Influenza Virus Mashup

(Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:36:23 GMT)

Reminder: Please do not post whole articles, just snippets and links, and do not post articles from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Thanks!

Chile

?  Stable remain people infected with H1N1 virus in Santiago (translated) (Link)

India

?  Uttar Pradesh: 17-yr-old tests positive for swine flu (Link)

Nepal

?  Viral fever raging in Damauli (Link)

?  H (Link)

News for July 30, 2011 is here.

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:

WHO A(H1N1) Site

WHO H5N1 human case totals, last updated June 16, 2011
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
UK RCGP Weekly Data on Communicable and Respiratory Diseases
Flu Wiki Main Page

(Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000)

# 5726

Now just over a month away, National Preparedness Month (NPM) 2011 will observed throughout the month of September. In June Ready.gov, FEMA, and the Citizen Corps began their awareness campaign and they continue to look for new coalition members.

This year – being the 10th anniversary of 9/11 – we are being asked to remember past disasters as well as prepare those that may come in the future.

As you might expect, Avian Flu Diary has already signed up.  And you can too.

Follow the link below to learn more and join.

 

National Preparedness Month Coalition

Welcome! Join this community to:

1. Download the coalition members toolkit
2. Add your event to the calendar
3. Participate in national preparedness discussions
4. Connect with fellow coalition members by posting in the Community Forum for national or general topics or in a Regional Forum for regional topics.

 

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM)! This awareness month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps. NPM is held each September and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities.

 

(Continue . . . )

Over the past 30 days FEMA has declared no fewer than 12 Major disasters within the United States.  And in June, they classified 10 events as major disasters.

While these major events affected thousands of Americans, every day thousands more are affected by smaller, more localized emergencies.

Household accidents, car wrecks, heart attacks, fires, floods,  storm damage . . .   

While we can’t prevent most emergencies and disasters  . . . we can be better prepared to deal with them.

As Ready.gov urges.

By joining the National Preparedness Month coalition, and holding events to promote awareness, you will be helping to spread this vital message. 

And that’s a win-win situation.

For you, your family, and your community.

Via VOA News: Bird Flu Worries Rise With Seventh Fatality This Year. Excerpt:

Bird flu has claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl from Banteay Meanchey province, the sixth child this year, health officials confirmed Friday. 

The girl had been ill for 10 days and had sought treatment from a traditional healer before she was transferred to a pediatric hospital in Siem Reap, where she succumbed. 

“She touched a dead chicken and got sick,” said Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department. 

Hers was the 15th death from avian influenza since 2003, and the seventh death this year, the ministry and the World Health Organization said in a statement. 

“Avian influenza is still a threat to the health of the Cambodian people,” Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in the statement, adding that children were especially susceptible. 

“I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry,” he said. 

Sok Touch said the girl’s village was now under supervision, while results from blood tests of 13 other villagers were pending.

(Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:26:00 +0000)

# 5725

Tropical storm Don, with winds around 50 MPH, is moving relentlessly towards the Texas coastline, and is expect to make landfall sometime tonight.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Texas coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Matagorda. 

Residents should be making preparations for heavy rains, high winds, and possible flooding conditions.

The 7am (CST) intermediate advisory from the National Hurricane Center states:

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 50 MPH…85 KM/H…WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  SOME STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE UNTIL LANDFALL…WITH WEAKENING LIKELY BY SATURDAY MORNING.  AN AIR FORCE RESERVE
HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT IS CURRENTLY APPROACHING THE CENTER OF DON.

TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES…165 KM
FROM THE CENTER.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami will issue their next complete advisory at 10am CST. You can also follow the storm’s progress on twitter by following @NHC_Altantic.

Meanwhile, as might be expected this time of year, we’ve another area of disturbed weather to keep an eye on situated well east of the Leeward islands that shows some potential for development.

Designated INVEST 91, early models have it continuing on a generally WNW course for the next several days, bringing it near the Leeward islands in 3 or 4 days time. 

Which means that if you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to review your family and/or business disaster plan.  

To help you along, NOAA, FEMA, and the American Red Cross have released an updated preparedness guide for the 2011 tropical season.

(Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:01:00 +0000)

# 5724

Today’s World Health Organization’s  WER (Weekly Epidemiological Record) has an extensive overview of the global spread of cholera between the years 2000 and 2010. 

