Rumor-Related and Exclusive Behavior Coverage in Internet News Reports Following the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Outbreak in Japan

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Shigemura ◽  
Nahoko Harada ◽  
Masaaki Tanichi ◽  
Masanori Nagamine ◽  
Kunio Shimizu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
News Article ◽  
Internet News ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
Public Health Information

AbstractObjectiveWe sought to elucidate news article reporting of adverse public psychosocial behaviors, in particular, rumor-related coverage (eg, panic, demagoguery) and exclusive behavior coverage (negative behaviors, eg, discrimination, bullying) during the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) influenza pandemic in Japan.MethodsWe examined 154 Internet news-site articles reporting adverse public psychosocial responses in the first 60 days of the outbreak. Rumor-related coverage and exclusive behavior coverage were dichotomously coded as included or not. Moreover, we assessed whether or not health information (eg, coping methods, virus toxicity information) or emphasis on information quality (eg, importance of information, cautions about overreactions) were simultaneously reported.ResultsRumor-related coverage (n=120, 77.9%) was less likely to simultaneously report public health information (eg, toxicity information, health support information, and cautions about overreactions; P<.05). Conversely, exclusive behavior coverage (n=41, 26.6%) was more likely to report public health information (P<.05).ConclusionsRumor-related coverage was less likely to have accompanying public health information, whereas exclusive behavior coverage was more likely to include it. During public health crises, it is essential to understand that rumors and exclusive behaviors have adverse effects on the public and that accompanying public health information may help people take proactive coping actions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:459–463)

scholarly journals Pandemic H1N1 influenza: predicting the course of a pandemic and assessing the efficacy of the planned vaccination programme in the United States

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (41) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Towers ◽  
Z Feng
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
Control And Prevention

We use data on confirmed cases of pandemic influenza A(H1N1), disseminated by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(US CDC), to fit the parameters of a seasonally forced Susceptible, Infective, Recovered (SIR) model. We use the resulting model to predict the course of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in autumn 2009, and we assess the efficacy of the planned CDC H1N1 vaccination campaign. The model predicts that there will be a significant wave in autumn, with 63% of the population being infected, and that this wave will peak so early that the planned CDC vaccination campaign will likely not have a large effect on the total number of people ultimately infected by the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus.

scholarly journals Clinical impact of influenza – lessons learnt from the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Alex Dierig ◽  
Gulam Khandaker ◽  
Robert Booy
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Features ◽  
Pandemic Influenza ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Gastrointestinal Symptoms ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Influenza A H1n1

Influenza is generally an acute, self-limiting, febrile illness without further complications in the majority of people. However, it can be associated with severe morbidity and mortality and the burden of the disease on society is likely to be underestimated. In 2009 an outbreak of H1N1 influenza A virus infection was detected in Mexico with further cases soon observed worldwide. Subsequently, in June 2009, the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century due to influenza A (H1N1) was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). There were many uncertainties regarding the virulence, clinical symptoms and epidemiological features of this newly evolved influenza A strain. Over time, many similarities, but also some differences between the pandemic H1N1 influenza A and seasonal influenza were identified. We recently performed a systematic review of the literature, looking at articles published between 1 April 2009 and 31 January 2010, to identify the epidemiological and clinical features of the pandemic H1N1 influenza. In this current article we compare our findings with others from the international literature. There was more severe impact on young and healthy adults, children, pregnant women and the obese. Clinical features in general were similar between seasonal and pandemic influenza; however, there were more gastrointestinal symptoms associated with pandemic H1N1 influenza. Shortness of breath was characteristic of more severe pH1N1 2009 infection with a higher possibility of being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Performance of public health surveillance systems during the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in the Americas: testing a new method based on Benford's Law

2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (12) ◽  
pp. 1827-1834 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. IDROVO ◽  
J. A. FERNÁNDEZ-NIÑO ◽  
I. BOJÓRQUEZ-CHAPELA ◽  
J. MORENO-MONTOYA
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Objective Evaluation ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Benford’S Law ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
Benford's Law

SUMMARYThe A(H1N1) influenza pandemic has been a challenge for public health surveillance systems in all countries. An objective evaluation has not been conducted, as yet, of the performance of those systems during the pandemic. This paper presents an algorithm based on Benford's Law and the mortality ratio in order to evaluate the quality of the data and the sensitivity of surveillance systems. It analyses records of confirmed cases reported to the Pan American Health Organization by its 35 member countries between epidemiological weeks 13 and 47 in 2009. Seventeen countries did not fulfil Benford's Law, and mortality exceeded the regional average in 40% of the countries. The results suggest uneven performance by surveillance systems in the different countries, with the most frequent problem being low diagnostic coverage. Benford's Law proved to be a useful tool for the evaluation of a public health surveillance system's performance.

