News Reports for May 20, 2012

Public weighs in on pandemic antiviral distribution

May 18, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - The Institute of Medicine (IOM) yesterday shared findings of three public opinion panels on antiviral distribution during a flu pandemic, including a nod for establishing diverse alternative strategies and support for Web and cell-phone information.

The exercises were conducted by the IOM's preparedness forum based on a request from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Though CDC officials haven't finalized any alternative distribution strategies, the exercises also provided a glimpse of some options they're considering.

Panel discussions took place in February and March in three locations designed to reflect diverse parts of the country and different population groups. A session in Fort Benton, Mont., included residents from rural areas, including some from two local Hutterite communities. The one in Chattanooga, Tenn., featured a wide range of ages and reflected the city's African American demographic profile. The workshop in Los Angeles included both blacks and Hispanics and included a number of uninsured people. All together, the 4-hour workshops involved 232 members of the public, who were given a $50 stipend for their participation.

During a severe flu pandemic, health officials predict that about 30% of the population would get sick over 12 to 18 months, which could overwhelm the usual medication-prescribing systems and slow access to medications that need to be taken within 48 hours to maximize their benefit.

The IOM asked participants to consider three alternate distribution methods:

-Nurse triage hotlines in which nurses assess callers' symptoms and transmit a prescription, if needed, to the patient's pharmacy

-Antiviral pick up and delivery by community contacts geared toward people who have been prescribed antivirals

-Pharmacists prescribing antivirals under collaborative practice agreements

The CDC also asked the IOM to collect feedback from the public on communication issues surrounding pandemic flu and its treatment. The feedback focused on use of a Web-based tool to help people decide when to seek medical care and a text message tool to provide additional follow-up information to people who have been prescribed antivirals.

Continued with much more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/may1812public.html

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 05:05:15 AM UTC

US flu activity continues its spring decline

CIDRAP: Influenza activity continued to decline in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its weekly update today, with only one state - New York - reporting geographically widespread activity. The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 1.2% for the week ending May 12, down from 1.4% the week before but well below the national baseline of 2.4%. (Snip) 6.1% of reported deaths were caused by pneumonia and influenza, down from 6.9% the week before and below the epidemic threshold of 7.5%.

(Snip) two more pediatric deaths were reported, one from influenza B and one from an influenza A virus that was not subtyped. They raise the season's total to 24.

(Snip) Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania reported regional activity. Two states-Hawaii and Maryland-reported low ILI activity (Snip). Of 2,673 flu viruses subtyped this season, 46% have been H3N2, 43% pandemic H1N1, and 11% influenza B. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

May 18 CDC flu update http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 05:23:40 AM UTC

Infant doc visits high during flu pandemic but H1N1 rarely found

CIDRAP: The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic brought more infants to physicians' offices for respiratory symptoms, but the virus was rarely the cause of the symptoms (Snip) The researchers, from the University of Texas, Galveston, monitored 180 healthy infants over 31 months from October 2008 to April 2011 for upper and lower respiratory tract infections (URIs and LRIs) and acute otitis media complications.

The infants were enrolled at birth or shortly after and followed for up to 12 months. A total of 373 URI episodes occurred in 139 of the infants (77%), including 20 with LRI. The most common pathogen identified in URI was rhinovirus (55%) and the most common in LRI was respiratory syncytial virus (64%). Influenza occurred in only four infants, all of them younger than 3 months, but three of them presented to the emergency department. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 05:35:04 AM UTC

Emergence of H1N1pdm09 Tamiflu Resistance in North America

Recombinomics Commentary

Thirteen had no exposure to oseltamivir; out of those 13 patients, 2 had family members using oseltamivir.

Eleven of the 16 oseltamivir-resistant viruses were collected from January to April 2012 and are from Texas

Although clonal expansion of H274Y Tamiflu resistance in H1N1pdm09 has been noted in Japan and Australia, the expansion described in the week 19 FluView (Snip) represents the most serious expansion to date.

H1N1pdm09 in the 2011/2012 season in Mexico has been the dominant influenza in circulation.  The activity, coupled with deaths, has led to increased surveillance in Mexico and adjacent areas in the United States.  Sequence of isolates from late 2011 and early 2012 collections were closely related to sequences from Texas.

Continued with much more:  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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 05:51:55 AM UTC

China: Update on Cluster of Influenza A case in Castle Peak Hospital (Hong Kong)

(Snip) Regarding the recent confirmation of a number of patients with respiratory symptoms in a female ward for intellectual disability, the spokesperson of Castle Peak Hospital (CPH) made the following update today (May 20):

One more female patient (aged 30) in the ward had presented with flu symptoms. (Snip) the test result of the patient was positive to Influenza A. The concerned patient has been transferred to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment under isolation and is in stable condition.

Admission to the ward has been suspended and restricted visiting to the ward has been imposed. Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. All other patients in the concerned ward are under close surveillance. (Snip) http://7thspace.com/headlines/...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 18:40:47 PM UTC

Australia: Queensland camp hit with the flu

QUEENSLAND has four players battling the flu just three days out from the State of Origin 2012 series opener in Melbourne.

Whilst training in an opposed session with the Melbourne Storm under 20's in Geelong on Sunday, it was revealed a number of players have the flu and are being monitored to see if it worsens.  Continued: http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun May 20, 2012 at 18:44:30 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for May 21, 2012

Thank you!

---

by: AlohaOR @ Mon May 21, 2012 at 04:14:19 AM UTC