News Reports for November 29, 2009

China urges intensified supervision on A/H1N1 flu in animals

China's Ministry of Agriculture has called for intensified monitoring and investigation of A/H1N1 flu in animals after 2 samples from sick dogs were tested positive for the virus.

The veterinary clinic of College of Veterinary Medicine at the China Agricultural University reported Wednesday [25 Nov 2009] that 2 out of 52 samples from sick dogs were tested positive for A/H1N1 flu virus, (Snip)

Analysis of genetic composition found the virus detected in the samples and those found on human A/H1N1 flu cases were 99 percent homologous, it said.

The ministry urged local authorities to further enhance prevention and control, intensify monitoring and investigation in animal cases of A/H1N1 flu and closely watch the virus mutation situation in animals.

This adds another animal species to those already known to become infected by the influenza pandemic H1N1 virus. Thus far, pigs, turkeys, ferrets and cats have been reportedly infected. Most probably, those animals were infected from humans, though further animal-to-animal infection is, obviously, not excluded. http://apex.oracle.com/pls/otn...

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 @ Sat Nov 28, 2009 at 23:44:19 PM CST

Recombinomics: WHO Confirms D225G Vaccine Failure

One isolate from Ukraine with the mutation had changed so that swine flu vaccine probably would not protect against it well, Britain's national medical laboratory reported Friday. Flus mutate so fast, Dr. Fukuda cautioned, that announcing each change is "like reporting changes in the weather."

The above quote from tomorrow's NY Times piece by Donald McNeil, acknowledges the vaccine failure for viruses with D225G.  (snip) although WHO has publicly confirmed the failure, they don't think an announcement is required.  Thus, they continue to offer altering opinions on the significance of D225G, which directs H1N1 to the lung and was present in four of four fatalities in Ukraine.

The associate of D225G with the Ukraine fatalities led to a survey of samples in Norway, where D225G was found in three patients (two who died and 1 who was in serious condition).  Similarly, France found D225G in two fatal infections, including one who was Tamiflu resistant.

(snip) even though this change is drawing additional attention daily, WHO has taken a position that the vaccine failure against H1N1 with this D225G is not worthy of an announcement.

This mindset is significant cause for concern and is hazardous to the world's health. http://www.recombinomics.com/N...

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 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 00:02:14 AM CST

Tunisia: President Zein al-Abedin Bin Ali 'caught' the H1N1

Tunisian President Zein al -Abedin Bin Ali catches the H1N1 virus (swine flu) which transferred to him from his granddaughter.
Ben Ali's personal physician advised him to take "a period of five days' rest after an acute inflammation of the pharynx," Tunisian presidency spokesman said.
yesterday , two Spanish newspapers quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the Spanish King Juan Carlos' planned-visit to Tunisia was cancelled for this reason .
on the other hand, Tunisia officially cancelled the Haj season this year in order to control the spread of the  H1N1 virus.
Bin Ali, 73, has been leading the country since 1987, and won the fifth term of office last month with 89.62 percent of the vote

http://sns.sy/sns/?path=news/r...

"I have come to value liberated minds as the supreme good of life on earth."

epitaph on grave of J. Frank Dobie

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by: Joseph_Roehl_kiwiamerican @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 00:47:49 AM CST

Saudi Arabia: confirmation of 5th H1N1 victim at Haj

Pilgrim dies of H1N1
Hamid Al-Sulami | Arab News

MINA: A 70-year-old pilgrim from Pakistan died of swine flu, the Ministry of Health announced on Saturday.

An official source at the ministry said the pilgrim was suffering from high-blood pressure and diabetes and was rushed to an intensive care unit after he suffered a stroke, paralysis and blood poisoning.

The sources said in addition to all these diseases, the deceased contracted H1N1 virus and would not respond to medical treatment.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=...

"I have come to value liberated minds as the supreme good of life on earth."

epitaph on grave of J. Frank Dobie

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by: Joseph_Roehl_kiwiamerican @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:10:19 AM CST

H1N1 D225G mutation a reason of concern Part 1

http://www.examiner.com/x-2758...

The purpose of these series of articles on the mutation of H1N1 is to give our reader the most up to date information which will allow you to make good, sound educated decisions about your H1N1 flu prevention and care. This is part one of an ongoing series of articles on the mutations that are being reported within the H1N1 influenza virus. We want to be clear to our readers that these isolated mutations have not been transmitted human to human. However that does not mean it won't happen today or tomorrow or that it already has happened but hasn't been detected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)

[more]

Too much info to put here but there's some info from Dr. Anne Schuchat, info regarding influence of El Nino on the 1918 Pandemic, etc.

