News Reports for August 8, 2012

Swine flu, avian flu and… seal flu? Scientists give warning

An emerging strain of influenza that's killed seals off the New England coast may pose a future threat to humans and other wildlife, warns a new report. The report, published on July 31 in the journal mBio, said the H3N8 virus caused a fatal outbreak of pneumonia in 162 New England harbour seals from September to December 2011.

The researchers believe the virus may have evolved from a strain that is currently found in birds.

What's particularly concerning is that the virus naturally acquired mutations that are known to boost its transmission and intensity in mammals. And it's this "jumping" from mammal to mammal that's causing scientists to worry it could one day infect humans, according to the report.

"There is a concern that we have a new mammalian-transmissible virus to which humans haven't been exposed yet. It's a combination we haven't seen in disease before," the report's editor Dr. Anne Moscona, professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology at New York's Weill Cornell Medical College, said in a news release.

Researchers believe the H3N8 virus may be the first recorded account of a new group of flu viruses that have the potential to persist and move between species.

Dr. Earl Brown, director of the Emerging Pathogens Research Centre in Ottawa, told CTV News Channel Tuesday that scientists are "always nervous" when they see a virus switching from mammal to mammal.

"The virus is always in water fowl, so when you see it move into another mammal, it makes you ask: 'Well, what's going on here? And can this thing change enough to get into people?'" he said.

Brown said the virus may have passed onto the seals through bird droppings that land on the seals' eyes and noses. Continued: http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 07:31:09 AM UTC

US: Officials watching for signs of mutation in swine flu

The Ohio outbreak of swine flu that has sickened 15 people - 14 in Butler County and one in Clark County - is in its early stages but is being closely monitered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Because flu viruses mutate rapidly, the CDC is tracking the H3N2 virus and working with county fair officials across the U.S. as well as state health and agriculture officials this summer to track flu-like symptoms in both humans and swine. If the strain mutates, it could change to make people sicker, or it could become a milder infection. It could also change in a way that makes it more contagious.

The 15 people infected in the region had contact with infected swine at the Butler County Fair and the Ohio State Fair.

The same strain has sickened people Hawaii and Indiana this year. Last year, it infected people in Maine, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia.

So far, none of the people who've taken ill have required hospitalization, Bresee said. Continued: http://www.daytondailynews.com...

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 07:38:06 AM UTC

Worried enough to start issuing reassurances

Sounds like there's some concern out there - various state and county officials are issuing "reassurances":

http://portsmouth-dailytimes.c...

Officials say no reports of swine flu at county fair

Scioto County's [Ohio] Health Commissioner, and the 4-H Veterinarian are adamant that there have been no reported cases of swine flu at the Scioto County Fair.

"There have been rumors that there is swine flu or H3N2 virus at the Scioto County Fair. We do not have it here," Angie Sherman, DVM, said Tuesday. "We are totally healthy at this point. If we would have an outbreak, we have everything in line, and we have direct contact with the state veterinarian."

Adams said there was a problem last week in Gallia County in which around 95 people came down with an influenza type illness, 78 were children that had been to the county fair and 17 were adults. Thirty-seven of those tested positive for influenza A. Those specimens were sent to Atlanta in order to determine if they have the H3N2 type. He said two of the children were hospitalized one day and released the next day.

(Comment: So the "reassurance" about only 14 being infected and no one being hospitalized is wrong, dare I say, a lie?

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:08:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

IA: New Strain of Swine Flu

http://kaaltv.com/article/stor...

There's a new health alert from the CDC today. And while there are fewer than three dozen confirmed cases nationwide, it's an illness that has the potential to spread, especially at this time of year in the Midwest.

"It is actually an influenza virus that they have started to see over the last couple of years," said Lisa Kocer at Mower County Public Health.

It's called H3N2, and nationwide there are now 29 confirmed cases of the illness being spread from pigs to humans.

"Most of these infections have taken place by actual contact and actual handling of the pig," Kocer explained.

[snip]

"We just want to encourage the fair goers to use good judgment, not eat in the swine barn," said Mower County Fair Board President Neal Anderson

[snip]

None of the 29 confirmed cases nationwide have come from Minnesota or Iowa.

(Comment: Note how they are now using the fact that there have been previous cases as a way of minimizing the story! But then... 29 confirmed cases?? Gotta love journalists... ;-\ )

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:13:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh... 29 might be right....

Hmmm... I'm not good at arithmatic before my 2nd coffee... 14 previous and 15 in OH... that's 29, okay... ;-}

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:14:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ah, but no... I'm not the only one who can't count...

http://www.greenevillesun.com/...

Just in time for fair season, public health officials have issued a warning about a new strain of "swine flu."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says in its latest U.S. flu report that at least 16 people have been infected with a new strain of an influenza A (H3N2) swine flu virus in just the past three weeks.

Twelve of them were infected in the last full week of July.

Among those 12 newest cases, the CDC says 10 people were infected in Ohio. The states of Indiana and Hawaii have also reported one case each as well.

