News Reports for July 24, 2012

India: Swine flu cases in July swell to 100 (Maharashtra)

Mumbai - At least 16 cases of swine flu have been reported in the city over the past two days, bringing the number of H1N1 cases to almost a 100 in July alone (Snip) Among the 16 cases, six have been reported in the K-West ward of Andheri, Vile Parle and Juhu, and five in the S ward of Mulund and Vikhroli. (Snip) most infections have been reported in Bandra (west) and Powai this year.

"There is not really a spurt in the number of cases reported. The number has grown over a period of time, but July has reported maximum infections. The change in weather and the lowering temperatures in Mumbai have caused the air-borne disease to spread so much,"(Snip)  Since the start of the year, 157 people have been infected by the H1N1 virus. Till last month, the recorded number of cases stood at 58.

To deal with the growth in H1N1 cases, Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar has said the BMC would soon hold a widespread public awareness program to educate the city on the symptoms and treatment of the disease. Continued: http://www.indianexpress.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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 05:51:47 AM UTC

Vietnam: Stolen ducks feared infected with bird flu

QUANG BINH - Three men in central Quang Binh Province are being sought in (Snip) the theft of scores of ducks feared to be infected with bird flu. The three men are understood to have fled the province.

The case in An Ninh Commune, Quang Ninh District, was detected when the duck owner carried out an inventory on the ducks for culling as required under the regulations related to infected poultry (Snip)

Scores of stolen ducks which had been stolen and sold to other farmers were confiscated and destroyed (Snip) http://vietnamnews.vnagency.co...

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

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 06:02:05 AM UTC

India: 40-yr-old woman critical with H1N1 (Maharashtra)

Pune - A 40-year-old woman from Nigdi, who has been on ventilator support since Sunday, tested positive for H1N1 influenza on Monday. "The woman's condition is critical and she is still on ventilator support," (Snip) "She has other co-morbid conditions like hypothyroidism and hypertension and is obese," he said.

The woman, a resident of Yamunanagar in Nigdi, developed symptoms on July 13. Later, her condition deteriorated and she developed breathlessness, following which she was admitted to Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi on July 19. "Her condition further worsened and she was put on ventilator support on Sunday. (Snip)

(Snip). A few days ago, a four-month-old baby had tested positive but recovered after a few days.

Since April, Pimpri-Chinchwad has reported 39 positive cases and six deaths. http://timesofindia.indiatimes...

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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 06:42:00 AM UTC

Australia: Flu strains can become resistant to antivirals

Flu strains can easily become resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and so clinicians must be prudent in prescribing the drug, researchers from Australia have warned.

The study team told GP magazine that, despite the findings, oseltamivir should remain the 'drug of choice' within its licensed indications, as most flu strains remain susceptible to it.

The University of Sydney researchers examined the spread of pandemic influenza A H1N1 strains (A[H1N1]pdm09) resistant to the neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir (Tamiflu). In Sydney in the winter of 2011, Dr Bin Wang and colleagues analysed DNA in samples from 23 people who had been treated with oseltamivir. They looked for the H275Y mutation, which indicates resistance to oseltamivir, and also looked at how often this mutation was present in 143 people who had not received oseltamivir.

The researchers found that three of the 23 people treated with oseltamivir (13%) had developed resistance to the drug, compared with two of the 143 people not treated with oseltamivir (1.4%).

Commenting on the findings, the researchers said: 'In the current situation, prudent use of the neuraminidase inhibitors remains necessary, as does continued monitoring for drug-resistant influenza viruses.' Dr Wang told GP magazine that the study had shown that oseltamivir resistance can be generated relatively easily in A(H1N1)pdm09 strains.

The Sydney researchers also found that some groups, such as young children and immunocompromised patients were at particular risk of developing resistance, Dr Wang said. In these groups, about half of patients in whom viral RNA can still be detected after 5-7 days of oseltamivir treatment will develop resistance.  Continued: http://www.gponline.com/News/a...

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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 06:58:39 AM UTC

Flu cases swamping Perth emergency departments (Western Australia)

The State Government has been forced to undertake a television public awareness campaign to reduce the pressure on Perth's hospitals from this year's flu outbreak. In advertisements starting tomorrow, people will be urged to see their GP first and think twice about heading to an emergency department with a cough or cold.

