News Reports for June 11, 2009

Lethality of H1N1 Influenza Virus Increasing

http://news.prnewswire.com

Boston Biotech Firm Reports First Rise in 76 Years of Replikin Count* of H1N1 Lethality Gene

BOSTON, June 10 PRNewswire -- An analysis of the latest peptide genomic data for the H1N1 influenza virus indicates that the current global outbreak of H1N1 is increasing in its capacity for lethality. The new sequence data on PubMed of the past two weeks through June 10, 2009 showed an increase in the Replikin Count* of the Replikin Lethality Gene in the pB1 genomic area from a mean of 2+/-0.2 in 2008 to a mean of 3.2+/-3.7 in 2009 (p<0.001). The Replikin Count of the Lethality Gene in 836 previous H1N1 influenza virus isolates has remained essentially unchanged (at 2) since 1933.

These analyses were conducted by the Boston-based biotech firm Replikins, Ltd. software. A year ago (4/7/08), using the same software, the firm predicted the current H1N1 virus outbreak, and last month (5/23/09) an increase in the Replikin Count of the Replikin Infectivity Gene in the hemagglutinin area indicated a marked increase in infectivity of the evolving H1N1 virus.

More...

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by: sors @ Wed Jun 10, 2009 at 23:23:08 PM CDT

Note: This is a press release (n/t)

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by: NewsDiary @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:18:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Multiple personality dysfunction again

Oops -- That was me using my (shared) super-hero identity.

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:30:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Oh thank God!!!

For a minute there I thought that was ME that did that....AGAIN! You are to funny AlohaOR. ROTFLMAO

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 Jun 11, 2009 at 03:50:47 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I thought that was you in that cape and mask! n/t

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:51:18 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

WHO Director Addresses H1N1 Flu Virus and Pandemics

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gl...

Ray Suarez speaks with the director of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, in Geneva about the H1N1 flu outbreak and the debate in the health community over what qualifies as a pandemic.

WHO called an emergency meeting for Thursday to discuss H1N1, and said it is on the verge of declaring the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years.

Video: 9 minute interview, discussion of the risk of H5N1 "mixing" with H1N1 begins at 7:28 in the video.  Excerpts from Dr. Chan:

H1N1 has the power to spread very quickly. [...]  H5N1 -- we have been dealing with this threat for more than 10 years. [...] This is a very lethal virus.  But it did not have the ability to spread easily.  Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.  We are getting a grace period from the viruses.

Now the risk for us is we are having two viruses existing.  So my concern, I've been warning my member states, they need to maintain their vigilence, they need to enhance disease surveillance, making sure that do not provide opportunity for these two viruses to mix.

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:13:49 AM CDT

all primary schools and kindergartens to close in Hong Kong

CAVEAT: This is not yet verified by the HK government, only breaking news from Ming Pao, a major and respectable Chinese newspaper in Hong Kong.  

(my translation)  "According to sources", after confirmation of 11 more H1N1 cases in a school in Hong Kong, the HK government is set to announce the closure of all primary schools, kindergartens and nurseries.

http://inews.mingpao.com/htm/i...

COMMENT: the report is probably accurate, as the last time they closed all schools (due to seasonal flu, last year) the HK government also informed all media first, before making the official announcement.



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:18:41 AM CDT

verified now

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 Jun 11, 2009 at 01:33:26 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hong Kong - All primary schools, kindergartens closed for two weeks

COMMENT: now it's official.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/...

(16 mins ago)
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has announced that all primary and lower-level schools will close for a fortnight.

The decision for the two-week closure, effective from tomorrow, was made after a cluster of influenza-like cases at St Paul's Convent School was found to be swine flu infections.

The number of cases in the St Paul cluster was also raised to 12 from nine previously.

Authorities were unable to identify the source of the infection, making it the first cluster of human swine flu cases in the city without a known link to those travelling overseas, prompting the closures.

Primary schools, kindergartens and nurseries will be closed until the start of the next school year if they are unable to resume school before the end of the current school year on July 10.



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:21:56 AM CDT

Evidence of swine flu risk to pregnant women rises; experts urge early treatment

http://www.am770chqr.com/News/...

There are mounting and troubling signs that swine flu and pregnancy don't mix well.

Six pregnant women in Manitoba are reportedly on ventilators because they are severely ill with the virus. And at least two pregnant women in the United States have died of swine flu complications after delivering babies by C-section.

A pregnant teenager in the Dominican Republic died, as did a pregnant woman in Scotland. A woman in St. Theresa Point, a First Nations community in Manitoba, miscarried after contracting swine flu.

Humankind's relationship with the new swine H1N1 virus is still in its infancy. But people who've studied the issue of pregnancy during flu pandemics don't like the signs they are seeing.

Dr. Denise Jamieson, an obstetrician-gynecologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's division of reproductive health, says she finds the evidence to date "very unsettling."

"I am concerned about this," Jamieson said in an interview from Atlanta.

"There does seem to be increased severity in pregnancy. We don't have hard and fast numbers but there are enough reports that are concerning."

Data released by the CDC last month said at that point, 17 per cent of Americans hospitalized for severe swine flu infections were pregnant women.

A report a couple of weeks back in the World Health Organization's journal, Weekly Epidemiologic Record, noted of 30 swine flu patients hospitalized in California, five were pregnant women. Of those, two developed severe complications - spontaneous abortion and premature rupture of membranes.

Jamieson said the numbers are still small but seem to be pointing to a pattern seen in previous pandemics, when pregnant women were disproportionately harder hit than non-pregnant peers.

cont.

 

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 03:18:52 AM CDT

Hawaii cases continue to rise

Hawaii's swine flu tally climbs by 83 cases
They include the first two cases on Kauai
By Star-Bulletin staff
and Associated Press
POSTED: 11:39 a.m. HST, Jun 10, 2009

Hawaii's tally of swine flu cases rose to 198 from 115 last week, state Department of Health officials announced this morning.

The increase of 83 includes 78 cases on Oahu, the first two cases on Kauai, two on the Big Island and one on Maui.
In all, there have been 190 cases on Oahu, four on the Big Island, and two on Maui, which includes one resident who became ill in another state, tested positive, was briefly hospitalized, and recovered before returning home to Maui. All other reported Hawaii cases have recovered or are recovering at home with no complications, state officials said.

"The numbers we are seeing are expected and not alarming,"  Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a news release. "The number of cases will continue to rise as we identify more cases due to community transmission."

http://www.starbulletin.com/ne...

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 03:29:26 AM CDT

UK

Might be tricky getting any news today in the UK other than Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid (who cares?)!

Christopher Frazier, virologist from Oxford was just interviewed on the BBC.
He said that Swine Flu may be the dominant flu strain for months and years to come. That it's unusual in that younger people are infected and a small proportion are having severe outcomes. He's more worried about the coming autumn/winter when he expects strain on health system.

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by: dawood @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 05:03:30 AM CDT

Manitoba's swine flu caseload balloons to 56

From the CBC:

There are 16 new confirmed cases of swine flu in Manitoba, pushing the province's total to 56, health officials announced Wednesday.

There was no information provided by the province on the ages, gender or residences of the people confirmed to have the most recent cases.

Aboriginal leaders, however, told CBC News that five of the cases are people from the Burntwood health region in the province's far north, which includes a number of First Nations that have been struggling with outbreaks of a flu-like illness.

If you take into account unconfirmed cases of "flu like" illness the situation is worse.

Schools and daycares closed, public events cancelled

Aboriginal leaders from northeastern Manitoba, part of a group called Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), held a press conference in Winnipeg on Wednesday, saying some communities are already dealing with a pandemic.

More than 200 people from St. Theresa Point First Nation have fallen ill since the start of last week. The majority of the ill are being treated in the community, located about 500 kilometres from Winnipeg.

Those with the most severe symptoms are now in Winnipeg, including two who are in critical condition and two others who have been confirmed to have swine flu. One of them is a woman who was pregnant but has since miscarried. Altogether, 27 people from the reserve have been flown to Winnipeg for treatment.

Two cases of swine flu have also been confirmed at Garden Hill First Nation, near St. Theresa Point. Chief David Harper said schools and daycares are closed, public events have been cancelled and the band is sanitizing buses and police vehicles at least twice a day.

And in Split Lake Cree First Nation, about 120 kilometres north of Winnipeg, the community's clinics are packed, and so many children are sick with flu that the school has had to be closed, said health director Mike Moose.

The schools are also closed in South Indian Lake, 900 kilometres north of Winnipeg, due to suspected swine flu cases.

I went looking for that story because someone left a comment at my blog early this morning. He was in an ER at a Winnipeg hospital yesterday for an injured wrist and said the situation was "no joke." He said even if he injures the other wrist today, he's staying home.

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by: pogge @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 06:36:22 AM CDT

Swine flu charting deadly course

More, from another article in the Ottawa Citizen.

"Chilling parallels between the spread of H1N1 swine flu and the 1918 Spanish flu that killed millions have disease experts bracing for an onslaught of new infections and a possible second wave of illness.

