UK swine flu cases double in a week
22/10/2009 - 16:59:07

The estimated number of new cases of swine flu in the UK almost doubled this week, raising fears that increasing hospital admissions will put pressure on NHS beds, figures showed today.

The number of deaths of people in the UK suffering from swine flu has risen to 128, with 93 deaths in England, 21 in Scotland, eight in the North and six in Wales.

But Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said he was most worried by the number of hospital cases, which have risen in England to 506, with 99 in critical care.

The number in critical care is the highest since the pandemic began.

More than half (54%) of deaths have been in the under-45 age group while 77% have been in the under-65 group.

With seasonal flu the majority of deaths would be expected in the over-65s.

One in three deaths related to people who had little or no underlying health problems.

The estimated number of new cases this week was 53,000, “almost doubling” from last week when new cases were estimated at 27,000.

The total number of cases is estimated at 435,000.

The number of cases could peak at 1.5 million people ill in a single week, putting prolonged pressure on the NHS over the winter.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/world/uk-swine-flu-cases-double-in-a-week-431274.html

Thirteen Deaths Now Attributed To Swine Flu In Oklahoma
Posted: Oct 23, 2009 8:20 AM CDT
Updated: Oct 23, 2009 8:44 AM CDT

Enlarge this picture

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- State health officials say 13 Oklahomans have now died of swine flu and the number of serious cases of the illness is rising.

The most recent deaths include an infant in Tulsa who was less than 6-months-old, a child in Carter Count, a Le Flore County man, a Noble County man and a Tulsa woman. State epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley says three of the deaths were a result of secondary infections that occurred after flu symptoms subsided.

The Oklahoma Department of Health reports 181 Oklahomans were hospitalized last week to bring the total number since September 1st to 504. Sixty-one percent of those hospitalizations have been in patients younger than 19.

Oklahoma has received about 120,000 doses of vaccine and it's being targeted at schoolchildren and pregnant women.

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=11371707

Russia

In Murmansk quarantined closed all schools
22/Oct/09

October 21 at 18.30 from Rosprirodnadzor in the Murmansk region obtained data on confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 virus / identified in the territory of the Murmansk region. As REGNUM correspondent was news to the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Murmansk region, only registered 7 cases, of which 1 in Murmansk, 6 - in the cities of the Murmansk region. To prevent the spread of viral flu A/N1N1 / in all schools in the city of Murmansk declared unscheduled vacation. They will last until the end of the autumn holidays.

Recall, as REGNUM reported earlier, News, October 19 in Murmansk and the region was closed 5 schools. As of October 20 the number of closed schools was 24, of which 21 - in Murmansk, 2 - in Severomorsk and 1 - in p.Tuloma. As a preventive measure, 45 educational institutions in the region (Murmansk, Severomorsk, Polar, Kirovsk, Apatite, Kola and Pechenskogo areas) was suspended by the learning process. And the leadership of the five schools it was decided to start the school holidays early. As for kindergarten, then in 8 kindergartens closed 11 teams with doshkolyatami.

http://www.regnum.ru/news/1217424.html

Don't forget Ruts, there is still the combination of the H1N1 and H5N1 in the flock of turkeys in Chile, I believe. Couple months back. That's not a good combo either...

-----------

FAO: H1N1 flu in turkeys may spread
Via FAO: H1N1 flu in turkeys may spread. Excerpt:

The detection of an H1N1 virus in turkeys in Chile raises concern that poultry farms elsewhere in the world could also become infected with the pandemic flu virus currently circulating in humans, FAO said today.

Chilean authorities reported on 20 August that the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus was present in turkeys in two farms near the seaport of Valparaiso, Chile. The flu strain found in the poultry flocks is identical to the H1N1/2009 pandemic strain currently circulating among human populations around the world.

However, the discovery of the virus in turkeys does not pose any immediate threat to human health and turkey meat can still be sold commercially following veterinary inspection and hygienic processing.

“The reaction of the Chilean authorities to the discovery of H1N1 in turkeys — namely prompt reporting to international organizations, establishing a temporary quarantine, and the decision to allow infected birds to recover rather than culling them — is scientifically sound,” said FAO’s interim Chief Veterinary Officer, Juan Lubroth.

“Once the sick birds have recovered, safe production and processing can continue. They do not pose a threat to the food chain,” said Lubroth.

The current H1N1 virus strain is a mixture of human, pig and bird genes and has proved to be very contagious but no more deadly than common seasonal flu viruses.

However, it could theoretically become more dangerous if it adds virulence by combining with H5N1, commonly known as avian flu, which is far more deadly but harder to pass along among humans.

“Chile does not have H5N1 flu. In South-East Asia where there is a lot of the virus circulating in poultry, the introduction of H1N1 in these populations would be of a greater concern,” said Lubroth.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... pread.html

-----------------------------


Leo

Russia reports its first confirmed swine flu deaths; 4 people reported to have died
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP) – 54 minutes ago

MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday reported its first confirmed deaths from swine flu since the disease developed into a global epidemic this year.

