News Reports for May 28, 2012

Australia: Flu deaths set to rise in 2012

AN IPSWICH doctor has warned changes to government funding for flu vaccinations could lead to a rise in deaths this winter. With the onset of flu season fast approaching, Ipswich Medical Centre doctor Paul Curson said fewer practices were reminding at-risk patients to get vaccinated this year.

Dr Curson said changes to Federal Government funding gave Ipswich medical practices less incentive to promote flu shots, affecting the rate of people being immunised. "The Federal Government has withdrawn the price signal per head for items including flu shots and wound care items... which means fewer people will get vaccinated because there's less incentive for practices to remind them, which will result in higher morbidity this flu season," he said.

Queensland Health figures show that from January 1 to May 13 this year, there have been 630 cases of confirmed influenza cases across Queensland - an increase on the 2007-2011 average of 543 for the same time period. "The previous funding was provided through the practice nurses items of service, and now we're being offered a grant instead," Mr Curson said.

"The change happened on January 1, 2012, and we may have received $7000 to $10,000 before then and last quarter we only received $900. "The principle is the pricing of providing services, which provided private practices with financial support."

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Richard Kidd said the changes, including an impending July 1 cut of the Practice Incentives Program, could put more financial pressure on practices. "At the moment the Practice Incentives Program is a grant that is based on 90% of certain groups of people being immunised - for instance there's a children's program," Dr Kidd said. "It will disappear completely, and doctors might already be dis-incentified about the changes.

"Providing adequate immunisation is really important, but costs will increase so some practices might have to cover costs by making patients pay more. "The changes might push some practices out of bulk-billing, because making money out of that is becoming very difficult." Continued: http://www.qt.com.au/story/201...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 05:05:08 AM UTC

Powerful new approach to attack flu virus

EAST LANSING, Mich. - An international research team has manufactured a new protein that can combat deadly flu epidemics. The paper, featured on the cover of the current issue of Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates ways to use manufactured genes as antivirals, which disable key functions of the flu virus (Snip)

"Our most potent design has proven effective on the vulnerable sites on many pandemic influenza viruses, including several H1N1 (Spanish flu, Swine flu) and H5N1 (Avian flu) subtypes," said Whitehead, the paper's co-lead author. "These new therapeutics are urgently needed, so we were especially pleased to see that it neutralizes H1N1 viruses with potency."

From its earlier research, the team used computer-aided design to engineer proteins that targeted vulnerable sites on the highly adaptable virus. From there, researchers optimized their designer proteins by comprehensively mapping the mutations that gave the proteins a strong advantage when attacking the viruses' targeted areas.

The team improved its proteins through a process called "DNA deep sequencing." This allowed Whitehead and his colleagues to simultaneously sequence millions of variants of their manufactured proteins, identify and keep the beneficial mutations and optimize the proteins' performance.

"By taking only the best mutations, we can reprogram our proteins to burrow into viruses at key locations and render them harmless," he said. "Our work demonstrates a new approach to construct therapeutic proteins, which we hope will spur development of new protein drugs by the biopharmaceutical industry."

This research also laid the groundwork for future treatments of all flu viruses as well as other diseases such as smallpox, Whitehead added. Continued: http://news.msu.edu/story/powe...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 05:13:18 AM UTC

Canada: B.C.'s Animal Health Act makes sickness a secret

In a world of contagions, of mad-cow disease and bird flu, where the next pandemic seems just a viral mutation away, news that a farm has been quarantined because of a disease outbreak is unnerving.

But is that any reason to suppress information? Elizabeth Denham, the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, doesn't think so, and neither do a lot of others, including the fish-farming industry.

When disease was detected on two B.C. fish farms last week, the companies put out press releases naming the facilities and describing the measures taken in response to positive tests for infectious hematopoietic necrosis, a disease that can kill Atlantic salmon, but which poses no human health concerns. That proactive approach reassured the public, and showed that the fish farms had nothing to hide.