Dr. Ethan Rubinstein, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, said experts now believe the H1N1 influenza will follow the same pattern as the 1918 pandemic, as the virus continues to spread in more countries worldwide and causes a disproportionate amount of severe illness in First Nation communities.

In the last week, the H1N1 virus has erupted in the northern Manitoba First Nations communities of St. Theresa Point and Garden Hill, both remote reserves with poor access to health care, overcrowded homes and a lack of running water...

"As far as we are concerned, it is a pandemic," said Chief David Harper of Garden Hill First Nation.

"The working hypothesis now is that this pandemic will follow the 1918 (pattern)," Rubinstein said after a lecture on tuberculosis among First Nations at the University of Winnipeg on Wednesday."

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/H...

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by: Ottawa Guy @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 06:56:54 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'm increasingly inclined to agree with that

Dr. Ethan Rubinstein, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, said experts now believe the H1N1 influenza will follow the same pattern as the 1918 pandemic,

Also this

"The working hypothesis now is that this pandemic will follow the 1918 (pattern),"

I think so too.  I think governments should act as if that is going to be the case



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 06:59:32 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Why do you believe this to be the case?

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by: Fanny Adams @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:29:23 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

similarities with 1918

1) both are H1N1, sharing a common distant ancestor
2) both jumped directly to humans (one from avian, one from swine) without reassortment with existing human seasonal flu strains.
3) both affect the young and not the elderly
4) peak age group for death is 30-50
5) CFR for the first wave of 1918 was 0.35% (ref), CFR for current wave (early estimates from Mexico) 0.4% (ref), within the same order of magnitude as 1918.

Note: The 0.35% reference is only single source, on Copenhagen, but the second wave there had a CFR of 2.5%.  So take it FWIW.



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 13:02:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ottawa Citizen editorial

Editorial:

"I took a group of teenage girls to an Ottawa shopping centre last week where I noticed a public dispenser of hand sanitizer. Before heading to the stores, I made them douse their hands, my concession to the H1N1 flu virus that has begun spreading through Ottawa schools in recent days.

That was probably the last thought I gave to the flu, truth be told, at least until I began reading reports out of northern Manitoba of a very different experience with H1N1.

In St. Theresa Point, a fly-in community about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg, the flu is not something that can be wiped away with a squirt of hand sanitizer. It has taken hold with a vengeance.

Nearly 30 people from the community of 3,200 have been airlifted to Winnipeg where many of them have required respirators to breathe. One pregnant woman is in critical condition and has lost her baby. Schools, community centres and gatherings have been shut down in an attempt to prevent further spread. But, given living conditions there, that seems unlikely.

For years, critics have decried the conditions in which many of Canada's First Nations live, particularly in the remote North. With H1N1, Canada's north-south divide has never been so starkly obvious...

St. Theresa Point First Nation Chief David McDougall held a press conference this week to talk about this situation in his community. He said lack of housing -- "It's common for 12 people to try and fit in a two-bedroom bungalow" -- and a lack of proper medical facilities make the region a powder keg when an infectious disease hits. H1N1 has lit the match.

"It's a wake-up call for everyone," he said. "We've stressed this over the years, saying this is an emergency or a catastrophe waiting to happen and now we're seeing it."

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/H...

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by: Ottawa Guy @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 07:02:55 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

thanks for sharing that

I went looking for that story because someone left a comment at my blog early this morning. He was in an ER at a Winnipeg hospital yesterday for an injured wrist and said the situation was "no joke." He said even if he injures the other wrist today, he's staying home.

Useful to know what people on the ground observe.



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 07:05:16 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

40 odd miles away from me

New case in Ripon, North Yorkshire, school closed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/eng...

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by: dawood @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 06:48:09 AM CDT

Asian governments get advance notice of WHO plans to declare swine flu pandemic

http://www.google.com/hostedne...

Asia prepared for even tighter swine flu controls Thursday as countries said they had received advance notice from the World Health Organization that it was planning to declare the first global flu pandemic in more than four decades.

Health ministries in Thailand and Indonesia said an email alert from WHO advised them that a pandemic would be declared as early as midnight local time.

"We are ready, because we have the experience with bird flu," Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told reporters. "The Health Ministry is on the highest alert, and people need not panic. We have sent a circular to all hospitals to prepare themselves."

cont.

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 07:43:19 AM CDT

if they are going to do it at 12 EDT

It would be middle of the night in Asia.  They are being careful that people don't wake up to such news and feel they have been left out of the loop.

Sensitivities abound.



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:12:12 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Dial in info for WHO conference 6/11

call in info for WHO conference 6/11

http://www.who.int/csr/disease...

USA:(toll) +1 703 621 9119

It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

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by: Grace RN @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:37:39 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

thanks, the networks are probably going to go live on it

they did (at least over here) last time with phase 5/



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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:46:02 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I sneezed, and missed it...

It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

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by: Grace RN @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:42:14 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Live Video of WHO conference

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local...

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

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by: Oremus @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:51:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

9:03PST and still no one at the live conference...

...except reporters and camerafolk.... MSNBC has a live feed, but no one seems to feel the need to be on time. :-} And it's interesting how empty the room feels... if WHO wanted to make this an anti-climax, they have done a great job!
Cathy

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:05:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Started 9:08PST

Chan is reading slowly, almost grimly... wearing a white jacket, with a hint of medical lab coat about it... she mentions "nearly 30,000... in 74 countries... the majority of cases in those under the age of 25... with 2 percent severe cases... most of the severe cases have occured in those between 30 and 50 years of age... a third to half of severe cases happening to previously healthy young and middle age persons... pregnant women are more at risk [missed the exact quote]... most of the current cases have been discovered and tracked in the more developed countries....the disease appeared to have moderate severity in developed countries.. it is assumed it will be worse in less-developed countries [again, missed quote] Countries... should prepare for second wave of infection... " She is calling for limited testing, because it is resource intensive... had to get the political note "continue to recommend no border closures or travel restrictions..." "We will all get through this together..."
And I notice the bird is upside down... wow.. we're here..
Cathy

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:21:00 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

sort of here

it feels the same ... until something like border closure or community level quarantines happen, it wont feel like much for ave US/1st world person

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by: nika @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:36:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

to put this in context

especially for newbies.  The WHO's focus is on countries, not on citizens of those countries.  So they really can't answer questions about what individuals should be doing.  If you pay careful attention, you'll notice their declarations are only focused towards countries, eg giving recommendations etc.




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

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by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:41:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Google News: Headline next to "Swine Flu Set to Garner Pandemic Status" is...

... "Clorox lifts dividend 9% and affirms outlook."  

A little dark humor for the day.

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by: outofsorts @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 07:57:38 AM CDT

What next? Gov.. announces increase in cemetery real estate sales?

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by: Quartzman @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:14:04 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

WHO chief Chan to brief press at 1200 EDT

Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:27am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article...

GENEVA (Reuters) - World Health Organization Director-General Dr Margaret Chan will hold a news conference at 1200 EDT on Thursday on the outbreak of influenza A (H1N1), the WHO said in a statement.

The press conference follows a meeting of WHO experts earlier on Thursday, who were expected to recommend to Chan that she raise the WHO's pandemic alert to the top phase 6 on a six-point scale, indicating a full flu pandemic.

(Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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by: Pixie @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:09:54 AM CDT

putting the news to your advantage

Police say a false claim of swine flu threw confusion into a domestic dispute and stalled an arrest this week.

Officers were dispatched to a home on Dickerman Street to arrest a 16-year-old, but a woman in the house told them that the home was under quarantine because of swine flu.

The officers put on face masks and a prisoner van arrived, but refused to take the teen after hearing about the swine flu claim.

Police said yesterday that as it turned out the house was not under quarantine and the teen was eventually taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

http://www.newstimes.com/local...

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:31:08 AM CDT

This is hilarious!

Quick thinking, but ineffective in the end. Made me smile, tho.

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by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:34:33 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

China credits quarantine for containing H1N1

China credits quarantine for containing H1N1
11 Jun 2009 07:57:29 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Lucy Hornby

BEIJING, June 11 (Reuters) - One month after H1N1 arrived on its shores, China's stringent quarantine measures have prevented the disease from spreading among the general population, a health ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

With China's huge population, uneven health infrastructure and occasional cases of the more lethal bird flu, experts fear losing control of the H1N1 strain if it spreads widely in the country.

The World Health Organization is poised to declare a global flu pandemic after a spike in cases in Australia, where five people have been admitted to intensive care units and 1,263 cases of the new flu have been confirmed.

"We think that the method we are using has been pretty successful. One full month on, there have been over 100 cases, but we haven't found the disease has spread widely," said Mao Qun'an, the Chinese Health Ministry's spokesman.
more

http://www.alertnet.org/thenew...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:41:58 AM CDT

Swine Flu: Don't Panic Pandemic' isn't a helpful designation.

snip
The WHO's classification system designates a virus as a pandemic based on geography -- the number of countries in which it has been found, not the fatalities produced. The WHO announcing "pandemic" will be like shouting "fire!" in a crowded theater. "Pandemic!" could be the title of an apocalyptic disaster movie.

