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• Oseltamivir reduced influenza symptoms, complications in adults

  An independent research group found that oseltamivir shortened the duration of influenza symptoms by approximately 1 day and reduced the risk for influenza complications requiring antibiotics by 44%, including pneumonia. “This is the first patient-level analysis of how well this drug works,” Arnold S. Monto, MD, the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Health, said in a press release. “Previous research has questioned its success and use in light of the side effects of nausea and vomiting, but the other studies combined those infected with influenza and those without, which diluted the positive effect in treatment.”

• As measles count rises, CDC encourages MMR vaccination

  Since Jan. 1, 84 cases of measles across 14 states have been reported, 67 of which have been linked to the outbreak stemming from Disneyland resort theme parks, according to the CDC.Most of the measles cases associated with initial exposure at the Disneyland parks have occurred in California, followed by Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington and Utah.