FluPortal.org

[HeffTech / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

A new article in Biotechnology Journal proposes a method of producing influenza vaccine that’s more efficient than the traditional egg-based technology. It uses “virus-like particles” (VLPs) created in insect cells to form the basis of a vaccine. (This technology is apparently already approved for vaccines against some other diseases.)

The article was written by scientists in Austria who produced a VLP vaccine against H1N1 that, in mice at least, triggered a robust immune response. If this type of vaccine becomes a viable option for humans, its production speed would help public-health authorities respond more quickly to flu pandemics and viral mutations.

Veteran flu journalist Maryn McKenna cautioned recently, however, that emerging vaccine technologies like this one “remain in the realm of basic science or in preclinical testing” for influenza. In other words: flu-vaccine production will probably still rely on chicken eggs in the immediate future.

[el patojo / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Did you know that the CDC offers podcasts on H1N1? You can find them by clicking here and then selecting “H1N1″ in the “By Topic” menu. You can also go to the search page and type “H1N1″ into the “description” box to pull up a slightly different list.

The subjects of the podcasts range from underreporting of H1N1 cases to mixing Tamiflu with liquids for your kids to an explanation of the delay in vaccine production.

Here’s a recent one promoting the H1N1 vaccine. (Click on the “play” arrow to start it.)

[audio:http://www.cdc.gov/flu/podcasts/mp3/INever.mp3]

Stations looking to add interactive features to their website should consider giving CoveritLive a try. CoveritLive is a “live blogging” platform that can be used to host real-time conversations between stations and their online audiences. We’ve just added a new guide to using CoveritLive to our roster of web tools.

In recent years, there has been much discussion about how public media can better incorporate audiences into the content it creates. There are examples of audience assisted journalism, crowd sourcing of information and ideas, and harnessing user-generated content. All valuable, but often overlooked is the simple act of providing regular online forums where users can interact in real-time with each other and with station personnel. CoveritLive offers an online approach to audience participation that mirrors the broadcast call-in show.

I do want to note that CoveritLive is one of many tools that allow online publishers to interact with their audience in real time. But in researching the available options and talking with stations that use CoveritLive, it became clear that it is the best fit for most public media outlets at this time. You can expect more innovation and new services to emerge in this space, and I would like to point out two others to keep an eye on.

Google Wave – Google Wave is still in limited beta release, but many media outlets are experimenting with using this new communication and collaboration platform. The Red Eye, a free Chicago daily paper (owned by the Chicago Tribune) has begun to use Google Wave for daily live chats with its audience. After a few successful trials, they now conduct a 30 minute public wave each weekday, usually around the topic of that day’s cover story.

Disqus – Another service to watch is Disqus, a commenting platform you can integrate into your station website. It offers real time updates to comment threads and has the ability to connect related conversations from various pages on your site that may otherwise live in isolation of one another. A service like Disqus has the most potential for stations websites that have an active commenting user base.

If you have any questions about getting started with CoveritLive (or the other tools mentioned), feel free to contact the FluPortal team. We will be happy to lend a hand.

The CDC has been promoting its travel tips for avoiding H1N1 over the holidays. If you’re reporting on H1N1 spreading through family gatherings or on strategies for beating the virus while on the road, these creative-commons photos are available to illustrate your stories.

LexnGer an “Editor/Publisher of cheapeats restaurant guides” in Toronto, took this picture to prove that she was, as instructed, taking her Tamiflu with food.

[LexnGer / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Also from Toronto: Danielle Scott captured this Ontario government poster advocating the H1N1 shot.

[Danielle Scott / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Futureatlas.com caught this kid boasting a “flu fighter” sticker — presumably a reward for submitting to a flu vaccine.

[futureatlas.com (of www.Futureatlas.com) / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

[FluPortal will be back with new posts on Monday, January 4th.]

[Ian-S / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

The World Health Organization released a briefing note last week on death rates from H1N1 and from seasonal flu. It warned that comparisons are “not reliable for several reasons and can be misleading.”

The note explains that seasonal-flu death rates are based on models that create estimates; whereas H1N1 death rates are currently based on lab-confirmed deaths, which are “unquestionably” lower than the actual totals. WHO says that it won’t be until “one to two years after the [H1N1] pandemic has peaked” that “accurate assessments of mortality and mortality rates will likely be possible.”

The briefing note also points out that comparing death rates misses an important point: H1N1 appears to be more lethal for younger people than typical seasonal flu.

