News Reports for June 21, 2012

New Zealand: Kiwis hit by severe flu virus

New Zealanders have been hit in increasing numbers by the A(H3N2)-like influenza virus in recent weeks.

Latest ESR general practice sentinel surveillance data (week to June 10) shows a national consultation rate of 18.4 per 100,000 (69 ILI or influenza-like-illness consultations). Although this level is still considered to be below normal seasonal activity, there have been noticeable ILI spikes in Auckland (40.9 per 100,000) and South Canterbury (51.9 per 100,000) regions where the influenza strain A(H3N2) has been predominant.

Virus expert and National Influenza Specialist Group (NISG) spokesperson, Dr Lance Jennings says the predominance of the H3N2 virus is a concern because infections with this virus can be particularly severe for the elderly and those with an ongoing medical condition.

"A major outbreak of H3N2 would cause a surge in hospital admissions and deaths. It's not too late, however, for eligible people to get a free flu vaccination which covers three strains currently in circulation in the southern hemisphere, including H3N2," says virus expert and National Influenza Specialist Group (NISG) spokesperson, Dr Lance Jennings.  Continued: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories...

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 Jun 21, 2012 at 00:56:16 AM UTC

New Zealand: Severe flu virus warning issued

A severe flu virus is causing concern in Auckland and South Canterbury, where there have been spikes in the number of doctor consultations for flu-like symptoms.

The influenza strain A(H3N2) - which could cause a surge in hospital admissions and deaths - has been predominant in these two regions, according to data from Environmental Science & Research (ESR).

Latest ESR general practice sentinel surveillance data - for the week ending June 10 - shows a spike in influenza-like-illness consultations in Auckland (40.9 per 100,000) and South Canterbury (51.9 per 100,000). Continued: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/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 @ Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 01:02:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

New Zealand: Serious flu outbreak in Auckland

Doctors are worried a serious flu virus spike is set to put a strain on hospitals in Auckland and South Canterbury.

The number of doctor consultations for flu-like symptoms in the two regions has increased this winter, causing concern among and health professionals.

The influenza strain A(H3N2) ,which could cause a surge in hospital admissions and deaths, has been predominant in these two regions, according to data from Environmental Science & Research (ESR). Continued: http://health.msn.co.nz/health...

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 Jun 21, 2012 at 06:40:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

US: ACIP Changes Flu Vaccine Dosing for Kids

ATLANTA -- Two of the three strains covered by the seasonal influenza vaccine are changing for the upcoming season, and with that change comes a new dosing algorithm for children.

The trivalent inactivated vaccine will still contain the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain, but the H3N2 and B strains will be replaced. The H3N2 component is changing from A/Perth/16/2009 to A/Victoria/361/2011, and the B component is changing from the Victoria-lineage B/Brisbane/60/2008 to the Yamagata-lineage B/Wisconsin/1/2010.

In part because of those changes, the dosing algorithm for children ages 6 months through 8 years has been modified at a regular meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at CDC headquarters here.

For the 2011-2012 season, two doses of the seasonal vaccine separated by at least 4 weeks were recommended for children who did not receive at least one dose of the 2010-2011 seasonal vaccine or who had unknown vaccination status. Children who did receive at least one dose of the 2010-2011 vaccine required only one dose of the 2011-2012 vaccine.

The dosing algorithm for the 2012-2013 season for children ages 6 months through 8 years, adopted by a unanimous vote, is the following:

Children who have never received flu vaccine -- or for whom vaccination history is unknown -- should receive two doses of vaccine separated by at least 4 weeks.

Among children who have received the seasonal flu vaccine previously, those who did not receive a total of at least two doses of seasonal vaccine since July 2010 -- or for whom the exact history since July 2010 is unknown -- should receive two doses of this year's vaccine separated by at least 4 weeks.

Among children who have received the seasonal flu vaccine previously, those who have received a total of at least two doses of seasonal vaccine since July 2010 need only one dose of this year's vaccine.

There was some discussion about another option that would take into account the use of the monovalent H1N1 vaccine during the pandemic, but concerns were raised about complicating dosing decisions, and that option was voted down. In addition, the more detailed algorithm would not have been concordant with guidance that is being finalized by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

"Two recommendations not harmonized between the AAP and ACIP are going to throw clinicians into a tizzy," said ACIP member S. Michael Marcy, MD, of the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles. "I just don't think that's a good idea at all because it implies that one or the other doesn't have all the facts or isn't making the appropriate recommendation." Continued: http://www.medpagetoday.com/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 @ Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 06:55:40 AM UTC

Flu Virus Continues to Evolve in Swine

Clinical signs remain the same, but flu viruses have dramatically changed

Influenza is an important cause of respiratory disease in swine throughout the world. It was first recognized in the midwestern United States in 1918, when the virus moved from humans to swine during the pandemic known as the Spanish flu.

For 80 years, this virus, known as the classical H1N1, remained relatively stable in U.S. swine. Seasonal outbreaks of flu characterized as an abrupt onset of a loud, barking cough, respiratory distress, decreased feed intake and lethargy were caused by the classical H1N1. During that time, sporadic introductions of influenza viruses from different species or subtypes may have occurred, but they did not become established in the swine population.

Today, swine flu continues to evolve, and the emergence of diverse viruses has generated monitoring and surveillance efforts, which are important factors in maintaining animal and human health.

