Influenza Virus Mashup

Via NetIndian.in: 2 swine flu deaths in Maharashtra take India toll to 1370. Excerpt:

Two more people have died of influenza A (H1N1) in Maharashtra, taking the death toll in India due to the swine flu pandemic so far to 1370, an official statement said here today. 

Both the deaths occurred in recent days and information about them was conveyed by the State authorities to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare today, it said. No deaths were reported during the day today. 

Besides, two deaths were reported yesterday, too - one each in Maharashtra and Rajasthan - when the Health Ministry had not issued its daily bulletin.

Via the Ottawa Gazette, a collection of quotations: Voices from H1N1. Excerpt:

‘This pandemic appears to be on the less severe side of the spectrum of pandemics that we have seen in the 20th century.’ — Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s top influenza expert.  

‘Everyone thinks this is a post-mortem, but unfortunately this virus is not dead yet. It is on a trajectory, and we don’t know where it is going to end up. In the past, more often than not, the first wave has been overshadowed by the second and third waves.’ — John Oxford, Virologist and professor, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.  

‘We have to draw lessons from the crisis so that we don’t repeat our mistakes.’ — Marc Gentilini, Former head of the French Red Cross and infectious disease expert.  

‘The WHO acted appropriately at the time and with the information they had available. The rate of spread of the virus was phenomenal.’ — Nigel Dimmock, Virologist and emeritus professor, Warwick University in Britain.

(Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:07:00 +0000)

# 4390

Many of the common illnesses we think of as `human’ diseases actually began in other species, and only later migrated to humans.

Influenza, as most of you know, is native to aquatic birds – but jumped species thousands of years ago and many strains have adapted to humans.

Babesiosis, Borrelia (Lyme), Nipah, Hendra, Malaria, Hantavirus, ebola,Leptospirosis, Q-Fever, bird flu  . . .  the list of zoonotic diseases is extensive and growing. 

The age of emerging infectious diseases in humans really began in earnest about 10,000 years ago when man began to domesticate – and live in close proximity to – other animals.   

The scourge of Tuberculosis, which now infects 1/3rd of humanity, probably jumped to humans when man began to coral and raise its traditional hosts; goats and cattle.  Measles appears to have evolved from canine distemper and/or the Rinderpest virus of cattle.  

Michael Greger in his Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching video, goes into considerable detail on the evolution of zoonotic diseases.  The video is terrific, as is his book (available free online).

Swine flu (A/H1N1/2009) , which emerged nearly a year ago, was just the latest example of a species jump, this time from pigs to man.   Fortunately, novel H1N1 has not turned out to be the highly virulent virus that some feared.

The same cannot be said for bird flu, which has killed roughly half of those known to be infected. While the H5N1 virus has yet to adapt well enough to humans to pose an epidemic threat, each new human infection is another opportunity for it to learn.

In the wake of yesterday’s report of Vietnam’s first bird flu death of 2010, we get this warning that residents should be on the alert for `animal diseases’ that may erupt in that country over the coming months.

After a truly horrendous 2004-2005, Vietnam managed to largely curtail the spread of H5N1 in 2006 and the first half of 2007.  For about 18 months they were viewed as the model of successful containment.

Since mid-2007, however, bird flu has been making a comeback in Vietnam, and there are fears that if steps aren’t taken, they could see large outbreaks in poultry.

 

Animal disease warning issued as bird flu kills Mekong resident

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported the first human bird flu death this year on Friday, prompting an animal health official to warn that animal health diseases could sweep the country in 2010.

 

The 38-year-old victim from the Mekong Delta Tien Giang Province was killed February 23, soon before Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed she had tested positive with the H5N1 virus. The victim’s name has not been released.

 

She had killed and processed sick chicken before getting sick on February 13.

 

The victim was hospitalized eight days after that at Sa Dec Hospital in the nearby Dong Thap Province when her condition became worse. She was diagnosed with severe viral pneumonia.

 

Also on Friday, Hoang Van Nam, acting head of the Animal Health Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said bird flu outbreaks have been reported in Nam Dinh and Dien Bien Provinces in the north, Khanh Hoa in the central region, and Ca Mau and Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta.

 

Khanh Hoa was added last to the list after 770 chickens in Ninh Hoa District and 6,000 quails in Van Ninh District got sick.

 

Chicken in Ca Mau were detected with the H5N1 virus in late January and nearly 200 ducks have contracted the virus recently.

