News Reports for October 6, 2012

India: Another swine flu death, toll reaches 17 (Maharashtra)

A 31-year-old woman from Baramati died of H1N1 virus on Thursday. She was was suffering from cold, cough and fever since September 24. She was shifted to city's Noble Hospital from Niramaya Medical Foundation and Research Centre in Baramati after she complained of breathlessness on September 30. Her throat swab was taken on October 2 which tested positive for H1N1 virus on Thursday.

Tamiflu tablet was given to her on October 2 but by then she was already critical (Snip) She was admitted to the isolation ward at Noble Hospital on Thursday where she succumbed to the virus. This is the 17th progressive swine flu death reported by Pune Municipal Corporation since April this year.

(Snip)

(Snip) 13 patients are in various isolation wards of hospitals while two are on ventilator support. http://www.indianexpress.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 @ Fri Oct 05, 2012 at 23:49:10 PM UTC

Indonesian Bird Markets on Cusp of Avian Flu Outbreak

http://www.sciencewa.net.au/to...
October 6, 2012
Indonesia:  NEW research has revealed an urgent need to improve biosecurity in live bird markets in Bali and Lombok to prevent future outbreaks of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or H5N1). Since emerging in 2003, HPAI has caused enormous poultry losses in Indonesia and has seen the country record more human HPAI-attributed deaths than any other. Yet research by Murdoch University PhD candidate Johanna Kurscheid indicates lessons have not been learned.

"The level of biosecurity practiced at markets is extremely low. In our field observations, we saw little segmentation of bird species and frequent mixing of birds in cages, including ducks and chickens," Ms Kurscheid says.  "This is dangerous, as ducks don't show the same symptoms of HPAI as chickens and can be carriers. We also witnessed inadequate bird disposal, including dead birds left in cages, left next to cages or dumped into drainage areas.  In one market in Lombok we saw birds being slaughtered in the open, which is not good practice in terms of infectious disease control, as the main way humans have contracted HPAI is through slaughter of infected birds and handling of dead birds.  Basically, all traders engaged in a number of practices that could sustain virus circulation in live bird markets."

Questionnaires given to vendors, collectors (traders) and customers showed a distressing lack of awareness about the causes of HPAI or concern about the virus, with fewer than half of vendors able to provide a single way in which poultry could become infected.  Even more, vendors were highly unlikely to report suspicious or sudden bird deaths, with only 15 per cent in Bali saying they would alert authorities and 27 per cent in Lombok.  Ms Kurscheid's study also charted market interconnectedness.

"We used social network analysis, which enables the identification of markets with the highest incoming traffic-and therefore the highest potential to become infected-as well as those with the highest outgoing traffic-those most likely to spread the virus," she says.

Ms Kurscheid's talk, given as part of the Murdoch Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series, is even more vital given new research suggesting only a few mutations in the viral genome of HPAI H5N1 could facilitate human-to-human transmission, increasing the risk of a human pandemic.

"Overall, we urgently need to improve infrastructure and biosecurity in live bird markets and educate poultry traders in AI and good management practices in order to manage and prevent further HPAI N5N1-related human deaths," Ms Kurscheid concludes.


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 01:52:03 AM UTC

India: Suspected swine flu death in Gondia district (Maharashtra)

Gondia: A 12-year-old girl, Priyanka Kawale of Wadegaon village in Tiroda Tehsil died after suspected swine flu like symptoms on October 3. According to (Snip) Dr Abhay Patil, the girl could have died due to some other viral infection.

Priyanka, (Snip) had high fever since September 29. She was admitted to PHC Wadegaon. Her blood sample report revealed there was no malaria infection. However, the fever didn't subside and her condition became critical on October 3. Dr Patil then referred her to government hospital, Gondia. Priyanka died before reaching Gondia in the PHC's ambulance. (Snip)

On September 30, a woman died due to unidentified disease in nearby Nawargaon village. 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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 05:29:48 AM UTC

UK: Appointments cancelled as surgeries run out of flu vaccine

GP surgeries have run out of the seasonal flu vaccine. More than 1,000 appointments have been cancelled across Cheltenham after six surgeries ran out of vaccines, NHS Gloucestershire confirmed.

It comes just weeks into a campaign to get more people to have the jab.

Peter Badham, who owns four pharmacies in Cheltenham, said he would be taking the pressure off the surgeries by getting in extra supplies by Tuesday. He said: "It is ridiculous that it has come to this."

"It is not the fault of the doctors who are doing their best but for one reason or another we are unable to get supplies in by Tuesday and we will be helping the most critical cases first.

"I understand more than 1,000 appointments have already been cancelled because the surgeries have run out and we will happily advise people if they would like to call us or pop into one of our stores.

"One critical case involved a pregnant woman who can only have her shot next week before it is too late and she is not allowed because of her condition. We will try and treat people like her first and do what we can for the rest until the surgeries are restocked."

