Articles: pandemics.
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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.
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Historical Article
Influenza virus genotypes circulating in and around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, during post pandemic period, August 2010--September 2012.
During the post influenza pandemic period, continuous surveillance of influenza virus and its subtypes is mandatory to help the policy makers to take effective and appropriate decisions. Therefore, this study was planned to determine the pattern of influenza virus activity in context to various meteorological and clinical parameters in and around Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, during post pandemic period August 2010 - September 2012. ⋯ The findings provide a clear picture of different clinical presentations of various strains of influenza A and B viruses and epidemiology of influenza infection from Lucknow (UP), India. The seasonality of influenza virus infection showed variation in relation to different environmental factors. Pandemic H1N1 caused more systemic infection than seasonal influenza A/H3N2 virus.
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Am J Infect Control · Mar 2014
Cleaning of filtering facepiece respirators contaminated with mucin and Staphylococcus aureus.
Decontamination, cleaning, and reuse of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) has been proposed to mitigate an acute FFR shortage during a public health emergency. Our study evaluates the ability of commercially available wipe products to clean FFRs contaminated with either infectious or noninfectious aerosols. ⋯ FFRs can be disinfected using antimicrobial wipe products, but not effectively cleaned with the wipes evaluated in this study. This study provides informative data for the development of better FFRs and applicable cleaning products.