NIH confirms flu vaccine does the trick

The NIH study of the newest H1N1 investigational flu vaccine has confirmed--in spades--the positive results of an earlier industry study. It looks like recipients of the new flu vaccine will have a significant immune response in just 8 to 10 days after injection. And happily this new approach requires only one shot, instead of a shot-plus-booster combination.

They should be starting to offer the vaccine to Americans in mid-October. Best part is, it works really well with those 18-64 (where the biggest vulnerability to this flu is--especially pregnant women), and no side effects except it hurts where you get the shot.

Since I have been so deeply mired in other projects for the past couple of months, I didn't realize they were still expecting a pandemic flu attack. And though they're saying "a long and busy flu season," it looks like fears have abated about not enough flu vaccine and not enough oomph to the antiviral drugs that exist.

Adenovirus Picture Clarified by New Technique

As if the cold wasn't mysterious enough, we now have multiple infections caused by the strange, many-faceted virus called adenoviruses--related to the looming potential epidemic "bird flu." A new technique is helping to clear up some of the secrets of the adenovirus. The technique is genotyping, which involves "sequencing of highly variable sections of the adenovirus hexon gene to identify the adenovirus strain," is dramatically faster (2 days) than the blood work--which took weeks--that was previously the only way to know what you were dealing with. As these viruses can be dangerous and are extremely contagious, speedy diagnosis is of paramount importance.

Where did these viruses come from? Reptiles, dogs, and birds/chickens are known to carry them. It's the jump to the human organism that's so worrisome. The problem with these viruses is that early symptoms mimic those of a dozen other common illnesses like colds and flu that involve the respiratory system, eyes, nose, throat, even stomach (diarrhea is common in some varieties). And kids can have them with mild symptoms. So doctors who are not aware might be inclined to dismiss a worried parent's complaint.