Last year, the WHO listed 317,534 cases worldwide, including 7,543  deaths, an increase of 43% over 2009 and up 130% compared to 2000.

A good deal of this increase is due to the epidemic which began last October in Haiti.

Globally, these numbers are widely assumed to be an undercount, and specifically do not include the 500,000-700,000 cases of ‘acute watery diarrhea’ in southeastern and central Asia.

In truth, many countries do not report cholera due to a lack of surveillance and testing capacity or out of fears of negative economic impact. 

 

Under the International Health Regulations adopted in 2005, mandatory notification of all cases of cholera is no longer required.

 

So the true burden of cholera around the world can only be estimated.

Last May, the World Health Organization recognized the re-emergence of cholera as a significant global public health problem during their World Health Assembly, and adopted resolution WHA 64.15 (Cholera: mechanism for control and prevention), calling for an integrated and comprehensive global approach to cholera control.

A few excerpts from the report follow, but the entire 15-page article is highly informative and very much worth worth reviewing.

Cholera, 2010

Cholera control

  Current responses to cholera outbreaks tend to be
reactive, taking the form of ad hoc emergency responses. This approach may prevent deaths but it
fails to prevent cases of cholera.

  Controlling cholera requires more than the prompt medical treatment of cases. The interplay of prevention, preparedness and response activities
within an efficient surveillance system is  
paramount to preventing occurrence, mitigating
outbreaks and decreasing case-fatality rates.

  Sustained development is critical to effectively  
containing cholera. However, simple and efficient
measures can curb the incidence of the disease, pro-
vided that there is a concerted multidisciplinary
approach and strong community involvement aimed
at improving access to safe water, and providing
hygiene education and proper sanitation.

  National and subregional action plans that include
cross-border collaboration should be developed to
enhance multidisciplinary prevention, and preparedness and response activities.

  Travel sanctions and trade sanctions serve only to
increase the burden of cholera in countries affected by the disease.

 

 

 

Future challenges

 

Greater financial support and commitment are needed to strengthen and encourage environmental management in developing countries, in particular to improve water supplies, access to hygiene and sanitation, and to support research on new strategies for prevention and control.

 

Cholera and other epidemic-prone diarrhoeal diseases are major public health problems, which should be recognized and addressed. It is critical that commitments be made and financial support provided for recognition of the burden of cholera and for efforts to implement efficient control measures, in view of the emergence of new strains and the ongoing trends in increasing incidence of the disease.

(Continue . . . )

(Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:30:00 +0000)

# 5723

Yesterday Giuseppe Michieli, editor & director of del Forum Italiano on FluTrackers, posted on a new case of H5N1 in Cambodia he found listed in the latest World Health Organization’s FluNet (www.who.int/flunet), Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) report.

At the time, the only information available was a single entry in a table of virus in detections in Cambodia for week 29.

Overnight Crof at Crofsblog picked up on a newswire report (Cambodian girl dies from bird flu: WHO) published in the Straits Times on this latest Cambodian case that filled in some of the details.

Unlike the six earlier cases, which were all clustered in the southeastern region of the country, this latest case involved a 4-year-old girl who lived in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey. 

After seeing only 4 cases of H5N1 infection in humans over the past 4 years, Cambodia has suddenly become the focus of renewed attention after 7 fatal cases have been reported over the past six months.

All but one of these cases have involved young children. This latest case marks the 17th known Cambodian H5N1 infection, and the 15th fatality.

Earlier reports on these cases include:

Cambodia: 6th Bird Flu Fatality Of 2011

Cambodia Reports 5th Bird Flu Fatality

IRIN: Cambodia’s Bird Flu Risk “under control” – Experts

Cambodia: 4th Bird Flu Fatality Of 2011

WHO Update On Cambodian H5N1 Fatalities

Although we continue to see isolated human infections around the world, H5N1 remains difficult for humans to catch. The virus remains poorly adapted to human physiology, and for now is primarily a threat to poultry.

The concern, of course, is that over time that may change.

 

And so the world remains at Pre-pandemic Phase III on the H5N1 virus, and we continue to watch for signs that the virus is adapting to humans.

Via The Straits Times: Cambodian girl dies from bird flu: WHO. Excerpt:

A four-year-old Cambodian girl has become the seventh person to die from bird flu in the country this year, officials said on Friday. 

