http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp
There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.
[...]
The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”
Well, we’re here to answer that question for you, and hopefully share a few tips about preparing for real emergencies too!
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Very smart move by the CDC to add some humor to the serious (and sometimes dry) subject of emergency preparedness.
They have also created various buttons & banners to capitalize on the recent 'Zombie' attention surge...
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
IBM Nanoparticle Breakthrough Destroys Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Via Business 2.0 Press -
A team of engineers and researchers headed by Dr. James Hedrick at IBM Inc. has developed a new technology that could revolutionize how resistant bacterial infections are currently treated.
IBM researchers created a new type of nanoparticles that are capable of destroying the membrane walls of certain drug-resistant bacteria strains, leaving the cells to harmlessly thaw without any trace. The new system works by using biodegradable plastic to engineer electrically charged nanoparticles that in turn attract to the bacteria’s opposite charge, in turn destroying the membrane walls hence the cell entirely.
Traditional antibiotic medicines, like apo amoxicillin, block certain types of microorganisms that can cause infections from multiplying by interfering with their DNA. Mostly, these medicines work very well in destroying all (which is why it is critical to follow dosage instructions from your physician, and continue to take your prescribed medication even after you feel better) bacteria over the course of treatment, but there are times when not every bacterial cell is killed which could later become drug resistant.
The new breakthrough methodology developed at IBM is able to destroy the cell’s membrane wall, leaving the remaining matter of the cell to safely degrade. Since the molecules of the system are organic, the human body is able to easily dispose of the medicine, unlike certain antibiotics that are not as easily removed by the body hence causing side effects.
The system proved successful in destroying methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria in laboratory tests involving infected mice, according to results published in Nature Chemistry. The system has yet to be tested on humans, but IBM said the company is currently in talks with major pharmaceutical firms looking at creating a human trial, but declined to publically say which specific firms are involved in talks.
MRSA bacterium is common around the world, and it is responsible for millions of deaths resulting from various infections, including respiratory infections.
A team of engineers and researchers headed by Dr. James Hedrick at IBM Inc. has developed a new technology that could revolutionize how resistant bacterial infections are currently treated.
IBM researchers created a new type of nanoparticles that are capable of destroying the membrane walls of certain drug-resistant bacteria strains, leaving the cells to harmlessly thaw without any trace. The new system works by using biodegradable plastic to engineer electrically charged nanoparticles that in turn attract to the bacteria’s opposite charge, in turn destroying the membrane walls hence the cell entirely.
Traditional antibiotic medicines, like apo amoxicillin, block certain types of microorganisms that can cause infections from multiplying by interfering with their DNA. Mostly, these medicines work very well in destroying all (which is why it is critical to follow dosage instructions from your physician, and continue to take your prescribed medication even after you feel better) bacteria over the course of treatment, but there are times when not every bacterial cell is killed which could later become drug resistant.
The new breakthrough methodology developed at IBM is able to destroy the cell’s membrane wall, leaving the remaining matter of the cell to safely degrade. Since the molecules of the system are organic, the human body is able to easily dispose of the medicine, unlike certain antibiotics that are not as easily removed by the body hence causing side effects.
The system proved successful in destroying methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria in laboratory tests involving infected mice, according to results published in Nature Chemistry. The system has yet to be tested on humans, but IBM said the company is currently in talks with major pharmaceutical firms looking at creating a human trial, but declined to publically say which specific firms are involved in talks.
MRSA bacterium is common around the world, and it is responsible for millions of deaths resulting from various infections, including respiratory infections.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Cockroach Brains Could Be Rich Stores of New Antibiotics
Via physorg.com -
Experts from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science have discovered powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts which could lead to novel treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections
. They found that the tissues of the brain and nervous system of the insects were able to kill more than 90 per cent of MRSA and pathogenic Escherichia coli, without harming human cells.
Simon Lee, a postgraduate researcher presented their work at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn meeting which is being held at The University of Nottingham between the 6 and 9 September 2010. The research has identified up to nine different molecules in the insect tissues that were toxic to bacteria.
Simon Lee said: “We hope that these molecules could eventually be developed into treatments for E. coli and MRSA infections that are increasingly resistant to current drugs. These new antibiotics could potentially provide alternatives to currently available drugs that may be effective but have serious and unwanted side effects.”
Experts from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science have discovered powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts which could lead to novel treatments for multi-drug resistant bacterial infections
. They found that the tissues of the brain and nervous system of the insects were able to kill more than 90 per cent of MRSA and pathogenic Escherichia coli, without harming human cells.
Simon Lee, a postgraduate researcher presented their work at the Society for General Microbiology’s autumn meeting which is being held at The University of Nottingham between the 6 and 9 September 2010. The research has identified up to nine different molecules in the insect tissues that were toxic to bacteria.
Simon Lee said: “We hope that these molecules could eventually be developed into treatments for E. coli and MRSA infections that are increasingly resistant to current drugs. These new antibiotics could potentially provide alternatives to currently available drugs that may be effective but have serious and unwanted side effects.”
Saturday, August 14, 2010
H1N1 Pandemic is Over
Via Virology.ws Blog -
The World Health Organization has declared the end of the pandemic caused by H1N1 influenza virus. According to Director-General Margaret Chan,
[...]
The World Health Organization has declared the end of the pandemic caused by H1N1 influenza virus. According to Director-General Margaret Chan,
The world is no longer in phase 6 of influenza pandemic alert. We are now moving into the post-pandemic period. The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course.
As we enter the post-pandemic period, this does not mean that the H1N1 virus has gone away. Based on experience with past pandemics, we expect the H1N1 virus to take on the behaviour of a seasonal influenza virus and continue to circulate for some years to come.
According to the Director-General, levels and patterns of H1N1 transmission are now different from those observed during the pandemic. Out-of-season outbreaks are no longer being reported, and their intensity is similar to that seen during seasonal epidemics. In addition, multiple influenza viruses are being isolated in many countries, a pattern typical of many recent seasonal epidemics.
