This report updates the 2001 recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine and antiviral agents (MMWR 2001;50 [No. RR-4]:1-44). The 2002 recommendations include new or updated information regarding 1) the timing of influenza vaccination by risk group; 2) influenza vaccine for children aged 6-23 months; 3) the 2002-2003 trivalen...

A potentially fatal complication of influenza infection is the development of pneumonia, caused either directly by the influenza virus, or by secondary bacterial infection. Pneumonia related to the 2009 influenza A pandemic was found to be underestimated by commonly used pneumonia severity scores in many cases, and to be rapidly progressive, leading to respiratory failure. Confirmation of etiol...

Influenza antiviral agents play important roles in modulating disease severity and in controlling pandemics while vaccines are prepared, but the development of resistance to agents like the commonly used neuraminidase inhibitor Tamiflu may limit their future utility. We report here a completely new class of specific, mechanism-based anti-influenza drugs that function via the formation of a high...

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is relatively common among the elderly, and is characterized by multiple body aches with an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Even though the etiology of PMR remains unknown, a number of infectious agents have been suggested to cause PMR. Also, there are reports of PMR after influenza vaccination. The exact role of influenza vaccination on the development of ...

Influenza is a perennial problem affecting millions of people annually with the everpresent threat of devastating pandemics. Active prophylaxis by vaccination against influenza virus is currently the main countermeasure supplemented with antivirals. However, disadvantages of this strategy include the impact of antigenic drift, necessitating constant updating of vaccine strain composition, and e...

Swine influenza, a respiratory disease that affects pigs of all ages, is caused by type A influenza virus.1 Morbidity rates can reach 100%, while mortality rates are generally low. Subtypes of swine influenza virus (SIV) most frequently identified in pigs include classical and avian H1N1, reassortant (r) H3N2, and rH1N2. In Europe, three main influenza A subtypes (H1N1, H1N2, H3N2) circulate in...

R espiratory infections, primarily pneumonia and influenza, continue to be the leading infectious cause of death in the developed world [1, 2]. Despite the introduction of new classes of antibiotics there has been little progress in improving pneumonia-related outcomes since the widespread introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s [3]. In addition, there has been little progress on agents to pot...

Influenza antiviral agents play important roles in modulating disease severity and in controlling pandemics while vaccines are prepared, but the development of resistance to agents like the commonly used neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir may limit their future utility. We report here on a new class of specific, mechanism-based anti-influenza drugs that function through the formation of a stab...

Neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) are first-line agents for the treatment and prevention of influenza virus infections. As for other antivirals, the development of resistance to NAIs has become an important concern particularly in the case of A(H1N1) viruses and oseltamivir. The most frequently reported change conferring oseltamivir resistance in that viral context is the H275Y neuraminidase muta...

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in children under the age of 5 years. Almost 2 million children die from ARTIs each year, and most of them are from developing countries. The prevalence and correlation of pathogens in ARTIs are poorly understood, but are critical for improving case prevention, treatment, and...