News Reports for April 10

States fall behind on buying flu drugs

State budget pressures are hampering the federal government's push to stockpile enough antiviral drugs to treat 25% of the U.S. population in a flu pandemic.
Two and a half years into the national stockpiling program, states and other entities have bought 71% of the 31 million courses of anti-virals the federal government targeted them to buy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says. One course treats one person.

The federally negotiated and subsidized contracts for the anti-virals Tamiflu and Relenza expire in June but may be extended, says HHS spokesman Bill Hall.

Some states' officials say they can't afford to stockpile or don't think it's the best use of limited funds. Others have ordered extra drugs. "We are faced with a very tight budget ... and we have a lot of public health issues," says Judi Spann, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health.

It has bought 66,000 antiviral courses, 3.7% of the 1.8 million goal set for it, HHS says. http://www.usatoday.com/money/...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 04:50:38 AM UTC

Impact of closing schools during pandemic less than projected: study

Helen Branswell,
Medical Reporter, THE CANADIAN PRESS
http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_new...

TORONTO - Closing schools during a flu pandemic might slow spread of the disease but probably won't have as big an impact on overall cases as some pandemic planners hope, a new study suggests.

British and French researchers reported that one in seven cases of pandemic flu might be averted if schools are closed and parents ensure that dismissed children don't simply congregate elsewhere, such as in formal or informal daycares or at the mall.

Their projections, generated by mathematical models, were published Thursday in the journal Nature.

Earlier modelling studies have predicted closing schools could dramatically lower the number of cases in a pandemic. This new work suggests those studies may have been overly optimistic.

"I think our predicted impact is quite limited, but not so limited that school closures should not be considered as an option," said senior author Neil Ferguson of the department of infectious diseases epidemiology of London's Imperial College.

"I mean, we're in the regime of 'It may be worthwhile, but the costs need to be borne in mind."'

Those costs are not trivial.

Children who are not in school need to be cared for. If parents need to stay home, that knocks healthy people out of an already weakened workforce. And not all parents can afford to stay home from work. Likewise, in some places children who don't have access to a school meal program will go hungry if other arrangements are not made.

Still, closing schools is one of the so-called non-pharmaceutical interventions or social distancing measures that pandemic planners have firmly in mind as they search for ways to blunt the blow of the next pandemic.

A key goal of this type of planning is to find ways to slow spread of disease so that health-care systems don't get swamped by a tidal wave of sick patients. Planners talk of "flattening the peak" - essentially spreading out cases so that hospitals can continue to function and more people remain healthy until vaccine becomes available several months into the pandemic.

Ferguson said his group's work suggests school closings could help achieve this goal.

"The one thing it might do by slowing down the epidemic somewhat - smearing it out - is reduce peak demand on health-care systems quite substantially."

The notion is based on the fact that children play a key role in the spread of seasonal flu. Whether that will be true in a flu pandemic remains to be seen.

In trying to estimate what kind of impact closing schools might have, Ferguson and his co-authors drew on data from France, where for more than 20 years a group of nearly 1,200 doctors have submitted daily reports on new cases of a variety of diseases, including influenza-like illnesses.

Using those data, the group was able to study what happened to rates of new infections when French schools break up for holidays and to use that as a basis on which to estimate what might happen in a pandemic.

The calculations suggest infection rates in children would drop by between 20 and 25 per cent, Ferguson said. But the modelling suggests the patterns of interactions of adults wouldn't change that much and the overall reduction in cases might be more in the order of 15 per cent.

That would mean that instead of an estimated 34 per cent of the population falling ill during a pandemic, only 28 per cent would be expected to get sick.

But all these figures are estimates, calculated using assumptions set by the modellers themselves. And not everyone is convinced academic projections will have much bearing on reality when a pandemic hits.

"I find these models to be of little help because I don't believe they're practical in the real world," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota who worked for years as that state's chief epidemiologist.

"For example, I am convinced we will not even have a chance to shut down schools before they are shut down on their own. Parents will not send their kids to school ... long before the actual transmission begins."