[Orin Zebest / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Several new scientific studies of H1N1 have been released in the last few days. We’re highlighting four that might interest you because they appear to answer some common questions about swine flu. (Disclaimer: we’re not in a position to evaluate the quality of the research.)

Question: Is it OK to eat pork from a pig infected with H1N1?
The Department of Agriculture has consistently maintained that you can’t catch H1N1 by eating pork. Now they’ve followed that up with a study showing that pigs infected with H1N1 are safe to eat. (A PDF of the press release is here.) The virus appears not to be present in tissues other than those from the respiratory tract. The researchers found “no evidence for systemic infection that would contaminate meat with infectious virus.”

Question: How is H1N1 sometimes fatal?
Brazilian researchers, examining 21 fatal cases of H1N1, have concluded that the cause of death was typically due to lung damage (of various kinds). In other words, despite the variety of systemic symptoms caused by H1N1, “the main pathological changes associated with [H1N1] infection are localized to the lungs.” Apparently one quarter of the patients did not have any underlying complicating medical condition. (The full study will be published next month in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.)

Question: Is H1N1 more dangerous for children than seasonal flu?
A retrospective study of children who died of H1N1 this spring/summer in Buenos Aires says: yes. It concludes that the “rate of death [from H1N1] was 10 times the rate associated with seasonal influenza for the same population in 2007 and 5 times the rate reported by the CDC for the U.S. pediatric population during the relatively severe 2003–2004 influenza season.” The mortality rate for infants was especially high (“10 times the U.S. infant death rate from seasonal influenza in 2003–2004″).

Question: Do pregnant women really have an increased risk of dying from H1N1?
A retrospective California study of “reproductive-age women” (pregnant or not) who were “hospitalized with or died from 2009 H1N1 influenza” suggests this is true. It also concludes that, for pregnant women, antiviral treatment within 2 days of symptom onset reduced risk of admission to an ICU and/or death. About one third of the pregnant patients in the study had other “risk factors for complications from influenza.”

We posted some swine-flu street art a while back — and an exchange with one of the stencil artists. So here’s a follow-up photo (also with a creative-commons license, allowing you to use it for free). This one is from snowy Vienna three days ago, where Christian Mayrhofer (or Phreak 2.0) captured a testy pig with a Dalmatian named Archie.

[Phreak 2.0 / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Archie is apparently a pro at posing with street art.

[FluPortal will be back with fresh posts starting Monday, December 28th.]

To continue our occasional posts on creative-commons photos you can use freely on your site: here are three that illustrate the growth of the H1N1 vaccine supply. (For the first post in the series, which explains how to find photos on Flickr, click here.)

Lisa Brandt Heckman (aka Eph Zero) from Portland, OR, went for her H1N1 shot a few days ago — and didn’t encounter any line at all:

[Eph Zero / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Diaper takes cameraphone photos, and this one records, on an official CDC form, the H1N1 vaccine s/he got last Thursday. Diaper wrote, “Got my free H1N1 shot today. In/out in 11 minutes. Thousands of people.”

[diaper / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Luna715 caught this Walgreen’s sign around Houston last week:

[luna715 / cc (usable on your site) / Flickr]

Presumably Walgreens is advertising the vaccine — and not the virus itself.

Flu.gov has put out an H1N1 timeline. It highlights, naturally, government interventions, but it’s a handy review of the progress of the virus in the U.S.

Here’s a screen shot of the beginning of the timeline:

[Flu.gov]

You can click through it month by month. It begins back in March when the virus was discovered in Mexico; it ends with a plea that everyone get vaccinated, pointing out that “community/herd immunity” will be the best defense against a third wave of swine flu.

Back in October, we featured a student-made H1N1 PSA video — and noted that Vimeo and YouTube are worth scouring every now and then for swine-flu creativity — either as something to report on or to feature on an H1N1 page. Here are two recent vids that caught our eye.

Two days ago, Emily Adamson posted this report about University of Montana students modifying the rules of beer pong — to protect themselves from H1N1. She made it for “360 News”; it’s not clear what “360 News” is, but perhaps it refers to U of MT’s “U 360 Advanced Broadcast Reporting” class?

[Emily Adamson / Vimeo]

Buzziebeeteacher is an English teacher in Gettysburg, PA. She’s also a theater “expatriot” who loves technology — and recently she combined these two passions to create a couple of videos encouraging students to get the H1N1 vaccine.

In this one, she becomes rhyming “Nurse Buzz” to remind students when and where to line up for the vaccine:

[buzziebeeteacher / Vimeo]

(You’ll find Nurse Buzz’s earlier video about filling out vaccine paperwork here.)