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 03:31:29 AM CST

H1N1 D225G mutation a reason of concern Part 2

http://www.examiner.com/x-2758...

This is part 2 of a multi part series on the mutation of the H1N1 influenza virus. Part one discussed the similarities of the D225G mutation of 2009 Pandemic to the D225G mutation found in the 1918 Pandemic. SEE PART 1 Also we discuss the similarities of severe symptoms and hemorrhagic pneumonia between the two pandemics. At this time all we have are similarities and more data is needed to see if the D225G mutation will lead to the catastrophic events of the 1918 Spanish Flu. What we do know is the D225G mutant strain acts in the host as it did in 1918 and we also know that the 1918 flu started off mild and few deaths and ended with severe symptoms and millions of death.

[more]

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 03:34:32 AM CST

Egypt announces death No. 21 swine flu of a young man from Helwan

11/29/2009 1:50:00 PM
Cairo - Editor  The Ministry of Health Sunday for No. 21 fatal virus, "said the 1 H-1" world-renowned swine flu.

According to a statement issued to the Ministry in this regard that the death was the new 28-year-old man from Helwan income Abbasid Fever Hospital on Nov. 24 suffering from respiratory disease and severe difficulty in breathing and was placed on a respirator.

The statement added that the patient was suffering from obesity and excessive tumor on the thyroid Alkrzip.

According to the latest WHO data, the disease has spread so far in more than 207 countries, while the number of confirmed cases of more than 622 thousand cases, while the number of deaths to the 7826 case.

The organization said that more than 1000 cases and deaths from the virus last week officially registered a sharp increase, mostly in the Americas region, which was their share of more than half of the deaths that have occurred recently.

Egypt reported its first death disease on July 19, and the disease has emerged in the country in the first of June.

Egypt is concerned, which lost much of its wealth of birds and poultry have been a number of deaths due to bird flu virus to the spread of new influenza virus rapidly in the country, which are crammed most of the population, numbering about 77 million people in the narrow Nile Valley and millions of them live in crowded slums.

Source: Middle East News Agency, Masrawy

translated
http://translate.google.com/tr...

orginal source
http://www.masrawy.com

United we stand: Divided we fall

http://cottontopssandbox.wordp...

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by: cottontop @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:32:12 AM CST

# 21 would be like eleven in the past five days.

Egypt reported its first A/H1N1 flu case on June 2, a 12-year-old Egyptian-American girl coming from the United States via the Netherlands.
---------------------------
CAIRO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Egypt reported Wednesday two more death cases of A/H1N1 flu, bringing the country's death toll from the virus to 13, said Egyptian Ministry of Health.

Up till now, Egypt has reported more than 3,145 cases of the novel flu in the most populous Arab country.
---------------------------------------
Egypt's own swine flu death toll jumped to 13 last week. The two latest deaths included the first man,
Shawqi Ibrahim El-Husseini, a 32-year-old who tested positive for the H1N1 virus and died on 21 November. El-Husseini was also suffering from advanced liver disease and pneumonia.

On 22 November 50-year-old Farha Mohamed from Fayoum governorate and Alexandrian Yousr Gaber who was nine months pregnant died as they both tested positive for the H1N1 virus. On 24 November Egypt reported its 13th case for a 24-year-old female from Giza governorate. According to Shahin, the woman was also suffering from chronic obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
---------------------------------------------
November 28, 2009
20 cases
Egyptian health ministry reported on Saturday the 20th fatality case due to H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu, with the victim being a 30-year-old man in the Egyptian capital.
The fatality case is the fourth today and the sixth since last night.

Read more: http://trancy.net/2009/11/28/n...

------------------------
MINA: A 70-year-old pilgrim from Pakistan died of swine flu, the Ministry of Health announced on Saturday.* An official source at the ministry said the pilgrim was suffering from high-blood pressure and diabetes and was rushed to an intensive care unit after he suffered a stroke, paralysis and blood poisoning.

* [NOV 28, 2009]
-------------------------

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:45:24 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Japan experts go to Canada to study flu vaccine reactions

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:19:00 11/29/2009

Filed Under: Health, Medical research

TOKYO- Japan sent a team of health experts Sunday to Canada to investigate allergic reactions to swine flu vaccinations from British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

The World Health Organization said last week that an unusual number of severe allergic reactions to swine flu vaccinations have been recorded in Canada, where a batch of the vaccine from GSK has been recalled.

The team from the health and welfare ministry was seen departing from Tokyo's Narita airport. It is scheduled to spend four days in Canada to study precautionary measures against allergic reactions.

full article
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/b...

