News Reports for September 28, 2012

US: Report: Two-thirds of those hospitalized by new flu strain were from Ohio

More than two-thirds of the people who contracted a new flu virus spread by swine at county fairs around the nation were from Ohio, federal health data show.

A report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 11 of 16 people hospitalized for H3N2v this summer were from Ohio. Ohio reported also the only death associated with the outbreak, a 61-year-old Madison County woman who died Aug. 26.

But so far, the available data on H3N2v flu and the people sickened by it do not explain why Ohio had so many hospitalizations, said Dr. Celia Quinn, author of the report and a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer. (Snip)

Statewide, 107 cases of the new flu were reported from July 28 through Sept. 24, though no new infections have been reported "in a couple of weeks," Quinn said. "That may be because our prevention message is working, because we know there are still fairs going on."

In the Miami Valley, cases included: Butler, 17; Champaign, 15; Clark, 3; Greene, 6; Montgomery, 5; and Warren, 1. Miami County had no reported cases.

Nationally, 306 cases have been reported. Indiana had the most cases, with 138 human infections reported. Continued: http://www.daytondailynews.com...

(Note: I'm not convinced the recommended preventive measures are responsible for there being no reported cases lately. I also don't believe the virus just disappeared. That leaves 3 things in my mind. Either the latest cases are so mild that people aren't seeking medical attention or doctors aren't testing for it or cases aren't being publicly reported. 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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 06:49:33 AM UTC

CDC Describes 11 Hospitalized H3N2v Cases In Ohio

Recombinomics Commentary

Patients lived in eight counties and attended six fairs. Direct contact with swine prior to illness onset was reported by six patients (five children and one adult), and of these, one patient might have had direct contact with an ill pig.

The above comments are from a CDC MMWR report, "Influenza A (H3N2) Variant Virus-Related Hospitalizations - Ohio, 2012" which provides some detail on 11 H3N2v infected Ohio patients who visited agricultural fairs and were subsequently hospitalized.  The adult mention above is the only reported fatal H3N2v case (61M) and the sample collection date of August 25, 2012 matches the isolate A/Ohio/74/2012 which is closely related to multiple human and swine cases including Ohio and Wisconsin cases with an identical H3 (Snip).

However, the report focused on swine exposure and ignored the large number of human H3N2v cases at these fairs.  The report failed to name the six fairs or eight counties, although media reports indicated the fatal case (61F) attended the Ross County Fair and live in London, Ohio which is the county seat for Madison County.  Similarly media reports cited a Lake County case without swine exposure, which matches case #10 who developed symptoms on August 25, which was in the same time frame as the media reports and the Ohio Department of Health's addition of a Lake County case.

In addition to the case with no swine exposure, 4 additional cases had "indirect" exposure, and one of the direct exposure cases developed symptoms 6 days after exposure suggesting most of the cases were not infected by swine.  Moreover, as cited above, only one of the cases with direct exposure "might" have had contact with a symptomatic swine.

Although only one of the 11 cases might have had contact with a symptomatic swine, it is likely that the vast majority had contact with symptomatic people who attended the fairs. 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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 08:09:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

CIDRAP: Some details emerge on coronavirus cases, but many gaps remain

A European report has filled in some details about the 2 severe illnesses linked to a novel coronavirus, but most of the major questions, such as where it came from and how it spreads, remained unanswered today [26 Sep 2012].

A 49-year-old Qatari man remained in a London hospital's intensive care unit with a severe respiratory illness accompanied by renal failure. A 60-year-old Saudi Arabian man who had a similar illness and was infected with a virtually identical coronavirus died in June [2012] in his home country. No new confirmed or suspected cases were reported today.

A risk assessment released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) offered some new details on the cases, including that the Qatari patient had returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia more than 10 days before he fell ill on [3 Sep 2012], which seems to suggest that he wasn't infected while in that country.

