Influenza

A recent 3-part series details the inevitability of another global influenza pandemic and how better surveillance and new vaccines may protect us in time for the next pandemic.

As injectable influenza vaccine doses from the 2018-19 season are set to expire on June 30, 2019, CDC investigators detail 192 cases of expired vaccine administration over the last year.

The 2018-19 US flu season lasted 21 weeks, marking the longest season in a decade.

According to a press release issued by the manufacturer, the products are the therapeutic equivalent to Genentech’s Tamiflu capsules.

Health officials point to substantial progress in flu surveillance, treatment, and prevention; however, the global population remains vulnerable to new emerging viruses.

What happens when you get a virologist and a military historian together? New insight into an old pandemic.

A research team led by Yale University scientists report that breathing dry air lowers defenses against influenza virus infection.

Long-term care facilities could reduce hospitalizations for pneumonia and influenza by hiring more registered nurses and licensed independent practitioners, increasing staffing hours, and employing higher quality care practices.

Investigators hope to pinpoint the underlying factors of immune responses against influenza in children to help with the development of more effective influenza vaccines.

Early research found that e-cigarette use affects the immune system response to the flu virus and the effects are different for female and male users.

In an unexpected discovery, a NIAID-funded study team has found that a human antibody can target a part of the hemagglutinin protein that the influenza virus uses to enter and infect cells.

A team of investigators from the University of North Carolina Medical Center found that oseltamivir prophylaxis did not reduce the rate of influenza within the first year following a lung transplant.

The FDA has approved Mavyret (glecaprevir and pibrentasvir) tablets to treat all 6 genotypes of hepatitis C in children 12 to 17 years.

A 21-week-long flu season begins to wind down while investigators find that flu infections in consecutive seasons are more likely in young children.

The rate of health care-associated influenza cases per season decreased from a median of 16.8 cases pre-policy rollout to 5.2 cases post-policy rollout at a large pediatric hospital.

Could an additive in your food be messing with the immune process that helps you fight off the flu after receiving the influenza vaccine?

Cidara Therapeutics has developed CB-012, a stable conjugate of a highly potent antiviral agent linked to human IgG1 Fc, and investigators are evaluating the asset for the treatment and prevention of seasonal and pandemic influenza A and B infections.

Following years of research and development, NIAID scientists have begun enrolling participants in the first human trial of a universal flu vaccine candidate.

An antiviral drug that could offer months of protection against the flu may be on the horizon and ready to fill in some of the gaps of the seasonal flu vaccine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is giving its recommendation to the nasal spray form of the influenza vaccine for the 2019-2020 flu season, meaning parents will have 2 choices when getting their children vaccinated this fall.

A recent study has found that a new method of testing circulating H3N2 flu viruses may help flu experts in selecting seasonal vaccine components.

Investigators at Georgia State University have received a federal grant to explore if a microneedle patch could be a universal flu vaccine candidate.

Following a 1-month delay, WHO experts have issued a recommendation for a new influenza A(H3N2) component for next flu season.

A study reports that estimates of influenza epidemic outcomes may be improved by focusing on behavioral discrepancies in different demographics.

Solving a years-old mystery, investigators have discovered that MHC-II molecules can provide a gateway for bat influenza to infect human cells.