When the media start chanting "pandemic" every 60 seconds, it will stampede public officials into school closings and traveler quarantines, as in Japan. The potential for needlessly disrupting work and production in an already staggered world economy could become significant. That would drain the already shallow reservoirs of political credibility we're going to need for a larger viral threat.

Virologists believe the odds are strong that in time some virus is going to be a virulent killer. This "mild" but unstable swine-flu virus could mutate (another charged word) into a mass killer, as happened in 1918. The WHO should reserve "pandemic" for that virus, and rummage the Greek dictionary of scientific terms for a word to describe what we've got now. Or at least call it a "geographic pandemic," which would force the media to define the distinction. This would help keep swine-flu anxiety at a manageable level.

We need to keep cool about this flu because there are opportunities to put in place a genuinely effective response for the big one in our future. Notably by building a new vaccine.

Washing your hands is nice, but specialists say that if one of these viruses goes pathogenic, the only thing that will reduce mortality is a good vaccine. And it almost certainly has to be a bioengineered vaccine.
more
http://online.wsj.com/article/...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:46:42 AM CDT

Good Prediction

"'Pandemic!' could be the title of an apocalyptic disaster movie. "

-- It will be! LOL!

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:52:29 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Another Panikosphobe

The good news is, if we don't panic and if we allow those vaccines to emerge, we can put up a respectable fight against a really lethal virus. The bad news is, we'll probably panic.

Another person who believes our only hope is a miracle vaccine, without which we all not only should but will 'poop our pants and running screaming into the hills'.

How could anyone with that little knowledge of or faith in people also believe that we are remotely capable of governing ourselves or operating power tools?

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

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by: Into The Woods @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:50:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

7 new AH1N1 cases confirmed in Beijing

BEIJING, June 11 -- Beijing reported seven more A/H1N1 flu cases on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed patients infected with the virus in the city to 26.

   The confirmed patients included a father and his son who traveled to Beijing from Toronto on flight AC031 Sunday, and a four-member family who flew from San Francisco to Beijing on flight UA889 last Wednesday.

   All the seven patients tested positive at the Beijing Disease Prevention and Control Center.

   Based on their clinical symptoms, epidemiological studies and laboratory tests, medical experts confirmed that the seven people had contracted the A/H1N1 influenza.

   At present, all the seven, in stable condition, are quarantined and receiving medical treatment in hospital. Beijing health authorities are trying their best to find those who had close contacts with them. Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:50:44 AM CDT

CDC Press Conference on Investigation of Human Cases of Novel Influenza A H1N1

CDC Press Conference on Investigation of Human Cases of Novel Influenza A H1N1
For Immediate Release: June 11, 2009
Contact: CDC Media Relations, (404) 639-3286
WHAT:

CDC will host a press conference to discuss an update in the investigation of cases of novel influenza A H1N1.
WHO:
WHEN:

Thursday June 11, 2009 at 12:45 p.m. ET
WHERE:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
Tom Harkin Global Communications Center (Building 19), Press Room

For directions to CDC, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/about/resou...

Parking is available in the Building 19 parking deck located on CDC Parkway. Media should arrive at the CDC by 12:15 p.m. Media must present photo ID for access.

Media who cannot attend in person can listen and ask questions by toll-free conference line. The briefing will begin promptly; media should dial in a few minutes before the start of the conference.
DIAL-IN:

Media: 888-795-0855
Listen only: 800-475-0384
INTERNATIONAL: 1-212-287-1766
PASSCODE: CDC Media

LISTEN-ONLY AUDIO WEBCAST:

This press briefing media will also be available via listen-only audio web site at http://www.videonewswire.com/e...  We strongly encourage non-media participants to use the webcast.
http://www.cdc.gov/media/press...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 08:55:56 AM CDT

From Twitter + Sky News

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION RAISES PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL TO ITS HIGHEST LEVEL, DECLARES SWINE FLU PANDEMIC.

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:03:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Link

http://twitter.com/BreakingNews

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:03:48 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fox reports...

Just announced live on Fox Business News... No web link yet.

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by: sors @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:06:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sky link

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Ho...

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:29:12 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

didn't they get the memo?

The WHO is holding a press conference at 12 EDT.  If they announce a phase change, journalists will still be covering that, live, by 12:45pm



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:05:26 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The World Health Organization tells members it's raising the swine flu alert to highest level

http://www.google.com/hostedne...

GENEVA (AP) - .

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by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:08:08 AM CDT

Are we going to have a special ceremony to tip the swan? n/t

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by: banshee @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:07:35 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

no ceremony

just flipped.

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:15:54 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

http://www.chron.com/disp/stor...

GENEVA - The World Health Organization has told its member nations it is declaring a swine flu pandemic - the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.

The move came Thursday as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.

In a statement sent to member countries, WHO says it decided to raise the pandemic alert level from phase 5 to 6, meaning that a global outbreak of swine flu has begun. The decision was made after the U.N. health agency held an emergency meeting on swine flu with its experts.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:18:14 AM CDT

WHO 'declares swine flu pandemic'

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic after holding an emergency meeting, according to reports.

It means the swine flu virus is spreading in at least two regions of the world with rising cases being seen in the UK, Australia, Japan and Chile.

The move does not necessarily mean the virus is causing more severe illness or more deaths.

The swine flu (H1N1) virus first emerged in Mexico in April.

It has since spread to 74 countries.

Official reports say there have been 28,000 cases globally and 141 deaths and figures are rising daily

It is the first flu pandemic in 40 years - the last in 1968 with Hong Kong flu killed about one million people.

The current pandemic seems to be moderate and causing mild illness in most people.

One factor which prompted the move to a level six pandemic was that in the southern hemisphere, the virus seems to be crowding out normal seasonal influenza.

It is thought the move was not prompted by the situation in any one country but the reports of several pockets of community spread.

cont.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:22:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

flip the swan, Dem!

You said you'd do it!

---

by: SarahS-at-work @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:38:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Dem's not online ;-) n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:17:52 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

He did it. :)

---

by: Quartzman @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:18:22 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Analysis suggests first cases of swine flu happened months before spotted

http://www.google.com/hostedne...

A new analysis of the swine flu virus suggests the first cases in humans probably started several months before authorities recognized there was an outbreak.

The international team of authors say the work highlights the need for ongoing and systematic surveillance of influenza in swine herds. They used evolutionary analysis to estimate the time scale of the origins of the genes in the new virus, a never-before-seen H1N1 influenza A virus.

The work, which is published in the journal Nature, suggests the virus may have come together years before it jumped into humans.

The authors say their findings also do not support an earlier hypothesis that the virus might have been engineered in a laboratory and released by mistake.

cont.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:20:25 AM CDT

UK - Update on confirmed swine flu cases 11 June 2009

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPA...

25 further patients under investigation in England have today been confirmed with swine flu. Together with the 47 cases in Scotland announced yesterday (June 10 2009) by the Scottish Government and this brings the current total number of confirmed UK cases to 822.

866 cases are currently under laboratory investigation in the UK.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:26:00 AM CDT

Total now 898 n/t

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:26:12 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ignore this n/t

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:50:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sorry, added 26 to the wrong total should be 848 n/t

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:50:03 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I've had swine flu

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews...

"I first realised that something was wrong because I was feeling awfully sick.

I felt like sleeping all the time and it felt drowsy and horrible. I came home from school because I was feeling sick and my mum phoned the NHS because I was so ill.
The doctors came round and tested me, my mum and my dad for swine flu. They swabbed all of us to test. My mum didn't have it but me and my dad did.

Molly can't wait to get back to school
When the school found out they shut my class. After that they had another meeting and shut the whole of the school.

Snip

Comment: I found this interesting as it's a personal story.

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:33:34 AM CDT

Seven Percent of New-Yorkers had flu-like illness

http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/90...

The Health Department today released preliminary findings from a household survey designed to estimate the prevalence of flu-like illness in New York City during the first three weeks of May. Some 6.9% of the New Yorkers surveyed said they had experienced flu-like illness between May 1 and May 20. Flu-like illness was defined as having a fever accompanied by either cough or sore throat - symptoms that can reflect a range of different illnesses. "The findings don't tell us exactly how many New Yorkers have had H1N1 influenza," said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. "But they suggest it has been widespread, and mild in most affected people."

Illness and emergency room visits for flu-like illness have recently declined city-wide. As anticipated, however, some of the illness has resulted in hospitalizations and deaths. Since late April, 530 New Yorkers have been hospitalized with H1N1 flu, and 12 deaths have been linked to the virus.

The city-wide survey, conducted by telephone from May 21 through May 27, found that overall prevalence of reported flu-like illness was highest in Queens, where 9.4% of respondents reported symptoms, and Brooklyn (8.9%), followed by Staten Island (4.2%), Manhattan (3.7%) and the Bronx (3.6%). Queens also reported the most influenza-like illness among children, with 16% of those affected being under the age of 18.

Snip

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:39:25 AM CDT

why can't they do seroprevalence studies in NYC?

It seems like NYC has been one of the first and hardest hit in the novel H1N1 outbreak.

It would be great to have some better surveillance as to what percentage of the citizens really did have novel H1N1.