I take particular interest in what the Director-General believes did not happen:
I continue to wonder why the Director-General, and many others, feel that influenza virus must change to a more lethal form. Although the four previous influenza pandemics occurred in multiple waves of increasing lethality, there is no evidence that they are a consequence of viral mutation.This time around, we have been aided by pure good luck. The virus did not mutate during the pandemic to a more lethal form. Widespread resistance to oseltamivir did not develop. The vaccine proved to be a good match with circulating viruses and showed an excellent safety profile.
[...]
I believe that a major selective force for viral evolution is the need to maintain efficient transmission among hosts. This may be achieved by any number of phenotypic changes, such as increases in stability and virion production. Changes in lethality might also lead to more effective transmission – for example, by inducing more severe coughing, the virus could be better transmitted among humans. But there is no genetic evidence that such changes have occurred during influenza virus pandemics.
How has the idea that influenza virus mutates to greater lethality permeated our popular culture? I don’t know the answer, but John Barry’s The Great Influenza is a prime suspect.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Pentagon Pushes for Near-Perfect Regenerative Medicine
Via Wired (Danger Room) -
Military-funded research is already behind some of the most cutting-edge regenerative science. Extreme projects, like bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds, are rolling into human trials thanks to a $12 million Pentagon grant earlier this year, and Darpa-funded scientists have made rapid strides toward regrowing human limbs.
But the military’s not done yet: The Office of the Secretary of Defense is soliciting small business proposals for two new projects to transform the regeneration of damaged tissue and cartilage, which afflict 85 percent of injured troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military-funded research is already behind some of the most cutting-edge regenerative science. Extreme projects, like bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds, are rolling into human trials thanks to a $12 million Pentagon grant earlier this year, and Darpa-funded scientists have made rapid strides toward regrowing human limbs.
But the military’s not done yet: The Office of the Secretary of Defense is soliciting small business proposals for two new projects to transform the regeneration of damaged tissue and cartilage, which afflict 85 percent of injured troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Vaccine Patch May Replace Needles
Via BBC -
A vaccine patch could cut out the need for painful needles and boost the effectiveness of immunisation against diseases like flu, say US researchers.
The patch has hundreds of microscopic needles which dissolve into the skin.
Tests in mice show the technology may even produce a better immune response than a conventional jab.
Writing in Nature Medicine, the team of researchers said the patch could one day enable people to vaccinate themselves.
Each patch, developed by researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, contains 100 "microneedles" which are just 0.65mm in length.
They are designed to penetrate the outer layers of skin, dissolving on contact.
[...]
If proven to be effective in further trials, the patch would mean an end to the need for medical training to deliver vaccines and turn vaccination into a painless procedure that people could do themselves.
It could also simplify large-scale vaccination during a pandemic, the researchers said.
Although the study only looked at flu vaccine, it is hoped the technology could be useful for other immunisations and would not cost any more than using a needle.
"We envision people getting the patch in the mail or at a pharmacy and then self-administering it at home," said Sean Sullivan, the study lead from Georgia Tech.
"Because the microneedles on the patch dissolve away into the skin, there would be no dangerous sharp needles left over."
A vaccine patch could cut out the need for painful needles and boost the effectiveness of immunisation against diseases like flu, say US researchers.
The patch has hundreds of microscopic needles which dissolve into the skin.
Tests in mice show the technology may even produce a better immune response than a conventional jab.
Writing in Nature Medicine, the team of researchers said the patch could one day enable people to vaccinate themselves.
Each patch, developed by researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, contains 100 "microneedles" which are just 0.65mm in length.
They are designed to penetrate the outer layers of skin, dissolving on contact.
[...]
If proven to be effective in further trials, the patch would mean an end to the need for medical training to deliver vaccines and turn vaccination into a painless procedure that people could do themselves.
It could also simplify large-scale vaccination during a pandemic, the researchers said.
Although the study only looked at flu vaccine, it is hoped the technology could be useful for other immunisations and would not cost any more than using a needle.
"We envision people getting the patch in the mail or at a pharmacy and then self-administering it at home," said Sean Sullivan, the study lead from Georgia Tech.
"Because the microneedles on the patch dissolve away into the skin, there would be no dangerous sharp needles left over."
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Mind-Blowing World of Human Chimeras
Via boingboing.net -
One person outside: But two people "inside": That's the gist of the chimera, a human being who carries the DNA (and sometimes the body parts) for two. It sounds crazy, but it happens. In fact, doctors think it probably happens more often than we realize. Unless there were some reason to test the DNA from cells in different parts of your body, you could easily be a chimera and never know it.
--------------------------
I recently saw the story of Lydia Fairchild on the Discovery Channel, which peaked my interest in human chimerism.
One person outside: But two people "inside": That's the gist of the chimera, a human being who carries the DNA (and sometimes the body parts) for two. It sounds crazy, but it happens. In fact, doctors think it probably happens more often than we realize. Unless there were some reason to test the DNA from cells in different parts of your body, you could easily be a chimera and never know it.
--------------------------
I recently saw the story of Lydia Fairchild on the Discovery Channel, which peaked my interest in human chimerism.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
China Lifts Travel Restrictions for HIV Carriers
Via BBC -
China has lifted travel restrictions for foreigners who suffer from HIV and AIDS.
The newly amended law, published on the government website, comes ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo on Saturday, which expects 100m visitors.
WHO welcomed the decision, calling it "a significant step in the right direction".
More than 50 countries around the world still have laws and restrictions for HIV-positive people.
Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, said: "This decision should inspire other nations to change laws and policies that continue to discriminate against people living with HIV.
"Many policies that discriminate against people living with HIV were enacted at a time when AIDS was surrounded by widespread fear and hopelessness.
"With HIV prevention and treatment now saving millions of lives, this is no longer the case. Policies that help curb discrimination can help prevent further transmission," she said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement: "Punitive policies and practices only hamper the global AIDS response.
"I urge all other countries with such restrictions to remove them as a matter of priority and urgency."
----------------------------------------------
Different counties have different restrictions - some block entry, some require long-term visitors to register. Find more information @ HIVTravel.org
China has lifted travel restrictions for foreigners who suffer from HIV and AIDS.