United we stand: Divided we fall

http://cottontopssandbox.wordp...

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by: cottontop @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:46:17 AM CST

Vaccines slowly go high-tech

Companies work on more efficient production method, but don't hold your breath

After a lethal bird flu virus emerged in Asia, U.S. officials launched an intense effort to build new defenses against a pandemic, including replacing an antiquated vaccine system, which depends on millions of chicken eggs.

But six years later, as Americans from Washington, D.C., to California line up to get inoculated against the swine flu, the slow progress toward developing better ways to make a vaccine has become glaringly obvious.

This lag and the shortage of H1N1 vaccine have focused attention on the status of government efforts to develop state-of-the-art techniques to make flu and other vaccines, including those needed to protect against bioterrorism, and the nation's dependence on a process that is notoriously slow and unreliable.

Several new technologies are showing promise. Spurred by $487 million in federal funding, a sprawling new vaccine factory is opening in North Carolina this week that will produce shots using dog cells instead of chicken eggs. A Connecticut biotech company has also applied to sell a vaccine employing a radically different approach involving a genetically engineered virus infecting insect cells - a strategy a Rockville, Md., firm is testing to inoculate people against the swine flu in Mexico. Dozens of other high-tech approaches are also moving through the pipeline.

MORE AT:
http://www.tennessean.com/arti...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 09:12:37 AM CST

GRAPHIC; Three ways to make a vaccine

http://www.tennessean.com/asse...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 09:13:51 AM CST

Azerbaijan: Situation in connection with "Bird flu" is stable in Azerbaijan - Veterinary service

28.11.2009 16:31
Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.26 / Trend Capital, U.Ismayilova /

The situation with "Bird flu" is stable in Azerbaijan, the State Veterinary Service under the Azerbaijani Agriculture Ministry said.

The Veterinary Service has conducted laboratory tests of the pathological material of 18 wild birds and 8 poultry during monitoring on the "Bird flu". The laboratory blood tests of 1,772 poultry were also conducted.

"None of results of laboratory tests confirmed the bird flu virus of birds, which analyses were checked in the Veterinary Service's laboratories," the Ministry said.

The monitoring was held in the areas where migrant birds temporary inhabit. These areas include the Absheron Peninsula, the regions of Davachi, Salyan, Agjabadi and Lankaran, as well as the national parks and reserves in the coastal zones and other areas. Neither sick nor dead birds have been revealed in these areas.

http://en.trend.az/capital/agr...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 09:29:54 AM CST

Azerbaijan keeps issuing these "denial updates"...

For a while it was "we don't have any swine flu" almost weekly, and now it's "we don't have any bird flu"... makes ya wonder, don't it??

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 13:04:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Azeri's seem to have instituted a news blackout. n/t

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 17:12:39 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Texas local official calls for wider vaccination against A/H1N1 flu

HOUSTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A health official in the U.S. Texas state called on Saturday for the federal government to allow wider distribution of the A/H1N1 flu vaccine, particularly as more vaccine appears to be headed toward North Texas pharmacies this week.

   With a population of 2.4 million, Dallas County, in northeast Texas, has received a total of 439,000 A/H1N1 vaccine doses for distribution to the high-risk groups.

   Zachary Thompson, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, said he was concerned that the vaccine supply had not found enough takers among the targeted high-risk groups.

   "It's time for the federal government to open it up beyond the priority groups," Thompson said.

   For now, the CDC recommends giving the vaccine only to people in high-risk groups, including pregnant women, young people between the ages of six months and 24 years old, and people aged from 25 to 64 who have underlying health problems such as diabetes.

   Thompson said it was time for a broader vaccination effort before public interest waned.

   "We could end up throwing away a lot of vaccine," he warned. "I think we have to open it up, and we need to act on that quickly."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 09:56:18 AM CST

France struggles to cope with surge in flu vaccine demand

Vaccination centres across France are facing endless queues of anxious patients as the number of people seeking to be vaccinated against swine flu rose sharply in the past week. The army's health service has been called in to help meet demand.

AFP - French authorities said Saturday they were calling in the army's health services to meet a surge in demand for vaccinations against swine flu, which has killed 30 people in the country.

Mass vaccination centres opened on November 12 but "since last week, the number of people seeking to be vaccinated against the A(H1N1) virus has been sharply increasing," the health and interior ministries said in a statement.

"The army's health services will be called as back-up," it said.

Medical students and in-house company doctors will also help meet high demand for the vaccination, the statement added.

The ministries said local authorities had been told to extend opening hours and increase capacity to cope with the surge in demand.

