News Reports for April 22, 2012

India: Swine flu screening centres to come up in Vizag Agency

Andhra Pradesh - Suspecting the spread of the swine flu in tribal areas of the district, medical and health department officials geared up to set up swine flu screening centres at Araku Valley and Paderu.

Swine flu has been creating panic in Visakhapatnam district for the past few weeks and chances of spreading to tourism spots like Araku Valley and Paderu in the district are high.

District medical and health officer, G. Savithri, said that many tourists from AP, Odisha and West Bengal have been thronging Araku Valley and Paderu to beat the summer which would give scope to spread swine flu at those areas. (Snip) six swine flu screening centres have been functioning, including five, under the city limits and one at Anakapalle. Now the medical and health officials ready to set up the swine flu screening centres even in the tribal areas.

(Snip) the H1N1 virus has turned active in the last week of March and has been spreading in April due to climate change. There are chances that the H1N1 virus will spread further in the city and others parts of the district. Devi said they supplied medicines for both categories of swine flu if it spreads in tribal areas.

(Snip) So far six swine flu confirmed cases have been reported in the district and a 23-year-old pregnant woman of Gajuwaka area died of the disease recently. http://www.deccanchronicle.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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 05:11:10 AM UTC

India: 4-month-old tests positive for H1N1 in Mumbai

Maharashtra - A four-month-old boy from Malad, possibly one of the youngest to test positive for H1N1 in the city, pushed the number of positive cases to 19 since March. The child was admitted to Wadia Hospital in Parel.

BMC's epidemiologist Dr Mangala Gomare said the baby had been suffering from persistent fever and a sore throat. "He has been undergoing treatment for a few days now. The hospital started the anti-viral treatment before sending the samples to Haffkine Research Institute for examination," she said. Gomare said the child was stable. Last month, a six-year-old boy from Mulund had also tested positive for H1N1.

The use of anti-viral drugs for children below one year is still debated as clinical trials to ensure their safety have only been carried out on children above one year. Continued: 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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 05:18:03 AM UTC

India: Couple tested positive for swine flu (Maharashtra)

NAGPUR: Two more people from the city have been tested positive for swine flu (Snip) taking the number of people affected by the disease this season to five.

The husband has been declared positive by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and the wife's reports are awaited. She had been declared positive by a private laboratory but as per the norm her stats needs to be confirmed by NIV. (Snip)

Earlier this week, both of them were admitted to a hospital, from where they were shifted to one of the private hospitals designated to treat people with the disease. The patients have known to be in contact with a relative who was H1N1 positive. Both the patients are stable and their condition is improving (Snip) 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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 05:33:14 AM UTC

India: Swine flu - Shots on their way (Tamil Nadu)

PUDUCHERRY: The Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) have initiated the procedure to procure vaccines for Swine Flu (Snip)

As many as six cases -- five in Puducherry and one in Karaikal have been reported in the UT till date. (Snip) the vaccination would be initially given for the staff of the Department of Health and Family welfare and JIPMER. While JIPMER would be procuring 3,000 doses, the Health department would be getting around 6,000. (Snip) http://expressbuzz.com/states/...  

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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 05:44:40 AM UTC

CIDRAP: WHO reports progress on H1N1 pandemic mortality estimates

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working on a preliminary global mortality estimate for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and it recently posted an update on the work of a technical expert group that is in the early stages of gauging the impact. Two teams are working with the WHO to produce independent estimates with different methods, one from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one from the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research.
(Snip)
The WHO has said the number of confirmed 2009 H1N1 pandemic deaths is a gross underestimate (Snip)  better estimates of the cases and deaths are needed to better understand the impact of the pandemic and how it measures up historically.

