I was made aware of this great flu infographic at OnlineEducation.net and I am happy to share this with all of my readers. Really helpful and informative. We need more of these, preferably for each vaccine-preventable disease. Kudos to the nice folks who created this and allowed us to share it with all of you.
The FDA has approved the first ever, quadrivalent flu vaccine. All flu vaccines in circulation today are trivalent, they protect against two strains of flu, generally to type A and one type B strain. The new vaccine will protect against four strains, two A and two B therefore increasing protection and the probability of the vaccine matching the actual flu strain in circulation. Here is the text of the full FDA Media Release (links added). FDA NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release: Feb. 29, 2012 Media Inquiries: Rita Chappelle, 301-796-4672, rita.chappelle@fda.hhs.gov Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA FDA approves first quadrivalent vaccine to prevent seasonal influenza FluMist Quadrivalent, a ———->FULL ARTICLE
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT HEALTHDAY FRIDAY, Nov. 11 (HealthDay News) — Although it can be prevented with a vaccine, roughly 90 million children worlwide who are younger than 5 get the flu each year, resulting in about 1 million hospital admissions, a new study indicates. Published in the Nov. 11 online edition of The Lancet, the research also revealed that flu-related pneumonia claimed the lives of up to 111,500 children in 2008. According to the report, 99 percent of these deaths occurred in developing countries. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT HEALTHDAY Related articles Flu Sickens 90M Kids Worldwide (abcnews.go.com) The ———->FULL ARTICLE
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT MEDICAL NEWS TODAY Apart from protecting a newborn infant from flu for four months, the flu vaccine does not raise the risk of miscarriage, Kathleen Neuzil, MD, member of the Infectious Disease Society of America’s Pandemic Influenza Task Force explained at their 49th Annual Meeting. Various presentations at the meeting are showing that pregnant mothers are getting the message not only about the flu shot’s importance, but also its safety. A newborn whose mother was not vaccinated is particularly vulnerable to flu because he/she is more likely not to be born with protective immunity and cannot be ———->FULL ARTICLE
On the Apr-Jun 2011 issue of The Vaccine Times we reported on a new flu shot being tested which could do away with our need for yearly flu shots. The vaccine candidate, called VAX102 is based on an antibody called F16 which can target a common protein shared by all Influenza A viruses which are the most virulent and the most prone to mutation influenza viruses. Recently U.S. scientists are reporting the finding of a new antibody which can tackle 30 of the 36 known strains of H1N1 (a virus of the A type) flu virus. The newly discovered antibody, ———->FULL ARTICLE
The 2010 flu season has left quite a mark in the United Kingdom. The UKs Health Protection Agency (HPA) reports that 602 Britons have died of it this past season. That makes it deadlier than the 2009 swine flu pandemic which claimed the lives of 474 Britons. However, the swine flu claimed the most lives this year as well, with a total of 562 deaths due to it. That lead to the majority of victims (415) being in the age group of 15-64. Forty-five of those that died were children under 14, and 9 were pregnant women. Information on vaccination ———->FULL ARTICLE
Private Virginia school temporarily closes down due to whooping cough outbreak – A Virginia private school (Blue Mountain School) that does not require parents to provide vaccination proof for its students has been forced to close down for the week due to a pertussis outbreak. At least 30 people, including 23 of its 45 students, have come down with the disease. All the infected children were unvaccinated. According to Virginia law, schools and day care centers have to keep documented proof on file that children have received the immunizations as recommended by the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and ———->FULL ARTICLE