Influenza In Settings Research Articles

Simultaneous Infection of Pigs and People with Triple‐Reassortant Swine Influenza Virus H1N1 at a U.S. County Fair

Influenza-like illness was noted in people and pigs in attendance at an Ohio county fair in August 2007. The morbidity rate in swine approached 100% within 1-2 days of initial clinical signs being recognized, and approximately two dozen people developed influenza-like illness. Triple-reassortant swine H1N1 influenza viruses were identified in both pigs and people at the fair. The identified viruses (A/Sw/OH/511445/2007, A/Ohio/01/2007, and A/Ohio/02/2007) were similar to H1N1 swine influenza viruses currently found in the U.S. swine population. This case illustrates the possibility of transmission of swine influenza in settings where there is close human/swine interaction.

Pandemic Infection Control for Critical Care

1perhaps sooner. An influenza pandemic will occur when a novel influenza virus emerges to which all or most of the population have no immunity and which spreads efficiently from person to person. This may originate from an avian influenza virus eg A/H5N1, which adapts to the human host, as was probably the case in 1918. Alternatively, it may emerge through genetic recombination of an avian and a human influenza virus, as probably happened in the pandemics of 1957 and 1968. Given the likelihood of an influenza pandemic, and its colossal impact, governments across the world and international bodies are developing plans to minimise the health, economic and social impact of such an event. The UK is ahead of many countries in this respect. A host of documents are available to the health and other services essential to national infrastructure, including a national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic, clinical management guidelines, planning guidance for acute hospitals and other sectors, and infection control guidance. All these and many other documents are available via the websites of the UK Departments of Health, the Cabinet Office (Civil Contingencies Secretariat) and the Health Protection Agency. Predictions based on previous pandemics indicate that clinical attack rates will be high (up to 50%) and almost all the population will potentially be at risk. However, case fatality rates are likely to be much lower than those currently described for avian influenza A/H5N1 (60%), with even the worst pandemic of the twentieth century (1918) producing a case-fatality rate of roughly 2.5%. The Department of Health (UK) is planning to increase the stock of antiviral drugs to cover treatment for all symptomatic people at a clinical attack rate of up to 50%. It also plans to procure almost 15 million treatment courses of antibiotics to manage the bacterial complications arising from pandemic influenza. The ubiquitous nature of a pandemic virus means that critical care staff, as with other healthcare staff, are just as likely to encounter pandemic influenza in settings associated

Benefits of influenza vaccination among healthy and high-risk persons across the age spectrum

The burden of influenza is substantial across all age groups. Vaccination against influenza has been shown to be safe and effective across all age groups. The benefits of vaccination may extend not only to the individual, but also to household contacts and even the community. Economic analyses generally suggest that vaccination is highly cost-effective and even cost saving for the elderly. Many studies also suggest similar findings for healthy younger adults. Data on the cost-effectiveness of vaccinating children are more limited, but several studies do suggest that vaccination of children might also be cost-effective. Universal immunization may represent an appropriate strategy for the prevention and control of influenza in settings where the vaccine supply, vaccine cost, and vaccine delivery infrastructure make such an approach feasible.