The child, from north-western Banteay Meanchey province, died on July 20, the health ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement. Tests confirmed she had contracted H5N1 avian influenza. 

‘I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry,’ Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said. 

All seven of Cambodia’s bird flu cases since January have been fatal. Six of the victims were children. 

The girl is the 17th person in Cambodia known to have become infected with the virus and the 15th to die from complications of the disease since 2005, they said.

(Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:53:00 +0000)

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

# 5822

Two months ago the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a new statement (IARC Press Release N° 208) that lists mobile phone use in same carcinogenic hazard category as exposure to gasoline, engine exhaust and lead.

For details on this announcement, you may wish to revisit IARC: Cell Phones `Possibly Carcinogenic’.

For a number of years some scientists had expressed concerns that prolonged exposure to cell phone RF (radiofrequency) electromagnetic fields might cause certain types of head and neck cancers.

And many researchers worried that children, teenagers, and young adults - who rank among the most fervent users of cell phones - could be at particular risk.

While it probably won’t settle the debate, today we’ve a new study that appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that reassuringly found no link between cell phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents.

Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumors in Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter Case–Control Study

Denis Aydin, Maria Feychting, Joachim Schüz, Tore Tynes, Tina Veje Andersen, Lisbeth Samsø Schmidt, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Christoffer Johansen, Michaela Prochazka, Birgitta Lannering, Lars Klæboe, Tone Eggen, Daniela Jenni, Michael Grotzer, Nicolas Von der Weid, Claudia E. Kuehni and Martin Röösli

The authors examined the medical records of 352 children aged 7-19  from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, & Switzerland with brain tumors. They conducted interviews with them to determine their cell phone usage, and compared this data to 646 control subjects.

The researchers found no statistically significant increase in the incidence of brain tumors among children and adolescents who were exposed to cell phone radiation, compared to those who were not.

Their conclusion:

The absence of an exposure–response relationship either in terms of the amount of mobile phone use or by localization of the brain tumor argues against a causal association.

Today’s study has some limitations. 

It is based primarily on self-reported data, the subjects had been using cell phones for an average of only 4 years, and much of this usage was likely text messaging -as opposed to voice calls – which would reduce radiation exposure to the head and neck.

Since it can take years – or even decades – for brain cancers to develop, the true health impacts from the stratospheric rise in cell phone use over the past decade may be difficult to accurately gauge for some time.

While today’s results are encouraging, the authors believe that it is important to continue to study the issue and be on the lookout for potential negative health effects related to cell phone use in children.

(Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:09:00 +0000)

# 5721

As I mentioned last week, today – July 28th – has been designated World Hepatitis Day by the World Health Organization in an attempt to shed light on a group of viruses that infect nearly 1/3rd of the globe’s population.

Source – WHO click on images for Fact Sheets

Today a brief roundup of some of the news stories, research, and web resources dealing with this often `silent’ killer.

First stop, the WHO.

 

Marking the first World Hepatitis Day

28 July 2011 — About one million deaths per year are attributed to viral hepatitis infections. The first World Hepatitis Day raises awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the diseases that it causes. This provides an opportunity to focus on actions like: strengthening prevention, increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage and coordinating a global response to hepatitis.

(Continue . . . )

Next stop is the CDC, which released a media statement yesterday, excerpts of which I have posted below:

For Immediate Release: July 27, 2011
Contact: CDC Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

CDC Statement on World Hepatitis Day 2011

On this first World Health Organization (WHO)-sponsored World Hepatitis Day, July 28, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joins the world in reflecting on the remarkable successes and enormous challenges in the global effort to prevent and control viral hepatitis.

 

These successes and challenges are amplified because viral hepatitis is not a single disease. Hepatitis is caused by at least five viruses—including two spread by water or food contaminated with feces (hepatitis A and E) and three transmitted by blood and body fluids (hepatitis B, D, and C) during childbirth (from infected mother to child); through injecting drug use, needle sticks, or transfusions; or through sexual contact. Hepatitis B and C infections can cause cirrhosis of the liver and lead to liver cancer.

 

Today, more than 500 million persons worldwide are living with viral hepatitis and do not have adequate access to care—increasing their risk for premature death from liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Each year, more than 1 million people die from viral hepatitis and millions of new infections add to this global burden of disease and death.

