News Reports for November 5, 2012

India: Senior citizen dies of swine flu (Maharashtra)

PUNE: A 65-year-old man died of swine flu on Sunday, taking the city's H1N1 death toll since April to 29. The man had delayed seeking medical treatment for five days after develop-ing symptoms.

Chandulal Jain, (Snip) developed mild fever with breathlessness on October 27 and severe breathlessness from November 1. He had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis. "Jain did not seek any medical treatment between October 27 and October 31," (Snip)

When his condition worsened, he approached the doctor who had earlier treated him for pulmonary TB. Jain required intensive care and was moved to Rao Nursing Home on November 2. But due to non-availability of an ICU bed there he was shifted to Adventist Hospital in Market Yard on the same day. His condition deteriorated further and he was put on ventilator support around 1.30 pm on Sunday. But his condition continued to worsen and he died at 2.55 pm.

(Snip)

Currently, nine patients are being treated for the H1N1 influenza at different hospitals in the city. Of these, one person is in critical condition and has been put on ventilator support.

One more case of swine flu was reported on Sunday. (Snip). 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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 07:16:35 AM UTC

Bangladesh: Over 4000 poultry birds culled

Department of Livestock Services (DLS) culled more than 4000 poultry birds as the avian influenza has started to inject the local poultry farms in onset of winter, said officials. DLS control room said last week it destroyed the chickens at a poultry farm of Kapashia in Gazipur district to stall the spread of bid flu virus.

(Snip)

Poultry industry leaders feared if the deadly virus spreads like last year, many of the remaining farms will be out of business in coming days. Meanwhile, the number of farms has now come down to 60,824 from 114,763 about two years ago following the havoc created by bird flu attack, according to Bangladesh Poultry Khamar Rakkha Jatiya Parishad.

Bangladesh Poultry Industries' Association (BPIA) joint secretary general Khandoker Mohsin said bird flu virus has started to spread in the local poultry farms and the authority already destroyed some chickens after detecting the disease.

He said, "Not only one farm, I heard three big breeder farms also have been infected by the avian influenza virus but these are unreported to the DLS."

Mr Mohsin said the government has planned to start vaccination programme which is the right decision to rescue the poultry sector from being ruined. "But the vaccine should have been introduced two or three months ago as bird flu virus had already started to infect the poultry farms," said Mr Mohsin.

(Snip)

Recently the Drug Administration authorities have given permission to import bird flu vaccine to start immunisation programme experimentally aiming to prevent the deadly virus from spreading to local poultry farms and the industry eventually.

(Snip)

The vaccination will begin experimentally in Gazipur district and partly in one poultry hatchery and five farms in Kishorganj in Dhaka division, said Mr Hossain also the head of a seven-member expert committee on bird flu vaccination programme. "If we get a positive result, we will apply the medicine across the country," he added. Continued: http://www.thefinancialexpress...

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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 07:24:30 AM UTC

India: 11 chickens found dead outside CPDO (Karnataka)

At least 11 chickens were found dead under unusual circumstances near the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) at Hesarghatta near here, raising fears of the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) outside the CPDO where the outbreak of the avian flu has been notified by the Union government.

(Snip) 11 chickens of the 20 that Manikyappa Ramanna had in his farm in Hesarghatta were found dead, while three chicks and five hens belonging to Manjamma in Vinayakanagar were found dead on Saturday night. (Snip) veterinarians rushed to these spots and collected samples (Snip).

"Samples have been sent to IAHVB. If the results prove that the birds died of avian influenza, we have to take more stringent action that could include culling of birds in the 10-km surveillance area," Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry Arvind Jannu told The Hindu. He said: "We do not want to be liberal about the loss of business. If we are liberal, the result will be disastrous."

He said that checks have been intensified in private farms outside the CPDO. "Random samples are being taken in the surveillance zone that has about 1.5 lakh birds," (Snip).

Continued: http://www.thehindu.com/news/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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 07:57:21 AM UTC

India: Medical staff also vulnerable to H5N1 threat

After people who work in poultry farms, if bird flu has a better chance of affecting humans, then healthcare professionals are the next vulnerable lot and can spread the disease further.

"The H5N1 virus does not have to mutate in order to affect human beings, it spreads through high concentration. If there are a large number of poultry affected by this virus, then it spreads due to faecal contamination in the air. If they inhale it and the virus reaches the lungs, then they contract it," said Dr V Ravi, head of Neurovirology department, Nimhans.

