The flu has so far caused 66 deaths, including four in children. Last year at this time, there were 33 deaths. “We haven’t seen many pediatric deaths in Massachusetts, thank goodness, for a while, but we are seeing them this year,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Overall, it’s shaping up to be a particularly bad flu season.”

Although the country is well into flu season, health experts continue to strongly recommend vaccinations. Barouch cited data from the United Kingdom suggesting the current flu vaccine is 70 to 80 percent effective at preventing pediatric hospitalizations and 30 to 40 percent effective at preventing adult hospitalizations. Read Full Article…

“It’s possible they’re both correct,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, an author of the study and director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

But what excites Barouch about the chronic inflammation hypothesis is that several anti-inflammatory drugs already exist. Based on the study’s data, Barouch said Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has started a clinical trial with one such drug — abrocitinib, which is used to treat eczema. Read Full Article…

Even with universal vaccination for newborns as the standard, universal testing for hepatitis B during pregnancy remained an important part of prenatal care in the United States for decades. The ACIP decision puts even more emphasis on that practice, said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

“It places a spotlight on testing,” he said. “Testing for hepatitis B virus is currently a standard part of prenatal care. It’s recommended to be tested in the first trimester or at the earliest first prenatal visit to get that answer as soon as possible. If a woman doesn’t have any prenatal care, then it’s often tested at delivery.” Read Full Article…

“The idea is that if you increase immunologic control of virus, then you might be able to prevent or slow viral rebound after you stop antiretroviral therapy,” said Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He led the primate study. His lab is also running a clinical trial testing combinations of immunotherapy in people, and expects to report results next year.

Barouch noted that because of the lack of control group, it was not conclusive that the rebound was slower in the six people in the San Francisco study. But he said what was most intriguing to him was that the researchers found that those patients who appeared to partially control the virus had an early response in a specific population of T cells. Read Full Article

Doctors are raising alarms about a newly mutated strain of the flu that could drive cases higher this season. The strain, a version of H3N2 called subclade K, carries several mutations scientists haven’t seen before. Experts say this could make the current flu vaccine less effective at preventing infection.

“I think it’s quite likely that if the mutations of this subclade give it an advantage, we will see it here because influenza has a tendency to circulate the globe,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “At this point, I don’t think it’s a reason to panic, I think it’s a reason to stay vigilant, and for people who are at higher risk to take precautions.” Read Full Article…