BACKGROUND Household studies of influenza-like illness (ILI) afford opportunities to study determinants of respiratory virus transmission. OBJECTIVES We examined predictors of ILI transmission within households containing at least two children. METHODS A prospective cohort study recorded ILI symptoms daily for 2712 adult and child participants during the 1998 influenza season in Victoria, A...

One prime feature of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is iron accumulation in hepatic macrophages/Kupffer cells (KC) associated with enhanced NF-kappaB activation. Our recent work demonstrates a peroxynitrite-mediated transient rise in intracellular labile iron (ILI) as novel signaling for endotoxin-induced IKK and NF-kappaB activation in rodent KC. The present study investigated the mechanism of ...

BACKGROUND Household studies provide opportunities to understand influenza-like-illness (ILI) transmission, but data from (sub)tropical developing countries are scarce. OBJECTIVE To determine the viral etiology and epidemiology of ILI in households. STUDY DESIGN ILI was detected by active case finding amongst a cohort of 263 northern Vietnam households between 2008 and 2013. Health workers ...

BACKGROUND The disease burden of influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) on the working population has been documented in the literature, but statistical evidence of ILI-related work absenteeism in the USA is limited due to data availability. AIMS To assess work absenteeism due to ILIs among privately insured employees in the USA in 2007-8 and 2008-9. METHODS We used the 2007-9 MarketScan® research...

BACKGROUND The disease burden associated with influenza in developing tropical and subtropical countries is poorly understood owing to the lack of a comprehensive disease surveillance system and information-exchange mechanisms. The impact of influenza on outpatient visits, hospital admissions, and deaths has not been fully demonstrated to date in south China. METHODS A time series Poisson gen...

BACKGROUND Few studies have prospectively assessed viral etiologies of acute respiratory infections in community-based elderly individuals. We assessed viral respiratory pathogens in individuals ≥65 years with influenza-like illness (ILI). METHODS Multiplex reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction identified viral pathogens in nasal/throat swabs from 556 episodes of moderate-to-severe ...

IAPR Fellow, shares a personal sketch of his career in statistical pattern recognition. At the end, he poses questions to entice further research. Chart of some upcoming IAPR and non-IAPR workshops, conferences, and summer schools of interest to the I APR community. The views expressed in this newsletter represent the personal views of the authors and not necessarily those of their host institu...

To rapidly describe the epidemiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) during the 2009 winter epidemic of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in New South Wales, Australia, we used results of a continuous population health survey. During July-September 2009, ILI was experienced by 23% of the population. Among these persons, 51% were unable to undertake normal duties for <3 days, 55% sought care at a gener...

BACKGROUND The seasonal variation of influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) is well known. However, studies assessing the factual direct costs of ILI for an entire population are rare. METHODS In this register study, we analyzed the seasonal variation of ILI-related healthcare visits and hospital admissions for children aged 2 to 17 years, and the resultant parental absence from work, for...

BACKGROUND The public health response to pandemic influenza is contingent on the pandemic strain's severity. In late April 2009, a potentially pandemic novel H1N1 influenza strain (nH1N1) was recognized. New York City (NYC) experienced an intensive initial outbreak that peaked in late May, providing the need and opportunity to rapidly quantify the severity of nH1N1. METHODS AND FINDINGS Telep...