BACKGROUND A mass vaccination has been implemented to prevent the spread of 2009 pandemic influenza virus in China. Highly limited information is available on whether this vaccine induces cross-reactive neutralization antibodies against other subtypes of influenza viruses. METHODS We employed pseudovirus-based assays to analyze heterosubtypic neutralization responses in serum samples of 23 re...

Several studies have highlighted the important role played by murine natural killer (NK) cells in the control of influenza infection. However, human NK cell responses in acute influenza infection, including infection with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus, are poorly documented. Here, we examined changes in NK cell phenotype and function and plasma cytokine levels associated with influenza...

BACKGROUND In Canada, the pH1N1 influenza vaccine is recommended for children, particularly those less than 5 years of age or with chronic underlying disease. The pH1N1 vaccine, which contains residual allergenic egg white proteins, may pose a risk for vaccination of egg-allergic children. OBJECTIVE To describe the outcome of pH1N1 influenza vaccine administration to egg-allergic children at ...

Seasonal influenza vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women because of their increased risk for influenza-associated complications. In addition, receipt of influenza vaccine by women during pregnancy has been shown to protect their infants for several months after birth (1). As part of its case-control surveillance study of medications and birth defects, the Birth Defects Study of the Slon...

OBJECTIVE To assess the potential acute effects regarding the immunogenicity and safety of non-adjuvanted influenza A H1N1/2009 vaccine in patients with mixed connective tissue disease and healthy controls. METHODS Sixty-nine mixed connective tissue disease patients that were confirmed by Kasukawa's classification criteria and 69 age- and gender-matched controls participated in the study; the...

BACKGROUND Data on the burden of the 2009 influenza pandemic in Asia are limited. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was first reported in Thailand in May 2009. We assessed incidence and epidemiology of influenza-associated hospitalizations during 2009-2010. METHODS We conducted active, population-based surveillance for hospitalized cases of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in all 20 hospitals in...

Dear Sir, The interesting paper published by Lessa et al. described four patients with immunological reaction against central nervous system (CNS) after influenza A (H1N1) immunization. A few environmental factors such as bacterial infections, viral infections, and vaccinations have been considered triggers for immune destruction of CNS. The influenza virus has historically been associated with...

UNLABELLED Vaccination against influenza is an important means of reducing morbidity and mortality in subjects at risk. The prevalent viral strains responsible for seasonal epidemics usually change annually, but the WHO recommendations for the 2011/2012-season in the Northern hemisphere included the same antigens as for the previous season. We conducted a single-center, single-arm study involvi...

Influenza surveillance was carried out in a subset of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) presenting at an Employee Health Clinic (EHS) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi (urban) and pediatric out patients department of civil hospital at Ballabhgarh (peri-urban), under the Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project (CRHSP) of AIIMS, in Delhi region from Januar...

BACKGROUND During the influenza pandemic of 2009/10, the whole-virion, Vero-cell-derived, inactivated, pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine Celvapan® (Baxter) was used in Austria. Celvapan® is adjuvant-free and was the only such vaccine at that time in Europe. The objective of this observational, non-interventional, prospective single-center study was to evaluate the immunogenicity and tolerabil...