Burden of Influenza is significantly higher in developing countries as compared to developed countries, but the data on the disease burden is less well defined in most of the developing countries including India, and consequently, constraints evolving strategies for prioritization of measures to prevent and control it. The swine flu or A(H1N1) pandemic is on the wane but the virus continues to ...

Influenza is a major respiratory pathogen causing annual outbreaks and occasional pandemics. Influenza vaccination is the major method of prophylaxis. Currently annual influenza vaccination is recommended for groups at high risk of complications from influenza infection such as pregnant women, young children, people with underlying disease and the elderly, along with occupational groups such a ...

Pandemic and seasonal influenza viruses cause considerable morbidity and mortality in the general human population. Protection from severe disease may result from vaccines that activate antigen-presenting DC for effective stimulation of influenza-specific memory T cells. Special attention is paid to vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cell responses, because they are mainly directed against conserved intern...

Current split influenza virus vaccines that induce strain-specific neutralising antibodies provide some degree of protection against influenza infection but there is a clear need to improve their effectiveness. The constant antigenic drift of influenza viruses means that vaccines are often not an exact match to the circulating strain and so levels of relevant antibodies may not be sufficiently ...

In 1999, all individuals > or = 65 yrs of age (n=258,754) in Stockholm County, Sweden, were offered influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in a prospective study on the effectiveness of these vaccines in reducing the need for hospital treatment and death due to influenza, pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Data on hospitalisation and mortality during 1 yr were obtained from the ...

Influenza has been long-recognized as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in human populations, leading to development and use of vaccines intended to reduce consequent health and economic impacts. Since 1918, four influenza A pandemics have caused substantial numbers of illnesses and deaths, but annual epidemics caused by influenza A and B viruses have arguably taken a greater toll. ...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that seasonal influenza affects approximately 5-15% of the population on an annual basis and these outbreaks are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality resulting in increased hospital admissions. Annual vaccination remains the main public health strategy for containing influenza. Inactivated influenza vaccines offer a great deal of prot...

Levels of preexisting antibodies to the hemagglutinin of pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 (hereafter pandemic H1N1) virus positively correlate with age. The impact of contemporary seasonal influenza vaccines on establishing immunity to other pandemic H1N1 proteins is unknown. We measured serum antibodies to the neuraminidase (NA) of pandemic H1N1 in adults prior to and after vaccination with sea...

Influenza inflicts significant global mortality and morbidity that can be combated by effective immunization. However, the protective efficacy of current vaccines is limited by both the significant antigenic diversity of the viral hemagglutinin protein and the capacity for rapid antigenic change. This necessitates global influenza surveillance efforts, frequent vaccine reformulation and annual ...

Inactivated influenza virus vaccines (IVVs) are used for prevention of influenza and its complications. Present vaccines are immunogenic, of low reactogenicity, and protective, but protection has varied between 0% and 100%. Increasing the dose of hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens with purified proteins significantly increased serum and nasal antibody responses; however, trials with newer...