News Reports for November 13, 2012

India: 71 swine flu cases this year (New Delhi)

NEW DELHI: The city has reported 71 cases of swine flu this year (Snip). No deaths have been reported though (Snip). 22 hospitals - 17 government and five private - have been indentified for control and management of the disease.

"All hospitals have been asked to follow the guidelines prepared by the Union health ministry for treatment of H1N1 influenza. Isolation is not required," said Delhi health minister A K Walia (Snip). He said the situation was under control. 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 Nov 13, 2012 at 07:32:23 AM UTC

India: Bird flu outbreak leaves poultry exporters in fever (Tamil Nadu)

At a time when the poultry trade is recovering from the losses caused by seasonal uncertainities on the domestic front and looking at tapping newer export markets, the outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu in Bangalore has made farmers and exporters jittery in Namakkal, the country's eggland.

"Though poultry farms here have not been affected, the fear is that overseas buyers will not be location-specific while banning the products. They will stay away from our shipments until the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) declares the zone avian flu-free," said P. Selvaraj, Chairman, National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), Namakkal zone.

Exporters are looking at Afghanistan, Algeria as potential markets and only a month ago, Oman resumed imports of Indian poultry products and so far 55 containers (2.5 crore eggs) had been exported. If they impose a ban again, it will become a problem for the export market that has just started looking up.

On the domestic front, Kerala - a major market for TN's shell egg and broiler trade - has banned the import of poultry and related products from Tamil Nadu causing a double whammy for the trade here. An NECC spokesperson said that nearly 15 trucks were held at Valayar checkpost and were denied permission to enter Kerala.

"The industry usually reaps benefits during November-January after all the austerities get over and Kerala, being a major market, the ban could result in 1.05 crore eggs piling up," he said.

This also likely to result in a cut in prices, he cautioned.  Continued: http://www.thehindubusinesslin...

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 07:37:32 AM UTC

Getting the Flu Vaccine With Egg Allergy

(Snip)

Despite the concerns about people with egg allergy experiencing allergic reactions from the influenza vaccine, most studies show that allergic reactions are rare. Studies on dozens on people with egg allergy (including life-threatening egg allergy), show that serious allergic reactions are rare as a result of receiving the influenza vaccine. Still, allergic reactions may occur, especially hives. However, it appears that for most people with egg allergy, the benefit of receiving the influenza vaccine (especially if they have high-risk medical conditions) outweighs the small danger of an allergic reaction. Still, the vaccine should be given under medical supervision, and the patient should be monitored for 30 to 60 minutes afterwards in an environment where severe allergic reactions can be recognized and treated. http://allergies.about.com/b/2...

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 07:50:07 AM UTC

Cats and dogs could hatch new diseases

Leading British-based Australian veterinary professor Michael Day has called for a global system to be formed to monitor infectious diseases of companion dogs and cats. With the majority of major new diseases facing mankind expected to have an animal origin, Day said it was time for people to think more closely about the health of their pets.

"What we know about flu viruses is that they mutate all the time and potentially they can mutate in dogs and cats; it is theoretically possible for a new strain of flu to emerge out of a dog or a cat as it has out of a bird or a pig," he said.

(Snip)

Day and leading world health bodies believe a co-ordinated global disease monitoring system needs to be established for vets that work with small companion animals. He said there were good systems in place to monitor diseases in humans and livestock, but not for companion dogs and cats despite their close proximity to humans.

(Snip)

"One thing we do not want to do is any kind of scaremongering and the message that is absolutely key and right up front in this paper is how important dogs and cats are," he said. "The benefits of having cats and dogs far outweigh the risks." http://news.ninemsn.com.au/tec...

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 07:59:53 AM UTC

UK: 'Essential medicine' Tamiflu accused of being useless in fighting flu

A leading British medical journal is asking the drug maker Roche to release all its data on Tamiflu, claiming there is no evidence the drug can actually stop the flu.

