Abstract
In This Issue.
Influenza is a significant health issue. Influenza epidemics occur yearly, and
recently, health groups such as the World Health Organization and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention have raised the possibility of an influenza
pandemic. The U.S. Office of Health and Human Services estimates that, without
intervention, a pandemic could cause the deaths of almost 2 million people in
the United States and require the hospitalization of up to 10 million. Most
health officials agree that the best course of action in preventing an
epidemic or pandemic is vaccination. Current vaccines are generally considered
safe and efficacious, but they are not as efficacious in some high-risk
populations, and production capacity is limited. In this report, we examine
the worldwide health burden that influenza represents and discuss H5N1, a
current influenza strain that could cause the next pandemic. We compare the
advantages and disadvantages of available vaccines and describe technologies
that companies are investigating in an effort to improve on existing vaccines.
Finally, we discuss the outlook for the influenza vaccine market.
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