Time-series model to predict impact of H1N1 influenza on a children's hospital

2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. SPAEDER ◽  
J. R. STROUD ◽  
X. SONG
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Burden Of Illness ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Novel H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Novel Influenza A

SUMMARYThe spring of 2009 witnessed the emergence of a novel influenza A(H1N1) virus resulting in the first influenza pandemic since 1968. In autumn of 2010, the 2009 novel H1N1 influenza strain re-emerged. We performed a retrospective time-series analysis of all patients with laboratory-confirmed H1N1 influenza who presented to our institution during 2009. Cases of influenza were assembled into 3-day aggregates and forecasting models of H1N1 influenza incidence were created. Forecasting estimates of H1N1 incidence for the 2010–2011 season were compared to actual values for our institution to assess model performance. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals calculated around our model's forecasts were accurate to ±3·6 cases per 3-day period for our institution. Our results suggest that time-series models may be useful tools in forecasting the incidence of H1N1 influenza, helping institutions to optimize distribution of resources based on the changing burden of illness.

scholarly journals Seroincidence of Influenza Among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected Men During the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, Bangkok, Thailand

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Garg ◽  
Sonja J. Olsen ◽  
Stefan Fernandez ◽  
Charung Muangchana ◽  
Kamonthip Rungrojcharoenkit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
First Year ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
2009 H1n1 ◽  
Paired Serum ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
H1n1 Influenza Pandemic

Abstract Among 368 Thai men who have sex with men with paired serum samples collected before and during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, we determined influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 seroconversion rates (≥4-fold rise in antibody titers by hemagglutination inhibition or microneutralization assays). Overall, 66 of 232 (28%) participants seroconverted after the first year of A(H1N1)pdm09 activity, and 83 of 234 (35%) participants seroconverted after the second year. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 seroconversion did not differ between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected (55 of 2157 [35%]) and HIV-uninfected (71 of 2211 [34%]) participants (P = .78). Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 seroconversion occurred in approximately one third of our Thai study population and was similar among HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected participants.

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection: a comparative analysisThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this special issue entitled “Second International Symposium on Recent Advances in Basic, Clinical, and Social Medicine” and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Korteweg ◽  
Jiang Gu
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Influenza A Viruses ◽  
H5n1 Influenza ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
2009 H1n1

The 2009 H1N1 and H5N1 influenza viruses are newly (re-) emerged influenza A viruses (2009 A(H1N1) and A(H5N1), respectively) that have recently posed tremendous health threats in many regions worldwide. With the 2009 outbreak of H1N1 influenza A, the world witnessed the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. The disease has rapidly spread across the entire globe, and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of cases with confirmed infection. Although characterized by high transmissibility, the virulence and fatality of the 2009 A(H1N1) influenza virus have thus far remained relatively low. The reverse holds true for A(H5N1) influenza; at a fatality rate that exceeds 60%, it is known to cause severe damage to the human respiratory system, but is not presently capable of efficient transmission from human to human. Apart from the clear differences between the two types of influenza, there are some significant similarities that warrant attention. In particular, the more severe and fatal 2009 A(H1N1) influenza cases have shown symptoms similar to those reported in cases of A(H5N1) influenza. Histopathological findings for these cases, to the extent available, also appear to have similarities for both diseases in terms of damage and severity. Here we review important recent publications in this area, and we discuss some of the key commonalities and contrasts between the two influenza A types in terms of their biology, origins, clinical features, pathology and pathogenesis, and receptors and transmissibility.

Japanese-language videos on YouTube as a source of public health information for COVID-19 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Yasu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The State ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Spread Of Infection

BACKGROUND Serious public health problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can cause an infodemic. Sources of information that may cause an infodemic include social networking services; YouTube, which consists of content created and uploaded by individuals, is one such source. OBJECTIVE To survey the content and changes in YouTube videos that present public health information about COVID-19 in Japan. METHODS We surveyed YouTube content regarding public health information pertaining to COVID-19 in Japan. YouTube searches were performed on March 6, 2020 (before the state of emergency), April 14 (during the state of emergency), and May 27 (after the state of emergency was lifted), with 136, 113, and 140 sample videos evaluated, respectively. The main outcome measures were: (1) The total number of views for each video, (2) video content, and (3) the usefulness of the video. RESULTS In the 100 most viewed YouTube videos during the three periods, the number of videos on public health information in March was significantly higher than in May (p = .02). Of the 331 unique videos, 9.1% (n = 30) were released by healthcare professionals. Useful videos providing public health information about the prevention of the spread of infection comprised only 13.0% of the sample but were viewed significantly more often than not useful videos (p = .006). CONCLUSIONS Individuals need to take care when obtaining information from YouTube before or early in a pandemic, during which time scientific evidence is scarce.

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