Osterholm pointed to school closings in the U.S. last fall, sparked by anxiety over the death of a Virginia high-school student. The 17-year-old died from an infection with antibiotic-resistant Staph, or MRSA.

A spokesperson for the World Health Organization said the Geneva-based agency is looking at these questions as its scientists draft the next version of its pandemic preparedness guidelines for member countries.

But Dr. Nima Asgari-Jirhandeh, a medical officer with the WHO's Global Influenza Program, said conditions vary so much from country to country that it will be difficult to come up with a single piece of advice on something like whether to close schools.

[snip]

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by: Pixie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 06:46:33 AM UTC

Weighed as an overall

public health measure, the cost/benefit numbers of school closure are probably going to be argued about at length, much as the purchase of Tamiflu is argued about as a public health measure - see the first story on this thread - although if it's our own child is ill, we'll want that Tamiflu.  What's logical from a public health point of view as a whole, is not always consistent with what is logical in terms of individual decision making.

To help protect your and your community's school children, anyone can volunteer for a leadership position in your kids' school PTA, or one can run for a seat on the local BOE.  Both will place anyone who believes that closing the schools early in the event of panflu is of potential benefit to the individual children in your town in a much better position to influence that decision.  

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by: Pixie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 07:08:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

we briefly discussed it yesterday

and one thing left out was discussion of cfr.

You won't close schools for 'modest gain' if cfr <1% but with higher cfr,  those infection rates are huge and mean saving lives.

But that's always been worked into the CDC plan, along with Mike Osterholm's recognition that parents (and local PH)  will close schools, not CDC.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:26:54 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

link from yesterday

including abstract and discussion

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/sho...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:06:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I see the question of reopening the schools

to be an even stickier point, potentially.  That's why I encourage people to get themselves positioned in some kind of position of influence now, so that they might have input later.  

The decision to close the schools might come quickly, and as you suggest might be made by the parents themselves to some extent by absenting their children (although I wouldn't count on it, and teachers still have contractual obligations, so lacking an official closure, whoever does attend will be obliged to be taught in that interim).  

There will be tremendous pressure on official bodies to reopen the schools when it appears that much of the danger has passed.  As San Francisco found in lifting it's community measures a bit early, after experiencing initially tremendous success with them, that may prove to be a dangerous idea.  

I also anticipate that this is where the differentiation in communities may have its biggest influence.  Schools may close nearly simultaneously, but depending on the viewpoint of the respective town leaders, their economic situation, and amidst the confusion and uncertainty that will prevail, neighboring towns may end up making differing decisions about whether to resume classes. I would think that the governor, for example, may if he or she has given an order to close schools, give "permission" to reopen them, but will leave the ultimate decision about whether or not to do so up to the local authorities themselves.  Thus, uniformity will not be assured and again, those wishing to have input into this decision making process should inject themselves into the leadership now.  There are many parents here, and they can do this locally in order to help give an informed voice to the choices there school system will be presented with.  

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by: Pixie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:08:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

that makes sense

just as it makes sense to think that individuals areas will be hit differently and not all the same, every day.

I really think this will be governor/commissioner level decision to close. Opening is a different ball of wax, as Pixie points out. BOE wil have a say as well as local PH, parents and the governor.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:45:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

as usual, they don't ask

- what are the costs of not doing it?
- how can those costs be reduced (without compromising the life-saving goal)?

#1: deaths; a number of them, which is why some idea of "pandemic severity levels" matters so much, just so people can really look at a set of possibilities (each with unknown probability, the whole lot with a 100% probability, and sorry, no specific timeframe but could be soon)

#2: take older students out of school too, to mitigate mitigation; let parents know, or rather actively push the idea onto their table, so that they'll have a chance to accomodate the idea and pre-plan accordingly

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

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by: lugon @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 07:47:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

So what happens in France during a school holiday?

