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Flu Wiki Forum
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CDC 
Mon Oct 26, 2009 at 18:23:32 PM EDT
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During the CDC briefing last Friday, Dr. Thomas Frieden said that there have been more than 1,000 H1N1 deaths and that statistic is being reported widely by all media. But I do not understand how he is counting H1N1 deaths. As you know, the CDC reports U.S. influenza and pneumonia-associated hospitalizations and deaths on their website (updated every Friday). These hospitalizations and deaths are cumulative from August 30th. For H1N1 hospitalizations and deaths from April till the end of August, interested parties are referred to their update posted on September 4, 2009. In that update, there were 9,079 H1N1 hospitalizations and 593 deaths.
In updates since then, they report hospitalizations and deaths in two categories; Influenza and Pneumonia Syndrome, and Influenza Laboratory-Tests. It is indicated that Influenza and Pneumonia Syndrome are reports "based on syndromic, admission or discharge data, or a combination of data elements that could include laboratory-confirmed and influenza-like illnesses hospitalizations." In the other category, "confirmation includes any positive influenza test (rapid influenza tests, RT-PCR, DFA, IFA, or culture), whether or not typing was done."
It seems that the "over 1,000 deaths" comes from the previous 593 deaths prior to August 30th and the 411 laboratory confirmed deaths since then.
My question is, why aren't the deaths and hospitalizations from the "Influenza and Pneumonia Syndrome" being counted? Why are they reported there if they are not related to influenza? --- which they are. If those data are included, there have been 39,106 hospitalizations and 3,420 deaths (WAY OVER 1,000). In addition, if the two categories are combined, then it shows there were 506 deaths in the last week alone (between weeks ending October 10th and 17th). I hope I am being clear.
Can someone point out to me what I am obviously missing? Thanks.
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Sat Aug 01, 2009 at 10:53:56 AM EDT
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I first heard about these meetings on the NVAC conference call on Monday, but the meetings had not been set. They are now and you can get more information at http://www.keystone.org/H1N1. YOU MUST REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND. Go to the website to register.
The meeting schedule is:
Denver, Colorado, Saturday, August 8
Lincoln, Nebraska, Saturday, August 8
Vincennes, Indiana, Saturday, August 15
Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday, August 15
Sacramento, California, Saturday, August 15
El Paso, Texas, Saturday, August 22
El Paso, Texas, sábado 22 de agosto del 2009
Additional meetings are being planned in the following cities. Please check back frequently for registration information.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Saturday, August 22
New York, New York, Saturday, August 22
Somerville, Massachusetts, Saturday, August 29
Spokane, Washington, Saturday, August, 29
This info was deeply buried, so I don't know how people will find out about these meetings.
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Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 15:10:09 PM EDT
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What Happened to CDC / WHO Press Briefings?
After an ever detariorating of communications from CDC and WHO, now we have total silence.
I have watched each and everyone press briefing from CDC and WHO, they started on late April with fancy daily video webcasts... To move on to audio only casts in mid May, to sporadic casts on late may...
The quality of the cast (of the press briefings) was badder by each time, at one time WHO made the press briefing under a tent during a rainfall (!)
About early June both CDC and WHO promised weekly updates.
Last press briefing from both parties was on the day the pandemic was declared on June 11.
The only active organisation i see keeps a light on is the European CDC at http://ecdc.europa.eu/ with almost daily updates with extensive reports and press briefings. And with neat presentations also... but maybe a bit awkward...
So why the silence? Nothing new? so what? What is the point of having a communication protocol if it is not applied at the most needed times we are in a pandemic
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Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 13:54:26 PM EDT
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In a recent diary sponsored by Cotton Top the issue of what stood in the way of developing a new flu vaccine was raised. There are a number of issues that will regrettably prevent the world from being saved by the technology and resources that already exist today. This is of course a terrible irony that will be looked back upon by historians of the future as one of the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed by mankind. I agree. This crime will be not just one of the worst, it is the worst and the perpetrators of this holocaust are those who lead us today. They will be seen by the survivors of the pandemic, and there will be many, as we see Hitler and Stalin. We are witnessing a slow motion catastrophe that will, in the end, result in the preventable deaths of up to half the worlds current population. Only a fraction of these deaths, 400 million give or take a few million, will die from the flu. The vast majority will simply starve to death and a few hundred million will die from civil strife, wars between nations and revolutions that will surely accompany the pandemic aftermath and the world economic collapse it will cause.
Yes, I see the world changing in ways that will be totally unlike anything we have now. History will look back at the ante-pandemic times we live in as the "world's golden era". We citizens of today will be viewed with hatred and envy by the decedents of the pandemic's survivors. Why, well it is simply this. If we wanted to we could have prevented this catastrophe for about the cost of a few months being spent today by the US in Iraq. That will be a shocking truth that everyone will know. Our generation will be rightly condemned as the most irresponsible, self centered, and short sighted of all time.
The Dark Doctor
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Tue Apr 01, 2008 at 16:23:47 PM EDT
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Tomorro, Wednesday April 2nd you have an opportunity for a live question-and-answer session with representatives:
Dr. Dan Jernigan, Deputy Director, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Col. Daniel Bochicchio, Vice Chief Surgeon, National Guard Bureau Joint Staff
Ms. Joan Harris, Pandemic Flu Coordinator, U.S. Department of Transportation
Capt. Ann Knebel, Deputy Director, Office of Preparedness Planning, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Focus is transportation and health care.
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/new...
Wednesday - April 2nd, 2008 starting 2pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. A.K.A. 6PM London, 7 PM Paris, 11 AM California, 8 AM Hawaii
Source: http://www.worldtimezone.com/
Send your questions to hhsstudio@hhs.gov. For we will not get what we do not ask for.
