News Reports for June 29, 2012

Australia: Canberra's top doc issues flu warning

Canberrans are being urged to take precautions to avoid influenza, following a rise in illness notifications. (Snip) there have been 72 laboratory confirmed cases this year, which is a similar level to the same time last year. (Snip) more than half of the notifications have occurred since the start of last month.

ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Paul Kelly says an unknown number of people suffering severe respiratory complications have also been admitted to Canberra's hospitals.

"Free vaccine is still available from general practitioners for people over the age of 65, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 15, pregnant women, and anyone over six months of age with underlying medical conditions which predispose them to complications from influenza," he said.

"For people who are sick with flu symptoms (Snip) should remove themselves to protect others."

Dr Kelly says the vaccines also prevent swine flue (Snip), which is still circulating in Canberra. "But it seems to be less common at the moment than some of the other strains of flu, the H3N2 (Snip) and the flu B strain," he said. (Snip) http://au.news.yahoo.com/lates...

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 Jun 29, 2012 at 06:40:34 AM UTC

Thailand: 35 swine-flu patients recover

The 35 confirmed swine flu patients at the Nakhon Ratchasima's Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital had recovered back to normal (Snip)

Following the H1N1 influenza infection since June 19, the hospital implemented strict measures to prevent outbreak in the 14-day period (Snip) all of the 35 confirmed swine flu patients now had no fever, no coughing nor other complications but they would remain in the quarantine until July 2. Then the hospital on July 3 would do a major disinfecting the facility before opening for services (Snip) http://www.nationmultimedia.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 @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 06:47:29 AM UTC

Flu immunity is affected by how many viruses actually cause the infection

Not only does the type of flu virus affect a patient's outcome, but a new research report appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that the number of viruses involved in the initial infection may be important too. Scientists from Canada found that when mice were infected by relatively high concentrations of the flu virus, they not only developed immunity against the virus that infected them, but this also promoted the generation of a type of immune cell in the lungs poised to rapidly react against infections with other strains of the flu, as well. Mice that were infected with a relatively low concentration of the virus developed weaker immunity against the strain that infected them, did not build up this crucial population of immune cells in the lungs, and showed only delayed immunity toward other flu strains. This discovery could pave the way for new prophylactic strategies to fight flu infections and provides a novel basis for vaccine design.

"Hopefully, the findings of our study will help to develop better vaccine preparations that will be more effective in inducing protective cellular immunity to fight against infectious pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi," said Martin V. Richter, Ph.D., the lead researcher involved in the work from the Department of Medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke and Centre de Recherche Clinique Étienne-Le Bel in Québec, Canada.

To make this discovery, scientists infected two groups of mice with two different infectious doses of influenza A (H3N2) and analyzed several aspects of inflammation and immunity during the initial infection as well as during reinfection with a different strain of virus. The first group was infected with a low dose of the virus whereas the second group was infected with a high dose of the same virus. Mice infected with the high dose showed increased morbidity, a greater degree of lung inflammation, but also a greater recruitment of influenza-specific immune cells (CD8+ T cells) into their lungs, and a better generation of long-lived respiratory CD8+ T cells called memory CD8+ T cells. In contrast, the mice infected with the low dose of virus suffered less from primary infection but all of the immune responses were induced to lower levels. Consequently, reinfection of mice, 60 days after primary infection, revealed that mice previously infected with a higher dose showed increased protection due to greater magnitude of the memory CD8+ T cell pool present in their lungs before reinfection. This is the first demonstration that the initial infectious dose has an important impact on the generation of specific types of immune memory cells and on the degree of immune protection against reinfection. Continued: http://medicalxpress.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 Jun 29, 2012 at 06:59:21 AM UTC

It's time to prepare for next pandemic

Anyone who caught swine flu during the pandemic of 2009 knows the virus had nasty consequences, so early estimates that 18,500 people died worldwide seemed believable, if devastating. A new paper in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal suggests that the virus was far worse than anybody knew. H1N1 was responsible for the deaths of at least a quarter million people worldwide, according to a team of epidemiologists and doctors led by Fatimah Dawood of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 18,500 number was based on deaths actually reported to the World Health Organization. The problem, according to the scientists, is that only a small fraction of deaths were reported, and in many cases death occurred from complications after the virus had cleared the body.

Problems with reporting (Snip) were especially acute in Asia, where the majority of deaths occurred.
(Snip)
The outbreak was chaotic. Vaccines were slow to arrive and had to be rationed. Disease tracking was unreliable. The WHO was especially critical of how slow the United Nations was to respond. But health agencies all over the world failed their populations.

(Snip) International, national and local health agencies need better plans and preparations for such outbreaks and must do a more effective job of tracking such diseases when they emerge. As the scramble in 2009 made clear, the production and distribution of vaccines can't be left to the last minute.

