July 16th 2024
The individuals who worked in an egg layer facility in Colorado were confirmed to have H5N1 and they have reported mild symptoms without hospitalizations.
CDC Director Recommends Receiving Flu Shot Before End of October
September 30th 2016At this year’s annual National Foundation for Infectious Diseases news conference on influenza and pneumococcal disease, the message was clear as health experts issued a resounding call for all Americans 6 months of age and older to get their flu shot.
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New CDC Report Gives Insight Into Effectiveness of This Season's Flu Vaccine
September 27th 2016A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows influenza viruses currently in circulation in the United States are the same as anticipated by vaccine makers, hopefully signaling effectiveness ahead for 2016-2017 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccines.
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Progesterone May Protect Women Against Dangerous Effects of Influenza
September 23rd 2016The World Health Organization credits contraception with preventing pregnancy-related health risks in women, reducing adolescent pregnancies, and lowering infant mortality rates. What researchers are now discovering is that hormonal contraceptives containing progesterone may also protect women against influenza infections and repair lung damage caused by inflammation.
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Walgreens & HHS Provide Uninsured Americans with $10 Million Worth of Free Flu Shot Vouchers
September 15th 2016Walgreens has partnered up again with the US Department of Health in an effort to improve rates of flu vaccination by providing over $10 million in free flu shot vouchers for Americans who are uninsured.
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Social Connectivity Can Impact Dynamics of Disease Transmission
September 12th 2016A new study has shown that infected wild house mice will disengage from their social groups, resulting in a decreased potential for disease transmission; these findings can be applied to improve models used to predict transmission of infectious diseases spread by social contact, such as Ebola and influenza.
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New Study Explains Link Between Influenza and Deadly MRSA Infection
August 17th 2016According to the new study, the antibacterial response of white blood cells to the flu virus fails to target the S. aureus bacteria and instead causes inflammatory injury to the lungs and damage to surrounding tissue, creating a higher susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections such as MRSA pneumonia.
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Have Researchers Finally Found the Key to a Universal Influenza Vaccine?
July 28th 2016Investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) believe they have found the key to developing a universal vaccine for influenza.
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What is an Infectious Disease That Needs Greater Attention Right Now?
July 21st 2016Stephen Redd, MD (RADM, USPHS), Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shares which infectious disease he feels needs greater attention.
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CDC Advises Against Use of Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine for the 2016-2017 Flu Season
June 23rd 2016The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has voted against the use of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), or “nasal spray,” for the 2016-2017 flu season.
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Influenza Vaccine During Pregnancy May Protect Newborn Infants
May 31st 2016The number of expecting mothers who opt for annual vaccination for influenza during pregnancy remains relatively low; however, the results of a new study suggest this may be changing—and that there are obvious benefits for immunization for newborns.
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Global Influenza Surveillance Program Shows Promising Results
May 27th 2016A program designed to improve the quality of influenza surveillance capabilities in 39 countries from around the globe through partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seems to have resulted in remarkable progress on all six of the assessed metrics, and even led to improvements in the surveillance of other pathogens, according to the results of a recent study.
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Challenging the Gold Standard for Evaluating Influenza Vaccines
May 26th 2016The level of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) used as the traditional gold standard for evaluating influenza vaccines in the United States and European Union may not actually be the best predictor of protection from influenza virus-induced disease.
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Asymptomatic Influenza Infection Rates Deserve More Attention
May 20th 2016The consequences of not understanding the actual rate of asymptomatic influenza infection can be grave, as influenza virus infection of the respiratory tract has been shown to result in severe disease and complications, including pneumonia, shock, renal failure, encephalopathy, and multiorgan dysfunction, which can be lethal.
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Recent Influenza Research by the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service
May 11th 2016Public health leaders have serious concerns about influenza, according to Dan Jernigan, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division during a session on influenza on May 2nd during the 65th Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Research on Universal Vaccine for Influenza Uncovers More Than Just Financial Limitations
May 2nd 2016A recent review article on the status of influenza vaccines, their short-comings, and ways to improve them suggests the potential for significant improvements in the performance of future influenza vaccines.
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Study Calls for Alternatives to Egg-Based Manufacturing of Influenza Vaccines
April 28th 2016Because certain viral sub-types are associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality than others, efforts to improve the effectiveness of influenza vaccines remain an important focus of future research.
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New Study Finds a Link between a Person's Ethnicity and Response to the Influenza Vaccine
March 1st 2016Researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA have, for the first time, identified a link between a person's genetic make-up, as well as their ethnic background, and their response to influenza vaccine.
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