Findings from a household randomized controlled trial of hand washing and face masks to reduce influenza transmission in Bangkok, Thailand.

Background: Evidence is needed on the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce influenza transmission.

Methodology: We studied NPIs in households with a febrile, influenza-positive child. Households were randomized to control, hand washing (HW), or hand washing plus paper surgical face masks (HW + FM) arms.

A comparison of clinical and epidemiological characteristics of fatal human infections with H5N1 and human influenza viruses in Thailand, 2004-2006.

Background: The National Avian Influenza Surveillance (NAIS) system detected human H5N1 cases in Thailand from 2004-2006. Using NAIS data, we identified risk factors for death among H5N1 cases and described differences between H5N1 and human (seasonal) influenza cases.

Methods And Findings: NAIS identified 11,641 suspect H5N1 cases (e.

A method for estimating vaccine-preventable pediatric influenza pneumonia hospitalizations in developing countries: Thailand as a case study.

The burden of influenza in children is increasingly appreciated; some middle-income countries are considering support for influenza vaccine programs. To support decision-making, methods to estimate the potential impact of proposed programs are needed. Using Thailand as a case-study, we present a model that uses surveillance data, published vaccine effectiveness estimates, and vaccination coverage assumptions to estimate the impact of influenza vaccination on pediatric influenza pneumonia hospitalizations.

Severe human influenza infections in Thailand: oseltamivir treatment and risk factors for fatal outcome.

Background: Influenza is often not recognized as an important cause of severe or fatal disease in tropical and subtropical countries in Southeast Asia. The extent to which Oseltamivir treatment may protect against a fatal outcome in severe influenza infections is not known. Thailand's National Avian Influenza Surveillance (NAIS) system affords a unique opportunity to describe the epidemiology of laboratory-confirmed severe and fatal human influenza infections.