During school vacations in my town, there are programs at recreation centers to keep the kids occupied while parents are at work.  Should we assume the researchers checked for other regular gatherings?  Even if there were no organized programs for children, the atmosphere of vacation is totally different from a time of crisis and anxiety.  IMO.  Let's hope that this isn't the study that's remembered during local discussions of school closure.

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:00:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dr. David Nabarro Reports on Avian Flu

SANDY SPRINGS, GA, April 10, 2008 - Dr. David Nabarro, United Nations Pandemic Flu Director of Preparedness, was interviewed on http://www.radiosandysprings.com (Snip) following an update from Sharon Sanders of FluTrackers.com.

Dr. Nabarro concurred that 2007 seemed to be a year of control while 2008 is already seeing a much more aggressive outbreak of poultry domestic and wild birds infected with the H5N1 virus. Indonesia is in an endemic state and unable to control the spread in backyard poultry - chickens. Korea has had another outbreak while another human death was reported in Egypt. The Avian Flu is spreading in fowl and of major concern are the warm blooded animals that eat the diseased birds. All making the possibility of a worldwide pandemic more possible daily.

Concerns are for human-to-human transmission which will ultimately have a disastrous affect obviously on humans, families, cities and the WORLD economy. That is why the large financial organizations around-the-world are working day and night to prepare for the ultimate. And yet, no one knows "if and when". (Snip)

The Dr. Nabarro interview can be download from http://www.radiosandysprings.com or iTunes.

Dr. David Nabarro, be prepared for a worldwide Avian Flu Pandemic! http://www.24-7pressrelease.co...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:03:58 AM UTC

Bird flu remains strong threat to Australia

The CSIRO is warning the threats of bird flu entering Australia and becoming pandemic are as real as ever.

(Snip) the current strain of bird flu started killing hundreds of people and poultry across Asia, the disease is now entrenched in neighbouring countries like Indonesia.

This means that, although Australia is helping Indonesia develop vaccines and plan control measures, bird flu may never be wiped out.

Assistant director of the CSIRO's animal health lab, Dr Peter Daniels, says the Government must renew its $100 million annual effort to fight the virus.
(Snip)
"One thing I believe the public can do is to report unusual deaths in birds. That's something I think we'll be encouraging - more and more public assistance." (Snip) http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:26:34 AM UTC

Suspected AI patient admitted to Madiun hospital

Madiun, East Java (ANTARA News) 4/10/2008 - A 72-year old man with suspected bird flu (Avian Influenza/AI) symptoms was admitted to Soedono General Hospital in Madiun district, East Java, on Wednesday, (Snip)

The patient, identified as Hadi Suprapto from Ngawi district, was being treated in the hospital`s isolation room for suspected bird flu patients, (Snip)
Hadi Suprapto was earlier admitted to Suroto General Hospital in Ngawi but becaue the hospital lacked the needed equipment to treat him, he was transferred to the Soedono General Hospital on Wednesday.

Thamrin said the patient had breathing difficulty when he arrived at the hospital but his temperature was normal.

"In a preliminary examination conducted by a hospital team, it was found that the patient had had direct contact with dead poultry near his house before being admitted to the hospital," Achmad Thamrin said.

Meanwhile, in Tangerang district, Banten province, over the weekend, a 45-year old woman with suspected bird flu symptoms was also hospitalized on Friday.

Tangerang General Hospital spokesman Bambang Wisnusubroto said there were indications the woman, identified by the initials Nur, had been infected with the bird flu virus. Continued... http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:37:25 AM UTC

Indonesia bans Navy medical research unit

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The Indonesian government has banned the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, or NAMRU-2 - which is studying infectious diseases in Southeast Asia, including bird flu - from operating in the country, an evening newspaper said Thursday. The reason behind the ban was not immediately clear.

(Snip) a note on the ban, signed by Triono Soendoro, director of the Health Research and Development Agency of the Health Ministry, had been circulated among several ministries.

