I congratulate Dr. Margaret Chan on her nomination as the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). The United States Government looks forward to working with Dr. Chan, and to continuing our close collaboration with the WHO Secretariat on a range of pressing public-health and scientific issues.
The cost of influenza-related hospitalizations in children may be considerably higher than previously estimated. An analysis of electronic billing data in the study, “Direct Medical Cost of Influenza-Related Hospitalizations in Children,” found that the mean total cost of hospitalizing a child for influenza-related illness is approximately $13,000 (approx. $7,000 for ward patients and $40,000 for ICU patients).
The Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau should make more use of information technology to speed up the exchange of data regarding pandemics, says Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow.
Senior health officials of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau today (November 6) reaffirmed the importance of co-operation and information exchange in a tripartite meeting.
To reduce the risk of influenza infection and in accordance with the Government’s Influenza Vaccination Programme for 2006-07, the General Out-Patient Clinics (GOPCs) and Specialist Out-Patient Clinics of the Hospital Authority will start providing influenza vaccination to eligible people from today (November 6) until the end of December.
The Elderly Health Service of the Department of Health today (November 6) started the free influenza vaccination programme for more than 60,000 elderly people living in more than 700 residential care homes.
The 2006-07 Influenza Vaccination Programme will start tomorrow, covering 300,000 people considered to be in the eight needy or high-risk groups.
Going into another flu season, a new study reports that hospitalizing children for influenza may cost up to three or four times the previously accepted estimates. Pediatric researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia say their finding strengthens the economic justification for broadly vaccinating children against flu. The cost of influenza-related hospitalizations in children was about $13,000 each — compared to prior estimates of $3,000 to $4,000.
With the help of some high tech equipment, well-defined mouse models and analytical know how, researchers are trying to understand why a flu virus kills some people but not others. Studies to be presented at “Physiological Genomics and Proteomics of Lung Disease” found that a strain of mice more likely to die of influenza infection mounts a dramatically enhanced immune response in the lungs compared to a strain of mice that generally develops milder disease.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending that health care providers in Canada not prescribe amantadine to treat and prevent influenza during the current flu season. This recommendation is based on test results from the 2005-2006 flu season and initial results from the 2006-2007 season.