Influenza News

Text messages were a low-cost and modestly effective way of increasing seasonal influenza vaccine rates, according to findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

Researchers have linked reduced vaccine efficacy during the 2016-2017 influenza season with a mutation in egg-based A(H3N2) vaccine strains, according to a recent study.

SAN DIEGO — Discontinuing methotrexate for 2 weeks following vaccination improved the effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine among patients with rheumatoid arthritis without exacerbating disease activity, according to findings presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting.

Researchers have developed a method to transmit rapid influenza detection test results wirelessly, which may help realize the “long-sought after goal of real-time influenza surveillance,” according to findings in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

New research findings from five recent influenza seasons showed that influenza antivirals were underused in outpatients at a high risk for influenza-related complications who could have benefited from early treatment.

Physicians are urging their patients to get the influenza vaccine, saying that doing so is the best way to avoid contracting the virus.

To reduce the risk of infectious disease spread during ambulatory care visits, the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases emphasized mandatory immunization against influenza and other vaccine-preventable diseases for health care providers, as well as adherence to proper hand hygiene and isolation precautions.

SAN DIEGO — Timothy M. Uyeki, MD, medical epidemiologist in the CDC’s Influenza Division, discusses new developments in the avian A(H7N9) influenza epidemic.

SAN DIEGO — In this video, Timothy M. Uyeki, MD, medical epidemiologist in the CDC’s Influenza Division, discusses the growing avian influenza A(H7N9) epidemic in China. 

Despite the withdrawal of recommendation for the live-attenuated influenza vaccine, overall child influenza immunization rates remained unchanged between the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 influenza seasons, according to a study published in Pediatrics.