Influenza News

The latest H7N9 avian influenza epidemic to affect China is by far largest and most widespread, with 759 cases reported as of Aug. 7, according to researchers.

Results of a recent systematic review and meta-analysis showed that two novel classes of rapid influenza diagnostic tests have similar specificities but higher sensitivities than traditional rapid tests.

The AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases recommends that all patients aged 6 months and older receive an annual seasonal influenza vaccine by the end of October to ensure optimal protection during the 2017-2018 influenza season, according to an updated policy statement.

The treatment of pediatric influenza that results in complications such as asthma exacerbations or otitis media can cost up to $1,199 for those with Medicaid and $1,161 for those with commercial insurance.

Findings published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine supported federal recommendations that the FluMist Quadrivalent influenza vaccine not be used on patients in the United States.

CMS claims data might be useful to determine influenza activity in particular areas before the disease becomes widespread, according to findings presented at the AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo.

Adults and children with a particular inherited variation in the IFITM3 gene were more than twice as likely to develop severe influenza than patients without the gene variation, according to research published in Nature Medicine.

Patches that deliver influenza vaccine produced robust immune responses in a phase 1 clinical trial and were preferred over traditional injection by most patients who used them, researchers reported.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is continuing to advise against using the live-attenuated influenza vaccine.

Although researchers found no evidence that maternal influenza alone was associated with autism spectrum disorder among children, they did observe a nonsignificant trend indicating an increased risk for autism among children whose mothers had laboratory-confirmed influenza and self-reported symptoms of influenza-like illness during pregnancy.