"It [NAMRU-2] has been banned to operate here. Sorry, but I can't comment further," the newspaper quoted Soendoro as saying. Health Ministry spokesman Soemardi also refused to confirm the report.
(Snip)
The ban follows the publication of a book by Health Minister Siti Rahil Fadilah Supari, in which she accused the World Health Organization and the U.S. government of trying to profit from the spread of bird flu. NAMRU-2 began investigating the disease after initial cases were identified in Indonesia in 2004.
(Snip)
The NAMRU-2 Detachment was established in Indonesia in 1970 and is one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in Southeast Asia. Its work was done in cooperation with and under the auspices of the Indonesian Health Research and Development Agency. Continued... http://www.navytimes.com/news/...

(Note: The saga of "bat shit crazy" Supari continues.)

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 11:59:48 AM UTC

not good

NAURU's been in Indonesia off and on since 1970.

http://www.geis.fhp.osd.mil/GE...

This is not the first time it's been kicked out, and hopefully it's only lip service or temporary. but not good news.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:09:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

geez, this is the first thing I'm reading today

Last thing I need to start the day.  Hard to say what it means except mostly escalation of more of the same...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:14:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

This is totally out of hand,

considering the seriousness of the situation.  

I'm sorry, but we embargo nations for presenting far less danger to the international community.  Someone needs to step up and take a look at the trajectory of how things are going with regard to Indonesia.  

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by: Pixie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:16:43 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I might have some major insight

Clearly I have been for gun boat diplomacy with this rag tag nation ever since they started this crap and I think I figured out a main reason why no one has stepped up to the plate considering what is at stake.  Did everyone know that Indonesia is a member of OPEC... yes, that opec, and with oil being the most powerful weapon of my lifetime well, you do the math.

Carry the torch, not to light the way, but to set your peers on fire!

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by: Annoyed Max--Not mad yet @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 16:53:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Indonesia is a net importer of oil N/T

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by: INFOMASS @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 18:26:58 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yes, true but

They still get a vote in the cartel.

Carry the torch, not to light the way, but to set your peers on fire!

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by: Annoyed Max--Not mad yet @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 14:12:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I agree with you Pixie.

It is totally out of hand. The US and other countries need to seriously consider some strong action in the form of sanctions and possibly an embargo. The first one should be no more financial aid.

Before anyone says "oh, why should we make the people of Indonesia suffer when this is clearly the government's doing", consider the suffering those very people are going to endure in a pandemic. Consider how many will die and then consider how many of the world's population will die.

Indonesia is a petri dish for the H5N1 virus and much, much more could be done to help eradicate it. The very least the Indo government could do is share samples with the rest of the world so that scientist there and everywhere else can work on a vaccine. Supari and the rest of her cohorts need to realize that profits are no good to them if they are dead!  

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 18:56:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

How about we throw a quarantine around the entire nation?

No one in, no one out. No trade, nothing. They want to breed a nice little pandemic and keep it all to themselves, let them. It might just save the world.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 07:38:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

that's called a blockade

No one in, no one out. No trade, nothing.

an attempt to impose an involuntary banning of goods or people from entering or leaving a country.

I don't know when the last time a blockade was used for any purpose by any country.  The only one I know about is the Cuban missile crisis.  



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 09:12:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Technically, blockade is a military term......

Mainly used to get someone to surrender.  In this case, a quarantine would probably be more accurate.  Being a disease and all.

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by: indypokerboy41 @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 18:30:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

if it's not voluntary?

against the wishes of the target country, and imposed by one country against another?  Enforceable by what?  That is the question, as long as it is not voluntary..

Then we are in very murky waters indeed.... ;-(



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 23:57:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

just found this

not to mention that Indo has 17,000 + islands and sit across one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.  The region has chronic problems with pirates, on a good day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 00:01:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

If an individual is carrying a deadly disease that could infect and kill his neighbors

and he is so self serving and egocentric as to refuse to quarantine himself for the sake of saving others, would you have a problem forcing an involuntary quarantine on him/her...as long as he/she were supplied with the basic necessities to sustain life?

Even in a democracy the rights of the individual only go so far, and when they become a clear and present danger to the rights of others they must be restricted.