How hard would it be to do some seroprevalence studies?

What's the obstacle to doing so?

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

---

by: Average Concerned Mom @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:14:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

it will take time

I'm quite sure someone will do it.  It's the perfect setting.  But planning a study like that takes time.  Writing a proposal, getting funded, designing the study to make sure they are representative of the population), recruiting the subjects, taking blood, standardizing the tests, doing the tests, analyzing the results, etc etc.

It takes time. ;-)



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:24:00 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Maybe they've learned it does no good

"Illness and emergency room visits for flu-like illness have recently declined city-wide."

I wonder if New Yorkers have just figured out that it's a hassle to sit in a waiting room. Unless they really want Tamiflu, I'll bet they are just staying home sick and waiting to get over it.

After all, it was announced that any flu you get now is probably swine flu. So why go to the doctor or hospital for an expensive diagnosis?

---

by: phytosleuth @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:46:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

NYC Flu hospitalizations

If you look at the proportion of new to cumulative hospitalizations reported in NYC, it makes one wonder how they are measuring the decline in illness.  Tried to copy the table but the spacing was messed up, so you will have to use the link to view.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/ht...

---

by: skyblue @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:13:29 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'm thinking of Melanie Mattson now..

..and how hard she worked, along with the other mods, to get as many people as possible ready for this day. The concern then was H5N1, but I remember her saying"...when do the balloons go up?.."

It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

---

by: Grace RN @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:40:28 AM CDT

Me too

She helped create the platform from where we watch history being made. Bless her.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:53:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sigh, and me too.

Bless Melanie.

... and the whole bunch of you who have stuck with it for us.
Thanks.

---

by: bird-dog @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:11:12 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

thanks for your comments

Life's what it's all about, is what I remember.

And yes, this is a bit like a strange new year's eve.  It's a somewhat artificial moment, and here we are.

Those changed swans may make waves of their own.  Tell the world we've been thinking of, you know, stuff.

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

---

by: lugon @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:15:21 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

"..I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."

 ; >..[

It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.

---

by: Grace RN @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:39:04 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

appreciate that comment

and i entirely agree.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:17:35 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

same here n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:21:07 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

This inspired me to go looking for entries from Melanie in the old forum -

 but dangit, I can't work the technology!

I think she'd be proud of how graciously this site has matured.  

Flu-issues aside, she demonstrated a balanced view of the world (and one you see Dem reinforce everyday.)  

I come here when I get anxious about the future and what's happening in the presence.  Not so much for the latest news as the sanity the community fosters.

Let's keep it up as we head into this new chapter.

---

by: Quartzman @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:24:10 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Aussies with pig flu in intensive care

http://www.news.com.au/heralds...
FIVE people with swine flu have been placed in intensive care in Victoria and residents at three nursing homes are being tested for the potentially deadly virus.

A Department of Human Services (DHS) spokesman told The Age he could not say how old the five patients were or whether they had an underlying health condition that may have given them complications when they were infected with the virus.

"What the underlying causes of their illness is, I don't know They are certainly not well and need to be managed in ICU,'' he said.

"In one case, the person is in hospital because of trauma, so the H1N1 is unrelated.''

Snip

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:42:23 AM CDT

Swine flu spreads through Vermont

http://www.benningtonbanner.co...

BENNINGTON - State health officials said Tuesday that the swine flu is now fairly widespread throughout Vermont, with 17 more cases confirmed in the past few days.
The Vermont Departmentof Health laboratory has now analyzed more than 450 clinical samples, with a total of 31 Vermont residents testing positive for the novel H1N1 influenza A virus, commonly known as swine flu. The 17 new cases include students at several more elementary and high schools.

None of the 31 confirmed cases in Vermont have required hospitalization, and all have recovered or are recovering at home, the Health Department said.

Cases have been confirmed in seven counties: Bennington,Chittenden, Franklin, Rutland, GrandIsle, Orleans,and Windsor, according to state Health Commissioner Dr. Wendy Davis.

"This new flu is clearly in our communities now, and there is no longer any need for most people to get tested to find out if they have it. It's here, and if you have the flu at this time of year, you almost certainly have the novel H1N1 flu," she said.

Snip

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:48:41 AM CDT

I rest my case

People have learned to deal with it. But they aren't going to stay home for 7 days.

---

by: phytosleuth @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:49:23 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

3 more swine flu deaths reported in NYC

http://www.wcax.com/Global/sto...

New York City health officials say three more people have died from swine flu, bringing the city's total to 15.

One victim was a child under the age of 5, one was a person between 5 to 24 years old, and another was between 30 to 39 years old.

The news comes as the World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic on Thursday.

Health Commissioner Thomas Farley was to testify later Thursday at a hearing examining the city's response to the flu.

The city health department says a telephone poll of over 1,000 residents found nearly 7% had flu-like symptoms in April in May. That suggests more than half a million New Yorkers were ill.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 09:56:47 AM CDT

Palestinians report first case of H1N1 flu

Palestinians report first case of H1N1 flu

   June 10 2009 at 08:45PM

Ramallah, West Bank - A Palestinian girl has contracted the H1N1 flu virus, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, the first such confirmed case among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The victim is a four-year-old girl from Bethlehem who recently returned from a family trip to the United States, ministry official Asad Ramlawi told Reuters.

"She is the first confirmed (Palestinian) case to be affected by the disease," he said.
more
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:01:21 AM CDT

Analysis: why has the WHO waited so long?

Analysis: why has the WHO waited so long?
It might have been officially declared today, but it has been clear for several weeks that the world is experiencing the first flu pandemic for 41 years.

The surge of infections in Australia that prompted today's announcement was far from the first sign that swine flu is spreading freely around the globe.

Rather, it has presented the World Health Organisation (WHO) with evidence so overwhelming that it could no longer ignore facts that have been obvious to most scientists and public health officials for some time.

By WHO definitions, a pandemic is declared when at least two continents report "community-level outbreaks", in which some new infections cannot be traced to known cases.
snip

Why, then, has the WHO waited until now to make its move?

The first answer is that swine flu has become political. The United Nations body's member states, including Britain, have been urging caution, for fear that declaring a pandemic too early might provoke panic.
more
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:03:08 AM CDT

Confusion over Swine Flu "Pandemic"

Confusion over Swine Flu "Pandemic"
Photo: C. S. Goldsmith / Scanpix

Sweden's Public Health Minister Maria Larsson held a press conference Thursday afternoon telling the Swedes that there is no reason for alarm following the World Health Organisation's decision to declare a Swine(or Novel) Flu pandemic.

However the WHO denied that such an announcement has yet been made. Speaking to Swedish agency TT a spokesperson for the organisation said "That's news to me".
more
http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/inter...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:20:41 AM CDT

they jumped the gun

It's not formal till it's formally announced by the WHO.



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:24:53 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

They've hinted so much that now it's real

Was this their intent? Weighing pros and cons of how to warn ahead of time must've been an interesting conversation.

---

by: phytosleuth @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:52:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

it's being announced all over the networks now

so the press conference is just a formality.  But it's not yet appropriate for officials from governments to comment on it yet.  Cos it ain't official.  Just 'media reports'.  

;-)



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:55:32 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sounds official

From what I'm hearing on the news "first pandemic in 40 years", etc., it sounds official.

I thought I'd open up FW and see the swans flipped.

---

by: Clawdia @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:05:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Phase 6 has been so close now for so long it's a wonder the swans haven't started spinning n/t

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:11:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

UK - Scotland's swine flu total reaches 337

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/10...

Scotland has seen its number of swine flu cases rise to 337 after 26 new patients were announced.

The majority - 18 - of the new instances of the virus are in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Three new cases are in NHS Highland, two in NHS Lothian, and three in NHS Lanarkshire.

There are nine people being treated in hospital, all of them in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

A further probable case is being investigated in NHS Grampian in addition to the 659 possible cases being probed.

The announcement came as the World Health Organisation raised the threat level to "phase six", classifying swine flu as a global pandemic.

Scotland's swine flu strategy has been changed accordingly. Health experts will now use clinical diagnosis rather than laboratory tests in high probability cases. Dispensation of antiviral drugs will continue but be complemented by targeting those groups most at risk of contracting the virus.

cont.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:24:35 AM CDT

how many simultaneous users will there be? any bets? ;-)

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

---

by: lugon @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:31:01 AM CDT

Patients with flu fears, symptoms swamp ERs

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&si...

SALT LAKE CITY -- People complaining of the flu are flooding hospital emergency rooms in the Salt Lake Valley..

The situation became so serious on Monday the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray started turning away ambulances, sending them to other hospitals. That day, the emergency room saw 70 more patients than usual.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports in general, emergency rooms in the Salt Lake Valley are seeing 20 to 30 percent more patients right now.

Currently 71 people are hospitalized with the swine flu in the Salt Lake Valley. Doctors say the numbers might be peaking.

Health officials urge people with only minor symptoms to stay home.

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:33:24 AM CDT

Can your hospital take 71 extra people?

We have 86 beds here with 7 ventilators for a population of 82,000 people.

---

by: phytosleuth @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:55:11 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

NO! No way.