The newly amended law, published on the government website, comes ahead of the opening of the Shanghai World Expo on Saturday, which expects 100m visitors.
WHO welcomed the decision, calling it "a significant step in the right direction".
More than 50 countries around the world still have laws and restrictions for HIV-positive people.
Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, said: "This decision should inspire other nations to change laws and policies that continue to discriminate against people living with HIV.
"Many policies that discriminate against people living with HIV were enacted at a time when AIDS was surrounded by widespread fear and hopelessness.
"With HIV prevention and treatment now saving millions of lives, this is no longer the case. Policies that help curb discrimination can help prevent further transmission," she said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement: "Punitive policies and practices only hamper the global AIDS response.
"I urge all other countries with such restrictions to remove them as a matter of priority and urgency."
----------------------------------------------
Different counties have different restrictions - some block entry, some require long-term visitors to register. Find more information @ HIVTravel.org
Monday, April 26, 2010
Bill Gates Revamps His Polio-Eradication Effort Amid Africa Outbreak
Via WSJ.com -
Bill Gates walked into the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva—for a meeting in an underground chamber where global pandemics are managed—and was greeted by bad news. Polio was spreading across Africa, even after he gave $700 million to try to wipe out the disease.
hat outbreak raged last summer, and this week a new outbreak hit Tajikistan, which hadn't seen polio for 19 years. The spread threatens one of the most ambitious health campaigns in the world, the effort to destroy the crippling disease once and for all. It also marks a setback for the Microsoft Corp. co-founder's new career as full-time philanthropist.
Next week, the organizations behind the polio fight, including WHO, Unicef, Rotary International and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, plan to announce a major revamp of their strategy to address shortcomings exposed by the outbreaks.
Polio is a centerpiece of Mr. Gates's charitable giving. Last year the billionaire traveled to Africa, one of the main battlegrounds against the disease, to confer with doctors, aid workers and a sultan to propel the polio-eradication effort.
"There's no way to sugarcoat the last 12 months," Bruce Aylward, a WHO official, told Mr. Gates in the meeting in the underground pandemic center last June. He described how the virus was rippling through countries believed to have stopped the disease.
Mr. Gates asked: "So, what do we do next?"
That question goes to the heart of one of the most controversial debates in global health: Is humanity better served by waging wars on individual diseases, like polio? Or is it better to pursue a broader set of health goals simultaneously—improving hygiene, expanding immunizations, providing clean drinking water—that don't eliminate any one disease, but might improve the overall health of people in developing countries?
The new plan integrates both approaches. It's an acknowledgment, bred by last summer's outbreak, that disease-specific wars can succeed only if they also strengthen the overall health system in poor countries.
Bill Gates walked into the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva—for a meeting in an underground chamber where global pandemics are managed—and was greeted by bad news. Polio was spreading across Africa, even after he gave $700 million to try to wipe out the disease.
hat outbreak raged last summer, and this week a new outbreak hit Tajikistan, which hadn't seen polio for 19 years. The spread threatens one of the most ambitious health campaigns in the world, the effort to destroy the crippling disease once and for all. It also marks a setback for the Microsoft Corp. co-founder's new career as full-time philanthropist.
Next week, the organizations behind the polio fight, including WHO, Unicef, Rotary International and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, plan to announce a major revamp of their strategy to address shortcomings exposed by the outbreaks.
Polio is a centerpiece of Mr. Gates's charitable giving. Last year the billionaire traveled to Africa, one of the main battlegrounds against the disease, to confer with doctors, aid workers and a sultan to propel the polio-eradication effort.
"There's no way to sugarcoat the last 12 months," Bruce Aylward, a WHO official, told Mr. Gates in the meeting in the underground pandemic center last June. He described how the virus was rippling through countries believed to have stopped the disease.
Mr. Gates asked: "So, what do we do next?"
That question goes to the heart of one of the most controversial debates in global health: Is humanity better served by waging wars on individual diseases, like polio? Or is it better to pursue a broader set of health goals simultaneously—improving hygiene, expanding immunizations, providing clean drinking water—that don't eliminate any one disease, but might improve the overall health of people in developing countries?
The new plan integrates both approaches. It's an acknowledgment, bred by last summer's outbreak, that disease-specific wars can succeed only if they also strengthen the overall health system in poor countries.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
China Accused of Selling Bad Vaccines
Via NYTimes.com -
A newspaper article by one of China’s best-known investigative reporters has reawakened a controversy over whether provincial authorities improperly stored vaccines in rooms without air conditioning, rendering them ineffective, and then let them be administered to children.
China’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that it would look into the report, by Wang Keqin in the China Economic Times, while cautioning that it had examined the evidence in late 2008 and not found a widespread problem.
But Chen Taoan, the former chief spokesman of the Shanxi Province Disease Control and Prevention Center and still on the center’s staff, said in a telephone interview on Thursday that a senior official there had been relieved of all duties at the end of last year because of improprieties related to the vaccines.
Mr. Chen said that the center, which is part of the Shanxi Health Department, had required all hospitals in the province to buy vaccines at steep prices. To monitor compliance by the hospitals, the center put a sticker on each package of vaccine to show that it had been approved.
But the stickers would not adhere to the packages in air-conditioned rooms, Mr. Chen said, so the center routinely through 2006 and 2007 had the vaccines transferred to a warm room where the stickers were attached, Mr. Chen said.
“I saw boxes and boxes of vaccines piled up high like a hill in a hot room without air-conditioning,” he said. “Over the course of two years, I complained more than 30 times to the center’s leaders that these vaccines were no longer effective.”
------------------------------------
This article is a good example of "how not to handle vaccines".
But you can look beyond the details. Basically, this was an ill-conceived compliance method that ended up destroying that which it was designed to protect....making it an even better example of "how not to do compliance".
A newspaper article by one of China’s best-known investigative reporters has reawakened a controversy over whether provincial authorities improperly stored vaccines in rooms without air conditioning, rendering them ineffective, and then let them be administered to children.
China’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that it would look into the report, by Wang Keqin in the China Economic Times, while cautioning that it had examined the evidence in late 2008 and not found a widespread problem.
