Infectious Diseases team helps explore H1N1 outbreak
U of L group finds variations within influenza strain that may explain varying patient response.
Collaboration between teams at U of L Hospital and the Center for Predictive Medicine was key to the study.
Just the mention of H1N1 can conjure up images of long lines of people waiting to be vaccinated, news reports of the severity of the pandemic and the count of the number of people who perished from the 2009-10 outbreak.
However, some positives are coming forward.
University of Louisville researchers, including Drs. Julio Ramirez, Paula Peyrani, James Summersgill and Timothy Weimken of the U of L Division of Infectious Diseases, have found variations within H1N1 patients who were hospitalized and identified those that most impacted patients.
Those findings were recently published by PLOSOne.org.
"This is an example of how translational research is used to better understand disease in order to identify targets for intervention," Dr. Jesse Roman, Chairman of the U of L Department of Medicine said. "Our Infectious Diseases group and collaborators are engaged in innovative research looking for answers that will help people."