The plea comes as the number of flu cases reaches 2,040 this year compared to 1,880 for the whole of 2011.

(Snip)

Last month, WA's emergency departments dealt with more than 6,500 people with flu-like symptoms, 2,000 more than at the same time last year.

(Snip)

The State Opposition says patients have this month spent more time in ambulances ramped outside emergency departments than in any other month since records began. http://au.news.yahoo.com/lates...  

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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 07:05:56 AM UTC

New Zealand: Govt extends period for free flu jabs

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the Government is extending the period for free flu vaccinations for eligible groups by a month. (Snip) it will now run until 31 August instead of finishing at the end of this month.

The Institute of Environmental Science and Research says the rate at which people visited their doctor with flu-like illnesses doubled earlier this month, with the highest rates in Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Canterbury.

Mr Ryall says the numbers are still normal, because last year was a particularly quiet year for flu, and hospitals have plans to deal with the pressure.

Fewer flu jabs have been given so far this year and Mr Ryall says there are about 20,000 doses in stock within the current budget. Continued: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/...

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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 07:30:59 AM UTC

Bird Flu Researchers To Meet About Research Moratorium

http://keranews.org/post/bird-...

http://keranews.org/people/nel...

SNIP
Flu researchers are going to New York next week for the annual conference of the government-funded Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS). Researchers who made the mutant viruses will be there, plus others who signed the voluntary moratorium.

At a recent press briefing, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which funded the controversial experiments, said that he intended to go to the meeting and "discuss in some detail with the group the kinds of approaches we can have to try and expedite as quickly as possible the lifting of the moratorium."

But some ask, what is the hurry? David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University who was part of the group that advised the government on whether the details of the bird flu experiments should be made public, believes that "there is no particular reason to rush ahead right now, with what might be a very substantial kind of risk."
SNIP
(Much more in story)

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by: bgw in MT @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 15:07:35 PM UTC

Swine Flu Death Toll Rises to 133 in Brazil

Brazilian health authorities reported the deaths of 10 more people in the southern part of the country from the AH1N1 swine flu virus, bringing the death toll to 133 so far this year.

The new fatalities were registered in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Parana, regions that share a border with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

So far this year in southern Brazil, authorities have registered 1,900 cases of swine flu (Snip)

The Health Ministry is scheduled late this week to send 400,000 doses of swine flu vaccine to Parana with the aim of immunizing children between the ages of 2 and 5. That group is not included in the risk category to (Snip)

Health Minister Alexandre Padilha has ruled out the risk of a swine flu epidemic in Brazil. http://latino.foxnews.com/lati...

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 @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 20:59:51 PM UTC

Litany of Ex-Ministers Tied to Graft-Tainted Bird Flu Vaccine Plant

July 24, 2012
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com...
A graft-ridden project to build an avian influenza vaccine plant implicated three health ministers and one finance minister before former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin got involved, an audit has revealed.  According to the report from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the project that began in 2008 and was halted in 2011 was conceived after state pharmaceutical company Bio Farma expressed interest in producing a bird flu vaccine.

In 2006, Bio Farma sent proposals to the World Health Organization and Japanese Embassy for funding.  The Japanese Embassy, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, rejected the proposal.  But the WHO agreed to grant $2 million that was later used by Bio Farma to transfer technology for the bird flu vaccine downstream through its production process.  The state company then sent the same proposal to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and the plan was approved by then State-Owned Enterprises Minister Sugiharto.
Bio Farma also wrote a letter to then Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari and said the company had approached the House of Representatives' Budget Committee to approve a grant for the project.
(snip)

Sugiharto, Paskah, Sri Mulyani and Siti were involved in the project during the budget disbursement in the 2008 revised state budget. The budget allocated at the time was around Rp 194 billion but only around Rp 144 billion was disbursed.  Before her term as minister ended, Siti proposed a greater budget allocation for the project that brought the figure to almost Rp 1.5 trillion from the initially estimated Rp 800 billion.  Her successor, Endang, continued the project in 2009 and lobbied the House to allocate Rp 490 billion for the project. The project was soon halted after suspicions emerged, based on the budget swelling threefold, that the project was riddled with graft.
(more)

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

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by: History Lover @ Tue Jul 24, 2012 at 21:03:41 PM UTC

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News Reports for July 25, 2012

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed Jul 25, 2012 at 04:21:56 AM UTC