Influenza Virus Mashup

Over at Netherlands-based Chen Qi, you can get a good survey of what’s going on this weekend in infectious diseases—from a suspected H1N1 death in Tennessee to problems with typhoid and cholera in Harare, to the horrendous rate of hemorrhagic dengue fever in South Jakarta.

Via Kuensel Online: Situation under control. Excerpt:

After culling 4,683 birds, disposing 778 eggs and burning and dismantling 533 coops between February 13 and March 25, the bird flu situation is finally under control. 

Livestock department’s regional veterinary officials said the government paid about Nu 626,881 to poultry owners as compensation. 

They said this conclusion was drawn after gewogs under Sampheling and Phuentsholing recorded no more poultry deaths. 

“The outbreak has been resolved in Phuentsholing and Pasakha,” livestock officials said. 

The death of a poultry bird was first reported on February 13 this year, following bird flu outbreak in West Bengal, India. Eight chickens died and 14 tested positive in Phuenthsoling from tests conducted in Thailand and India. 

The compensation for an adult bird was Nu 225, Nu 83 for young ones and day old chicks, Nu 6 an egg and Nu 200 for a coop livestock, officials said. 

Poultry owners were paid 75 percent of the market rate and the compensation was paid from 2007 World Bank bird flu project fund. 

A team, comprising officials from livestock department, health, police and Bhutan agriculture and food regulatory authority (BAFRA), are carrying out the 3D action of depopulation, disposal and decontamination in affected areas.

By: Helen Branswell

TORONTO — American scientists have reported the first known case of H1N1 viruses that are resistant to the newest flu drug to hit the market, peramivir.

The case involved a person with H1N1 flu who first developed resistance to oseltamivir or Tamiflu. Because of similarities in the drugs’ chemical structures, it was expected that viruses resistant to Tamiflu would be resistant to the new drug as well.

But the confirmation makes it clear doctors treating severely ill flu patients need to try to maximize the benefits of the few flu drugs available and minimize the risk of resistance developing, said Dr. Matthew Memoli, a physician and researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and first author of the report.

Memoli suggested doctors can do that by giving more thought to the order in which they use flu drugs when treating seriously sick patients or those who seem at risk of becoming gravely ill because they suffer from other medical conditions.

continued

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/h1n1-resistance-found-to-latest-flu-drug-89319422.html

Brazil
• Brazil reports 36 A/H1N1 flu deaths so far this year (Link)

Chile
• First A/H1N1 flu case detected in Chile’s earthquake devastated zone (Link)

China
• Drought may prompt Tamiflu producer to replace major ingredient (Link)

Myanmar
• Myanmar says new influenza A/H1N1 still strikes 8 townships (Link)

United States
• US: CIDRAP – CDC sees sustained H1N1 activity in Southeast (Link)
• US: CIDRAP – Researchers report peramivir-resistant H1N1 case (Link)

General
• WHO: Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 – update 93 (Link)

Commentary
• Recombinomics: Transmission Linked To Rapid Appearance of Tamiflu Resistance (Link)

This is the second good-news story out of India in just a few days. Via The Times of India, a report datelined Vadodara:Pregnant H1N1 woman on ventilator delivers baby. Excerpt:

A 24-year-old pregnant woman from Godhra suffering from swine flu gave birth to a baby girl through a normal delivery procedure despite being on a ventilator. 

For the team of doctors who delivered the baby find this no less than a miracle. Given the complexity and complication involved with the case, one had not expected the delivery to be a smooth affair. 

On Saturday morning, Roshan Qureshi developed labour pains and was rushed for delivery. Qureshi was admitted at Spandan Hospital in the city and was undergoing treatment after she tested positive for H1N1. She was seven-and-half months pregnant when admitted to the hospital. 

“She was kept on ventilator due to respiratory problems. Looking at her critical condition, we did not expect that she would survive the labour pains. This is a unique case as Qureshi was H1N1 positive, kept on ventilator and underwent a pre-term delivery. Both mother and child are in semi-critical condition,” said gynaecologist Dr Dilita Bhagade who along with team of doctors from Spandan handled the delivery. 

“This is a rare case as we had to make a hole in mother’s neck to give her artificial air and oxygen. She could take the labour pain and so we all are hopeful that both the mother and child will survive,” added Bhagade. 

This is second incident in the city where a swine flu positive pregnant patient safely delivered a baby girl. Earlier, a 21-year-old swine flu patient admitted to SSG Hospital (SSG) delivered a baby girl.

Qureshi had a normal delivery and her baby is transferred to SSG’s neo-natal care intensive care unit in paediatric department.

Via iol.co.za: Suspected H5N1 outbreak in Romania. Excerpt:

A suspected bird flu outbreak has been reported in a remote Romanian village, the Sanitary and Veterinary Authority said on Saturday. 

Samples of two dead hens were sent for confirmation of the potentially deadly H5N1 virus to the Animal Health Institute in Bucharest and on to the Weybridge laboratory in Britain, the Authority said. 

The poultry in the small private farm at a village on the Danube Delta were slaughtered and the area disinfected. 

“There is currently no risk of the disease spreading,” the Authority said. 

Two weeks ago, a bird flu outbreak was reported in the nearby village of Letea close to the Ukrainian border, the first case in Europe for a year.

