Emerging Infectious Diseases back issues from January 2006:
Influenza revisited.(INFLUENZA: OVERVIEW)
Jan 01, 2006; ... This issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases includes a group of invited articles addressing pandemic influenza. Over the past 2 years, concerns about a new influenza pandemic caused by either an epizootic avian strain, such as H5N1, or by some other influenza virus have engaged top ...
H5N1 outbreaks and enzootic influenza.(INFLUENZA: OVERVIEW)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in migratory waterfowl, domestic poultry, and humans in Asia during the summer of 2005 present a continuing, protean pandemic threat. We review the zoonotic source of highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses and their genesis from their natural reservoirs ....
Influenza pandemics of the 20th century.(INFLUENZA: HISTORY)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Three worldwide (pandemic) outbreaks of influenza occurred in the 20th century: in 1918, 1957, and 1968. The latter 2 were in the era of modern virology and most thoroughly characterized. All 3 have been informally identified by their presumed sites of origin as Spanish, Asian, and Hong ...
1918 influenza: the mother of all pandemics.(PERSPECTIVE)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The "Spanish" influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, which caused [approximately equal to] 50 million deaths worldwide, remains an ominous warning to public health. Many questions about its origins, its unusual epidemiologic features, and the basis of its pathogenicity remain unanswered. The ...
Swine influenza a outbreak, Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1976.(INFLUENZA: HISTORY)
Jan 01, 2006; ... In early 1976, the novel A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1) influenza virus caused severe respiratory illness in 13 soldiers with 1 death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Since A/New Jersey was similar to the 1918-1919 pandemic virus, rapid outbreak assessment and enhanced surveillance were initiated. A/New ...
Reflections on the 1976 swine flu vaccination program.(INFLUENZA: HISTORY)
Jan 01, 2006; ... In 1976, 2 recruits at Fort Dix, New Jersey, had an influenzalike illness. Isolates of virus taken from them included A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1n1), a strain similar to the virus believed at the time to be the cause of the 1918 pandemic, commonly known as swine flu. Serologic studies at Fort ...
Influenza pandemic periodicity, virus recycling, and the art of risk assessment.(INFLUENZA: HISTORY)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Influenza pandemic risk assessment is an uncertain art. The theory that influenza A virus pandemics occur every 10 to 11 years and seroarcheologic evidence of virus recycling set the stage in early 1976 for risk assessment and risk management of the Fort Dix, New Jersey, swine influenza ...
The swine flu episode and the fog of epidemics (1).(INFLUENZA: HISTORY)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The 1918 influenza pandemic has shaped research and public health for nearly a century. In 1976, the specter of 1918 loomed large when a pandemic threatened the country again. Public health officials initiated a mass vaccination campaign, but the anticipated pandemic failed to occur. An ...
Antiviral response in pandemic influenza viruses.(INFLUENZA: PATHOGENESIS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The outcome of viral infections depends on a complex set of interactions between the viruses and their hosts. Particularly, viral infection triggers specific signaling programs within the infected cells that results in substantial changes in host gene expression. While some of these ...
Cell-mediated protection in influenza infection.(INFLUENZA: PATHOGENESIS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Current vaccine strategies against influenza focus on generating robust antibody responses. Because of the high degree of antigenic drift among circulating influenza strains over the course of a year, vaccine strains must be reformulated specifically for each influenza season. The time ...
Vaccines and antiviral drugs in pandemic preparedness.(INFLUENZA: PREVENTION)
Jan 01, 2006; ... While measures such as closing schools and social distancing may slow the effects of pandemic influenza, only vaccines and antiviral drugs are clearly efficacious in preventing infection or treating illness. Unless the pandemic strain closely resembles one already recognized, vaccine will ...
Making better influenza virus vaccines?(INFLUENZA: PREVENTION)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Killed and live influenza virus vaccines are effective in preventing and curbing the spread of disease, but new technologies such as reverse genetics could be used to improve them and to shorten the lengthy process of preparing vaccine seed viruses. By taking advantage of these new ...
Vaccines for pandemic influenza.(INFLUENZA: PREVENTION)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Asia and associated human infections have led to a heightened level of awareness and preparation for a possible influenza pandemic. Vaccination is the best option by which spread of a pandemic virus could be prevented and severity of ...
