Influenza News

WASHINGTON — Following a severe 2017-2018 influenza season in which an estimated 900,000 people were hospitalized and 80,000 died, United States officials reemphasized the need for everyone aged 6 months or older to get vaccinated.

Data from seven recent influenza seasons in Canada showed the influenza vaccine may be more effective in females than males, according to study findings published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

The AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases has suggested immunization with an inactivated influenza vaccine as a first line of defense against illness for the 2018-2019 flu season. Although the AAP did not fully endorse the live-attenuated influenza vaccine because of its inferiority during past seasons against H1N1, it may be used in certain pediatric populations.

Douglas Jordan

WHO estimates that vaccines avert 2 to 3 million deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles worldwide each year. According to the CDC, however, only 72% of children between the ages of 19 and 35 months in the United States have completed the recommended immunization schedule for these diseases, as well as polio, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and chickenpox. Influenza vaccination rates in the U.S. are even lower, ranging from 31.8% to 67.2% among children and adults.

The 2017-2018 influenza season in the United States was one of the most severe in the last decade and kept clinics, EDs and hospitals busy. The CDC recently classified it as a “high-severity” season that resulted in record hospitalization rates. Although vaccination is our first line of defense, it is most effective when it is a good match with the circulating strain. Unfortunately, vaccine efficacy for the 2017-2018 season was approximately 36% overall and only 25% against illness caused by influenza A(H3N2), the predominant strain. Because of low vaccine efficacy and a high number of patients with influenza, many patients sought treatment for their symptoms.

Genentech announced that the FDA has accepted a new drug application and granted priority review for the company’s single-dose, oral influenza treatment baloxavir marboxil.

Nearly 73% of health care personnel in the United States approve of mandatory influenza vaccination policies enforced by employers, according to recent data.

For the first time, researchers found that influenza remains highly stable and infectious in aerosols in various levels of humidity, suggesting that mucus and other airway secretions protect the virus when it is expelled, according to study findings published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

ATLANTA — Negative rapid influenza antigen test results can delay the initiation of antiviral medication for patients with influenza who are critically ill, according to findings presented at ASM Microbe.