Police officials in Paris said Saturday that they would double capacity in each of the French capital's 12 vaccination centres by "the middle of next week."

The number of people receiving the jab each day has risen from an average of 1,000 at the start of the campaign to around 4,000 this week, Paris police said in a statement.

http://www.france24.com/en/200...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:17:04 AM CST

More than 1,000 deaths in past week from H1N1: WHO

Sun, Nov 29th, 2009 6:08 pm BdST

GENEVA Nov 29, (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - More than 1,000 deaths from the H1N1 swine flu virus were officially reported in the past week, a sharp rise which brings the global total to at least 7,826, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

More than half of the latest fatalities were reported by health authorities in the Americas region.

The winter flu season arrived early in the northern hemisphere this year and continues to be intense across parts of North America and much of Europe.

"In the United States and Canada, influenza transmission remains very active and geographically widespread," the WHO said, adding that the disease now appeared to have peaked in all U.S. regions.

"In Canada, influenza activity remains similar but (the) number of Hospitalizations and deaths is increasing," it said.

It is too early to say whether there has yet been a peak in infections in the northern hemisphere, the WHO's top flu expert said on Thursday, and it will be some weeks before there is a downward trend in the numbers of those catching the virus.

The H1N1 pandemic virus is causing widespread and increasing infections in Europe, with many reporting a rapid rise.

Sweden, Norway, Moldova and Italy are reporting "very high activity" and health care services are reeling under the strain in Albania and Moldova, it said. Flu has peaked in other European countries including Belgium, Ireland and Serbia.

http://www.bdnews24.com/detail...

 

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:21:24 AM CST

Swine flu mutations spreading in Europe - WHO

PARIS - Swine flu virus mutations are spreading in Europe, French health officials said Friday as the World Health Organization reported a leap in deaths from the disease by more than 1,000 in a week.

Two patients who were infected by a mutation that was also recently detected in Norway have died in France, the government's Health Surveillance Institute (InVS) said in a statement.

"This mutation could increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracts and, in particular, the lung tissue," said a statement from "For one of these patients, this mutation was accompanied by another mutation known to confer resistance to oseltamivir,"...

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/b...


The beatings will continue until morale improves.

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by: iwrote1 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:40:46 AM CST

Flu shot remains dilemma for many

The vaccine for swine flu is starting to become more available, the seasonal flu vaccine is still scarce, and confusion is still floating through the air.

Who should get an H1N1 shot? Is all the media attention to swine flu just hype? If the flu is mild, why bother getting vaccinated?

Reactions to the pandemic vary, with many seemingly unaffected and others taking strict precautions.

Sasha Burruss of New Haven is among those who are being careful. "I have two small children, 3 and 2, and I pretty much have kept them in the house," she said.

The danger of children spreading flu germs has prompted Yale-New Haven and Saint Raphael's hospitals to ban children under 18 from visiting.

"I recently went to visit a friend who had a baby and I couldn't bring my children, so that alarmed me," Burruss said.

Some, though, have responded only with simple precautions, such as more frequent use of hand sanitizer.

SNIP>

Part of the problem is that people don't realize what life was like before there were vaccines for polio, mumps, measles and other diseases.

"We live in a vaccine age, and a fair number of people don't remember what these diseases were like before vaccines," Dembry said.

In the case of swine flu, there was a problem in 1976, when 1,098 people came down with Guillain-Barr[e] syndrome. Some attributed the problem to the swine flu shots, which were given to 48 million people.

There have been no problems with flu vaccines since then.

Dr. Robert Baltimore, specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the Yale School of Medicine, said of this year's vaccine, "I don't think that there's very good evidence that it's similar (to 1976). It's a different bug and the vaccine is made in a different way, because vaccine production has changed."

H1N1 now is manufactured the same way seasonal vaccine is, in "exactly the same plant, using exactly the same methods" of culturing in chicken eggs, Dembry said. Still, the swine flu vaccine has been slow in arriving.

For some unexpected reason, the eggs only produce one dose of H1N1 vaccine each, rather than the four doses yielded by seasonal flu vaccine.

http://www.nhregister.com/arti...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:15:22 AM CST

H1N1 outbreak helping us learn about immunity

OPINION
By Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband

One of the profound mysteries of medicine is why in the midst of an epidemic some people become severely ill and die while others remain unscathed.

During the great plagues of past centuries, like the Black Death, smallpox and yellow fever, the answer was often cast in religious terms: Survival was a miracle and succumbing was a punishment. During this influenza pandemic of H1N1, doctors and health officials invoke "underlying conditions." This phrase, now so ubiquitous in news reports, is rightly understood to mean concurrent medical problems like diabetes and lung disease. But such underlying conditions are only part of the mystery of why this flu is so mild for some and so serious for others.