 

“There’s very high risk bird flu will spread to other areas around the country, especially the Mekong Delta,” Nam said.

 

Delta farmers are harvesting their winter-spring crop and letting their ducks roam free to clean spilling rice seeds.

 

Nam said that can easily lead to outbreaks of bird flu.

 

(Continue . . .)

(Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:54:00 +0000)

# 4389

Evacuations of low lying coastal areas have been called for in Hawaii, and no doubt, have (or will be) issued in other regions of the Pacific as the scope of today’s Tsunami becomes better defined.    

Whether it be due to a Tsunami, earthquake, flash flood, hurricane, or fire . . . sometimes you need to get out of Dodge in a hurry. And being prepared for that contingency can make all of the difference in the world.

Ready.gov has long advocated that everyone be ready with a bugout bag, emergency supplies for sheltering in place, and most importantly . . . an emergency plan.

 

Last year FEMA declared 59 major disasters in the United States. 

In 2008, there were 75.  Hurricanes, ice storms, blizzards, wild fires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes . . . you name it . . . we live on a dangerous planet.

All of which points out the need to be prepared for emergencies, no matter what the cause.

Disasters happen.

And so you need to have adequate emergency supplies (including a good first aid kit), to care for your family for at least the first 72 hours following a natural disaster.

Other good places to get preparedness information include:

FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm

AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/

As a former paramedic, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a good first aid kit at home, and in your car.  And just as important, learning how to properly use one.

 

Taking a first-aid course, and CPR training, are both investments that could pay off big someday, for you, and for your loved ones. 

I’ve written on the necessity to have a `to go’, or bug out bag (BOB), several times in the past, including a tour of my own bag.

Inside My Bug Out Bag

What About BOB?

For a complete description, follow the link to Inside My Bug Out Bag, but here are a few pictures of what I keep at the ready 24/7.

The next disaster may strike with little or no notice.  You and your family may have only seconds to react.   Being ready means you can go on with life without worrying obsessively about those things you cannot predict or control.

As I tell people:

Preparing is easy.  Worrying is hard.

(Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:54:00 +0000)

# 4388

In the early hours of this morning a massive 8.8 magnitude quake struck southern Chile, causing what early reports suggest is extensive damage, and generating a Tsunami.

This Tsunami – or rather, series of Tsunamis – are traveling across the Pacific at roughly the speed of an airliner.   Their impacts won’t be felt in places like Hawaii, New Zealand, and Indonesia for hours.

It is impossible to forecast with any accuracy how large these tsunami waves will be when they reach these locations, but we can estimate the arrival time.

The first of these Tsunamis is expect to strike the Hawaiian islands a little after 11am, HST.

Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 78 people, knocking down buildings and triggering a tsunami.

 

President Michelle Bachelet said there were 78 confirmed deaths and that more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to make an early assessment of the damage, but serious damage was reported in two southern cities.

 

“Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it’s like the end of the world,” one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET).

(Continue . . . )

Early reports, such as the number of deaths, amount of damage, and size of tsunamis generated are all subject to revision.

The latest Tsunami bulletins are available by clicking the graphic below.

BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER   7
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
148 AM HST SAT FEB 27 2010

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WARNING SUPPLEMENT

A TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0834 PM HST 26 FEB 2010
   COORDINATES - 36.1 SOUTH   72.6 WEST
   LOCATION    - NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE
   MAGNITUDE   - 8.8  MOMENT

EVALUATION

A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG  COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION  SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.

 

A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE  CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD  COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE  INITIAL WAVE AS SUBSEQUENT WAVES ARRIVE. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS  CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST.

 

TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND ISLANDS. ALL SHORES ARE AT RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI  WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL  QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE  CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS PICKED UP AND CARRIED  BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER.
SIMULTANEOUS HIGH TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD.

 

THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS

         1119 AM HST SAT 27 FEB 2010

MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.

Via Viet Nam News: First bird flu fatality for 2010.

The Ministry of Health reported the first fatality from avian influenza type H5N1 in 2010 on Tuesday. 

Nguyen Huy Nga from the ministry confirmed the deceased was a 38 years old woman from An Thai Trung Commune of Tien Giang Province who often slaughtered birds. 

The woman was diagnosed on February 23 and treated at a local clinic but showed no signs of recovery. She was then transferred to Sa Dec Hospital in Dong Thap Province after experiencing chest aches and breathing difficulties. 

