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News: February 14, 2012
H1N1 'Swine' Flu Makes a Comeback in Mexico
FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- It was just about three years ago that a strange new strain of flu first appeared in Mexico, then spread across the border to the United States and eventually much of the globe. The H1N1 "swine" flu strain didn'...
How Did Generation X Respond to the H1N1 'Swine' Flu Epidemic?
TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Only about one in five American adults aged 36 to 39 got a flu shot during the H1N1 swine flu epidemic of 2009-2010, even though about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the disease and nearly ...
Oxygenating Blood of Hospitalized H1N1 Flu Patients Saved Lives: Study
THURSDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Technology that directly oxygenates the blood reduced the risk of death in patients who were severely sickened by the H1N1 flu virus, a new British study shows. The researchers cautioned that their study had li...
Two U.S. Children Contract New Strain of Swine Flu
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating two recent cases of swine flu in which the new strain of flu passed directly from pigs to children. This strain of flu does not ap...
'Swine Flu' Shot May Be Cleared of Guillain-Barre Charges
WEDNESDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new European study finds that the supercharged vaccines used to fight the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 may not have boosted the risk for a disease known as Guillain-Barre syndrome after all. Guillain-Barre is a ra...
Tracking Swine Flu Virus in Pigs Reveals Mutations
THURSDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in the swine flu virus over the past three decades can be traced, at least in part, to the transportation of live pigs, a new study reports. The finding stems from an analysis of viruses found in swine ...
H1N1 Flu Vaccine Very Effective: Study
THURSDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A single dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine was 93 percent effective during the 2009 pandemic, a new study found. In order to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine -- known as the AS03-adjuvanted pandemic H1N...
H1N1 Flu Is Raging in Britain. Could U.S. Be Next?
THURSDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- This winter, influenza seems to be behaving very differently depending on what side of the Atlantic you're on. As of last week, for example, H1N1 ("swine") flu still predominated in Britain, where 112 people h...
Tamiflu May Thwart Pneumonia in 'Swine Flu' Patients: Study
TUESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- When taken shortly after the onset of symptoms, the antiviral drug Tamiflu seems to have protected otherwise healthy swine flu patients from contracting pneumonia during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, Chinese researc...
Increase in Seizures Seen in Kids With H1N1 Flu
MONDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Children made ill by the 2009 pandemic H1N1 swine flu virus suffered more seizures and other nervous system problems than those with seasonal flu, a new report reveals. In the study, published in the September ...
Sickle Cell Kids at Greater Risk of 'Swine Flu' Complications
FRIDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Children with sickle cell disease experience more life-threatening complications from the H1N1 swine flu than from seasonal flu, a new study has found. This means that doctors and parents need to be aware that c...
Experts Predict 'Normal' H1N1 Flu Season This Year
FRIDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Despite the current lull in H1N1 influenza activity, experts say it's likely that the Northern Hemisphere will see a new, but still mild, wave of the virus this flu season. The virus will continue to circulate, ...
Early Tamiflu Might Benefit Transplant Patients With H1N1 Flu
THURSDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Early treatment with antiviral drugs appears to help prevent serious illness and death in organ transplant patients with H1N1 swine flu, researchers say. Because they take immune system-suppressing drugs in ord...
H1N1 Flu Undergoing Genetic Changes in Pigs
THURSDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Although the pandemic H1N1 "swine" flu that emerged last spring has stayed genetically stable in humans, researchers in Asia say the virus has undergone genetic changes in pigs during the last year and a half....
H1N1 Flu Vaccine May Shield Against 1918 Strain
WEDNESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 influenza vaccine distributed in 2009 also appears to protect against the 1918 Spanish influenza virus killed more than 50 million people nearly a century ago, new research in mice reveals. The findi...
A Year After Its Emergence, H1N1 Swine Flu Lingers
FRIDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- A year ago, global alarm over the emergence of an unpredictable new strain of H1N1 pandemic flu was in full swing. Headlines blared that thousands were becoming sick; face masks and hand sanitizers were selling o...
Only 1 in 4 Americans Got H1N1 Vaccine
THURSDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer Americans have been vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu than health officials had hoped for, despite continued widespread availability of the shot, according to federal reports released Thursday. Sligh...
Swine Flu in Pregnancy Leads Some to ICU
THURSDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women with the H1N1 (swine) flu were 13 times more likely to become critically ill than non-pregnant women infected with H1N1, according to a report from researchers in Australia and New Zealand. In ...
H1N1 Flu Spreads Slower Than Seasonal Flu: Study
WEDNESDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 swine flu appears to spread more slowly than "regular" seasonal flu in a household setting, but when it does spread it's more likely to affect children, a new study suggests. "We found that about 9 ...
57 Million Americans Sickened by H1N1 Flu: CDC
FRIDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- With the H1N1 swine flu pandemic apparently winding down, federal health officials said Friday that about 57 million Americans have suffered through the illness since last April, and the total could range as hig...
As Swine Flu Fades, Experts Ponder Next Season
FRIDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- After nearly a year of headlines, worry and confusion, the H1N1 swine flu virus is now out of the news. Is it out of circulation as well? The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention f...
No Role Found for Birds in Swine Flu Pandemic
TUESDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Birds don't become sick when exposed to the H1N1 influenza strains that caused the 1918 and 2009 global flu pandemics, a finding that suggests birds played no role in the spread of the pandemic-causing viruses,...
