A CDC flu expert estimates that without a swine flu vaccine, current trends suggest 12% to 24% of Americans might get swine flu this fall and winter.
Over the spring and summer, H1N1 flu never went away. That's very unusual, as seasonal flu bugs don't like to spread during these warm, humid months.In the spring, H1N1 swine flu infected 6% to 8% of people in U.S. communities that had outbreaks, says Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"We think in a longer winter season, attack rates would probably reach higher levels than that, maybe more two or three times as high," Schuchat today said in a CDC teleconference. "We need to be ready for it to be challenging."
Two or three times the summer attack rate would mean 12% to 24% of people getting sick with the flu. That's a range of over one in 10 to just under one in four U.S. residents.
"We have lots of ways that we can limit the impact that it has, but it's going to take us working together," Schuchat said. "We know that our emergency rooms are often crowded in the regular year, particularly in the winter season. This particular virus might crowd the emergency department season more."
Some media have misreported Schuchat as saying that 40% of Americans would get swine flu. But Schuchat was referring to a worst-case-scenario war game in which CDC officials looked at the impact of 40% of the workforce being unable to work because they were sick or taking care of an ill family member. This is not the most likely scenario, Schuchat said.
"Worst-case scenarios we don't want to take us by surprise," Schuchat said. "A more likely scenario ... is the kind of patterns we saw in the spring in the most affected communities like New York City or Seattle, for instance."
Schuchat said the CDC is urging the medical community to help people understand that when they really need emergency care they'll need to make room for the larger-than-usual number of severe flu cases expected to occur during a wave of pandemic flu.
An effective flu vaccine would put a dent in the pandemic, if large enough numbers of people get the vaccine before the next waves of the pandemic sweep the nation. Schuchat says the CDC is telling state and local authorities to plan to start getting H1N1 swine flu vaccine in mid-October.
Swine Flu Causes Seizures in Kids
While H1N1 swine flu isn't a killer flu, a recent CDC publication warned that some kids who got the pandemic flu had seizures or other severe neurologic problems such as Reye's syndrome.
It was a scary warning, but similar neurologic complications are seen with seasonal flu, too. It's not yet known whether H1N1 swine flu is more or less likely to cause these rare but severe complications. Fortunately, all of the kids in the CDC report recovered without long-term consequences.
"We know that neurologic problems like seizures are very concerning for parents, and we want them to [know] that is one more thing to be on the lookout for in conjunction with influenza," Schuchat said. "It's another reason that we're taking this new H1N1 virus so seriously."
Saturday, July 25, 2009
'Best chance' for swine flu woman
Nicola Sturgeon said she had had a very rare reaction to the H1N1 virus.
Sharon Pentleton, 26, who is critically ill, was taken to Crosshouse Hospital, in Kilmarnock, last week, where she had been put on a ventilator.
She was transferred to Stockholm on Thursday because no beds were available in the UK for the procedure she needed.
Ms Pentleton, from North Ayrshire, needs a procedure in which her blood will be circulated out of her body and oxygen added artificially.
It is known as extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and involves a machine taking over the function of the patient's heart and lungs.
The UK has a national ECMO unit in Leicester, to which Scottish patients would normally be sent.However, all five beds in the unit were in use.
Before Ms Pentleton was transferred, a medical team from Sweden came to Scotland to assess her. She was then accompanied by the Swedish doctors on a private flight from Prestwick in Ayrshire.
Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland: "She is now getting treatment that gives her the best possible chance of survival."
She said doctors were pleased with how the pregnant woman had coped with the journey and she said the treatment "might and hopefully will save her life".
She added: "It is a highly-specialised procedure and that is why given a bed was found for her in Sweden the decision was taken by her clinical team to recommend transfer there."
Family hopes
A family statement, issued through NHS Ayrshire and Arran, went on: "We are grateful for the care and support we have received from intensive care staff at Crosshouse Hospital and, of course, to the medical care team who travelled from Sweden to start the specialist treatment that we hope will make her well.
"Sharon continues to receive the best possible treatment but is still gravely ill.
"For this reason we will not be making any further statement and we would ask that we are left alone to concentrate on Sharon."
Dr Palle Palmer, from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, told the BBC the treatment would take pressure off the patient's lungs.
"We buy some time for the lungs to get better . . . but she has to get better by herself," he said.
Patient swaps
He added it was common for patients to be transferred to Sweden from other countries and they also sent patients abroad for this procedure.
"We have been swapping patients for 10 years.
"We send about 10 patients per year out and bring in 10-15 patients."
Dr Robert Masterton, executive medical director of NHS Ayrshire and Arran said: "Once an ECMO bed was identified in Sweden, our intensive care specialists worked closely with our Swedish colleagues to make sure the patient was stable before being transferred."
He added: "The family have been fully involved in this decision and support this referral. They have asked for privacy while they concentrate on the patient's treatment and recovery."
The health secretary stressed this particular case was unusual.
Ms Sturgeon said: "It remains the case that for the overwhelming majority of people who get this virus the symptoms are very mild and they will make a full recovery within a matter of days without any complications whatsoever."
Sharon Pentleton, 26, who is critically ill, was taken to Crosshouse Hospital, in Kilmarnock, last week, where she had been put on a ventilator.
She was transferred to Stockholm on Thursday because no beds were available in the UK for the procedure she needed.
Ms Pentleton, from North Ayrshire, needs a procedure in which her blood will be circulated out of her body and oxygen added artificially.
It is known as extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and involves a machine taking over the function of the patient's heart and lungs.
The UK has a national ECMO unit in Leicester, to which Scottish patients would normally be sent.However, all five beds in the unit were in use.
Before Ms Pentleton was transferred, a medical team from Sweden came to Scotland to assess her. She was then accompanied by the Swedish doctors on a private flight from Prestwick in Ayrshire.
Ms Sturgeon told BBC Scotland: "She is now getting treatment that gives her the best possible chance of survival."
She said doctors were pleased with how the pregnant woman had coped with the journey and she said the treatment "might and hopefully will save her life".
She added: "It is a highly-specialised procedure and that is why given a bed was found for her in Sweden the decision was taken by her clinical team to recommend transfer there."
Family hopes
A family statement, issued through NHS Ayrshire and Arran, went on: "We are grateful for the care and support we have received from intensive care staff at Crosshouse Hospital and, of course, to the medical care team who travelled from Sweden to start the specialist treatment that we hope will make her well.
"Sharon continues to receive the best possible treatment but is still gravely ill.
"For this reason we will not be making any further statement and we would ask that we are left alone to concentrate on Sharon."
Dr Palle Palmer, from Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, told the BBC the treatment would take pressure off the patient's lungs.
"We buy some time for the lungs to get better . . . but she has to get better by herself," he said.
Patient swaps
He added it was common for patients to be transferred to Sweden from other countries and they also sent patients abroad for this procedure.
"We have been swapping patients for 10 years.
"We send about 10 patients per year out and bring in 10-15 patients."
Dr Robert Masterton, executive medical director of NHS Ayrshire and Arran said: "Once an ECMO bed was identified in Sweden, our intensive care specialists worked closely with our Swedish colleagues to make sure the patient was stable before being transferred."
He added: "The family have been fully involved in this decision and support this referral. They have asked for privacy while they concentrate on the patient's treatment and recovery."
The health secretary stressed this particular case was unusual.
Ms Sturgeon said: "It remains the case that for the overwhelming majority of people who get this virus the symptoms are very mild and they will make a full recovery within a matter of days without any complications whatsoever."
Younger People at Greater Risk of Catching Swine Flu, WHO Says
Younger people are at greater risk of catching swine flu, with most cases occurring in teenagers, the World Health Organization said.
The median age of those infected with the pandemic H1N1 virus is 12 to 17 years, WHO said in a statement yesterday, citing data from Canada, Chile, Japan, U.K. and U.S. Patients requiring hospitalization and those with fatal cases may be slightly older, the Geneva-based United Nations agency said.
“As the disease expands broadly into communities, the average age of the cases is appearing to increase slightly,” WHO said. “This may reflect the situation in many countries where the earliest cases often occurred as school outbreaks but later cases were occurring in the community.”
World health officials are trying to determine which groups are most likely to get severely ill so measures to best protect them can be taken. Drugmakers are developing vaccines to fight the scourge, which WHO says may result in 2 billion infections.
Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer put people infected with the new H1N1 virus at greater risk of developing severe complications, the UN agency said. Asthma and other forms of respiratory disease have been consistently reported as underlying conditions associated with more severe illness in several countries, it said.
Obesity has also been reported as a risk factor, and there is mounting evidence that pregnant women are at higher risk for more severe symptoms, WHO said. Some minority populations may also be more vulnerable, “but the potential contributions of cultural, economic and social risk factors are not clear.”
Vaccine Supply
Humans trials of a pandemic vaccine began in Australia this week, helping regulators gauge the safety and efficacy of shots.
The most common way to make flu vaccine is by growing the virus in fertilizer chicken eggs. The virus is then extracted, purified and killed for injection into humans, prompting the immune system to generate antibodies that fend off any infection.
WHO said yesterday that the yields for pandemic vaccine viruses are 25 percent to 50 percent of those of normal seasonal flu viruses for some manufacturers.
A network of WHO collaborators is trying to develop higher- yielding vaccine virus candidates, the agency said, adding that it will be able to revise its estimate of pandemic vaccine supply once it has the new yield information.
The median age of those infected with the pandemic H1N1 virus is 12 to 17 years, WHO said in a statement yesterday, citing data from Canada, Chile, Japan, U.K. and U.S. Patients requiring hospitalization and those with fatal cases may be slightly older, the Geneva-based United Nations agency said.
“As the disease expands broadly into communities, the average age of the cases is appearing to increase slightly,” WHO said. “This may reflect the situation in many countries where the earliest cases often occurred as school outbreaks but later cases were occurring in the community.”
World health officials are trying to determine which groups are most likely to get severely ill so measures to best protect them can be taken. Drugmakers are developing vaccines to fight the scourge, which WHO says may result in 2 billion infections.
Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer put people infected with the new H1N1 virus at greater risk of developing severe complications, the UN agency said. Asthma and other forms of respiratory disease have been consistently reported as underlying conditions associated with more severe illness in several countries, it said.
Obesity has also been reported as a risk factor, and there is mounting evidence that pregnant women are at higher risk for more severe symptoms, WHO said. Some minority populations may also be more vulnerable, “but the potential contributions of cultural, economic and social risk factors are not clear.”
Vaccine Supply
Humans trials of a pandemic vaccine began in Australia this week, helping regulators gauge the safety and efficacy of shots.
The most common way to make flu vaccine is by growing the virus in fertilizer chicken eggs. The virus is then extracted, purified and killed for injection into humans, prompting the immune system to generate antibodies that fend off any infection.
WHO said yesterday that the yields for pandemic vaccine viruses are 25 percent to 50 percent of those of normal seasonal flu viruses for some manufacturers.
A network of WHO collaborators is trying to develop higher- yielding vaccine virus candidates, the agency said, adding that it will be able to revise its estimate of pandemic vaccine supply once it has the new yield information.
Swine flu claims state's fourth victim
A fourth person has died of swine flu in Maryland - but unlike previous deaths in the state, the person did not appear to also have an underlying medical problem, health officials said Friday.
Officials gave few details on the death, saying only that the person was an adult from the Eastern Shore with no "immediately apparent underlying medical condition or risk factors."
State health officials said the death of someone without pre-existing illness should serve as a reminder to the public of how serious this flu, known as H1N1, can be - even in otherwise healthy people.
"We are saddened to report yet another death that has been associated with the novel H1N1 influenza," said John M. Colmers, Maryland's health secretary. "More H1N1 flu-related deaths are expected, as we would normally see with seasonal flu. While we wait for the development and delivery of a vaccine, everyone should remain vigilant and take precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones."
While not common, it's not unheard of for healthy people to die of the flu - either this new swine flu or the seasonal variety, said Andrew Pekosz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "A certain number of healthy people will succumb to the flu," he said.
Since the outbreak this spring, 302 people have died nationwide of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 151 people whose deaths the CDC has studied, 86 percent were at higher risk because they had some underlying medical issue - including people with compromised immune systems, chronic diseases like asthma and even obesity.
While the virus has been described as "mild," it appears to be reacting differently in people, causing a wide range of problems, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"We've seen people with high fever and cough and respiratory illness and really not able to do much more than four or five days," she said. "Then we've seen people who have difficulty breathing, severe respiratory failure and need to be in intensive care unit for weeks. So I think there's really a spectrum."
Infectious disease experts have been concerned that the virus could mutate into a deadlier strain this fall, and Pekosz said experts will be closely examining the deaths of healthy people to determine whether the virus they died from has become more lethal.
Some 36,000 people are killed by seasonal flu each year in the United States. But Pekosz noted that those deaths happen in a nation with widespread vaccinations, with many people who have antibodies against influenza to protect them from the disease.
"If this one emerges like a seasonal flu, the number of people who could potentially be infected will be much larger than what we will have in a normal flu season," he said. "Since there is very little pre-existing immunity, vaccines are going to be an important way to limit the large number of cases that will happen."
Earlier this week, the government announced it would begin testing two H1N1 vaccines on adults and children at eight centers nationwide, including the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development. It is the start of what could be a mass vaccination campaign to start in mid-October.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the CDC strengthened its recommendation that all children aged 6 months to 18 years get vaccinated against seasonal flu. In previous years, the agency has only encouraged the shots.
Maryland has 766 documented cases of the new flu virus, but officials say that figure is likely a fraction of the total cases. Most people who become ill with flulike symptoms aren't tested and recover within a week, much like seasonal flu.
Officials gave few details on the death, saying only that the person was an adult from the Eastern Shore with no "immediately apparent underlying medical condition or risk factors."
