Clinicians' Biosecurity News Archive: 2009
             

• 12-16-2009: International Progress in Vaccine Development and Distribution Shortly after the detection of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, the U.S. and other governments decided to develop vaccine against this novel influenza virus.
• 12-11-2009: Will the D225G Mutation Herald More Severe Illness in 2009 H1N1 Patients? H1N1 influenza A pandemic has been one of the mildest on record. Although millions of people have been infected, relatively few have become severely ill or died
• 11-23-2009: Preliminary Findings: Study of the Impact of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic on Latino Migrant Farm Workers in the U.S. In the summer of 2009, the Center sought to investigate social threats to the health and well-being of Latino migrant and seasonal farm workers in the U.S.
• 11-13-2009: Licensure, Evaluation, and Adverse Event Monitoring of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine In response to the emergence of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, public health officials have initiated the first mass vaccination campaign in more than 3 decades
• 11-02-2009: Where Does H1N1 Influenza Information Come From? The United States CDC tracks influenza illness in the U.S. through a combination of disease- and syndrome-based surveillance systems.
• 10-30-2009: Antigenic Drift is Not the Sole Factor Driving Evolution of the Influenza Virus During interpandemic years, evolution of seasonal influenza viruses has been thought to accrue via minute mutations in the genetic code of the HA protein.
• 10-22-2009: 2009 H1N1 Influenza Update: Cases, Hospitalizations, and Mortality This overview of the current status of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in the US describes the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment.
• 10-16-2009: Critical Care of H1N1 Influenza A Patients The scenario most feared in planning for pandemic influenza involves shortages—of ventilators, intensive care unit (ICU) beds, antiviral drugs, and vaccines
• 10-14-2009: Clinical Aspects of H1N1 Influenza A Infection Several research reports detailing aspects of infection with the pandemic strain of influenza have recently been released
• 10-02-2009: New IOM Guidance on Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) released Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations: A Letter Report.
• 09-15-2009: Single-Dose Vaccination for the 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Virus Vaccination strategy for the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic has been premised on the assumption that 2 doses of vaccine will be needed
• 09-04-2009: H1N1 Dual Infections As the world is currently in the midst of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, it remains a possibility that this virus could reassort with other flu strains
• 08-14-2009: Zanamivir Resistance in Influenza As medical management of influenza relies increasingly on antiviral therapy, drug resistance will become more commonplace.
• 07-31-2009: A Novel H3N2 Influenza A Variant Emerges While the pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus continues to spread globally, it may not be the only significant influenza challenge we face this year.
• 07-17-2009: 2009 H1N1 Influenza A: Clinical Details, Antiviral Resistance, and Other Mutations Clinical policy will become more firmly rooted in scientific data, and optimal management strategies will emerge
• 07-02-2009: High-dose Influenza Vaccination of the Elderly Despite high vaccination rates, the elderly disproportionately bear the burden of seasonal influenza morbidity and mortality.
• 06-19-2009: Healthcare Workers at Risk for H1N1 Infection There have been cases of H1N1 influenza (A) among HCWs. It appears that all could have been prevented had standard infection control measures been taken.
• 06-11-2009: A Closer Look at WHO Pandemic Declaration On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that the 2009 H1N1 virus had reached pandemic status, or Pandemic Alert Phase 6.
• 06-05-2009: H7-subtype Influenza Infections: Pandemic Potential? Among the myriad subtypes of influenza A that circulate in waterfowl, only a few strains have made the species jump to humans.
• 05-22-2009: Clinical Details of 2009 H1N1 in Hospitalized Patients As the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus continues, important clinical details about the more severely affected patients are beginning to emerge
• 05-12-2009: The Use of Antivirals for 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus Infection How best to utilize these medications during a pandemic is a complex question that warrants careful consideration.
• 05-08-2009: Hospitals Are Better Prepared for Mass Casualty Disasters The Center released the report, Hospitals Rising to the Challenge: The First Five Years of the U.S. Hospital Preparedness Program and Priorities Going Forward.