The drug has been stockpiled by dozens of governments worldwide in case of a global flu outbreak and was widely used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

On Monday, one of the researchers linked to the BMJ journal called for European governments to sue Roche. 'I suggest we boycott Roche's products until they publish missing Tamiflu data,' wrote Peter Gotzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen. He said governments should take legal action against Roche to get the money back that was 'needlessly' spent on stockpiling Tamiflu.

Last year, Tamiflu was included in a list of 'essential medicines' by the World Health Organization, a list that often prompts governments or donor agencies to buy the drug.

(Snip)

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said the agency had enough proof to warrant its use for unusual influenza viruses, like bird flu. 'We do have substantive evidence it can stop or hinder progression to severe disease like pneumonia,' he said.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends Tamiflu as one of two medications for treating regular flu. The other is GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza. The CDC says such antivirals can shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce the risk of complications and hospitalization. Continued: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea...  

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 08:15:45 AM UTC

Cuba to Kick off Vaccination Campaign Against the Flu

HAVANA TIMES - More than half a million Cubans will be vaccinated against seasonal flu from November 20 to December 15 (Snip).

A single dose injection will be given to all individuals over 85 years of age (about 150,000) and to  those people of other ages who are included in high risk groups, especially those suffering from pneumonia (Snip).

The provinces most affected by Hurricane Sandy will develop particularized strategies for the supply of the vaccine (Snip). Continued: http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=...

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 21:51:57 PM UTC

UK: Rapid diagnosis of flu moves a step closer

The rapid diagnosis of flu and respiratory conditions moved a step closer after a North East biosensor company secured government funding for further development work into its innovative new technology.

Newcastle-based OJ-Bio has secured funds from the Biomedical Catalyst programme towards its £1 million-plus project to develop a new device for the rapid, simple and low cost diagnosis of flu.

The new technology combines specialist bio-sensor materials with advanced electronics in a small hand held device for the accurate detection of flu and other respiratory conditions from patient supplied samples.

Importantly, the device can be used at the patient's bed side or other point of care, such as a GP surgery or pharmacy, with the results being available within minutes and without samples being sent for laboratory analysis.

For the last three years OJ-Bio has worked with the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) to successfully develop and test the new biosensor device. This has proven its ability to successfully detect three potent respiratory viruses much more quickly than current methods.

Included are the Influenza A and B viruses, common flu strains previously linked to some major epidemics, and Respiratory Synctyial Virus (RSV), a major cause of coughs and chest infections.

The latest funding approval will enable the company to build on its existing work by developing lab-based prototypes into a fully functional pilot device capable of carrying out large scale clinical trials. Continued: http://www.easier.com/109160-r...

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 21:55:10 PM UTC

India: state bans poultry feed due to bird flu (Tamil Nadu)

The state government of Tamil Nadu has imposed a ban on trucks transporting poultry feed from the neighbouring state Karnataka following a recent outbreak of bird flu in turkeys.

The ban was imposed on Saturday (11 Nov) and on Sunday 52 trucks carrying feed from Karnataka were turned back.

(Snip) "We had started spraying disinfection medicines on all the vehicles that were coming from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu when the bird flu outbreak issue flared up two weeks ago. Now, we had instructed all our officials in the check posts on Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border near Hosur to send back the poultry feed-laden trucks from Karnataka," (Snip).

"All the trucks coming from Karnataka will be inspected and those trucks laden with poultry feed such as corn, ground-nut and soya cakes will be sent back. These are the main ingredient and foods for chickens in Tamil Nadu," (Snip).

"The ban will be maintained until the Karnataka government announces that their state is free from bird flu outbreak," (Snip).

(Snip) the ban has been criticised by Tamil Nadu's farmers association. (Snip).

(Snip) some of the feed trucks are from Maharashtra via Karnataka and with limited feed stock available if feed doesn't arrives on time birds will die. http://www.allaboutfeed.net/Pr...  

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 Nov 13, 2012 at 22:04:11 PM UTC

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for November 14, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 05:45:17 AM UTC