A virulent new strain of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that has been associated with an eightfold increase in mortality in some outbreaks is emerging in the United States and Canada, Hospital Infection Control has learned.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new draft TB guidelines for health care settings that generally duck the controversial respirator fit-test issue but tie several infection control measures to facility risk assessments.
Sloan FA, Bereman S, Rosenbaum JD. The Fragility of the U.S. Vaccine Supply. N Engl J Med 2004; 351:2,443-2,447. With influenza vaccine as the latest example, its becoming clear that action is necessary to prevent recurrent shortages of vaccines for children and adults.
Researchers from Sweden performed a meta-analysis of 9 randomized, controlled trials that looked at the effectiveness of atenolol on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension.
Influenza virus first was isolated from chickens suffering from fowl plague in 1901 a subtype we now call H7N7. In 1931, an influenza virus closely related to the virus that caused the Great Pandemic of 1918 was identified in swine. The first influenza B virus was isolated in 1940, and the first influenza C virus in 1947. The ability to isolate these viruses and grow them in embryonated eggs eventually led to the ability to develop and test influenza vaccines and antiviral medications, as well as to perform careful seasonal surveillance.