"All occurred in people who had direct or indirect contact with swine and all but one case was associated with attendance at agricultural fairs where swine were present," according to a news release published on the CDC website, http://www.cdc.gov

(So now it sounds like the first story double counted? Or is there a big batch of sick people that the CDC are refusing to admit to?? This is a news story that is story unfolding...)

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:18:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not good at English before 2nd coffee, either! LOL

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:20:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hi Cathy

If the officials were being honest, they would admit they don't really know how many cases there are right now. There have been at least 29 confirmed cases. They are testing many more people who are symptomatic. Some of those test results are sure to have been finished by now but they haven't given the results yet. Some people probably never reported symptoms so those won't be tested and counted. And there are probably more people coming down with symptoms right now. I hope I'm wrong but I think we may see another swine flu pandemic like we went through in 2009. I don't believe the H3N2v virus will remain just pig to human. JMO

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 16:26:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Australia: Swine flu case prompt health alert on Sunshine Coast (Queensland)

TWO confirmed swine flu cases have sparked a health alert at the Sunshine Coast's biggest education precinct. There have been very few notifications of H1N1, or human swine flu, across Australia this year but it caused 191 deaths nationwide, including 41 in Queensland, in 2009.

Executive principal of Chancellor State College, Bevan Brennan, has sent out an alert to the college community, saying the college had been advised of two confirmed cases from its secondary campus.

Thousands of students and staff are in the area as the college forms part of an educational precinct that includes the University of the Sunshine Coast, Siena Catholic College, Matthew Flinders College and The Harmony Montessori School.

"We have been advised by Queensland Health that people are infectious for up to seven days after they start with the flu symptoms. It is recommended that parents keep their children at home from school if they are unwell," Mr Brennan said. Continued: http://www.dailytelegraph.com....

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 07:48:00 AM UTC

Australia: Big jump in flu cases (Tasmania)

Tasmania has recorded a massive jump in the number of influenza cases in Tasmania in the last half of July.

The weekly Flu-Tas report shows almost 390 cases in that period. That is about two thirds of the yearly total to date of 560.

Almost 450 of the cases occurred in the state's south. (Snip)  AH3N2 strain was present in 97 per cent of cases. (Snip) http://www.abc.net.au/news/201...

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 07:53:07 AM UTC

New Zealand: Flu hits rest home

An Invercargill rest home has been advising visitors to stay away after an outbreak of the flu in the past week. A sign at Clare House in Waikiwi says there has been an outbreak of the flu, most residents were unwell and visitors are advised to enter at their own risk.

(Snip)

Chamber of Commerce Southland CEO Richard Hay said he has not had any reports of businesses being badly affected by staff having flu. "People with it are still working and taking whatever they need to keep them going. The flu is widespread. We are affected ourselves, but people are soldiering on."

SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds said a small number of staff and students were off with the flu but it hadn't caused any classes to be closed.

Southland and Otago had the third-highest rate of flu-like illness presentations in New Zealand, an ESR flu update for the last week of July showed. http://www.stuff.co.nz/southla...

(Note: "People with it are still working and taking whatever they need to keep them going." IMO, all they are doing is spreading it to more people!!)

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by: NewsDiary @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 07:59:28 AM UTC

This was posted by me.

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 08:15:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bird flu outbreak leads Mexico to kill 8 m chickens

Eight million chickens have so far been slaughtered in Mexico and 66 million more were vaccinated in a bid to contain a bird flu outbreak in the west of the country, authorities said Tuesday.

(Snip) during the vaccination process in the Los Altos region of Jalisco state, diseased chickens were identified, leading to the destruction of the flu-carrying fowl.

(Snip) the outbreak, which was first detected on June 20, is confined to Los Altos, which is an egg-producing area. Inspections in other parts of the country have not turned up any signs of the disease.

A national animal health emergency was declared at the beginning of July, and the prices of both eggs and chickens have skyrocketed.

Mexican authorities hope to vaccinate 80 million fowl in the first phase of its program, and then analyze the results before proceeding to phase two.

The virus responsible for the outbreak, H7N3, has occasionally caused human disease in various parts of the world, (Snip) but has not shown itself to be easily transmittable between humans.

(Snip)

Authorities in Guatemala have stepped up safety checks on its border with Mexico to keep bird flu from spreading into the country. http://www.emirates247.com/new...

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by: NewsDiary @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 08:06:32 AM UTC

This was posted by me.

Sorry, my secret identity must be wanting attention! LOL

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 08:19:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

we know it's you behind the shiny mask...!

Thanks again, Secret News Diary Superhero!

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by: Cathy M @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 14:01:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Vietnam: Grim weather may bring bird flu outbreak

HA NOI - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan yesterday said there was a high risk of new bird flu outbreaks due to unfavourable weather conditions weakening the resistance of poultry and ineffective management of poultry transportation in border provinces.