But Chen Taoan, the former chief spokesman of the Shanxi Province Disease Control and Prevention Center and still on the center’s staff, said in a telephone interview on Thursday that a senior official there had been relieved of all duties at the end of last year because of improprieties related to the vaccines.
Mr. Chen said that the center, which is part of the Shanxi Health Department, had required all hospitals in the province to buy vaccines at steep prices. To monitor compliance by the hospitals, the center put a sticker on each package of vaccine to show that it had been approved.
But the stickers would not adhere to the packages in air-conditioned rooms, Mr. Chen said, so the center routinely through 2006 and 2007 had the vaccines transferred to a warm room where the stickers were attached, Mr. Chen said.
“I saw boxes and boxes of vaccines piled up high like a hill in a hot room without air-conditioning,” he said. “Over the course of two years, I complained more than 30 times to the center’s leaders that these vaccines were no longer effective.”
------------------------------------
This article is a good example of "how not to handle vaccines".
But you can look beyond the details. Basically, this was an ill-conceived compliance method that ended up destroying that which it was designed to protect....making it an even better example of "how not to do compliance".
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Trivalent Influenza Vaccine for the 2010-2011 Season
Via virology.ws -
The World Health Organization and the US Food & Drug Administration have decided on the composition of the influenza virus vaccine that will be used during the 2010-2011 season in the northern hemisphere. The trivalent preparation will contain the following influenza virus strains: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1); A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2); and B/Brisbane/60/2008. The same trivalent vaccine is also being used to prepare for the upcoming winter in the southern hemisphere.
The A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) virus is the pandemic strain that was used in the 2009 H1N1 monovalent vaccine. That virus has not yet undergone sufficient antigenic drift to warrant selection of a new strain for the vaccine. Note that a seasonal H1N1 strain from previous years will not be included in the vaccine. This change has been made because epidemiological evidence suggests that these viruses will probably not circulate at significant levels during the 2010-2011 northern hemisphere season. Although the vast majority of circulating influenza viruses in humans are related to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain, sporadic influenza A(H3N2) activity continues to be reported in several countries. This is the reason why an H3N2 component is part of the vaccine.
The selection of viruses for seasonal flu vaccines is based on which influenza viruses circulate during the previous season. Sample viruses are collected by 130 national influenza centers in 101 countries and data on disease trends are analyzed by the four World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza. Vaccine viruses are selected which will most likely protect against the main circulating viruses during the next influenza season. WHO makes recommendations about which specific virus strains should be included in the vaccine. Individual countries then decide which viruses will be included in the influenza vaccine.
Even though the 2009 H1N1 strain has not undergone significant antigenic changes, it’s important to be immunized again in anticipation of the next influenza season. That’s because immunity conferred by the vaccine isn’t particularly long lasting. As Adolfo Garcia-Sastre told me today*, even if influenza didn’t change, you would still have to be immunized every year to protect against infection.
*I recorded our conversation. Look for it at TWiV within the next few weeks.
The World Health Organization and the US Food & Drug Administration have decided on the composition of the influenza virus vaccine that will be used during the 2010-2011 season in the northern hemisphere. The trivalent preparation will contain the following influenza virus strains: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1); A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2); and B/Brisbane/60/2008. The same trivalent vaccine is also being used to prepare for the upcoming winter in the southern hemisphere.
The A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) virus is the pandemic strain that was used in the 2009 H1N1 monovalent vaccine. That virus has not yet undergone sufficient antigenic drift to warrant selection of a new strain for the vaccine. Note that a seasonal H1N1 strain from previous years will not be included in the vaccine. This change has been made because epidemiological evidence suggests that these viruses will probably not circulate at significant levels during the 2010-2011 northern hemisphere season. Although the vast majority of circulating influenza viruses in humans are related to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain, sporadic influenza A(H3N2) activity continues to be reported in several countries. This is the reason why an H3N2 component is part of the vaccine.
The selection of viruses for seasonal flu vaccines is based on which influenza viruses circulate during the previous season. Sample viruses are collected by 130 national influenza centers in 101 countries and data on disease trends are analyzed by the four World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centers for Reference and Research on Influenza. Vaccine viruses are selected which will most likely protect against the main circulating viruses during the next influenza season. WHO makes recommendations about which specific virus strains should be included in the vaccine. Individual countries then decide which viruses will be included in the influenza vaccine.
Even though the 2009 H1N1 strain has not undergone significant antigenic changes, it’s important to be immunized again in anticipation of the next influenza season. That’s because immunity conferred by the vaccine isn’t particularly long lasting. As Adolfo Garcia-Sastre told me today*, even if influenza didn’t change, you would still have to be immunized every year to protect against infection.
*I recorded our conversation. Look for it at TWiV within the next few weeks.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Influenza Virus Hybridization Could Create Pandemic Bird Flu (H5N1)
Via BiologyNews.net -
Genetic interactions between avian H5N1 influenza and human seasonal influenza viruses have the potential to create hybrid strains combining the virulence of bird flu with the pandemic ability of H1N1, according to a new study.
In laboratory experiments in mice, a single gene segment from a human seasonal flu virus, H3N2, was able to convert the avian H5N1 virus into a highly pathogenic form. The findings are reported the week of Feb. 22 in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Some hybrids between H5N1 virus and seasonal influenza viruses were more pathogenic than the original H5N1 viruses. That is worrisome," says Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior author of the new study.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread worldwide through bird populations and has caused 442 confirmed human cases and 262 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. To date, however, bird flu has not been able to spread effectively between people.
"H5N1 virus has never acquired the ability to transmit among humans, which is why we haven't had a pandemic. The worry is that the pandemic H1N1 virus may provide that nature in the background of this highly pathogenic H5N1 virus," says Kawaoka, a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
Two viruses infecting a single host cell can swap genetic material, or reassort, creating hybrid strains with characteristics of each parent virus.
Before the current study, hybrid viruses generated in lab studies had always been less virulent than parent strains. However, the new findings raise concerns that H5N1 and pandemic H1N1 viruses could reassort in individuals exposed to both viruses and generate an influenza strain that is both highly virulent and contagious.
