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Hospitals began rationing the flu vaccine as the sudden shortage threw their annual fall campaigns into chaos. The complete loss of half the nations flu vaccine supply highlighted the fragility of a core public health function: vaccinating the population against a potentially deadly disease. By luck, hospitals that ordered from the right manufacturer received their complete vaccine stock, while others had none.
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Brace yourself: Flu season is right around the corner. Are you prepared? If an influenza pandemic hits, the entire U.S. population could be at risk. The annual impact of influenza on the United States is staggering: 10% to 20% of the population will get the flu.
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Military personnel who developed myopericarditis from the smallpox vaccine responded to treatment and did not have lasting, observable effects, according to a review of the cases published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Employee health is an all-encompassing job, and the upcoming conference of the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) in Tampa, FL, reflects that.
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The death of a Virginia nurse who ignored her symptoms of tuberculosis for months and continued to work serves as a cautionary reminder for hospitals and health care workers: TB remains a risk in many states. Untreated infection can lead to a TB outbreak and even death. And health care workers who go to work sick may be endangering their patients.
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If youre looking for a silver lining to requirement for annual respirator fit-testing, look to California. That trendsetting state has begun discussions on an airborne biologic hazards standard.
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All patients who present to a health care setting with fever and respiratory symptoms should be managed according to recommendations for respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette and questioned regarding their recent travel history.
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An analysis of health care workers who cared for avian influenza patients in 1997 revealed that eight exposed health care workers became antibody-positive, demonstrating human-to-human transmission. One developed mild respiratory symptoms, and the rest were asymptomatic.
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Once a year, hospitals roll out the influenza campaign and try to immunize as many health care workers as possible. But therein lies a problem. Once a year may not be enough.