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Article: Influenza-related death rates for pregnant women.(Letter to the editor)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- November 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To the Editor: Articles about influenza in the January 2006 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases discussed a pandemic possibly as profound in its effect as the 1918-19 pandemic, when attack rates were >20% worldwide and death rates were 1%-2%. Then, as when subsequent virus antigenic shifts have occurred, all age groups were affected. Governments are now preparing contingency plans against the effects of an expected further antigenic shift.
However, insufficient consideration may have been given to how, in the absence of effective prophylaxis against a novel strain of influenza virus, to avoid deaths on the scale seen in the fall and winter of 1918-19. In ...