The increased virulence seen in the new study seems to arise from one of the eight genes in the viral genome, called PB2, which is known to affect how well the bird flu virus grows in mammalian hosts, including humans. When tested in mice, the human virus version of PB2 swapped into H5N1 converted the avian virus to a highly pathogenic form.
The researchers say surveillance of viral populations is critical to monitor the potential emergence of highly pathogenic viral variants due to reassortment of avian and human influenza viruses. Their results, including identification of the PB2 segment as a key to enhanced virulence, offer information likely to be useful in the event of a pandemic caused by a hybrid avian-human influenza strain.
"With the new pandemic H1N1 virus, people sort of forgot about H5N1 avian influenza. But the reality is that H5N1 avian virus is still out there," Kawaoka says. "Our data suggests that it is possible there may be reassortment between H5 and pandemic H1N1 that can create a more pathogenic H5N1 virus."
-------------------------------------
I really don't like the term "hybirdization" in this article, but given the different ways the flu virus could modify (mutation & reassortment)...I couldn't find a better term.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza#Epidemic_and_pandemic_spread
Genetic interactions between avian H5N1 influenza and human seasonal influenza viruses have the potential to create hybrid strains combining the virulence of bird flu with the pandemic ability of H1N1, according to a new study.
In laboratory experiments in mice, a single gene segment from a human seasonal flu virus, H3N2, was able to convert the avian H5N1 virus into a highly pathogenic form. The findings are reported the week of Feb. 22 in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Some hybrids between H5N1 virus and seasonal influenza viruses were more pathogenic than the original H5N1 viruses. That is worrisome," says Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior author of the new study.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread worldwide through bird populations and has caused 442 confirmed human cases and 262 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. To date, however, bird flu has not been able to spread effectively between people.
"H5N1 virus has never acquired the ability to transmit among humans, which is why we haven't had a pandemic. The worry is that the pandemic H1N1 virus may provide that nature in the background of this highly pathogenic H5N1 virus," says Kawaoka, a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
Two viruses infecting a single host cell can swap genetic material, or reassort, creating hybrid strains with characteristics of each parent virus.
Before the current study, hybrid viruses generated in lab studies had always been less virulent than parent strains. However, the new findings raise concerns that H5N1 and pandemic H1N1 viruses could reassort in individuals exposed to both viruses and generate an influenza strain that is both highly virulent and contagious.
The increased virulence seen in the new study seems to arise from one of the eight genes in the viral genome, called PB2, which is known to affect how well the bird flu virus grows in mammalian hosts, including humans. When tested in mice, the human virus version of PB2 swapped into H5N1 converted the avian virus to a highly pathogenic form.
The researchers say surveillance of viral populations is critical to monitor the potential emergence of highly pathogenic viral variants due to reassortment of avian and human influenza viruses. Their results, including identification of the PB2 segment as a key to enhanced virulence, offer information likely to be useful in the event of a pandemic caused by a hybrid avian-human influenza strain.
"With the new pandemic H1N1 virus, people sort of forgot about H5N1 avian influenza. But the reality is that H5N1 avian virus is still out there," Kawaoka says. "Our data suggests that it is possible there may be reassortment between H5 and pandemic H1N1 that can create a more pathogenic H5N1 virus."
-------------------------------------
I really don't like the term "hybirdization" in this article, but given the different ways the flu virus could modify (mutation & reassortment)...I couldn't find a better term.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza#Epidemic_and_pandemic_spread
New influenza viruses are constantly evolving by mutation or by reassortment. Mutations can cause small changes in the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens on the surface of the virus. This is called antigenic drift, which slowly creates an increasing variety of strains until one evolves that can infect people who are immune to the pre-existing strains. This new variant then replaces the older strains as it rapidly sweeps through the human population—often causing an epidemic. However, since the strains produced by drift will still be reasonably similar to the older strains, some people will still be immune to them. In contrast, when influenza viruses reassort, they acquire completely new antigens—for example by reassortment between avian strains and human strains; this is called antigenic shift. If a human influenza virus is produced that has entirely new antigens, everybody will be susceptible, and the novel influenza will spread uncontrollably, causing a pandemic. In contrast to this model of pandemics based on antigenic drift and shift, an alternative approach has been proposed where the periodic pandemics are produced by interactions of a fixed set of viral strains with a human population with a constantly changing set of immunities to different viral strains
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Measles Outbreak Spreading in South Africa
Via Alertnet.org (Reuters) -
The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.
The National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) said last week that the Western Cape had recorded the highest number of new measles cases, 82, bringing the total in the province to 447, although Gauteng Province remained worst affected, with 4,359 cases since the outbreak began almost a year ago. In other provinces KwaZulu-Natal recorded 631 cases, North West 563, and Eastern Cape 314.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes measles as a highly contagious viral disease affecting mostly children, and that it can be effectively prevented by immunization.
Symptoms usually appear about 8 to 12 days after infection and include high fever, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. A rash also develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading over the body.
Most people recover in two to three weeks, "However, particularly in malnourished children and people with reduced immunity, measles can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and pneumonia," WHO said on its website.
Adrian Puren, NICD deputy director of virology, told IRIN there were 40 confirmed measles cases in South Africa in 2008, and the key to preventing outbreaks was a comprehensive vaccination programme.
The high infection rate suggested there were "a large number of susceptible individuals" who had not received the highly effective vaccinations, which he attributed to religious objections or the belief that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) inoculation was a cause of autism.
The MMR vaccination programme in South Africa provides children with a first vaccination at about 9 months, followed by a measles booster jab at 18 months free of charge. Private medical care offers the option of a separate measles vaccination, or the three-in-one MMR.
Earlier in February, The Lancet, the highly respected medical journal, debunked an article describing a link between MMR and autism, published in 1998. British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield surmised in a paper that from a sample of 12 children who had received the vaccination, eight had displayed effects of autism.
The article elicited a strong response and by 2004, 10 of the 13 co-authors had distanced themselves from it after charges that the results had been falsified.
Paul Offit, a vaccine researcher at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, in the US, told the Voice of America radio station that numerous studies since then had concluded there was no link between MMR and autism.