State health officials said the death of someone without pre-existing illness should serve as a reminder to the public of how serious this flu, known as H1N1, can be - even in otherwise healthy people.
"We are saddened to report yet another death that has been associated with the novel H1N1 influenza," said John M. Colmers, Maryland's health secretary. "More H1N1 flu-related deaths are expected, as we would normally see with seasonal flu. While we wait for the development and delivery of a vaccine, everyone should remain vigilant and take precautions to protect themselves and their loved ones."
While not common, it's not unheard of for healthy people to die of the flu - either this new swine flu or the seasonal variety, said Andrew Pekosz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "A certain number of healthy people will succumb to the flu," he said.
Since the outbreak this spring, 302 people have died nationwide of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 151 people whose deaths the CDC has studied, 86 percent were at higher risk because they had some underlying medical issue - including people with compromised immune systems, chronic diseases like asthma and even obesity.
While the virus has been described as "mild," it appears to be reacting differently in people, causing a wide range of problems, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"We've seen people with high fever and cough and respiratory illness and really not able to do much more than four or five days," she said. "Then we've seen people who have difficulty breathing, severe respiratory failure and need to be in intensive care unit for weeks. So I think there's really a spectrum."
Infectious disease experts have been concerned that the virus could mutate into a deadlier strain this fall, and Pekosz said experts will be closely examining the deaths of healthy people to determine whether the virus they died from has become more lethal.
Some 36,000 people are killed by seasonal flu each year in the United States. But Pekosz noted that those deaths happen in a nation with widespread vaccinations, with many people who have antibodies against influenza to protect them from the disease.
"If this one emerges like a seasonal flu, the number of people who could potentially be infected will be much larger than what we will have in a normal flu season," he said. "Since there is very little pre-existing immunity, vaccines are going to be an important way to limit the large number of cases that will happen."
Earlier this week, the government announced it would begin testing two H1N1 vaccines on adults and children at eight centers nationwide, including the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development. It is the start of what could be a mass vaccination campaign to start in mid-October.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the CDC strengthened its recommendation that all children aged 6 months to 18 years get vaccinated against seasonal flu. In previous years, the agency has only encouraged the shots.
Maryland has 766 documented cases of the new flu virus, but officials say that figure is likely a fraction of the total cases. Most people who become ill with flulike symptoms aren't tested and recover within a week, much like seasonal flu.
Swine flu: Correspondents' round-up
Courtesy:BBC
Swine flu has spread around the world and will almost inevitably reach every country, the World Health Organization has said. But there remains uncertainty about its threat.
The number of swine flu cases in India has continued to rise. With 23 new cases reported on Friday from eight cities, the number of people who have tested positive for the flu has risen to 371, according to the federal health ministry. Of this, 237 patients have been discharged, while the rest of them remain admitted in special hospital wards. Some patients who have been quarantined in special wards have complained of poor facilities.
Last month the government issued an alert against swine flu and announced health screening of incoming passengers from affected countries: nearly four million passengers flying into India's 22 international airports have been screened so far.
The federal health minister has also urged people not to travel abroad until swine flu in the country is under control.
When the first cases of the flu were detected, it made the front pages of all the Indian newspapers but since then coverage has been muted.
In the last week, however, there has been an upsurge in coverage because at least one school in Delhi has had to be shut down for a few days because of suspected swine flu cases. This has led to fresh anxiety among parents and school authorities, leading to a revival of interest in the story.
AUSTRALIA
There have been more than 15,000 cases in Australia, and 46 deaths.
All of the victims have had underlying medical conditions.
The number of cases jumped two weeks ago, but there has not yet been the really fast acceleration, an exponential increase, that public health officials feared.
Children have been on their winter holidays here and their return to school is expected to make things worse. Kids are seen as the super-spreaders of the virus.
There has been a lot of pressure on intensive care units, with some patients spending as long as three weeks in intensive care.
There is also a potential shortage of special ventilation machines which oxygenate the blood of sufferers whose lungs are too diseased or damaged for normal mechanical ventilation.
Doctors say the very sick have tended to be the young, the pregnant and the overweight.
There is also a concern about outbreak in Aboriginal communities, where the quality of health care is not always that good and because people often suffer from different conditions.
Human trials for a vaccine started this week in Melbourne and Adelaide, the first in the world. If successful - and the expectation is that the trials will be - the government is hoping to start vaccinating people by October.
By then the winter will be over, but as countries in the northern hemisphere have shown, the virus can spread at the height of summer.
GERMANY
According to the latest figures, Germany has 2,844 confirmed cases of swine flu.
On Friday German officials reported that the virus had started spreading rapidly through the country. "The numbers have doubled in the last few days," says Professor Reinhard Burger, Vice-President of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. His institute is leading the battle against swine flu in Germany.
"There is no cause for panic, but this is serious and it causes us some concern," Professor Burger told me. On Friday the German authorities ordered 50 million doses of vaccine, enough to protect around a third of the population this autumn.
Worried by the spread of the virus, some companies have taking steps to improve hygiene.
At Deutsche Telekom's headquarters in Berlin, disinfectant machines have been installed in the company cafeteria.
USA
In the United States, swine flu has dropped out of the headlines in recent weeks, although the number of cases has increased steadily. Over one million Americans are likely to have been infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 302 deaths, although most reported cases have been mild.
There is, however, a growing sense of unease as the autumn flu season approaches. The main focus of the authorities is the development and distribution of an effective vaccine.
Officials have said the illness could hit up to 40% of Americans over the next two years, if a vaccine campaign and other measures are not successful.
Swine flu has spread around the world and will almost inevitably reach every country, the World Health Organization has said. But there remains uncertainty about its threat.
The number of swine flu cases in India has continued to rise. With 23 new cases reported on Friday from eight cities, the number of people who have tested positive for the flu has risen to 371, according to the federal health ministry. Of this, 237 patients have been discharged, while the rest of them remain admitted in special hospital wards. Some patients who have been quarantined in special wards have complained of poor facilities.
Last month the government issued an alert against swine flu and announced health screening of incoming passengers from affected countries: nearly four million passengers flying into India's 22 international airports have been screened so far.
The federal health minister has also urged people not to travel abroad until swine flu in the country is under control.
When the first cases of the flu were detected, it made the front pages of all the Indian newspapers but since then coverage has been muted.
In the last week, however, there has been an upsurge in coverage because at least one school in Delhi has had to be shut down for a few days because of suspected swine flu cases. This has led to fresh anxiety among parents and school authorities, leading to a revival of interest in the story.
AUSTRALIA
There have been more than 15,000 cases in Australia, and 46 deaths.
All of the victims have had underlying medical conditions.
The number of cases jumped two weeks ago, but there has not yet been the really fast acceleration, an exponential increase, that public health officials feared.
Children have been on their winter holidays here and their return to school is expected to make things worse. Kids are seen as the super-spreaders of the virus.
There has been a lot of pressure on intensive care units, with some patients spending as long as three weeks in intensive care.
There is also a potential shortage of special ventilation machines which oxygenate the blood of sufferers whose lungs are too diseased or damaged for normal mechanical ventilation.
Doctors say the very sick have tended to be the young, the pregnant and the overweight.
There is also a concern about outbreak in Aboriginal communities, where the quality of health care is not always that good and because people often suffer from different conditions.
Human trials for a vaccine started this week in Melbourne and Adelaide, the first in the world. If successful - and the expectation is that the trials will be - the government is hoping to start vaccinating people by October.
By then the winter will be over, but as countries in the northern hemisphere have shown, the virus can spread at the height of summer.
GERMANY
According to the latest figures, Germany has 2,844 confirmed cases of swine flu.
On Friday German officials reported that the virus had started spreading rapidly through the country. "The numbers have doubled in the last few days," says Professor Reinhard Burger, Vice-President of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. His institute is leading the battle against swine flu in Germany.
"There is no cause for panic, but this is serious and it causes us some concern," Professor Burger told me. On Friday the German authorities ordered 50 million doses of vaccine, enough to protect around a third of the population this autumn.
Worried by the spread of the virus, some companies have taking steps to improve hygiene.
At Deutsche Telekom's headquarters in Berlin, disinfectant machines have been installed in the company cafeteria.
USA
In the United States, swine flu has dropped out of the headlines in recent weeks, although the number of cases has increased steadily. Over one million Americans are likely to have been infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been 302 deaths, although most reported cases have been mild.
There is, however, a growing sense of unease as the autumn flu season approaches. The main focus of the authorities is the development and distribution of an effective vaccine.
Officials have said the illness could hit up to 40% of Americans over the next two years, if a vaccine campaign and other measures are not successful.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
65 Ore. students caught in China swine flu scare
BEIJING - Sixty-five Oregon students were in quarantine in Beijing, China, after one of them tested positive for swine flu, a NBC News producer in Beijing said on Sunday.
Separately, Britain's Foreign Office said that China placed 52 visiting British students in quarantine after four of the group were hospitalized with suspected swine flu, according to the BBC.
The British and American students had been in contact, the BBC reported.
Medford school trip
School officials from Medford, Oregon, said a student traveling in China had tested positive for the disease and been confined in a hospital despite showing no symptoms, The Associated Press reported earlier.
St. Mary's school principal Frank Phillips told the AP that the positive test also triggered the quarantine of the entire school group of 65 students and seven chaperones, the AP said. The group was traveling in China on a three-week language and culture camp sponsored by the Chinese government.
Phillips said the groups was quarantined at a hospital and has missed several planned tours, but he says that if no signs of fevers were found by Chinese health officials, the group would be able to continue its planned program in China.
NBC's producer in Beijing reported that the Oregan students would be held for four days and should be released on July 22. One of those being held was Nicholas Phillips, son of the school's principal, he said.
Travel warning
A spokeswoman from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told msnbc.com she could not confirm whether the Oregon students were indeed being held in the city.
The U.S. State Department has issued travel advisories warning of China's swine flu policy but does not release information on specific cases or numbers because of privacy concerns, Susan Stevenson, a press attache at the embassy, told msnbc.com.
About 1,800 American citizens have been held in quarantine since China's new procedures were put in place in May, and there had been around 200 cases of the virus, she said.
Separately, Britain's Foreign Office said that China placed 52 visiting British students in quarantine after four of the group were hospitalized with suspected swine flu, according to the BBC.
The British and American students had been in contact, the BBC reported.
Medford school trip
School officials from Medford, Oregon, said a student traveling in China had tested positive for the disease and been confined in a hospital despite showing no symptoms, The Associated Press reported earlier.
St. Mary's school principal Frank Phillips told the AP that the positive test also triggered the quarantine of the entire school group of 65 students and seven chaperones, the AP said. The group was traveling in China on a three-week language and culture camp sponsored by the Chinese government.
Phillips said the groups was quarantined at a hospital and has missed several planned tours, but he says that if no signs of fevers were found by Chinese health officials, the group would be able to continue its planned program in China.
NBC's producer in Beijing reported that the Oregan students would be held for four days and should be released on July 22. One of those being held was Nicholas Phillips, son of the school's principal, he said.
Travel warning
A spokeswoman from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told msnbc.com she could not confirm whether the Oregon students were indeed being held in the city.
The U.S. State Department has issued travel advisories warning of China's swine flu policy but does not release information on specific cases or numbers because of privacy concerns, Susan Stevenson, a press attache at the embassy, told msnbc.com.
About 1,800 American citizens have been held in quarantine since China's new procedures were put in place in May, and there had been around 200 cases of the virus, she said.
More UK swine flu pupils in China
Another four British school pupils have been confirmed as having swine flu after being taken to hospital in Beijing.
Four other British and four US pupils from the same trip have been diagnosed, and more than 100 of their classmates and teachers quarantined in a hotel
Quentin Sommerville reports from Beijing
Four other British and four US pupils from the same trip have been diagnosed, and more than 100 of their classmates and teachers quarantined in a hotel
Quentin Sommerville reports from Beijing
Got swine flu? Tweet it.
When students return to school this fall, school nurses will once again chase after them with hand sanitizer. Familiar posters about sneezing into elbows will plaster the hallways. But when it comes to managing a potential swine flu outbreak in high schools, county health officials are going beyond cartoon admonitions.
"We're going to start the 'Don't Let the Flu Get You' page on Facebook," said Joy Alexiou, head of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's flu prevention campaign. "Students know best how to talk to each other. We just want to give them the tools and information so they're communicating the correct information."
The county will use the Facebook page, as well as posts to MySpace and Twitter, to get health updates out as quickly as possible. It'll also equip students with T-shirts and details about a swine flu prevention video contest, counting on the wisdom that knowledge sinks deeper into students' heads if it comes from their peers.
The teen-centered strategy responds to one of swine flu's quirks: Unlike the seasonal flu, which mostly affects the elderly, this strain primarily befalls the young. To date, the county has 120 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, with 75 percent of those cases occurring in people under 24 years old. At least 32 of those cases resulted in hospitalizations; one 44-year-old Santa Clara County woman with a history of medical problems died from swine flu complications three weeks ago.
Statewide, there have been 3,168 swine flu cases, 441 hospitalizations and 55 deaths. Health officials say that deaths from swine flu are not surprising, since even in a normal year, the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 Americans. Most deaths are caused by respiratory infections, such as pneumonia.
Santa Clara County is borrowing its strategy from the federal government, which was quick to tap into social media tools during the spring swine flu scare, producing podcasts on hand washing, Twitter feeds with the latest infection numbers, and eCards on managing swine flu symptoms.
Experts believe the flu will resurface in greater numbers this fall, but are unclear if the strain — which has been relatively mild so far — will mutate and cause more severe illness. The county is still waiting to hear when a vaccine will be available, and deciding how to distribute it.
Officials see the social networks as the fastest, most direct way of communicating updates, and hope they will keep information flowing back from students, too.
