Articles: pandemics.
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Critical care medicine · Jan 2011
Review Comparative StudyUsing evidence-based medicine to protect healthcare workers from pandemic influenza: Is it possible?
To use evidence-based principles to develop infection control algorithms to ensure the protection of healthcare workers and the continuity of health service provision during a pandemic. ⋯ Conventional evidence-based principles could not be applied to formulate recommendations due to the lack of pandemic-specific efficacy data of protection tools and the inherent unpredictability of pandemics. As an alternative, evidence-based principles have been used to formulate recommendations while giving priority to the needs and values of healthcare workers over the research evidence.
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Multicenter Study
Pandemic and post-pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection in critically ill patients.
There is a vast amount of information published regarding the impact of 2009 pandemic Influenza A (pH1N1) virus infection. However, a comparison of risk factors and outcome during the 2010-2011 post-pandemic period has not been described. ⋯ Patients from the post-pandemic Influenza (H1N1)v infection period had an unexpectedly higher mortality rate and showed a trend towards affecting a more vulnerable population, in keeping with more typical seasonal viral infection.
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During August through September 2009, a surge in emergency department (ED) visits for 2009 pandemic influenza A (pH1N1) illness occurred in Georgia, particularly among children. To understand surge preparedness and capacity, we obtained influenza-like illness (ILI) ED visit data from the Georgia State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) and conducted a retrospective, Internet-based survey among all 26 metro Atlanta ED managers with reference to the period 1 July-1 October 2009. ⋯ Most (92%) of the facilities had current pandemic influenza plans. Pandemic planning can help to ensure preparedness for natural and man-made disasters and for future influenza pandemics.
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Multicenter Study
Effectiveness of AS03 adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 vaccine: case-control evaluation based on sentinel surveillance system in Canada, autumn 2009.
To assess the effectiveness of the pandemic influenza A/H1N1 vaccine used in Canada during autumn 2009. ⋯ Although limited by a small number of vaccine failures, this study suggests that the monovalent AS03 adjuvanted vaccine used in Canada during autumn 2009 was highly effective in preventing medically attended, laboratory confirmed pandemic H1N1 illness, with reference in particular to a single dose in children and young adults.
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Google Flu Trends (GFT) uses anonymized, aggregated internet search activity to provide near-real time estimates of influenza activity. GFT estimates have shown a strong correlation with official influenza surveillance data. The 2009 influenza virus A (H1N1) pandemic [pH1N1] provided the first opportunity to evaluate GFT during a non-seasonal influenza outbreak. In September 2009, an updated United States GFT model was developed using data from the beginning of pH1N1. ⋯ Internet search behavior changed during pH1N1, particularly in the categories "influenza complications" and "term for influenza." The complications associated with pH1N1, the fact that pH1N1 began in the summer rather than winter, and changes in health-seeking behavior each may have played a part. Both GFT models performed well prior to and during pH1N1, although the updated model performed better during pH1N1, especially during the summer months.