Japan: Flu cases reach alert level, set to top 6 million
Via the Japan Times: Flu cases reach alert level, set to top 6 million. Excerpt:

The cumulative number of people infected with influenza, in most cases H1N1 swine flu, since early July reached an estimated 5.85 million as of Nov. 1 and is set to top the 6 million mark soon, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday.

An estimated 1.54 million people infected with influenza visited medical facilities nationwide during the latest reporting week of Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, up from the 1.14 million in the preceding week through Oct. 25, the state-run institute said in a weekly report.

The number of flu patients in the latest week reported by the roughly 5,000 designated medical institutions jumped to 159,651 from 118,570 the preceding week. The national average of flu patients per medical facility also surged to 33.28 from 24.62, topping the alert level of 30.00 for the first time.

This indicates the flu epidemic has entered a more serious phase, the institute said.

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

Bulgaria: Six deaths, 100,000 cases
Via the Sofia Echo: Influenza update: sixth death in Bulgaria, Sofia schools face suspended classes. Excerpt:

Swine flu claimed the sixth death in Bulgaria. The deceased, whose name or age have not been disclosed, succumbed to the strain, which was "severely exacerbated by other ailments and the fact that the patient had opted for self-administered treatment rather than seek professional help", Angel Kounchev, head of the contagious diseases department of the Health Ministry, told Bulgarian National Television on November 6 2009.

Kounchev said that there are no vaccines available, but deliveries were expected from Sweden and Germany, he told BNT's morning talk show. Once the vaccines are delivered, children, pregnant women and doctors will be given priority treatment, he said.

Kounchev advised everyone to get "jabbed against the seasonal flu just for a good measure" and that currently the only available anti-flu drugs were Tamiflu and Relenza.

Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev told BNT that schools in Sofia were expected to be closed for an emergency break. Currently, 48 schools in the Bulgarian capital have suspended classes because as many as 30 per cent of their students were ill.

Nanev said that the influenza strain in the country was not a seasonal flu, but indeed the new H1N1 strain, or swine flu. More than 100 000 Bulgarians were down with the strain

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

US: South Dakota sees almost 400 new H1N1 cases in a week
Via the Rapid City Journal: More swine flu-related deaths in SD. Excerpt:

The state Health Department has confirmed four more swine flu-related deaths in South Dakota, bringing the total to 13.

Details on where the latest deaths occurred weren't immediately available.

Deaths have previously been reported in Shannon, Todd, Minnehaha and Pennington counties. The latter case involved an 8-year-old boy from Rapid City.

The virus, also known as H1N1, can cause a high fever, body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion, and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

The department's data shows nearly 1,700 South Dakotans have tested positive for the flu strain. That's nearly 400 more confirmed cases than last week.

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

US: Island village hit by suspected swine flu
Via Google News, an Associated Press report: Island village hit by suspected swine flu.

Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island — prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.

"Diomede is probably the most isolated place in the United States right now," said David Head, a doctor involved in the effort. "We thought it would be better to go out there and just vaccinate people."

So many of the 130 residents of Diomede have been stricken with flu-like symptoms that the Alaska Army National Guard stepped in with a Black Hawk helicopter to transport a medical team from Nome 135 miles away, where Head is chief of staff at Norton Sound Health Corp.

Diomede, located less than three miles from Russia's Big Diomede Island in the Bering Strait, is all the more isolated because passenger air service was halted four months ago when the sole helicopter used for that purpose was sidelined for repairs.

"There's no way people can get out of here," said 73-year-old Patrick Omiak Sr., the village tribal council president. "For emergencies, I'm real glad about the National Guard." A different helicopter still delivers mail and goods, but for liability reasons cannot carry passengers.

He was among the many in the village to get the flu vaccinations that were delivered by a doctor and public health nurse who arrived Thursday from Nome. The medical team also brought enough medicine such Tamiflu to treat every resident if necessary.

Presumably the crew of the supply helicopter were the ones who brought the flu to the village. But this is very reminiscent of 1918-19, when remote Inuit and First Nations communities were infected and sometimes wiped out.

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