Really sick people in my community have to be medivac'd out. How many helicopters do you need to serve a significant number of sick people in a population of 26,000? When each helicopter can transport a grand total of one?

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:37:40 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

This "panic" started before WHO declared the Panic-demic!

So much for people thinking it was over...if something was panicking them despite the recent lack of media coverage, the proclamations that it was just like "ordinary flu", etc., I would guess that it was the severity of the flu itself driving these people to seek emergency care.

After reading all of the above commentary on today's news diary, it appears to me that already this flu is changing and becoming more virulent right before our eyes.

Is the "second wave" necessarily something with a gap between it and first wave, and then a dramatic increase, or might it be a more gradual ongoing change in lethality that more or less "sneaks up on us"?

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 14:42:40 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

well

"After reading all of the above commentary on today's news diary, it appears to me that already this flu is changing and becoming more virulent right before our eyes. "

there's really not a lot of data to support that. See NYC... they went through their ER phase as well. Now, all schools are open, and things seem pretty stable there. Not over though.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/ht...

Is the "second wave" necessarily something with a gap between it and first wave, and then a dramatic increase, or might it be a more gradual ongoing change in lethality that more or less "sneaks up on us"?

there are no rules that pandemics must obey, only three examples from the last century.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 16:58:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

NYC went through their first phase, and now all is pretty calm, true.

But I look at the situation in Northern Canada, and their "first phase" among the people of Manitoba is a whole lot more serious looking than the first phase among the New Yorkers was.  Australia and New Zealand cases seem a little more severe as well, from reports of hospitalizations. And even parts of the US that were later to be hit by the flu seem to be getting more severe cases and deaths than those states hit by the earlier stages of the flu pandemic. We have also had health authorities change the terminology from calling SF a "mild" to a "moderate" flu, haven't we? So that's the data I had in mind when I said this flu seems to be changing and becoming more virulent right before our eyes. And the more important question, related to that, is the second one. Are we moving into the "second wave" syndrome on a slow, gradually evolving basis rather than a sudden change? If so, we stand to end up like the frog in the pot of water that is slowly brought to a boil.  

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 22:32:32 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

good questions

I, for one, certainly don't have answers. I am reminded of the Maori and other native tribes elsewhere being hard hit in 1918.

---

by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 22:54:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Swine flu may have been in people in August

By MALCOLM RITTER (AP Science Writer)
From Associated Press
June 11, 2009 9:35 AM EDT

NEW YORK - Scientists say the swine flu virus may have jumped from pigs to people as early as last August. That's several months before it was reported in Mexico in April.

Scientists came up with a range of possible times for when the virus showed up in people. Their best estimate was that it happened this past January, but they also said it could have been last August.

Oliver Pybus of Oxford University, a co-author of the study, said it's also possible that the germ jumped to humans even before then. The study was published online Thursday by the journal Nature.

http://enews.earthlink.net/art...

United we stand: Divided we fall

http://cottontopssandbox.wordp...

---

by: cottontop @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:40:28 AM CDT

US - 2nd Mich. resident dies from H1N1 swine flu

http://www.wjr.com/Article.asp...

Michigan officials say a 58-year-old Roscommon County man is the state's second swine flu-related death.

The Michigan Department of Community Health said Thursday that the man died June 4. Lab results on Wednesday confirmed the H1N1 influenza virus.

The department says the man also had other underlying health conditions but did not release any additional information.

Michigan had 418 confirmed cases of swine flu as of Tuesday. A 53-year-old Macomb County woman died June 1 from complications of the virus.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 27 deaths from the infection in the United States as of June 5.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 10:45:25 AM CDT

Cal Stat Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
June 11, 2009

Rap video by nurses to promote hand sanitizing techniques.

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

---

by: History Lover @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:19:03 AM CDT

ROFLOL!! n/t

---

by: magdelaine @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:34:49 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

FL - Madeira Beach couple found dead had the flu, neighbors said

http://www2.tbo.com/content/20...

MADEIRA BEACH - A couple found dead together in their condominium had been suffering from a serious case of the flu, neighbors said.

Edwin and Louise Kaczmarski, both 65, were found dead in their condominium at the Madeira Beach Yacht Club on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Tess Orlando, a member of the board of directors at the 286-unit waterfront complex, said she and complex manager Tom Petty went to the couple's condominium unit to see whether they had returned from a trip to Pennsylvania to attend a classic car show.

Petty went in, saw the bodies and told Orlando to call 911, Orlando said.

Louise Kaczmarski was also on the condo board, and Orlando said she wanted to know whether Kaczmarski was going to attend a scheduled meeting.

"They both had the flu," Orlando said.

---

by: blackkitty @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:48:55 AM CDT

Sorry thats suppose to be PA

---

by: blackkitty @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:49:45 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wait no its not...whoops...lol

---

by: blackkitty @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 11:51:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

that is scary, found dead?

Sounds like the flu 'diagnosis' was just from the neighbor?

I'd like to see confirmation of cause of death, cos 2 people being found dead before they can get help, this is unusual.  Also the age group is unusual.



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:00:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Says they are

still investigating...

---

by: blackkitty @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:08:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

ok, thanks! n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:12:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Dying alone

If my Mom were sick, she'd never call anyone because she wouldn't want to bother them. Drives me nuts when I find out she's been sick and she hasn't told me. I'm not surprised at this.

It'd be a good idea for county health departments to encourage those who live alone to find a flu buddy.

---

by: phytosleuth @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 13:32:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes, that worries me...

Having just moved, alone, to a more rural area, and not knowing my neighbors well, it worries me that I know few people who would check on me (friends are all an hour away)... I would probably get some phone calls if I didn't return emails, eventually... but I am trying to make plans for friends to check in, at least by phone -- but all my friends seem to think I'm nuts over this flu! So, I have seriously considered each of my potential exposures (trips to towns/cities) in light of my isolation ... again, friends seem to think I'm over-reacting... but they have families/towns around them and I have never been alone and sick -- ever! (In fact, it really does prove the efficacy of isolation to me... because I've been out here almost 2 years and have gotten none of the crud that has been circulating the whole time!)

My only solution is to be sure I have a charged cell phone with me at all times.. to call 911... but I'm afraid we'll see more of these newscasts, unfortunately.
Cathy

Keep the information coming!

---

by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 13:46:32 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

cell phone recharge

Yes, you may want to have a solar charger for the cell phone.

Also, I haven't seen Eccles around here lately - I know he/she would remind us to crank our chargers and check the batteries in our CO/smoke detectors about now.


Be Prepared

---

by: DennisC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 13:54:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

These were obviously well to do people

Living in a condo at the yacht club.  They were apparently sick before returning from their trip to PA

That last time Orlando heard from Louise Kaczmarski was in an e-mail sent before the Kaczmarskis returned from their trip. Louise Kaczmarski, who had a heart condition, wrote, "I feel awful," Orlando said.

but why would they not seek medical help? Usually retired people of the middle class with medicare benefits etc would go to the doctor when ill. And there were two of them together, not one person living alone.

I'm guessing that they might have intended to go to their regular doctor as soon as they got home from PA, but after arriving home from the long drive went to bed and never got up again.  Of course that's presuming they drove...what if they took the plane or other public transportation? Yikes.  

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 14:52:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

CA, Alameda County reports second swine flu death

http://www.mercurynews.com/bre...

A middle-aged Alameda County man who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus died Wednesday, marking the second swine flu-related death in that county and the third in the Bay Area.

Alameda County Public Health Department spokeswoman Sherri Willis said the man who died Wednesday suffered from chronic health problems.

On Tuesday, county health officials announced the death of another middle-aged man who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus, and who also suffered from chronic health problems.

Last week, health officials in Contra Costa County announced that a 9-year-old girl in that county with H1N1 died May 29.
[snip]

WHO (202) 974-3459

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

---

by: Oremus @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:49:12 PM CDT

Swine flu strikes transplant centre

 
Swine flu strikes transplant centre
4:00AM Friday Jun 12, 2009
By Isaac Davison and Kara Segedin

Swine Flu

Auckland City Hospital was yesterday on high alert after a nurse and her son tested positive for swine flu.

Access to a ward was restricted and operations were postponed.

The Ministry of Health said mother and son returned positive results for influenza A after returning on Saturday from a family holiday in Britain.

The nurse worked a 12-hour shift at Auckland City Hospital's Ward 71 - the renal care and transplant centre - on Monday while the boy attended daycare.

The ward has been closed to new admissions and is operating under strict infection-control procedures.
more
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/n...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 12:57:24 PM CDT

see, the nightmare begins ;-( n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 13:03:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yeah, and maybe they need to rethink travel restrictions.

What is going to cost the economy more in the long run, lost dollars from tourism or the rapid spread of a severe flu pandemic that overwhelms health care systems and shuts down services and businesses worldwide on a grand scale?

Right now they are keeping quite a few seriously ill alive on ventilators and with tamiflu and other medical interventions. If the flu spreads so rapidly that it overwhelms hospitals, a lot of people will not be able to get that kind of care and will probably die at home like the florida couple.