This is the second of three webinars.
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Sun Mar 16, 2008 at 09:11:17 AM EDT
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Do you prefer the statistics about home foreclosures, or would you rather read reports about people losing their homes? Do you read the health care analysis diaries or case reports of disasters that hit the uninsured?
Both statistics and case reports tell a story, and they both impact decisions, but in very different ways. The same is true for stats about influenza and stories about children dying from influenza. Both scenarios were on display this week, both in Atlanta (CDC pandemic drill) and Hong Kong (seasonal influenza outbreak). Let's explore that a bit more.
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Wed Mar 12, 2008 at 11:59:02 AM EDT
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The 7:30 am Director's briefing today:
US cases up to 304, with 32 deaths (11% CFR), with a fairly even distribution all age groups (i.e., not a predominantly pediatric disease). The virus is hitting predominantly migrant workers and homeless shelters, though there are are other at risk populations including nursing homes to be watched closely.
Interestingly, there's been a continuation of high CFR but a lower than expected attack rate, at least up until now. Schools are closing locally in a few isolated hard hit areas, but community mitigation is not yet the norm.
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Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 19:51:16 PM EDT
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A few days back, I wrote about a live exercise CDC was conducting, with this starting point:A 22-year-old Georgetown University swim team member just back from Indonesia eats dinner with his teammates but then develops a fever and doesn't accompany them to a meet in New York.
That is how a flu pandemic in the United States started. It's now six days into the scenario, there are confirmed positive cases of H5N1 in 9 states as well as the District of Columbia, and the Navy has ships off of Guam with more cases.
In addition to the 276 US cases (27 deaths) there are at least nine other countries, but none with as many confirmed cases as the US. The 10-12% CFR is seen everywhere.
The virus appears to be closely related to or descended from clade 2.1 in Indonesia, and genetic analysis suggests sensitivity to oseltamivir and adamantanes, but it's still too early to know about clinical response to these drugs.
It's 7:30 am, and the CDC Director is conducting an executive briefing to fill knowledge gaps, and plan the day's activities.
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Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 15:42:45 PM EDT
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Do not forget we have an opportunity for a live question-and-answer session with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/new...
Thursday - March 13th, 2008 starting 2pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. A.K.A. 6PM London, 7 PM Paris, 11 AM California, 8 AM Hawaii
Source: http://www.worldtimezone.com/
Send your questions to hhsstudio@hhs.gov. For we will not get what we do not ask for.
This is the first of three webinars.
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Fri Mar 07, 2008 at 01:27:47 AM EST
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There will be a CDC live event exercise next week.
This is from CIDRAP, Feb 2007:
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Sat Dec 01, 2007 at 19:38:38 PM EST
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This kit was developed by HHS and CDC along with input from community leaders. It is designed to provide you with key information and tools to help your organization or practice understand the threat of a pandemic and prepare for it now.
This toolkit provides the following:
* Information for you about pandemic flu
* Ready-to-use and ready-to-tailor resources prepared by HHS and CDC
* Ideas and materials to encourage your organization to prepare and to encourage other leaders to get involved
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Thu Nov 01, 2007 at 12:40:40 PM EDT
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Two public engagement sessions on pandemic vaccine issues are to be held Nov 10 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Nov 17 in Hendersonville (near Asheville), North Carolina.
They are still accepting participants. See this link for more details!! You can register online or by phone if you wish to attend either session.
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Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 10:39:53 AM EDT
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A number of people here at the Wiki seem to agree that the current WHO pandemic progression model does not do a good job of representing the actual events that lead to a pandemic. The chaotic, stochastic nature of the evolution of influenza virii does not seem to fit the smooth progression represented by the WHO model. This is of particular concern because many people are basing their response on the expectation of a smooth progression towards a pandemic.
While I am not by any means an admirer of the manner in which WHO has attempted to handle the H5N1 situation, in this case, I do not see any immediately attractive alternatives.
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Sat Mar 31, 2007 at 16:50:53 PM EDT
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( - promoted by DemFromCT)
As previously mentioned, I had the opportunity to be part of a "Future of Public Health" conference sponsored by HHS and CDC last week.
I sat on a panel with Paul Jarris (Exec Director, ASTHO) moderating, and David Fleming from Seattle King County Health Department, Omid Moghadam from Intel/Dossia and Elizabeth McKee from the United Nations Foundation participating along with myself. We discussed various aspects of the internet and its impact on public health.
The video of the entire conference can be found here.
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Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 19:19:05 PM EST
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EID , Volume 13, Number 3-March 2007 , flu-related articles and letters:
articles:
http://www.cdc.gov/e...
Matrix Protein 2 Vaccination and Protection against Influenza Viruses, Including H5N1
http://www.cdc.gov/e...
Surveillance of Influenza A Virus in Migratory Waterfowl in Northern Europe
http://www.cdc.gov/e...
Risk for Infection with Highly Pathogenic H5N1 in Chickens, Hong Kong, 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/e...
Effectiveness of NA Inhibitors for Preventing Staff Absenteeism during Pandemic Influenza
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Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 15:22:34 PM EST
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(Continued from the original Diary by SusanC - promoted by Bronco Bill)
This is a continuation of discussions based on SusanC's diary of the same title, with Part 1 here
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Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 01:36:14 AM EST
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Tue Feb 20, 2007 at 15:45:35 PM EST
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http://www.cdcfounda...
Any one want to write a letter of support?
Not sure what happens to the nominations, but talk about exposure if it was even considered. It says that an organization or individual can be nominated. Since we always talk about the collective hive here....I guess it depends on how loosely 'organization' can be translated as.
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Mon Feb 05, 2007 at 03:13:36 AM EST
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Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the US - Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions
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