Infection Control Today Magazine

Seasonal Influenza

Rough U.S. Flu Season Boosts Numbers for Tamiflu

Drugs.com, a leading online clinical drug resource, today released first quarter 2013 U.S. prescription sales data for the top 100 drugs. The top five drugs have minor shifts in rank but exhibit positive growth for Q1 2013. Abilify, Otsuka's second generation antipsychotic, ...More
2 weeks ago
Posted in News
Two-Pronged Immune Cell Approach Could Lead to a Universal Shot Against the Flu

Seasonal epidemics of influenza result in nearly 36,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Current vaccines against the influenza virus elicit an antibody response specific for proteins on the outside of ...More
March 14, 2013
Posted in News
Prediction of Seasonal Flu Strains Improves Chances of Universal Vaccine

Researchers have determined a way to predict and protect against new strains of the flu virus, in the hope of improving immunity against the disease. Influenza is a rapidly spreading acute respiratory disease. Worldwide, annual seasonal epidemics of the flu result in 3 ...More
March 13, 2013
Posted in News
CDC Reports Flu Activity Falls in the East but Rises Sharply in the West

According to this week’s FluView Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza-like-illness activity falls in the East but rises sharply in the West. Overall, during week 4 (Jan. 20-26, 2013), influenza activity remained elevated in the United ...More
February 1, 2013
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
Mayo Clinic Expert Dispels 5 Common Flu Myths

There are many myths about the flu that are keeping people from doing more to prevent it. Mayo Clinic infectious diseases and vaccine expert Gregory Poland, MD, dispels some of the most common: Myth No. 1: Flu vaccines can give me the fluFalse. Injectable flu vaccines are ...More
January 30, 2013
Posted in News
Study Shows Climate Change Could Affect Onset and Severity of Flu Seasons

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, 2013 in PLOS Currents: Influenza. A team of scientists led by Sherry Towers, research professor in the ...More
January 28, 2013
Posted in News
JAMA Commentary Explores Common Arguments Against Influenza Vaccination

JAMA has posted a Viewpoint titled “Influenza Prevention Update: Examining Common Arguments Against Influenza Vaccination.” In this Viewpoint, Thomas R. Talbot, MD, MPH, and H. Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH, from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, say that with influenza ...More
January 18, 2013
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions
FDA Approves New Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Made Using Novel Technology

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces that it has approved Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. Flublok is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in ...More
January 16, 2013
Posted in News
Slide Show: Flu Facts

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) provides the facts about influenza. ...More
January 16, 2013
Posted in Galleries
CDC Releases Data on Effectiveness of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine

In the United States, annual vaccination against seasonal influenza is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months. Each season since 2004-05, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine to prevent ...More
January 11, 2013
Posted in News, PPE & Standard Precautions