Analysis of Google Influenza-like-illness (ILI) search queries has shown a strongly correlated pattern with Center for Disease Control and Prevention seasonal ILI reporting data. Web and social media (WSM) provide another resource to detect increases in ILI. This paper evaluates trends in blog posts that discuss Influenza. The results of the analysis show Influenza-related blogging trends have ...

Introduction Detection and response to seasonal outbreaks of endemic diseases provides an excellent testbed for quantitative bio-surveillance. As a case study we focus on annual influenza outbreaks. To incorporate observed year-over-year variation in flu incidence cases and timing of outbreaks, we analyze a stochastic compartmental SIS model that includes seasonal forcing by a latent Markovian ...

Years ago, intramuscular influenza vaccines were the only option for those who wanted to arm themselves against the flu. Today there are alternatives, including intradermal injections and intranasal sprays. In order to select the right influenza vaccine for their patients, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals must have a basic understanding of the immune system. Influenza vaccines el...

The PLEX-ID/Flu assay has been recently developed to enable the detection and typing of influenza viruses based on the RT-PCR/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry technology.This novel assay was evaluated for typing performance on 201 positive influenza A or B nasopharyngeal swab specimens (NPS) detected by real-time RT-PCR during the 2010-2011 season. The PLEX-ID/Flu assay detected and ch...

A utumn is here: Time to get a flu shot. But that seasonal jab in the arm may someday be history. Some less invasive immunization options are already available, and other developments now in clinical testing could make flu vaccines more effective and convenient. Vaccines for many infectious diseases confer long-term immunity with one shot or a series of injections, but researchers haven’t yet f...

This study analyzes temporal trends in Twitter data pertaining to both influenza awareness and influenza infection during the 2012–13 influenza season in the US. We make use of classifiers to distinguish tweets that express a personal infection (“sick with the flu”) versus a more general awareness (“worried about the flu”). While previous research has focused on estimating prevalence of influen...

The most recent internationally widespread disease outbreak occurred during the flu season of 2009 and 2010. On April 2009, the first cases of influenza A (H1N1) (Popularly called, Swine Flu) were confirmed in the USA and UK following a novel virus that was first identified in Mexico. As the virus spread rapidly, the risk of morbidity and mortality increased in several countries. In this paper,...

Jeanette H. Walker is Nurse Manager, Primary Children’s Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reprints are not available from the author. J Emerg Nurs 2004;30:367-70. 0099-1767/$30.00 Copyright n 2004 by the Emergency Nurses Association. doi:10.1016/j.jen.2004.04.006 T he 2003-2004 influenza season hit Utah early, and it hit hard. By mid November we were seeing unprecedented numbers in the emer...

College campuses are particular causes for concern each flu season because of the close and constant proximity of community members. Limited existing research suggests that, like the general population, this subpopulation is undervaccinated, and inaccurate perception of the safety, efficacy, and necessity of the vaccine plays a large part. In this paper, we introduce a simple cost-benefit model...