News Reports for July 10, 2012

Australia: Vaccination call as flu season blows in early (Northern Territory)

Flu season has arrived early in the Northern Territory this year, with dozens of people already admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital with the virus. (Snip) more than 180 Territorians have been diagnosed with influenza.

Of those cases, 60 have been in Darwin and more than 30 people have been hospitalised.

Doctor Vicki Krause from the Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control says people should get vaccinated now.

"What we are recognising in the last couple of weeks is the numbers are creeping up," she said. Continued: 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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 06:00:17 AM UTC

Mapping Dangerous Disease Hotspots To Control Them

Scared of bird flu? How about the viral Rift Valley fever? These diseases and many others are animal diseases that have grown the ability to infect humans. They're known as zoonoses. (Snip) And humanity's ever-growing taste for livestock products could stoke the growth of these zoonoses: More sick animals around just increases the chances. Already, 13 kinds of zoonoses kill 2.2 million people each year, mostly in poor countries. A whopping 60% of human disease--and 75% of emerging infectious disease--is zoonotic. The best way to prevent these diseases from spreading further is to identify their hotspots--and quickly take measures to control them.

A report from the International Livestock Research Institute, the Institute of Zoology, and the Hanoi School of Public Health in Vietnam collected a list of the top 20 zoonosis hotspots in the world. According to the report, we should be focusing our zoonosis prevention efforts on Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, India, Western Europe, Brazil, the northeastern U.S., and some parts of Southeast Asia.

The dangerous zoonoses that could emerge from these hotspots include brucellosis (common in poorer countries), rabies, anthrax, Rift Valley fever, bird flu, and HIV/AIDS. Continued: http://www.fastcoexist.com/168...
 

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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 06:05:11 AM UTC

India: 25-year-old tests positive for swine flu (Maharashtra)

Mumbai - A 25-year-old woman from Parel tested positive for swine flu in the civic laboratory on Monday. "She was suffering from heavy cough, cold and fever. She has been put on Tamiflu and is stable now," (Snip) The cases have risen to 75 since January this year.

Five patients were detected positive for swine flu from a private lab on Sunday. A 62-year-old man from Bandra (West), 30-year-old man from Dahisar, 2-year-old baby boy from Andheri and a 47-year-old woman from Andheri were detected positive for H1N1 virus. A 16-year-old boy from Jogeshwari who was detected H1N1 positive has been admitted to a private hospital. Continued: http://www.dnaindia.com/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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 06:11:31 AM UTC

India: H1N1-positive man critical (Maharashtra)

PUNE: A 55-year-old swine flu patient became critically ill and was put on ventilator support at a private hospital here on Monday. (Snip) He had tested positive for the H1N1 virus on July 7," (Snip)

The man developed symptoms from July 2. "He initially had fever and cough. His condition soon worsened and he started to complain of breathlessness on July 4, when he was admitted to the hospital. He is HIV positive and also has a kidney problem," Pardeshi said.
(Snip)
He was put on Tamiflu medicines right from the day of admission to the hospital. "His condition became critical. He was intubated and put on control mode ventilator at 11 am on Monday," said Pardeshi.

Since June, the city has reported six swine flu positive cases. "This is the first patient this monsoon whose condition has become critical. His condition deteriorated so fast because he is immunocompromised and suffers from HIV," Pardeshi said.

Since April, the city has reported 142 swine flu cases and six deaths. The first casualty this monsoon was reported from Navi Mumbai when a 13-year-old girl died of swine flu infection at a private hospital. 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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 06:23:08 AM UTC

Cluster of graphics processors identify pathway for new flu drugs in record time

A Thai - UK research team has used clusters of high-end graphics processors (GPUs) to shorten the time taken to run simulations of molecular interactions between drugs and mutant strains of the H1N1 flu virus to help design new drugs.

Deadly drug resistance

Following the outbreak of H1N1 influenza cases in 2009, (Snip) researchers worldwide have been working to discover how virus mutations led to the ineffectiveness of leading anti-influenza drugs. A single mutation reduced efficacy of the flu drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir by 45 and 10 times, and a double mutant by 12,000 and 21 times, respectively. Studying viruses in laboratory experiments is difficult, however, because reactions are often too fast and delicate to capture. In addition, advanced computer simulations of these chemical and biological systems have previously been beyond the reach of researchers without access to expensive, high-powered supercomputers.

Simulating changes at molecular level

Using GPU-based computer clusters, researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK and the Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat and Chulalongkorn Universities in Bangkok observed how H1N1 mutations can cause changes in the structural dynamics of a key enzyme of the virus. The research team ran 10 simulations of the molecular changes that occur when H1N1 wild and mutant types bind to the drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir and were able to discover the H1N1 mechanism of resistance - the loss of key hydrogen bonds in the molecular interactions. Continued: http://www.bj-hc.co.uk/bjhc-ne...


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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 06:30:02 AM UTC

CIDRAP: WHO: Flu season starts in Southern Hemisphere

The flu season has started in most of the temperate Southern Hemisphere countries (Snip).

