CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden noted that the flu season lasts until May 2010 and already there have been more H1N1-related hospitalizations in the under-65 population than in most entire flu seasons.
With two separate flu viruses threatening people right now, some doctors fear that those who acquire the H1N1 virus after receiving a seasonal flu shot will blame the shot for their illness and not come back next year.
In response to a request from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug peramivir intravenous in certain adult and pediatric patients with confirmed or suspected 2009 H1N1 influenza infection who are admitted to a hospital.
The declaration clears hospitals to set up alternate sites to house sick patients. It does not speed up vaccine delivery to the states.
A judge had issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 16 to halt enforcement of the New York State regulation, but the governor's office said the rule was suspended because of limited supply of vaccines.
As many as 16,000 registered nurses are expected to walk out Oct. 30 at 39 facilities to protest how management has protected them against H1N1. But the backdrop is contract negotiations now in their seventh month.
On Oct. 15, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a joint warning letter to a Web site said to be marketing fraudulent supplements that claim to help prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 years through 25 years.
The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure the H1N1 influenza virus. The warning comes after FDA recently purchased and analyzed several products represented online as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which may pose risks to patients.
In addition to being able to show that a good-faith effort was made to acquire respirators, an employer will need to implement a hierarchy of controls, said acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab.
Deborah Friberg, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based WakeMed Health and Hospitals, has helped her staff set and meet ambitious goals in establishing an electronic infection surveillance system, improving hand hygiene compliance, and reducing MRSA and catheter-related blood stream infections, APIC said.
Hospital workers are asking the same questions about the safety and necessity of flu vaccines as the general public, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
OSHA is on the fence about it. According to the director of its Enforcement Programs Directorate, the agency’s determination of coverage would be made on a case-by-case basis.
Flu-like cases are widespread in Ireland, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Cypress, with flu activity in Japan continuing above what is usually seen during flu season, WHO reports.
According to the October issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, an apparent allergic reaction after an immunization should be investigated rather than avoiding future immunizations, which could leave patients at greater risk of disease.
When asked if it was acceptable to throw out items contaminated with blood or body fluids in either septic systems or normal garbage, the OSHA director said, “It is the employer's responsibility to determine the existence of regulated waste. This determination is not based on actual volume of blood, but rather on the potential to release blood (e.g., when compacted in the waste container).”
Surgical masks appear to be no worse than, and nearly as effective as N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study released early online by JAMA. The study was posted online ahead of print because of its public health implications. It will be published in the Nov. 4 issue of JAMA.
"The process of pandemic planning may be unfamiliar to many organizations," said Safety Services Canada President Jackie Norman. "We felt it was necessary to create a course that would answer important questions and give employers a solid foundation regarding H1N1 flu prevention in the workplace."
Get Smart About Antibiotics Week begins today and runs through Oct. 11. This annual effort coordinates the work of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work campaign, state-based appropriate antibiotic use campaigns, nonprofit partners, and for-profit partners during a week-long observance focused on antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.
According to CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, many people who have died from 2009 H1N1 influenza in the United States had co-infections with a common bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae or pneumococcus.