April 30th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
“The 1918 influenza epidemic started with cases in the spring, seemingly disappeared over the summer, and then returned with a vengeance in the fall”, according to the CDC.
In the Northern hemisphere, the usual seasonal flu virus tends to disappear by April and re-emerges by November. It can, however, be caught at any time of the year.
The real [...]
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April 29th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Nobody knows whether swine influenza A (H1N1) will cause a pandemic, become endemic in humans causing continuous small outbreaks, or fizzle out and disappear, according to Dr. Klaus Stohr in an article in MedPage Today.
“If the virus were to “disappear” though, that would not necessarily eliminate the need to prepare for its re-emergence if it [...]
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April 29th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The World Health Organization has raised the global alert level for swine flu to Phase 4, indicating that the virus is becoming more adept at spreading among humans. The increase in the pandemic alert phase indicates that the likelihood of a pandemic has increased.
The CDC has issued a travel warning recommending that people avoid non-essential [...]
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April 27th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A public health emergency was declared on Sunday to manage new cases of swine flu. At this time, 42 U.S. cases of swine flu have been reported in five states–California, Texas, Kansas, New York and Ohio.
Officials suspect that this particular strain of swine flu might be the same strain that has also been identified in Mexico and Canada. [...]
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September 26th, 2008 by Chris Thompson
The CDC now recommends flu vaccine coverage for children ages 6 months to 18 years.
This new recommendation was based on the decision that the vaccine is both safe and effective for kids as young as six months. But also support for the recommendation was based on increasing evidence that the flu has a serious impact on school-aged children and their [...]
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April 30th, 2008 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
There are several theories about the origins of the seasonal flu, but the actual source has been a long-standing mystery. Researchers are now reporting that flu strains appear to originate in east and southeast Asia. They then follow a highly predictable path to infect the rest of the world. Around six to nine months after [...]
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September 30th, 2006 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The sudden decrease in air travel after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 significantly slowed the spread of the seasonal flu in 2001-2002, according to Harvard researchers. This dramatic change in air travel turned out to be a natural study on the effect of flight restrictions on disease spread.
The researchers suggest that travel restrictions might be [...]
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