News Reports for July 1, 2012

India: 5-year-old Bandra girl tests positive for swine flu (Maharashtra)

Two people, including a five-year-old girl residing in Bandra tested positive for swine flu on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the city to 55 since March. The other patient is a 35-year-old woman from Ghatkopar.

(Snip) the condition of both was stable. They have been put on a course of Tamiflu (Snip).

Sporadic showers that the city has witnessed have resulted in a rise in the number of H1N1 cases since past week. (Snip)  http://www.mumbaimirror.com/ar...

(Note: Both Bandra and Ghatkopar are suburbs of the city of Mumbai.)

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 05:30:32 AM UTC

India: Health dept gets swine flu vaccine doses for staff (Maharashtra)

Pune Serum Institute has completed the trial for an indigenous trivalent vaccine to prevent swine flu and other influenza type illnesses. (Snip)

As part of the measures for tackling swine flu, the state health department has received nearly 10,000 doses of vaccine against swine flu (H1N1 virus).

(Snip) the vaccine is for hospital level staff and health workers who are at high risk, while treating patients suffering from H1N1. (Snip) one new positive case of swine flu was detected in the city recently (Snip) http://www.expressindia.com/la...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 05:33:41 AM UTC

August Iowa Swine H3N2v Human Matches

Recombinomics Commentary

The USDA and Iowa State University have released a large number of swine sequences this week (largely HA, NA, MP sequences from latter 2011 / 2012 collections). These sequences included 13 isolates which matched the initial human H3N2v cases from 2011.

The latest sequences contained the earliest (August 22. 2011) matches (Snip) with the human H3N2v cases, which are after the first human case in July, but in the same time frame as the three Pennsylvania cases in August, 2011.  

The H3 from the two isolates were identical with each other and a September 9, 2011 collection from Iowa, (Snip) as well as previously described sequences from Illinois (Snip). Matches were also seen in the N2 and MP gene segments.

Full sequences from the previously described Illinois isolates, as well as sequences from New York (Snip) and Iowa (Snip) match the human H3N2v cases in all 8 gene segments, indicating this sub-clade spread rapidly in swine in the fall of 2011. 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 @ Sun Jul 01, 2012 at 05:39:27 AM UTC

S. African ostrich farmers face ruin as bird flu halts trade

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Danie Kok kicked his boots in the red dust swirling through empty wire pens at the farm he manages near Oudtshoorn, the world's ostrich-farming capital. No ostriches were to be seen. "We've been through some bad times, but nothing comes close to this," said Mr. Kok, 55, who has worked at the Van Wykskraal farm east of Cape Town for 30 years.

Last year, more than 1,600 of the farm's birds were taken away and killed after a strain of bird flu was detected in the flock. Such outbreaks, detected on 43 farms, led the government to ban all fresh ostrich-meat exports from South Africa, which had supplied 70 percent of world demand. The ban won't be lifted until farmers meet new hygiene and registration requirements and the country has been disease-free for three months.

About 740 ostrich farms, as well as 20,000 jobs in farms, slaughterhouses, tanneries and feather-processing plants, may be at risk in an industry that dates to 1864. Feathers from the flightless birds were outranked only by gold, diamonds and wool among South African exports before World War I. Continued: http://www.post-gazette.com/st...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 05:45:41 AM UTC

Mexico: Avian Flu AH7N3 Strain Kills One Million Birds

Around one million birds have died or were culled (Snip) where the National Health and Quality Agribusiness Service (Senasica) detected in ten facilities the AH7N3 strain of avian flu.

The Senasica said it issued license to import a vaccine from Asia to be distributed at the disease-hit states where the birds are being buried with due prophylaxis (quarantine, cull and vaccination) to contain the spread and get rid of the virus.

(Snip) the bird flu virus is very aggressive, (Snip) its presence now enters Mexico in the WHO watch list though Mexican authorities claim the strain is not a threat to human poultry consumption. http://www.plenglish.com/index...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 06:04:51 AM UTC

Rainy Season, Euro 2012 Lead To Rising Flu Patients In Thailand

Full article here: http://www.bernama.com/bernama...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 06:26:43 AM UTC

Global death toll from H1N1 flu pandemic still unknown - WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the official death toll from the 2010 H1N1 flu pandemic is still subject to intensive research around the world. WHO however says official records put the number of deaths listed (Snip) at 18,500 worldwide.

The organization says the actual number of deaths worldwide as a result of the pandemic remains unknown as many countries did not record the H1N1 flu virus as a direct cause of death.

