conclusions vaccination seems to be necessary to prevent this potentially fatal infectious disease. furthermore, timely prescription of antiviral medications is recommended to decrease the risk of severe complications. results the mean age of the women was 28.1 ± 4.7 years with a mean gestational age of 28.7 ± 10.9 weeks. the most common clinical manifestations included coughing (100%), fever (...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Severe influenza A(H1N1)pdm2009 virus infection cases are characterized by sustained immune activation during influenza pandemics. Seasonal flu data suggest that immune mediators could be modified by wave-related changes. Our aim was to determine the behavior of soluble and cell-related mediators in two waves at the epicenter of the 2009 influenza pandemic. METHODS Leukocy...

Background The threat of pandemic A/H1N1 influenza remains a matter of considerable public concern. Recent influenza outbreaks underline the importance of rapid production of a reserve of vaccine sufficient for pandemic and interpandemic periods. Traditional vaccines intended for seasonal influenza do not satisfy this demand, because they are unable to induce cross-reactive antibodies to pandem...

We investigated the association between monovalent influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 (H1N1pdm) vaccine and pneumonia in elderly people. Study design was a hospital-based, matched case-control study. Cases comprised patients ≥ 65 years old who had been newly diagnosed with pneumonia. For each case, 2 controls were defined as individuals with other diseases (not pneumonia) who were matched by sex, age, en...

OBJECTIVES The paper examines the factors associated with both receiving pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccines and individuals' intentions to get the next seasonal influenza vaccine in Taiwan. METHODS We conducted a representative nationwide survey with in-person household interviews during April-July 2010. Multivariate logistic regression incorporated socio-demographic background, household characte...

The 1918 influenza A virus caused the most devastating pandemic, killing approximately 50 million people worldwide. Immunization with 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 virus vaccines results in cross-protective antibodies against the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza, indicating antigenic similarities among these viruses. In this study, we demonstrate that vaccination with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 va...

BACKGROUND The number of admissions to hospital for which influenza is laboratory confirmed is considered to be a substantial underestimate of the true number of admissions due to an influenza infection. During the 2009 pandemic, testing for influenza in hospitalized patients was a priority, but the ascertainment rate remains uncertain. METHODS The discharge abstracts of persons admitted with...

Background Pandemic influenza H1N1/09 emerged in April 2009 and spread widely in Australia and New Zealand. Although an unprecedented number of cases required intensive care, comparative community-based studies with seasonal influenza strains have not shown any significant differences in clinical symptoms or severity. Methods The authors performed active surveillance on confirmed influenza-rel...

An influenza A virus that originated in pigs caused a pandemic in 2009. The sialidase activity of the neuraminidase (NA) of previous pandemic influenza A viruses are stable at low pH (≤5). Here, we identified the amino acids responsible for this property. We found differences in low-pH stability at pH 5.0 among pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viruses, which enhanced the replication of these viruses. Low-p...

A phase 6 alert has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the ongoing global spread of the influenza H1N1 virus in humans. Genetic sequence analysis suggests that this pandemic strain evolves from reassortment of swine viruses. The objective of this research is to conduct a series of bioinformatics analyses to characterize currently circulating pandemic influenza v...