Texas Guidance for Clinicians: Patients with Influenza-Like Illness

From the Texas Department of State Health Services: Update: Texas has confirmed cases of swine flu.  The original two confirmed cases of swine flu have recovered. Additionally, cases of novel swine flu have been identified in California, Kansas and in Mexico.  The characterization of the virus in Mexico shows it is the same as the [...]

FDA authorizes emergency use of influenza medications, diagnostic tests in response to swine flu outbreak

From MPR: The FDA, in response to requests from the CDC, has issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) to make diagnostic and therapeutic tools, including the rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel and Tamiflu (oseltamivir, from Roche) and Relenza (zanamivir, from GlaxoSmithKline) antiviral products, available to public health and medical workers to identify and respond to the swine [...]

WSJ Live Blog: WHO Swine Flu Update

From the Wall Street Journal Health Blog: Excerpts: Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, is giving an update on the swine flu. Here’s what she’s saying. 4:07 WHO is raising the pandemic alert level from Phase 4 to Phase 5. Phase 5 means a pandemic is imminent. (See an explanation of the WHO’s pandemic-alert levels.) 4:10 “All [...]

Another Swine Flu Outbreak Map

From Google: This is a map depicting confirmed and suspected cases of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, with contributors from all over the world, from a variety of backgrounds (health, journalism, technology). Click on the first link below to see the map legend. We are striving to keep this map as accurate as possible. If you’d [...]

Emergency Physicians Monthly Swine Flu Resource

From Emergency Physicians Monthly: What every emergency physician needs to know about swine flu today* By Amesh Adalja, MD *This article is adapted from the author’s earlier report in the Clinician’s Biosecurity Network, available at http://www.upmc-cbn.org/report_archive/2009/04_April_2009/04-09_Swine_Flu_2009/cbnreport_SF1_4-24-09_AM.html On April 21, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an MMWR Dispatch describing 2 cases [...]

CDC: Interim Guidance for Infection Control for Care of Patients with Confirmed or Suspected Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection in a Healthcare Setting

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Infection Control of Ill Persons in a Healthcare Setting Patients with suspected or confirmed case-status should be placed in a single-patient room with the door kept closed. If available, an airborne infection isolation room (AIIR) with negative pressure air handling with 6 to 12 air changes per [...]

CDC Releases Swine Flu Guidelines for Clinicians

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Clinicians Clinicians should consider the possibility of swine influenza virus infections in patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness. If swine flu is suspected, clinicians should obtain a respiratory swab for swine influenza testing and place it in a refrigerator (not a freezer). Once collected, the clinician should [...]

The WSJ Health Blog on Swine Flu

The Wall Street Journal is serving the public with insight and context on the Swine Flu threat Live blogging from the CDC teleconference Excerpt:  The WHO’s Keiji Fukuda is talking to reporters about the current swine flu situation. Here’s what he’s saying. 11:10: There have been 79 laboratory confirmed infections. Forty from U.S., 26 from [...]

ACEP Proxy System Coding

From Modern Healthcare: HCA, Nashville, said using an emergency department coding procedure developed by the American College of Emergency Physicians boosted its operating earnings by $75 million to $100 million in the first quarter ended March 31. The company also said that its readmission rates compare favorably with those reported in a recent study in [...]

Swine Flu: Live Blogging CDC’s Monday Conference Call

Good stuff from the WSJ Health Blog: an excerpt: The WHO said earlier today that there have been 40 cases of swine flu confirmed in the U.S. So far, cases in this country appear to have been mild, but officials have warned that more severe cases could emerge. Richard Besser, acting head of the CDC, [...]