A research paper published in the Lancet medical journal, claims the death toll could have been 15 times higher than previously thought. The research estimates that 284,400 people actually died in the first year the virus was circulating around the world.

"When you have deaths it is rarely registered as death from H1N1. It could be registered as respiratory failure or respiratory disorder. Even in many countries even seasonal influenza is not registered. Continued: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.c...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 06:41:56 AM UTC

How does this compare with seasonal flu?

Swine flu killed very many less than a normal flu season in the UK though it was proportionately higher in the young than an average year. I believe the final number was quite a bit less than a 1000 where a severe seasonal flu can be as high as 35000. The UK is probably one of the best at monitoring causes of death (eg they autopsied my aunt who was in her 80s and died in hospital) and I doubt they missed many fatal cases in the first year.

I got the impression that the CFR was higher in the US and the disease seems to be still knocking places like India quite hard. Very curious how different countries have fared.

I'm not really expecting an answer to this, just thinking aloud.

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jul 01, 2012 at 08:39:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hi UK - Bird

The WHO says, "the worldwide total for seasonal flu related deaths is generally between 250,000 and 500,000 a year." IMO, that's just a big guess since some countries are lax in reporting flu deaths, some don't report at all, etc. If they estimate 284,400 people died worldwide from swine flu in 2009 then that would make it on the low side of a normal seasonal flu year. I think the death rate fell lower after 2009. I believe Mexico and the US were hit the hardest with swine flu in 2009 in comparison to other countries. You are right, it is still knocking around out there. Some countries are seeing the swine flu as the dominate circulating virus and some are having to deal with the H3N2 virus this year. Type B was pretty bad in some countries in the far east during their last flu season.

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 18:09:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

China: Safety the priority for exports to HK

Agricultural products exported to Hong Kong are safe despite the fact that the mainland is facing increasing pressure to prevent and control animal diseases, a senior official said.

In recent years, there has been a string of major outbreaks of animal diseases worldwide, including China, such as foot-and-mouth disease, bird flu, and blue-ear disease, a highly pathogenic disease that can be fatal for pigs.

"No severe safety incidents have been registered for agricultural products supplied by the mainland to Hong Kong since the 1997 handover, due to the mainland's strict quality monitoring system," said Huang Guansheng, director of the department of supervision of animals and plants quarantine under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The monitoring system, set up by the top quality watchdog, covers the whole food chain, tracing agricultural products from the field in the mainland to the table in Hong Kong, Huang said. "The safety rate of the food supplied by the mainland to Hong Kong is now 99.999 percent, so high that few countries and regions in the world have it," York Chow, Hong Kong's food and health chief, was quoted by the Guangzhou Daily as saying on Sunday.

Analysts believe that the shrinking local agriculture sector in Hong Kong is the main factor behind the gradual increase of food supplies from the mainland in recent years. Most meat and vegetables in Hong Kong come from the mainland, said Chow, without providing specific figures.

Live pigs, cattle, sheep, birds, aquatic animals and fruit are some of the major agricultural products imported from the mainland, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Continued: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/c...

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 07:07:10 AM UTC

Thailand: Health officials warned Chiang Mai residents to beware of influenza outbreak

CHIANG MAI, 30 June 2012  - Health officials are warning Chiang Mai residents to particularly beware of the possible outbreak of influenza. (Snip) the risk of an influenza outbreak is high in the rainy season, or during the months of June and July.

Dr. Witaya stated that (Snip) the infection may cause high and prolonged fever, severe coughing, chest pain, irregular breathing and exhaustion. For small children, symptoms (Snip) include constant crying, lack of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. Dr. Witaya urged anyone with these symptoms to immediately seek medical attention from the nearest public health offices.

(Snip) the Department of Disease Control and the National Health Security Office (NHSO) have jointly launched a free anti-influenza vaccination campaign, which offers immunity against influenza-type A H1N1, type-A H3N2 and type-B.

The campaign is intended for 7 at-risk groups, totaling 355,000 people. They include chronic patients, the elderly aged above 65, obese people who weigh more than 100 kilograms, mentally-challenged people, children aged 6 months-2 years, pregnant women, and healthcare personnel as well as state employees in charge of poultry slaughter. Continued: http://www.pattayamail.com/new...

(Note: Chiang Mai is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand and attracts over 5 million visitors each year, of which between 1.4 million and 2 million are foreign tourists. **The source of this information was wikipedia.**)

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 Jul 01, 2012 at 18:44:03 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for July 2, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Mon Jul 02, 2012 at 04:19:18 AM UTC