Four deaths were reported, including a 53-year-old woman who died Tuesday in a Moscow hospital, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the city health department.

Russia's top epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, said Russia's first swine flu victims were two women, aged 29 and 50, who died last month in a hospital in Chita, a Siberian city near the Mongolian border.

The younger woman was more than eight months pregnant and doctors were unable to save the baby, Russian news agencies reported, citing regional officials.

The Health Ministry said a third death in the Siberian region also was caused by swine flu. The ministry scolded regional health authorities for not alerting Moscow to the seriousness of the local flu cases.

Russia reported its first confirmed case of swine flu in May, and there are now more than 1,300 registered cases. The worst-hit regions are in Russia's east, along the Mongolian and Chinese borders and Pacific coast, Onishchenko said.

Classrooms and in some cases entire schools have been closed in many regions across the country. In Moscow, the closures have affected thousands of children.

The World Health Organization said last week that about 5,000 people have been reported as having died from swine flu worldwide. The figure is considered an underestimate, since most countries have stopped counting individual swine flu cases.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iZHis44auwuWSX-0cNZUciml0snw

Flu school closures set to surpass spring count
Already this academic year, 600 schools have temporarily closed
The Associated Press
updated 3:45 p.m. CT, Wed., Oct . 28, 2009

CHICAGO - Across the country schools are closing by the dozen as officials say they’re being hit so hard by swine flu that they feel shutting down for a few days is the only feasible option.

The U.S. Education Department says at least 351 schools were closed last week alone — affecting 126,000 students in 19 states. So far this school year, about 600 total schools have temporarily closed.

The number of closures this year appears on target to surpass the roughly 700 schools closed last spring when the swine flu outbreak first hit. Flu season hasn’t peaked yet, and each day more schools are closing.

The superintendent of Connecticut’s Middletown Public Schools says a middle school closed for the rest of the week after 120 students stayed home sick Monday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33520744/ns/health-cold_and_flu/

Swine flu victim is identified

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published October 30, 2009

GALVESTON — The woman who was the first in Galveston County to die from swine flu had sought treatment at the University of Texas Medical Branch but was discharged after she was diagnosed with pneumonia, her boyfriend and health officials said Thursday.

Renacia Scott, 31, died four days later as a result of the H1N1 virus, as well as of a secondary infection of viral pneumonia, the Galveston County medical examiner said.

Scott’s boyfriend, Nathan Edwards, and her mother, Theretta Gayben-Miller, said they were not told Scott had died from swine flu until contacted by The Daily News on Thursday.

After reading the newspaper’s stories about a woman’s swine flu death, Edwards thought the descriptions of the woman and timing of her death were similar to those of his girlfriend of three years.

Scott’s funeral was Tuesday, the same day health officials confirmed an isle woman had died as a result of swine flu.

The chief medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Pustilnik, said Scott did not have a pre-existing health condition that contributed to her death and that she generally was healthy. The swine flu, however, weakened her system to the point that she contracted viral pneumonia.

Gayben-Miller, who found out about her daughter’s death from a text message, said she was frustrated health officials did not attempt to tell family members Scott had died of a contagious virus. That frustration grew to anger as she and Edwards talked about the decision by hospital officials not to admit her daughter.

“I was thinking they would not let her go if she was in very bad shape,” Edwards said. “I guess I was wrong.”

Edwards accused the hospital of not admitting his girlfriend when they arrived at the emergency department Oct. 16 because the couple did not have insurance — a claim medical branch officials denied.

Gayben-Miller said she spoke with emergency room officials by phone and “begged them to check her into the hospital.”

“I am very angry they did not help her,” Gayben-Miller said. Scott died Oct. 20 at the home she shared with Edwards in Galveston.

Dr. Steve Quach, interim chief medical officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch, said an internal review of Scott’s case showed that the hospital followed proper protocol and that her lack of medical coverage did not play a role in her treatment plan.

“I can tell you unequivocally that any time there’s a patient that comes into the UTMB emergency department with an acute condition... that condition is treated regardless of insurance status,” Quach said.

He said doctors aren’t aware of patients’ insurance status when deciding to admit or treat them.

The decision to admit patients for swine flu or any other condition is made on a case-by-case basis, Quach said.

There are specific protocols for swine flu and pneumonia that include pinpointing pre-existing conditions and a general assessment of the risk of the infection worsening without hospital treatment.

With swine flu, if the patient is a child or in his or her 20s, doctors do give serious consideration to hospitalization because young people are more susceptible to this year’s strain of the virus, Quach said. Most flu symptom cases that come into the medical branch’s emergency department do not result in hospitalization, Quach said.