"We know that with kids social networking is their life," said Karen Fuqua, manager of community development for the San Jose Unified School District. "They'll be telling county health what's going on at their schools."
The strategy will also help reach parents of high school students, an elusive group, Fuqua said. With elementary school kids, "backpack mail" has been a reliable way of communicating with parents. But parents can't rely on teens offering their bags for inspection, then discussing the contents over an after-school snack.
Both county and federal health departments are asking the public to translate their medical advisories into a pop culture format.
Public service announcements starring bad actors with bad haircuts fall flat with discriminating teenagers, stimulating sarcasm and not much more. But offer teens $2,500 to produce a video that educates and entertains their peers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hopes the message will spread on YouTube faster than the virus could in a school locker room.
This month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called for 15-, 30- or 60-second videos that make hand washing seem as appealing as "Gossip Girl.'' Entries must be posted to YouTube by Aug. 17. Details can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov/psa/index.html. Santa Clara County will host its own contest for high school students in the fall — with much more modest prizes for the winners.
Melinda Landau, head of health services for San Jose schools, wondered how accurate medical information will remain as teens send it through Internet channels.
"It will be interesting to see how kids forward it to friends," she said, noting the false reports circulating this past spring as swine flu shuttered schools. "If they put their own spin on it, well, we'll have some rumor control problems."
But, Alexiou said, the social networking sites will be good for that, too. "If we hear about a rumor or misinformation, then we can share the right info with our fans," she said. "We can correct with some audiences as soon as we hear about it."
"We're going to start the 'Don't Let the Flu Get You' page on Facebook," said Joy Alexiou, head of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's flu prevention campaign. "Students know best how to talk to each other. We just want to give them the tools and information so they're communicating the correct information."
The county will use the Facebook page, as well as posts to MySpace and Twitter, to get health updates out as quickly as possible. It'll also equip students with T-shirts and details about a swine flu prevention video contest, counting on the wisdom that knowledge sinks deeper into students' heads if it comes from their peers.
The teen-centered strategy responds to one of swine flu's quirks: Unlike the seasonal flu, which mostly affects the elderly, this strain primarily befalls the young. To date, the county has 120 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, with 75 percent of those cases occurring in people under 24 years old. At least 32 of those cases resulted in hospitalizations; one 44-year-old Santa Clara County woman with a history of medical problems died from swine flu complications three weeks ago.
Statewide, there have been 3,168 swine flu cases, 441 hospitalizations and 55 deaths. Health officials say that deaths from swine flu are not surprising, since even in a normal year, the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 Americans. Most deaths are caused by respiratory infections, such as pneumonia.
Santa Clara County is borrowing its strategy from the federal government, which was quick to tap into social media tools during the spring swine flu scare, producing podcasts on hand washing, Twitter feeds with the latest infection numbers, and eCards on managing swine flu symptoms.
Experts believe the flu will resurface in greater numbers this fall, but are unclear if the strain — which has been relatively mild so far — will mutate and cause more severe illness. The county is still waiting to hear when a vaccine will be available, and deciding how to distribute it.
Officials see the social networks as the fastest, most direct way of communicating updates, and hope they will keep information flowing back from students, too.
"We know that with kids social networking is their life," said Karen Fuqua, manager of community development for the San Jose Unified School District. "They'll be telling county health what's going on at their schools."
The strategy will also help reach parents of high school students, an elusive group, Fuqua said. With elementary school kids, "backpack mail" has been a reliable way of communicating with parents. But parents can't rely on teens offering their bags for inspection, then discussing the contents over an after-school snack.
Both county and federal health departments are asking the public to translate their medical advisories into a pop culture format.
Public service announcements starring bad actors with bad haircuts fall flat with discriminating teenagers, stimulating sarcasm and not much more. But offer teens $2,500 to produce a video that educates and entertains their peers, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hopes the message will spread on YouTube faster than the virus could in a school locker room.
This month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called for 15-, 30- or 60-second videos that make hand washing seem as appealing as "Gossip Girl.'' Entries must be posted to YouTube by Aug. 17. Details can be found at www.pandemicflu.gov/psa/index.html. Santa Clara County will host its own contest for high school students in the fall — with much more modest prizes for the winners.
Melinda Landau, head of health services for San Jose schools, wondered how accurate medical information will remain as teens send it through Internet channels.
"It will be interesting to see how kids forward it to friends," she said, noting the false reports circulating this past spring as swine flu shuttered schools. "If they put their own spin on it, well, we'll have some rumor control problems."
But, Alexiou said, the social networking sites will be good for that, too. "If we hear about a rumor or misinformation, then we can share the right info with our fans," she said. "We can correct with some audiences as soon as we hear about it."
Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers
ATLANTA - The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time, the government has already taken steps to head that off.
Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday.
Since the 1980s, the government has protected vaccine makers against lawsuits over the use of childhood vaccines. Instead, a federal court handles claims and decides who will be paid from a special fund.
Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday.
Since the 1980s, the government has protected vaccine makers against lawsuits over the use of childhood vaccines. Instead, a federal court handles claims and decides who will be paid from a special fund.
Swine Flu: Why You Should Still Be Worried
In the U.S., the H1N1 virus has sickened tens of thousands and closed summer camps at a time when there should be little or no flu activity.
Even as the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to raise awareness of this potentially deadly disease, which appears to be killing both sick and healthy individuals, the topic has virtually disappeared from the headlines.
“Complacency is a major concern,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director for National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.
“This virus is a new one, and on top of that, we really still don’t know how it’s going to behave,” Schuchat said during a media conference call Friday. “There are special efforts that have been undertaken by health agencies, but individuals also need to be ready, to be thinking ahead and have steps in place should a family member get sick or a workplace close down or a situation arise that requires working from home.”
Over the next six to 12 weeks, there are several concerns that national health officials are preparing for:
1. Figuring out how the virus will react and spread once students return to schools, especially inner city schools, which typically struggle with overcrowding issues.
2. Overseeing the completion of a vaccine and getting it to the individuals who need it most.
3. Determining how the virus will behave as it spreads and mutates.
Schools
School districts across the U.S. struggle every fall with outbreaks of typically non-flu respiratory viruses, which are easily spread through germs on surfaces and doorknobs, as well as passed from student to student through sneezing, coughing, and sharing drinks and food.
Seasonal influenza usually begins to spread through schools in the late fall and early winter, but this probably will not be the case with swine flu, which behaves differently than seasonal influenza – by oddly thriving in warm and humid conditions.
“This year we’re seeing the H1N1 virus circulating through summer camps and military units, so I’m expecting we may see an increase in cases once school starts, but we don’t definitely know that,” Schuchat said. “We are concerned that there will be challenges in the fall. It is the kind of thing we want to be ready for and not surprised by.”
Schuchat said national and state health officials are working closely together on updating their guidance for schools and similar institutions with regard to swine flu outbreaks.
“We still believe that the best place for kids is in schools, where they can be nourished receiving a healthy breakfast and lunch and learning,” she said. “But we also believe the best place for a sick kid is at home being cared for. So we’re working on putting strong plans in place on communication and preparedness on the local and state levels.”
Vaccine
Companies such as Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis are working to ready a swine flu vaccine for October. Earlier this week, concerns were raised that the U.S. may not receive all the vaccine it needs because it only manufactures about 20 percent of its own supply. The other 80 percent is produced in foreign countries, which will also need ample supplies of the vaccine.
But Schuchat downplayed those concerns, saying the U.S. has contracts in place with manufacturers around the world that guarantee it will receive adequate vaccine.
But, will the vaccine be effective?
In a typical year, the seasonal flu vaccine is about 70 to 90 percent effective, depending on how closely the vaccine matches the strains circulating and on the population the vaccine is used in. In other words, a vaccine is not going to be as effective in a person with a compromised immune system or someone who is considered at high risk for the virus.
Scientists typically spend months researching the strains of seasonal flu virus that are circulating the globe in order to pick out the three strains that it puts into the annual vaccine.
Because swine flu is new and mutating – for example, in Argentina the virus appears to have mutated to where it can now easily spread from humans to pigs – scientists have their work cut out for them when it comes to determining what strains of the H1N1 swine flu virus to include in the vaccine.
“Unfortunately, right now, we do not know how effective it will be in different populations,” Schuchat said. “We will be looking back at how well it worked, taking into account whether it worked as well as expected, better than expected or worse than expected. Unfortunately, that’s something we’re not able to do until after the fact.”
Virus Behavior
World and U.S. health officials have already determined that swine flu behaves differently than seasonal flu in a number of ways. First, it’s able to spread in hot and humid weather, which is not usually the case for the seasonal flu virus.
Second, the infection appears to be more severe in young people and less severe in the elderly than the typical seasonal flu. Schuchat said in some countries, elderly people, usually at high-risk for influenza, appear to be immune to swine flu – possibly because of the similarities between swine flu and the 1918 flu pandemic, which some of the world’s elderly survived and may be resistant to.
“We are particularly concerned about pregnant women; we’re seeing fatalities and life-threatening illnesses that have occurred in pregnant women in the Southern Hemisphere,” Schuchat said. “We are expecting pregnant women to get a recommendation to get the H1N1 vaccine to reduce the risk of complications from influenza. We know many pregnant women don’t like to take any drugs, but this is one instance where you need to be much more concerned about your health than the baby’s health.”
“We’re in a very active stage of preparing for the [coming months],” she continued. “We’re working with the private sector. We want individuals and families to be preparing. Influenza in general is unpredictable, and we don’t know what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.”
Even as the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to raise awareness of this potentially deadly disease, which appears to be killing both sick and healthy individuals, the topic has virtually disappeared from the headlines.
“Complacency is a major concern,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director for National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.
“This virus is a new one, and on top of that, we really still don’t know how it’s going to behave,” Schuchat said during a media conference call Friday. “There are special efforts that have been undertaken by health agencies, but individuals also need to be ready, to be thinking ahead and have steps in place should a family member get sick or a workplace close down or a situation arise that requires working from home.”
Over the next six to 12 weeks, there are several concerns that national health officials are preparing for:
1. Figuring out how the virus will react and spread once students return to schools, especially inner city schools, which typically struggle with overcrowding issues.
2. Overseeing the completion of a vaccine and getting it to the individuals who need it most.
3. Determining how the virus will behave as it spreads and mutates.
Schools
School districts across the U.S. struggle every fall with outbreaks of typically non-flu respiratory viruses, which are easily spread through germs on surfaces and doorknobs, as well as passed from student to student through sneezing, coughing, and sharing drinks and food.
Seasonal influenza usually begins to spread through schools in the late fall and early winter, but this probably will not be the case with swine flu, which behaves differently than seasonal influenza – by oddly thriving in warm and humid conditions.
“This year we’re seeing the H1N1 virus circulating through summer camps and military units, so I’m expecting we may see an increase in cases once school starts, but we don’t definitely know that,” Schuchat said. “We are concerned that there will be challenges in the fall. It is the kind of thing we want to be ready for and not surprised by.”
Schuchat said national and state health officials are working closely together on updating their guidance for schools and similar institutions with regard to swine flu outbreaks.
“We still believe that the best place for kids is in schools, where they can be nourished receiving a healthy breakfast and lunch and learning,” she said. “But we also believe the best place for a sick kid is at home being cared for. So we’re working on putting strong plans in place on communication and preparedness on the local and state levels.”
Vaccine
Companies such as Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis are working to ready a swine flu vaccine for October. Earlier this week, concerns were raised that the U.S. may not receive all the vaccine it needs because it only manufactures about 20 percent of its own supply. The other 80 percent is produced in foreign countries, which will also need ample supplies of the vaccine.
But Schuchat downplayed those concerns, saying the U.S. has contracts in place with manufacturers around the world that guarantee it will receive adequate vaccine.
But, will the vaccine be effective?
In a typical year, the seasonal flu vaccine is about 70 to 90 percent effective, depending on how closely the vaccine matches the strains circulating and on the population the vaccine is used in. In other words, a vaccine is not going to be as effective in a person with a compromised immune system or someone who is considered at high risk for the virus.
Scientists typically spend months researching the strains of seasonal flu virus that are circulating the globe in order to pick out the three strains that it puts into the annual vaccine.
Because swine flu is new and mutating – for example, in Argentina the virus appears to have mutated to where it can now easily spread from humans to pigs – scientists have their work cut out for them when it comes to determining what strains of the H1N1 swine flu virus to include in the vaccine.
“Unfortunately, right now, we do not know how effective it will be in different populations,” Schuchat said. “We will be looking back at how well it worked, taking into account whether it worked as well as expected, better than expected or worse than expected. Unfortunately, that’s something we’re not able to do until after the fact.”
Virus Behavior
World and U.S. health officials have already determined that swine flu behaves differently than seasonal flu in a number of ways. First, it’s able to spread in hot and humid weather, which is not usually the case for the seasonal flu virus.
Second, the infection appears to be more severe in young people and less severe in the elderly than the typical seasonal flu. Schuchat said in some countries, elderly people, usually at high-risk for influenza, appear to be immune to swine flu – possibly because of the similarities between swine flu and the 1918 flu pandemic, which some of the world’s elderly survived and may be resistant to.
“We are particularly concerned about pregnant women; we’re seeing fatalities and life-threatening illnesses that have occurred in pregnant women in the Southern Hemisphere,” Schuchat said. “We are expecting pregnant women to get a recommendation to get the H1N1 vaccine to reduce the risk of complications from influenza. We know many pregnant women don’t like to take any drugs, but this is one instance where you need to be much more concerned about your health than the baby’s health.”
“We’re in a very active stage of preparing for the [coming months],” she continued. “We’re working with the private sector. We want individuals and families to be preparing. Influenza in general is unpredictable, and we don’t know what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.”