Via Xinhua: SW China drought may prompt Tamiflu producer to replace major ingredient. Excerpt:

The severe drought ravaging southwest China, home to an ingredient in the anti-flu drug Tamiflu, may prompt Roche, Tamiflu’s biggest producer, to use substitute ingredients. 

Southwest China produces 85 percent of the world’s Star Anise, an ingredient of Tamiflu, and the region’s production may be “substantially reduced” as a result of the drought, said Li Changxin of zyctd.com, China’s biggest traditional medicine trading website. 

Two thirds of the Star Anise used by Tamiflu’s biggest producer, F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., comes from China, said Lu Shunzhong from the Forestry Research Institute of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

But Roche spokesman Cao Yong told Xinhua he is “not aware of any possible effect on Tamiflu’s production posed by the drought.” 

Star Anise is the best source of shikimic acid, an indispensable part of Tamiflu, which is used against the A/H1N1 flu, said Li Yi, secretary general of Guangxi’s Flavors and Fragrances Industry Association. 

While it is true a major event like the drought could have a ripple effect, Star Anise can be substituted, and so Tamiflu’s production will not be greatly affected, Cao said. 

Guangxi produces 80,000 tonnes of the plant annually, about 85 percent of total world production, according to Guangxi Forestry Department statistics. 

“Up to 30 percent of the Star Anise plants in Guangxi are withering,” said Yang Wende, head of Guangxi’s Star Anise Association. 

In Yunnan province, the second largest producing region, over 7,000 Mu (466.7 hectares) will see no yield at all while 50,000 Mu of Star Anise crops are withering, said a Yunnan forestry official surnamed Yang.

Via the Indian government’s Press Information Bureau: Consolidated status of influenza A H1N1 as on 27th March 2010. It reports a total of 30,150 confirmed cases, with 1,442 deaths.

Via Correo Peru.com.pe: Se viene rebrote de gripe A H1N1.[Resurgence of H1N1 is coming] Excerpt, with my translation:

A partir de abril y hasta setiembre se presentaría en nuestra región un nuevo rebrote de la temible gripe A H1N1, que como se recuerda el año pasado cobró la vida de diez personas. 

From April until September, our region faces a resurgence of the feared H1N1 flu, which last year took the lives of ten persons.

Según la responsable del Área de Servicios de Salud de la Dirección Regional de Salud de Piura, enfermera Vilma Sulca Camargo, durante estos meses las condiciones climáticas (frío) son favorables para la propagación del mal, por lo cual mencionó ya se puso en marcha el Comité Regional de Salud, que elabora un plan para hacerle frente a esta segunda oleada de la Influenza.

According to Nurse Vilma Sulca Camargo, head of the Area Health Services of the Piura Regional Health Directorate, during those months the cold climatic condition are favourable for propagation of the disease. For this reason she mentioned that the Regional Health Committee is now developing a plan to confront this second wave of influenza.

Via The Times & Transcript, a report by Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press: H1N1 more like 1918 flu than modern cousins. Excerpt:

The pandemic H1N1 virus more closely resembles the 1918 Spanish flu virus than more modern cousins in the same flu family, new research shows — a finding which helps explain the age pattern of H1N1 infections. 

Like the Spanish flu virus, the pandemic H1N1 lacks two sugar coats seen on contemporary viruses from the same family, the work reveals. 

The two studies, released this week, confirm that antibodies which protect against the pandemic virus also fight the virus that caused the 1918 pandemic. 

But they are not able to neutralize seasonal H1N1 viruses, nor are 2009 H1N1 viruses stopped by antibodies generated in response to those recent viruses. 

The fact that two viruses that emerged 91 years apart would be so similar that antibodies which fight one can fight the other came as a surprise, admitted Dr. Gary Nabel, senior author of one of the papers. 

“It’s very rare for viruses that are separated by more than a couple of years to cross-neutralize,” said Nabel, a scientist with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). 

The findings help explain why older individuals seem to have a degree of immunity to the pandemic H1N1 and why years of exposure to seasonal H1N1 viruses didn’t protect younger people from the new virus when it started spreading last year.

(Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:03:00 +0000)

The last time I took time away from this blog to make my yearly trek to Missouri to see my Lyme specialist, a pandemic broke out. 

I left on April 19th, 2009 and three days later received a phone call just as I was pulling into Springfield alerting me to a pair of swine flu cases detected in San Diego.  Three days later I was back at my computer, desperately trying to catch up with what had turned into a media storm during my absence.   

Now . . . 49 weeks and 1440 blogs later, it is with some trepidation that I must make this trip again. 

Hopefully, things will stay quiet this time.   

As always, you can keep up with the latest flu news by visiting Crofsblog, the Flu Wiki , FluTrackers, or Pandemic Information News.     

Effect Measure, the Virology Blog, Mystery Rays and the other sites in my sidebar are all worthy of your attention as well.  

I regret that I’ve not time to delve into the following  CDC EID Journal article before I leave.  Maybe when I return.

Influenza A Strain-Dependent Pathogenesis in Fatal H1N1 and H5N1 Subtype Infections of Mice
M.-M.. Garigliany et al.

My plan is to be back a week from tomorrow (Sunday, April 4th).

In the meantime, there are more than 4400 essays archived here to peruse, and of course, Maryn McKenna’s new book Superbug is on the bookstore shelves (hint . . hint).  

I trust that you’ll find plenty to occupy yourself until my return