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 14:57:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

the problem is

travel restrictions don't work.  They don't reduce spread.  They only delay it.  All the science points to that.  Now you may believe differently and I respect that, but I want to take this opportunity to clarify a few things, cos we have many new folks here.

The degree with which your community, and therefore yourself, is affected by the pandemic, depends on 2 things, AR and CFR,  You can reduce CFR by treatment, and you can reduce AR by social distancing.

There is an important difference between travel restrictions and social distancing, even though they may look somewhat similar.  Let me use an example to explain.  I can drive in my car for a thousand miles (ie travel freely) without infecting a single person, or I can go to a grocery store or movie theater on the next block and infect lots of people (ie social contact).

The key is to understand that the risk of infection is correlated to the number of close contacts.  On a community level, you can also say, the AR is related to the average number of close contacts that people make, on a day-to-day basis.

Here's a useful chart to illustrate the concept.  The left hand side is unmitigated.  The right hand side is when you use social distancing, so that on average people reduce the number of contacts by half (8 becomes 4).  You can see that the effect is dramatic!

Using social distancing (or NPI, or community mitigation) measures, what you are doing is reducing that average contact, and thereby slowing down the growth or accumulation of cases.  Which eases pressure on the system.

So the key thing to note is that it isn't the distance traveled that determines how many people get infected, but the number of close contacts.

If the virus has not yet entered a particular location that has distinct borders, eg a country, travel restrictions might delay the entry, but various models all show that even with 99% closure, all you get is a couple of weeks of delay in what is eventually inevitable.  But the cost, in economic and human terms, and in terms of the diverstion of attention and resources that could be better used, is astronomical, for such a low return.

That's for external travel restrictions.  Right now, the point is moot, for most countries, cos the virus is already everywhere.  What about internal travel restrictions, ie within a country?  The problem there is the absence of existing 'border' controls.  It may be different if you live in Hawaii, but for other states that have land borders with their neighbors, there really is no way to maintain a 99% restriction of travel, which as I said only buys you a small delay, but does not affect the eventual outcome, eg the no of deaths, which as I said is a function of AR and CFR.

For more information on this and other issues related to community mitigation, go here http://www.newfluwiki2.com/sho...



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:36:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Lets talk R=3

GW

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by: The Doctor @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 18:08:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the cogent info!

I have a question, tho it might be dumb: what effect does the wide global travel that is now the rule have on this "summer breather" that TPTB suggest we in the Northern Hemisphere might have until fall? Even if the flu season increases H1N1 more in the south, the fact that those from "flu-intensive" countries travel north daily seems to suggest that we are not at all "off the hook" (even assuming it might slow down on its own up here)... what do more experienced members think?
Cathy

Keep the information coming!

---

by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 20:25:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

With global travel...

we will have a steady to and fro of cases between the northern and southern hemisphere.  Cold areas of the southern hemisphere will act like wind driven forest fires throwing out sparks.  The northern hemisphere will be a steady and persistent burn until this fall, at which time the fires will flare up more strongly.  The equatorial regions will be somewhere in between due to the crowded living conditions and poor nutrition/medical care.  They will have a strong burn year round until everyone has been exposed.

 

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by: Okieman @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 21:17:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

what Okieman said ;-) n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Fri Jun 12, 2009 at 00:50:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I appreciate your points, however

In the first place I said "rapid spread" meaning that allowing free travel allows the more rapid spread, which would then result in more cases appearing at a given time, overloading hospitals, causing disruption of vital services and potentially leading to more deaths as the level of care goes down. All of these downsides can be attributed to having a too rapid spread, which is what we try to avoid. It is a given that we cannot stop the ultimate progress of a pandemic, but we have discussed ad infinitum, that the main purpose of social distancing is to SLOW the spread so that the infrastructure would have a better chance of adjusting and dealing with its effects, which is no small thing.

Secondly, regarding "close contacts" through travel: You use the example of driving your car 1000 miles, infecting no one. I am talking about airline travel, which is a whole different ballgame. If you put 200 people on an airplane for 8 hours you are going to get some very close contacts. One sick person will at the very least expose about 8 people nearby, and for hours. That sick person will also get up to use the rest room at least a couple of times, breathing on any number of people on route to and from his/her seat and also leaving a substantial number of virus particles on the door handle and other parts of that restroom. They will be exposing the flight attendants who handle their food trays, their pillows and blankets. So on that airplane flight you do have close contact. Then the 8 or 10 or more exposed potential carriers go off to whereever they are going....a hotel, a convention, family....and get even more close contacts in a whole new area.

Closing borders I agree is ineffective and also not that necessary, as we are back to the single car scenario of exposing no one. But mass transit of all kinds: trains, planes, ships and buses we might do well to severely limit if this disease gets any worse.

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 22:01:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Let me clarify ;-)

I think both of your questions are actually addressing the issue I tried to demonstrate with my comments above: the difference between travel restriction and social distancing.

Your second point first - yes, having 200 people on a plane will increase spread.  That is why we need social distancing ie people doing less activities that put them into close contact with lots of people.  I include air travel and mass transit as places where people come into close contact.  The mitigation that you can achieve with any intervention in the transportation sector, is IMO achieved by reduction of contact, ie more people opting out of mass transit.  

Note that say, hypothetically, instead of 200 people on a flight, you have 50 people instead.  Or maybe flights are not a good example, cos airlines tend to pack people to fill flights, for profit.  The reduction in contact may be most obvious in things like the metro.  During the height of the outbreak, Mexico city experienced some of the smoothest mass transit experiences they ever have - imagine having a whole coach to yourself, or just 2-3 people, instead of 100+ others!  Consider how much safer that trip would be for you, without having to stop the trains altogether.

Also, on the 8 hour flight part.  Suppose this is not a FLIGHT, but just 200 people sitting in close contact over 8 hours.  The transmission rate amount them (assuming similar degree of ventilation etc) would be the same whether the plane is flying or sitting on the tarmac.  So it isn't the traveling that is increasing transmission, but simply the fact that people are packed together.

Fundamentally, I don't think you and I disagree, it's just that conceptually I would classify having a lot of people taking mass transit as a problem that requires a social distancing solution, and not a travel restriction solution, bearing in mind that travel restriction implies a total stoppage of people entering or leaving an area which has profound consequences, while social distancing (eg simply having fewer people going on mass transit) will reduce the rate of growth of the epidemic and thus the impact, with lower disruption to people's lives.

Finally, I think it's extremely important to help the public understand, to make these distinctions so that they are empowered to make choices. Governments are not going to make mandatory bans, in general, simply because they can't enforce them, most of the time.  But when government gives out recommendations for social distancing, they really need to articulate these differences, so that people can make intelligent choices that protect themselves and their communities, while minimizing unnecessary adverse consequences.  Bear in mind that those adverse consequences, such as job loss if someone does not turn up for work, are suffered by the same people and the same communities as you are trying to protect.  So I believe they need to be given an educated choice, as to what kind of activities are relatively risky and which ones are not as risky.



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

---

by: SusanC @ Fri Jun 12, 2009 at 00:43:16 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Transplant Recipients - I Assume That is High Risk

The nurse worked a 12-hour shift at Auckland City Hospital's Ward 71 - the renal care and transplant centre - on Monday while the boy attended daycare.

Immune system suppression is part of the gig.  

Have to watch this one.  

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

---

by: Into The Woods @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 16:22:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

very high risk, on a good day n/t

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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 16:32:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

WHO declares H1N1 global pandemic, Egypt reports 2 new cases

By Yasmine Saleh
First Published: June 11, 2009
http://www.thedailynewsegypt.c...

CAIRO: The World Health Organization declared its first influenza pandemic in 40 years after an emergency meeting of scientific experts Thursday on a swine flu outbreak which has hit 74 countries.

On the same day, the Egyptian Ministry of Health reported two new cases of swine flu in Egypt, bringing the total to 12.

The wife of the American engineer who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus on Wednesday, also tested positive on Thursday, Abdel Rahman Shahin, official spokesperson of Ministry of Health said.

She is a 34-year-old Colombian citizen who arrived to Cairo from the United States with her husband on June 7. She is receiving treatment at Al-Sadr Hospital in Abbasiya with her husband.

Both husband and wife are in a stable condition, Shahin said.

The test results for the 20 people who have interacted with the couple since they came to Egypt came negative.

The second case is of one-and-a-half-year-old child, the son of the Egyptian man who tested positive for the virus in Alexandria on Wednesday, Shahin said.

The child arrived to Cairo from the US on June 7 and experienced flu-like symptoms while traveling to Alexandria. He was admitted to a hospital in the coastal city and tested positive for the virus.

According to Shahin, the child's condition is stable. His mother and all the people he interacted with, including those on the same flight to Egypt, are being tested. The results are yet to be announced.

The seven cases that were discovered earlier this week are all recovering, he said.

[snip]

In Egypt, rumors were spreading like wildfire, but officials were quick to respond.

Shahin denied rumors about the Ministry of Health's plans to close metro stations because of swine flu.

He also refuted rumors that suggested the ministry had closed down the McDonald's branch on Nasr Street in Maadi after one of its staff tested positive for the virus.

