Influenza

The 2014-2015 flu season has been one of the worst in recent years due to several factors. Robert Pedowitz, DO, of the CentraState Healthcare System explains some of the issues facing patients and doctors during the most recent epidemic.

The recent US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) surveillance report stated that this year's flu season has crossed the threshold for being considered an epidemic – that is, the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (8.5%) through the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System was above the agency's epidemic threshold of 7%.

Although some meta-analyses have called into question the efficacy of antiviral treatment, the Centers for Disease Control recommends empirical use of antiviral medications patients with symptoms suggestive of influenza.

The 2014-2015 flu season has been one of the worst on record in recent years and now the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a waiver allowing a test to be more widely when confirming a diagnosis of influenza virus infection.

The final flu report of 2014 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not bring good news heading into the New Year.

As the calendar turns to 2015 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that the flu season has reached the "epidemic threshold."

Rapivab (peramivir injection) is an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor approved for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in patients 18 years and older.

Children who are vaccinated for influenza indirectly reduced others' chances at contracting the disease, according to findings published online December 9, 2014 in PLOS ONE.

Two systematic reviews found the efficacy of the two common anti-virals used for influenza to be of questionable benefit.

Research teams examining the safety and efficacy of zanamivir and oseltamivir for influenza treatment concluded they are not as effective as popularly believed.

Researchers at Hong Kong University and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have identified a link between the influenza A viruses' genetic diversity and severity of the infection.

Online system that allows preschools and child care centers to report illnesses to local public health departments could improve the detection of disease outbreaks and allow resources to be mobilized more quickly.

The University of Michigan has been synonymous with the flu vaccine since its first usage and Arnold Monto, MD, says work continues to make the vaccine as safe and effective as possible.

Tina Tan, MD, offers insights on preparations for the approaching cold and flu season, which could be one of the worst in years.

Stephen Gluckman, MD, talks about the challenges facing doctors who treat patients infected with Ebola or Enterovirus D68. He also discusses issues facing clinicians as cold and flu season gets underway.

Jeff Duchin, MD, of the Seattle and King County Departments of Public Health, discusses enterovirus and the relationship with treatment during cold and flu season.

Scientists from Sanofi Pasteur's Swiftwater, PA facility have published results of a study indicating that a high-dose, trivalent, inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV3-HD or high dose Fluzone®) improves antibody responses to influenza among adults 65 years of age or older.

Because a key antiviral defense mechanism is present in asthmatics, another defect in their immune system must explain their difficulty combating respiratory viruses, according to researchers from Washington University in St. Louis.

The start of the fall season means that around the country children are settling into their school routines. It also means cold and flu season is just around the corner, and with a particularly harsh winter predicted for parts of the country that could mean bad news for the end of 2014.

The survival rate of mice infected with lethal amounts of H1N1 virus increased after a molecule was blocked, according to research published in Immunity.

While the dangers of influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia in patient with diabetes are well understood, less known is the fact that diabetics are at increased risk for contracting hepatitis B if they share blood glucose meters, finger stick devices, or other diabetes-care equipment.

The new flu vaccine that protects against 4 strains of influenza may be more effective than the traditional 3-strain vaccine, according to a study of approximately 200 children.

Current influenza prevention and control recommendations, updated for the 2012-2013 influenza season.

Researchers at IDWeek 2012 show that influenza can pose fatal health risks even to otherwise healthy children with no serious underlying medical conditions. They also revealed that children who were vaccinated at school were much less likely to get the flu, leading to fewer school absences.

Study results presented at IDWeek 2012 show that requiring flu vaccination for all employees at a large health care facility resulted in a significant drop in the employee absence rate during flu season.

Vaccinating pregnant women against the influenza virus appears to have a significant positive effect on infant birth weight.

The current flu season has been relatively quiet so far-especially when compared to the recent H1N1 riddled seasons-but the CDC still maintains that precautions against influenza must be taken.

Hospitals looking to be prepared for a sharp increase in patients during flu season may be better off monitoring trends in Internet search traffic than waiting for lagging government reports to arrive, Johns Hopkins University researchers report.

For the first time ever, a US government advisory board has asked several scientific journals to withhold details of experiments out of concern that terrorists could use the information in question to create deadly pathogens and trigger epidemics.

National Influenza Vaccination Week took place from December 4th to the 10th, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took advantage of this opportunity by stressing the importance flu vaccinations.