News Reports for May 26, 2012

Philippines: Experts warn public of complacency vs flu

With the Department of Health reporting rising cases of dengue - at least 20,000 are already infected with more than a hundred dead from its complications, the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) is warning of another similar health threat that could affect even more individuals, particularly schoolchildren coming into classes next week.

Dr. Benilda Galvez, president of PCP, said: "Filipinos should realize that here in the Philippines, influenza is characterized by several epidemics, wherein more cases are reported each year. A large peak occurs during the rainy season from June to September, which is when school resumes and children tend to remain in close proximity to one another. We should also prepare for this."
(Snip)
Galvez explained that influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death.

"Individuals with influenza can spread its virus to others up to about six feet (1.8 meters) away. Most experts think that flu viruses are spread mainly by droplets made when a person with flu coughs, sneezes or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Less often, a person might also get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose," she said.

Galvez warned that most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning day one before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. "Children may pass the virus for longer than seven days. Symptoms start one to four days after the virus enters the body. This means that the child may be able to pass on the flu to his/her household and classmates before the child knows he/she is already sick. In fact, some persons can be infected with the flu virus but have no symptoms. During this time, those persons may still spread the virus to others," Galvez explained. Continued: http://business.inquirer.net/6...

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 May 26, 2012 at 06:00:21 AM UTC

As flu activity tails off, attention turns to Southern Hemisphere

May 25, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - Influenza is approaching summertime levels in most parts of the United States, though virus activity is expected to persist over the coming weeks, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its last full report of the season.

The percentage of respiratory specimens that tested positive for flu increased slightly to 13.9% last week, compared with 13.3% the week before (Snip) Two pediatric flu deaths were reported, one from H3N2 and one from influenza B, raising the season's total to 26. New York was the only state that reported wide geographic flu activity. Alabama was the lone state to report low flu activity, with the rest reporting minimal activity.

Flu season is also nearing its end in Europe, with all countries except for Slovakia reporting low intensity flu activity, according to an update today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Testing of 119 sentinel specimens from 22 countries found that 6.7% were positive for flu.
(Snip)
In the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season typically begins around May, flu activity is at low or at interseasonal levels, with some very small increases detected in Chile and some activity persisting in sub-Saharan Africa.

Earlier in the season, most viruses were a close antigenic match to those in the trivalent vaccine, but by midseason divergence in H3N2 viruses was found in both the United States and Europe, the WHO said.

In February, WHO advisors recommended changing H3N2 and influenza B components for the Northern Hemisphere's flu vaccine. However, the group weighed in on the Southern Hemisphere's vaccine in October 2011 before the changes were detected so the recommendation was for the same three strains as last season. Continued: links: 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

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sat May 26, 2012 at 06:08:54 AM UTC

Med residents lacked PPE knowledge, worked while ill in pandemic, study finds

A study of doctors in training during the height of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic found gaps in personal protective equipment (PPE) knowledge and guidance and that some worked when they were sick.

The study (Snip) was prompted by a cluster of influenza-like illnesses in internal medicine residents in June 2009, which led to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigation. At the time, flu activity in Utah, the state where the medical school was located, was widespread. The investigators visited the medical school and four affiliated hospitals in September 2009 and conducted an electronic survey of residents about their PPE practices. Researchers also explored records of doctors' contacts with sick patients, peers, community members, and family members and reviewed PPE recommendations that were in place at the time.

Of 210 residents, 88 (42%) completed the survey. Thirteen reported flulike illness during the time period, and among 8 who sought medical care, 5 had lab-confirmed influenza A. (Snip) 85% said they had been exposed to the pandemic virus in a variety of settings, and 10 said they had worked while ill.

A cluster of 8 illnesses occurred after an internal medicine residency program dinner. Many of those who worked while sick cited professional obligations to patients and coworkers. From 13% to 88% said they knew PPE recommendations (Snip) three hospitals deviated from interim federal PPE guidance, partly because of a shortage of N95 respirators. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

May 24 Am J Infect Control abstract http://www.ajicjournal.org/art...  

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 May 26, 2012 at 06:34:15 AM UTC

Study: 2009 H1N1 infection induces longer-lasting immune response than vaccine

A Chinese study suggests that infection with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza virus induces a longer-lasting immune response than vaccination against the virus does, though the response lasts less than a year in either case (Snip) The researchers followed six groups of participants for 14 months: recipients of one dose of pH1N1 vaccine, recipients of a pH1N1 vaccine followed by a seasonal trivalent flu vaccine, recipients of the same two vaccines in reverse order, and confirmed pH1N1 patients with either (1) no prior vaccination, (2) prior pH1N1 vaccination, or (3) prior seasonal flu vaccination.

