4. OUTBREAK DETECTION 4.1. Type of surveillance  Passive or Active Surveillance  Comprehensive or Sentinel Surveillance  Syndromic or Laboratory-Based Surveillance  Indicator-Based or Event-Based Surveillance  Entomological Surveillance  Monitoring of Environmental and Social Risks 4.2. Surveillance procedures  Case-definition  Notification procedures 4.3. Type of signal  Alert signal ...

Background: The management of pandemics with highly infectious diseases in modern urban habitats depends largely on the maintenance of public services. Understanding the factors that influence municipal employees’ willingness to come to work during a pandemic is therefore a basic requirement for adequate public health preparedness. In this study the extended parallel process model (EPPM) is app...

The emergence of the pandemic H1N1 strain of influenza in 2009 was associated with a unique w-shaped age-related susceptibility curve, with higher incidence of morbidity and mortality among young persons and lower incidence among older persons, also observed during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Pre-existing H1N1 antibodies were not cross-reactive with the prior seasonal vaccine, forcing influenz...

BACKGROUND There will be little time to prepare when an influenza pandemic strikes; hospitals need to develop and test pandemic influenza plans beforehand. METHODS Acute care hospitals in Ontario were surveyed regarding their pandemic influenza preparedness plans. RESULTS The response rate was 78.5%, and 95 of 121 hospitals participated. Three quarters (76.8%, 73 of 95) of hospitals had pan...

BACKGROUND Recognizing the importance of having a broad exploration of how cultural perspectives may shape thinking about ethical considerations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded four regional meetings in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Eastern Mediterranean to explore these perspectives relevant to pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The meetings were ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate the immunogenicity, safety and tolerability of the 2009 A/H1N1 MF59-adjuvanted influenza vaccine, administered sequentially or simultaneously with the seasonal 2009-10 virosomal-adjuvanted influenza vaccine, to paediatric kidney transplant recipients. METHODS Thirty-two children and adolescents with transplanted kidneys and 32 age- and gende...

BACKGROUND Air travelers play a significant role in the spread of novel strains of influenza viruses; however, little is understood about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of international air travelers toward pandemic influenza in relation to public health interventions and personal protective behaviors at overseas destinations. METHODS Prior to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, we sur...

Elevation of liver transaminase levels is a frequent observation during systemic infections. The aim of our study was to investigate liver damage during pandemic 2009 influenza A/H1N1 infection in comparison with seasonal influenza. Serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were significantly higher in patients with pandemic in...

We have experienced the first 2 waves of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The current virus, like the 1918 virus, was passed directly from a pig to a human. The subsequent human-tohuman spread in the current pandemic has had a fatal effect on patients with concurrent illnesses, on the young and healthy who have little or no immunity, and on those who succumb to an overwhelming immune response,...

The 1918 influenza pandemic has shaped research and public health for nearly a century. In 1976, the specter of 1918 loomed large when a pandemic threatened the country again. Public health officials initiated a mass vaccination campaign, but the anticipated pandemic failed to occur. An examination of the available data in 1976 and the decision to vaccinate, as well as lessons learned from the ...