scholarly journals Influenza A(H5N1): an overview of the current situation

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Melidou ◽  
G Gioula ◽  
M Exindari ◽  
D Chatzidimitriou ◽  
E Diza-Mataftsi
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
H5n1 Virus ◽  
H1n1 Virus ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Genetic Evolution ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Influenza viruses continue to threaten the world with a new pandemic. While currently attention is focused on the newly emerged A(H1N1) virus, the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus is still a cause of concern. Extended research is focused on the genetic evolution of the viruses, as well as their susceptibility to available antiviral drugs. One of the major priorities of the World Health Organization is to develop candidate vaccines, four of which are already licensed for use in the European Union. Since the last influenza pandemic in 1968, our knowledge of the influenza virus and its biology has greatly increased, revealing new avenues in the research for antiviral strategies and the development of effective vaccines.

scholarly journals Cluster analysis of the origins of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Solovyov ◽  
G Palacios ◽  
T Briese ◽  
W I Lipkin ◽  
R Rabadan
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
H1n1 Virus ◽  
Swine Influenza ◽  
The United States ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

In March and April 2009, a new strain of influenza A(H1N1) virus has been isolated in Mexico and the United States. Since the initial reports more than 10,000 cases have been reported to the World Health Organization, all around the world. Several hundred isolates have already been sequenced and deposited in public databases. We have studied the genetics of the new strain and identified its closest relatives through a cluster analysis approach. We show that the new virus combines genetic information related to different swine influenza viruses. Segments PB2, PB1, PA, HA, NP and NS are related to swine H1N2 and H3N2 influenza viruses isolated in North America. Segments NA and M are related to swine influenza viruses isolated in Eurasia.

scholarly journals The emergence of the novel H1N1 virus: implications for global mental health

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 987-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra S. Chan ◽  
Linda C. W. Lam ◽  
Helen F. K. Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
H1n1 Virus ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The emergence of the novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus in humans has aroused great concern among medical professionals about the possible evolution of a full-blown influenza pandemic, one on the scale of the “Spanish” influenza pandemic of 1918–19 (Belshe, 2009). It has been speculated that the return of a pandemic virus equivalent in pathogenicity to the virus of 1918 would likely kill more than 100 million people worldwide, including a large number of economically active young people (Taubenberger and Morens, 2006). Health administrations worldwide have stepped up reporting and surveillance of the deaths and illnesses associated with H1N1, and most countries have national strategies to fight the outbreak, though skeptics doubt how such plans could be operationalized, especially in developing countries (Coker, 2009). As of 6 July 2009, the cumulative total of H1N1 cases exceeds 90,000 in over 100 countries, with over 400 deaths directly related to the infection (World Health Organization, 2009a). Optimists might believe this pandemic is not going to match the scale of the historical 1918 pandemic given the relatively low fatality rate observed thus far. However, the World Health Organization has cautioned that we have just entered Phase 6 of the pandemic – i.e. we are in the early days of the 2009 flu pandemic (Chan, 2009). The course of the pandemic is thus unpredictable at this stage but it is evident that international multilateral plans and agreements have enabled much greater coordination of communication and action than ever before. The guidance behind these multilateral international actions, rooted in the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, only came into being five years ago in response to the threat of emerging infectious diseases and particularly by the events related to the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (Katz, 2009). The morbidity and mortality directly resulting from this novel influenza A H1N1 outbreak are in the center of the world media's spotlight, but the potential impact of the pandemic on global mental health has not yet received the attention it deserves.

scholarly journals Progression and Trends in Virus from Influenza A to COVID-19: An Overview of Recent Studies

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1145
Author(s):  
Hakimeh Baghaei Daemi ◽  
Muhammad Fakhar-e-Alam Kulyar ◽  
Xinlin He ◽  
Chengfei Li ◽  
Morteza Karimpour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
H1n1 Virus ◽  
World Health ◽  
H1n1 Pandemic ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
First Case ◽  
Influenza A H1n1 ◽  
The World ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

