H1N1 News and Research

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Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin that was first detected in Mexico and the United States in March and April, 2009. The first novel H1N1 patient in the United States was confirmed by laboratory testing at CDC on April 15, 2009. The second patient was confirmed on April 17, 2009. It was quickly determined that the virus was spreading from person-to-person. On April 22, CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to better coordinate the public health response. On April 26, 2009, the United States Government declared a public health emergency.

It’s thought that novel influenza A (H1N1) flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus.

Key differences in immune response may explain young children’s proneness to infecion

Schools are commonly known as breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria, but this may not necessarily be linked to hygiene.

4 Jul 2016

Researchers identify exact origin of 2009 swine H1N1 flu pandemic

The 2009 swine H1N1 flu pandemic — responsible for more than 17,000 deaths worldwide — originated in pigs from a very small region in central Mexico, a research team headed by investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is reporting.

28 Jun 2016

Novel strategy to predict antigenic evolution of circulating influenza viruses

During the 2014-15 flu season, the poor match between the virus used to make the world's vaccine stocks and the circulating seasonal virus yielded a vaccine that was less than 20 percent effective.

24 May 2016

MERS individuals develop severe critical illness, higher mortality than non-MERS SARI patients

Patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) develop more severe critical illness and have higher mortality than patients with non-MERS severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), according to investigators involved with the largest study of critically ill patients with MERS.

19 May 2016

Flu vaccinations for pregnant women reduce newborn’s influenza risk during first six months of life

Babies whose moms get flu vaccinations while pregnant have a significantly reduced risk of acquiring influenza during their first six months of life, a new study shows, leading the authors to declare that the need for getting more pregnant women immunized is a public health priority.

3 May 2016

Study highlights potential emergence of new swine flu strains

The wide diversity of flu in pigs across multiple continents, mostly introduced from humans, highlights the significant potential of new swine flu strains emerging, according to a study to be published in eLife.

26 Apr 2016

New study suggests re-evaluation of long-held method to predict effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine

The long-held approach to predicting seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness may need to be revisited, new research suggests. Currently, seasonal flu vaccines are designed to induce high levels of protective antibodies against hemagglutinin (HA), a protein found on the surface of the influenza virus that enables the virus to enter a human cell and initiate infection.

20 Apr 2016

Interdisciplinary researchers to explore ethical issues of pregnant women during Zika crisis

The emerging Zika virus epidemic is bringing to light a longstanding ethical challenge in medical research: the inclusion of pregnant women. With new funding from the Wellcome Trust, an interdisciplinary team of scholars will focus on issues of ethics and research in pregnancy and women of reproductive age, beginning with the current Zika context and later expanding to general public health research.

15 Apr 2016

Seasonal trivalent influenza vaccination during pregnancy may guard against stillbirth

Seasonal influenza vaccination may guard against stillbirth, a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online suggests. Researchers in Western Australia analyzed data from nearly 60,000 births that occurred during the southern hemisphere's 2012 and 2013 seasonal influenza epidemics, and found that women who received the trivalent influenza vaccine during pregnancy were 51 percent less likely to experience a stillbirth than unvaccinated mothers.

2 Apr 2016

UGA and Sanofi Pasteur researchers develop new H1N1 influenza vaccine

Researchers at the University of Georgia and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the development of a vaccine that protects against multiple strains of both seasonal and pandemic H1N1 influenza in mouse models.

30 Mar 2016

AMP disappointed as FDA takes enforcement action against physicians for Zika virus test

The Association for Molecular Pathology, the premier global, professional society serving molecular diagnostics professionals, is very concerned and disappointed to see the FDA taking enforcement action against the physicians at Texas Children's Hospital and Houston Methodist Hospital for their laboratory developed procedure (LDP) for Zika virus, which was designed to identify virus-specific RNA sequences in a large metropolitan area.

16 Mar 2016

Zika outbreak highlights need for developing and evaluating new vaccines for pregnant women

The recent outbreak of Zika virus disease and its link to fetal development highlights the need for pregnant women and those of reproductive age to be a priority group for developing and evaluating new vaccines and vaccine guidelines for Zika and other emerging infectious diseases, say the authors of a new Viewpoint article in JAMA.

25 Feb 2016

Adding naturally-occurring protein to flu vaccine may offer protection to babies

According to the World Health Organization, influenza causes serious illness among millions of people each year, resulting in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths. Those most at risk include infants younger than six months, because they cannot be vaccinated against the disease.

20 Jan 2016

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

Minor variants of flu strains, which are not typically targeted in vaccines, carry a bigger viral punch than previously realized, a team of scientists has found. Its research, which examined samples from the 2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong, shows that these minor strains are transmitted along with the major strains and can replicate and elude immunizations.

5 Jan 2016

CFDA issues new drug certificate and production license for Sinovac's EV71 vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the China Food and Drug Administration issued the new drug certificate and production license for its Enterovirus 71 ("EV71") vaccine.

4 Jan 2016

Sinovac gets approval to begin clinical trials on Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine candidate

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the Company has obtained approval to begin human clinical trials on its Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine (or "sIPV") candidate.

10 Dec 2015

Simple approach to predict viral evolution may improve vaccine efficacy

New results from a study performed at the University of Helsinki suggest that genomic information from circulating influenza viruses can help in producing more efficient seasonal vaccines. The researchers were able to develop a simple approach for reliable real-time tracking and prediction of viral evolution based on whole-genome sequences of influenza viruses.

8 Dec 2015

Containing Airborne Contaminants

An interview with Gary Broomhead, discussing the potential sources of contamination in research and how controlling airflow in the laboratory can reduce this.

26 Nov 2015

People with viral infections and identical gene mutations may be prone to hyperinflammatory disorder

A group of people with fatal H1N1 flu died after their viral infections triggered a deadly hyperinflammatory disorder in susceptible individuals with gene mutations linked to the overactive immune response, according to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

25 Nov 2015

TGen receives 2015 Regents' Award for Outstanding Service to Higher Education

The Arizona Board of Regents presented the Translational Genomics Research Institute with its 2015 Regents' Award for Outstanding Service to Higher Education, recognizing the extensive research TGen has conducted in association with Northern Arizona University.

21 Nov 2015