A handful do, including one case Thursday in which someone with a likely case of swine flu was admitted, medical branch spokesman Raul Reyes said.

+++

Swine flu Death Timeline

Oct. 12 — Renacia Scott tells her mother she isn’t feeling well

Oct. 16 — Scott is taken to the UTMB emergency room with severe flu-like symptoms. She is diagnosed with pneumonia, treated at ER and sent home with an antibiotic prescription.

Oct. 20 — Scott’s boyfriend, Nathan Edwards, returns from a football game and finds Scott dead in bed.

Oct. 27 — Memorial service for Scott is conducted in Galveston. The Galveston County Health District confirms a Galveston woman between 30 and 35 died seven days earlier from swine flu, but does not release the woman’s name.

Oct. 29 — Scott’s family and the medical examiner confirm she is the woman who died from swine flu.

Sources: Family, Galveston County Health District, Galveston County Medical Examiner, University of Texas Medical Branch

http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=4dcd9f8eb9460e00

Ukraine closes all schools, cinemas over swine flu

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Friday ordered a three-week closure of Ukraine's schools and cinemas in the toughest measures adopted yet to combat the swine flu virus in Europe.

"From today, all the school establishments in Ukraine -- be they private or public -- will be put on three weeks of holiday," she told her cabinet in comments carried on Ukrainian television.

Tymoshenko said the government would also be banning "all public gatherings, every concert and every cinema showing for three weeks."

The government will also introduce "special regimes" to limit the movement of Ukraine's citizens from one region to another for non-urgent purposes, she said. Ukraine has borders with four EU countries.

The prime minister's tough actions came as Ukraine confirmed its first deaths from the A(H1N1) virus, amid a growing panic over several dozen unexplained deaths in the west of the country.

Four people in Ukraine are now confirmed to have died from the virus, the secretary of the country's national security council Raisa Bogatyriova said, according to the Ukrainian presidency.

In the Ternopil region alone in western Ukraine, 30 people have died of unexplained causes in the last days, health ministry spokeswoman Lyudmila Gordon told reporters.

Tymoshenko also threatened to revoke the licenses of pharmacies that failed to stock the appropriate level of anti-flu medicine and masks.

"We can say today that Ukraine has entered into the zone of the swine flu epidemic," Health Minister Vassyl Kniazevich said.

AFP correspondents in Kiev and the western city of Lviv said there had been long queues outside pharmacies in the past days as the population stocked up on anti-flu masks.

Many students whose courses were cancelled in Lviv and Ternopil left the cities, while those who remained were frequently seen wearing masks in public places.

Lemons, a traditional anti-flu remedy, sold out at markets in Lviv while supermarkets were selling them at double price.

There is currently only enough anti-flu medication in Lviv to last three to four days but central authorities have promised to make additional deliveries, said Lviv governor Mykola Kmit.

Tymoshenko will travel to the affected western Ternopil region later Friday to visit the "epicentre" of the epidemic, a government statement said.

The country's politicians, including Tymoshenko, have just started official campaigning for presidential elections scheduled for January 17.

The prime minister on Saturday held a mass outdoor rally in the centre of Kiev attended by tens of thousands of people to mark her party's confirmation of her candidacy in the presidential race.

President Viktor Yushchenko, Tymoshenko's political arch-rival who is also standing in the elections, was due to hold his own rally on Sunday but it is now unclear whether this can go ahead.

Residents of Kiev meanwhile were asking pharmacies for masks and medication but these were not always to be found in stock.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/ukraine-closes-all-schools-cinemas-over-swine-flu-20091031-hq2y.html

I don't like this!! Any thoughts?

Unidentified flue outbreak in Western Ukraine.

October29, 2009 19:48

Western Ukraine was hit by a severe epidemic of unidentified influenza, tentatively diagnosed by doctors as viral pneumonia. The number of dead has climbed dramatically. Doctors advise Western Ukrainians to stay at home and use preventive medication. The first pedestrians wearing face masks have been seen on Lviv streets

Lviv kindergartens and schools have been closed, and the city council is to have its emergency session soon to address the flue outbreak. So far, the information released by the authorities on the epidemic dimensions spread and preventive measures is scarce, causing panic to spread in the city.

Here are the latest reports on the situation in other W.Ukraine oblasts:

Ternopil oblast

As the number of sick persons increases, the authorities describe the situation as rather serious, says Ternopil oblast chief medical officer Bohdan Onyskiv.

“In all, 262 patients are treated in hospitals, of these 16 in serious condition. !* (sic) children have died in rural areas and 70 in Ternopil,” he says.

Onyskiv confirmed that they died from viral pneumonia.

The main cause of their death is that sick Ukrainians were too late requesting medical help, most of them on the 5th or 6th day of the disease. They stayed at home, trying to treat themselves, visiting hospitals when it was too late. The disease has a distinct viral nature, complicating treatment, he added.

