Influenza vaccination with current inactivated vaccines homologous to the prevalent wild-type virus can reduce influenza illness in 75%-80% of healthy adults. Vaccine is recommended for all individuals with chronic underlying diseases and for those aged 65 years or older. Although influenza vaccination is still advocated for patients with blunted immunity, protection rates are not as high, runn...

BACKGROUND Characteristics of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to pandemic influenza A 2009 (H1N1) have been inadequately compared to CAP caused by other respiratory pathogens. The performance of prediction rules for CAP during an epidemic with a new infectious agent are unknown. METHODS Prospective, population-based study from November 2008-November 2009, in centers repre...

IN JANUARY 2006, THE US CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended against the use of adamantanes due to a significant increase in resistance among circulating influenza A(H3N2) viruses. As a result, neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) became the only class of antiviral agents recommended for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza virus infections in the United States. Since t...

Disaster is defined as the holistic state of natural or human-induced events that develop suddenly, whose controllability requires a systematic approach, which interrupts stops social life and causes loss life, property often cannot be overcome with local capacity. Biological disasters can well naturally infectious diseases epidemiological emergencies. Considering potential 21st century, biolog...

We used a hybrid transmission and economic model to evaluate the relative merits of stockpiling antiviral drugs and vaccine for pandemic influenza mitigation. In the absence of any intervention, our base-case assumptions generated a population clinical attack rate of 31.1%. For at least some parameter values, population prepandemic vaccination strategies were effective at containing an outbreak...

BACKGROUND In Western countries, the cause of 60% of all Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) cases remains unidentified. The number of cases of unidentified cause peaks in winter, and these cases are commonly preceded by respiratory tract infection or influenza-like illness. We investigated the triggering role of influenza virus infection. METHODS Of 405 patients with GBS who were admitted to a Fre...

been carried out among them. Therefore, we initiated a seroepide-were obtained in central Europe, confirm the zoonotic potential of swine influenza virus, as indicated by Wentworth et al. [1], and To the Editor—Wentworth et al. [1] recently described the trans-extend this potential to other agents. mission of swine influenza virus to humans after exposure to exper-During a veterinary meeting in...

Pandemic influenza has become a high priority item for all public health authorities. An influenza pandemic is believed to be imminent, and scientists agree that it will be a matter of when, where, and what will be the causative agent. Recently, most attention has been directed to human cases of avian influenza caused by a H5N1 avian influenza virus. An effective vaccine will be needed to subst...

Influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections are the most common infectious diseases of our time, causing a significant harm to human health as well great economic damage. At least five groups viruses, including more than 300 subtypes, currently related ARVI pathogens. Such agents characterized by high degree variability resulting in replaced virus antigenic characteristics augmenting...

Due to the increased frequency of interspecies transmission of avian influenza viruses, studies designed to identify the molecular determinants that could lead to an expansion of the host range have been increased. A variety of mouse-based mammalian-adaptation studies of avian influenza viruses have provided insight into the genetic alterations of various avian influenza subtypes that may contr...