Baby of woman with swine flu dies at Wellington Regional Medical Center
WELLINGTON — The baby girl of a woman with swine flu died this morning at Wellington Regional Medical Center after doctors were forced to deliver the child prematurely.
The mother, Aubrey Opdyke, remained in critical condition. Doctors put Opdyke into a coma to give the baby, named Parker Christine, as much oxygen as possible while her mother fought the H1N1 swine flu virus. Doctors decided to deliver the baby today, about 14 weeks before its due date, but the child died, a hospital spokeswoman said. No other details were available.
Opdyke's husband, Bryan, named the baby after his wife was put in the coma. He chose the name Parker because his wife liked the sound of it before she fell ill. They had already picked the middle name Christine in honor of Bryan's mother.
Bryan Opdyke had said doctors might be forced to deliver the baby if his wife's oxygen levels crashed or if the baby began to struggle. They had hoped to wait until at least 28 weeks, if forced to deliver early.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in South Florida is surging. It's a relatively mild illness for most people, but pregnant women, children, diabetics and people with heart and lung conditions are more likely to develop complications.
Health officials confirmed two weeks ago another pregnant woman was the first Palm Beach County swine flu victim. She died at age 25 on June 27. Doctors were able to save her baby.
Pregnant women represent about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but so far they've represented about 8 percent of those suffering from severe swine flu complications, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said.
The mother, Aubrey Opdyke, remained in critical condition. Doctors put Opdyke into a coma to give the baby, named Parker Christine, as much oxygen as possible while her mother fought the H1N1 swine flu virus. Doctors decided to deliver the baby today, about 14 weeks before its due date, but the child died, a hospital spokeswoman said. No other details were available.
Opdyke's husband, Bryan, named the baby after his wife was put in the coma. He chose the name Parker because his wife liked the sound of it before she fell ill. They had already picked the middle name Christine in honor of Bryan's mother.
Bryan Opdyke had said doctors might be forced to deliver the baby if his wife's oxygen levels crashed or if the baby began to struggle. They had hoped to wait until at least 28 weeks, if forced to deliver early.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in South Florida is surging. It's a relatively mild illness for most people, but pregnant women, children, diabetics and people with heart and lung conditions are more likely to develop complications.
Health officials confirmed two weeks ago another pregnant woman was the first Palm Beach County swine flu victim. She died at age 25 on June 27. Doctors were able to save her baby.
Pregnant women represent about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but so far they've represented about 8 percent of those suffering from severe swine flu complications, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
US swine flu cases now exceed 21,000; 87 deaths
The national count of swine flu cases has risen to 21,449 cases and the number of deaths have nearly doubled to 87.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the number of confirmed and probable cases Friday morning. The tally is up from the last week’s count of 18,000 cases and 44 deaths.
Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas have had the most reported illnesses, and the Illinois count rose more than 500 since the last report. But CDC officials say much of the most recent flu activity has been in the Northeast. A quarter of the new deaths were in New York.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the number of confirmed and probable cases Friday morning. The tally is up from the last week’s count of 18,000 cases and 44 deaths.
Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas have had the most reported illnesses, and the Illinois count rose more than 500 since the last report. But CDC officials say much of the most recent flu activity has been in the Northeast. A quarter of the new deaths were in New York.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
4 UK students sick with swine flu in China
Four students visiting China from the United Kingdom have been diagnosed with swine flu, and 52 of their classmates and teachers have been quarantined, the British Embassy said Saturday.
The sick students have been hospitalized while the others were under quarantine in a hotel, the embassy said in a statement. The group was in China for language and cultural immersion courses, it said.
It did not give any other details on the cases but said it was trying to establish contact with the students' schools.One student from another group of 362 students and teachers on a similar course organized by the British Council was quarantined for two days this week, the embassy said.
Screening on arrival showed that the student had a raised temperature-a key symptom of infection by the H1N1 virus-but the student from the second group was released when no illness developed, it said.
China's Health Ministry said Friday that 1,537 cases of swine flu had been reported. None has been fatal.
Beijing has been accused in the past of not acting quickly enough to combat the spread of diseases, especially the 2003 global outbreak of SARS. Chastened by that experience and subsequent threats from bird flu, the government this time has acted quickly and decisively to block an outbreak.
But some of its measures have been criticized as excessive, including bans on imports of pork from Mexico, some U.S. states and the province of Alberta in Canada.
At one point, Beijing also canceled the only direct flights between China and Mexico, where the new strain of swine flu was first detected in late April. The tough measures have drawn complaints from Mexico that their citizens were being quarantined based merely on their nationality.
China has defended the steps as necessary to slow the spread of the disease in the world's most populous nation.
The sick students have been hospitalized while the others were under quarantine in a hotel, the embassy said in a statement. The group was in China for language and cultural immersion courses, it said.
It did not give any other details on the cases but said it was trying to establish contact with the students' schools.One student from another group of 362 students and teachers on a similar course organized by the British Council was quarantined for two days this week, the embassy said.
Screening on arrival showed that the student had a raised temperature-a key symptom of infection by the H1N1 virus-but the student from the second group was released when no illness developed, it said.
China's Health Ministry said Friday that 1,537 cases of swine flu had been reported. None has been fatal.
Beijing has been accused in the past of not acting quickly enough to combat the spread of diseases, especially the 2003 global outbreak of SARS. Chastened by that experience and subsequent threats from bird flu, the government this time has acted quickly and decisively to block an outbreak.
But some of its measures have been criticized as excessive, including bans on imports of pork from Mexico, some U.S. states and the province of Alberta in Canada.
At one point, Beijing also canceled the only direct flights between China and Mexico, where the new strain of swine flu was first detected in late April. The tough measures have drawn complaints from Mexico that their citizens were being quarantined based merely on their nationality.
China has defended the steps as necessary to slow the spread of the disease in the world's most populous nation.
More than 3,300 swine flu cases, 15 deaths tallied in Illinois
State health officials say the number of swine flu cases in Illinois has increased to more than 3,300.
There have been 15 deaths in the state from the virus, according to new numbers released Friday by the Illinois Public Health Department.
Three counties are reporting their first cases: Effingham and Fayette counties in south-central Illinois and Henry County in northwestern Illinois. Since April, Illinois has seen 3,357 probable and confirmed cases in 37 counties.
This week's tally rose from last week's by 98 cases. The state expects to receive $11.5 million in grants from the federal government to prepare for both seasonal and swine flu this fall. Chicago will get separate grants totaling nearly $3.3 million.
There have been 15 deaths in the state from the virus, according to new numbers released Friday by the Illinois Public Health Department.
Three counties are reporting their first cases: Effingham and Fayette counties in south-central Illinois and Henry County in northwestern Illinois. Since April, Illinois has seen 3,357 probable and confirmed cases in 37 counties.
This week's tally rose from last week's by 98 cases. The state expects to receive $11.5 million in grants from the federal government to prepare for both seasonal and swine flu this fall. Chicago will get separate grants totaling nearly $3.3 million.
Novartis Says Swine Flu Virus Gives Poor Harvest for Vaccine
Novartis AG said the virus it’s growing to make a vaccine against pandemic flu doesn’t yield much of the antigen needed to protect people.
Lab workers are harvesting one dose or less of the component they need from each egg in which the virus is grown, said Eric Althoff, a spokesman for the Swiss drugmaker. That’s between a third and half of the typical yield for a seasonal flu vaccine, he said.
The low yield may slow production of a pandemic vaccine because it means drugmakers like Novartis, Baxter International Inc., Sanofi-Aventis SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc can extract less of the protective ingredient from each egg. Baxter’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Parkinson and a spokesman for Sanofi also said yesterday the amount of swine flu virus growing in each egg is lower than for seasonal flu.
The World Health Organization, whose labs supplied the virus to drugmakers, is trying to produce samples that yield more antigen.
“There is work ongoing to improve them,” Novartis Chief Operating Officer Joerg Reinhardt said yesterday on a conference call. “But it’s very difficult to predict what it will be at the end.”
The H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, is sweeping the southern hemisphere as tens of thousands of patients test positive for the virus in Australia, Argentina, Chile and other countries. It’s also spreading in the north outside of the usual flu season. The U.K.’s most senior doctor yesterday said the health service is planning for 65,000 deaths from the disease, which has claimed 429 lives worldwide.
‘Bad Yielder’
“The industry at large is challenged,” Baxter’s Parkinson said yesterday.
Most manufacturers make flu vaccines by injecting chicken eggs with an approved version of the virus to provide it with nutrients to grow and multiply. The amount of virus that grows in the egg and can be turned into shots is called its yield.
All government vaccine orders include a set yield assumption, Andrin Oswald, who heads Novartis’s vaccine unit, told reporters yesterday. One egg will usually produce enough antigen to make two doses of seasonal flu vaccine, according to Oswald.
“It is well known that some strains are good yielders, and some strains are bad yielders,” Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the WHO’s Initiative for Vaccine Research, said in a teleconference on July 13.
“Unfortunately we didn’t come up with a good yielder in the first series of strains,” she said. “To remedy that, the WHO laboratory network is again trying to generate new vaccine viruses” from patients who have been infected. “We hope that one of them will be giving higher yields, comparable to the ones obtained with seasonal vaccines.”
Kieny said the existing strain still allows drugmakers to make a vaccine, test it and submit it to regulators while the WHO hunts for a more promising seed virus.
Vaccine Revenue
The yield also determines the shot’s potential revenue. Novartis swine flu vaccine sales could be worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion if a single dose is sold for $10, Karl Heinz Koch, an analyst at Helvea SA in Zurich said in a note to clients today. Novartis has not added this revenue to the current sales outlook, Chief Financial Officer Raymund Breu said on a conference call yesterday.
Lab workers are harvesting one dose or less of the component they need from each egg in which the virus is grown, said Eric Althoff, a spokesman for the Swiss drugmaker. That’s between a third and half of the typical yield for a seasonal flu vaccine, he said.
The low yield may slow production of a pandemic vaccine because it means drugmakers like Novartis, Baxter International Inc., Sanofi-Aventis SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc can extract less of the protective ingredient from each egg. Baxter’s Chief Executive Officer Robert Parkinson and a spokesman for Sanofi also said yesterday the amount of swine flu virus growing in each egg is lower than for seasonal flu.
The World Health Organization, whose labs supplied the virus to drugmakers, is trying to produce samples that yield more antigen.
“There is work ongoing to improve them,” Novartis Chief Operating Officer Joerg Reinhardt said yesterday on a conference call. “But it’s very difficult to predict what it will be at the end.”
The H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, is sweeping the southern hemisphere as tens of thousands of patients test positive for the virus in Australia, Argentina, Chile and other countries. It’s also spreading in the north outside of the usual flu season. The U.K.’s most senior doctor yesterday said the health service is planning for 65,000 deaths from the disease, which has claimed 429 lives worldwide.
‘Bad Yielder’
“The industry at large is challenged,” Baxter’s Parkinson said yesterday.
Most manufacturers make flu vaccines by injecting chicken eggs with an approved version of the virus to provide it with nutrients to grow and multiply. The amount of virus that grows in the egg and can be turned into shots is called its yield.
All government vaccine orders include a set yield assumption, Andrin Oswald, who heads Novartis’s vaccine unit, told reporters yesterday. One egg will usually produce enough antigen to make two doses of seasonal flu vaccine, according to Oswald.
“It is well known that some strains are good yielders, and some strains are bad yielders,” Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the WHO’s Initiative for Vaccine Research, said in a teleconference on July 13.
“Unfortunately we didn’t come up with a good yielder in the first series of strains,” she said. “To remedy that, the WHO laboratory network is again trying to generate new vaccine viruses” from patients who have been infected. “We hope that one of them will be giving higher yields, comparable to the ones obtained with seasonal vaccines.”
Kieny said the existing strain still allows drugmakers to make a vaccine, test it and submit it to regulators while the WHO hunts for a more promising seed virus.
Vaccine Revenue
The yield also determines the shot’s potential revenue. Novartis swine flu vaccine sales could be worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion if a single dose is sold for $10, Karl Heinz Koch, an analyst at Helvea SA in Zurich said in a note to clients today. Novartis has not added this revenue to the current sales outlook, Chief Financial Officer Raymund Breu said on a conference call yesterday.
Four more London swine flu deaths
The other casualties are a 70-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and another adult. All of the victims had underlying health problems.
Three other possible swine flu deaths are also being investigated.
NHS London said the latest fatalities, which happened in the past two weeks, bring the total number of swine flu-related deaths in the capital to 10.
The baby died at Royal Free Hospital last week.
Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health at NHS London, said: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to each of the families affected at this very difficult time. "It is also important that these deaths be kept in perspective.
"All four had underlying health conditions and these upsetting cases should be kept in context with the many people who have had swine flu and recovered just a few days after experiencing a mild illness."
Andy Wapling, head of emergency preparedness at NHS London, said: "We would like to reassure people that NHS London is well-prepared - all NHS organisations have plans which have been practised and checked regularly.
"NHS London has put in place recently audited plans on how to prepare for flu pandemic and ensure that anyone who needs help will receive it."
Twenty-nine people have now died in the UK after contracting swine flu and the number of new cases hit 55,000 last week.
The NHS has seen a surge in calls and consultations.
Ministers in England have responded by promising the National Flu Service will go live at the end of next week to relieve pressure on hospitals and GPs.
The government has also warned that deaths from swine flu this winter could be between 19,000 and 65,000 in the UK.
Three other possible swine flu deaths are also being investigated.
NHS London said the latest fatalities, which happened in the past two weeks, bring the total number of swine flu-related deaths in the capital to 10.
The baby died at Royal Free Hospital last week.
Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health at NHS London, said: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to each of the families affected at this very difficult time. "It is also important that these deaths be kept in perspective.
"All four had underlying health conditions and these upsetting cases should be kept in context with the many people who have had swine flu and recovered just a few days after experiencing a mild illness."