Pandemic influenza threat and preparedness (1).(INFLUENZA: PREVENTION)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The threat of a human influenza pandemic has greatly increased over the past several years with the emergence of highly virulent avian influenza viruses, notably H5N1 viruses, which have infected humans in several Asian and European countries. Previous influenza pandemics have arrived with ...
Influenza and the origins of The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC.(INFLUENZA: ANOTHER DIMENSION)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The two Phillips brothers were so inseparable that when James, the older, was ready to leave home for Yale in 1902, he waited 2 years so that Duncan, the younger, could graduate from secondary school and accompany him. The brothers, who were full of energy and talent, spent their early ...
Nonpharmaceutical interventions for pandemic influenza, international measures.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Since global availability of vaccine and antiviral agents against influenza caused by novel human subtypes is insufficient, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends nonpharmaceutical public health interventions to contain infection, delay spread, and reduce the impact of pandemic ...
Nonpharmaceutical interventions for pandemic influenza, national and community measures.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The World Health Organization's recommended pandemic influenza interventions, based on limited data, vary by transmission pattern, pandemic phase, and illness severity and extent. In the pandemic alert period, recommendations include isolation of patients and quarantine of contacts, ...
Economics of neuraminidase inhibitor stockpiling for pandemic influenza, Singapore.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We compared strategies for stockpiling neuraminidase inhibitors to treat and prevent influenza in Singapore. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, with Monte Carlo simulations, were used to determine economic outcomes. A pandemic in a population of 4.2 million would result in an ...
Estimating influenza hospitalizations among children.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Although influenza causes more hospitalizations and deaths among American children than any other vaccine-preventable disease, deriving accurate population-based estimates of disease impact is challenging. Using 2 independent surveillance systems, we performed a capture-recapture analysis ...
Real-time estimates in early detection of SARS.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We propose a Bayesian statistical framework for estimating the reproduction number R early in an epidemic. This method allows for the yet-unrecorded secondary cases if the estimate is obtained before the epidemic has ended. We applied our approach to the severe acute respiratory syndrome ...
Influenza-associated deaths in tropical Singapore.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We used a regression model to examine the impact of influenza on death rates in tropical Singapore for the period 1996-2003. Influenza A (H3N2) was the predominant circulating influenza virus subtype, with consistently significant and robust effect on mortality rates. Influenza was ...
Real-time forecast of multiphase outbreak.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We used a single equation with discrete phases to fit the daily cumulative case data from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Toronto. This model enabled us to estimate turning points and case numbers during the 2 phases of this outbreak. The 3 estimated turning points ...
SARS-associated coronavirus replication in cell lines.(RESEARCH)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Given the potential fer laboratory-associated severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infections, we must know which cell lines are susceptible to the virus. We investigated 21 cell lines routinely used for virus isolation or research. After infection with ...
Ocular vaccinia infection in laboratory worker, Philadelphia, 2004.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We report a case of ocular vaccinia infection in an unvaccinated laboratory worker. The patient was infected by a unique strain used in an experiment performed partly outside a biosafety cabinet. Vaccination should continue to be recommended, but laboratories with unvaccinated workers ...
Rickettsia felis infection, Tunisia.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We report, for the first time, serologic evidence of Rickettsia fells and R. aeschlimannii infections acquired in Tunisia from 1998 to 2003. We found that most patients with antibodies against both R. conorii and R. typhi had serologic evidence of R. felis infection. ********** ...
Genetic diversity of sapovirus in children, Australia.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Sapovirus was detected in 7 of 95 stool specimens from children with gastroenteritis of unknown etiology in Sydney, Australia, from August 2001 to August 2002 and from February 2004 to August 2004, by using reverse transcription--polymerase chain reaction. Sequence analysis of the ...
Influenza, Winter Olympiad, 2002.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Prospective surveillance for influenza was performed during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Oseltamivir was administered to patients with influenzalike illness and confirmed influenza, while their close contacts were given oseltamivir prophylactically. Influenza A/B was diagnosed ...
Novel human metapneumovirus sublineage.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... In a pediatric surveillance network, 287 (5.1%) of 5,580 specimens from patients with acute respiratory infections tested positive for human metapneumovirus (HMPV). Phylogenetic analysis of N- and F-gene sequences of identified HMPV showed that 30% belonged to a novel phylogenetic cluster ....