As Swine Flu Wanes, Don't Be Fooled
THURSDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Although only four states are now reporting widespread H1N1 swine flu activity, U.S. health officials caution that a new outbreak is possible. People should get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu while there is a ...
Insect Cells Instead of Eggs for Swine Flu Vaccine?
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A method that uses insect cell-based technology produces vaccines for swine flu faster than traditional egg-based vaccine production, say Austrian scientists. Using this new approach, the researchers created r...
Health Care Reform, Swine Flu Top Health News for 2009
FRIDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Potentially historic moves toward health care reform, the emergence of the pandemic H1N1 flu and controversial changes to cancer screening all made 2009 a very busy year for health news. Here are the top 10 healt...
Swine Flu May Be Rewriting the Flu-Season Script
THURSDAY, Dec. 24 (HealthDay News) -- The month of December typically marks the start of the seasonal flu season. But since the emergence of the H1N1 swine flu back in April, nothing has been typical about influenza, one of the most common infecti...
Nearly 5 Million Doses of Nasal Swine Flu Vaccine Recalled
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 5 million doses of a nasal spray version of swine flu vaccine have been recalled because the vaccine loses some potency over time, but not enough to diminish its protective effect, U.S. health official...
Single Shot of H1N1 Vaccine May Be Enough for Kids
MONDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- A single dose of the H1N1 flu vaccine may be enough to guard children and infants against potential infection, Australian researchers report. Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recomm...
Swine Flu Wanes, But Future Uncertain
THURSDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- As the current wave of H1N1 swine flu continues to wane, U.S. health officials on Thursday urged that everyone get vaccinated in case another outbreak strikes this winter. And now that shortages of the H1N1 fl...
Scientists Link Molecule to Severe Swine Flu
THURSDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Some people develop severe pneumonia when infected with the swine flu virus, and researchers say they've found a clue as to why. A key to the severity of the illness appears to be a molecule called interleukin...
Large Recall of Children's Swine Flu Vaccine
TUESDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 800,000 children's doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine have been recalled by manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur Inc. because they have lost some potency, federal health officials said Tuesday. According to the U.S....
Swine Flu Infection Rates Continue to Fall
FRIDAY, Dec. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Swine flu infection rates continue to drop, U.S. health officials said Friday, with only 14 states reporting widespread H1N1 activity, down from 25 states last week and 48 states at the height of the outbreak in...
Swine Flu Has Infected 1 in 6 Americans: CDC
THURSDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 swine flu has sickened nearly 50 million Americans, sent more than 200,000 people to the hospital and killed nearly 10,000 -- more than 8,000 of them children and young adults, a federal health offici...
Swine Flu Pandemic May Be Less Severe Than Expected
TUESDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A new joint American-British study suggests that the impact of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic during the autumn-winter flu season will be less severe than had been feared. "As more detailed data have become availab...
Swine Flu Can Batter Kids With Sickle Cell
MONDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Swine flu is more likely than seasonal flu to cause life-threatening complications in children with sickle cell disease, a new study has found. Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers analyzed the medical rec...
Swine Flu Continues to Wane
FRIDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The number of states reporting widespread swine flu activity continued to decline this week -- to 25 from a high of 48 just two weeks ago, a U.S. health official said Friday. Meanwhile, the supply of H1N1 swine f...
Swine Flu Waning, But Could Return
TUESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. health official said Tuesday that H1N1 swine flu infections appear to be on the wane nationally, but many experts agreed the virus could return in force later this winter. The flu is now widespread in 32 ...
U.S. Swine Flu Cases Chart Sharp Decline
MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials said Monday that H1N1 swine flu infections appear to be on the wane nationally, even as the number of American children dying from the illness continues to rise. The latest report, released...
Swine Flu Tied to Rise in Pneumonias Among Young
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The ongoing H1N1 swine flu pandemic may be driving a recent spike in dangerous pneumonias among younger patients, a U.S. health official said Wednesday. "We are seeing an increase in serious pneumococcal infe...
Swine Flu Declining in Some Parts of U.S.
FRIDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Some areas of the United States are seeing declines in H1N1 swine flu activity, a federal health official said Friday, and while the disease remains widespread in 43 states, that's down from the 46 states report...
Swine Flu May Hit Kids With Asthma Harder
FRIDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Canadian researchers are reporting that children with asthma are more likely to develop severe cases of H1N1 flu than seasonal flu. "Asthma has been identified as a significant risk factor for admission with pan...
Immunity to Swine Flu May Be Broader Than Thought
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 pand...
Another Swine Flu Vaccine Approved for Children
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. Th...
22 Million Sickened by Swine Flu in 6 Months
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 offici...
My 10-Day Ordeal With the Swine Flu
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-di...
Older People at Greater Risk of Swine Flu Death
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 T...
Tamiflu-Resistant Swine Flu Foundin Canadian Father
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 Worl...
Most Who Want Swine Flu Shot Can't Get It
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. ...
Swine Flu Virus Dominant Strain Worldwide: WHO
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 Org...
Rest Easy. When It Comes to Swine Flu, Your Pet Is Safe
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 4 (HealthDay News) -- When the news broke on Wednesday that a domestic cat had come down with H1N1 swine flu, probably transmitted to the feline by sick owners, many people no doubt wondered how vulnerable their own pets were to th...
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