But under a new Animal Health Act that the provincial government has introduced, such openness would not only be discouraged, it would in some cases become illegal, an offence punishable by fines of up to $75,000 and two years in prison. Section 3 of the controversial act states that "a person must refuse, despite the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, to disclose ... information that would reveal that a notifiable or reportable disease is or may be present in a specific place." The act also forbids "a person" from identifying any individual "responsible for an animal or an animal product or byproduct."

So you can't say what, you can't say where and you can't say who is responsible.

Ms. Denham has objected, stating in a letter to Agriculture Minister Don McRae: "The Bill would override the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and remove the public's right to access various records regarding animal testing, including actions and reports relating to animal disease management." She said the act fails to strike a balance "between the public's right to know, and individual and commercial interests of confidentiality," and she asked that the offending sections be removed.

Others see the act in a more sinister light, and argue it is a muzzling document that would silence journalists, environmental activists such as Alexandra Morton, and even farmers themselves.

But the legislation does not go that far. The bill defines "a person" as being an employee of the government, an inspector, or an employee of a laboratory. So it seeks to silence government officials involved with a disease incident - not others in the public realm. So stories will still appear in the media when disease outbreaks occur, but if the act passes as it is now written, no government official will be able to confirm a specific farm is affected - even when quarantine signs are posted. Continued: http://www.theglobeandmail.com...

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 05:20:52 AM UTC

UK: Britain's equine flu surveillance boosted as Olympics near

Efforts have been stepped up in a bid to ensure equine influenza does not pose a problem in the run-up to the London Olympics, following recent cases in Northwest France.

Britain's governing bodies for horse sports have joined with the Animal Health Trust to minimise any risks associated with this disease between now and the July Games.

Transfer of equine flu can occur even in vaccinated horses.

The Animal Health Trust's head of epidemiology and disease surveillance, Dr Richard Newton, says the accuracy of diagnosing the disease had greatly improved through the use of fast and sensitive viral detection methods used with respiratory samples - especially swabs from the nose and throat. Continued: http://horsetalk.co.nz/2012/05...

 

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

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 05:26:14 AM UTC

Cambodian girl, 10, dies from bird flu: WHO

PHNOM PENH - A 10-year-old Cambodian girl has died from bird flu, the World Health Organization said Monday, the country's third fatality from the virulent disease this year.

The child developed a fever and shortness of breath on May 20 and died on Sunday, the WHO said in a joint statement with the Cambodian health ministry. Hospital tests confirmed she had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

"There is evidence of recent deaths among poultry in the village and the patient prepared sick chicken for food prior to becoming sick," the statement said.  The girl, from southewestern Kampong Speu province, is the 21st person in Cambodia to become infected with the H5N1 virus since 2003. Nineteen of those cases have been fatal. (continued)

http://www.google.com/hostedne...

---

by: AlohaOR @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 17:25:45 PM UTC

Bird-Flu Virus coalition Pigs Make it easy for the Inter-human transmission

http://www.beritasatu.com/kese...

Monday, May 28, 2012 | 21:07

Illustration (source: Voice Update)
Potentially occur anywhere, including Indonesia.
 
Japanese researchers, Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka asserted, that there is now a coalition of Bird Flu virus (H5N1) and swine flu (H1N1), which it will facilitate the potential bird flu transmission between humans.

"Coalition of the virus we studied, it could potentially happen anywhere, including Indonesia," said researchers at the Laboratory of the U.S. and Erasmus Wisconsin, Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Tropical Disease Hospital in Indonesia (RSPTI)-Unair Surabaya, Monday (28/5).
 
He explained that his party has done in the coalition that strain both the virus and the results can be tested on animals try to "represent" human beings.

"Therefore, the coalition of the two viruses that have occurred that indicate the dangers of bird flu transmission between humans would be very easy, so that Indonesia also needs to do a 'surveillance' on bird flu virus that exists today," said Kawaoka.
 
According to him, a number of countries have already made two steps to prevent that the eradiasi and vaccination. "Japan and Korea chose eradication by killing all the animals infected with either virus," he said.

Meanwhile, Thailand which was originally used to vaccinate animals to be free of both types of the virus have also begun to pick eradiasi step, because vaccination in animals makes it easier to spread bird flu virus.
 
