News Reports for October 17, 2012

India: 42-year-old man dies of swine flu, seven others test positive (Maharashtra)

PUNE: A 42-year-old man from Mundhwa died of swine flu on Monday, taking the city's H1N1 death toll to 22 since this April. Also, six more people and a four-month-old baby tested positive for swine flu on Tuesday.

The man who died on Monday had developed symptoms like fever with throat pain on October 12 and breathlessness from the next day. "He had been suffering from diabetes but was not on regular treatment," said a health official of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

The victim was initially taken to the railway hospital, then to the tertiary care hospital and finally to the KEM Hospital in Pune on October 13. The hospital immediately referred him to the Sassoon Hospital due to non-availability of beds in its intensive care unit (ICU). He was taken to the Sassoon Hospital on the same day.

However, on October 14, he sought discharge against medical advice and got himself admitted to the Sahyadri Hospital in Bibvewadi. Here, he was intubated. However, following requests from his relatives he was shifted to Noble Hospital in Hadapsar on October 15 and was put on ventilator support. However, his condition worsened and all attempts to revive him failed. He died at 10.04 pm on Monday.

"The condition of all of those who tested positive for swine flu on Tuesday is stable and they are recovering," said health officials. Continued: http://timesofindia.indiatimes...  

(Note: This man was shifted around to 6 hospitals in 4 days.)

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 Oct 17, 2012 at 06:07:53 AM UTC

US doctors to be briefed by Auckland flu experts

On the 7th and 8th of November, international flu experts from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis will attend a briefing in Auckland to hear what the Northern Hemisphere should expect, and how it can plan, for its forthcoming flu season.

At the briefing a team of scientists from New Zealand's Institute of Environmental Science & Research (ESR) and researchers from The Universities of Auckland and Otago, Auckland District Health Board (ADHB), Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) and Centre for Clinical Research and effective practice (CCRep) will present their findings following the completion of Year One of the five-year, multi-million dollar international Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Research and Surveillance (SHIVERS) contract to study influenza.

Led by ESR, the study commenced in September 2011 and will study five autumn and winter 'flu seasons' amongst the Auckland population using New Zealand's world leading sentinel surveillance systems.

SHIVERS Principal Investigator, Dr. Sue Huang from ESR, says that after real time surveillance of New Zealand's flu season, the SHIVERS team has some good insights into how Northern Hemisphere countries, which are just entering their flu season, can better plan for and protect against potential flu epidemics and pandemics.

"We were surprised that the incidence of hospitalised patients with influenza-related Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) is much higher than we previously thought, particularly in very young children (0-4 years) and those over 65 years," says Dr. Huang. Dr. Adrian Trenholme, a Paediatrician at Middlemore Hospital says that uniform and intensive testing showed that young children harbour more than one respiratory pathogen. Continued: http://auckland.scoop.co.nz/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 @ Wed Oct 17, 2012 at 06:17:44 AM UTC

Nepal: Spot the different

THE festive season has well and truly started. Schools and colleges have shut down for the Dashain break. The hectic traffic of Kathmandu has eased as people have started moving out to their ancestral homes. For those who remain in the capital, it is the time to wine and dine and have fun with their family and friends. But those who have waited for the whole year to gorge on their favorite mutton kababs and sandheko chicken are likely to be disappointed with the latest outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm in Bhaktapur and reports that not all chicken and goats being brought into the capital might be fit for consumption.

On Monday, the Directorate of Animal Health (DoAH) had to cull 780 chicken from a farm in Bode-3, Bhaktapur following the confirmation of a strain of H5N1 bird flu virus. Health officials are particularly troubled with the likely contamination of a nearby water collection facility, which supplies potable water to Kathmandu valley, potentially endangering human lives who consume the infected water. A highly contagious strain of H5N1 can, after some mutations, infect humans, although such a possibility is low. After all, since 2003, there have only been 566 confirmed human cases of bird flu worldwide, with 332 among them losing their lives.

Another troubling development is the confiscation of dead chicken and goats from vehicles entering the capital. Although the number of dead animals confiscated from the checkpoint of Thankot might not be big, it does raise an uncomfortable question over inspections at the entry points to Kathmandu. In all likelihood, the contingent with dead animals would not have been intercepted had the security personnel not been tipped-off by a Good Samaritan. This case again highlights the need to strengthen monitoring mechanisms for infected animals at important checkpoints during the festive season when businessmen are likely to cut corners to cash in on Dashain.

(Snip)

DoAH officials have urged the public not to panic from the latest H1N1 scare and to consume chicken without fear, provided the meat is well-cooked. Continued: http://www.myrepublica.com/por...

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 Oct 17, 2012 at 06:30:07 AM UTC

CIDRAP: H5N1 outbreak kills 2,500 poultry in Nepal

A commercial farm in Nepal has experienced an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu that killed 2,500 poultry (Snip) The outbreak began on the farm in Bagmati province in August and ended Oct 4. (Snip) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at a national lab confirmed H5N1 Sep 3, and an OIE reference lab in Australia confirmed the findings by PCR on Sep 21. (Snip) "Post-operative surveillance activities are being intensively carried out throughout the country." http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...

Oct 14 OIE report http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/pub...

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 Oct 17, 2012 at 07:24:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

CIDRAP: Canadian study finds 'modest' level of PPE use in febrile respiratory cases

An observational study conducted in 11 Canadian hospitals found only modest overall compliance with guidance on using personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for febrile respiratory illness patients, with PPE use in pediatric units significantly lower than other units (Snip).

From Jan 7 to Mar 20, 2011, observers equipped with a standardized data collection tool watched hospital staff donning PPE and using hand hygiene when entering patient rooms. Overall compliance was 88% for gloves, 83% for gowns, 88% for masks, and 37% for eye protection. In pediatric units the compliance rates were 77% for gloves, 70% for gowns, 79% for masks, and 7% for eye protection. 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 Oct 17, 2012 at 07:20:51 AM UTC

Flu epidemic may bypass Ukraine, doctors do not rule out

This epidemiological season, Ukrainians can be vaccinated against influenza by vaccines that meet all necessary quality standards (Snip). "Ukraine has four types of vaccines of the Western European production. They do not have proteins and viruses, they are modern vaccines that meet all the standards," (Snip).

(Snip) four vaccines inckuding VAXIGRIP, Intanza, Fluarix and Influvak are allowed on the territory of Ukraine.

(Snip) Now, 69% of patients with influenza and ARVI are children. The highest rate of incidence among all regions is noticed in Kyiv," he said. http://en.for-ua.com/news/2012...

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 Oct 17, 2012 at 13:44:57 PM UTC

Canada: Flu Shot Clinic At Swine Health Meeting (Manitoba)

Hog barn workers are encouraged to get the flu shot to not only protect themselves, but the animals they're working with.

A seasonal influenza vaccination clinic has been organized in conjunction with the annual Canadian Swine Health Forum, which is taking place in Winnipeg today and tomorrow.

(Snip) there are a number of reasons why they're holding the flu shot clinic. "Number one, the Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending that everybody get vaccinated for seasonal influenza," he says. "It can make workers sick, which can create a productivity problem, and there's a general health benefit for all people to get vaccinated."

(Snip)

"Certainly with the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and with some other strains, they can go from people to pigs," says Hurnik. "So while we have the opportunity to protect the workers, we can also protect against transmissions to the pigs, so it becomes a health issue for the pigs as well." Continued: http://www.portageonline.com/i...

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 Oct 17, 2012 at 13:51:03 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for October 18, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Thu Oct 18, 2012 at 05:25:42 AM UTC