After the first several weeks of uncertainty, most of the news about the 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic has been reassuring, according to the Harvard Health Letter, December, 2009 edition.
Every winter, millions of people catch influenza "a viral infection of the airways”and about half a million people die as a result. In the U.S. alone, an average of 36,000 people are thought to die from influenza-related causes every year.
Through November, 2009, approximately 99% of typed influenza viruses have been 2009 H1N1. The vast majority of 2009 H1N1 viruses tested for drug resistance have been susceptible to oseltamivir and zanamivir but resistant to the adamantanes (amantadine, rimantadine). Surveillance data, updated weekly, are available at www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly These recommendations will be revised as needed to adapt to new information on risk factors, antiviral availability and resistance, or the circulation of other influenza viruses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a method to provide an estimated range of the total number of 2009 H1N1 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the United States by age group using data on flu associated hospitalizations collected through CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. On November 12, 2009 CDC provided the first estimates for April through October 17, 2009 and committed to updating those estimates approximately monthly.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has approved a fifth vaccine for protection against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. The vaccine is manufactured by ID Biomedical Corp. of Quebec, Canada, owned by GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has criticized the federal government's preparation and response to the H1N1 virus, saying vaccine production and distribution cannot continue to fall short of the public's need.
A new study shows that molecular similarities exist between the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus and other strains of seasonal H1N1 virus that have been circulating in the population since 1988. These results suggest that healthy adults may have a level of protective immune memory that can blunt the severity of infection caused by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one worker sick with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus will infect one in 10 co-workers if he or she goes to work while infected with the virus, according to a recent post on the AFL-CIO’s blog.
OSHA has issued a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.
During week 45 (November 8-14, 2009) of the 2009-2010 influenza season, influenza activity decreased slightly in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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