Lviv Oblast

Five persons have died from the flue in Lviv, four men and one woman, says emergency hospital chief doctor Myron Borysevych.

Two of the dead patients were in the 22-35 age group, with 2 others over 60. He diagnosed the disease as viral pneumonia.

“We have sent the analyses to Kyiv. We don’t believe it’s the swine flue. Neither do we know what kind of pneumonia it is, Borysevych stressed. Viral tests can last from one to two weeks. They are complicated and not done in Lviv. The course of the disease was very quick. The symptoms included very high temperature and short-wind cough.

The disease started as an ordinary chill with headache and temperature. The symptoms lasted for a week before patient condition began to aggravate.

Zakarpattya Oblast

A man has died from the swine flue in Volovets. He has recently returned from Saint Petersburg, Russia, suffering from a cold. He was rushed to the hospital when pneumonia symptoms were found by doctors. Another local who came from Moscow became sick and went to see his doctor in time. Now he is recovering safely.

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

All the six dead young people had symptoms of severe hemmorhagic pneumonia. The disease starts slowly, with temperature rising to 37.2 – 37.3 degrees, slight cough and pain in joints. Nasal catarrh developed at the end of the second or third day. Autopsy revealed that the lungs were soaked with blood, the oblast chief specialist said.

Chernivtsi Oblast

The number of persons with common flue in Chernivtsi has grown from 2,623 to 4,053. According to the local medical authorities, the city has been hit by an unknown type of the flue. The tests to identify the virus will be ready only in 2 weeks, doctors say.

http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2009/10/29/202374

PNEUMONIC PLAGUE IN UKRAINE?

Ministry of Health has not established the exact diagnosis of the epidemic disease in the western regions of Ukraine. Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevich has given information about spread of diseases in the Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv Regions today at the meeting of Cabinet of Ministers.

According to the Minister, the World Health Organization is ready to render assistance to Ukrainian experts and the Ministry of Health in order to establish the cause of death and development of disease flu in the Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv Regions.

snip

According to the Minister, leading international experts, particularly from Russia and Europe, will be involving into establishing the diagnosis.

He noted that the Ivano-Frankivsk region reached the epidemic threshold. 6 deaths are registered there which are related to this situation. Also, the Minister of Health noted that the climatic and temperature conditions in the Ternopil Region did not lead to the development of disease in these regions.

In turn, Yulia Tymoshenko ordered before the end of today's meeting of the government to bring her all the data, the estimates associated with the epidemic disease as a draft form. She also ordered Oleksander Turchynov to consider the issue of informing the public through the video and broadcast that person should avoid work and study if he has signs of cold, and urgently appeal to the doctor.

In addition, Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Health to send special circulars, which contain instructions for the doctors in this situation, to all hospitals of Ukraine, and to explore the amount of necessary additional funding to counteract an outbreak of viral diseases in the western areas.

In connection with the spread of flu quarantine has been declared in schools in the Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk Regions.

04:10 p.m. Despite the fact that doctors do not state that epidemic of swine flu has started in Ukraine, the facts speak for themselves: a man died in Transcarpathia. Precisely swine flu killed him.

snip

05:39 p.m. Doctors are calling on citizens not to vaccinate against influenza, because such vaccination in the midst of the epidemic may injure the health, coordinator of epidemic influenza in Lviv Miron Borysevich claimed at a press conference, proUA.com reports.

"When an outbreak of influenza begins, nobody is being vaccinated. From the point of view of epidemiology this can not be done because it is harmful. It may harm the patient," - he said.

At the same time, doctors advise not to communicate with people who are sick. If you have to contact with sick people, use flu masks.

A closed meeting has been held in Ivano-Frankivsk, at which participants agreed that epidemic of the so-called "pneumonic plague" is being spread throughout Ukraine. But the problem is its form is unknown, it is ATYPICAL nobody knows how to treat it.

PNEUMONIC PLAGUE has an acute course than other forms, over and is accompanied by a very high mortality rate. The incubation period of primary pneumonic plague rarely exceeds more than 1-4 days. It begins, as a rule, suddenly - with shivering, fever, headache, myalgia, weakness, nausea. The symptoms of pneumonia - cough with phlegm, chest pain, shortness of breath - usually appear on the second day of the disease. Blood spitting, growing respiratory disorders, heart failure, respiratory failure, shock are being observed. In primary pneumonic plague phlegm usually is watery or mucinous, foamy, with blood or visibly bloody.

A secondary pneumonic plague occurs as interstitial pneumonia. Phlegm is scanty and more dense and viscous than in primary pulmonary plague. It is believed that in this regard, patients are less contagious.