• 05-04-2009: Clinical Details of 2009 H1N1 Influenza Cases Emerge As cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza continue to accrue worldwide, more clinical information has become available and is useful
• 04-30-2009: Social Stigma Attached to “Swine Flu”—An FAQ for U.S. Elected Leaders and Health Officials Stigma comes from the need to fix blame during an outbreak of contagious disease. People are trying to answer basic question
• 04-29-2009: Can the Current Swine Flu Outbreak Be Contained? In A Word, No Both the WHO and the CDC have concluded that it is no longer possible to contain the outbreak of swine influenza.
• 04-29-2009: FDA Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs): What Are They and What Do They Mean for the Swine Flu Response? On April 27, 2009, the U.S. FDA issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for the swine flu outbreak in response to requests by the Centers for Disease CDC.
• 04-29-2009: Its Harm and Its Remedy in Outbreaks Like Swine Flu History teaches that disease outbreaks can lead to social casualties, not just medical ones. Swine flu is no exception.
• 04-28-2009: Border Closures * Rapid Flu Tests * EUAs and Diagnostic Tests * Epi Update * Guidance from CDC * Guidance from WHO April 28, 2009 | Rapid influenza antigen tests have moderate sensitivity and cannot be used to rule out influenza infection.
• 04-28-2009: Why the Current Swine Flu Virus Is Not Bioterrorism During the DHS/CDC/WH press briefing on April 26, a reporter asked if the current swine flu outbreak is a naturally occurring event or evidence of bioterrorism.
• 04-28-2009: Border Restrictions: Not an Effective Means of Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu There have been several news reports that nations have begun to employ thermal fever screens at the border to limit the importation of swine flu.
• 04-27-2009: WHO Raises Pandemic Alert Level * EU Issues Travel Advisories for United States and Mexico * Additional Cases in NYC and Other Countries * Updated Guidance from CDC Today, the Director General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the influenza pandemic alert level from the current phase 3 to phase 4.
• 04-26-2009: CDC/DHS Press conference; WHO pandemic alert level; epidemiology update At a joint CDC/DHS press conference held at the White House, Acting Director announced that the CDC had confirmed 20 cases of swine flu in the United States
• 04-25-2009: New developments; WHO pandemic alert levels; key questions Media outlets are reporting that confirmed and probable cases of the new strain of H1N1 swine influenza have been discovered in Kansas, New York, and California
• 04-24-2009: Mexico cases; U.S. cases; info. CDC has confirmed; key questions Officials from the WHO reported approximately 60 fatalities and hundreds of cases of suspected swine influenza A in humans in Mexico.
• 04-24-2009: Swine Flu Cases Without Swine Exposure On April 21, 2009, the CDC issued an MMWR Dispatch describing 2 cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) infection that occurred in Southern California in April.
• 04-17-2009: Adenovirus 14: An Emerging Threat The Journal of Infectious Diseases has just published 2 papers by teams of researchers describing separate, severe outbreaks of Adenovirus 14 (Ad14).
• 04-03-2009: Oseltamivir Protective Against Influenza-induced Cardiac Events Antiviral therapy is known to lessen symptoms, shorten hospitalizations, and reduce respiratory complications of influenza infections in humans
• 03-20-2009: 3rd Generation Smallpox Vaccine LC16m8 Proved Safe and Immunogenic The JAMA published a study conducted by a team of Japanese researchers who vaccinated more than 3,000 Japanese military personnel from 2002-2005 with LC16m8.
• 03-06-2009: Broad-spectrum Flu Antibodies Characterized Two teams of researchers simultaneously reported the discovery and development of antibodies generated against invariate regions of the influenza virus.
• 02-20-2009: Longer Treatment Window for Botulism Optimal treatment of botulism requires administration of anti-toxin within 24 hours of symptom onset, which can occur as soon as 6 hours after ingestion of spores.
• 02-06-2009: Global Avian influenza Panzootic Continues; Some Preparedness Gains Made but Hospitals Remain Vulnerable Although “bird flu” has not been featured prominently on the evening news of late, the influenza A/H5N1 panzootic continues.
• 01-22-2099: Is Airborne Spread of Influenza Possible? A new study from researchers demonstrates that the influenza virus is able to remain suspended in the air, thus enabling airborne transmission.
• 01-08-2009: Update on Smallpox Vaccine In the past few years, there have been several updates to the smallpox vaccine armamentarium. These developments are reviewed below.