You also jump to certain unsupported conclusions: no one said it would be "imposed by one country": it would be imposed by consensus of all the other countries who are concerned that their citizens and their economic infrastructure might be seriously threatened by the negligent and self serving behavior of this island nation, in regards to their mishandling of the H5N1 virus which is endemic in their country and threatens to spill out in a black wave across the globe.  

I actually see nothing murky about it, in terms of common sense and the common good.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:47:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

ok, let's talk common sense ;-)

You are talking about imposing a 'quarantine' on a whole nation, nothing in, nothing out, right?  

First of all, Indonesia is a sovereign nation.  By international law, it has sovereign and full control over it's borders.  Nothing can be done without it's consent, legally.  So let's see, it is refusing to share virus samples.  Do you think it likely that it will consent to voluntary quarantine?  

No? How else can we do it?  Any violation of any country's sovereign territorial rights without consent is tantamount to an invasion if the offending party crosses the territorial lines, and any blockage of goods and people in or out of the country without consent of that country is, well, a blockade, which is viewed by many as close to although not quite as severe as an act of war.  Note this sentence in that wikipedia link

The International Criminal Court plans to include blockades against coasts and ports in its list of acts of war in 2009.

We can debate all we want, but the reality is Indonesia is the world's fourth largest nation by population size, with the world's largest population of Muslims (although it is not an Islamic country in terms of governance), has > 17,000 islands which straddles one of the most pirate-ridden shipping lanes in the world.  You think we are likely to be able to do this peacefully?  

As to supplying them with basic necessities, again the question of sovereignty arises.  Who is to decide what are their basic necessities?  Even assuming you (or any coalition of countries as you are implying) are ABLE to provide the necessities of, as I said, the world's fourth most populous country.

As for 'consensus of all other countries', I'm sorry, since when has that happened on ANY issue?  If we do not, as of today, have consensus as to how to deal with virus sharing, do you seriously think there will be consensus on such a blockade?  Even if you call it quarantine?

And that's before taking into account the reactions of other Islamic countries and people all over the world.

Common sense tells me it ain't gonna happen.  As always, your mileage may differ.  ;-)



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 13:08:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

ps, we don't have to like the current system

of international governance.  It matters not one bit, on the grand scheme of things, whether we here think it is right or not.  It is all we have.  I see no way around it.  

It isn't a matter of personal opinion.  It is about dealing with the reality as it exists in the world today.  That reality is often unfortunately outside of our control.

There goes my 2C.  ;-(



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 13:11:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

a word on terminology

As always, any definition is subject to the perception of the user.  We may call it quarantine, which, btw presupposes the existence of an infectious disease that without such quarantine, is going to spread to other countries.  Do we have evidence that Indonesia is spreading the disease to other countries?  Not more nor less than any of the 60+ countries with H5N1 in their poultry, I daresay.

If it is spread only by poultry trade, we already have regulations from the OIE that many countries follow, and will ban poultry import from countries with H5N1.  That is already in existence.

If the disease is spread by humans, as of today, then one may say, let's do quarantine.  But is there any evidence that H5N1 is spread by humans across borders to other countries?  I haven't seen any, as of right now.

So, if we can't prove the above, and more importantly convince the rest of the world, then when we say 'quarantine', others are likely to say 'blockade'.  Ergo, no consensus.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 13:21:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Indonesia and Namru

I strongly suggest to take this news with a grain of salt.  We had 1st degree that this news is innacurate, lets wait few days before taking this for granthed.

cf to flutrackers.com to have the first hand updates.

Snowy

As a man is, so he sees. As the eye is formed, such are its powers.
William Blake  

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by: Snowy Owl @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 02:25:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

relenza and side effects: possible link to death, halluciantions

Possible link between flu drugs, deaths and hallucinations

Jen Skerritt ,  Canwest News Service

Health officials are investigating whether Relenza - a drug provinces have stockpiled in case of a pandemic flu outbreak - can be linked to fatal reactions or abnormal behaviour in children.

Dr. Patricia Huston, interim director of pandemic preparedness for the Public Health Agency of Canada, confirmed Monday that pandemic flu experts are studying the matter with Health Canada.