As a reminder, yesterday, on October 28 flu epidemic in the Ternopil Region, which had appeared a week ago, mowed down nearly 10,000 of residents. Moreover - unknown virus has already killed seven people. Ministry of Health has confirmed 20 deaths from pneumonia in Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv Regions. By Yulia Makoveeva, MIGnews.com.ua

http://mignews.com.ua/en/categ386/articles/376396.html

Canada: New Brunswick prison locked down over H1N1
Via CBCnews.ca: Swine flu leads to N.B. prison lockdown. Excerpt:

A New Brunswick prison is under a lockdown due to the spread of swine flu.

The Westmorland Institute in Dorchester has one confirmed case and a number of suspected cases, according to officials with Correctional Service of Canada.

A lockdown has been implemented at the minimum-security facility and all visits have been cancelled until further notice. There are about 250 male offenders at Westmorland.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... -h1n1.html

Ukraine bans public gatherings to stop swine flu
The turmoil in Ukraine has drawn the attention of the New York Times: Ukraine Bans Public Gatherings to Stop Swine Flu. Excerpt:

The Ukrainian government is taking some of the sternest measures in the world against the spread of the swine flu virus, ordering schools nationwide to close for three weeks, banning public gatherings and imposing restrictions on travel.

Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko announced the measures on Friday in response to rising fears about swine flu, especially in western Ukraine.

Federal health officials said 33 people had died from the flu across the country, although there was conflicting information about which type of the virus was to blame.

The situation in Ukraine “has reached the epidemic threshold,” Ms. Tymoshenko said. The ban on public gatherings, she said, would apply to “all large-scale events, concerts, movie showings and any other gatherings of people for the next three weeks.”

The World Health Organization said it would send a team to Ukraine to assist the authorities there.

News reports from western part of the country said there were long lines at pharmacies as people sought medication and masks.

With all rallies canceled, the anti-flu measures were expected to have an immediate impact on the campaign for Ukraine’s presidency. The election is on Jan. 17, and Ms. Tymoshenko formally registered as a candidate on Saturday. She said she did not expect that the voting would have to be postponed.

The virus is spreading across Eastern Europe, but it was not clear why Ms. Tymoshenko chose to undertake stronger moves, like closing schools nationwide, than her counterparts in Russia and Poland.

There were indications, however, that the government’s response was being influenced by electoral politics. Ms. Tymoshenko, one of the leading candidates, and her bitter rival, President Viktor A. Yushchenko, who is far behind in opinion polls in his bid for re-election, both sought to make clear that they were aggressively addressing the outbreak.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... e-flu.html

WHO on the Ukraine: "The situation is quickly changing"

Thanks to Avian Flu Diary and Dutchy at Flutrackers for reporting this: WHO | Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Ukraine. Excerpt:

On 28 October 2009, the Ministry of Health of the Ukraine informed WHO, through its Country Office in Ukraine, about an unusually high level of activity of acute respiratory illness in the western part of the country, associated with an increased number of hospital admissions and fatalities.

On 30 October 2009, the Ministry of Health of the Ukraine announced the confirmation of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection by RT-PCR in eleven out of 30 samples obtained from patients presenting with acute respiratory illness in two of the most affected regions.

Tests were performed in two laboratories in Kyiv, including the National Influenza Centre. Confirmatory tests will be performed at one of the WHO Collaborating Centres for Influenza.

The situation is quickly changing with increasingly high levels of acute respiratory illness (ARI)/Influenza-like-illness (ILI) activity being observed in Ternopil, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi regions.

The higher levels of transmission in these regions corresponds to an increased number of hospital admissions and fatalities associated with severe manifestations of acute respiratory illness.

As of 30 October 2009, over 2,300 individuals have been admitted to hospital, including over 1,100 children. One hundred and thirty one (131) cases have required intensive care, including 32 children.

As of 31 October 2009, a total of 38 fatalities associated with severe manifestations of ARI have been registered.

Preliminary epidemiological data analysis indicates that severe cases and deaths primarily occur among previously healthy young adults aged 20 – 50 years. Fatal and severe cases are reported to have sought medical attention 5 to 7 days after onset of symptoms.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... nging.html

Ukraine: Getting worse
Via Kyiv Post, more bad news: 53 dead from influenza. Excerpt:

The Health Ministry has confirmed that 53 people died of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections in the Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Lviv regions from October 19 to November 1.

This is stated in the Health Ministry's operational data, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained.

The highest number of deaths is in the Lviv region (24).

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Health Ministry had confirmed 34 deaths from influenza and acute respiratory viral infections in the Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv regions as of 21:30 on October 30.

The Health Ministry declared an epidemic of the A(H1N1) influenza in Ukraine on October 30.

The Kyiv Post home page is a litany of such reports.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... worse.html

Romanian hotel closed after 40 people get swine flu
Via the Jerusalem Post: Romanian hotel closed after 40 people get swine flu.

A hotel in the mountain resort of Sinaia was closed Sunday after 40 Romanian and foreign law students meeting for a conference caught swine flu, officials said.

