Category Archives: Care and Treatment

Op-Ed: Fake H1N1 Pandemic Claims Assailed – Anti-Vaccine Communications Challenges Remain Comments Off on Op-Ed: Fake H1N1 Pandemic Claims Assailed – Anti-Vaccine Communications Challenges Remain

Credibility and transparency are essential to building trust in public health communications. During unfolding public health crises, the problem of what and when to warn is an enduring policy dilemma that goes to the heart of public trust. Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) persuasively refuted spurious claims from the Council of Europe that […]

World Notes: Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Egypt – Situation Critical 2

Cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) are surging in Egypt. Last year Egypt recorded 39 human cases of H5N1, a vast jump over eight cases in 2008. Four new cases were reported this month, bringing the country’s case count to 94. Of these, 27 have been fatal. These numbers position Egypt just behind Indonesia […]

Medical Research: German Scientists Identify Human Host Factors Crucial for H1N1/H5N1 Influenza Virus Replication 1

Despite substantial development efforts that go into antiviral drugs and vaccines for influenza, viruses are able to develop resistance due to their high mutation rates. In a recent issue of Nature, a team of German moleclar biologists make the case that by targeting host rather than viral factors, it may be possible to develop flu […]

H1N1 Vaccine Safety: Guillain-Barré Syndrome – Less Mysterious, More Manageable and Very Rare 1

Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is a very rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. Specifically, “GBS damages the nerves’ protective covering (myelin sheath) and this interferes with the signaling process, causing weakness, numbness or paralysis.”  There is no cure for GBS but it is treatable.  Most recover and […]

2010 January 12 21:53:09 UTC – Misery in Haiti Comments Off on 2010 January 12 21:53:09 UTC – Misery in Haiti

Background on Haiti Earthquake USGS National Eathquake Information Center: Magnitude 7.0 – HAITI REGION DOS: Travel Alert – HAITI WHO: Public health risk assessment and interventions: Haiti Earthquake January 2010 (PDF) USAID: Response to Haiti Earthquake DOD: OPERATION UNIFIED RESPONSE How You Can Help American Red Cross International Committee of the Red Cross

Video Digest: H1N1 Vaccination Push – Sketches from Maine and California; Memories of Flu Resurgence in Winter 1958 Comments Off on Video Digest: H1N1 Vaccination Push – Sketches from Maine and California; Memories of Flu Resurgence in Winter 1958

 

World Notes: Dispatches from Asia. Pyongyang on H1N1 “Alert”; Ludhiana (India) on H1N1 “War Footing” Comments Off on World Notes: Dispatches from Asia. Pyongyang on H1N1 “Alert”; Ludhiana (India) on H1N1 “War Footing”

PYONGYANG: The H1N1 flu situation remains unclear in North Korea. Indications, though somewhat tenuous, suggest the situation is serious. The Wall Street Journal reported the country issued a nationwide alert on H1N1 in late December. Earlier that month North Korea’s official news agency (KCNA) reported that nine people had contracted the H1N1 virus in the […]

World Notes: “Grim” Winter Flu Outlook for China Comments Off on World Notes: “Grim” Winter Flu Outlook for China

  BEIJING: Agence France Presse reported that all but six of China’s 659 deaths from H1N1 were recorded in the last two months of 2009, suggesting the flu is on the upswing. While H1N1 is declining in major cities, China’s Health Ministry reports H1N1 is spreading into the countryside. Ministry officials described the winter flu […]

A Shot in the Arm: New Public Information Campaign Push for H1N1 Vaccination Comments Off on A Shot in the Arm: New Public Information Campaign Push for H1N1 Vaccination

As the nation enters 2010 with ample H1N1 vaccine supplies and a public weary from H1N1, HHS has ramped up public information efforts encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. Several events are planned for National Influenza Vaccination Week, which has been rescheduled to the week of Jan 10. New public-service announcements (PSA’s) are appearing on radio, […]

Op-Ed: 2009 in Review – Public Information and Awareness, Transparency are Indispensable to H1N1 Fight 2

As 2009 comes to a close, an estimated 60 million Americans have been vaccinated for H1N1. This represents a remarkable achievement. Despite waning H1N1 infection rates in the U.S., recent surveys show that half of all Americans desire the vaccine. While HHS handling of the H1N1 pandemic has drawn criticism, overall public awareness has been […]