Andy Wapling, head of emergency preparedness at NHS London, said: "We would like to reassure people that NHS London is well-prepared - all NHS organisations have plans which have been practised and checked regularly.
"NHS London has put in place recently audited plans on how to prepare for flu pandemic and ensure that anyone who needs help will receive it."
Twenty-nine people have now died in the UK after contracting swine flu and the number of new cases hit 55,000 last week.
The NHS has seen a surge in calls and consultations.
Ministers in England have responded by promising the National Flu Service will go live at the end of next week to relieve pressure on hospitals and GPs.
The government has also warned that deaths from swine flu this winter could be between 19,000 and 65,000 in the UK.
Swine Flu Vaccines Being Tested: Vaccine Expected To Be Available In November
Researchers at the University of Antwerp are currently comparing 4 potential vaccines for H1N1v, also known as swine flu or Mexican flu. 300 to 400 volunteers will be recruited for the tests. “There is a good chance that a Mexican flu vaccine is available early November”, expects vaccine expert prof. dr. Pierre van Damme, director of the Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV), a department of the Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) at the University of Antwerp.“We were contacted by a number of vaccine producers to test their vaccines as soon as they had a test version”, explains Van Damme. “The CEV can look back on more than 20 years of experience in the scientific evaluation of test vaccines for different producers. We have been cooperating with some of these vaccine companies for many years. Obviously, they do not want to lose time now. That is why the number of test centres has been limited.” Together with the University of Antwerp, the University of Ghent and some centres in Finland, France and Germany are involved in the testing.
“Most producers will have their test vaccines ready by the middle or end of August” says Van Damme. “But a vaccine can only be launched on the market when is has been tested on healthy volunteers. This procedure is also followed for other test vaccines. The vaccination of volunteers will take place in the course of August and September, because all test vaccines come with a vaccination scheme of 2 doses.”
Vaccine probably available from beginning of November
Van Damme expects the final test results in October. "Then the test reports will be delivered to the proper authorities (e.g. EMEA) and it is up to them to give the go-ahead to the vaccine. Consequently, the mass production can start and a few weeks later the vaccine can be launched. This means that a vaccine will probably be available by the beginning of November.”
Van Damme points out that the production will not immediately be sufficient to vaccinate everyone. “That’s way most countries are now identifying target groups to be vaccinated first. It concerns people with crucial professions during a pandemic (e.g. health workers), standard high-risk groups (e.g. people aged over 65 with underlying disorders or people who are chronically ill) and potentially also young children because they can play an important role in the spreading of the flu.”
Time pressure
Van Damme confirms that there is time pressure, but emphasises the need to follow the standard evaluation procedure. “Luckily, this procedure is very similar to the one we use with the winter flu, for which we also use a killed or inactivated vaccine. So we know what side effects we can expect, and we can be certain that the test vaccine will not cause flu symptoms.”
Whether the vaccine will be available on time, is an open question. “On the basis of recent epidemiological data, we estimate the chance that the Mexican flu will quietly fade away (as SARS did a few years ago) to be nearly zero. The data from Spain and the United Kingdom clearly show an increasing spread of the Mexican flu. It is still not clear what the course of the disease will be, but currently the disease symptoms and complications seem to be in the order of the annual winter flu. This situation can continue, but there is also a chance that the flu becomes more serious, for instance when the virus mutates or exchanges genetic material with other winter flu viruses that start circulating. We need to be prepared for these scenarios as well.”
“Most producers will have their test vaccines ready by the middle or end of August” says Van Damme. “But a vaccine can only be launched on the market when is has been tested on healthy volunteers. This procedure is also followed for other test vaccines. The vaccination of volunteers will take place in the course of August and September, because all test vaccines come with a vaccination scheme of 2 doses.”
Vaccine probably available from beginning of November
Van Damme expects the final test results in October. "Then the test reports will be delivered to the proper authorities (e.g. EMEA) and it is up to them to give the go-ahead to the vaccine. Consequently, the mass production can start and a few weeks later the vaccine can be launched. This means that a vaccine will probably be available by the beginning of November.”
Van Damme points out that the production will not immediately be sufficient to vaccinate everyone. “That’s way most countries are now identifying target groups to be vaccinated first. It concerns people with crucial professions during a pandemic (e.g. health workers), standard high-risk groups (e.g. people aged over 65 with underlying disorders or people who are chronically ill) and potentially also young children because they can play an important role in the spreading of the flu.”
Time pressure
Van Damme confirms that there is time pressure, but emphasises the need to follow the standard evaluation procedure. “Luckily, this procedure is very similar to the one we use with the winter flu, for which we also use a killed or inactivated vaccine. So we know what side effects we can expect, and we can be certain that the test vaccine will not cause flu symptoms.”
Whether the vaccine will be available on time, is an open question. “On the basis of recent epidemiological data, we estimate the chance that the Mexican flu will quietly fade away (as SARS did a few years ago) to be nearly zero. The data from Spain and the United Kingdom clearly show an increasing spread of the Mexican flu. It is still not clear what the course of the disease will be, but currently the disease symptoms and complications seem to be in the order of the annual winter flu. This situation can continue, but there is also a chance that the flu becomes more serious, for instance when the virus mutates or exchanges genetic material with other winter flu viruses that start circulating. We need to be prepared for these scenarios as well.”
Five students at MICA diagnosed with probable swine flu
Five students in a Maryland Institute College of Art summer program have been diagnosed with probable H1NI influenza infections, commonly known as swine flu, a college spokeswoman said Friday.
Three of the students enrolled in MICA's pre-college program who were showing symptoms have gone home, said Kathleen Murray, the spokeswoman. One student has been isolated, as recommended by the Baltimore City Health Department, and another is asymptomatic, beyond the seven-day period of infection, Murray said.
The Health Department notified MICA of the probable infections Thursday afternoon, and an e-mail was sent to parents, faculty, staff and students that night, Murray said. As of Friday morning, no new cases had been reported, and the five students were recovering, Murray said.
Pre-college program attendees, typically high school students, stay together in a MICA residence hall, but Health Department officials said there was no need to close any buildings or shut down the program, Murray said.
"The only recommendation was to isolate the five students," she said.
MICA's building services staff was instructed to sanitize surfaces such as elevator buttons more frequently. Sanitizer was also available at guard desks, college offices and in dining facilities.
Maryland health officials have confirmed 732 cases of swine flu. Three of those infected have died from the virus.
Summer camps are feeling the impact. Two children were sent home from a Harford County camp after testing positive for swine flu, health officials said this week. Sandy Hill Camp in Cecil County sent campers home midway through a two-week session last week after 19 children came down with flulike symptoms in 48 hours.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association canceled more than half of its weeklong camp sessions - including two scheduled for Camp Maria in Leonardtown - amid fears that children with already compromised immune systems could become critically ill if they came down with flu, something that is more likely in a setting of shared cabins and meals in close quarters.
Baltimore Sun reporter Mary Gail Hare contributed to this article.
Three of the students enrolled in MICA's pre-college program who were showing symptoms have gone home, said Kathleen Murray, the spokeswoman. One student has been isolated, as recommended by the Baltimore City Health Department, and another is asymptomatic, beyond the seven-day period of infection, Murray said.
The Health Department notified MICA of the probable infections Thursday afternoon, and an e-mail was sent to parents, faculty, staff and students that night, Murray said. As of Friday morning, no new cases had been reported, and the five students were recovering, Murray said.
Pre-college program attendees, typically high school students, stay together in a MICA residence hall, but Health Department officials said there was no need to close any buildings or shut down the program, Murray said.
"The only recommendation was to isolate the five students," she said.
MICA's building services staff was instructed to sanitize surfaces such as elevator buttons more frequently. Sanitizer was also available at guard desks, college offices and in dining facilities.
Maryland health officials have confirmed 732 cases of swine flu. Three of those infected have died from the virus.
Summer camps are feeling the impact. Two children were sent home from a Harford County camp after testing positive for swine flu, health officials said this week. Sandy Hill Camp in Cecil County sent campers home midway through a two-week session last week after 19 children came down with flulike symptoms in 48 hours.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association canceled more than half of its weeklong camp sessions - including two scheduled for Camp Maria in Leonardtown - amid fears that children with already compromised immune systems could become critically ill if they came down with flu, something that is more likely in a setting of shared cabins and meals in close quarters.
Baltimore Sun reporter Mary Gail Hare contributed to this article.
Swine flu cancels camp for children with HIV/AIDS
MILWAUKEE - A camp session in Minnesota for children with HIV or AIDS has been canceled after two volunteers tested positive for swine flu.
One Heartland, a Milwaukee-based charity, had planned to start the weeklong camp session in Willow River in eastern Minnesota on Friday.
One Heartland founder and CEO Neil Willenson says there are no known cases of swine flu among children who already attended the camp this summer. But he says the camp session was canceled out of concern for campers and volunteers.
One Heartland offers the summer camps for homeless children and children with HIV or AIDS.
One Heartland, a Milwaukee-based charity, had planned to start the weeklong camp session in Willow River in eastern Minnesota on Friday.
One Heartland founder and CEO Neil Willenson says there are no known cases of swine flu among children who already attended the camp this summer. But he says the camp session was canceled out of concern for campers and volunteers.
One Heartland offers the summer camps for homeless children and children with HIV or AIDS.
Good News - Cherie Blair Gets Swine Flu - Pigs Strike
There will be no more bacon until Cherie Blair reveals where she got her swine flu.
The probability exists that Ms Blair has used undue influence to obtain a better virus than that available to the man in the street. Parliamentary Expenses investigators are pursuing several lines of enquiry.Swine are concerned that they will be blammed if a more virulent virus mutates during Ms Blair's illness.
The combination of Grinning Gibbon Flu with Swine flu is awful to contemplate.
Ugly, greedy, frogmouthed people with legal training would however be the most likely victims and the almost certain prospect of the death of most lawyers is some comfort.
The British Pig Herd has withdrawn its support of the manufacture of Swine Flu vaccine and has set up picket lines at plasma collection centres.
Mr Tony Blair, Centre of the Universe was advised by the Dark Lord Mangelson, not to comment.
The probability exists that Ms Blair has used undue influence to obtain a better virus than that available to the man in the street. Parliamentary Expenses investigators are pursuing several lines of enquiry.Swine are concerned that they will be blammed if a more virulent virus mutates during Ms Blair's illness.
The combination of Grinning Gibbon Flu with Swine flu is awful to contemplate.
Ugly, greedy, frogmouthed people with legal training would however be the most likely victims and the almost certain prospect of the death of most lawyers is some comfort.
The British Pig Herd has withdrawn its support of the manufacture of Swine Flu vaccine and has set up picket lines at plasma collection centres.
Mr Tony Blair, Centre of the Universe was advised by the Dark Lord Mangelson, not to comment.
New Push in H1N1 Flu Fight Set for Start of School
U.S. health officials are preparing intensively to combat an anticipated wave of outbreaks of the new H1N1 flu when children return to school and the pace of cases picks up.
Kenya Bell, left, stands with daughter, Nyeree, who along with several others came down with the flu at an American Lung Association camp in California.
Identified by scientists just three months ago, the new swine-flu virus has reached nearly every country, spreading tenaciously with what the World Health Organization this week called "unprecedented speed." Rather than die down in the summer as some experts initially expected, it is continuing to proliferate even in countries like the U.S. and U.K. that are in the full bloom of summer, when the march of influenza normally slows down. It is also spreading rapidly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Anne Schuchat, chief of immunization and respiratory diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the agency expects an increase in cases before the normal start of the flu season in mid-autumn, because children are likely to spread it to one another once they go back to school. Infectious diseases normally spread readily among children, and this virus has hit children and young adults harder than the elderly, who normally suffer the heaviest toll from flu.
"We've seen it in camps and military units," Dr. Schuchat said. "I'm expecting when school reopens and kids are all back together, in some communities at least we may see an increase."
The number of confirmed U.S. infections is now 40,617, with 263 deaths, the CDC said Friday. But the agency believes that more than one million people have been infected and weren't tested for the virus or didn't visit a doctor. The disease has become so widespread that the agency will probably suspend tallying individual case counts within the next few weeks and focus instead on tracking clusters, severe cases, deaths and other unusual events -- a more traditional approach to tracking diseases, Dr. Schuchat said.
The CDC would be following the WHO, which said on Thursday that it is abandoning individual case counts.
Most of those who have the new flu get only mildly ill for a few days and don't need treatment. But officials are concerned about the virus because it is new and could easily mutate and become more virulent as it spreads through the population. Argentina declared a nationwide animal-health emergency Friday after finding the virus possibly jumped from humans to two pig herds, a development that flu experts say could potentially spur mutations. The country's death toll from the virus stands at 137.
Global officials are also concerned because the new H1N1 virus has caused severe illness in some children and young people. Some recently published studies suggest it can cause more severe illness than seasonal flu. Deaths from flu are normally rare among children and young adults, who account for the bulk of the U.S. deaths from the pandemic strain. Nor is it clear why the virus is striking pregnant women, as well as people with asthma, diabetes and other conditions hard.
To combat the virus, federal officials are preparing to mount a massive immunization campaign, and are also urging communities, businesses and individuals to make contingency plans for possible school closures, multiple employee absences for illness, surges of patients in hospitals and other effects of potentially widespread outbreaks.
Clinical trials are expected to begin later this month to test whether a vaccine developed to combat the virus is safe and effective, and the CDC is working with state and local public-health authorities to figure out how to get as many as 600 million doses, or two for every U.S. resident, into people's arms. Results of the trials aren't expected until early October, but officials say they expect to have the first 100 million doses of vaccine ready by mid-October.
The WHO and some vaccine manufacturers reported this week that the vaccine was proving difficult to manufacture because the viruses used to make the shots are yielding only 25% to 50% of the active ingredient they normally get for flu vaccines.