During the past two weeks, bird flu has reappeared in Hai Phong City, with poultry infections numbering as high as 67,000, while the number in Ha Tinh Province was 17,000.

Bird flu outbreaks have so far been reported in the two cities of Hai Duong and Hai Phong, along with the provinces of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh.

According to the Animal Health Department, there will be scattered outbreaks of the disease in some localities in northern provinces during the time to come.

More than three million doses of bird flu vaccine have been allocated to the localities and nearly 100,000 affected chicken, ducks and other birds have been incinerated.

Tan asked the localities and agencies to strictly implement the Prime Minister's directive last week requesting them to strengthen inspection and control of poultry imports to Viet Nam to prevent bird flu. (Snip) the PM asked border provinces to encourage local people not to take part in the transport and trade of unidentified and unquarantined poultry.

Other ministries, including the ministries of Industry and Trade, Defence, Finance, Public Security, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Information and Communications, were asked to work together to deal with illegal imports of poultry, while strengthening inspections and popularising measures to prevent H5N1 human influenza and information relating to the fight against bird flu. Continued: 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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 08:25:19 AM UTC

Human and Swine H3N2v Sub-clade Discordance

Recombinomics Commentary 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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 18:07:44 PM UTC

H3N2v Testing On Symptomatic Case Near Mason Co Fair - WV

Recombinomics Commentary

Since there have been reports in the community about swine flu cases in the last week, the health department recently met with Hoffman to develop a plan to prevent any illnesses of fair goers.

The above comments about influenza-like illness in Mason County near the Mason County Fair, which runs from August 6-11, raises concerns that H3N2v is circulating in the area, as was reported for Jackson County in Indiana.  In Indiana, cases were not tested until the state issued an alert after H3N2v was confirmed at the LaPorte County Fair.

(Snip) the Indiana State Department of Health has reported four confirmed H3N2v cases in Jackson County, but swine at the Jackson County Fair have also been H3N2v confirmed, and more confirmed human cases are expected.

The Mason County Fair is in Point Pleasant, (West Virginia) which borders southeastern Ohio.  In southwestern Ohio 14 H3N2v cases have been confirmed at the Butler County Fair in Hamilton, where there is also more than dozen additional symptomatic cases and swine have also been H3N2v confirmed.

(Snip) Currently WV has tested one symptomatic case, which tested negative. 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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 18:17:47 PM UTC

US: Variant H3N2 influenza on the rise in Ohio, Indiana

An additional 14 cases of variant swine-origin H3N2 influenza have been reported in the past week in Ohio and Indiana, bringing the U.S. total to 30 in recent weeks.

Most of the recent cases are related to agricultural fairs in the two states. The Indiana State Department of Health reported six new cases on Friday resulting from contact with pigs. On Monday, the Ohio Department of Health reported 15 overall cases this summer, all of which occurred after county or state fairs (Snip).

(Snip)

In addition to the swine flu cases in Ohio and Indiana, there has been one case in Hawaii in the past year.

"We haven't seen any transmission from person to person at this point," (Snip) "All of the confirmed cases have had direct contact with swine."

The H3N2v virus contains the matrix gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus, which could make it easier for the strain to spread from pigs to humans and between humans. While no human-to-human transmissions have been reported this summer, three cases last fall and winter could have been the result of human-to-human transmission. http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/un...

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 18:23:15 PM UTC

US: Swine flu confirmed in Kosciusko (Indiana)

Health officials confirm 113 cases statewide

Indiana health officials have now confirmed 113 cases of variant influenza A (H3N2v), in 18 counties statewide. This includes Kosciusko County in northeast Indiana.  

Officials have not confirmed human-to-human transmission. More cases are expected to be confirmed this week (Snip)

Variant influenza A cases have been confirmed in the following counties: Bartholomew, Greene, Hamilton, Hendricks, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Porter, Scott, Tipton, Washington and White.

(Snip)

"It's important for folks to remember this is a mild illness with symptoms similar to what we see with seasonal flu," said Dr. Gregory Larkin, state health commissioner, in the statement. He said no vaccine is available because it is a relatively new strain. http://www.journalgazette.net/...

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 @ Wed Aug 08, 2012 at 19:22:20 PM UTC

US: 15 more human swine flu cases confirmed in Ohio from state fair swine contact

COLUMBUS - Fifteen more human cases of swine flu in Ohio were confirmed Wednesday (Snip) increasing the total number of cases of the virus statewide to 30.

All affected individuals had contact with hogs at state fairs (Snip) no cases of human-to-human virus passage have been confirmed.

There have been 16 cases in Butler County, three in Clark County, four in Gallia County, four in Greene County and three in Hamilton County.

"Even as we identify additional illnesses, this strain appears to remain mild and does not seem to be any more severe than what we see during most flu seasons," (Snip)

Only one of the 30 infected individuals has been hospitalized. That person has been treated and released. http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/ne...

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 Aug 09, 2012 at 00:36:43 AM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for August 9, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Aug 09, 2012 at 05:08:33 AM UTC