Health state secretary Adrian Streinu-Cercel said 40 people were hospitalized Sunday at the Matei Bals Institute for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest, suffering from medium to severe forms of the flu.

Streinu-Cercel said the flu was spread by a Portuguese tourist at the hotel who refused to be hospitalized for two days after it was confirmed that she was carrying the illness.

He gave no further details.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... e-flu.html

US: Ferret dies from H1N1 infection in Nebraska
Via Janet's Veterinary Medicine Blog on About.com: H1N1 (Swine Flu) News - Ferret dies from H1N1 infection in Nebraska. Excerpt:

A news station in Hastings, Nebraska (KHAS) has reported that Stormy the ferret, one of four ferrets in a family of humans sick with the flu, has died from the H1N1 virus.

According to the news report:

Testing was done by the University of Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Lab where the ferret tested positive for H1N1. The state public health veterinarian said it is not unexpected, but it is rare. Only 2 ferrets in the nation have died from H1N1. That includes Stormy.

A second sample has been sent to a national laboratory for confirmation of H1N1 infection.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... raska.html

Hat tip to guanosphere

The number of cases of influenza and ARI has exceeded a quarter of a million
02/Nov/09

In Ukraine, from 67 people died of influenza
The Ministry of Health stated that registered in Ukraine 255 thousand patients with influenza and ARI , 15 thousand of them hospitalized.

According to Deputy Health Minister Vasyl Lazorishintsa in the ICU was 170 patients, 67 men - have died (including 29 - in Lviv, 14 - in Ternopil, 12 - Ivano-Frankovsk region).

Lazoryshynets also noted that in Ukraine officially confirmed 22 cases of influenza A/H1N1. "Ukraine does not have a vaccine against pandemic influenza, but negotiations on deliveries of international organizations", - he said.

However, Lazoryshynets emphasized that, according to WHO recommendations, if in the region identified a single case of disease caused by a virus A/N1N1, then the entire region, we treat the protocol precisely against this disease.

According to First Deputy Minister, the appropriate treatment protocol was developed by the Health Ministry and sent to the regions. Lazoryshynets also recalled that the Ministry of Health has purchased 67 thousand doses of Tamiflu and another 60 thousand received from the Ministry of Health.

In addition, during the night from Sunday to Monday, on the basis of agreements concluded by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Peter Poroshenko and Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevich, Ukraine delivered from Switzerland 300 thousand doses of Tamiflu, which is a one-month supply for treatment.

This Lazoryshynets noted that the drug Tamiflu is not a preventive tool, and is used only for treatment when the patient first signs of disease.

However, at present, in Ukraine there is no vaccine against swine flu, but the Health Ministry is negotiating the purchase of these vaccines abroad. In particular, according to the deputy minister, currently several vaccines are in the process of registration in Ukraine.

Replying to a question about whether the different statistics on mortality from influenza and pneumonia in previous years, Lazoryshynets replied that in general, the picture in the western regions is not significantly different. Thus, in 2008 in Lviv from pneumonia deaths of 245 people, in Ternopil - 89 and in Ivano-Frankivsk - 88.
http://korrespondent.net/tech/health/1013974
***
amberglass at Thisbluemarble.com


http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.ph ... post163554

Ukraine closes all schools to fight swine flu
By YANA SEDOVA and SIMON SHUSTER (AP) – 1 hour ago

KIEV, Ukraine — Urging its citizens not to panic, Ukraine on Monday closed down all schools nationwide for a week to avoid the spread of swine flu and suggested that nightclubs, cinemas and food markets in the west also shut down.

The World Health Organization said Monday there was no evidence that Ukraine had a bad outbreak of swine flu but at the government's request it had sent a health team in to help the country cope.

"But this is not an indication that the situation is severe," said WHO spokeswoman Liuba Negru. "The information we have gotten (from the government), we have to double-check it and make sure it is real, evidence-based information."

Ukraine's Health Ministry said Monday that 67 people in the nation of 40 million have died of flu, but did not say how many of those deaths were related to swine flu. Worldwide, outbreaks of regular seasonal flu claim 50,000 lives each year.

Nevertheless, all schools have been closed for a week across Ukraine, even in the capital, Kiev, where there have been no confirmed cases of swine flu.

In western Ukraine, local authorities advised people to travel only when necessary, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said.

All outdoor markets have been closed in the western region of Lviv, where the governor also urged cinemas, cafes, nightclubs and theaters to shut down until further notice.

Some observers, including the speaker of the parliament, Vladimir Litvin, suggested that these measures are the result of political wrangling ahead of the country's presidential election in January. The pivotal vote could overturn the 2004 Orange Revolution that swept a pro-Western government to power.

"We are seeing a political competition to see who will be the first to lead this process (of fighting swine flu)," Litvin said, according to the UNIAN news agency.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko met a Swiss shipment of anti-viral drugs at the Kiev airport on Monday.

