Mexican officials said Wednesday they have confirmed the first mutation of the A(H1N1) flu virus in a girl who survived the infection.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told Mexican journalists that the case was the first confirmed mutation of the swine flu virus, though there were 423 other suspected cases.

How might policymakers make reasonable decisions when they have limited information?

That's the question Northwestern University's Charles F. Manski explores in his new paper, "Vaccination With Partial Knowledge of External Effectiveness." The paper is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Diagnostic Hybrids, a Quidel Company (NASDAQ: QDEL) has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its D3 Ultra 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Virus ID Kit, a monoclonal antibody fluorescent staining kit for the specific identification of 2009 H1N1 influenza A in direct patient specimens or incubated tissue cultures.

Influenza surveillance mechanisms in Mexico were adequate during the fast-spreading H1N1 outbreak in 2009, yet Mexico did not have the infrastructure to quickly identify the emergence of this novel strain, according to an Arizona State University (ASU) epidemiologist.

Montana State University scientists are researching the use of nanomaterials to develop a new way of fighting influenza and other respiratory infections caused by viruses.

If it works in humans the way it does in mice, people will prepare for a respiratory viral assault by inhaling an aerosol spray containing tiny protein cages that will activate an immune response in their lungs.

A new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.091823 of all patients in Canada admitted to hospital for H1N1 in the first five months of the outbreak summarizes the risk factors for a severe outcome (http://www.cmaj.ca). The H1N1 pandemic presents important learnings for clinicians and researchers and data on severe outcomes can help inform future treatment and prevention guidelines.

One quarter of Ontario hospitals surveyed in a Queen's University-led study do not have an influenza pandemic plan and few plans that do exist have been tested. In addition, key players were not involved in developing the plans, and funding for pandemic preparedness was inadequate.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses.

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering has won a $750,000 federal grant to formulate a mathematical framework that can track the spread of pandemics among populations and malware across wireless computer networks, as well as how a blackout occurring on one major power grid can cause a cascade of additional neighboring networks to fail.

Romark Laboratories announced that it has initiated enrollment of patients in a clinical trial of Alinia® (nitazoxanide) for treating acute uncomplicated influenza including illness caused by the currently circulating H1N1 strain.

The clinical trial is being conducted in approximately 25 sites across the United States and is expected to enroll 440 adult patients with acute uncomplicated influenza.