Former borough councillor for St Paul's, Paul Wheeldon, said his mother had tried to get the vaccine from her doctor's surgery in Bishop's Cleeve, but was told they would not be restocked until November. He said: "There are a lot of vulnerable people who are going to be worried about this because the flu virus becomes a lot more prevalent at the end of October so if they have to wait until November, there is a window for them to be infected." Continued: http://www.thisisgloucestershi...

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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 05:41:14 AM UTC

US: RI health workers now required to get flu shots (Rhode Island)

 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island health care workers will have to get flu shots under a new policy announced Friday, but the regulations could be challenged by a union that represents nurses and others in the industry.

The Department of Health said health care workers, trainees and others who have regular, direct contact with patients, including volunteers, must be immunized.

Workers with a medical reason for not getting the shot may get an exemption with a doctor's note, the health department said. So may those who don't have a medical reason but still don't want to be vaccinated. They will have to submit a form saying they refuse the shot and will wear a surgical mask while visiting patients when flu is considered widespread.

Chas Walker, a spokesman for a union representing health care workers that opposes mandated flu shots, said his group is still reviewing the policy and considering its options. He said the union supports raising the vaccination rate among its membership but that it wants to do so through a voluntary campaign, not a mandate that inspires ''animosity.'' Walker said the union delivered to the health department a petition signed by more than 1,000 Rhode Island health workers in favor of keeping immunization voluntary. Continued: http://www.boston.com/news/loc...

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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 06:22:37 AM UTC

India: Four new swine flu cases detected in Indore (Madhya Pradesh)

Four fresh cases of swine flu were today confirmed in the city following tests at a Jabalpur laboratory (Snip).

One of the patients is from Bhopal while remaining three from Indore (Snip). All of them are being treated at private hospitals.

Five more swab samples of suspected swine flu patients have been sent for testing.

Indore has seen 34 cases of swine flu infection and six resulting deaths this year since May. http://www.business-standard.c...

(Note: According to the figures given here, the CFR is 17% in Indore.)

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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 06:32:43 AM UTC

Trudeau Researchers Discover How Prior Flu Immunity Protects From Fatal Secondary Infections

New research from the Trudeau Institute demonstrates that prior immunity - the result of a previous influenza infection or vaccination against the virus - plays a critical role in preventing secondary bacterial infections. Bacterial infections are a common occurrence that can lead to a number of serious complications, including death. The findings of Drs. Laura Haynes, Stephen Smiley and their Trudeau colleagues were just published in the October 2012 issue of The Journal of Immunology.

One of the reasons influenza infection can result in death is that it often sets the stage for secondary bacterial infections. These infections cause a number of diseases, including pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, and otitis media. Bacterial pneumonia was the leading cause of death during both the 1918 and 2009 influenza pandemics, and pneumonia and influenza together are ranked as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.

The current standard of care for bacterial pneumonia is the administration of antibiotics, which have limitations in their capacity to prevent or treat infection. Thus, there is the need for improved preventive measures, especially continued widespread influenza vaccination.

Drs. Haynes and Smiley have used an animal model to examine how this susceptibility to secondary bacterial infections following influenza infection can be reduced to limit its occurrence. Their studies found that any prior immunity to influenza, whether from infection or vaccination, could significantly reduce susceptibility to subsequent bacterial infections. This prior immunity does not have to completely prevent influenza infection; it just needs to reduce the inflammatory immune response to the virus in the lungs. That is, you may still become ill with influenza, but you have a much greater chance of not dying from a secondary bacterial infection.

Among the study's important findings: prior immunity can be generated by vaccinations that do not match the infecting influenza virus. This point is especially important in the case of newly emerging influenza strains that can spread rapidly and for which there are no existing vaccines.

Drs. Haynes, Smiley, et al., also discovered that this protective immunity can be provided by vaccination with only a single, conserved, influenza protein or even by administration of antibodies to that protein, a strategy which would be beneficial for individuals that are considered high-risk and have reduced responses to traditional influenza vaccines, such as the elderly, the very young, the immunosuppressed (AIDS patients, those undergoing cancer therapy or organ transplantation), and others with underlying health problems. Continued: http://www.melodika.net/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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 19:56:43 PM UTC

India: Two pregnant women and a youth admitted with swine flu (Tamil Nadu)

Coimbatore, Oct 6 (PTI): Three persons, including two pregnant women, have been admitted to the Government hospital here with symptoms of swine flu. (Snip) a 32-year-old pregnant woman was suffering from fever and cough and was being treated in a private hospital (Snip). Since her swab and other tests revealed symptoms of swine flu, she was admitted to the Government hospital here (Snip). Another 22-year old pregnant woman from Karur, who also tested positive for swine flu, was admitted at the hospital, (Snip) adding both women have been kept in separate wards. (Snip) a 25-year old man from nearby Nilgiris district was also admitted to the hospital with symptoms of swine flu and is being treated in an isolated ward (Snip). http://www.moneycontrol.com/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 @ Sat Oct 06, 2012 at 20:16:39 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for October 7, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun Oct 07, 2012 at 04:06:40 AM UTC