(Continue . . . )

From IRIN today, a feature on the prevalence of Hepatitis C in Egypt, and that country’s attempts to combat it.

EGYPT: Taking on the hepatitis C virus

CAIRO, 28 July 2011 (IRIN) - Egypt has stepped up efforts to curb the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by opening treatment centres, offering free drugs to the poor, and launching a massive public awareness campaign, say officials.

 

“We managed to dedicate more money for the treatment of the virus this year,” said Waheed Doss, chairman of the National Anti-Virus C Campaign, a state-run effort to fight the disease. “We managed to give free treatment to 140,000 patients last year alone,” he told IRIN.

(Continue. . . )

And from The Lancet  this morning, we have an extensive look at the prevalence of Hepatitis B & C among a specific subset of the world’s population; Injecting drug users:

Global epidemiology of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in people who inject drugs: results of systematic reviews

Paul K Nelson MHSc , Bradley M Mathers MBChB , Benjamin Cowie PhD , Holly Hagan PhD , Prof Don Des Jarlais PhD , Danielle Horyniak BBioMedSci , Prof Louisa Degenhardt PhD

After a review of the available peer reviewed literature, these researchers estimated national, regional, and global prevalence of hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV) among  IDUs (injecting drug users).

Their interpretation of the results states:

More IDUs have anti-HCV than HIV infection, and viral hepatitis poses a key challenge to public health. Variation in the coverage and quality of existing research creates uncertainty around estimates. Improved and more complete data and reporting are needed to estimate the scale of the issue, which will inform efforts to prevent and treat HCV and HBV in IDUs.

From the UK Guardian newspaper, an essay by Charles Gore - president of the World Hepatitis Alliance –  that looks at the societal stigma of Hepatitis, along with its impact on public health.

Hepatitis is not just a health issue

World Hepatitis Day recognises the enormous public health challenge viral hepatitis represents and gives us a chance to tackle the stigma around the disease

(Continue . . .)

 

And lastly, a couple of links to major online portals of information on Hepatitis that are involved in promoting World Hepatitis Day:

World Hepatitis Alliance

National Viral Hepatitis roundtable

Washington, D.C. – National Institutes of Health Chief Francis Collins hinted that a universal flu vaccine that provides protection against all strains may be available within the next five years.

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is a part of the NIH, have conducted experiments on the universal vaccine on mice, ferrets and monkey. They used a two-step immunization approach to elicit antibodies that would fight infection (Snip) The current flu vaccines could not generate broad neutralizing antibodies, which is why the shots are reformulated yearly to match the predominant virus strain circulating each year.

(Snip)

The NIAID primed the experimental animals’ immune system using a vaccine made from DNA that encoded the influenza virus hemagglutinin surface protein. The lab animals then are given a booster dose of the 2006-2007 seasonal flu vaccine or a vaccine made from a weakened cold virus, which has HA flu protein.

(Snip)

the prime-boost vaccine stimulated an immune response to the stem of the HA of influenza virus, which is shaped like a lollipop. Unlike the HA head which mutates readily, which allows the virus to become unrecognizable to antibodies, the stem does not differ much from strain to strain.

(Snip)

by designing a vaccine to go after the constant part of the flu virus, people would be protected against all of its strains.
There are ongoing human trails of the prime-boost influenza vaccines to study its safety and ability to generate immune responses being made by NIAID. Similar trials on humans have been made by researchers in the United Kingdom.

http://gantdaily.com/2011/07/27/nihs-foresees-availability-of-universal-flu-vaccine-in-the-next-5-years/

Australia
• Alarm at whooping cough, flu cases

Bahama Islands
• Lady Foulkes hospitalized

China
• Rescue centre in Beijing nurses wounded raptors

Germany
• Low-path H7N7 in domestic birds

New Zealand
• People urged to get free flu jabs

United States
• NIHS foresees availability of universal flu vaccine in the next 5 years

Vietnam
• Respiratory centre set up in Bach Mai Hospital

Research
• Study: Lower flu vaccine response in elderly is due to antibody quantity
• Study: Special surveillance systems spotted some pandemic H1N1 deaths

General
• Member states halt ‘narcoleptic’ flu jabs