Articles: pandemics.
-
Clin Exp Vaccine Res · Jul 2014
ReviewZoonotic infections with avian influenza A viruses and vaccine preparedness: a game of "mix and match".
Various direct avian-to-human transmissions of influenza A virus subtypes upon exposure to infected poultry have been previously observed in the past decades. Although some of these strains caused lethal infections, the lack of sustained person-to-person transmission has been the major factor that prevented these viruses from causing new pandemics. In 2013, three (A/H7N9, A/H6N1, and A/H10N8) novel avian influenza viruses (AIVs) yet again breached the animal-human host species barrier in Asia. ⋯ This article reviews the various human incursions with AIV variants and provides insight on how continued circulation of these viruses poses perpetual challenge to global public health. As the world anticipates for the next human pandemic, constant vigilance for newly emerging viruses in nature is highly encouraged. With the various numbers of AIVs demonstrating their capacity to breach the animal-human host interface and apparent limitations of current antivirals, there is a need to broaden the selection of pre-pandemic vaccine candidate viruses and development of novel alternative therapeutic strategies.
-
Journal of autoimmunity · May 2014
ReviewNarcolepsy, 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic influenza, and pandemic influenza vaccinations: what is known and unknown about the neurological disorder, the role for autoimmunity, and vaccine adjuvants.
The vaccine safety surveillance system effectively detected a very rare adverse event, narcolepsy, in subjects receiving AS03-adjuvanted A(H1N1) pandemic vaccine made using the European inactivation/purification protocol. The reports of increased cases of narcolepsy in non-vaccinated subjects infected with wild A(H1N1) pandemic influenza virus suggest a role for the viral antigen(s) in disease development. However, additional investigations are needed to better understand what factor(s) in wild influenza infection trigger(s) narcolepsy in susceptible hosts. ⋯ This review article provides a brief background on narcolepsy, outlines the different types of vaccine preparations including the ones for influenza, reviews the accumulated evidence for the safety of adjuvants, and explores the association between autoimmune diseases and natural infections. It concludes by assimilating the historical observations and recent clinical studies to formulate a feasible hypothesis on why vaccine-associated narcolepsy may not be solely linked to the AS03 adjuvant but more likely be linked to how the specific influenza antigen component of the European AS03-adjuvanted pandemic vaccine was prepared. Careful and long-term epidemiological studies of subjects who developed narcolepsy in association with AS03-adjuvanted A(H1N1) pandemic vaccine prepared with the European inactivation/purification protocol are needed.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of neuraminidase inhibitors in reducing mortality in patients admitted to hospital with influenza A H1N1pdm09 virus infection: a meta-analysis of individual participant data.
Neuraminidase inhibitors were widely used during the 2009-10 influenza A H1N1 pandemic, but evidence for their effectiveness in reducing mortality is uncertain. We did a meta-analysis of individual participant data to investigate the association between use of neuraminidase inhibitors and mortality in patients admitted to hospital with pandemic influenza A H1N1pdm09 virus infection. ⋯ F Hoffmann-La Roche.
-
Review Historical Article
Pandemic preparedness and response--lessons from the H1N1 influenza of 2009.
-
Procalcitonin (PCT) is helpful for diagnosing bacterial infections. The diagnostic utility of PCT has not been examined thoroughly in critically ill patients with suspected H1N1 influenza. ⋯ In critically ill patients with pneumonia during the influenza season, PCT is a reasonably accurate marker for detection of bacterial pneumonia, particularly in patients with community-acquired disease and without immune-compromising disorders, but it might not be sufficient as a stand-alone marker for withholding antibiotic treatment.