Two days later she was announced dead following a serious case of pneumonia and shock from the infection. Post-mortem epidemiological tests confirmed the presence of the bird flu virus in her system. 

The first bird flu case was reported earlier this week when a 3-year-old girl from Khanh Hoa Province was diagnosed as being infected by the virus. She has since recovered. 

According to the health ministry, Viet Nam reported a total 58 bird flu fatalities. All five people who were diagnosed with the H5N1 strand of the virus in 2009 died from the infection.

WHO has published Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 89. Excerpt:

As of 21 February 2010, worldwide more than 213 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16226 deaths. 

WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of information. 

Situation update: 

In the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, pandemic influenza virus continues to be detected across many countries, however, overall influenza activity continues to wane in most places. The most active areas of transmission are currently in parts of south and southeast Asia and in limited areas of east and southeastern Europe. 

In Southeast Asia, pandemic influenza virus continued to circulate in areas, however, the overall intensity of respiratory diseases activity remained low and unchanged, except in a few countries. In Brunei Darussalam, during February 2009, influenza activity was reported to be geographically widespread and was associated with an increasing trend and high intensity of respiratory diseases. 

Both Myanmar and Thailand have reported an increasing trend of respiratory diseases associated with geographically regional spread of influenza for the first half of February 2009, however, overall intensity currently remains low in both countries. 

In Thailand, approximately one third of provinces reported that >5% of medical visits were due to ILI during the most recent reporting week. 

In East Asia, virologic surveillance data suggest that pandemic influenza and seasonal influenza type B viruses continue to co-circulate. A recent increase in ILI activity in Mongolia may be due to an increase in the circulation of seasonal influenza type B viruses. 

Overall influenza activity continues to decline and return to baseline levels in both Japan and the Republic of Korea (S. Korea). In Hong Kong SAR (China) and in Chinese Taipei, pandemic influenza virus continues to circulate at low levels and overall ILI activity is substantially lower than what was observed peaks of activity during the fall months. 

In South Asia, overall influenza activity remained low, however, pandemic influenza virus transmission persists in the western part of India. 

In Europe, pandemic influenza virus transmission persists across parts of central and southeastern Europe, but overall intensity remained low, except for Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Slovakia, the Republic of Moldova, and parts of the Russian Federation which continued to report a moderate intensity respiratory diseases activity. 

Although an increasing trend of respiratory diseases continued to be reported in Georgia, Slovakia, and parts of the Russian Federation, the increased activity may be due to other circulating respiratory viruses. 

Among countries testing at least 20 sentinel respiratory specimens during the past reporting week, none reported that more than 20% of specimens had tested positive for influenza. 

In North Africa and West Asia, pandemic influenza virus continues to circulate at low levels as rates of illness in most countries in the region continued to decline or return to baseline. 

In Afghanistan, an increasing trend of respiratory diseases with moderate healthcare impact was reported, however, it is unknown if the recent increase is associated with circulation of influenza virus. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa, limited data suggest that pandemic influenza virus transmission continued to be sporadic in most areas of the continent. Several countries in West Africa continue to report slight increases in the numbers of confirmed cases of pandemic influenza indicating that community transmission is likely beginning in the area; however, data are very limited. 

In the Americas, both in the tropical and northern temperate zones, pandemic influenza virus continues to circulate at low levels but overall pandemic influenza activity continued to decline or remain low in most places. 

In Central America and Caribbean, pandemic influenza virus transmission persists but overall activity remains low or unchanged in most places. 

Pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 virus continues to be the predominant influenza virus circulating worldwide. In addition to the increasing proportion of seasonal influenza type B viruses recently detected in China, low levels of seasonal H3N2 and type B viruses are circulating in parts of Africa, and Asia. 

In summary, pandemic influenza virus continues to circulate widely in the tropical regions and is persisting in some areas of in parts of Europe. Respiratory disease activity is increasing in many areas of the world due to increasing transmission of influenza type B and Respiratory Syncitial Virus. Seasonal influenza H3N2 continues to be detected in areas of Asia and east Africa.

(Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:39:30 GMT)

Reminder: Please do not post whole articles, just snippets and links. Thanks!!