(Snip) during the next outbreak the goal of doctors, nurses, scientists, vaccine manufacturers and health agencies around the world must be to correct the problems that created the chaos in 2009. That's the only way to limit the impact of a disease that, left unchecked, will kill too many people in too many places. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/0...

(Note: The WHO criticizing the United Nations or anyone else for mistakes made in 2009 is laughable! In my opinion, they first need to take a look at their own screw-ups and ineffectiveness. I hope the world's population doesn't have to depend on them for anything in a future pandemic unless they make huge improvements to how they handled the last pandemic! 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 Jun 29, 2012 at 07:11:59 AM UTC

Prevent flu outbreak now

(The Washington Times - Opinion Section)

The recent release of information concerning bird flu - that it only takes three mutations to become an airborne killer virus - should send shivers down every person's spine.

Research conclusions (Snip) have revealed the Spanish flu virus of 1918 started in the southern United States and then made its way to Europe. As this virus spread through the trenches, young soldiers with healthy immune systems were struck down. (Snip)

When the war ended, the virus was taken back across the world as soldiers returned home. (Snip) As there were only about 1.8 billion humans then and now there are more than 7 billion, a similar deadly virus now would kill up to 378 million people worldwide because of current rapid-transit systems around the world. This number could as much as double if a human-to-human avian flu pandemic were to emerge.

That is why the current drugs strategy is futile. Hardly any of those infected would be saved because of the time it takes to create an antidote, mass produce it and distribute it to the world - approximately six months longer than when the Spanish flu did its worst in 1918, when as many as 100 million lives were taken.

We must adopt the strategy of prevention rather than reaction, and do so before it is too late.

DAVID HILL

Chief executive

World Innovation Foundation

Huddersfield, U.K.
 

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 Jun 29, 2012 at 07:38:05 AM UTC

Mexico hit by high-path avian flu outbreak

(Snip) authorities are stepping up avian flu control efforts after tests revealed that the strain responsible for more than 200 000 bird deaths on three large commercial farms is the highly pathogenic H7N3 subtype.

The events mark the first highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks in Mexican flocks since the country battled H5N2 in the mid 1990s. (Snip) http://www.agra-net.com/portal...

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 Jun 29, 2012 at 20:18:34 PM UTC

India: Bird flu epicentre free from virus (Orissa)

BHUBANESWAR: Breeding of poultry birds can resume here and surrounding areas affected by avian influenza earlier this year with the central government declaring the epicentres at Keranga and Nayapalli free from the dreaded H5N1 virus, official sources said on Friday.

(Snip) surveillance around the areas where avian influence or bird flu outbreaks were reported in January-February this year has revealed no presence of notifiable avian influenza. "India declares the epicentres, Keranga and Nayapalli of Odisha, free from notifiable avian influenza," it said.

This followed three samples collected from Keranga in Khurda and the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) at Nayapalli here tested negative for bird flu, official sources said. However, the Centre is yet to declare Bahanada in Betanoti block of Mayurbhanj district, which had also experienced mass culling of poultry birds due to the presence of H5N1 virus, as reports of all samples collected from there are awaited, sources added. 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 @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 20:26:57 PM UTC

To Control Influenza, Both Innate And Adaptive Immune Responses Are Critical

Both innate and adaptive immune responses play an important role in controlling influenza virus infection, according to a study, published in the Open Access journal PLoS Computational Biology, by researchers from Oakland University, Michigan, and Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA.

Influenza (Snip) remains a major public health problem worldwide. Seasonal and pandemic influenza results in approximately 3 to 569 million cases of severe illness and approximately 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide. Although most infected subjects with intact immune systems are able to clear the virus without developing serious flu complications, the biological factors responsible for viral control remain unclear.

To investigate the factors for viral control, the researchers developed mathematical models that included both innate and adaptive immune responses to the virus. These models were used to study the viral dynamics of the influenza virus infection in horses. After infection, viral levels rise rapidly, reach a peak and fall, then they attain a low plateau that can be followed in some animals by a second peak. Ultimately, viral levels decline and the infection is cleared. By comparing modeling predictions with experimental data, researchers examined the relative roles of availability of cells susceptible to infection, so-called target cells, and innate and adaptive immune responses in controlling the virus.

The research showed that the two-part innate immune response, generated by natural killer cells, and the antiviral effect caused by interferon, a naturally produced protective molecule, can explain the first rapid viral decline and subsequent second viral peak. The second peak comes about because as the viral level falls, the immune response also falls allowing the virus the opportunity to grow back before the adaptive ultimately clears it. However, for eventual viral clearance it is the body's adaptive immune response that is needed.

Continued: http://www.redorbit.com/news/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 @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 20:33:10 PM UTC

And it's the point of that second peak

when it does you in.

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by: UK - Bird @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 21:14:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for June 30, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun Jul 01, 2012 at 00:58:42 AM UTC