When faced with a new infectious outbreak, clinicians treat the sick while epidemiologists collect data on their characteristics: their age, gender, ethnic background, medical history, current medications and social factors like where they traveled and whom they contacted. Early in the H1N1 epidemic, health experts had an advantage in identifying risk factors for severe disease because past cases of seasonal influenza proved, in part, to be prologue. Familiar predisposing conditions like chronic lung disease, diabetes, heart trouble, immunosuppressive disorders and pregnancy were present in many early deaths.

With that knowledge, health officials tried to help the public find the midpoint between complacency and panic. But they were somewhat hamstrung in providing details about individual deaths in order to protect the confidentiality of patients and families; so in many instances, officials resorted to using that general phrase underlying conditions as an explanation. The result was that people who had such conditions appropriately felt increased concern while those without them felt a greater level of comfort...

THERE IS MORE AT:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser....

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:09:08 PM CST

Webcast 11/30: Markel, Stern, Cetron on planning for a pandemic

Title:
Planning for a Pandemic - Can History Inform Action?
Date/Time:
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 1:00 PM (EST)
Speakers:
Howard Markel, MD, PhD
George E. Wantz Professor of The History of Medicine, University of Michigan
Alexandra Stern, PhD
Zina Pitcher Collegiate Professor in The History Of Medicine, University Of Michigan
Marty Cetron, MD
Ronald H. Lauterstein Professor Director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The next PHR Meet the Author web cast series brings together public health historians and practitioners to connect the U.S. experience of the 1918 flu pandemic to the ongoing practice issues facing influenza preparedness planning.
The program will address cutting-edge questions including:
•   How did diverse communities and local leaders respond to the 1918 flu?
•   How can these responses inform contemporary planning?
•   How are these lessons being applied to inform the U.S. response to H1N1?
•   What are the implications for planning at the local level, both in urban and rural America?

Space is limited. [snip]

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

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by: Jane @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:39:34 PM CST

link

http://www.publichealthreports...

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

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by: Jane @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:40:48 PM CST

[ Parent ]

more

Respondents will include Dr. David Rosner, Ronald H. Lauterstein professor of sociomedical sciences and history, who will speak on implications for cities; and Mr. Michael Meit, director of the Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis at the National Opinion Research Center, who will speak on implications for rural areas.

http://www.asph.org/fridaylett...

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

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by: Jane @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:45:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Haj winds up without mass swine flu outbreak

MECCA - The annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage to Mecca wound up on Sunday without the feared mass outbreak of swine flu, Saudi authorities said, reporting a total of five deaths and 73 proven cases.

Five pilgrims died from the A(H1N1) flu virus during the hajj, Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabeeah said, as around 2.3 million pilgrims began an exodus from Mecca, the home in western Saudi Arabia of Islam's holiest site.

Rabeeah said there had been no other serious health problems.

"It gives me pleasure to announce ... that the hajj of 2009 was free from any outbreak of disease or epidemic," the minister said, quoted by the official Saudi news agency SPA.

http://business.maktoob.com/20...

COMMENT: Overly optimistic indeed. Tune in next week,  

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:55:35 PM CST

Further down in the article

Despite the relatively minor impact of the virus during the hajj, some experts warn it is likely spreading silently among pilgrims-and the true extent of the push that hajj has given to the virus won't be known until later, after the faithful have returned to their home countries around the world.

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 22:32:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Slovenia: Third Swine Flu Death in Slovenia

Slovenj Gradec, 29 November (STA) - A 42-year-old man infected with the H1N1 virus died in the Slovenj Gradec hospital on Saturday.

...serious bacterial pneumonia and sepsis
http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:59:40 PM CST

Slovenia: Another Person Dies of Swine Flu

Ljubljana, 29 November (STA) - Another person died as a result of swine flu at the Ljubljana UKC hospital on Sunday, the hospital confirmed. This is the second H1N1 virus-related death case in as many days and the fourth overall...

http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 13:01:15 PM CST

Virology journal: Echinacea and flu

Anti-viral properties and mode of action of standardized Echinacea purpurea extract against highly pathogenic avian Influenza virus (H5N1, H7N7) and swine-origin H1N1 (S-OIV)

Human H1N1-type IV, highly pathogenic avian IV (HPAIV) of the H5- and H7-types, as well as swine origin IV (S-OIV, H1N1), were all inactivated in cell culture assays by the EF preparation at concentrations ranging from the recommended dose for oral consumption to several orders of magnitude lower.

http://www.virologyj.com/conte...