Bhutan

?  Bird Flu Containment Update (Link)

Canada

?  Canadian scientists use Olympics to study spread of infectious diseases (Link)

United States

?  CA: 11th swine flu death in Sonoma County (Link)

?  GA: Swine flu vaccines go unused (Link)

Vietnam

?  First bird flu fatality for 2010 (Link)

?  Animal disease warning issued as bird flu kills Mekong resident (Link)

General

?  CIDRAP: FDA approves 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine (Link)

?  Hyping H1N1: Did It Create a Dangerous Flu Fatigue? (Link)

Commentary

?  Recombinomics: Widespread and Common Tamiflu Resistance in Japan (Link)

?  H (Link)

News for February 26, 2010 is here.

US Influenza-Like Illness Reports
Week ending Feb. 20, 2010

Influenza-Like Illness Reports for England & Wales

Week ending Feb 7, 2010




Thanks to all of the newshounds! Special thanks to the newshound volunteers who translate international stories - thanks for keeping us all informed!

Other useful links:

CDC A(H1N1) Site

WHO A(H1N1) Site

WHO H5N1 human case totals, last updated February 17, 2010
Charts and Graphs on H5N1 from WHO
Google Flu Trends (U.S.)
CDC Weekly Influenza Summary
Map of seasonal influenza in the U.S.
CIDPC (Canada) Weekly FluWatch
European CDC Influenza News
UK RCGP Weekly Data on Communicable and Respiratory Diseases
Flu Wiki Main Page

High School Absenteeism Linked To H1N1 Wave 3 Start
Recombinomics Commentary 21:15
February 25, 2010

Blood tests on Pittsburgh residents found 45 percent of people aged 10 to 19 years had antibodies against the new H1N1 flu strain. About 22 percent of people across all groups developed immunity to the virus by early December and a quarter of those born in the 1920s may have already had protective antibodies before the pandemic resulting from prior flu infection, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found.

The above comments on H1N1 antibody frequencies in Allegheny County indicate that H1N1 rapidly spread through the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metropolitan area last fall, especially among school aged children, aged 10-19. Although there were few school closures or deaths a few schools were highlighted in media reports and in one middle school daily absenteeism rates were between 19-29% for at least 9 days, suggesting attack rates approached 100% since many who were affected did not develop a high fever and were not absent.

Other areas reported closures of entire school districts suggesting these high levels were present nationwide during the fall peak in activity. That peak began with school opening in August for many areas of region 4, and recent reports suggest a new wave may have begun there which has now started to spread nationwide. Although media reports had announced the end of the pandemic and some politicians questioned whether there was a pandemic, prior pandemics had a fall and winter wave and eliminated the seasonal flu that had been circulating.

full article

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02251002/H1N1_Wave3_HS.html

Africa
• South Africa winter raises World Cup swine flu risk (Link)
• ProMED: Meningitis Epidemic Africa (Link)

United States
• NC: North Carolina health officials warn H1N1 flu is not over (Link)

Vietnam
• Illegal poultry trade stokes bird flu fears (Link)
• First Vietnam bird flu death in 2010 (Link)

Research
• WI: UW study finds success with new drug to treat bird flu (Link)
• Single-Dose H5N1 Vaccine Safe and Effective in Adults and Elderly (Link)

Via RPP.com.pe: Inició vacunación gratuita contra gripe AH1N1 a 3 millones de peruanos. [Vaccination against H1N1 begins for 3 million Peruvians] Excerpt, with my translation: 

Este viernes 26 de febrero inició la vacunación gratuita contra la Nueva Influenza AH1N1, destinada a cerca de tres millones de personas que están en los grupos de mayor riesgo para esta enfermedad. 

This Friday, February 26, free vaccinations began against H1N1, destined for about 3 million persons in major risk groups for this disease.

El ministro de Salud, Oscar Ugarte Ubilluz, dio a conocer que para la vacunación, el Estado ha invertido S/. 86 298 719 y que las estrategias de inmunización se seguirán conforme a las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) que solicitó priorizar la vacunación a las personas consideradas dentro de los grupos de riesgo para la pandemia, es decir personas con enfermedades crónicas (co-morbilidad) y las gestantes que al enfermar por gripe A H1N1, podrían complicarse y morir.

Health Minister Oscar Ugarte Ubilluz announced that for the vaccination, the government has suspended S/. 86 298 719 and that vaccination strategies will follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization, which urges priority be given to persons considered at risk in the pandemic: persons with chronic illnesses, and pregnant women who risk complications and death if infected.