News Reports for August 22, 2012

How Industrialized Farming Could Facilitate Pandemic Swine Flu

http://www.theatlantic.com/hea...

(snip) Our current model of food animal production factors heavily into viral evolution and transmission. (...) Beginning in the 1940s, and intensifying recently, small farms were replaced by large, industrial operations that confine thousands or even millions of animals at a single site. (...)

At any given time there are about one billion poultry and swine total alive in the U.S., and the vast majority of these animals are raised at industrial operations. (...)

The practices at these industrial operations can select for dangerous genes. The plethora of potential hosts removes a barrier to increased virulence -- a virus can kill its host quickly and still have a good chance of infecting others. The co-location of swine and poultry operations in some states provides chicken viruses that mutate to infect pigs with a treasure-trove of hosts just up the road. Because humans and pigs are mammals, a swine virus may be more likely to infect humans, given our physiologic similarities. (...)

The workers at industrial operations work all day with hundreds or thousands of birds or pigs. (...) A 2007 study in Iowa, the leading swine-producing state in the U.S., determined that rural residents exposed to pigs were almost 55 times more likely than non-exposed individuals to have had contact with influenza virus. (...) Study participants' spouses who had no contact with pigs were still 28 times more likely than non-exposed non-spouses to have been exposed to influenza. These results suggest that workers may form an effective "bridge population" that spreads influenza off the farm. (continued)

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 03:43:52 AM UTC

Australia: Surgery halted as flu causes case overload for hospitals

QUEENSLAND'S two biggest public hospitals have been forced to cut their elective surgery workloads because of the bad flu season.

The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital executive director David Alcorn said having to accept an increased number of patients during the flu epidemic had compromised its ability to perform elective surgery. The Princess Alexandra hospital also has had to reschedule non-urgent operations because of the flu.

The latest Queensland Health figures show 8896 people have so far tested positive to influenza this year, 1.7 times the five-year average. More than 900 of those have needed to be admitted to public hospitals. Dr Alcorn said the RBWH's intensive care unit had been "coping with great demand". "As a result, some patients have had their elective surgery cancelled with rebooking to take place," he said.

The RBWH has borne the brunt of a horror few weeks for southeast Queensland hospitals, with many facilities redirecting ambulances to nearby hospital emergency departments, a situation known as bypass. Seven public hospitals - Logan, Ipswich, Caboolture, QEII, The Prince Charles, Redland and Redcliffe - have been on bypass at various times in the past three days for a total of more than 50 hours.

Logan was the worst, redirecting ambulances for 10 hours from 11.30pm on Sunday night, and again between 11.30pm Monday and 9.30am yesterday.

One ambulance was ramped outside the Princess Alexandra Hospital for seven hours this week and a patient on Brisbane's southside waited five hours before paramedics arrived. Continued: http://www.couriermail.com.au/...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 05:54:26 AM UTC

Australia: Parents wary of flu vaccine this year - survey

Almost two in three (61%) of parents would not give their children the flu vaccine this season according to a poll of 700 Perth parents (Snip)  

(Snip) head of the Telethon Institute for Child Health's vaccine trials, says many parents appear to have lost faith in flu vaccinations since a spate of bad reactions to Fluvax in 2010. (Snip) he said the reactions, which led to a three month nationwide suspension of vaccinations, were specifically associated with the Fluvax brand, and he assured parents others are safe as he urged them to immunise their children against flu. Dr Richmond said more than 400 children were admitted to Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital with influenza (Snip)

Subscription required to read the rest of the article: http://www.6minutes.com.au/new...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 06:04:43 AM UTC

CDC Expands H3N2v Tests To ILI Cases Without Swine Exposure

Recombinomics Commentary

In light of the increasing numbers of cases of H3N2 variant virus (H3N2v) and increasing numbers of states reporting H3N2v cases, states should consider expanding surveillance to include rRT-PCR testing of specimens from ILINet providers statewide, and of specimens collected from people with unusual or severe presentations of ILI. States should also consider collection of specimens from outbreaks of ILI among children in child-care and school settings, since these settings have been associated with person-to-person H3N2v virus transmission in 2011.