Cell culture assays means in the lab, rather than in patients, doesn't it?  Anyhow, the conclusion was that echinacea extract might be useful.  The reason to study echinacea was as an alternative treatment in case Tamiflu-resistant strains of flu appear.

Conclusions

As a result of these investigations, we believe that this standard Echinacea preparation, used at the recommended dose for oral consumption, could be a useful, readily available and affordable addition to existing control options for IV replication and dissemination.

 

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

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by: Jane @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 14:52:54 PM CST

H1N1 vaccine: It's hard to prioritize in person

H1N1 vaccine: It's hard to prioritize in person
The shortage of doses has led to confrontations with patients who insist on getting it when they find their doctor has some.
By Marc Siegel The Unreal World

November 30, 2009

With the unanticipated shortage of the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine, my life as a practicing internist suddenly changed. My office phone began ringing off the hook with worried calls. Fear of the new, unknown vaccine was suddenly replaced by fear of not having it.

This panic was overblown, as the H1N1 flu has been mild in the vast majority of cases.

I contacted the director of the Citywide Immunization Registry in New York, and by late October I was able to procure a small supply (100 doses) of both the inhaled live (but weakened) virus vaccine as well as the injected one made from dead virus. Though I wasn't advertising it, word that I had it soon spread among my patients and friends.
more
http://www.latimes.com/feature...

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

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by: mojo @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 14:54:18 PM CST

Effect Measure: Pics of the flu virus and some its components

http://scienceblogs.com/effect...

[note: the images look like something out of Alien! Yerggg!]

We talk so much about the flu virus we thought we'd show you some nice pics that CDC has just put up. This is a review for many of you put reviews are always helpful. In these three pics, only one is the actual swine flu virus, the other two being "cartoon" depictions of a generic influenza virus. The cartoons are quite nice and helpful to see what you are looking at in the electron micrograph of influenza virions (virus particles), probably grown in tissue culture. I say "probably" because there is no other information on the site other than the micrograph was taken in the CDC Influenza Laboratory, but when the virus grows in your lungs it usually isn't nice and spherical like this but assumes many shapes, often elongated and strand-like. Looking at the photomicrograph, though, you see the essentials.

[more]

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 15:43:49 PM CST

British Columbia: WHO monitors for H1N1 at '12 games

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The World Health Organization is sending a representative to the 2010 Winter Olympics to monitor for potential disease outbreaks, and organizers and health experts have taken steps to protect against the H1N1 virus.

Planning for any impact H1N1 could have on the games has been under way since April, when British Columbia health officials increased the stockpile of antiviral drugs available in the province, according to briefing notes released under an Access to Information request. The WHO declared an official global pandemic in June.

Most athletes, officials and spectators are expected to be vaccinated against H1N1 by the time the Winter Olympics begin in February.

"If the vaccination rate is high enough, I don't think H1N1 is going to be a risk," said Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, the agency overseeing health services for the Olympics.

British Columbia's provincial health officer said the original supply was boosted by 3 million doses, bringing the total amount available to 10 million.

About 250,000 spectators are expected at the games, and there will be about 10,000 media members, and 5,000 athletes and officials.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 15:46:54 PM CST

Second wave of H1N1 pandemic may have peaked: health officials

The second wave of the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century may have peaked in Canada, according to a new analysis of flu activity nationwide.

The number of hospitalized cases, admissions to intensive-care units and deaths decreased in the week ending Nov. 21, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in its latest surveillance report.

The proportion of tests that were positive for flu was 34 per cent, lower than the three previous weeks. And, while the rate of flu-like illness is still much higher than expected for this time of year, every measure used to monitor the pandemic indicates flu activity is falling.

According to the report, "A possible epidemic peak has been reached by all provinces and territories."

University of Ottawa virologist Earl Brown said he is hopeful the trend will continue, "and we will not see further large increases in infection."

People should still expect to see low levels of activity as the winter proceeds, he said.

But the growing number of resistant people in the population, either because they were exposed to human swine flu or are being vaccinated against it, could "break the back of the pandemic" he said, "and leave most of the rest of us unscathed."

As recently as last Wednesday, federal officials said that while the number of H1N1 cases was "levelling off" in some parts of the country, the peak of the second wave had not yet been reached, and warned Canadians against becoming complacent.

http://www.canada.com/health/S...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 15:58:50 PM CST

Qatar: Health centres see huge rush for H1N1 jabs

Web posted at: 11/29/2009 5:23:48
Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Some of the primary health centres, offering vaccination against H1N1 had run out of stocks as the campaign has triggered a tremendous response from families, sources from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) have said.