If contracted, the disease is deadlier than swine flu with its high mortality rate, he added. "We are lucky that there was no human case of bird flu even during the 2005 breakout. About 30 to 40% who contract it, die within a week if left untreated. When a person inhales the virus, it takes about 2-3 days to show symptoms (Snip).

"Then, within a week it goes on to respiratory failure. However, this disease is not a threat to ordinary people. Even if you eat chicken, as long as you have cooked it well, you will be fine. What we have noticed from other countries where they have been human cases, is that it next spreads through health care professionals. So health care professionals should take care," he added.

Shashidhar Buggi, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, the institute that has been made in-charge of all bird flu related cases by the government, said that the hospital has taken every necessary precaution to ensure the safety of physicians and patients. Continued: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangal...

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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 22:05:36 PM UTC

India: Who brought the flu in? Tough to pin the birds down (Karnataka)

Depending on whether one speaks to ornithologists, veterinarians, farmers or BBMP officials, the reason as to why the state has seen an outbreak of bird flu varies. While ornithologists swear by the fact that migratory birds simply cannot travel thousands of kilometres while carrying the virus without succumbing to it themselves, poultry farmers say their own farms are kept in pristine conditions making such an outbreak due to poor hygiene almost impossible.

Dr Suresh S Honnappagol, former vice-chancellor of Karnataka Veterinary, Animal, Fisheries and Sciences University, said it is quite likely that bad hygienic practices at poultry farms could have caused the outbreak.

"In my experience, it can be one of the reasons why biosecurity measures have to be strictly implemented, so that farms can be kept in check. Transport of these birds should also be in optimum conditions, but it can also be a cause," he said. Well-known ornithologists such as MB Krishna and Harish Bhat have also come forward trying to absolve migratory birds, and have urged the government to look at alternative reasons for the outbreak.

However, farmers themselves vociferously defend their practices. "The outbreak cannot be because of the conditions in the farms. We give ample space to the chicken which are meant to be sold and only the parents of broilers (the chicken which are bred exclusively for meat) are caged," said Mohammed Imran Pasha, general secretary of Karnataka Poultry Trademark Association. Continued: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangal...

(Note: The H5N1 virus can't infect poultry if it isn't present, no matter how bad the hygienic practices are. The virus had to be introduced into that area by either wild birds, imported poultry, contaminated feed, humans, etc. 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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 22:31:53 PM UTC

India: 60-year-old woman dies of H1N1, toll 30 now (Maharashtra)

A 60-year-old woman from Dhankawadi suffering from diabetes succumbed to H1N1 virus on Monday. Dr S T Pardeshi, acting chief medical officer, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said this is the 30th swine flu death since April this year.

The woman had symptoms such as sore throat and cough since October 21 and eventually got down with fever. She complained of breathlessness on October 25. According to her relatives, the woman did not take any medication and when her conditioned worsened she was admitted to Modi Hospital at Parvati. She was detected with diabetes and referred to Bharati Hospital on October 27.

She tested positive for H1N1 virus on October 30 and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. However, she succumbed to the virus.

Pardeshi said there was a delay in the treatment by at least five days in the case. So far, the toll has gone up to 30 with a majority of cases being reported from outside Pune. Continued: 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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 22:35:39 PM UTC

US: One-quarter of EMTs don't get flu vaccine (Missouri)

Patients are regularly advised to get an annual flu vaccine, but 25 percent of St. Louis' emergency medical technicians do not get vaccinated, researchers say.

Sixty percent of EMTs who did not get vaccinated said they do not trust the public health authorities when they say the influenza vaccine is safe, and about a third said that flu vaccine has a lot of side effects and reported being afraid of them. More than half in this unvaccinated group also said they do not believe they can play a role in transmitting influenza to their patients if they are not vaccinated.

"It's a concern that so many EMTs who are educated in healthcare do not believe that the public health message regarding influenza vaccine safety and efficacy is reliable," study co-investigator Kate Wright, an associate professor and director of Heartland Centers at Saint Louis University, said in a statement.

In addition, 25 percent of the 265 St. Louis EMTs said they do not believe that influenza is a serious disease that can cause death. Continued: http://www.upi.com/Health_News...

(Note: Clearly, education on flu viruses is needed immediately!! 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 @ Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 22:41:26 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for November 6, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Tue Nov 06, 2012 at 05:20:57 AM UTC