Topics in Clinical Biosecurity: Pandemic Influenza

Listed below are all CBN articles on Pandemic Influenza published since 2005

• 11-01-2017: The Ascent of H7N9 The H7N9 avian influenza virus has now caused more human cases than H5N1 and tops CDC’s list of potential pandemic threats.
• 09-15-2017: The Risks and Benefits of Repeated First Trimester Influenza Vaccination Against Pandemic H1N1 We put in context a new study showing an association between first trimester pH1N1 vaccination and miscarriage.
• 03-03-2017: The Increasing Pandemic Potential of H7N9 Avian Influenza Recent expanded activity related to the H7N9 virus in China has become increasingly worrisome and underscores the ongoing need to continue preparedness.
• 09-18-2015: More Evidence for Herd Protection of the Elderly Herd protection is a real phenomenon that has great potential to change the face of vaccine-preventable diseases.
• 05-17-2013: Little Clinical Research Conducted During the 2009 Pandemic While many case and reports were published during the pandemic, rigorous research is needed to answer clinical questions during public health emergencies.
• 04-05-2013: Novel H7N9 Outbreak in China There have been 14 confirmed human cases of infection with a novel H7N9 influenza A virus reported in eastern China; 6 have died; source not yet confirmed.
• 03-08-2013: ECMO for Severe Influenza--Description of a Large French Cohort Study A study of the largest cohort of H1N1 patients treated with ECMO provides more evidence by which to judge the efficacy of this therapy.
• 11-23-2012: Center Proposes New Approach for ARDS Care during Pandemics and Beyond Patients with severe lung injury and minimal co-morbid conditions would fare better if quickly transferred to a dedicated center with expertise in managing ARDS
• 10-26-2012: Intravenous Zanamivir--Experience with 200 Patients A new study documents details of the clinical experience with 200 patients administered IV zanamivir, which was made available as EIND.
• 07-27-2012: Deaths in the Elderly Associated with Several Common Viruses Pneumonia and influenza are often a leading cause of death among the elderly, unbundling that category reveals important pathogen-specific granularity.
• 06-29-2012: Revised Estimate Increases Global H1N1 Mortality Figures by Factor of 15 Previously reported deaths due to lab-confirmed H1N1 during the 2009 pandemic were grossly underestimated because most flu patients were not tested.
• 06-15-2012: Intensive Care Outcomes During the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic A new article by authors from the CDC provides detailed descriptions of ICU care provided to patients during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
• 05-11-2012 H5N1 Transmission in Ferrets Two studies of genetically modified H5N1 influenza viruses have sparked debate about the biosecurity risks of increased mammalian droplet transmissibility.
• 03-02-2012: Rapid Influenza Antigen Tests: Specific But Not Sensitive Results indicate that rapid tests have low sensitivity, but high specificity, which makes them most useful for confirming DX in patients with flu-like symptoms.
• 01-06-2012: Statins and Influenza A study, conducted by Vandermeer and colleagues, provides new evidence of the benefits of statins in treating influenza.
• 12-16-2011: Transmission of 2009 Pandemic Influenza to Healthcare Workers A recent study reinforces the importance of droplet precautions, PPE, and other prevention measures during a flu pandemic.
• 12-02-2011: Does Asymptomatic H5N1 Influenza Infection Occur? Asymptomatic H5N1 infection may be more common than thought. A new study suggests that standard methods to detect H5 antibodies are not sensitive enough.
• 03-18-2011: Distinguishing Bacterial Pneumonia from 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pneumonia Distinguishing which patients with community-acquired pneumonia require antiviral treatment and droplet isolation for influenza is a difficult task.
• 02-18-2011: Immunomodulation in 2009 H1N1 A team of researchers in Spain has published results of a study of the use of several types of immune modulators in patients infected with 2009 H1N1.
• 01-07-2011: Intravenous Immunoglobulin for Pandemic Influenza Australian researchers published their study of the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) during the 2009 pandemic.
• 12-17-2010: Are Immune Complexes Responsible for Severe Cases of 2009 H1N1 Influenza? Many hypotheses have been advanced to explain the severe pathology seen in some cases during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
• 11-19-2010: Efficacy and Safety of Peramivir Peramivir has been fully approved for use in Japan, and results of a trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of intravenous peramivir have just been published.
• 07-23-2010: An Alternative Approach to Pandemic Influenza that Clinicians Everywhere Could Use Clinicians should demand that research to determine whether generic immunomodulatory agents might be useful in managing seasonal influenza and the next pandemic
• 04-30-2010: 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination and 2009 H1N1 It is well established that the 2009 H1N1 virus affected younger people disproportionally and that older people are more likely to have immunity to the virus.
