted in News
Study Finds Many U.S. Schools are Unprepared for Another Pandemic

Less than half of U.S. schools address pandemic preparedness in their school plan, and only 40 percent have updated their school plan since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to study published in the September 2012 issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. A team ...More
August 30, 2012
Posted in News
NIH Scientists Map First Steps in Flu Antibody Development

National Institutes of Health scientists have identified how a kind of immature immune cell responds to a part of influenza virus and have traced the path those cells take to generate antibodies that can neutralize a wide range of influenza virus strains. Study researchers ...More
August 29, 2012
Posted in News
Children with Neurologic Disorders at High Risk of Death from Flu

A disproportionately high number of children with neurologic disorders died from influenza-related complications during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study by scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report in the journal Pediatrics ...More
August 29, 2012
Posted in News