SCH has designated 10 primary health centres located in various parts of the country for the vaccination during the Eid Al Adha holidays.

"We have received a very good response from families over the past two days. Some health centres had run out of stocks, following a huge demand for the vaccine," a senior SCH official told this newspaper yesterday.

He said children and families have been given priority in the current phase of the campaign. After the Eid holidays, the vaccine will be made available for all in their respective health centres.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.c...

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HMC emergency reports rise in stomach ailments

DOHA: The Emergency Department at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has reported a sudden rise in stomach complaints during Eid Al Adha holidays which is attributed to over consumption of meat, sweets etc.

The Department yesterday received an overwhelming number of 1,727 cases - one of the highest reported on a single day. Of these, 860 cases were related with stomach upset.

Consumption of meat goes up manifold during Eid Al Adha holidays, as the sacrificial meat is widely distributed among the public. Meat is also essential part of the food for a number of nationals and residents who go for camping in the deserts and beaches during the holidays. Consumption of sweets and pastries also sees a rise during the festival.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.c...

COMMENT: Related to influenza? Maybe.

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 16:14:53 PM CST

BTW : Qatar said "swine flu free" on Nov 8 n/t

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 16:33:49 PM CST

[ Parent ]

sorry-incorrect date

(the date was August 6th, and free of bird flu too.)

SUPREME COUNCIL FOR HEALTH: QATAR IS FREE OF SWINE FLU.

Doha: QNA 8/6/2009: An official source at the Supreme Council for Public Health has stated that Qatar is free of both bird and Swine flu and that concerned Council departments will keep the public immediately informed should any cases of the disease occur. The source added that all concerned council departments are on stand by to tackle any emergency in this regard.

An official source at the Council has meanwhile said that the Council is working in close contact with concerned World Health Organization departments and other regional organs in monitoring and reporting on the situation in the country.
AND ALL SAID...official source also urged the public to be aware of unfounded rumours spread by irresponsible individuals in the country stressing that such rumours should verified with the Council.  

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 16:51:17 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Link to the Supreme Council

http://www.nhrc-qa.org/en/news...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 16:52:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

'No Iranian pilgrim has contracted swine flu'

No Iranian Hajj pilgrim has been infected with the A/H1N1 virus, the Leader's representative for Hajj Affairs, Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri, says.

"Fortunately, no Iranian Hajj pilgrim has been diagnosed with the common symptoms of swine flu," Reyshahri told reporters during a visit to the Iranian Red Crescent Medical Center for the Hajj Organization in Mena, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.

Reyshahri asked Iranian officials not to unduly distress the Iranian public over swine flu.

On Wednesday, Iran's Minister of Health, Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi, said that all Iranian Hajj pilgrims will be examined at both the airports in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

She further added that more than a million Iranians across the country have tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus infection.

According to Vahid-Dastjerdi, Iran will face a new wave of swine flu as the weather gets colder and as Iranian Hajj pilgrims return home from Saudi Arabia.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.a...

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 16:59:42 PM CST

They need a reality check -

The word "yet" needs to be in there somewhere.

Even then, I'd be suspicious as to the truth of it.

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by: Clawdia @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 17:03:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh yes, do not want to unduly distress the Iranian public;( n/t

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by: Mr White42 @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 17:15:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Australia: daughter's legs amputated, dad dying of cancer, housing needed

TERRY Summersides has spent the past week desperately trying to find his daughter Fiona somewhere to live.

Fiona had both her legs amputated last week in the wake of an horrific battle against swine flu.

Tomorrow, Mr Summersides will begin a six-week course of intensive radio-chemotherapy.

He has already had all his teeth removed and will undergo a tracheotomy - a tube inserted into his throat and a feeding tube into his stomach.

The treatment means he will be unable to care for Fiona and there is no guarantee he will even survive the chemo, so he is desperate to find her somewhere to live.

The family can no longer afford their rented Wurtulla home and Fiona needs to be close to Caloundra Hospital for rehabilitation.

"I've got to get my daughter set up with a house," a desperate Mr Summersides said. "I could be gone in five weeks or five months so I have to try.

"She still has to get through rehabilitation and try to walk and I'm going to have to move to Brisbane for radiation chemo."

The Sunshine Coast Daily is setting up an appeal for the family. If you would like to help, email your name, contact details and offer of assistance to editorial@scnews.com.au or phone (07) 54308058.

As Fiona relied on her doting father during her traumatic battle with illness, neither of them realised there was a cancer growing inside his head. It began in his jawline and spread behind his ear and up the back of his skull.

He was told it had been growing for up to three years but went unnoticed until a dentist referred him to a specialist for treatment of an ongoing toothache. That was two weeks ago.