• 03-30-200: The 2009 H1N1 Experience: Conference Report The Center convened a conference to review the most significant lessons learned from the response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
• 02-19-2010: Hospital Response to the 2009 Influenza Pandemic: A Survey of U.S. Hospital Epidemiologists Authors of a study report results of survey of hospital epidemiologists—overall, hospitals were prepared, but other activities suffered.
• 02-05-2010: H5N1 Remains a Pandemic Threat Since late April 2009, the world’s attention has been focused on the H1N1 pandemic, which, fortunately, has been less severe than feared.
• 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
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• 05-04-2009: 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.
• 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.
• 09-12-2008: The Role of Bacterial Pneumonia in Pandemic Influenza A paper concludes that most deaths during the 1918 flu pandemic appear to have involved bacterial pneumonia rather than purely viral pneumonia.
• 07-30-2008: Utility of Antivirals During a Pandemic: Uncertainties Persist neuraminidase inhibitors will be the antivirals of choice. Based on their potential utility, the US government has made investments to ensure availability
• 07-14-2008: AHRQ Releases Report on Home Healthcare During a Pandemic On July 8, 2008, the HHS AHRQ released a report1 on the issues and resources associated with home healthcare during a pandemic.
• 06-06-2008: Evolution of H7 Avian Influenza: Another Pandemic Candidate? Since 2002, H7 strains of influenza virus have caused both HPAI and LPAI avian influenza outbreaks in poultry in North America and Eurasia
• 05-01-2008: Indonesia Conducts 3-Day Drill of Pandemic Influenza National Response Plan A small rural village in Bali spent months preparing to participate in what the Jakarta Post described as Indonesia’s first massive pandemic influenza exercise
• 01-18-2008: WHO Update on Human H5N1 Infections On January 17, 2008, a review article was published providing updated information on human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) infection.
• 12-07-2007: Estimate of the Financial Effect of a Flu Pandemic on U.S. Hospitals In an article just published, this author and colleagues from the Center examine the potential financial impact of a flu pandemic on U.S. hospital.
• 11-01-2007: Drug-Resistant H5N1 Influenza Viruses May Retain Fitness Should widespread resistance to antiviral drugs occur in a pandemic influenza strain, the chance of limiting the disease outbreak would be greatly diminished.
• 10-15-2007: Recent H5N1 Developments Articles published recently help shed light on the virulence of H5N1 virus, the pathogenesis of severe H5N1 disease in people, and a possible new treatment.
• 10-04-2007: IOM Releases Pandemic PPE Report On September 18, 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies announced the publication of a report.
• 07-30-2007: Cytokines and H5N1: Still No Clear Answers It has been speculated that the severity of illness and the high fatality rate associated with H5N1 may be attributed to a dysregulation of the immune system.
• 07-17-2007: Duration of Influenza A Virus Shedding Longer than Expected Adults infected with influenza A are generally considered infectious from the day before the onset of symptoms until about 5 days after onset.
• 05-30-2007: Passive Immunization with Human Monoclonal Antibodies in H5N1 Simmons et al. show that passive immunotherapy with neutralizing H5N1 human mAbs is effective in preventing and treating H5N1 infection in a murine model.
• 05-24-2007: OSHA Releases Pandemic Guidance for Healthcare Personnel This 104-page document provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of the occupational health issues related to hospital pandemic preparedness.
• 05-11-2007: CDC Issues Interim Guidance for the Use of Facemasks and Respirators in Non-Occupational Settings during an Influenza Pandemic. Surgical masks and N 95 respirators have been recommended for use by healthcare workers during an influenza pandemic.
• 05-03-2007: New System Promises Access to Prescription Information in a Disaster In the event of a disaster that causes an overwhelming number of patients to suffer respiratory failure, clinicians could face two difficult problems.
• 04-20-2007: WHO Releases Summary of Second Consult on Human H5N1 Infection On April 19, 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) posted a summary of its second expert meeting on clinical aspects of H5N1 infection in humans.
• 04-13-2007: Prevalence of Drug Resistant Influenza B Viruses: New Findings and Implications Hatakeyama and colleagues report on the emergence of influenza B viruses that are partially resistant to neuraminidase inhibitors.
• 02-15-2007: Surgical Masks May Provide Significant Aerosol Protection The relative protection afforded by surgical and N-95 masks is an important issue that is prompting much debate in the process of planning for outbreaks.
