OBJECTIVES The pandemic of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus has required decision-makers to act in the face of the substantial uncertainties. In this study, we evaluated the potential impact of the pandemic response strategies in the Republic of Korea using a mathematical model. METHODS We developed a deterministic model of a pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in a structured population using the demographic...

HPV vaccines are available to men but there are few studies investigating the acceptability of HPV vaccines among men who have sex with men (MSM), a high risk group. We assessed the intention to take up HPV vaccines among MSM in Hong Kong and the associated factors related to cognitions on HPV and HPV vaccines, basing on the Health Belief Model (n = 542). The acceptability of HPV vaccines was 2...

Growing concerns about avian influenza, and its effect on agriculture and human health, have highlighted the need to understand the role of wildlife in maintaining and spreading the virus. We surveyed the wildlife inhabiting a poultry farm with recent H3N6 and H4N6 avian influenza virus exposure in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. One raccoon (Procyon lotor) tested positive for H4N6 antibodies. This is the...

The H3 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) can provide genes for human influenza virus through gene reassortment, which raises great concerns in terms of its potential threat to human health. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of a novel H3N2 AIV isolated from domestic ducks in the Jiangsu province of eastern China in 2004, which is a natural recombinant virus whose genes are derived ...

Limited information is available on the transmission and spread of influenza virus in pig populations with differing immune statuses. In this study we assessed differences in transmission patterns and quantified the spread of a triple reassortant H1N1 influenza virus in naïve and vaccinated pig populations by estimating the reproduction ratio (R) of infection (i.e. the number of secondary infec...

This research focused on the modification of the functional groups of oseltamivir as neuraminidase inhibitor against influenza A virus subtype H1N1. Interactions of three of the best ligands were evaluated in the hydrated state using molecular dynamics simulation at two different temperatures. The docking result showed that AD3BF2D ligand (N-[(1S,6R)-5-amino-5-{[(2R,3S,4S)-3,4-dihydroxy-4-(hydr...

A facile route to fabricate a protein-immobilized network pattern circuit for rapid and highly sensitive diagnosis was developed via the evaporation directed impromptu patterning method and selective avian influenza virus (AIV) immobilization. The response to the 10 fg mL(-1) anti-AI antibody demonstrates that this easy and simple circuit has about 1000 times higher sensitivity compared to thos...

Current avian influenza surveillance in poultry primarily targets subtypes of interest for the veterinary sector (H5, H7). However, as virological and serological evidence suggest, surveillance of additional subtypes is important for public health as well as for the poultry industry. Therefore, we developed a protein microarray enabling simultaneous identification of antibodies directed against...