Articles: pandemics.
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Understanding transmission dynamics of the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus in various exposure settings and determining whether transmissibility differed from seasonal influenza viruses was a priority for decision making on mitigation strategies at the beginning of the pandemic. The objective of this study was to estimate household secondary attack rates for pandemic influenza in a susceptible population where control measures had yet to be implemented. ⋯ Secondary attack rates for pandemic influenza A (H1N1) were comparable to seasonal influenza estimates suggesting similarities in transmission. High secondary attack rates in children provide additional support for increased susceptibility to infection.
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Current HIV research · Apr 2011
Canada's international response to HIV during times of global transition: a qualitative inquiry.
Canada's international response to HIV may be under threat given CIDA's new aid priorities that appear to exclude health. Drivers of this recent priority shift have been the influence of global aid trends among public sector donors and changes within the global HIV milieu itself. However, this is not the first time Canada has shifted in response to these two global trends. The era from 2000-2004 also witnessed dramatic changes in both the HIV field and in global thinking around international aid. As such, this article presents an evaluation of the Government of Canada's international response to HIV during the first era of transition (2000-2004) in order to derive lessons for decision-making around HIV in the current climate of change. ⋯ Lessons from the 2000-2004 era of transition focus on strategic investments, the inextricable connection between HIV and development and strategy coherence. These results highlight that it is more constructive to ensure that Canadian development responses in all areas engage with both the upstream drivers of HIV as well as the impacts of the epidemic itself in order to achieve the greatest results from international investment and the most effective contributions to the lives of the people that these endeavours seek to support.
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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contribution of threat information as provided by the parents to the development of children's fear within the context of the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic. Normal school children aged 7-12 years (N = 223) and their parents completed questionnaires to measure fear of the Swine Flu and general fearfulness for medical affairs. Children and parents were also asked to indicate to what extent parents had provided children with threat-related information about this disease. ⋯ Further, it was found that parent's transmission of threat information was positively associated with children's fear and that this link remained significant when controlling for other sources of information (i.e., media, friends, and school) or direct experience with the disease. Most importantly, results showed that threat information as provided by the parents played a role in the association between parents' and children's fear. More precisely, support was found for a partial mediation model in which parents' fear of the Swine Flu was related with parents' threat information transmission, which in turn was associated with children's fear of the disease.
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Drug Resist. Updat. · Apr 2011
ReviewThe global need for effective antibiotics-a summary of plenary presentations.
To highlight the global need for effective antibiotics and explore possible concerted actions for change, cross-cutting plenary sessions served to frame the program of the conference. These sessions contained presentations on the present state of antibacterial resistance and the availability, the use and misuse of antibiotics. ⋯ The value chain for research and development (R&D) of antibiotics has to be reengineered if we are to realize the development of much needed new antibiotics. This challenge will require a multitude of actions, some of which are related to changing the financial realities of antibiotics and interventions by global and regional institutions.
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Surgical infections · Apr 2011
ReviewExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the context of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) incorporates surgical techniques as adjuncts in the management of refractory respiratory dysfunction. For many years, its primary application was for support of neonatal infants in cardiorespiratory failure. As the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic developed, more reports came in of severe respiratory dysfunction and even death that seemed to be occurring preferentially in younger adults. Centers with the capability began to use ECMO to salvage these patients. ⋯ Supportive management is continued along with ECMO. Antiviral drugs and antimicrobial agents should be given as appropriate, as should nutritional support. Volume management should be used. Ventilator settings should be reduced as ECMO support allows, with a goal of reducing airway pressures, ventilator rate, and FiO(2). Complications of ECMO are common. Bleeding, the most common, can result in death, especially if it occurs intracranially.