"The government has declared the situation an epidemic, but there is absolutely no need to panic," she declared on national television.

Her main rival, President Viktor Yushchenko, said thousands were infected and called for assistance from NATO, the European Commission, the United States, Russia and other countries.

Konstantin Bondarenko, director of the Gorshenin Institute, a political consultancy, said that Tymoshenko has the most to lose from public sentiment over the outbreak, as state health officials answer to her.

"Right now all the candidates are weighing their political options, looking around for a theme, and this is a very hot topic right now. The panic is there, and they are acting on it," Bondarenko said.

After receiving the shipment of 300,000 doses of Tamiflu at Kiev's Borispol airport, Tymoshenko said her government plans to increase its hoard of the drug by another 300,000 to 950,000 doses.

"This is the supply that will reliably protect Ukraine," Tymoshenko said, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Viktor Yanukovych, the Regions' Party candidate for the presidency, has not yet commented on the swine flu uproar. Yanukovych, who was beaten in 2005 by Yushchenko, is leading in the polls with a platform that emphasizes closer ties with Russia.

During the past five years of Yushchenko's presidency, relations with Moscow reached historic lows. Yushchenko's approval ratings at home have fallen to single digits in the wake of the economic crisis, which hit Ukraine hard, and years of political gridlock with Tymoshenko.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gZEiW5KQGUG6UipPRvyy8rMDXlqgD9BNHE0O0

Hat tip to guanosphere

New German swine flu cases double in two days

Published: 2 Nov 09 15:01 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091102-22975.html

The number of new swine flu cases has doubled in the last two days, national disease control and prevention agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported on Monday.

More than 3,000 new cases of the H1N1 virus have been confirmed in the last week, President of the national disease control and prevention agency, Jörg Hacker, said on Monday in Berlin, confirming fears that a wave of infections would arrive in the country this autumn.

The new cases mean there have been a total of some 30,000 swine flu infections in the country since April. Six people have died of the virus.

While the number of cases is expected to continue rising, most people who get the bug will not stay sick for long, Hacker said.

“All in all the infections are mild,” he said. “But the length of the infection wave is difficult to predict.”

Those in Germany should not panic, Hacker emphasised, saying that the current situation was predicted this summer and there have been no mutations to the virus thus far.

Swine flu vaccinations for health workers, police and at-risk patients began last week, but the general public will have to wait until late-November.

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091102-22975.html

Hospitals under quarantine to prevent spread of swine flu
Mediafax

All Romanian hospitals were under quarantine in order to prevent the spread of swine flu, health authorities announced today (Mon).

A total of 128 new cases of swine flu have been registered in the last 72 hours, bringing the total number to 555, with no fatalities.

Health Ministry Secretary of State Adrian Streinu-Cercel said the measure to place all hospitals under quarantine translated into fewer patient visits and fewer medical staff.

The ministry will start distributing anti-viral medicines to the infections diseases units at county hospitals and assign 6.4 million lei (27 million lei) to hospitals in areas hit by the new flu for the purchase of surgical masks and disinfectant.

Streinu-Cercel also said Romania had 400,000 doses of anti-viral medicine and would soon purchase another 1,375,000 doses.

He added the ministry had scrapped plans to buy one million doses of swine-flu vaccine from foreign producers because they would have been ready only in the first quarter of 2010.

Romania will begin a vaccination campaign against swine flu on November 26/27 using vaccine produced by the Cantacuzino Institute.

The first 1.3 million doses will be given to medical staff and high school and university students in the eastern city of Iasi and capital city Bucharest.

Other doses of vaccine will be given to border police staff deployed mainly along Romania's border with Ukraine.

http://www.romaniantimes.at/news/General_News/2009-11-02/3952/Hospitals_under_quarantine_to_prevent_spread_of_swine_flu_

South Korea goes to stage red
Via Dong-a Ilbo: H1N1 flu alert to rise to highest level today. Excerpt:

The national alert level for influenza A (H1N1) will rise to its highest level today, with the government to announce follow-up measures.

The alert levels consist of four stages: concern (blue), warning (yellow), caution (orange) and serious (red). On July 21, health authorities heightened the flu alert to its second-highest level amid fears over the spread of the disease.

The daily average number of confirmed cases more than doubled to 8,857 over the past week (Oct. 25-31) from 4,220 in the previous week (Oct. 18-24). The number is expected to sharply rise over the next three to four weeks with the sudden drop in temperature this week.

Against this backdrop, the government decided to raise the alert level to its highest point. The center for countermeasures against influenza at the Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Ministry said,

“The number of outpatients with influenza-like illness for every 1,000 people at 817 sample medical institutions nationwide between Oct. 18 and 24 was 20.29, up 119.6 percent from the previous week (Oct. 11-17).”