Coalition H5N1-H1N1 in Indonesia
In response, researchers from the bird flu-Unair RSPTI Surabaya Dr drh CA Nidom MS explained that Indonesia is still using vaccination.But the way it should be reviewed with the findings of the bird flu virus coalition-pigs.

"If steps eradiasi maybe people will lose and the country also probably still going to think when asked to replace the fee, but the move was more than the later is transmitted between humans," he said.

Therefore, said Nidom who is also Head of Research Strategy at the BSL-3 laboratory-Unair RSPTI Surabaya, the institute proposed a "middle way" to restructure to keep animals (sometimes animal) from densely populated areas.

In addition, from 2005 to 2012 has occurred 188 people have contracted bird flu in 156 people or 83 percent of them die, so the cure rate is quite small (17 percent) as A in Karachi (May 2012) and E in Tulungagung (2006).

"Coalition of the bird flu virus and swine flu that can facilitate inter-human transmission also does not mean it does not exist in Indonesia, because research on the bird flu virus that we've done is refer to the virus of 2005 to 2007," he said.

In fact, he is also accompanied by Director-Unair RSPTI Dr Burhan, the bird flu virus has mutated to a new and Indonesia are also bound to suffer, because it needs to research bir
"But we can not examine post-2007 virus, because we were not given examples of the virus by the government. We do not know, maybe there is concern that we would sell the results of the study. It is not possible, we work closely with Japanese researchers have eight years and research in BSL-3 Unair, "he said.
Author: Reuters / Ririn Indriani d flu virus with new viruses.

---

by: bgw in MT @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 18:58:24 PM UTC

Japanese researchers: Existing Coalition Swine Flu-Bird

http://www.antarajatim.com/lih...

May 28, 2012 19:42:37 | Education / boarding school | Read 7 times | Author: Edy M Jacob

Surabaya - Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka Japanese researchers confirmed that there is now a coalition of Bird Flu virus (H5N1) and swine flu (H1N1), so the potential transmission of avian influenza among human beings would be very easy. "Coalition of the virus we studied, it could potentially happen anywhere , including Indonesia, "said researchers at the Laboratory of the U.S. and Erasmus Wisconsin, Prof. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Tropical Disease Hospital in Indonesia (RSPTI)-Unair Surabaya on Monday. 

He spoke on the sidelines of an international seminar on tropical disease research in RSPTI Unair Surabaya, which also featured Prof T Matano (vaccine research HIV / AIDS) and Prof Y Watanabe (malaria researchers). Accompanied by Head of Strategic Research Laboratory BSL-3 on-Unair RSPTI Surabaya Dr drh CA Nidom MS, he explained that they already carry a mutation virus in the virus's coalition and the results can be tested on animals try to "represent" human. "Therefore, the coalition of the two viruses that have occurred that indicate danger of bird flu transmission between humans would be very easy, so that Indonesia also needs to do a 'surveillance 'the Bird Flu virus that exists today, "he said. 

According to him, a number of countries have already made ​​two steps to prevent that the eradiasi and vaccination. "Japan and Korea chose eradication by killing all the animals infected with either virus," he said. In the meantime, Thailand which was originally used to vaccinate animals to be free of both types of the virus have also begun to pick eradiasi step, because it makes the vaccine in animal virus Bird flu is spread easily. 

In response, researchers from the AI-Unair RSPTI Surabaya Dr drh CA Nidom MS describes Indonesia is still using vaccinations, but the way it should be reviewed with the findings of avian influenza virus coalition-pig. "If the step eradiasi maybe people will lose and the country also probably still going to think when asked to replace the fee, but the move was more than the later is transmitted between humans, "he said. Therefore, said Nidom who is also Head of Strategic Research Laboratory BSL-3 on RSPTI- Unair Surabaya, the institute proposed a "middle way" to restructure to keep animals (sometimes animal) from densely populated areas. (*)

---

by: bgw in MT @ Mon May 28, 2012 at 19:10:46 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for May 29, 2012

Thank you!

---

by: AlohaOR @ Tue May 29, 2012 at 03:27:32 AM UTC