Reflections on The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) at 65 Years: An Expanding Framework for Influenza Detection, Prevention and Control

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142476/1/irv12511_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142476/2/irv12511.pd

Influenza: Quantifying morbidity and mortality

Because of their dramatic impact, morbidity and mortality associated with influenza have been recognized since et lent the time of Elizabeth I of England. Excess mortality has been documented since 1889, and the infamous 1918 outbreak confirmed that influenza was truly one of the last major plagues. Despite the clear recognition of large clusters of influenza activity, it is still difficult to quantify precisely the total impact of influenza morbidity and mortality, since laboratory confirmation is required for exact diagnosis. Many methods have been developed to provide estimates of the mortality associated with Influenza. These methods are usually predicated on establishing expected baseline rates of mortality. Deaths in excess of these rates are then calculated--and attributed to the circulating influenza virus. In this way, groups et high risk of mortality have been defined as the elderly and those with chronic conditions. Special-risk groups, such as those in institutions, have also been identified. The quantification of morbidity has required different approaches, and here community and family studies have made major contributions. In contrast to mortality, morbidity is most pronounced in children and Young adults, and the diseases, although self-limited, are offen quite severe. Although the site of the outbreaks varies, influenza infection can be documented annually. Thus, each year must be considered an influenza year.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26677/1/0000221.pd

Breakdown of long-range temporal correlations in theta oscillations in patients with major depressive disorder

Neuroimaging has revealed robust large-scale patterns of high neuronal activity in the human brain in the classical eyes-closed wakeful rest condition, pointing to the presence of a baseline of sustained endogenous processing in the absence of stimulus-driven neuronal activity. This baseline state has been shown to differ in major depressive disorder. More recently, several studies have documented that despite having a complex temporal structure, baseline oscillatory activity is characterized by persistent autocorrelations for tens of seconds that are highly replicable within and across subjects. The functional significance of these long-range temporal correlations has remained unknown. We recorded neuromagnetic activity in patients with a major depressive disorder and in healthy control subjects during eyes-closed wakeful rest and quantified the long-range temporal correlations in the amplitude fluctuations of different frequency bands. We found that temporal correlations in the theta-frequency band (3-7 Hz) were almost absent in the 5-100 s time range in the patients but prominent in the control subjects. The magnitude of temporal correlations over the left temporocentral region predicted the severity of depression in the patients. These data indicate that long-range temporal correlations in theta oscillations are a salient characteristic of the healthy human brain and may have diagnostic potential in psychiatric disorders. We propose a link between the abnormal temporal structure of theta oscillations in the depressive patients and the systems-level impairments of limbic-cortical networks that have been identified in recent anatomical and functional studies of patients with major depressive disorder. Copyright © 2005 Society for Neuroscience

Vaccines and Antiviral Drugs in Pandemic Preparedness

Controlling a pandemic with vaccine and antiviral drugs will require a coordinated international approach to determine how the least amount of virus can immunize the largest segment of a population

EFFECT OF NEURAMINIDASE ANTIBODY ON HONG KONG INFLUENZA

The relation between antineuraminidase antibody (A.N.) and natural influenza infection in 1968 was investigated in the community of Tecumseh, Michigan. The outbreak was caused by Hong Kong influenza virus, which contained a new haemagglutinin antigen (H3), while the neuraminidase antigen (N2) was more closely related to that of Asian viruses circulating since 1957. In the study group of two hundred and seventy-four randomly selected adults (aged 20-45), titres of N2 neuraminidase antibody were detected in a hundred and fifteen (42%) serum samples collected before the outbreak. Influenza infection during the course of the outbreak was identified serologically. The frequency of infection decreased significantly at increasing levels of pre-existing A.N. antibody. In those subjects who were not protected from infection, A.N. antibody significantly suppressed the clinical expression of infection. It is concluded that antibody against the neuraminidase of the influenza virus prevented or modified infection in a situation in which haemagglutinin antibody had no effect.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33917/1/0000183.pd

Maximum likelihood estimation of influenza vaccine effectiveness against transmission from the household and from the community

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142449/1/sim7558_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142449/2/sim7558.pd

Cohort Profile: The Flu Watch Study

Influenza is a common, highly contagious respiratory virus which infects all age groups, causing a range of outcomes from asymptomatic infection and mild respiratory disease to severe respiratory disease and death.1 If infected, the adaptive immune system produces a humoral (antibody) and cell-mediated (T cell) immune response to fight the infection.2 Influenza viruses continually evolve through antigenic drift, resulting in slightly different ‘seasonal’ influenza strains circulating each year. Population-level antibody immunity to these seasonal viruses builds up over time, so in any given season only a proportion of the population is susceptible to the circulating strains. Occasionally, influenza A viruses evolve rapidly through antigenic shift by swapping genes with influenza viruses usually circulating in animals. This process creates an immunologically distinct virus to which the population may have little to no antibody immunity. The virus can result in a pandemic if a large portion of the population is susceptible and the virus is easily spread

Human coronaviruses and other respiratory infections in young adults on a university campus: Prevalence, symptoms, and shedding

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145532/1/irv12563.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145532/2/irv12563_am.pd

A record-linkage study of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in persons with hepatitis C infection in Scotland

We investigated trends in first time hospital admissions and deaths attributable to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a large population based cohort of 22 073 individuals diagnosed with hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection through laboratory testing in Scotland in 1991 2006. We identified new cases of HCC through record linkage to the national inpatient hospital discharge database and deaths registry. A total of 172 persons diagnosed with HCV were admitted to hospital or died with first time mention of HCC. Hepatocellular carcinoma incidence increased between 1996 and 2006 (average annual change of 6.1, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.9 11.6%, P¼0.021). The adjusted relative risk of HCC was greater for males (hazard ratio¼2.7, 95% CI: 1.7 4.2), for those aged 60 years or older (hazard ratio ¼2.7, 95% CI: 1.9 4.1) compared with 50 59 years, and for those with a previous alcohol related hospital admission (hazard ratio¼2.5, 95% CI: 1.7 3.7). The risk of individuals diagnosed with HCV developing HCC was greatlyincreased compared with the general Scottish population (standardised incidence ratio¼127, 95% CI: 102 156). Owing to the advancing age of the Scottish HCV diagnosed population, the annual number of HCC cases is projected to increase, with a consequent increasing burden on the public healthcare system