A case definition released by the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday [25 Sep 2012] lists a history of travel to Saudi Arabia within 7 days before illness onset, or close contact with a probable or confirmed case-patient in that same time frame, as a possible clue to the virus in a person who is hospitalized with an acute respiratory infection accompanied by fever and cough.

A [25 Sep 2012] letter from the head of the United Kingdom Department of Health to UK health workers said the incubation period for the new virus is assumed to be 7 days, given what is known about other human coronavirus infections. The letter to UK National Health Service workers was written by Dame Sally C Davies, chief medical officer.

A then-novel coronavirus sparked the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003, which involved more than 8422 cases globally and killed 916 people, according to the ECDC risk assessment. Aside from the outbreak, human coronaviruses are mainly known for causing colds. Health officials have stressed that the new coronavirus is clearly different from the SARS virus.

Both the Davies letter and the ECDC risk assessment said no suspected cases have been found among contacts of the Qatari patient or elsewhere. "Many of these contacts are already likely to be beyond the incubation period . . . when symptoms would have developed had they been infected," Davies wrote.

The ECDC said that as of yesterday [25 Sep 2012] it was not aware of "any increase in the number of patients with acute respiratory infections of unknown cause in intensive care units in Saudi Arabia or Qatar."

The ECDC statement filled in some new details on the 60-year-old Saudi Arabian who died. It said he fell ill on [6 Jun 2012], was hospitalized with severe pneumonia on [13 Jun 2012], and died on [24 Jun 2012].

The fact that the 2 cases occurred 3 months apart and that time spent in Saudi Arabia is the only known link means that "independent non-human-to-human transmission must be considered" and that an animal source can't be excluded, the ECDC said. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

(Note: They no virtually nothing about this virus but are making assumptions on it's "incubation period" based on what they know about other coronaviruses???)

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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 07:04:35 AM UTC

US: Indy area sees major rise in cold, flu Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - IU Health, along with other health care providers, have seen a major uptick in patients admitted for respiratory illnesses. A majority of those symptoms look the same - cough, fever and sore throat.

The worst cases are infants and those who have underlying medical conditions like asthma, which could make it worse, requiring isolation.

Having seen such an increase in respiratory illnesses, IU Health is really encouraging everyone to get the flu vaccine. IU Health says at its worst, the flu can kill hundreds of thousands and they say that getting the flu shot can decrease hospital visits by 50 to 60 percent.

To show how serious they are taking it this year, this is the first year all health care facilities in this area are requiring all employees to have the influenza vaccine. Continued: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 07:15:02 AM UTC

India: Jabalpur mayor tests positive for H1N1 virus (Madhya Pradesh)

Jabalpur: With H1N1 viral infection continuing in Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur Mayor Prabhat Sahu has become its latest victim (Snip).  The mayor had been suffering from fever for the past few days since his return from Nagod.

Yesterday, his blood sample was sent for testing which confirmed that he was suffering from the H1N1 infection (Snip). Sahu has been advised complete rest for the next few days and is being treated for the disease (Snip).

The state has so far reported 17 deaths due to the swine flu (Snip). http://zeenews.india.com/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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 08:18:59 AM UTC

Animals suspected in spread of new virus

LONDON - Britain's Health Protection Agency has published an early genetic sequence of the new respiratory virus related to SARS that shows it is most closely linked to bat viruses, and scientists say camels, sheep or goats might end up being implicated too. So far, there are no signs the virus will be as deadly as SARS(Snip).

Global health officials say they haven't found evidence the virus can spread between people and suspect two victims from the Middle East may have caught it from animals.

"It's a logical possibility to consider any animals present in the region in large numbers," said Ralph Baric, a coronavirus expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Biologists now need to go into the area and take samples from any animals they can get their hands on, including camels and goats," he said. Baric said it was crucial to find out how widespread the virus is in animals and what kind of contact might be risky for people.

Baric suggested bats might be spreading the virus directly to humans since the two confirmed infections happened months apart. "If there was an established transmission pattern from other animals, we probably would have seen a lot more cases," he said.