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... e-red.html

Belarus: "The hospital is like in wartime"

Via Brest Online, a Belarusian news source: Minsk's Hospital No. 3 said to be packed with patients with acute respiratory disease, pneumonia. Excerpt:

Minsk's Hospital No. 3 is overcrowded with patients with acute respiratory disease and pneumonia, prominent human rights defender Ales Byalyatski, who is being treated in the hospital for pneumonia, told BelaPAN.

According to Mr. Byalyatski, he overheard doctors say that there were three times more such patients than usual.

"The hospital is like in wartime," he said. "We have six patients in each of the nine wards. Seventeen more people are lying in beds in the corridor, that is, there is no room for them in the wards. Men and women, old and young people are lying in the corridor together. The gastroenterology unit is now occupied by flu patients."

Mr. Byalyatski himself stayed two days in the corridor until a bed in a ward became vacant. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of medications, he said.

Brest Online has several other flu-related reports.

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2009 ... rtime.html

Two more “swine flu” cases identified in Azerbaijan - UPDATED

Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. Two more cases of “swine flu” infection were identified in Azerbaijan, chief of the sanitary-epidemiological sector of the Health Ministry Victor Gasimov told APA.

He said one of the infected persons was in contact with the resident of Kurdamir region, who is treated at the Lung Diseases Institute, and another one, who arrived from Ukraine early November, has no relation to the Kurdamir resident. “Both of patients are in satisfactory conditions. The Kurdamir resident’s relative receives stationary treatment at the Lung Diseases Institute. He had high temperature, cough and wheeze. Today’s results showed that he was infected with “swine flu”. Another patient receives ambulatory treatment at home. He was informed about his illness. His relatives will use individual protective means while contacting with him”.

Three “swine flu” cases were identified in the country over the past two days.

First two infection cases were identified in Azerbaijan in July, 2009. Both were treated and released from the hospital. The third case was identified on November 3. 40-year old woman, who arrived from Ukraine on November 4, receives treatment at the Lung Diseases Institute now.

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=110517

'Don't know what caused the deaths'
By: Alifiya Khan Date: 2009-11-05 Place: Pune

Doctors at Sassoon hospital anxiously await report on 35 patients who died of infection that caused symptoms similar to swine flu.

Doctors at Sassoon Hospital, who are in the thick of the swine flu battle, are a worried lot. Thirty-five patients with swine flu-like symptoms died in the last 45 days at the hospital, and not one of them tested positive for swine flu. The doctors still don't know what caused the death of these patients.

Tell the world
"We requested the National Institute of Virology (NIV) to check tissue samples from these patients for eight to 10 combinations of the HN virus subtype like H1N2 or H2N2. It is extremely important that the virus is identified so we can decide on the course of treatment," said Dr Arun Jamkar, dean of Sassoon Hospital, which has been dubbed as the epicentre of the swine flu activity in the state.

On October 28, doctors at Sassoon shared the data on these deaths with the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA, and virologists across the world in a videoconference.

Despite repeated attempts, Dr A C Mishra, director of NIV, remained unavailable for comment. Dr Mandeep Chaddha, deputy director, NIV, said she wasn't authorised to speak to the media.

Impact on vaccine
Dr Pravin Shengare, joint dire-ctor, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, who attended the video-conference, said, "The NIV's report won't have an effect on vaccine production, but it is important to know if another dominant virus sub-type is circulating. If this is the case, a detailed analysis of deaths that occurred due to unexplained symptoms will have to be undertaken," he said.

"If it is found that there is a different strain of the virus, then that strain should ideally be incorporated in the H1N1 vaccine that is being developed by NIV. It is also important to understand how potent that virus is," said JP Muliyil, senior scientist and epidemiologist at Christian Medical College, Vellore.

Shengare, however, pointed out that the WHO had recommended that a monovalent vaccine against H1N1 be developed. Modifying a vaccine so it provides protection from other viruses would take too much time and effort, he felt. "Even if a new virus sub-type is circulating, the H1N1 vaccine that is being developed won't be useless, as it can still be used to fight swine flu. If there is another virus, we'll have to deal with it separately," said Shengare.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/nov/05 ... s-Pune.htm

* Pune swine flu toll climbs to 97


Pune, Nov 3 (PTI) The swine flu toll in the city rose to 97 with the death of a 29-year-old youth, health officials said today.

The victim, who succumbed to the virus on Sunday, was a resident of Wagholi, 20 km from here, and had been taken to various hospitals before being admitted to government-run Sassoon hospital on October 30 after testing positive for H1N1 virus, they said.

The state health machinery has stepped up an awareness drive stressing importance of early detection of swine flu symptoms with growing concern over a speculated "second wave" of the pandemic with the onset of the winter.

Meanwhile, citrus fruit prices have risen by about 20 per cent here due to their growing demand for their resistance enhancing properties. .

http://www.ptinews.com/news/359494_Pune ... imbs-to-97