But Dr. Schuchat said that wasn't affecting the U.S. government's plans. "We haven't heard news that has changed our expectations for vaccine availability in the fall," she said. "Based on what has been described to us so far, it's within the range of our planning assumptions, but that doesn't mean we won't have more surprises."
Kenya Bell, left, stands with daughter, Nyeree, who along with several others came down with the flu at an American Lung Association camp in California.
Identified by scientists just three months ago, the new swine-flu virus has reached nearly every country, spreading tenaciously with what the World Health Organization this week called "unprecedented speed." Rather than die down in the summer as some experts initially expected, it is continuing to proliferate even in countries like the U.S. and U.K. that are in the full bloom of summer, when the march of influenza normally slows down. It is also spreading rapidly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Anne Schuchat, chief of immunization and respiratory diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the agency expects an increase in cases before the normal start of the flu season in mid-autumn, because children are likely to spread it to one another once they go back to school. Infectious diseases normally spread readily among children, and this virus has hit children and young adults harder than the elderly, who normally suffer the heaviest toll from flu.
"We've seen it in camps and military units," Dr. Schuchat said. "I'm expecting when school reopens and kids are all back together, in some communities at least we may see an increase."
The number of confirmed U.S. infections is now 40,617, with 263 deaths, the CDC said Friday. But the agency believes that more than one million people have been infected and weren't tested for the virus or didn't visit a doctor. The disease has become so widespread that the agency will probably suspend tallying individual case counts within the next few weeks and focus instead on tracking clusters, severe cases, deaths and other unusual events -- a more traditional approach to tracking diseases, Dr. Schuchat said.
The CDC would be following the WHO, which said on Thursday that it is abandoning individual case counts.
Most of those who have the new flu get only mildly ill for a few days and don't need treatment. But officials are concerned about the virus because it is new and could easily mutate and become more virulent as it spreads through the population. Argentina declared a nationwide animal-health emergency Friday after finding the virus possibly jumped from humans to two pig herds, a development that flu experts say could potentially spur mutations. The country's death toll from the virus stands at 137.
Global officials are also concerned because the new H1N1 virus has caused severe illness in some children and young people. Some recently published studies suggest it can cause more severe illness than seasonal flu. Deaths from flu are normally rare among children and young adults, who account for the bulk of the U.S. deaths from the pandemic strain. Nor is it clear why the virus is striking pregnant women, as well as people with asthma, diabetes and other conditions hard.
To combat the virus, federal officials are preparing to mount a massive immunization campaign, and are also urging communities, businesses and individuals to make contingency plans for possible school closures, multiple employee absences for illness, surges of patients in hospitals and other effects of potentially widespread outbreaks.
Clinical trials are expected to begin later this month to test whether a vaccine developed to combat the virus is safe and effective, and the CDC is working with state and local public-health authorities to figure out how to get as many as 600 million doses, or two for every U.S. resident, into people's arms. Results of the trials aren't expected until early October, but officials say they expect to have the first 100 million doses of vaccine ready by mid-October.
The WHO and some vaccine manufacturers reported this week that the vaccine was proving difficult to manufacture because the viruses used to make the shots are yielding only 25% to 50% of the active ingredient they normally get for flu vaccines.
But Dr. Schuchat said that wasn't affecting the U.S. government's plans. "We haven't heard news that has changed our expectations for vaccine availability in the fall," she said. "Based on what has been described to us so far, it's within the range of our planning assumptions, but that doesn't mean we won't have more surprises."
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Fat people 'more likely to die of swine flu'
Here's some bad news for fat folks: Overweight people are more likely to die of swine flu, says a new US study.
According to unpublished figures, which were reported at a recent meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, 99 people who died in the early stages of the pandemic in the US, 45 per cent were obese.
Up till now, most of the individuals who have died from H1N1 swine flu have had an underlying health problem which weakened their ability to fend off the virus, reports New Scientist.
Among the conditions recognised as increasing the risk from flu are hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung obstruction and coronary disease. Now it may be time to add obesity to the list.
The figures surprised most flu researchers. "In 40 years of studying flu, I have never heard anything about obesity," says virologist John Oxford of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London.
According to unpublished figures, which were reported at a recent meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, 99 people who died in the early stages of the pandemic in the US, 45 per cent were obese.
Up till now, most of the individuals who have died from H1N1 swine flu have had an underlying health problem which weakened their ability to fend off the virus, reports New Scientist.
Among the conditions recognised as increasing the risk from flu are hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung obstruction and coronary disease. Now it may be time to add obesity to the list.
The figures surprised most flu researchers. "In 40 years of studying flu, I have never heard anything about obesity," says virologist John Oxford of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London.
Eighty-Four new Swine flu cases in NC this week
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports 84 new cases of H1N1 (swine flu) this week. To date, two deaths have occurred, both in Guilford County. The total number of confirmed H1N1 or swine flu cases in North Carolina stands at 395.
Wake County has seen 63 cases of swine flu, the highest number of confirmed cases reported. Mecklenburg County reports seven confirmed cases. The North Carolina H1N1 report was updated today.
North Carolina is experiencing seasonal as well as H1N1 (swine flu) cases. Seasonal flu claims 1000 to 2000 lives in North Carolina annually from pneumonia that can develop as a complication of flu. Influenza is a respiratory virus spread by sneezing and coughing. H1N1 flu is spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.
Symptoms of flu, including H1N1 include fever, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, and general body aches.
Limiting the spread of swine flu (or any virus) is everyone’s responsibility. Wash your hands frequently. Carry antibacterial cleanser and use it when hand washing facilities are not available. Cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough. If you experience symptoms, report to your doctor. If you do not have a fever, it is unlikely that you have H1N1, swine flu.
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 flu a pandemic. The first cases were recognized in April, and the virus has been spreading from human to human. Researchers are working on a vaccine for swine flu which may be available by the end of the year, but no one seems to know for certain when it might be available. There are also some safety issues being raised about H1N1 vaccine, given the hurried production.
The CDC has not issued any definitive statements about who should initially recieve swine flu vaccine, when it does become available. Challenges faced in vaccinating agains H1N1 fluy include getting the vaccine to large numbers of people in a short period of time, concurrent vaccination for seasonal flu, and the possibility of adverse events associated with a new vaccine.
Swine flu seems to primarily affect school age children and young adults. There is speculation that individuals over age 50 may have some immunity to H1N1 flu.
North Carolina officials have been gathering data on H1N1 swine flu cases. Weekly updates and resources regarding swine flu cases in North Carolina are posted at http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/gcdc/flu.html . Educational materials are available for families, schools, health care providers, and business at http://www.ncpanflu.gov/.
Wake County has seen 63 cases of swine flu, the highest number of confirmed cases reported. Mecklenburg County reports seven confirmed cases. The North Carolina H1N1 report was updated today.
North Carolina is experiencing seasonal as well as H1N1 (swine flu) cases. Seasonal flu claims 1000 to 2000 lives in North Carolina annually from pneumonia that can develop as a complication of flu. Influenza is a respiratory virus spread by sneezing and coughing. H1N1 flu is spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.
Symptoms of flu, including H1N1 include fever, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, and general body aches.
Limiting the spread of swine flu (or any virus) is everyone’s responsibility. Wash your hands frequently. Carry antibacterial cleanser and use it when hand washing facilities are not available. Cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough. If you experience symptoms, report to your doctor. If you do not have a fever, it is unlikely that you have H1N1, swine flu.
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 flu a pandemic. The first cases were recognized in April, and the virus has been spreading from human to human. Researchers are working on a vaccine for swine flu which may be available by the end of the year, but no one seems to know for certain when it might be available. There are also some safety issues being raised about H1N1 vaccine, given the hurried production.
The CDC has not issued any definitive statements about who should initially recieve swine flu vaccine, when it does become available. Challenges faced in vaccinating agains H1N1 fluy include getting the vaccine to large numbers of people in a short period of time, concurrent vaccination for seasonal flu, and the possibility of adverse events associated with a new vaccine.
Swine flu seems to primarily affect school age children and young adults. There is speculation that individuals over age 50 may have some immunity to H1N1 flu.
North Carolina officials have been gathering data on H1N1 swine flu cases. Weekly updates and resources regarding swine flu cases in North Carolina are posted at http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/gcdc/flu.html . Educational materials are available for families, schools, health care providers, and business at http://www.ncpanflu.gov/.
Some camps report swine flu cases
Camp directors are battling more than unruly youngsters this summer. They have been contending with outbreaks of what they think is the swine flu.
Some area camps, as well as ones outside the region that host large numbers of youngsters from the area, report sending home dozens of campers who have exhibited flulike symptoms.
Pennsylvania health officials say they know of 10 to 20 camps in the state that have had a high-enough incidence of the flu to warrant control measures such as isolating campers or sending them home.
"I'd say we've had a fair number of camps that have clusters of illness," said Stephen Ostroff, acting state physician general and director of the state Bureau of Epidemiology.
In South Jersey, fewer than five cases have been reported to health agencies. Reported cases might be low because officials test for the flu only when patients are hospitalized or clusters of illness occur.
No camps in Pennsylvania or South Jersey have closed, officials said.
Ostroff declined to say how many campers in Pennsylvania have been hospitalized with the flu. No campers have died in Pennsylvania or South Jersey, officials said.
Ostroff could not specify the number of influenza cases associated with state camps because Pennsylvania does not track camp-specific statistics and cases might not be reported at the state level, he said.
In many instances, campers aren't tested for the Novel H1N1 virus, but physicians assume they have what is known as the swine flu because seasonal influenza does not occur in the summer, said Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Health officials in Montgomery and Bucks Counties say they have received reports of swine flu cases among campers but declined to elaborate. No cases have been reported in Philadelphia or Chester Counties.
In South Jersey, one case was reported at a camp at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and another at a private camp in Burlington County. No cases have been reported in Camden and Gloucester Counties.
"We've heard anecdotally and in general that [this region] has not been hit as hard as other parts of the country, like the Southeast U.S.," said Ellen Warren, spokeswoman for the Keystone Regional chapter of the American Camp Association, which includes Pennsylvania and Delaware.
There are 136 American Camp Association-accredited camps in Pennsylvania and 91 in New Jersey.
Concerns about the swine flu have prompted at least 50 summer camps across the nation to cancel sessions or send campers home early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for camp operators that include screening campers and staff for illness before the start of camp, isolating sick campers, encouraging frequent handwashing, and training staff to recognize flu symptoms.
Camp Saginaw in Oxford, Chester County, sent some youngsters home after they exhibited flulike symptoms, but director Mike Petkov said the symptoms were not severe.
"We have had illnesses before, and this is mild in comparison," Petkov said. Saginaw hosts campers from across the nation.
Earlier, six suspected cases were reported during the Variety Club Camp in Worcester, Montgomery County. The camp ended in June.
About 55 campers at Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, Monroe County, have been sent home to recover.
At Camp Ramah in Wayne County, 61 of the camp's 391 youngsters were sent home after exhibiting flulike symptoms, said Rabbi Todd Zeff, who runs the camp.
The sick youngsters have recovered and returned to the camp, which is attended by mostly Philadelphia-area youngsters. No new cases have been reported in the last eight days, Zeff said.
Some area camps, as well as ones outside the region that host large numbers of youngsters from the area, report sending home dozens of campers who have exhibited flulike symptoms.
Pennsylvania health officials say they know of 10 to 20 camps in the state that have had a high-enough incidence of the flu to warrant control measures such as isolating campers or sending them home.
"I'd say we've had a fair number of camps that have clusters of illness," said Stephen Ostroff, acting state physician general and director of the state Bureau of Epidemiology.
In South Jersey, fewer than five cases have been reported to health agencies. Reported cases might be low because officials test for the flu only when patients are hospitalized or clusters of illness occur.
No camps in Pennsylvania or South Jersey have closed, officials said.
Ostroff declined to say how many campers in Pennsylvania have been hospitalized with the flu. No campers have died in Pennsylvania or South Jersey, officials said.
Ostroff could not specify the number of influenza cases associated with state camps because Pennsylvania does not track camp-specific statistics and cases might not be reported at the state level, he said.
In many instances, campers aren't tested for the Novel H1N1 virus, but physicians assume they have what is known as the swine flu because seasonal influenza does not occur in the summer, said Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Health officials in Montgomery and Bucks Counties say they have received reports of swine flu cases among campers but declined to elaborate. No cases have been reported in Philadelphia or Chester Counties.
In South Jersey, one case was reported at a camp at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and another at a private camp in Burlington County. No cases have been reported in Camden and Gloucester Counties.
"We've heard anecdotally and in general that [this region] has not been hit as hard as other parts of the country, like the Southeast U.S.," said Ellen Warren, spokeswoman for the Keystone Regional chapter of the American Camp Association, which includes Pennsylvania and Delaware.
There are 136 American Camp Association-accredited camps in Pennsylvania and 91 in New Jersey.
Concerns about the swine flu have prompted at least 50 summer camps across the nation to cancel sessions or send campers home early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for camp operators that include screening campers and staff for illness before the start of camp, isolating sick campers, encouraging frequent handwashing, and training staff to recognize flu symptoms.
Camp Saginaw in Oxford, Chester County, sent some youngsters home after they exhibited flulike symptoms, but director Mike Petkov said the symptoms were not severe.
"We have had illnesses before, and this is mild in comparison," Petkov said. Saginaw hosts campers from across the nation.
Earlier, six suspected cases were reported during the Variety Club Camp in Worcester, Montgomery County. The camp ended in June.
About 55 campers at Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, Monroe County, have been sent home to recover.
At Camp Ramah in Wayne County, 61 of the camp's 391 youngsters were sent home after exhibiting flulike symptoms, said Rabbi Todd Zeff, who runs the camp.
