Articles: pandemics.
-
Comparative Study
Effectiveness of vaccine against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 among people with underlying chronic diseases: cohort study, Denmark, 2009-10.
To determine the effectiveness of an adjuvanted monovalent vaccine against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 among people with underlying chronic diseases. ⋯ The adjuvanted monovalent vaccine against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 was offered late in the 2009-10 influenza season. Among chronically ill people, this vaccine offered protection against laboratory confirmed H1N1 infection but only offered non-significant protection against influenza related hospital admissions confirmed as H1N1 infection. This finding is of public health relevance because the population of chronically ill people is a major target group for pandemic vaccinations and because of the delayed availability of pandemic vaccines in a forthcoming pandemic.
-
Annals of Saudi medicine · Jan 2012
Features associated with severe disease in hospitalized children with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) infection at a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In 2009, pandemic H1N1 influenza A caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, available data on disease characteristics and outcome of hospitalized children is limited. ⋯ The majority of children with 2009 H1N1 influenza A-associated hospitalization in this series had an uncomplicated course. Respiratory complications and ICU admissions were more frequent in those with underlying disease, especially asthma and neuromuscular diseases. Efforts need to be focused prior to each influenza season and special emphasis needs to be given to children by immunizing them with H1N1 influenza A vaccination to avoid severe disease and minimize complications.
-
Health care planning for pandemic influenza is a challenging task which requires predictive models by which the impact of different response strategies can be evaluated. However, current preparedness plans and simulations exercises, as well as freely available simulation models previously made for policy makers, do not explicitly address the availability of health care resources or determine the impact of shortages on public health. Nevertheless, the feasibility of health systems to implement response measures or interventions described in plans and trained in exercises depends on the available resource capacity. As part of the AsiaFluCap project, we developed a comprehensive and flexible resource modelling tool to support public health officials in understanding and preparing for surges in resource demand during future pandemics. ⋯ The AsiaFluCap Simulator is freely available software (http://www.cdprg.org) which can be used by policy makers, policy advisors, donors and other stakeholders involved in preparedness for providing evidence based and illustrative information on health care resource capacities during future pandemics. The tool can inform both preparedness plans and simulation exercises and can help increase the general understanding of dynamics in resource capacities during a pandemic. The combination of a mathematical model with multiple resources and the linkage to GIS for creating maps makes the tool unique compared to other available software.
-
Tiffany Bogich and colleagues find that breakdown or absence of public health infrastructure is most often the driver in pandemic outbreaks, whose prevention requires mainstream development funding rather than emergency funding.