Influenza is a highly known contagious viral infection that has been responsible for the death of many people in history with pandemics. These pandemics have been occurring every 10 to 30 years in the last century. The most recent global pandemic prior to COVID-19 was the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. A decade ago, the H1N1 virus caused 12,500 deaths in just 19 months globally. Now, again, the world has been challenged with another pandemic. Since December 2019, the first case of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection was detected in Wuhan. This infection has risen rapidly throughout the world; even the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 as a worldwide emergency to ensure human health and public safety. This review article aims to discuss important issues relating to COVID-19, including clinical, epidemiological, and pathological features of COVID-19 and recent progress in diagnosis and treatment approaches for the COVID-19 infection. We also highlight key similarities and differences between COVID-19 and influenza A to ensure the theoretical and practical details of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Influenza – our constant companion

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Ian G Barr ◽  
Paul W Selleck
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
World Health ◽  
Director General ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
2009 Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Novel Influenza A

On 11 June 2009, Dr Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced to the world that following the emergence of a novel influenza A virus in late April 2009 and its extensive spread that, ?I have therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.? Dr Chan also commented, ?No previous pandemic has been detected so early or watched so closely, in real-time, right at the very beginning. The world can now reap the benefits of investments, over the last five years, in pandemic preparedness.? Also observed was that, ?Globally, we have good reason to believe that this pandemic, at least in its early days, will be of moderate severity?.

scholarly journals An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Health Organization

ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncertainty in the case of H1N1. It argues that the WHO's risk narrative reflected the context of scientific uncertainty in which it was working. The WHO argued that it was attempting to remain faithful to the scientific evidence, and the uncertain nature of the threat. However, as a result, the WHO's public risk narrative was neither consistent nor socially robust, leading to the eventual contestation of the WHO's position by other global public health actors, most notably the Council of Europe. This illustrates both the significance of scientific uncertainty in the investigation of risk, and the difficulty for risk managing institutions in effectively acting in the face of this uncertainty.

scholarly journals Scientific Certainty in a Time of Uncertainty: Predicting Vulnerability of Canada's First Nations to Pandemic H1N1/09

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Spence ◽  
Jerry P. White
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
World Health ◽  
Director General ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

On June 11, 2009, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, announced that the scientific evidence indicated that the criteria for an influenza pandemic had been met: pandemic H1N1/09 virus, the first in nearly 40 years, was officially upon us. The World Health Organization has estimated that as many as 2 billion or between 15 and 45 percent of the population globally will be infected by the H1N1/09 virus. Scientists and governments have been careful to walk a line between causing mass public fear and ensuring people take the risks seriously. The latest information indicates that the majority of individuals infected with the H1N1/09 virus thus far have suffered mild illness, although very severe and fatal illness have been observed in a small number of cases, even in young and healthy people (World Health Organization 2009c). There is no evidence to date that the virus has mutated to a more virulent or lethal form; however, as we enter the second wave of the pandemic, a significant number of people in countries across the world are susceptible to infection. Most importantly, certain subgroups have been categorized as high risk given the clinical evidence to date. One of these subgroups is Indigenous populations (World Health Organization 2009c).

scholarly journals Novel Antiviral Activities of Obatoclax, Emetine, Niclosamide, Brequinar, and Homoharringtonine

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petter I. Andersen ◽  
Klara Krpina ◽  
Aleksandr Ianevski ◽  
Nastassia Shtaida ◽  
Eunji Jo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
Rift Valley Fever Virus ◽  
Antiviral Agents ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
World Health ◽  
Valley Fever ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Hiv 1

Viruses are the major causes of acute and chronic infectious diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization, there is an urgent need for better control of viral diseases. Re-purposing existing antiviral agents from one viral disease to another could play a pivotal role in this process. Here we identified novel activities of obatoclax and emetine against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), echovirus 1 (EV1), human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) in cell cultures. Moreover, we demonstrated novel activities of emetine against influenza A virus (FluAV), niclosamide against HSV-2, brequinar against HIV-1, and homoharringtonine against EV1. Our findings may expand the spectrum of indications of these safe-in-man agents and reinforce the arsenal of available antiviral therapeutics pending the results of further in vivo tests.

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