On Monday last week - the same day Fiona's legs were amputated - he had his teeth removed because the chemotherapy would cause them to crumble.

Fiona has been constantly resting since she was released from hospital on Saturday and her father is weak and haggard as the cancer ravages his insides.

He has dropped 20kg in two months and now sounds more like an elderly man than a 51-year-old. "(Since her surgery) I have only been able to speak with her for five minutes at a time, I'm so tired," he said.

"She doesn't cry in front of me but you can see the pain in her eyes. I'd like to see her set up in a little townhouse near the hospital facility that she needs for the next 12 months.

"But she won't have enough to pay the rent and get herself to rehab...

http://www.noosanews.com.au/st...

"I have come to value liberated minds as the supreme good of life on earth."

epitaph on grave of J. Frank Dobie

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by: Joseph_Roehl_kiwiamerican @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 18:27:11 PM CST

Greece: confirmation of 16 deaths in total thus far from H1N1

Two more people who had contracted swine flu have died, officials said yesterday, taking to 16 the total number of H1N1 sufferers who have died in Greece. Only two of these people did not have underlying health problems. The latest victims were a 42-year-old man who had already been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and a 26-year-old man who was diagnosed as obese. Officials have warned that anyone weighing 140 kilos or more is particularly at risk from the virus. On Thursday, the 1135 helpline had received almost 20,000 inquiries in less than 24 hours.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4d...

"I have come to value liberated minds as the supreme good of life on earth."

epitaph on grave of J. Frank Dobie

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by: Joseph_Roehl_kiwiamerican @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 18:41:01 PM CST

Mutation may be selected for by ineffective vaccine

Antigenic characterisation:
A/California/7/2009 like. Low reactor

The above isolate has only one amino acid change in HA, D225G, which strongly implicates D225G in the low reactor results.  A low reactor reduces the titer by four fold or more, which signals a mismatch. Mismatched vaccine create the potential for the section of the variant, which could create problems... SNIP...the first matching sub-clade isolate in Norway was a mixture of D225G and wild  type....SNIP

The ratio of D225G to wild type would increase under vaccine selection pressure, as indicated by the "low reactor" status of the isolate above
http://www.recombinomics.com/N...

my comment: What I believe this means is as we vaccinate tens of millions of people ww with the current vaccine, we prevent only the wild type from infecting them. This then allows the D225G variant to become predominant. As it is also potentially more deadly due to its ability to bind to alveolar cells, then we may see a third wave that is far more virulent, one that we have created ourselves by this selective pressure. If this variant is also coupled with tamiflu resistance - which widespread use of tamiflu also selects for - then it gets even worse.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 19:43:06 PM CST

Unvaccinated people would be vulnerable to both types.

Could they get either, or both?  I don't think I understand the "selective pressure" concept.  If the vaccine prevents catching the wild type, wouldn't the unvaccinated person who catches the wild type still be vulnerable to the variant?

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

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by: Jane @ Mon Nov 30, 2009 at 10:14:20 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The vaccine prevents the wild type from infecting hosts and spreading.

It is much much less successful at preventing the mutant variety from infecting, as much fewer antibodies are made against it. Thus the mutant has the edge, as it can infect both vaccinated and unvaccinated people whereas the wild type can infect only the unvaccinated. Over time, you get more and more of the mutant variety and less of the wild type. That is selective pressure: the vaccine "selects" for the mutant by preventing the growth and spread of it's competitor, the wild type.

And the more people that are vaccinated, the greater the edge given to the mutant.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Mon Nov 30, 2009 at 23:23:59 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Actually, the "low reactor" status of D225G is, I believe, irrespective of vaccination

That is, the mutant virus stimulates only about 1/4 the number of antibodies against it that the wild type virus does in an unvaccinated person, hence the body can't fight it off nearly as well...which may be one reason it is making its victims sicker than the wild type generally does. No defenses.  This doesn't necessarily give it an edge, however, because sicker (or dead) victims are less able to get around spreading the little virus particles to everyone they cough on than are those with a very mild case.

Now if one is vaccinated against the wild type virus, that will stimulate antibody production against the wild type, so you won't get that strain at all (you hope). The question is, will these antibodies be effective against the mutant strain? I think the verdict is still out on that, but if they are not then you have the selection process described above wherein you will get more and more of the mutant strain infecting the populace and less and less of the wild type. And since it is a low reactor, people will be less able to fight it off and be sicker longer which might aid the spread.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Tue Dec 01, 2009 at 00:09:31 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for November 30, 2009

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 23:01:26 PM CST