The above comments from a newly posted CDC document entitled "Interim Guidance for Enhanced Influenza Surveillance: Additional Specimen Collection for Detection of Influenza A (H3N2) Variant Virus Infections" are overdue but welcome.  The number of cases at a given venue, such as the more than 200 symptomatic attendees at the Gallia Junior County Fair leaves little doubt that H3N2v is transmitting human to human.  West Virginia has also detected three H3N2 cases in adjacent Mason County in additional attendees, while six H3N2 cases in Ashland, Kentucky, which is 40 miles from the Ohio and West Virginia cases, are likely additional H3N2v which have been misdiagnosed.  These six cases are largely under the age of 5 and tested positive for influenza A.  Misdiagnosis of H3N2v as seasonal H3N2 has been noted previously, and may have been increased by the lack of swine contact by the Kentucky children.

The CDC has been citing swine contact in cases who were tested because of swine contact, which is a circular argument that was been widely misinterpreted as evidence of swine to human transmission, which is not supported by the USDA data which has strong sub-clade discordance between H3N2pM in swine and H3N2v in humans.  The swine sequences have the sub-clade that was circulating in humans last year, but was not detected in the 20 most recent H3N2v sequences, including 18 from 2012 (in Utah, Hawaii, Indiana, Ohio). Continued: 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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 06:26:40 AM UTC

The CDC should have taken this stance in the beginning....

and they damn well know it!! 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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 06:34:21 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

CIDRAP: H3N2v infections spark debate about barring pigs from fairs

Aug 21, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - The type of flu transmission occurring mainly in young people directly exposed to pigs at fairs this summer is unprecedented, and health officials should consider keeping pigs away from the events, according to one infectious disease expert who has gone on record with his concerns.

As Minnesota announced its first confirmed and suspected variant H3N2 (H3N2v) infections yesterday, just a few days before the start of its state fair, local and national media outlets such as the Canadian Press aired concerns from Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), publisher of CIDRAP News, who said that fair organizers should bar swine from fairs this year.

Osterholm told CIDRAP News that health officials are watching a dynamic influenza situation unfold that hasn't been seen in about 80 years. Further, he said, the chance of virus mutations could increase if human-to-human transmission occurs, potentially leading to a human strain that could pose a significant health threat.

The mild nature of the infections that have been reported so far and the small number of people infected, compared with the millions who have attended fairs this summer, don't offset concerns about virus reassortment, Osterholm said. The infections surfacing in kids may be an artifact of who's spending a lot of time in swine barns and could reflect that children are more likely to be tested for flu than adults, he added.

He said a stronger scientific basis is needed for some of the interventions that have been suggested to reduce the risk of H3N2v infection at fairs. For example, he pointed to recent findings that many pigs with influenza are asymptomatic, so relying on screening the animals at fairs isn't an effective way of keeping infected animals out of swine barn settings.

Also, he said that health department and federal guidance suggesting frequent hand washing to prevent flu transmission after contact with swine may seem like a sensible approach that works against other types of infections, but that there are no data to support its effectiveness for curbing flu transmission. "The idea of telling people to wash their hands is at the very least misleading," he said.

Barring swine from fairs would be a tough call, given the work people put into raising the animals for show and the popularity of swine barns among fairgoers, but, Osterholm said, "Public health is not easy, and that's not a reason to not base responses on the best science."

In the wake of Osterholm's comments yesterday, health officials are still assessing the risks but have not made the decision to bar swine from fairs.

Richard Danila, PhD, MPH, deputy state epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), told CIDRAP News that his department had a call this morning with officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to touch base about the risks and recommendations. A few people have gotten sick with H3N2v infections after being in swine barns, but health officials feel additional measures, such as urging people at risk for flu complications to avoid the barns, is proportional to the risk, he said.

Though the risk the virus poses is a big question mark, public health officials routinely operate in an environment with unknown factors, Danila said, noting that H3N2v could circulate in swine populations for a long time. "We are going to monitor the situation closely," Danila added. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 06:45:59 AM UTC

US: Caroline Co. child may have swine flu (Maryland)

DENTON - A Caroline County child who attended the Queen Anne's County fair could have swine flu as a result of exposure to the virus at the fair, but there have been no suspected cases reported related to the Caroline/Dorchester County Fair that took place a week earlier.