According to an official statement sent by McDonald's Egypt to Daily News Egypt, all shops and restaurants on Nasr Street were closed on Wednesday for one hour after an American engineer, who works in an oil company in Maadi, tested positive for the virus.

"We would like to state very clearly that McDonald's Maadi Branch has resumed operation [since Wednesday] and there have been no cases of H1N1 at any of McDonald's branches and that as standard our restaurants and all members of staff practice the highest standard of hygiene," the statement said.

"The current status of the disease [H1N1 flu] in Egypt does not require any special precautionary measure," Shahin said.

[snip]

---

by: Pixie @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:27:48 PM CDT

CDC: Swine flu pandemic level won't change efforts

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
Jun 11, 3:03 PM EDT
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/s...

ATLANTA (AP) -- U.S. health officials say they won't need to change their response now that swine flu has been declared a pandemic.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the government has already been treating the outbreak like a pandemic. Flu medicine has been sent out to states and money has been poured into a possible vaccination program.

Since the first cases of swine flu were reported in April, scientists have found the virus is not much worse than the seasonal flu.  

The CDC's new chief, Dr. Thomas Frieden, says that should help keep people from overreacting to the pandemic declaration.  

[snip]

---

by: Pixie @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:29:21 PM CDT

H1N1 hits nine in first outbreak in Tokyo school

Friday, June 12, 2009
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp...

The first H1N1 swine flu outbreak at a Tokyo school was confirmed Thursday after nine students at Seisoku High School in Minato Ward tested positive for the disease, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said the same day.

The private school said it would close for a week in an attempt to contain the outbreak. The infected students have not traveled abroad recently and the metropolitan government said it would investigate how they got infected.

New infections were also confirmed elsewhere Thursday, including the first case in Hokkaido, bringing the total number of people infected with the new flu in Japan to 543.

The H1N1 influenza A strain, or "shingata infuruenza" (new-type influenza), has not proved deadly in Japan, and its mild symptoms are treatable with commonly available flu drugs.

The Seisoku students - six boys and three girls - sometimes attended classes in the same room. They developed fevers but are recovering.

Meanwhile, 27 students at a Japanese school in Duesseldorf, Germany, have also contracted the new flu, the school said on its Web site. The school will suspend classes from Saturday to June 19 as instructed by health authorities.

---

by: Pixie @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:29:57 PM CDT

22 Madrid schools now hit by swine flu: Spain

Updated at: 0152 PST, Friday, June 12, 2009
http://www.geo.tv/6-12-2009/43...

MADRID: Spain said on Thursday that the number of schools in the Madrid region hit by swine flu has reached 22, with 139 children infected, as the World Health Organisation in Geneva declared a pandemic.

The children are among 488 people confirmed to have contracted the A(H1N1) virus throughout the country, the health ministry reported.

Most of the children infected in Madrid are at the Isaac Albeniz secondary school in the suburban town of Leganes.

Local authorities said on June 1 they believe the outbreak began with a girl at the school who apparently picked up the disease during a visit to the United States.

Since then, other schools in the town and in the capital itself have confirmed cases of the disease.

The total is up from 18 schools and 122 children reported by the ministry on Wednesday.

Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez also appealed for "calm" after the WHO said the crisis has escalated into the world's first influenza pandemic in 40 years, infecting tens of thousands of people in 74 countries.

As a result of the WHO's decision, she said the health ministry will focus on trying to contain the pandemic.  

But she recommended against closing schools and other public places that have been hit by the virus.  

Spain was the first European country to confirm a case of the A(H1N1) virus, and is second only to Britain in the total number of cases in the continent

---

by: Pixie @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:31:11 PM CDT

Canada (MB): WRHA cautions hospital visitors

" As Manitoba's number of H1N1 flu cases rose yesterday by 16, Winnipeg hospital visitors were urged to restrict visits to patients to avoid spreading the virus.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is posting signs at its medical centres and at care homes, advising visitors: "If you are not feeling well or have a fever, cough or body aches and tiredness, PLEASE DO NOT VISIT within our facility."

Jan Currie, WRHA chief nursing officer, said "those who have had the flu certainly should not come" if they were recently afflicted.

"In areas where people are isolated, we would have some further restrictions," she said..."

more... http://www.winnipegsun.com/new...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 15:59:59 PM CDT

Canada(MB): 'We're in a war zone': chief

Leaders of affected communities say health resources inadequate

"the chief of Garden Hill First Nation said his community lacks basic medical resources to cope with the crisis.

They don't have a full-time doctor or antivirals. They also don't have enough masks, medical gloves or sanitization equipment.

Manitoba Health is working to find an extra doctor to send to Garden Hill, but that may not happen until next week. It was only on Wednesday that First Nations Inuit Health decided to send hand sanitizers to First Nations communities, many of which don't have access to running water.

Dozens of First Nations residents have been medevaced to hospitals in Winnipeg with severe flu-like symptoms.

"We need to set up a temporary hospital base right within the region, that is what's urgently needed," Garden Hill Chief David Harper said Wednesday, referring to the Island Lake region that includes three other First Nations communities, including St. Theresa Point. Garden Hill has only a nursing station that shares a doctor with a neighbouring community.

"The amount of medevacs that we've had in one month would almost pay for a hospital. It would definitely pay for a hospital."

Harper said medical equipment such as masks, antivirals and sanitization equipment was ordered last week through the local nursing station but has not arrived. If it doesn't come soon, Harper said, he'll pay for the equipment out of his own pocket.

"Whatever it takes," he said. "We're in a war zone, we have to protect (our community). Especially our children and our elderly..."

..."Manitoba Health's assistant deputy minister, Terry Goertzen, said the department is trying to secure doctors who could be flown into the Island Lake region.

"I understand that we may have a physician resource secured for (Garden Hill) next week but I know that that's not good enough from a community perspective," he said.

Also Wednesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which is responsible for Winnipeg hospitals, announced new visitor guidelines.

"We certainly understand how difficult it is to stay away and not visit when someone is in hospital, but we're really asking that people who might have the flu certainly should not come if they've had the flu within the previous seven days," said Jan Currie, vice-president of the WRHA. Parents should also avoid bringing children under 12 to visit in the hospital because of their susceptibility to influenza."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:15:29 PM CDT

As Go the First Nations

so will likely go much of the Third World.  

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

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by: Into The Woods @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:50:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

so true

again, reminiscent of 1918.  The most horrific mortality figures were from India, Africa, etc.  

And that was before HIV/AIDS.



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

---

by: SusanC @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:51:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

"Asking" not to visit

In this situation, I'd be so far past 'asking' that people with the flu not visit that it wouldn't be funny.  There would be one family member allowed visitation privileges - and that person would be encouraged not to come and go, but rather to come and stay - and that would be the extent of visits.  These aren't normal circumstances, and people shouldn't act as though they were.

People don't have good sense, or you wouldn't have to even tell them not to bring children into a hospital at a time like this - the fact that it's necessary to say so, and to make that stipulation about visiting "if" you have the flu or have recently had it, is alarming in itself.

You shouldn't have to tell people to act like they have some sense . . .  

---

by: Clawdia @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 18:39:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Cognitive Dissonance and Ostriches

Ths is a message to myself and anyone else dealing with irritation and shock at how some people react or do not to these times.

Even before the massively unprofessional fudging of the pandemic awareness raising with novel H1N1 that we have just witnessed, people generally have to contend with garden variety cognitive dissonance.

They hear about sicknesses - malaria, ebola, necrotizing fascitis, in far away places, far from their uncomplicated 1st world lives.

Death is hidden from us as a society, illness too. We are supposed to want to be rich and live for ever (The American Dream).

When it comes time for some serious infectious shit to hit the fan, is it at all surprising that the same people do not have the cognitive or referential tools to grok it for real and then to live with it as a realized fact in their own lives 24/7?

That inertia is massive but hard to have much compassion for, I get that.

Never the less, its best we get beyond it and strive to empower everyone we know and reach (blogs etc) to make the transition from a life of blind faith in immortal and healthy lives as we are given to believe is our right here in the 1st world to one where we have found and use the tools necessary to protect ourselves and our community.  

Thats the least we can do, as those who have had time to really sit with the enormity of this sort of world change (as I have also with peak oil, peak food, middle class and financial collapse, and climate change)

---

by: nika @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 20:22:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

OK, State's first flu death in Kay County

http://www.arkcity.net/stories...

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) announced Monday that a 43-year-old male from Kay County is the state's first novel H1N1 influenza A (swine flu) death in the state.

According to the OSDH Web site, the patient had sought medical care for his flu symptoms but had not been hospitalized. He did have underlying chronic medical conditions, including asthma.

[snip]
State health officials report the new H1N1 flu virus continues to circulate in Oklahoma. Currently, 109 cases have been confirmed in the state, while one Oklahoman living out of state also has been confirmed with the disease. To date, 18 Oklahoma counties have reported one or more confirmed cases of novel influenza.

[continues]

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

---

by: Oremus @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:16:24 PM CDT

Canada: Swine flu count leaps to 143 in Nunavut

"Officials said 47 new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Nunavut on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections from the H1N1 influenza virus to 143.

