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Health News:Cold, Flu, and Sinus

Immunity to Swine Flu May Be Broader Than Thought

November 16, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) — The swine flu virus that’s sweeping across the United States isn’t a total stranger to your immune system, a new study shows — a finding that should ease the most drastic worries about the lethality of the pandemic.

“What has been widely reported in the general press is that the swine flu is totally new, so there is no immunity to it,” said study lead author Bjoern Peters, an assistant member of the division of vaccine discovery at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in La Jolla, Calif. “But the severity of infections that have been seen is not greater than usually seen in seasonal flu.” Read More

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Another Swine Flu Vaccine Approved for Children

November 13, 2009

FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) — CSL Limited’s H1N1 influenza vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to include children 6 months and older, the agency said. Previously, the shot had been approved only for adults.

The vaccine is subject to the same manufacturing and testing oversight as seasonal flu vaccines, the agency said in a news release. The expanded approval also includes CSL’s seasonal flu shots. Read More

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22 Million Sickened by Swine Flu in 6 Months

November 13, 2009

THURSDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — At least 22 million Americans have come down with the H1N1 swine flu since the virus first surfaced in April and approximately 3,900 people have died, including an estimated 540 children, federal health officials reported Thursday.

While these numbers represent a significant jump in the numbers of sick, hospitalized and dead from previous figures, they don’t mean that the swine flu has suddenly gotten worse. Instead, the new numbers are based on extrapolations from laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu. The earlier numbers were based on laboratory-confirmed cases, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during an afternoon press conference. Read More

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Older People at Greater Risk of Swine Flu Death

November 12, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) — A study of H1N1 swine flu in Mexico finds that while babies and people under the age of 40 are most likely to get sick, elderly people have the highest death rates.

The research, published online Nov. 11 in The Lancet, analyzed medical records of patients at clinics in the Mexican Institute for Social Security network, who became sick with flu-like illnesses between April 28 and July 31, 2009.

The researchers found 63,479 cases of flu-like illness. Of the 6,945 confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu, about 1 percent (63 patients) died. Seven percent (475 patients) were admitted to the hospital and lived. Read More

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My 10-Day Ordeal With the Swine Flu

November 12, 2009

THURSDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — Like most people, I’ve been following the news about the H1N1 swine flu with some concern. Unlike most people, however, I’ve spent years interviewing doctors.

And from the many hours talking with infectious-disease specialists, I knew that it was never a matter of if there might be another flu pandemic, but when.

The question was, would H1N1 turn out to be that dangerous pandemic flu, or not? Read More

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Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu Found in Canadian Father

November 11, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) — Researchers report that a father in a Canadian family developed a strain of the H1N1 swine flu that was resistant to the antiviral Tamiflu, after being given the drug to prevent the disease.

To date, the World Health Organization has reported some 45 cases of H1N1 swine flu that were resistant to Tamiflu, which is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others caution against using Tamiflu to prevent the disease in people who are symptomless. Read More

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Sinus Rinses May Do More Harm Than Good

November 9, 2009

MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) — Rinsing sinuses with a saline solution might have soothing short-term benefits, but it could actually make you more prone to infections in the long run by stripping your nose of critical immune soldiers.

“By washing the nose, we are removing the bad mucus but, unfortunately, we are also removing the good mucus that contains the antimicrobial agents as well,” said Dr. Talal Nsouli, lead author of new research on the issue. “And, by depleting the nose of its immune elements, we expose the patient to more sinus infections.” Read More

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Most Who Want Swine Flu Shot Can’t Get It

November 6, 2009

FRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) — Although the total doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine available in the United States now tops 38 million — 11 million more than a week ago — most Americans who want a shot still haven’t been able to get one, U.S. health officials acknowledged Friday.

In fact, 70 percent of adults and 66 percent of children who tried to get vaccinated couldn’t, according to a poll conducted last weekend by researchers at Harvard University School of Public Health. Read More

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Health Fears Are Nothing to Sneeze At

November 6, 2009

FRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) — It may sound hard to believe, but just one sneeze is enough to increase your fear not just of contracting flu, but also of dying from a heart attack at an early age, dying from an accident or being the victim of a fatal crime, new research shows.

Of greater concern, however, was that people who’d just been exposed to a sneezing actor were three times as likely to want to spend $1.3 billion on the development of a flu vaccine instead of creating jobs in “green” industries than those who hadn’t been near someone sneezing. Read More

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Swine Flu Virus Dominant Strain Worldwide: WHO

November 5, 2009

THURSDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — The H1N1 swine flu virus is now the predominant flu strain worldwide, although it shows no signs of becoming more virulent and continues to produce mild-to-moderate symptoms in most people, the World Health Organization’s flu chief said Thursday.

In some countries, the swine flu accounts for up to 70 percent of the flu viruses being sampled, Dr. Keiji Fukuda said during a press briefing, the Associated Press reported.

In the United States, virtually all flu activity right now is from the H1N1 virus, according to federal health officials.

But unlike seasonal flu, which typically strikes hardest at people over age 65, the H1N1 swine flu targets a disproportionate number of people under 65, Fukuda said. Read More

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