"We've reached the many hundreds of thousands mark of children who did or didn't receive MMR to see whether risk of autism was greater in the vaccinated group, and it wasn't - consistently, reproducibly, redundantly," he said.
"I think that the problem is there are people who simply don't believe the science. They hold on to this notion that MMR causes autism, or that vaccines cause autism, much as one holds a religious belief."
The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.
The National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) said last week that the Western Cape had recorded the highest number of new measles cases, 82, bringing the total in the province to 447, although Gauteng Province remained worst affected, with 4,359 cases since the outbreak began almost a year ago. In other provinces KwaZulu-Natal recorded 631 cases, North West 563, and Eastern Cape 314.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes measles as a highly contagious viral disease affecting mostly children, and that it can be effectively prevented by immunization.
Symptoms usually appear about 8 to 12 days after infection and include high fever, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. A rash also develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading over the body.
Most people recover in two to three weeks, "However, particularly in malnourished children and people with reduced immunity, measles can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and pneumonia," WHO said on its website.
Adrian Puren, NICD deputy director of virology, told IRIN there were 40 confirmed measles cases in South Africa in 2008, and the key to preventing outbreaks was a comprehensive vaccination programme.
The high infection rate suggested there were "a large number of susceptible individuals" who had not received the highly effective vaccinations, which he attributed to religious objections or the belief that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) inoculation was a cause of autism.
The MMR vaccination programme in South Africa provides children with a first vaccination at about 9 months, followed by a measles booster jab at 18 months free of charge. Private medical care offers the option of a separate measles vaccination, or the three-in-one MMR.
Earlier in February, The Lancet, the highly respected medical journal, debunked an article describing a link between MMR and autism, published in 1998. British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield surmised in a paper that from a sample of 12 children who had received the vaccination, eight had displayed effects of autism.
The article elicited a strong response and by 2004, 10 of the 13 co-authors had distanced themselves from it after charges that the results had been falsified.
Paul Offit, a vaccine researcher at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, in the US, told the Voice of America radio station that numerous studies since then had concluded there was no link between MMR and autism.
"We've reached the many hundreds of thousands mark of children who did or didn't receive MMR to see whether risk of autism was greater in the vaccinated group, and it wasn't - consistently, reproducibly, redundantly," he said.
"I think that the problem is there are people who simply don't believe the science. They hold on to this notion that MMR causes autism, or that vaccines cause autism, much as one holds a religious belief."
Friday, February 12, 2010
CDC: More Than 57 Million Americans Have Had H1N1 Flu
Via WSJ.com -
More than 57 million Americans have become ill from the H1N1 influenza virus and nearly 11,700 have died, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than 57 million Americans have become ill from the H1N1 influenza virus and nearly 11,700 have died, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the new figures show the H1N1 pandemic virus is still spreading, they also reflect a continued slowdown in the transmission of the illnesses since last fall. The CDC had last estimated about 55 million Americans had been sickened, 246,000 were hospitalized and about 11,100 had died through mid-December.
The new figures estimate the number of illnesses from April 2009--when the new H1N1 influenza virus was first discovered--through Jan. 14.
While health officials have yet to declare the end of the influenza pandemic, a new round of widespread illness is increasingly unlikely now that a substantial portion of the U.S. population has been either sickened by or vaccinated against the H1N1 pandemic virus. About 70 million people have been vaccinated.
About 257,000 people were hospitalized with H1N1 influenza through mid-January, which is higher than the approximately 200,000 hospitalizations seen in a normal influenza season when seasonal influenza viruses are circulating.
Of the hospitalizations, 82,000 were in people younger than 18 while 150,000 were in people age 18 to 64. About 25,000 people age 65 and older were hospitalized with H1N1, which shows the H1N1 virus is continuing to affect younger people. With seasonal influenza, the majority of hospitalizations and deaths are in people age 65 and older.
The CDC attributed 11,690 deaths to H1N1, with 1,230 of them being in young people age 17 and younger and 8,980 in people age 18 to 64. In the elderly, 1,480 deaths were attributed to H1N1. In a normal influenza season. about 36,000 deaths are attributed to influenza and pneumonia with 90% of them being in people age 65 and older.
In a separate weekly report of H1N1 influenza activity, the CDC said most influenza strains circulating as of Feb. 6 are the H1N1 strain and not strains that cause seasonal influenza.
As of Feb. 6, the majority of states reported "sporadic" transmission of the H1N1 virus, the CDC said. However, the CDC said doctor visits for influenza-like illnesses increased slightly over the previous week but "remain low overall."
-----------------------------
In other words, if you lived before 1943, or received the 1976 swine flu vaccine, you may be protected against infection with 2009 H1N1 virus. After the 1976 swine H1N1 outbreak at Fort Dix, NJ, approximately 40 million people in the United States were immunized with an NJ/76 vaccine. The NJ/76 swine virus never spread in the general population, but the vaccine against it has finally proven useful.
If you are less than 35 years old, you are more likely to be infected with the 2009 H1N1 virus because you did not receive the NJ/76 vaccine, nor were you infected with viruses that circulated from 1918-1943.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - Update
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_12_30/en/index.html
30 December 2009 -- As of 27 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 12220 deaths.
The most active areas of pandemic influenza transmission currently are in central and eastern Europe.
In North America, influenza transmission remains widespread but has declined substantially in all countries. Rates of hospitalization among cases aged 5-17 years and 18-49 year far exceeded rates observed during recent influenza seasons, while rates of hospitalizations among cases aged >65 years were far lower than those observed during recent influenza seasons.
-------------------------------------
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
Via Virology Blog -
Reinfection with 2009 influenza H1N1
In healthy individuals, the first encounter with a virus leads to a primary antibody response. When an infection occurs with the same or a similar virus, a rapid antibody response occurs that is called the secondary antibody response. Antibodies are critical for preventing many viral infections, including influenza. But reinfection may occur if we encounter the same virus before the primary response is complete.
30 December 2009 -- As of 27 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 12220 deaths.
The most active areas of pandemic influenza transmission currently are in central and eastern Europe.