Novel parvovirus and related variant in human plasma.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We report a novel parvovirus (PARV4) and related variants in pooled human plasma used in the manufacture of plasma-derived medical products. Viral DNA was detected by using highly selective polymerase chain reaction assays; 5% of pools tested positive, and amounts of DNA ranged from <500 ...
Coordinated response to SARS, Vancouver, Canada.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Two Canadian urban areas received travelers with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) before the World Health Organization issued its alert. By July 2003, Vancouver had identified 5 cases (4 imported); Toronto reported 247 cases (3 imported) and 43 deaths. Baseline preparedness for ...
Pathogen transmission and clinic scheduling.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We developed a model of pathogen dissemination in the outpatient clinic that incorporates key kinetic aspects of the transmission process, as well as uncertainty regarding whether or not each incident patient is contagious. Assigning appointments late in the day to patients suspected of ...
Histoplasmosis cluster, golf course, Canada.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We report a cluster of 4 cases of acute histoplasmosis (1 culture proven and 3 with positive serology, of which 2 were symptomatic) associated with exposure to soil during a golf course renovation, Patients in western Canada with compatible symptoms should be tested for histoplasmosis, ...
Neutralizing antibodies in survivors of sin nombre and andes hantavirus infection.(DISPATCHES)
Jan 01, 2006; ... We evaluated titers of homotypic and heterotypic neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to Andes and Sin Nombre hantaviruses in plasma samples from 20 patients from Chile and the United States. All but 1 patient had high titers of NAb. None of the plasma samples showed high titers against the ...
New route of importation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) Beijing genotype is spread throughout the world, and the highest prevalence has been detected in Asia and Eurasia. In western Europe, the prevalence of Beijing strains is relatively low (1-3), and cases in immigrants with Beijing strains are ...
H5N1 avian influenza, Kampot Province, Cambodia.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: As a resident in pediatrics with an interest in infectious diseases, I was fascinated by the range and scope of conditions I saw in May and June of 2005 in local children in Kampot Province, a mainly rural area in southeastern Cambodia. This province, near the Vietnamese ...
Helicobacter pylori and immunocompromised children.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: Helicobacter pylori has been classified as a carcinogenic pathogen. Its prevalence is high in developing countries. Apart from the known gastrointestinal pathologic changes caused by this organism, reports on the association between H. pylori infection and ...
Community case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is an emerging infectious disease worldwide and is increasingly reported in Asia (1). We describe a community case of invasive MRSA infection, which appeared as bacteremia and pneumonia; CA-MRSA was ...
Rickettsia massiliae human isolation.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: The number of new rickettsial species that cause diseases in humans is rapidly increasing (1). Moreover, many of the species first described in ticks have been recently shown to be pathogenic. Of the 10 species or subspecies found to be pathogens after 1984, a total of 7 ...
Bertiella studeri infection, China.(LETTERS)
Jan 01, 2006; ... To the Editor: Bertiella is a genus of tapeworm in the family Anoplocephalidae, many species of which exist as parasites of nonhuman primates. Two species of the genus, Bertielht studeri and B. mucronata, can infect humans (1). More than 50 cases of human infection have been recorded, and ...
Molecular Pathogenesis of Virus Infections.(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2006; ... Molecular Pathogenesis of Virus Infections Paul Digard, Anthony A. Nash, and Richard E. Randall, editors Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2005 ISBN: 0-52-183248-9 Pages: 358, Price: US $125.00 Molecular Pathogenesis of Virus Infections ...
The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu: Guerilla Tactics to Keep Yourself Healthy at Home, at Work, and in the World.(Book Review)
Jan 01, 2006; ... The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu: Guerilla Tactics to Keep Yourself Healthy at Home, at Work, and in the World Allison Janse with Charles Gerba Health Communications Inc, Deerfield Beach, FL, 2005 ISBN: 0-7573-0327-7 Pages: 194, Price: US $9.56 ...
Painting nature on the wing.(Winslow Homer)(Cover Story)
Jan 01, 2006; ... "The Sun, will not rise, or set, without my notice, and thanks," wrote Winslow Homer to his brother Charles, putting into words what drove his art (1). All his life, the artist "noticed"--not just the rising and setting sun from his home near the ocean at Prouts Neck, Maine, but everything ...