The authors defined an adequate immune response as an antibody titer of 1:40. For recipients of one dose of pH1N1 vaccine, the mean duration of this immune response was 8.35 months. For those who were infected with the pH1N1 virus, the immune response lasted a mean of 11.8 months, though the peak response was lower than with the vaccine. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

May 24 Vaccine report http://www.sciencedirect.com/s...  

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 May 26, 2012 at 06:38:37 AM UTC

PAHO Silence on H1N1pdm09 Tamiflu Resistance in Mexico

Recombinomics Commentary

In Mexico, from EW 1 through the 24th of February 2012, there were a total of 5,544 cases of influenza, of which 90.9% (n=5,042) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm 09. This number includes 180 influenza deaths, of which 92.2% (n=166) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. According to laboratory data, in EW 07, of the total samples analyzed, the proportion of samples positive for influenza decreased to ~35%. Influenza
A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant circulating virus.

The above comments from the week 7 PAHO report on influenza in the Americas describes H1N1pdm09 cases in Mexico in 2012 and is similar to earlier weekly reports.  The increased activity and deaths were widely known and sequences released  from 2011 collections in Mexico and Texas were similar.  However, the PAHO descriptions failed to mention Tamiflu resistance (H274Y) in Mexico, although recent reports have noted the H274Y in Texas.

However, the sequence data clear demonstrates the widespread H274Y in Mexico and the relationship to H274Y in Texas.  In February Biologia Molecular y Validacion de Tecnicas in Santo Tomas, Mexico released (at Genbank) two sets of H1N1pdm09 sequences (A/Mexico/InDRE689/2012 and A/Mexico/InDRE1474/2012) from two Mexico City cases (35F, 2M) collected on January 19 and 26, 2012, respectively. Both NA sequences had H274Y and the sequences were closely related to the earlier sequences from Mexico and Texas.

The US CDC subsequently released 4 sets of sequences from Mexico, including collections from the two cases above, (A/Mexico/689/2012, A/Mexico/1474/2012, A/Mexico/1818/2012, A/Mexico/2440/2012) and all four had H274Y. In addition, five NA sequences from Texas were released (A/Texas/23/2012, A/Texas/24/2012, A/Texas/26/2012, A/Texas/29/2012, A/Texas/30/2012), which also had H274Y. The Texas sequences were collected over a longer time frame (January-March) and all sequences were closely related signaling clonal expansion. Continued: 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 @ Sat May 26, 2012 at 07:02:20 AM UTC

US: Baylor group announces SARS vaccine grant

CIDRAP: Baylor College of Medicine announced that it has received a $6.2 million, 5-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop a vaccine for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) (Snip)
"Although SARS has been contained so far, there is a constant fear of reemergence, especially when used as a bioterrorism agent. Developing an effective and safe vaccine is urgently needed." One of the challenges in developing the vaccine will be resolving vaccine immune enhancement.

Peter Hoetz, MD, PhD, dean of Baylor's National School of Tropical Medicine, said (Snip) the vaccine would stimulate neutralizing bodies to block the virus from attaching to receptors. A 2003 SARS epidemic resulted in 8,098 cases and 774 deaths. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

May 22 Baylor press release http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.c...

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 May 26, 2012 at 13:03:53 PM UTC

Study suggests avian flu infections in migratory-bird handlers are rare

(Snip) A UCLA team conducted a serologic survey of individuals with occupational or recreational exposures to migratory birds and used a questionnaire to assess behavioral risk factors (Snip) Of 401 people tested, the team found only 1 who showed evidence of a past infection, which involved an avian H5N2 virus. (Snip) this is the first known human infection with this subtype linked to wild rather than domestic birds. No evidence of co-infections with avian and swine flu viruses was found. The authors looked at exposure to songbirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds; the bird handlers were exposed to songbirds four times as often as to the other two types. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

May 24 J Clin Virol abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/s...

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 May 26, 2012 at 13:09:11 PM UTC

List of words that Homeland Security look for - including health related

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...

Comment An interesting list that demonstrates they are keeping their ears open for health alerts. But I'm not sure that the list is the real list as it doesn't include key ingedients for certain nasties which I would have expected to see, let alone any slang or code for them. However if someone is looking out for mentions of H5N1 (and this site must give them a headache LOL), can I suggest again that you add ferret to the list?

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by: UK - Bird @ Sat May 26, 2012 at 15:30:45 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for May 27, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun May 27, 2012 at 04:27:09 AM UTC