The sick youngsters have recovered and returned to the camp, which is attended by mostly Philadelphia-area youngsters. No new cases have been reported in the last eight days, Zeff said.
Sixty-seven Air Force cadets have tested positive for swine flu
Sixty-seven Air Force cadets have tested positive for swine flu and are being isolated at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, a spokesman for the academy said Tuesday.
The outbreak is the single largest in Colorado, which up until last week had 146 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, according to the State Public Health and Environment Department.
Academy officials first became concerned last week when a growing number of incoming freshman cadets, who began basic training in June, started falling ill with flulike symptoms.
One hundred cadets have been isolated in a dormitory, and test results from an Air Force epidemiology laboratory in Texas found that 67 had contracted swine flu. Results are still pending for dozens of cadets, said John Van Winkle, a spokesman for the academy. Seventy who fell ill were cleared to return to training.
None of the sick cadets have been hospitalized so far, and Mr. Van Winkle described all of the cases as “moderate.” Nonetheless, academy officials said they would not take any chances and called off the annual “Doolie Day Out,” in which freshman cadets, who are known as doolies, are allowed to leave campus.
Mr. Van Winkle said it was nearly impossible to determine the source of the outbreak because some cadets had fanned out across the world for various Air Force-related programs. There are 1,341 cadets in the incoming freshman class.
“Our priority right now is treating those that are ill, limiting the spread and educating our entire base population about what we have done and will continue to do,” Mr. Van Winkle said.
Joe Quimby, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the centers were working with the Defense Department to investigate the outbreak.
In Colorado, which has seen a relatively low number of swine flu cases until now, a summer youth camp at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley was stopped after 10 students and three staff members exhibited flulike symptoms over the weekend.
There have been about 37,000 confirmed cases of swine flu so far in the United States and its territories. Earlier this month, the Obama administration warned that the illness could resurge in the fall and announced plans to start vaccinations in October.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Q&A: is swine flu mutating?
At least 17 people have died after contracting swine flu in Britain, while tens of thousands of people are thought to have been infected. Is swine flu getting more dangerous?
No. Laboratory testing around the world indicates the influenza A (H1N1) virus appears to be behaving in the same manner as it was three months ago. The virus is spreading quickly in this country and elsewhere, making it more likely that people will become ill — some of them requiring hospital treatment — especially in the hotspots of London and the West Midlands. The latest studies on animals, published in the journal Nature, suggests that the pandemic strain is more virulent than seasonal flu.
Is there any evidence of the virus mutating?
There have been reports of strains that show signs of resistance to Tamiflu (ostelamivir), the main anti-viral drug used to treat symptoms, in Denmark, Japan and Hong Kong. These are being considered as isolated cases and there is no evidence so far of a drug-resistant strain spreading widely in Britain or elsewhere.
Is it likely to mutate?
Yes. Flu viruses are constantly changing as the emergence of this new swine flu virus — itself a combination of human and animal strains — testifies. There are suggestions that older people may have some residual immunity to the virus as it is similar to H1N1 strains which have circulated in previous decades as seasonal flu.
There may be cause for concern if the virus “reassorts” to become widely unrecognised by the human immune system or resistant to medication, but such changes are more or less random and it is hard to know what form they will take.
It is reported that one in 200 people may die from swine flu. Is this number as scary as it looks?
This calculation is based on a model suggesting that 0.5 per cent of those who suffer from swine flu badly enough to seek medical help may die from it. It does not take into account the fact that the vast majority of cases will be milder infections. Individuals may stay at home for a few days without needing to see a doctor or may not have any symptoms at all after contracting the H1N1 virus.
Researchers from Imperial College London, who produced the figure, say that the one in 200 “case fatality rate” (CFR) is very similar to the estimated number of deaths for seasonal influenza every year. Their research, published in the British Medical Journal, also suggests that the actual CFR in Britain and Europe may be much lower — 0.14 per cent. Due to gaps in swine flu data collection, it is hard to predict how many people will ultimately become ill or die but a surge in cases is expected as the winter flu season approaches.
Why has Britain got the third highest number of confirmed cases in the world?
In the early stage of the outbreak — known as the containment phase — Britain and other countries attempted to confirm every suspected case of swine flu by taking swabs from people with symptoms and sending them off for laboratory confirmation. As of last week Britain had more than 9,700 of these laboratory-confirmed cases, putting it third behind the numbers confirmed in the United States and Mexico, where the H1N1 virus first emerged. But as the number of people reporting symptoms has grown, all three countries have stopped lab tests for all cases to lift pressure on resources. Instead, infection levels are now estimated on the basis of clinical diagnoses.
Britain appears to be the worst affected country in Europe, which may be explained in part by the high rates of travel to and from the US.
There have been calls for a better system of reporting . Is this necessary?
Not necessary, but desirable. There are several different methods of tracking the swine flu virus but officials are now relying mainly on the number of people complaining of “flu-like illness” to their GP.
This weekly data, compiled from a sample of about 100 GP surgeries across the country, is also used to track seasonal flu activity. It may overestimate the total number of people becoming ill if symptoms are not down to swine flu, or underestimate it, if people are not ill enough to contact their GP or treat themselves at home. The Health Protection Agency said last week that of an estimated 27,000 people complaining of flu-like illness in a seven-day period only about 28 per cent — about 8,000 — would actually be infected with the swine flu virus.
As laboratory confirmation has been discontinued for all but a small sample of cases, experts say it would be useful to have daily updates of the number of people being treated in hospital for flu. Alternatively, wider testing of anonymous blood samples from the general population could also indicate roughly what proportion of people have been exposed to the H1N1 virus.
When is the vaccine going to be ready?
Ministers suggest that the first batches of a vaccine against the H1N1 flu strain will start being delivered by manufacturers in early September. Following safety checks, they are likely to be in use by the end of that month. The Government expects 60 million doses — enough for at least half the population — to be available this year, with a total of 130 million doses on order.
No. Laboratory testing around the world indicates the influenza A (H1N1) virus appears to be behaving in the same manner as it was three months ago. The virus is spreading quickly in this country and elsewhere, making it more likely that people will become ill — some of them requiring hospital treatment — especially in the hotspots of London and the West Midlands. The latest studies on animals, published in the journal Nature, suggests that the pandemic strain is more virulent than seasonal flu.
Is there any evidence of the virus mutating?
There have been reports of strains that show signs of resistance to Tamiflu (ostelamivir), the main anti-viral drug used to treat symptoms, in Denmark, Japan and Hong Kong. These are being considered as isolated cases and there is no evidence so far of a drug-resistant strain spreading widely in Britain or elsewhere.
Is it likely to mutate?
Yes. Flu viruses are constantly changing as the emergence of this new swine flu virus — itself a combination of human and animal strains — testifies. There are suggestions that older people may have some residual immunity to the virus as it is similar to H1N1 strains which have circulated in previous decades as seasonal flu.
There may be cause for concern if the virus “reassorts” to become widely unrecognised by the human immune system or resistant to medication, but such changes are more or less random and it is hard to know what form they will take.
It is reported that one in 200 people may die from swine flu. Is this number as scary as it looks?
This calculation is based on a model suggesting that 0.5 per cent of those who suffer from swine flu badly enough to seek medical help may die from it. It does not take into account the fact that the vast majority of cases will be milder infections. Individuals may stay at home for a few days without needing to see a doctor or may not have any symptoms at all after contracting the H1N1 virus.
Researchers from Imperial College London, who produced the figure, say that the one in 200 “case fatality rate” (CFR) is very similar to the estimated number of deaths for seasonal influenza every year. Their research, published in the British Medical Journal, also suggests that the actual CFR in Britain and Europe may be much lower — 0.14 per cent. Due to gaps in swine flu data collection, it is hard to predict how many people will ultimately become ill or die but a surge in cases is expected as the winter flu season approaches.
Why has Britain got the third highest number of confirmed cases in the world?
In the early stage of the outbreak — known as the containment phase — Britain and other countries attempted to confirm every suspected case of swine flu by taking swabs from people with symptoms and sending them off for laboratory confirmation. As of last week Britain had more than 9,700 of these laboratory-confirmed cases, putting it third behind the numbers confirmed in the United States and Mexico, where the H1N1 virus first emerged. But as the number of people reporting symptoms has grown, all three countries have stopped lab tests for all cases to lift pressure on resources. Instead, infection levels are now estimated on the basis of clinical diagnoses.
Britain appears to be the worst affected country in Europe, which may be explained in part by the high rates of travel to and from the US.
There have been calls for a better system of reporting . Is this necessary?
Not necessary, but desirable. There are several different methods of tracking the swine flu virus but officials are now relying mainly on the number of people complaining of “flu-like illness” to their GP.
This weekly data, compiled from a sample of about 100 GP surgeries across the country, is also used to track seasonal flu activity. It may overestimate the total number of people becoming ill if symptoms are not down to swine flu, or underestimate it, if people are not ill enough to contact their GP or treat themselves at home. The Health Protection Agency said last week that of an estimated 27,000 people complaining of flu-like illness in a seven-day period only about 28 per cent — about 8,000 — would actually be infected with the swine flu virus.
As laboratory confirmation has been discontinued for all but a small sample of cases, experts say it would be useful to have daily updates of the number of people being treated in hospital for flu. Alternatively, wider testing of anonymous blood samples from the general population could also indicate roughly what proportion of people have been exposed to the H1N1 virus.
When is the vaccine going to be ready?
Ministers suggest that the first batches of a vaccine against the H1N1 flu strain will start being delivered by manufacturers in early September. Following safety checks, they are likely to be in use by the end of that month. The Government expects 60 million doses — enough for at least half the population — to be available this year, with a total of 130 million doses on order.
NHS Direct: struggling with swine flu
Many people concerned about swine flu have turned to NHS Direct for help, but the telephone helpline which is supposed to take the pressure off doctors is now trying to take the pressure off itself.
The service, set up in 1997, has long been a target for criticism from doctors who have attacked what they see as its over-cautiousness.
Designed to take the strain off frontline staff, some claim it has increased workloads in the past by referring the perfectly healthy to out-of-hour doctors or A&E.
But many value its reassurance and advice and have turned to it in droves since swine flu was first reported. On Tuesday it received more than 9,000 calls relating to the virus - the highest yet.
There have been reports of lengthy waits to speak to an advisor - if you get through. Others have simply heard a recorded message.
One of the problems is that hundreds of fundamentally well people are still calling the service with their questions about swine flu, despite there being another telephone number for this purpose.
Many others have little wrong with them and are offered advice about home care.
NHS Direct itself is now urging people to use other channels for information, notably the website's symptom checker.
But the swine flu expert at the British Medical Association - the doctors's union - said the service was still not effectively triaging, and that too many were being referred to their GPs.
"NHS Direct has a place in the ordinary run of things but it is not tooled up for this job and it is struggling with the volume of calls," says Dr Peter Holden.
"As a working GP dealing with possible cases of swine flu NHS Direct has made no difference to my work load and has even made it harder, as I am getting a lot of referrals late in the day."
Not now
Those with children under five are specifically advised not to use the symptom checker on the NHS Direct website and contact the service directly.
Amanda McGregor, a mother of a one-year-old, said she decided to ring NHS Direct for advice and reassurance about her son's high temperature.
"My husband and I couldn't believe it when we got an answerphone saying they could not take calls because they had such a high volume of people ringing about swine flu. A voice message said information was available online."
"We ended up phoning our after hours GP service and were told to bring our toddler in. We were then transferred to accident and emergency and prescribed Tamiflu."
A fever is the most important symptom of swine flu - that is a temperature of 38C (100.4F) or above
There is reportedly little standard seasonal flu at the moment, so the chances are that if you have the above you do indeed have swine flu, experts say.
"Basically go out and buy a thermometer. If you have a temperature and two of the other symptoms you have flu, and should get treatment. If you're well enough to go to work, you don't," says Dr Holden.
Differentiating
On Tuesday NHS Direct received nearly 9,700 swine flu related calls and its chief executive said it was now encouraging people to use other means of obtaining information.
But Nick Chapman, chief executive of NHS Direct, stressed it was not simply referring callers straight on to GPs as some have claimed, and was sorting out the mildly ill from potential cases of swine flu.
"I am extremely aware of the current pressures facing all parts of the NHS, including GPs, and want to reassure people that NHS Direct is doing all it can to help relieve this pressure. We are dealing with a significantly increased number of calls about swine flu, yesterday alone nurses spoke to over 9,500 people who were worried they had swine flu.
"For half of these people we were able to give advice on how they could treat themselves at home, without advising them to contact their GP for further assessment.
"We are prioritising urgent calls so that people most in need are assessed as quickly as possible and urgent calls are being dealt with in less than 20 minutes. If a call back is required for a non-urgent call we will tell callers how long they have to wait when they speak to someone."
The service, set up in 1997, has long been a target for criticism from doctors who have attacked what they see as its over-cautiousness.
Designed to take the strain off frontline staff, some claim it has increased workloads in the past by referring the perfectly healthy to out-of-hour doctors or A&E.
But many value its reassurance and advice and have turned to it in droves since swine flu was first reported. On Tuesday it received more than 9,000 calls relating to the virus - the highest yet.
There have been reports of lengthy waits to speak to an advisor - if you get through. Others have simply heard a recorded message.
One of the problems is that hundreds of fundamentally well people are still calling the service with their questions about swine flu, despite there being another telephone number for this purpose.
Many others have little wrong with them and are offered advice about home care.
NHS Direct itself is now urging people to use other channels for information, notably the website's symptom checker.
But the swine flu expert at the British Medical Association - the doctors's union - said the service was still not effectively triaging, and that too many were being referred to their GPs.
"NHS Direct has a place in the ordinary run of things but it is not tooled up for this job and it is struggling with the volume of calls," says Dr Peter Holden.