Significant outbreaks of swine flu are reported in several communities in the western and central parts of the territory, health officials sated in a release Thursday afternoon.

As a result, the territory's Health Department has asked the Public Health Agency of Canada to send two field epidemiologists to Nunavut to help investigate the outbreak..."

..."While most of the 143 Nunavummiut with swine flu have recovered or are recovering at home, a total of 10 people have been hospitalized with the H1N1 influenza A virus, three more than on Wednesday. Eight of the patients have since been released from hospital, officials say.

As well, several other patients are hospitalized with flu-like conditions while officials await laboratory test results. Those patients report having pre-existing medical conditions, officials said...."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:44:39 PM CDT

Canada(Ont.): Patient with swine flu, 38, still in hospital

"The York Region woman who required critical care for swine flu at Markham Stouffville Hospital and later transferred to a Toronto hospital has not been discharged.

"She still remains hospitalized (in Toronto)," said Dr. Karim Kurji, medical officer of health for the York Region Public Health.

The woman, 38, one of only two confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in York Region that required hospitalization, was admitted to MSH about 20 days ago and moved to Toronto last week.

The other, a child, has been discharged.

Dr. Kurji said the woman exhibited no underlying medical condition.

"This particular individual had been doing particularly well in the beginning, that was important because most of the reports and literatures recited people with underlying medical condition," he said.

"Basically, the virus can actually affect healthy individuals seriously as well."

The number of confirmed cases in the region has grown to more than 260, said Dr. Kurji, but the vast majority of them have mild symptoms and most have recovered and are not infectious..."

http://www.georginaadvocate.co...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:48:07 PM CDT

Cmty Mitigation Dependent on Perception of Both Threat of Pandemic and Effectiveness of Mitigation Measures

Lay perceptions of the pandemic influenza threat
European Journal of Epidemiology
Jocelyn Raude1 and Michel Setbon
May 30, 2009

Abstract:
http://www.springerlink.com/co...

A national survey on the public perception of the pandemic threat was conducted in France during the summer of 2008. Although the majority of the respondents displayed beliefs and attitudes toward the pandemic threat that could be considered as adaptive in the face of an outbreak, our results suggest that there are identifiable needs for public information about the transmission and prevention of the disease.

Excerpt from free preview:

However, because of the lack of availability
of adequate vaccine at the start of the pandemic-and for
many months thereafter, non-pharmaceutical interventions
have been increasingly recognized as a critical part of
mitigation strategies in the epidemiological literature [1-
3].
...
However, the acceptance of, and adherence to these
public health measures by the population depends largely
on the way people perceive the pandemic influenza threat.
...
Among the most influential theoretical frameworks, the self regulation model posited that any perception of health threat incorporates a small number of structural factors, including nature, causation, consequences, control and fear. Evidence from many empirical studies provides strong support for a causal relation between these cognitive factors and a range of behavioral outcomes such as compliance with public health recommendations [7]. Moreover, public perceptions of a health threat have to include a perception of the risk and a perception of the effectiveness of the recommended actions in order to reduce the risk [8].

http://springerlink.com/conten...

Would love to see more of this study.

What it seems to indicate is that if community mitigation would be important in a moderate to severe pandemic wave, and if we actually have any intention of trying to achieve successful community mitigation, maybe we aught to be educating people and talking about potential effectiveness of community mitigation measures instead of surrendering to the percieved futility of controlling the whereabouts of school-age children.

Hat tip:  CIDRAP

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

---

by: Into The Woods @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:48:45 PM CDT

Number of A/H1N1 flu cases in India increases to 15

 Number of A/H1N1 flu cases in India increases to 15
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-12 00:45:26  

   NEW DELHI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Four more people were tested positive for the A/H1N1 flu virus in India Thursday, raising the total number of such cases in the country to 15, reported the semi-official Press Trust of India.

   In New Delhi, a 41-year-old woman, who traveled from Haiti, was the latest case of A/H1N1 flu and has been admitted to the designated Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, said the report.

   A 25-year-old woman, who traveled from New York to Delhi and reported fever and cough on Tuesday, has also tested positive, while the father of the 17-year-old student from Boston, who had also shown symptoms of the disease Wednesday, has tested negative for the virus, said the report.
mpore
http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:52:45 PM CDT

Canada: Manitoba reports 22 new H1N1 flu cases

..."provincial officials confirmed another 22 Manitobans tested positive for H1N1, including one additional patient admitted to intensive care.

Five of the new cases are from St. Theresa Point First Nation. A total of eight of the new cases are First Nations..."

..."A total of 78 Manitobans have tested positive for the virus."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:56:06 PM CDT

Canada(MB): Hydro staffer has serious H1N1 flu

"A Manitoba Hydro employee with a confirmed case of H1N1 virus is in serious condition in a Winnipeg hospital.

The man worked in the office at the Wuskwatim dam project and lived at the camp with 450 other hydro workers in Northern Manitoba, said spokesman Glenn Schneider.

"He was not feeling well and went to hospital in Thompson" in late May, said Schneider. He was transferred to hospital in Winnipeg where he was diagnosed as having the H1N1 flu, he said.

There have been no other cases reported among camp workers, Schneider said Thursday..."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 17:58:10 PM CDT

Canada: Ottawa raises prospect of closing clinics at epicentre of Manitoba flu outbreak

"Health Canada says it may have to close some medical stations in remote northern Manitoba reserves struggling with a severe flu outbreak if it can't find more nurses willing to work there.

The department has put out a tender for nurses to work in 24 isolated reserves, saying it is having "great difficulty" finding nurses to work up North.

"Health Canada is having great difficulty recruiting and retaining employed nurses in the nursing stations and two federal hospitals located in northern Manitoba on reserves," the tender states.

"Without adequate service, the nursing stations and hospitals may have to close for periods of time which could result in severe medical liability."

In an emailed statement, a spokeswomen for Health Canada said the tender has nothing to do with the current flu situation.

"The call for renewal is issued several months in advance of the expiry of the current standing offer to ensure that there is no interruption in relief nursing service," Christelle Legault said.

"To date, Health Canada has sufficient staff to meet the needs of First Nations communities in Manitoba."

But the prospect of losing the clinics at the frontline of Manitoba's severe flu outbreak horrifies those grappling with the illness.

"If they ever close the nursing station, I hope they open a hospital," said Garden Hill Chief David Harper. "It's tragic. The kind of service that we're getting up here is totally unacceptable..."

much more... http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...

unbelievable!
the gov. will wast millions airlifting people out of communities forever but can't build/maintain even a few small hospitals and nursing stations.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

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by: MaMa @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 18:06:59 PM CDT

Portland Oregon School Closure due to Swine Flu

http://www.katu.com/news/medic...

PORTLAND, Ore. - A private school in southwest Portland is canceling some of its classes on Friday after a student was diagnosed with swine flu.

The cancellations only affect grades one through eight at Catlin Gabel School.  Preschool students and high school students will still have class.

COMMENT: They're going to allow the preschoolers in, while closing the other grades?? This seems... well... dumb!
(note - as a newbie, I don't know how to post it to the upper list... sorry!)
Cathy

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 20:41:58 PM CDT

Don't siblings go to all grade levels? Doesn't make sense to me either.

Each level of the school has its own area, Wikipedia says.  Still siblings share viruses.  ??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...

Cathy, as posters, you and I don't have to do the upper list posting.  It's the hard-working wonderful Newsdiary folks who keep things organized.  I've been meaning to tell them  Thank you!! for a long time now.

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

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by: Jane @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 21:14:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks for clarifying! n/t

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 23:31:21 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

NYC: communications always an issue

story is about an 11 year old death in NYC.

Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr. of Queens said the public should be told if those who die after contracting the virus have pre-existing illnesses. Health officials have said that virtually all of those who have died had a condition that made them more susceptible to the flu.

But the officials have not specified those conditions, and the list of high-risk factors is so long - including heart disease, obesity and being older than 65 - that as many as one in three New Yorkers may have at least one.

"Why is the information about the people who have succumbed to this flu being kept secret?" Mr. Vallone asked.

The new health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, defended the city's reluctance to divulge details about people who have come down with the virus.

"We have to separate what's important for people to know and plan versus privacy," Dr. Farley said. "Specific medical information about individual patients will not change how an individual or an organization responds."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06...

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by: DemFromCT @ Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 22:57:09 PM CDT

Please post new news stories to...

 
News Reports for June 12, 2009

Thank you!

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 Jun 11, 2009 at 23:04:18 PM CDT

Well, Dem flipped the bird today!

After constantly watching for years for the development of a influenza virus to go pandemic, I missed the whole thing. I was with my mom at the hospital while she was having surgery.

I have now seen the number of articles and comments posted today and there is one thing for sure.....y'all did a fantastic job of covering the news and giving us a look into your feelings about all of this. Thank you and please keep doing what you are doing so well.

I will add this......strap on your seat belts and brace yourselves because we may be in for a long, hard, bumpy ride in the months to come!!!

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 Jun 11, 2009 at 23:07:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]