"While the data for a definitive estimate of mortality will likely not exist for several years, and will never exist for some parts of the world, a preliminary estimate would be useful in the short term, and would serve to give a more realistic understanding of the true impact of the event than currently available reported mortality figures," (Snip)

Initial work presented at the October meeting was based on limited data from industrialized countries. As the next step, more countries, including some middle and low income countries, will provide data for the project this year, which should help the two groups further refine their estimates by the end of the year. 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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 06:28:35 AM UTC

Summary of WHO Technical Consultation: H1N1pdm Mortality Estimates

The number of pandemic deaths reported to WHO by its member states during the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic of 2009/10 is based on laboratory confirmation and is widely considered a gross underestimate for a number of reasons. Not all the suspected pandemic influenza-associated deaths were tested and confirmed. Where access to health care was limited, deaths may have occurred without being recognized or if recognized, not tested. One can also assume that there were also deaths associated with pandemic influenza but classified as deaths due to other subsequent complications.

We suspect that fatal cases in countries with limited or no laboratory testing capacity are severely under represented.

Continued: http://www.who.int/influenza/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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 06:33:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

India: H1N1 case reported in Alappuzha (Kerala)

ALAPPUZHA: (Snip) A 31-year-old woman from Chettikadu, Mararikulam, tested positive for the H1N1 strain. District Medical Officer (DMO) K M Shirabudheen has however said that the disease is under control in the district.

Cases of jaundice were also reported in some parts of Alappuzha. The Health Department has already initiated steps to control the spread of diseases (Snip) A youth died of the water-borne disease on Friday. Local people said that cases of jaundice were rising tremendously in the area. Three persons have reportedly died of the disease recently. http://expressbuzz.com/states/...

(Note: I think this is the first case of swine flu in Kerala this year. I don't remember seeing any other ones.)

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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 19:23:50 PM UTC

India: H1N1 case in Thrissur (Kerala)

(Note: Here's another case.... I should have known it wouldn't take long for more to be found in the news!)

THRISSUR: A case of Influenza A (H1N1) virus was reported in Thrissur, with the Kasturba Hospital in Manipal confirming on Friday evening that the throat swab samples of a 22-year-old student from Bangalore sent by a private hospital here  were tested positive for the infection. Evidence of the H1N1 strain has been found in the patient's nasal, throat secretions, swabs and blood samples in the test (Snip)

The patient was discharged following a few days' treatment in a private hospital here but the hospital authorities called him back after his throat samples tested positive (Snip) The patient had come from Bangalore last week, where he was believed to have contracted the infection (Snip)

"Unlike the previous years, the patient has not been quarantined at the hospital. We are not expecting more people who have contracted the infection this time. So after the two days' monitoring, we would refer him for domiciliary treatment, and we will also give counselling to the family members of the affected," said Venus. http://expressbuzz.com/cities/...  

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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 19:43:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Indian eggs threaten Bangladesh poultry

Egg imports from India, a bird flu-infected country, could destroy Bangladesh's entire poultry industry, sector people warned yesterday.

In November 2011, the commerce ministry allowed Dhaka-based Faria Enterprise Ltd to import one crore pieces of hatching eggs from India. In October 2010, the ministry allowed the same company to import one crore pieces of day-old chicks from India and other countries. The firm was told to complete the import by June last year. The minister later extended the deadline to June 30 this year.

The entry of eggs from the neighbouring country has created worries among experts, who said such imports from a country not free from bird flu widen the risk of spread of avian influenza locally.

"Being a bird flu affected country we cannot export our poultry products. On the other hand, we are importing poultry products from another bird flu-affected country," said Moshiur Rahman, convener of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee. Continued: http://www.thedailystar.net/ne...

(Note: H5N1 is endemic in both Bangladesh and India and they have continuously blamed each other for the outbreaks. However, no eggs or poultry should be imported from any bird flu affected country, IMO.)

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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 20:11:37 PM UTC

India: Three of a family test positive for swine flu (Tamil Nadu)

Coimbatore Apr 22: Three members of a family, including a five-month old child tested positive for swine flu today at nearby Tirupur. While a man is being treated an his house, his daughter in law and grandchild were admitted to a private hospital here and kept in isolation (Snip) all three showed symptoms of swine flu, which was confirmed (Snip). http://ibnlive.in.com/generaln...  

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 @ Sun Apr 22, 2012 at 20:16:15 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for April 23, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Mon Apr 23, 2012 at 04:23:34 AM UTC