In North America, influenza transmission remains widespread but has declined substantially in all countries. Rates of hospitalization among cases aged 5-17 years and 18-49 year far exceeded rates observed during recent influenza seasons, while rates of hospitalizations among cases aged >65 years were far lower than those observed during recent influenza seasons.
-------------------------------------
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
During week 51 (December 20-26, 2009), influenza activity decreased slightly in the U.S.
- 154 (3.9%) specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories and reported to CDC/Influenza Division were positive for influenza.
- All subtyped influenza A viruses reported to CDC were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses.
- The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was above the epidemic threshold.
- Four influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported. Two of these deaths were associated with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and two were associated with an influenza A virus for which the subtype was undetermined.
Via Virology Blog -
Reinfection with 2009 influenza H1N1
In healthy individuals, the first encounter with a virus leads to a primary antibody response. When an infection occurs with the same or a similar virus, a rapid antibody response occurs that is called the secondary antibody response. Antibodies are critical for preventing many viral infections, including influenza. But reinfection may occur if we encounter the same virus before the primary response is complete.
Monday, December 28, 2009
First Case of Drug-Resistant TB Discovered in U.S.
Via NewsMax.com -
It started with a cough, an autumn hack that refused to go away.
Then came the fevers. They bathed and chilled the skinny frame of Oswaldo Juarez, a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English. His lungs clattered, his chest tightened and he ached with every gasp. During a wheezing fit at 4 a.m., Juarez felt a warm knot rise from his throat. He ran to the bathroom sink and spewed a mouthful of blood.
I'm dying, he told himself, "because when you cough blood, it's something really bad."
It was really bad, and not just for him.
Doctors say Juarez's incessant hack was a sign of what they have both dreaded and expected for years — this country's first case of a contagious, aggressive, especially drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. The Associated Press learned of his case, which until now has not been made public, as part of a six-month look at the soaring global challenge of drug resistance.
Juarez's strain — so-called extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB — has never before been seen in the U.S., according to Dr. David Ashkin, one of the nation's leading experts on tuberculosis. XXDR tuberculosis is so rare that only a handful of other people in the world are thought to have had it.
"He is really the future," Ashkin said. "This is the new class that people are not really talking too much about. These are the ones we really fear because I'm not sure how we treat them."
Forty years ago, the world thought it had conquered TB and any number of other diseases through the new wonder drugs: Antibiotics. U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart announced it was "time to close the book on infectious diseases and declare the war against pestilence won."
Today, all the leading killer infectious diseases on the planet — TB, malaria and HIV among them — are mutating at an alarming rate, hitchhiking their way in and out of countries. The reason: Overuse and misuse of the very drugs that were supposed to save us.
It started with a cough, an autumn hack that refused to go away.
Then came the fevers. They bathed and chilled the skinny frame of Oswaldo Juarez, a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English. His lungs clattered, his chest tightened and he ached with every gasp. During a wheezing fit at 4 a.m., Juarez felt a warm knot rise from his throat. He ran to the bathroom sink and spewed a mouthful of blood.
I'm dying, he told himself, "because when you cough blood, it's something really bad."
It was really bad, and not just for him.
Doctors say Juarez's incessant hack was a sign of what they have both dreaded and expected for years — this country's first case of a contagious, aggressive, especially drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. The Associated Press learned of his case, which until now has not been made public, as part of a six-month look at the soaring global challenge of drug resistance.
Juarez's strain — so-called extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB — has never before been seen in the U.S., according to Dr. David Ashkin, one of the nation's leading experts on tuberculosis. XXDR tuberculosis is so rare that only a handful of other people in the world are thought to have had it.
"He is really the future," Ashkin said. "This is the new class that people are not really talking too much about. These are the ones we really fear because I'm not sure how we treat them."
Forty years ago, the world thought it had conquered TB and any number of other diseases through the new wonder drugs: Antibiotics. U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart announced it was "time to close the book on infectious diseases and declare the war against pestilence won."
Today, all the leading killer infectious diseases on the planet — TB, malaria and HIV among them — are mutating at an alarming rate, hitchhiking their way in and out of countries. The reason: Overuse and misuse of the very drugs that were supposed to save us.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Photo of the Day - Eid al-Adha Festival on 4th Day of Hajj
Photo: AFP
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/28nov09_saudi_hajj-77253992.html
Muslims around the world are celebrating the festival of Eid al-Adha, including more than two million pilgrims taking part in annual Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia.
Pilgrims in the Saudi holy city of Mecca threw stones at three pillars representing Satan, a ritual that began Friday and continues until Sunday. No major incidents were reported Friday, the third day of the pilgrimage.
But on Saturday, Saudi authorities reported that a 70-year old Pakistani man taking part in the Hajj had died of the H1N1 swine flu virus. He is the fifth pilgrim to die of swine flu since the days leading up to the pilgrimage. Experts have warned that swine flu could spread among pilgrims.
Eid al-Adha, or "Festival of Sacrifice," is considered one of the most important days on the Islamic calendar. Muslims mark the festival by slaughtering cattle to commemorate a belief that God gave the prophet Abraham a ram to sacrifice in place of his son.
Virology Lectures
Via virology.ws -
Each year I teach basic virology to medical, dental, and nursing students here at Columbia University Medical Center. Here are videocasts of my three lectures for 2009: Introduction to Virology I and II, and Viral Pathogenesis.
--------------------
I just finished the second virology intro video. Dr. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (Relenza) are neuraminidase inhibitors which bind with SA and stop NA from stripping it off, causing the newly created flu viron to stick the the outside of the cell....thus stopping the spread of the virus.
Each year I teach basic virology to medical, dental, and nursing students here at Columbia University Medical Center. Here are videocasts of my three lectures for 2009: Introduction to Virology I and II, and Viral Pathogenesis.
--------------------
I just finished the second virology intro video. Dr. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (Relenza) are neuraminidase inhibitors which bind with SA and stop NA from stripping it off, causing the newly created flu viron to stick the the outside of the cell....thus stopping the spread of the virus.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
College Swine Flu Rates Drop 37% as Infections Peak
Via Bloomberg.com -
Swine flu infection rates at U.S. colleges and universities fell 37 percent last week, adding more evidence that the second wave of pandemic flu has peaked.
