H1N1 News and Research

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Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin that was first detected in Mexico and the United States in March and April, 2009. The first novel H1N1 patient in the United States was confirmed by laboratory testing at CDC on April 15, 2009. The second patient was confirmed on April 17, 2009. It was quickly determined that the virus was spreading from person-to-person. On April 22, CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to better coordinate the public health response. On April 26, 2009, the United States Government declared a public health emergency.

It’s thought that novel influenza A (H1N1) flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus.

Researchers identify specific influenza targets that could lead to universal flu vaccine for indigenous populations

Researchers have identified specific influenza targets that could be used to better protect Indigenous people from experiencing severe influenza disease through a universal, T cell-based vaccine.

18 May 2021

Combo COVID-flu vaccine protects against current and emerging variants in animal model

Now, in new research posted to the bioRxiv preprint server, scientists at Novavax, Inc. present a vaccine including recombinant influenza hemagglutinin (HA) antigen along with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with saponin Matrix-M adjuvant. Both have passed independent safety tests in phase 1 trials.

10 May 2021

Researchers develop a multivalent vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza

Researchers at Duke University, USA, are looking into the possibility of a combined influenza and COVID-19 vaccine that could be used to simultaneously protect against annual flu strains and the SARS-CoV-2. Preclinical results showed the vaccine protected mice from both SARS-CoV-2 and the flu.

6 May 2021

Detecting rare blood clots was a win, but US vaccine safety system still has gaps

The quick detection of an ultra-rare blood clotting reaction in some Covid-19 vaccine recipients showed the power of a federal warning system for vaccine safety issues, but experts worry that blind spots in the program could hamper detection of other unexpected side effects.

3 May 2021

Could CRISPR be used as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral?

The potential of using this gene manipulation technology as a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor or prophylactic is investigated in a review recently uploaded to the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine (April 25th, 2021) by Arnab Banerjee and colleagues.

2 May 2021

New treatment reduces the severity of ARDS in influenza-infected mice

A new treatment is among the first known to reduce the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the flu in animals, according to a new study.

27 Apr 2021

Study uncovers a novel autoantigen in patients with narcolepsy type 1

Researchers at the University of Helsinki have identified influenza virus peptides that resemble human protein fragments and can cause an immune response against the body’s own cells due to cross-reactivity.

26 Apr 2021

Study reports on safety of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in pregnancy

Researchers used different surveillance systems in the United States to track adverse outcomes after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in pregnant people and found no major safety flags.

23 Apr 2021

Study explores how lessons from past crises could improve the pandemic response

The lack of accountability, poor communication and insufficient planning plaguing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- especially in its early months -- have roots in how the nation responded to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 swine flu, a new study involving the University of Washington found.

20 Apr 2021

UGA receives NIH contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Georgia a contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research.

15 Apr 2021

Little evidence of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism in public opinion

Invariably, vaccination programs in high-income countries (HICs) are in a much better position due to their ability to secure a greater number of vaccines from multiple companies. On the contrary, lower-income countries have failed to obtain a sufficient number of vaccines.

8 Apr 2021

Researchers use South Korea Data to create new framework for COVID-19-vulnerable locales

Though the U.S. and South Korea recorded their first official COVID-19 case on the same day, January 20, 2020, there were notable differences in how each country would ultimately address what has become the world's most severe pandemic since 1918.

7 Apr 2021

Research explores sex differences in placental defenses against SARS-CoV-2 infection

A plethora of earlier studies has reported on the differences between the sexes in susceptibility to the currently circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as its severity. A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv* server extends this to the placenta in pregnancy.

6 Apr 2021

Research finds key factors that could lead to further pandemics

Humans are creating or exacerbating the environmental conditions that could lead to further pandemics, new University of Sydney research finds.

30 Mar 2021

How one state’s public health defunding led to vaccination chaos

Missourians have driven hours to find vaccines in rural counties — at least those with cars and the time. Tens of thousands of doses are waiting to be distributed, slowly being rolled out in a federal long-term care program.

26 Mar 2021

Ferret study shows SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission dynamics

A team of researchers led by Sander Herfst from Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands suggests severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could spread through the air at a one-meter distance and cause infection in a new ferret model study.

16 Mar 2021

Vaccine candidate shows promise to protect against dozen-plus flu strains

Ask Eric Weaver about pandemics, and he's quick to remind you of a fact that illustrates the fleeting nature of human memory and the proximal nature of human attention: The first pandemic of the 21st century struck not in 2019, but 2009.

3 Mar 2021

New computer algorithm offers a path toward pan-influenza and coronavirus vaccine

A novel computer algorithm that could create a broadly reactive influenza vaccine for swine flu also offers a path toward a pan-influenza vaccine and possibly a pan-coronavirus vaccine as well, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications.

2 Mar 2021

Graphene oxide-silver nanoparticles shown to rapidly neutralize RNA viruses

While the vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are administered, and extensive research is conducted for targeted therapeutics to control the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), it is equally crucial to develop more novel, broad-spectrum antiviral compounds.

2 Mar 2021

Cellular maps capture COVID-19 pathogenesis in detail

Researchers in the United States and Finland have used tissues from people who died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to generate detailed cellular maps of the pathogenetic processes that occur within affected organs during severe disease.

1 Mar 2021