• 02-07-2007: CDC Releases Interim Planning Guidance for Mitigation of Pandemic Influenza On February 1, 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its long-awaited disease containment strategy for pandemic influenza.
• 12-20-2006: Passage of S. 3678-The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Passage of S. 3678 marks a major milestone in improving public health and hospital preparedness for bioterrorist attacks, pandemics, and other catastrophes.
• 11-30-2006: Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Infection in Humans in Turkey, 2006 Oner and colleagues describe the epidemiologic, clinical, and radiologic features of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in eastern Turkey.
• 11-03-2006: Emergence of a New Sublineage of Avian Influenza Viruses in Southeast Asia In an article, G. J. D. Smith and colleagues report on the emergence of a new, previously uncharacterized H5N1 influenza virus sublineage in southern China.
• 10-04-2006: Might H5N1 Vaccine Cross Protection Allow for Pre -Pandemic Vaccine Stockpiling? There have been doubts as to whether our government’s strategy to stockpile vaccine in bulk in advance of a pandemic will be beneficial.
• 09-01-2006: Antibiotics to Treat Pneumonia: An Overlooked Essential Element of Pandemic Preparedness In a review article, John Brundage, M.D. examines the relationship between influenza and bacterial suprainfections in past pandemics.
• 08-22-2006: New York City Addresses Crucial Issues in Planning for Pandemic Flu The NYC DOHMH Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan provides a model for other large urban areas working to formulate similar plans.
• 06-08-2006: CDC Releases New Guidelines for H5N1 Testing Yesterday, June 7, the CDC released new guidelines for the testing of patients with possible H5N1 infection in the U.S. A summary follows.
• 06-02-2006: Severe Pandemic Planning Assumptions California recently proposed an ambitious $400 million plan for pandemic preparedness that includes $347MM to prepare hospitals and increase surge capacity.
• 05-26-2006: Avian Influenza Update New Cluster of Human Victims in Sumatra; WHO Releases Guidelines for Treatment and Prophylaxis of Avian Influenza
• 05-09-2006: Recommendations for Hospital Preparedness for Pandemic Influenza On March 1, 2006, the Center for Biosecurity convened a meeting to address the issue of U.S. hospital preparedness for pandemic influenza.
• 03-09-2006: Recent Avian Flu News: Pay Attention to the People, Not the Cats Against a backdrop of reports of outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza, attention has been most focused in the past week on the discovery of H5N1 in cats in Europe.
• 02-21-2006: Are You Ready for Global H5N1? The last 2 weeks have brought troubling news about the continued rapid global spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
• 02-14-2006: Update on Strategies to Develop Pandemic Influenza Vaccines The recent epizootics of highly pathogenic avian influenza and associated human infections have prompted the US government to begin preparations for a pandemic.
• 01-27-2006: A Rational Approach to Evidence-Based Allocation of Mechanical Ventilation in a Pandemic Drs. Hick and O’Laughlin describe one approach to addressing the difficult problem of allocating critical life support resources in a severe pandemic.
• 01-20-2006: Avian Influenza Update On January 18, the WHO reported that laboratory tests have confirmed H5N1 infection of a 4 year old Turkish boy.
• 01-13-2006: H5N1 in Turkey This week’s news of sudden and widespread outbreaks of both human and avian H5N1 influenza in Turkey has been worrisome.
• 12-01-2005: Predicting the Impact of a Flu Epidemic On Nov. 7, 2005 the CDC released a new version of its FluSurge program, which is a spreadsheet designed to project the impact of a flu epidemic on hospitals.
• 10-03-2005: Review of Clinical Avian Influenza A (H5N1) in Humans On September 29, 2005 the NEJM published a review article on avian influenza A (H5N1) infection in humans by The Writing Committee of the WHO Consultation on Human Influenza A/H5.
• 09-19-2005: Avian Influenza Update Indonesia is on high alert for avian influenza and is preparing 44 hospitals to care for infected patients in the event of a larger epidemic.
• 08-30-2005: Progression of H5N1 Over the past 3 months, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 has spread across central Asia, apparently carried by migrating waterfowl.
• 08-16-2005: H5N1 Vaccine Trial Results Initial results from a clinical trial to study the safety and immunogenicity of a vaccine designed to protect against avian influenza were reported last week.
• 08-02-2005: NVAC Priorities The NVAC and the ACIP held a joint meeting to make additional recommendations to the draft DHHS Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan.
• 07-26-2005: Oseltamivir A study released last week indicates that standard oseltamivir dosing may not be sufficient for the current strain of H5N1 in Southeast Asia