BACKGROUND The 2008-09 influenza season was the time in which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) utilized an electronic biosurveillance system for tracking and monitoring of influenza trends. The system, known as ESSENCE or Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics, was monitored for the influenza season as well as for a rise in influenza cases ...

BACKGROUND With the increase in patient activity during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, came an associated increase in occupational infections of healthcare workers (HCWs). OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with the transmission of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 among HCWs. METHODS A 1:4 matched case-control study by hospital, ward, age, and gender was conducted in HCWs from ...

Although the 2009 Swine flu (H1N1) pandemic has apparently been abolished, there are still lessons to be learnt. We reviewed the clinical and pathological manifestations of CNS involvement of influenza A virus infection. Neurologic disorders were most commonly seen as underlying medical conditions in swine flu, and neurological complications of the H1N1 vaccination. The major point with regard ...

An influenza A virus that originated in pigs caused a pandemic in 2009. The sialidase activity of the neuraminidase (NA) of previous pandemic influenza A viruses are stable at low pH (≤5). Here, we identified the amino acids responsible for this property. We found differences in low-pH stability at pH 5.0 among pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viruses, which enhanced the replication of these viruses. Low-p...

BACKGROUND Vaccination coverage rates for seasonal influenza are not meeting national and international targets. Here, we investigated whether the 2009/2010 A/H1N1 pandemic influenza affected the uptake of influenza vaccines. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In December 2009/January 2010 and April 2010, 500 randomly selected members of the general public in Germany, France, the United States, C...

INTRODUCTION Although WHO declared the world moving into the post-pandemic period on August 10, 2010, influenza A(H1N1) 2009 virus continued to circulate globally. Its impact was expected to continue during the 2010-11 influenza season. This study describes the nationwide surveillance findings of the pandemic and post-pandemic influenza periods in Taiwan and assesses the impact of influenza A(H...

BACKGROUND Highly refined surveillance data on the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic are crucial to quantify the spatial and temporal characteristics of the pandemic. There is little information about the spatial-temporal dynamics of pandemic influenza in South America. Here we provide a quantitative description of the age-specific morbidity pandemic patterns across administrative areas of Peru. ...

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus spread throughout the world since most people did not have immunity against the virus. In the post pandemic phase when many humans might possess immunity against the pandemic virus, one of the concerns is infection in immunocompromised people. Therefore, we used an immunosuppressed macaque model to examine pathogenicity of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus unde...

The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 among patients with respiratory tract diseases during July-December 2009 using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay was performed to detect antibody titres against pandemic influenza in 255 medical personnel, 307 members of the general population duri...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Increasing our understanding of the factors affecting the severity of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic in different regions of the world could lead to improved clinical practice and mitigation strategies for future influenza pandemics. Even though a number of studies have shed light into the risk factors associated with severe outcomes of 2009 A/H1N1 influenza infecti...