Posts Tagged: flu

Leading the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases: A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci

For more than six decades, the National Institute of Allergyand Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been at the forefront of research in infectious and immune mediated diseases, microbiology, immunology, and related disciplines. It conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, diagnose, prevent, and treat infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, as wellRead… Read more »

Now is the winter of our discontent…due in part to exposure to germs and viruses!

Now is the winter of our discontentMade inglorious winter by these germs at work;And all the viruses that lour’d upon our houseIn the deep bosom of the arctic buried. Okay, the first line was directly from Shakespeare’s Richard III – the rest was my butchery of his poem! Sorry Bill… I am fortunate that IRead… Read more »

The Merging of Epidemics in the Information Age – A Side Note

With so many people I know fighting the flu and our concerns about the H1N1 epidemic, I have been thinking about the Global Public Health Intelligence Network, GIPHIN, the Canadian’s based public health early warning systems, and the role it played during the SARS scare. I first heard about GPHIN back in late 2005 andRead… Read more »

The Power of Social Media: H1N1 and Local Government

In case anyone needs more reasons why investing time in social media should be strongly considered, especially at the local government level, I offer this case study (from my own view, of course). In the last three weeks, the H1N1 vaccine has been slowly rolling out to local jurisdictions. In Fairfax County, we’ve now hostedRead… Read more »

A busy week for federal IT

Federal information technology issues are having a busy week. On Capitol Hill, the Senate Veterans Committee holds a confirmation hearing on Wednesday for Roger Baker to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Information and Technology as well as the department’s CIO. It’s a great pick for the department that’s often been tangled inRead… Read more »

PandemicFlu.gov Widget Available and Streaming Up to Date HHS/CDC/WHO Information

From the CDC In response to an intensifying outbreak in the United States and internationally caused by a new influenza virus of swine origin, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5. on April 29, 2009. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent andRead… Read more »

Massive Public Outreach on Swine Flu

A longer version of this post is also available at the Reach the Public Blog. Federal, state, and local health agencies are working overtime to inform the public about the recent Swine Flu outbreak that is currently affecting Mexico and small portions of the United States, but that poses a real international threat. Direct informationRead… Read more »