The World Health Organization said it is considering the possibility the new coronavirus sickened humans after direct contact with animals. The agency is now working with experts in the Middle East to figure out how the two confirmed cases got infected but could not share details until the investigation was finished.

(Snip)

Earlier this week, WHO issued a global alert asking doctors to be on guard for any potential cases of the new respiratory virus, which also causes kidney failure.

Saudi officials have already warned that next month's annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage, which brings millions to Saudi Arabia from all around the world, could allow the virus to spread. As a precautionary measure, they are advising pilgrims to keep their hands clean and wear masks in crowded places.

Experts said knowing where a virus comes from provides clues on how to stop it. "This means we could prevent the fire before it starts instead of rushing towards it with fire trucks and water hoses afterwards," said Michael Osterholm (Snip)

Osterholm said it was possible bats had simply passed on the virus from other animals and that there could be a complicated transmission chain that ultimately ended in humans.

Viruses reproduce as they infect animals and people, giving them more chances to evolve into a deadlier version. "We don't know enough about coronaviruses to predict which mutations might make them more lethal or transmissible," Osterholm said. "But you don't want to tempt genetic fate with microbes because you're bound to lose most times." http://www.huffingtonpost.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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 09:05:36 AM UTC

May 2003: Exotic market animals likely source of SARS

May 23, 2003 - Evidence of the deadly SARS virus has been discovered in three exotic animal species being sold live in a Chinese food market. The revelation is highly significant as it may allow SARS to be stopped at source and may help in the development of diagnostic tests.

The virus found is "almost identical to the human SARS virus", according to Klaus Stöhr, SARS basic science research director at the World Health Organization.

The virus itself was uncovered in six civet cats and one raccoon dog and antibodies to the virus were found in a badger known as the Chinese ferret badger. The researchers, from Hong Kong and mainland China, had sampled over 25 animals from a local food market near a laboratory in China's Guangdong province.

It is "highly likely" that the virus jumped from the animals to humans, said Kwok-Yung Yuen, head of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong. (Snip).

The exotic mammals are considered as culinary delicacies in Guangdong, where the killer virus first surfaced in November 2002. (Snip) http://www.newscientist.com/ar...

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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 09:15:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

New 'Sars-like' not easily transmitted says WHO

A new respiratory illness - from the same family as the Sars virus - appears not to spread easily, experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) say.

...

The WHO also announced diagnostic tests were being developed by scientists around the world as quickly as possible.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors disease in the European Union, said initial findings suggested the virus may have originated in animals - diseases known as zoonotic.

Writing in the journal Eurosurveillance, they said: "It is quite probably of zoonotic origin and different in behaviour to Sars."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/heal...

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by: Ruby Murray @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 12:05:11 PM UTC

IL: Ashmore school closed after half its students call in sick

http://www.rrstar.com/updates/...

Hat tip Croft's Blog: http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/...

The elementary school in the central Illinois community of Ashmore was closed after half its 100 students failed to show up.  
Community Unit School District No. 1 Superintendent Jim Littleford said Wednesday that in addition to 51 students, five of the school's staff also reported a flu-like illness.  
Littleford said the Coles County Health Department suggested a thorough cleaning of the school Wednesday, which will allow it to reopen Thursday.
[snip]
Littleford said officials are urging sick students to see physicians. Parents were urged to inform school officials of test results because it could help with an investigation into the cause of the illness.

He said there were no reports of the illness earlier in the week and none of the district's other schools had more than a few students out.

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by: Cathy M @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 14:08:04 PM UTC

is this where the new flu is going to pop up next?

Well, at least they are investigating it - hope they let us know what type of flu it is...

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by: Cathy M @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 14:09:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bronco Bill, it's Friday joke time!

Your giggles are here: http://www.newfluwiki2.com/dia...

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 @ Fri Sep 28, 2012 at 22:22:42 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for September 29, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sat Sep 29, 2012 at 04:02:37 AM UTC