Influenza Evolution

Although clinical signs of swine flu have remained relatively consistent over the years, the viruses responsible for current outbreaks are much different from the classical H1N1 virus originally isolated from swine in 1930.

Influenza viruses have the unique ability to interchange segments of their genome through a process known as viral reassortment. When this occurs with two viruses of differing subtypes (H1N1 and H3N2, for example), the resulting variant virus may represent an "antigenic shift" that can escape the population immunity from a prior infection, causing outbreaks that can potentially spread locally, regionally and sometimes globally.

Emergence of a human H3N2 subtype in swine in 1998 significantly impacted the genetic diversity that is recognized in current influenza viruses endemic in U.S. swine. The H3N2 virus was a triple reassortant, meaning it contained a mixture of gene segments derived from swine, human and avian influenza virus lineages. Triple reassortant influenza viruses that quickly became established in pigs after 1998 are well adapted to the swine host and are consistently isolated from cases of swine flu.

Reassortment continues to significantly contribute to the diverse influenza ecology that is recognized in U.S. swine. After the emergence of the H3N2 virus in 1998, viral reassortment with the classical H1N1 virus resulted in the development of the three subtypes currently endemic in swine - H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2.

Interspecies transmission accompanied by virus reassortment and the emergence of variant influenza viruses in swine have been demonstrated numerous times since 1998. But these occurrences drew little attention from the influenza community. Continued: http://nationalhogfarmer.com/h...

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 Jun 21, 2012 at 07:09:57 AM UTC

Time: H5N1: Bird Flu Pandemic May Be Closer than Thought, Study Finds

The popularized version of the infamous study and the story behind it.

After a delay of more than six months, a controversial paper describing a virulent, man-made form of bird flu was published in the journal Science on Thursday. The findings suggest that we may be closer than we thought to a potentially deadly influenza pandemic.

Science released in their entirety the details of a series of experiments conducted by virologist Ron Fouchier and his colleagues at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, in which they genetically engineered the H5N1 bird flu virus and made it jump easily from host to host. The research, along with another paper submitted to Nature by scientists led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who also created an airborne strain of H5N1, was initially suppressed in December by a U.S. government biosecurity group over concerns that the experiments could pose a bioterror risk. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) asked the editors of Science and Nature to strip the reports of their detailed methods, or withhold them altogether, sparking an intense dispute within the scientific community.

More at the link...

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by: pogge @ Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 20:53:57 PM UTC

Same here, from the BBC

Bird flu 'could mutate to cause deadly human pandemic'

According to Prof Ron Fouchier from the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, who led the research, publication of the work in full will give the wider scientific community the best possible chance to combat future flu pandemics.

etc, etc...

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

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by: Ruby Murray @ Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 21:22:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Enough about mutant bird flu. We still know very little about wild H5N1

There are few viruses more capable to grabbing headlines at the moment than H5N1 (Snip) It has certainly been discussed to death in the media over the last several months, after it emerged that two scientists had evolved mutant strains that can spread between ferrets. The first of those papers was published last month (Snip) and the second comes out today (Snip).

(Snip) It's a controversy that threatens to distract from a more important fact: we still know surprisingly little about H5N1. I've spent the last few weeks talking to flu researchers and it's amazing how many basic questions about the virus we still have to answer.

Where is it, and how many people have been infected? How does it kill and, for that matter, why doesn't it kill more people?  Why did one particular lineage spread around the world, when other bird flu viruses have not? Given that the virus apparently evolve the ability to spread between mammals, as the controversial papers show, why hasn't it already done so? And perhaps most importantly, what will it do in the future?

I've written a bigger story for Nature (Snip). In a brilliant play on words, the story has been titled "Five Questions on H5N1". Go have a look, if only to smile at the cute little cartoon viruses with their angry teeth and eyes. http://blogs.discovermagazine....

"Five Questions on H5N1"  http://www.nature.com/news/inf...

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 Jun 21, 2012 at 22:23:39 PM UTC

Some bird flu strains only three mutations away from a pandemic

study, led by Professor Derek Smith and Dr. Colin Russell at the University of Cambridge, researchers analyzed all the surveillance data available on avian H5N1 flu viruses in the past 15 years and discovered two of the five mutations needed to make bird flu transmissible between mammals had already occurred in numerous avian flu strains that exist in nature.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/...

Be Prepared

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by: DennisC @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 01:21:20 AM UTC

Congress investigates air leak, possible safety lapses at CDC lab

(snip)
And now, the Biosafety Level 3 lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is also the subject of a congressional investigation after a potentially dangerous airflow leak at that lab, CNN has learned.

The leak occurred on February 16, when air flowed the wrong way out of a germ lab into a clean-air corridor, rather than through the powerful HEPA filter that cleans the air, congressional sources and CDC officials said. Visitors touring the facility were in the clean corridor when they observed a puff of air being pushed out from the lab through a slot in a door window.

(snip)

There has been at least one other safety-related incident in that same building where February's air leak occurred.
(snip)

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/21/...

Meteorologist in Florida!?!  Now we're talkin'!!!

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by: Tempest @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 03:58:59 AM UTC

Great to hear from you, again, Tempest! (n/t)

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 04:08:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for June 22, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 04:08:38 AM UTC