Journal ArticleDOI
Are we ready for pandemic influenza
TLDR
Here, progress to date in preparedness for an influenza pandemic is considered and what remains to be done is reviewed, with prioritizing the remaining needs and exploring the reasons for the current lack of preparedness.Abstract:
During the past year, the public has become keenly aware of the threat of emerging infectious diseases with the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the continuing threat of bioterrorism, the proliferation of West Nile virus, and the discovery of human cases of monkeypox in the United States. At the same time, an old foe has again raised its head, reminding us that our worst nightmare may not be a new one. In 2003, highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza virus, including the H5N1 and H7N7 subtypes, again crossed from birds to humans and caused fatal disease. Direct avian-to-human influenza transmission was unknown before 1997. Have we responded to these threats by better preparing for emerging disease agents, or are we continuing to act only as crises arise? Here we consider progress to date in preparedness for an influenza pandemic and review what remains to be done. We conclude by prioritizing the remaining needs and exploring the reasons for our current lack of preparedness for an influenza pandemic.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The scaling laws of human travel
TL;DR: It is shown that human travelling behaviour can be described mathematically on many spatiotemporal scales by a two-parameter continuous-time random walk model to a surprising accuracy, and concluded that human travel on geographical scales is an ambivalent and effectively superdiffusive process.
Journal ArticleDOI
Avian influenza A (H5N1) infection in humans
John H. Beigel,Jeremy Farrar,Aye Maung Han,Frederick G. Hayden,Randy Hyer,Menno D. de Jong,Sorasak Lochindarat,Thi Kim Tien Nguyen,Tran Hien Nguyen,Tinh Hien Tran,Angus Nicoll,Sok Touch,Kwok-Yung Yuen +12 more
TL;DR: The writing committee consisted of the following: John H. Beigel, M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, and Jeremy Farrar, D.Phil., Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Journal ArticleDOI
Containing pandemic influenza at the source.
Ira M. Longini,Azhar Nizam,Shufu Xu,Kumnuan Ungchusak,Wanna Hanshaoworakul,Derek A. T. Cummings,M. Elizabeth Halloran +6 more
TL;DR: Investigation of the effectiveness of targeted antiviral prophylaxis, quarantine, and pre-vaccination in containing an emerging influenza strain at the source showed that a prepared response with targeted antivirals would have a high probability of containing the disease.
Journal ArticleDOI
Characterization of the reconstructed 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic virus
Terrence M. Tumpey,Christopher F. Basler,Patricia V. Aguilar,Hui Zeng,Alicia Solórzano,David E. Swayne,Nancy J. Cox,Jacqueline M. Katz,Jeffery K. Taubenberger,Peter Palese,Adolfo García-Sastre +10 more
TL;DR: Reverse genetics was used to generate an influenza virus bearing all eight gene segments of the pandemic virus to study the properties associated with its extraordinary virulence, and confirmed that the coordinated expression of the 1918 virus genes most certainly confers the unique high-virulence phenotype observed with this pandemicirus.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Pathology of Influenza Virus Infections
TL;DR: The spectrum of pathologic changes described in the 1918 influenza pandemic is not significantly different from the histopathology observed in other less lethal pandemics or even in deaths occurring during seasonal influenza outbreaks.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Transmission Dynamics and Control of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Marc Lipsitch,Ted Cohen,Ben S. Cooper,James M. Robins,Stefan Ma,Lyn James,Gowri Gopalakrishna,Suok Kai Chew,Chorh Chuan Tan,Matthew H. Samore,David N. Fisman,Megan Murray +11 more
TL;DR: It is estimated that a single infectious case of SARS will infect about three secondary cases in a population that has not yet instituted control measures, and public-health efforts to reduce transmission are expected to have a substantial impact on reducing the size of the epidemic.
Journal ArticleDOI
Molecular Basis for High Virulence of Hong Kong H5N1 Influenza A Viruses
TL;DR: Using reverse genetics, it is shown that a mutation at position 627 in the PB2 protein influenced the outcome of infection in mice, and high cleavability of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein was an essential requirement for lethal infection.
Journal ArticleDOI
Transmission dynamics of the etiological agent of SARS in Hong Kong: impact of public health interventions.
Steven Riley,Christophe Fraser,Christl A. Donnelly,Azra C. Ghani,Laith J. Abu-Raddad,Anthony J. Hedley,Gabriel M. Leung,Lai-Ming Ho,Tai Hing Lam,TQ Thach,Patsy Chau,King Pan Chan,Su Vui Lo,Pak Yin Leung,Thomas Tsang,William Ho,Koon Hung Lee,Edith M. C. Lau,Neil M. Ferguson,Roy M. Anderson +19 more
TL;DR: Transmission rates fell during the SARS epidemic, primarily as a result of reductions in population contact rates and improved hospital infection control, but also because of more rapid hospital attendance by symptomatic individuals.
Journal ArticleDOI
Human infection with influenza H9N2
Malik Peiris,Kwok-Yung Yuen,C. W. Leung,Kwok-Hung Chan,P. L. S. Ip,Raymond Lai,W. K. Orr,Kennedy F. Shortridge +7 more
TL;DR: It is shown that serum samples from blood donors in Hong Kong had neutralising antibody suggestive of prior infection with influenza H9N2.
Journal ArticleDOI
Role of hemagglutinin cleavage for the pathogenicity of influenza virus.
TL;DR: F influenza virus pathogenicity is discussed, with an emphasis on the role of HA0 cleavage as a determining factor.
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