Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Business Headlines | Internet | Science | Scientific Ethics | Technology | Search

 

Research will help flu fight

Research will help flu fight

Health experts say recent media reports on the upsurge of people arriving at hospitals with influenza like illnesses is further evidence of the importance of international efforts to better understand the burden of the influenza virus and how to prevent its spread.

The ESR led SHIVERS (Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness, Research and Surveillance) project is a five year multi-million dollar study funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The project has established two enhanced real-time surveillance systems (one hospital based and one community based) covering a population of 838,000 in the Auckland region, and is aimed at assessing the risk factors associated with influenza, its social and economic burden and the effectiveness of vaccine.

It is expected that the results of the study will have global significance and impact on the way influenza is managed in the future.

Despite signals that international budgets could be at risk, full funding for Year 4 of the project has just been awarded.

Health Programme Leader at ESR Dr Virginia Hope says the $US1.5m budget is a sure sign of the confidence the CDC has in the expertise of the project team and the results they have produced to date.

“SHIVERS is considered the CDC’s flagship international project and I’m really confident that it will result in health agencies across the world being able to better plan for and protect against flu epidemics and pandemics.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“The project has already made an impact, contributing to the refinement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) case definition and also supporting the decision made by the Ministry of Health to extend free influenza vaccination to young children with respiratory illness,” Dr Hope says.

The results of this year’s study will be announced at the SHIVERS Annual Science Meeting in Auckland in early November.

SHIVERS is a multi-agency collaborative research project between ESR, Auckland District Health Board (ADHB), Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB), University of Otago, University of Auckland, the CDC and the WHO Influenza Collaborating Centre at St Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, USA. The project also relies on the contribution of primary care partners, including 16 general practices in the ADHB and CMDHB catchment area.

ENDS


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.