The drop followed a similar decline a week earlier, according to a survey of 243 college and universities by the American College Health Association. In the latest report, the attack rate decreased to 13.4 cases per 10,000 students from 21.3 cases, the group said in an e-mail today. The proportion of colleges with outbreaks fell to 90 percent from 95 percent.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Nov. 20 that H1N1 infection rates had declined in all U.S. populations for the third consecutive week. It was the first sustained drop since children and college students returned to school in August. The next few days may test the retreat as families gather for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The peak clearly has passed,” said Ira Longini, a University of Washington statistician who advises the U.S. government on flu, in an interview yesterday. “The real question now is have enough children been infected such that they’re immune, and there’s not enough susceptibility to sustain a third wave.”
The H1N1 strain disproportionately attacks children and young adults, according to the Atlanta-based CDC. About 90 percent of deaths occurring among those younger than 64, according to the CDC. By contrast, the majority of deaths from seasonal flu are among people older than 80.
----------------------------
Check out the Virology Blog for more info on this 2nd H1N1 peak..
http://www.virology.ws/2009/11/20/second-h1n1-peak-in-us
Dr. despite some predictions, there is no evidence from any influenza pandemic that viral mutants of increased virulence in humans have emerged in successive cycles of infection.
Swine flu infection rates at U.S. colleges and universities fell 37 percent last week, adding more evidence that the second wave of pandemic flu has peaked.
The drop followed a similar decline a week earlier, according to a survey of 243 college and universities by the American College Health Association. In the latest report, the attack rate decreased to 13.4 cases per 10,000 students from 21.3 cases, the group said in an e-mail today. The proportion of colleges with outbreaks fell to 90 percent from 95 percent.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Nov. 20 that H1N1 infection rates had declined in all U.S. populations for the third consecutive week. It was the first sustained drop since children and college students returned to school in August. The next few days may test the retreat as families gather for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The peak clearly has passed,” said Ira Longini, a University of Washington statistician who advises the U.S. government on flu, in an interview yesterday. “The real question now is have enough children been infected such that they’re immune, and there’s not enough susceptibility to sustain a third wave.”
The H1N1 strain disproportionately attacks children and young adults, according to the Atlanta-based CDC. About 90 percent of deaths occurring among those younger than 64, according to the CDC. By contrast, the majority of deaths from seasonal flu are among people older than 80.
----------------------------
Check out the Virology Blog for more info on this 2nd H1N1 peak..
http://www.virology.ws/2009/11/20/second-h1n1-peak-in-us
Dr. despite some predictions, there is no evidence from any influenza pandemic that viral mutants of increased virulence in humans have emerged in successive cycles of infection.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
New CDC Estimates on Pandemic H1N1 in U.S
Via WashingtonPost.com -
About 22 million Americans have become ill with pandemic H1N1 influenza in the past six months and 3,900 have died, according to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of pediatric deaths -- about 540 -- is four times as high as the number that physicians, hospitals and health departments had reported to the public health agency in Atlanta.
The new estimates, drawn from detailed surveillance and record-checking in 10 states, sketch the most detailed picture by far of the national toll from the new flu strain that emerged in California and Mexico in April.
"We feel we're finally able to update the public on how big a toll this virus is having so far," Anne Schuchat, a CDC physician helping to run the federal government's pandemic response, said Thursday. "I am expecting all these numbers, unfortunately, to continue to rise."
The total number of people who have been hospitalized is 98,000, with 36,000 of them age 17 and younger. The vast majority of deaths -- about 2,920 -- have been in people age 18 to 64.
In an average flu season, the seasonal virus contributes to the deaths of about 36,000 people -- 90 percent of whom are 65 or older. Many are close to death, with flu being only one factor leading to their demise. That is not the case with H1N1's victims, most of whom are much younger, and about 20 to 30 percent of whom were healthy before contracting the virus.
----------------------------------
Why is being old a good defense against the pandemic H1N1?
Experts have stated that heterosubtypic (aka cross-protective) immunity created by previous exposure to seasonal H1N1 strains most likely plays an important role in this defense. However, it is important to remember that the inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine, containing H1N1 and H3N2 strains, will not protect you against the 2009 H1N1 virus - because they do not induce heterosubtypic immunity.
http://www.virology.ws/2009/11/02/why-being-older-is-a-good-defense-against-2009-h1n1-influenza-virus/
About 22 million Americans have become ill with pandemic H1N1 influenza in the past six months and 3,900 have died, according to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of pediatric deaths -- about 540 -- is four times as high as the number that physicians, hospitals and health departments had reported to the public health agency in Atlanta.
The new estimates, drawn from detailed surveillance and record-checking in 10 states, sketch the most detailed picture by far of the national toll from the new flu strain that emerged in California and Mexico in April.
"We feel we're finally able to update the public on how big a toll this virus is having so far," Anne Schuchat, a CDC physician helping to run the federal government's pandemic response, said Thursday. "I am expecting all these numbers, unfortunately, to continue to rise."
The total number of people who have been hospitalized is 98,000, with 36,000 of them age 17 and younger. The vast majority of deaths -- about 2,920 -- have been in people age 18 to 64.
In an average flu season, the seasonal virus contributes to the deaths of about 36,000 people -- 90 percent of whom are 65 or older. Many are close to death, with flu being only one factor leading to their demise. That is not the case with H1N1's victims, most of whom are much younger, and about 20 to 30 percent of whom were healthy before contracting the virus.
----------------------------------
Why is being old a good defense against the pandemic H1N1?
Experts have stated that heterosubtypic (aka cross-protective) immunity created by previous exposure to seasonal H1N1 strains most likely plays an important role in this defense. However, it is important to remember that the inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine, containing H1N1 and H3N2 strains, will not protect you against the 2009 H1N1 virus - because they do not induce heterosubtypic immunity.
http://www.virology.ws/2009/11/02/why-being-older-is-a-good-defense-against-2009-h1n1-influenza-virus/
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