BACKGROUND High rates of bacterial coinfection in autopsy data from the 2009 H1N1 influenza ("flu") pandemic suggest synergies between flu and pneumococcal disease (PD) during pandemic conditions, and highlight the importance of interventions like the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) that may mitigate the impact of a pandemic. METHODS We used a decision-analytic model, estimat...

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is the most important antiviral drug available and a cornerstone in the defence against a future influenza pandemic. Recent publications have shown that the active metabolite, oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), is not degraded in sewage treatment plants and is also persistent in aquatic environments. This implies that OC will be present in aquatic environments in areas where os...

As autumn arrives and thoughts turn to pumpkins, football, and Thanksgiving dinner, it is time for health systems and physicians to prepare for the upcoming influenza season. In this issue of the Journal, Drs. Jin and Mossad (page 777) review some practical virology and remind us why we must continue to encourage our patients and staff to be immunized against the flu. Last year the flu season w...

Vanderbilt University has a widely adopted patient portal, MyHealthAtVanderbilt, which provides an infrastructure to deliver information that can empower patient decision making and enhance personalized healthcare. An interdisciplinary team has developed Flu Tool, a decision-support application targeted to patients with influenza-like illness and designed to be integrated into a patient portal....

Flu vaccines contain detectable amounts of egg protein, which may pose a risk to egg-allergic individuals. The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic required mass vaccination in many countries, and the safety of flu immunization in egg allergy became of increasing public health importance. This article reviews recent literature and provides an updated guideline for immunization during the 2011-2012 flu ...

BACKGROUND Excessive antibiotic use in cold and flu season is costly and contributes to antibiotic resistance. The study objective was to develop an index of excessive antibiotic use in cold and flu season and determine its correlation with other indicators of prescribing quality. METHODS AND FINDINGS We included Medicare beneficiaries in the 40% random sample denominator file continuously en...

BACKGROUND Previous exposures to flu and subsequent immune responses may impact on 2009/2010 pandemic flu vaccine responses and clinical symptoms upon infection with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza strain. Qualitative and quantitative differences in humoral and cellular immune responses associated with the flu vaccination in 2009/2010 (pandemic H1N1 vaccine) and natural infection have not yet ...

Computing power is emerging as an indispensable weapon for scientists engaged in the fight against influenza. Experts working with Alice Carolyn McHardy from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken are developing software that detects, in viral genomes, suspicious patterns that betray the presence of the next trigger of a global flu epidemic – even before the next flu season has...

In October 2004, the CDC announced that Chiron Corporation, chief supplier of inactivated influenza vaccine for the United States for the 2004–2005 flu season, would not be providing the 50 million vaccinations it had promised—half of the anticipated 90–100 million doses from all sources projected for the flu season. The resultant shortage set off a firestorm of concern. Well known to health ca...