background preloader

Influenza

Facebook Twitter

Bird Flu. H1N1.

H7N9

H3N2v. H5N1. Spanish Flu. Forget bird flu, seal flu could prove more deadly to humans. The H3N8 strain was discovered after the death of 162 New England sealsThe virus could target a protein found in human lungs causing immune system to go into overdrive and attack itselfThis would leave lungs vulnerable to pneumonia and bacterial infections By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 08:43 GMT, 31 July 2012 | Updated: 14:22 GMT, 31 July 2012 Seal flu could pose a new threat to human health, scientists have warned.

Forget bird flu, seal flu could prove more deadly to humans

A new flu virus identified in American harbour seals has the potential to pass to other mammals, including humans, say experts. The H3N8 strain was discovered after the death of 162 New England harbour seals last year. Influenzatrends. Which Flu Virus? A history of major flu pandemics. Patients crowd into an emergency hospital near Fort Riley, Kansas.

A history of major flu pandemics

The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed at least 20 million people worldwide. Photograph: AP Annual flu epidemics kill 250,000-500,000 people each year and cause severe illness in 3 million to 5 million. But new strains that jump from animals to humans can be even more devastating if the global population has no immunity to the virus. Flusurvey: Home. Influenzanet: Home. Online Newsroom - "Have You Heard?" Archive: 2011 - Influenza A Variant Virus.

Archive: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 CDC Confirms Detection of A Different Influenza A Variant Virus December 23, 2011 -- An influenza A (H1N1) virus that is known to circulate in U.S. swine but not humans has been detected in an adult in the state of Wisconsin. The patient reported occupational contact with swine prior to illness onset. NIAID. Holy influenza, batman! : Aetiology. Typically when we think of flying things and influenza viruses, the first images that come to mind are wild waterfowl.

Holy influenza, batman! : Aetiology

Waterbirds are reservoirs for an enormous diversity of influenza viruses, and are the ultimate origin of all known flu viruses. In birds, the virus replicates in the intestinal tract, and can be spread to other animals (including humans) via fecal material. However, a new paper expands a chapter on another family of flying animals within the influenza story: bats. I’ve written previously about the enormous diversity of microbes that bats possess.

This shouldn’t be surprising–after all, bats are incredibly diverse themselves, encompassing about a fifth of all known mammalian species. This new research expands our knowledge of bat viruses a bit. Though they weren’t able to culture out the flu viruses, the authors did do some molecular work suggesting that these novel bat viruses could combine with human viruses and form a functional recombinant virus. Reference. Hopkins researchers find 'Google Flu Trends' a powerful early warning system for emergency departments. Public release date: 9-Jan-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Mark Guideramguider1@jhmi.edu 443-898-2320Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Monitoring Internet search traffic about influenza may prove to be a better way for hospital emergency rooms to prepare for a surge in sick patients compared to waiting for outdated government flu case reports.

Hopkins researchers find 'Google Flu Trends' a powerful early warning system for emergency departments

A report on the value of the Internet search tool for emergency departments, studied by a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine over a 21-month period, is published in the January 9 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Risk Perception & Info-seek Behaviour (Pandemic) During the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic in 2009/10, a total of 13 consecutive surveys were carried out of the general population in Germany to monitor knowledge, attitude and behaviour concerning the disease and vaccination against pandemic influenza in real time.

Risk Perception & Info-seek Behaviour (Pandemic)

In total, 13,010 persons aged 14 years or older were interviewed by computer-assisted telephone techniques between November 2009 and April 2010. During the peak of the pandemic, only 18% of participants stated that they perceived the risk of pandemic influenza as high; this proportion fell to 10% in January 2010. There was a significant difference in information-seeking behaviour among population subgroups concerning the disease and vaccine uptake. However, in all subgroups, conventional media sources such as television, radio and newspapers were more frequently used than the Internet. Introduction. Timeliness of contact tracing among flight passengers for influenza A/H1N1 2009. Research article Corien M Swaan1*, Rolf Appels2, Mirjam EE Kretzschmar34 and Jim E van Steenbergen1 * Corresponding author: Corien M Swaan Corien.swaan@rivm.nl Author Affiliations 1 Preparedness and Response Unit, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), A. van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA Bilthoven, the Netherlands 2 Municipal Health Service, GGD Kennemerland, Spaarnepoort 5, 2134 TM Hoofddorp, the Netherlands.

Epidemic Influenza — Responding to the Expected but Unpredictable. In the United States, influenza viruses can be counted on to cause outbreaks sometime between fall and spring each year.

Epidemic Influenza — Responding to the Expected but Unpredictable

However, the timing and severity of these epidemics and the distribution of circulating viruses are highly variable and difficult to predict (see figure Percentages of Patient Visits for Influenza-like Illness and Number of Reported Deaths among Children for the 2012–2013 Season to Date and for Selected Previous Seasons.). For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the estimated number of influenza-associated deaths varies from 3000 to 48,000 during a seasonal U.S. outbreak.

The past two seasons exemplify this unpredictability. WHO Flu activity reports. Flu vaccination reminder via text messaging improves rate of vaccination among low-income children. Public release date: 24-Apr-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Karin Eskenaziket2116@columbia.edu 212-305-3900JAMA and Archives Journals This release is also available in Chinese on EurekAlert!

Flu vaccination reminder via text messaging improves rate of vaccination among low-income children

Chinese. CHICAGO – A text messaging intervention with education-related messages sent to parents increased influenza vaccination coverage compared with usual care in a traditionally hard-to-reach, low-income, urban, minority population of children and adolescents, although coverage overall remained low, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA. Moving towards a universal flu vaccine. K.

Moving towards a universal flu vaccine

Lounatmaa/SPL. Influenza. Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Visit 2014-2015 Season: What You Should Know( for flu and flu vaccine information specific to the current flu season.

Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine

The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year. Seasonal Influenza (Flu) Influenza Information. Facts about Influenza (the Flu) - HealthLinkBC File #12b. What is influenza?

Facts about Influenza (the Flu) - HealthLinkBC File #12b

Influenza, often called the flu, is an infection of the upper airway caused by an influenza virus. Getting sick with influenza also puts you at risk of other infections. These include viral or bacterial pneumonia which affect the lungs. The risk of complications, which can be life-threatening, is greater for seniors 65 years and older, very young children, and people who have lung or heart diseases, certain chronic health conditions, or weakened immune systems.