The H3N2 virus is dominant overall, but the virologic picture varies by country, with some, including Bolivia, reporting high levels of 2009 H1N1 infections and others seeing co-circulation of influenza B.

In Chile, flu activity has almost reached the country's alert threshold, and the proportion of emergency visits for respiratory disease has reached 31%, surpassing the level reported for the same period in the last 2 years. Most (Snip) are H3N2.

Brazil has reported a sustained rise in flu detections since the middle of May, with a notable increase in severe respiratory infections, 80% from the 2009 H1N1 virus and the rest from H3N2.

In Bolivia, more than 50% of samples tested were positive for flu, and the country has seen a recent rise in severe infections.

In sub Saharan Africa, (Snip) low or no flu activity in most countries, except for Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Madagascar. South Africa's flu season started in late May and is persisting.

(Snip) flu activity in Australia has been rising over the past 5 weeks, with the H3N2 virus dominant. Virus detections are also increasing in New Zealand, but levels are still below the national baseline. (Snip) http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

Jul 6 WHO global flu update 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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 07:01:10 AM UTC

WHO Defends Warning on Cambodia Virus

July 10, 2012

BY PATRICK BARTA
As Cambodian authorities grapple with a disease outbreak that has killed more than 50 children, they're also struggling with another issue: how to best manage interest from the outside world without triggering alarm.

The issue bubbled to the surface earlier this week when Beat Richner, a well-known doctor in Cambodia and founder of the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospitals where the disease was first reported, complained that international health authorities moved too quickly to sound the alarm, risking a panic before they had all the facts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/...

(That's all you get free, you have to have a subscription. I have the full story. Here are some snippets.-cottontop)
snip

The WHO has since said it believes the illness was probably linked to an enterovirus causing severe hand, foot and mouth disease, based on recent laboratory work using samples from victims, though they cautioned they can't be 100% sure and are still investigating.

snip

Given the potential for economic damage when false alarms are sounded, health officials have had to walk a fine line between keeping governments and the public informed and avoiding unnecessary worry.

snip

Professor Wang Linfa, director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases research program at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore noted that more than 75,000 children were treated in Kantha Bopha outpatient stations in June, and that only 34 children with the latest disease were hospitalized during that period.

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

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by: cottontop @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 14:08:34 PM UTC

Hi cottontop, good article!

I have also posted several articles on this outbreak and I didn't detected any panic at all in any of them. I think it's the government officials and the WHO that are more alarmed than anyone.... but then they are the ones always saying, "Don't panic!!"

The article I posted yesterday gave this as the total count so far:

"Paediatrician Beat Richner, the founder of Kantha Bopha children's hospitals, which see around 85 percent of Cambodia's severely ill youngsters who make it to treatment, was the first to raise the alert over the illness. The Swiss doctor, who told Cambodian health officials about the illness last month, gave a higher toll than the WHO, saying 64 children had died from the disease since mid-April, while two more had recovered."

And this from a WHO official in Cambodia was also in the article:

"We are looking at the possibility of this being something new, a collation of different diseases with similar clinical presentations but caused by a different pathogen," said doctor Nima Asgari, a public health specialist at the WHO office in Cambodia."

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/20...

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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 20:08:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

UK: Investigation after 30 Swans found dead

30 Swans have been found dead within a three week period in Cardiff Bay and Roath Park. Officials say the cause is unknown and an investigation is now under way into the mysterious deaths.

Although bird flu has not been diagnosed, as a precautionary measure, people finding dead swans are advised not to touch them. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) said the Welsh Government was looking into the matter. http://www.itv.com/news/wales/...  

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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 21:32:44 PM UTC

'Deadly' flu season set to hit Australia hard

The influenza season is hitting Australia especially hard, with twice the number of diagnosed cases and hospital admissions, according to experts. Experts are warning that the influenza virus has hit Australia especially hard this season and the worst is yet to come.

More than 5000 cases of the potentially deadly H3N2 and type B strains were recorded nationally in June - almost double the number as at the same time last year - with thousands more cases expected to go undiagnosed. So far this year, 9034 influenza cases have been diagnosed nationwide, with Queensland, NSW and South Australia the worst affected.

Queensland has had 2536 recorded flu cases, NSW 2391 and SA 1715 - made worse by the fact that 98 per cent of the southern state's flu cases have been the more serious H3N2 strain. Other states have also "gone viral", with 979 flu cases recorded in Western Australia, 971 in Victoria, 187 in the Northern Territory, 177 in the ACT and 87 in Tasmania.
(Snip)
ISG chairman Alan Hampson said the fact that the H3N2 strain hadn't been prominent in Australia for several years could increase this season's severity. "When we see high levels of H3N2, which is the predominant strain this season, there is significant impact, especially in high-risk groups," Dr Hampson said. "Typically, we can expect to see more deaths and hospital admissions." Continued: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/art...  

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 @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 22:32:10 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for July 11, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed Jul 11, 2012 at 04:13:28 AM UTC