The investigation is a response to recently updated safety warnings issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Relenza. In March, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline updated Relenza's safety labels after children in Japan were reported to suffer from delirium, hallucinations. Some died after injuring themselves.

h/t revere

http://www.canada.com/topics/b...

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:45:27 PM UTC

more...

According to Health Canada's adverse reaction database, 27 people have reported adverse reactions to Relenza, including one adult who died. One 14-year-old reported nightmares and another six-year-old temporarily lost consciousness.

Another 96 people reported adverse reactions to Tamiflu, including 11 adults who died and nine who reported psychiatric problems.

"Part of it is to say this could be happening from the drug or influenza, so people know these complications can occur," Huston said.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:46:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

this is not a proved link

and like tamiflu, bears watching by patients and docs and needs more reporting.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:48:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Microsoft delivers first commercial version of healthcare-info system

Story
Amalga, the product formerly known as Azyxxi (wow, try saying that ten times fast), is finally out as a commercial product.

On April 9, Microsoft announced that its healthcare-information-system product - which has been used for more than 10 years by MedStar Health System, the organization from which Microsoft bought Azyxxi a couple years ago - is now available broadly to other customers.

Customers for this product, a company spokesman reiterated, are "large health organizations - any variety of hospital, health system  - with existing health information systems." Amalga is meant to integrate with existing health-record software and systems and to help the disparate patient information sources integrate with one another.

For now, there is no direct connection between Amalga and HealthVault, Microsoft's patient-information software/service combo, a beta of which Microsoft fielded last October. That said, it sounds like something is in the works. From the aformentioned Microsoft spokesman:

Source
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microso...

Note automated IT systems that can run on portable servers may help a filed or satilite hospital. Personallyl I'm not crazy about Microsoft but this came to my desk today.  

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by: Kobie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 14:34:22 PM UTC

S. Korea reports ninth confirmed bird flu outbreak

April 10, 2008
http://www.straitstimes.com/La...

SEOUL - SOUTH Korea on Thursday confirmed its ninth bird flu outbreak this month despite the culling of hundreds of thousands of poultry and intensive quarantine efforts.

The agriculture ministry said in a statement the country had another 13 suspected cases in which test results were awaited.

Ministry officials said all nine confirmed cases involved H5 bird flu and two of them involved the deadly H5N1 strain.

Health authorities have culled hundreds of thousands of birds in and around infected poultry farms in the southern Jeolla provinces, a hub of the country's livestock industry.

They have also imposed restrictions on the movement of birds, people and vehicles in the region, which reported this year's first outbreak last week.

The ninth confirmed case was at a chicken farm in Gimje, 260km south of Seoul.

[snip]

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by: Pixie @ Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 15:47:02 PM UTC

BF case raises fears of undiagnosed infections

A NEW case of human-to-human transmission doesn't prove that H5N1 bird flu is learning to spread among humans, but it reinforces fears that there could be many more undiagnosed human infections in China. It may also point to a potential cure.

Last November, a salesman hospitalised in Nanjing, China, with fever, diarrhoea and pneumonia was given antibiotics for suspected bacterial infection, but tested positive for H5N1 shortly before he died. The next day his father fell ill with a nearly identical virus, and was given plasma from a woman who had received an experimental whole-virus H5N1 vaccine. He recovered (The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60493-6).

The month before, an H5N1 patient in Shenzhen also recovered after receiving plasma from someone who had survived the infection, suggesting that antibodies from such survivors are a promising approach to treating H5N1, and should be investigated further.

However, poultry in Chinese markets are required to be vaccinated, and the fact that the Nanjing salesman had visited a live poultry market shortly before he fell ill reinforces fears that many Chinese could be getting H5N1 from vaccinated poultry, which carry the virus but remain healthy. Like the salesman, such people could be misdiagnosed because they have not been near sick birds.Continued.... http://www.newscientist.com/ch...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Apr 11, 2008 at 00:45:55 AM UTC