(Snip) Caroline County health officer, said the child became ill and was seen by her family physician, who suspected swine flu. Tests results are not yet known (Snip)

Spencer said the child at some point attended the Queen Anne's County Fair, which ran from Aug. 6 to 11. Since that fair, six cases of swine flu have been reported in Queen Anne's County, believed to be related to infected pigs at the fair, which came from four Queen Anne's County farms. Those affected include five children and one adult. Continued: http://www.stardem.com/news/lo...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 06:56:39 AM UTC

Canada: New strain of swine flu in the US causing concern in BC

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) A new strain of swine flu that has been spreading at county fairs in the US is causing some concern on this side of the border.

Children seem to be the most likely to get the H3N2 virus because their immune systems are not as strong, and they come in close contact with the animals at petting zoos at those county fairs.

(Snip)

The BC Centre for Disease Control is watching out for the strain of flu that has been found in 10 states. The BC CDC says the new strain doesn't spread as easily as the virus that made the rounds in 2009, in part because some people have an immunity to it.

One flu expert in the US is suggesting that swine exhibits at fairs should be closed this year as a precaution.  http://www.news1130.com/news/l...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 07:06:00 AM UTC

Swine to Human Transmission Not Supported By USDA Data

Recombinomics Commentary 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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 07:17:06 AM UTC

India: Senior citizen dies of swine flu in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)

Lucknow : Swine flu has claimed the life of a retired doctor here (Snip) Singh, a physiotherapist who had retired from the King George's Medical College (KGMC), was admitted to hospital with high grade fever and cough a few days back and succumbed Tuesday.

(Snip) blood samples of Dr Singh, 65, were sent to a private pathology lab last week. It was found that the retired doctor had been infected with swine flu virus. He was administered tamiflu, but could not be saved and died of respiratory failure.

(Snip)

The state health department has, meanwhile, advised hospitals to be alert about symptoms of swine flu in admitted patients. http://twocircles.net/2012aug2...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 07:34:30 AM UTC

South Africa: Flu cripples Bulls camp

The Vodacom Blue Bulls will be hoping for a better medical bill of health on Wednesday morning after their preparations for Saturday's Absa Currie Cup game with the Sharks were severely disrupted by a massive flu bug that hit the camp.

No less than 12 of the starting line-up (Snip) were all confined to bed on Tuesday as the team cancelled their practice session for a second day in a row to try and stave off the effects of the virus that has hit the camp.

(Snip)

Pienaar had to cancel Monday's practice because of the bug, but realised early on Tuesday that it wasn't worth training as more players started reporting ill. "We were worried on Monday, when there were 10 guys, but on Tuesday more guys arrived sick, so we had no option but to cancel practice," Pienaar told supersport.com, "It is a major concern, at this moment we don't know if we can select a side, we will have to see how the guys arrive on Wednesday before we decide. If we had to practice today, we'd practice with around four first choice players so we had no other option.

(Snip)

"There are a lot of players down," Dr Strauss told supersport.com, "They are all under medication and have been told to rest. Hopefully it won't be long before they are all on their feet again." http://www.supersport.com/rugb...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 07:44:41 AM UTC

Australia: Poor performance blamed on flu (Queensland)

FLU season has been blamed for poor performance in Queensland's hospital emergency departments.

Almost 11,000 Queenslanders, 1054 of whom needed hospitalisation, had been diagnosed with influenza this year as at August 19. These figures are 1.8 times the average over the past five years, making this year's flu season one of the worst on record.

(Snip) 75% of patients were transferred from an ambulance stretcher onto an emergency department bed within 30 minutes in July, 2012. (Snip) this figure had steadily declined from 84% in January due to the onset of winter.

"In recent weeks, we also have seen a large number of South-east Queensland hospitals going on bypass to manage the increasing number of patients," he said.

Mr Springborg said, fortunately, the latest epidemiological evidence showed the flu season had now peaked and was starting to trend downwards. 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

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 08:01:25 AM UTC

HPA Recommends H3N2v Screening of US Travelers to UK

Recombinomics Commentary

The HPA has recommended that returning travellers with an influenza-like illness who have had contact with pigs in the USA within five days of the onset of their illness, should be investigated further. The HPA is contacting GPs to ensure they are aware of this recommendation in light of this outbreak and we are updating the website with information on this new strain.

The above comments from the UK Health Protection Agency describe plans for screening ILI travelers from the US who have swine contact.  This emphasis on swine contact, and heavily biased testing, is similar to the initial position of the CDC.

However, the size of the clusters as well as the limited detection of the novel H3N2v sub-clade in recent swine isolates (including 4 June isolates from Ohio which match the sub-clade found in 2011 human cases coupled with the absence of any 2012 human cases with the earlier sub-clade) has led to a recent change in the CDC position on screening to one of screening ILI cases without swine exposure.  The broader screening has also been announced by the California Department of Public Health.

The earlier CDC screening was almost exclusively focused on ILI cases with swine exposure, leading to a pseudo-linkage that was not supported by the sub-clade distribution in swine, or the human adaptation of H3N2v, including NA N234D in the Laporte County, Indiana and Butler County, Ohio cases. Continued: 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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 19:23:50 PM UTC

Comment:

Hong Kong took steps several days ago to start screening passengers from the United States and I expect other countries to do the same thing real soon. I think it is the right thing to do for the protection of their citizens. 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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 19:34:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What To Expect From The Flu This Fall

This year's seasonal flu vaccine will cover most of the influenza viruses that are likely en route from the southern hemisphere.

(Snip)

The best way to dodge the flu is to get a seasonal vaccine. As school bells ring again in the coming days, minds will return to reading, writing, math and -- for many people -- the flu. Autumn is when rates of influenza pick up, building to a peak between November and March. Even though scientists carefully monitor flu viruses in circulation each year and plan ahead to prepare seasonally specific vaccines, influenza infections can be fatally unpredictable.

For the upcoming season, the good news is that nothing so far has raised red flags that the next great flu pandemic is imminent in the United States.

Scientists are, however, keeping their eyes on a few strains of influenza that are causing outbreaks in other countries. A new type of swine flu is also infecting a growing number of people in some states. This year's seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against the new virus, known as H3N2v, (Snip)

"What we're recommending is that people avoid exposure to swine in places like fairs, especially if they're under 5, over 65, or have other risks, like pregnancy, diabetes or asthma," said Michael Shaw, a flu expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"Going by what we're seeing in the southern hemisphere, there were some localized [flu] outbreaks, but it wasn't an unusual season," he added. "But then, flu always has a way of surprising you."

What most people call "the flu" refers to a set of unpleasant symptoms -- fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose and muscle aches -- that are far more severe than the common cold. More than 200,000 people end up in the hospital with flu-related complications each year, according to the CDC. Between about 3,000 and 49,000 die from it. Continued: http://news.discovery.com/huma...

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 19:45:34 PM UTC

11M Birds Slaughtered in Mexico Flu Outbreak, Gov't Says

The second phase of the bird flu vaccination campaign has started in Mexico, where nearly 11 million birds have been slaughtered to prevent the spread of the AH7N3 avian flu virus (Snip) The vaccination campaign's second phase is being launched at poultry farms in the Los Altos region of the western state of Jalisco, the Senasica said.

Some 90 million doses of the vaccine will be used in the second phase of the campaign, whose first phase resulted in the use of 88.3 million doses of the vaccine (Snip) Officials are keeping 53 million doses of the vaccine and viral samples in reserve so production can be boosted if needed (Snip)

The distribution of hens will resume this month, with some 5 million birds being shipped monthly to the farms that were cleared by inspectors, Sanchez said. These moves should allow egg production to slowly return to pre-outbreak levels soon, Sanchez said.

A total of 10.9 million birds were slaughtered between June 19 and Aug. 20 to prevent the spread of avian flu.

Samples have been taken at 438 farms in 45 cities in the Los Altos region, with only 43 farms - all commercial operations - testing positive for AH7N3, Sanchez said. The monitoring program has been expanded, leading to tests at farms in 22 of Mexico's 31 states and the Federal District, with all the results negative, the federal official said.

The outbreak of AH7N3 has been limited for now to the Los Altos region of Jalisco, Sanchez said. http://latino.foxnews.com/lati...  

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 @ Wed Aug 22, 2012 at 20:31:21 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for August 23, 2012

Thank you!

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 Aug 23, 2012 at 06:35:39 AM UTC