"As a working GP dealing with possible cases of swine flu NHS Direct has made no difference to my work load and has even made it harder, as I am getting a lot of referrals late in the day."
Not now
Those with children under five are specifically advised not to use the symptom checker on the NHS Direct website and contact the service directly.
Amanda McGregor, a mother of a one-year-old, said she decided to ring NHS Direct for advice and reassurance about her son's high temperature.
"My husband and I couldn't believe it when we got an answerphone saying they could not take calls because they had such a high volume of people ringing about swine flu. A voice message said information was available online."
"We ended up phoning our after hours GP service and were told to bring our toddler in. We were then transferred to accident and emergency and prescribed Tamiflu."
A fever is the most important symptom of swine flu - that is a temperature of 38C (100.4F) or above
There is reportedly little standard seasonal flu at the moment, so the chances are that if you have the above you do indeed have swine flu, experts say.
"Basically go out and buy a thermometer. If you have a temperature and two of the other symptoms you have flu, and should get treatment. If you're well enough to go to work, you don't," says Dr Holden.
Differentiating
On Tuesday NHS Direct received nearly 9,700 swine flu related calls and its chief executive said it was now encouraging people to use other means of obtaining information.
But Nick Chapman, chief executive of NHS Direct, stressed it was not simply referring callers straight on to GPs as some have claimed, and was sorting out the mildly ill from potential cases of swine flu.
"I am extremely aware of the current pressures facing all parts of the NHS, including GPs, and want to reassure people that NHS Direct is doing all it can to help relieve this pressure. We are dealing with a significantly increased number of calls about swine flu, yesterday alone nurses spoke to over 9,500 people who were worried they had swine flu.
"For half of these people we were able to give advice on how they could treat themselves at home, without advising them to contact their GP for further assessment.
"We are prioritising urgent calls so that people most in need are assessed as quickly as possible and urgent calls are being dealt with in less than 20 minutes. If a call back is required for a non-urgent call we will tell callers how long they have to wait when they speak to someone."
Mass swine flu vaccination ‘could cost up to £10m’ in Wales
PLANS to vaccinate everyone in Wales against swine flu could cost up to £10m, it has been estimated.
The Welsh Conservatives have said frontline budgets must not be cut to meet the costs of the massive vaccination programme.
And it emerged last night that the Welsh Assembly Government has not yet had a reply from the Treasury about who will foot the bill for dealing with the swine flu pandemic.
Wales has ordered six million doses of the swine flu vaccine, which should be available in weeks.
It is sufficient for everyone to receive the necessary two doses, three weeks apart.
It is expected that those at greatest risk of suffering a serious illness and frontline emergency workers will be offered a vaccine first.
Experts believe that up to a million people in Wales – one in three – could become ill with swine flu over the next 18 months.
Tory Andrew RT Davies, the Shadow Health Minister, said: “With an estimated six million anti-viral treatments heading to Wales, we are looking at a cost of around £8m to £10m.
“While I fully appreciate how important these vaccinations are, I would like an assurance that frontline budgets will not be raided in order to fund the programme and that reserve funding will instead be used.”
Experts hope that the swine flu vaccine could help limit the spread of the virus – it could prevent one in six cases of illness – and reduce the impact on the health service and the Welsh economy.
Westminster Health Secretary Andy Burnham said last night: “We have made very good plans in this country for this eventuality, for being in this situation, and Britain is at the front of the queue in the world for vaccine. We could not be in a better position.
“So as soon as stocks are made, the very first vaccines will come to this country. We expect to get the first next month.”
An Assembly Government spokesman said: “We have not yet had a response from the Treasury on the First Minister’s letter on who will pay for dealing with swine flu.
“The Department of Health is leading with the procurement of the vaccine for the UK. Wales will receive its proportion.
“Due to commercial confidentiality, it would be inappropriate to comment on the cost of the vaccine.”
Predictions about the cost of a mass vaccination programme came as it emerged a Bedfordshire GP who had swine flu died from natural causes.
A blood clot to Dr Michael Day’s lungs was the major factor in his death. The 64-year-old died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
The results of a post-mortem examination into the death of six-year-old Chloe Buckley, from West Drayton, are still pending.
Wales continues to lag about a month behind England and Scotland, where there have been 16 deaths linked to the swine flu virus.
Official figures last night estimated that 585 people have flu-like symptoms in Wales. There are still low levels in all regions of Wales, but the virus is “increasing”.
Public health officials have urged parents not to send their children to school if they have any flu-like symptoms, even though the end of the school year is imminent.
The Welsh Conservatives have said frontline budgets must not be cut to meet the costs of the massive vaccination programme.
And it emerged last night that the Welsh Assembly Government has not yet had a reply from the Treasury about who will foot the bill for dealing with the swine flu pandemic.
Wales has ordered six million doses of the swine flu vaccine, which should be available in weeks.
It is sufficient for everyone to receive the necessary two doses, three weeks apart.
It is expected that those at greatest risk of suffering a serious illness and frontline emergency workers will be offered a vaccine first.
Experts believe that up to a million people in Wales – one in three – could become ill with swine flu over the next 18 months.
Tory Andrew RT Davies, the Shadow Health Minister, said: “With an estimated six million anti-viral treatments heading to Wales, we are looking at a cost of around £8m to £10m.
“While I fully appreciate how important these vaccinations are, I would like an assurance that frontline budgets will not be raided in order to fund the programme and that reserve funding will instead be used.”
Experts hope that the swine flu vaccine could help limit the spread of the virus – it could prevent one in six cases of illness – and reduce the impact on the health service and the Welsh economy.
Westminster Health Secretary Andy Burnham said last night: “We have made very good plans in this country for this eventuality, for being in this situation, and Britain is at the front of the queue in the world for vaccine. We could not be in a better position.
“So as soon as stocks are made, the very first vaccines will come to this country. We expect to get the first next month.”
An Assembly Government spokesman said: “We have not yet had a response from the Treasury on the First Minister’s letter on who will pay for dealing with swine flu.
“The Department of Health is leading with the procurement of the vaccine for the UK. Wales will receive its proportion.
“Due to commercial confidentiality, it would be inappropriate to comment on the cost of the vaccine.”
Predictions about the cost of a mass vaccination programme came as it emerged a Bedfordshire GP who had swine flu died from natural causes.
A blood clot to Dr Michael Day’s lungs was the major factor in his death. The 64-year-old died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
The results of a post-mortem examination into the death of six-year-old Chloe Buckley, from West Drayton, are still pending.
Wales continues to lag about a month behind England and Scotland, where there have been 16 deaths linked to the swine flu virus.
Official figures last night estimated that 585 people have flu-like symptoms in Wales. There are still low levels in all regions of Wales, but the virus is “increasing”.
Public health officials have urged parents not to send their children to school if they have any flu-like symptoms, even though the end of the school year is imminent.
Swine flu: Google shuts office
Google’s India headquarters based in Hyderabad has shut down one of its offices for two days after one of the employees was confirmed to be suffering from the H1N1 flu virus.
After the employee tested positive, the search engine sent at least 100 employees to the Government General and Chest Hospital at Erragadda to undergo tests. Officials at the hospital said at least half a dozen employees were detected with swine flu symptoms and have been quarantined.
The employee, who had gone to Houston on a training assignment and returned to the city on July 5, passed through the screening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
“It appears that he was carrying the virus, which manifested itself only after he joined duty at the Hyderabad office. Others probably contracted infection from him,” Dr K Subhakar, coordinator, H1N1 Influenza nodal centre coordinator set up in Hyderabad, said.
After the employee tested positive, the search engine sent at least 100 employees to the Government General and Chest Hospital at Erragadda to undergo tests. Officials at the hospital said at least half a dozen employees were detected with swine flu symptoms and have been quarantined.
The employee, who had gone to Houston on a training assignment and returned to the city on July 5, passed through the screening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
“It appears that he was carrying the virus, which manifested itself only after he joined duty at the Hyderabad office. Others probably contracted infection from him,” Dr K Subhakar, coordinator, H1N1 Influenza nodal centre coordinator set up in Hyderabad, said.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Swine flu now at seven Plymouth schools
Swine flu continues to spread in Plymouth as seven city schools report suspected cases of the virus.
Plymouth City Council announced about 15 pupils, staff and parents have been isolated with symptoms.
A spokeswoman said it is business as usual for the schools, which remain open in line with updated national guidance.
Doctors have said the vast majority of people with swine flu experience mild symptoms and recover within a few days.
The schools which have reported cases are Hyde Park Junior, Victoria Road Primary, Hele's School, Manadon Vale Primary, Devonport High School for Girls, Mount Wise Community Primary School and Stuart Road Primary.
Other schools in the area to have suspected cases include Ivybridge Community College and Kelly College near Tavistock.
The council spokeswoman said: "The message is very much business as usual for schools.
"Schools must report any suspected cases of swine flu to us as soon as they are made aware of them.
"However, they are free to contact us at anytime if they would like general support and advice.
"We have been sign-posting headteachers to the extremely useful and practical information being given by the Devon and Cornwall Team of the Health Protection Agency, NHS Plymouth and Teachernet website.
"However the last day of term is July 22 and then the summer holidays begin."
She said that schools are informing families and carers by letter or by posting information on their websites.
National guidance recommends that preventative antiviral drugs are no longer routinely offered to large groups of school pupils.
The spokeswoman added: "It is very important to stress that these are not confirmed cases. It is likely that some of those who are ill have other respiratory viruses and not swine flu."
People with swine flu symptoms are advised to call the helplines first and only visit their GP surgery if told to do so by a health professional.
This is to avoid contact with high-risk groups such as children under the age of five, pregnant women and those with long-term diseases.
Fourteen people in the UK, none from the Plymouth area, are thought to have died after contracting the virus. All had other health problems.
Swine flu symptoms are very similar to other flu strains and include sudden high fever, extreme tiredness, aching muscles, limb or joint pain, diarrhoea or stomach upset, sore throat, runny nose and loss of appetite.
Local figures of confirmed cases are unavailable, but there are over 9,700 in the UK.
It is not known how many people truly have the virus as many are treating themselves at home rather than contacting their GP.
Call the swine flu information line 08001 513513 for general information or visit www.nhs.uk where there is a symptom checker.
People should only call NHS Direct 0845 4647 or their GP if they still have concerns.
· There are also reports of swine flu on a foreign ship docked at Devonport.
A Portuguese navy frigate with a crew of close to 200 is said to be under quarantine in Plymouth after a case of swine flu was confirmed aboard ship.
The decision to quarantine the Botolomeu Dias was taken by the Portuguese authorities.
Those aboard are being treated with anti-virals while the infected crewman is being treated in the sickbay at Devonport dockyard.
14 new swine flu cases take India tally to 183
|
Of the 183 positive cases, 131 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted to the identified health facility,' it said.
Out of the 1,117 people, 340 were identified through the airport entry screening.
Health officials said the new laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported from Delhi (4), Ahmedabad (2), Pune (3), Hyderabad (2) and Chennai (3).
In Delhi, the four cases, including three teenagers, are from one family that had come here from Singapore July 8. They tested positive for the flu Saturday.
In Ahmedabad, two people testing positive were part of a group of 40 students who travelled by American Airlines and had reached Delhi July 4. The two returned Ahmedabad July 7.
The officials said the group of 40 students had gone to the US on a yearlong exchange programme through an NGO and had traveled back to India from Chicago
'They stayed in Delhi for three days and then went to their respective states,' the statement said.
These students belong to Maharashtra (9), Gujarat (18), Karnataka (1), Tamil Nadu (7) and Delhi (5).
'All of them and their contacts are being traced and also their modality of inland travel ascertained,' it said.
In Chennai, a 34-year-old woman and her nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter tested positive for swine flu. Her husband has also been quarantined, the officials added.
The family travelled by Saudi Arabian Airlines from Dammam in Saudi Arabia and reached Chennai July 9.
'They were detected at the airport with low-grade fever and cough and admitted to an identified isolation facility,' the official said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 94,512 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection have been reported from 135 countries till July 6. There have been 429 deaths globally, most of them in Mexico and the US.
US Braced for H1N1 Swine Flu Return
The U.S. government has allocated $350 million to help the country prepare for the H1N1 flu virus as well as the seasonal flu. U.S. officials say a vaccine for the H1N1 flu could be available by October before the flu season starts in the northern hemisphere.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 400 people have died from the H1N1 flu virus out of some 90,000 confirmed cases. In June the WHO declared this outbreak to be the first pandemic in more than 40 years. Recently, WHO Director General Margaret Chan predicted the worldwide spread of H1N1 or the swine flu is certain.
"Once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable," she said.
Currently, countries in the southern hemisphere are beginning their flu season. Chile, Argentina and Australia are seeing large numbers of cases. The U.S. government held a summit July 9 to prepare for the start of the flu season in the northern hemisphere.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said government agencies at every level are preparing a defense against the H1N1 flu as well as the seasonal flu. "We do not know exactly how the virus will present during the fall flu season, but our surveillance efforts have led scientists to believe the impact of the virus could worsen this fall or earlier," she noted.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Swine flu is here and we need to be ready
Emerging information about the swine flu -- officially the H1N1 flu virus -- may cause alarm for some.
Any amount of alarm, fear or panic about swine flu is the wrong response.
As with anything else, knowledge and preparation is what is required to respond to a potential crisis, whether it's the flu or an earthquake.
Health authorities are now warning anyone whose mild flu symptoms begin to turn serious to get immediate medical attention.
While serious can mean a lot of things, perhaps Dr. Lorna Medd, medical officer of health, said it best.
"You know when you are sick as hell."
But recent developments indicate that this swine flu can cause rapid lung deterioration in otherwise healthy people. Researchers don't know why someone who comes down with H1N1 may decline so quickly while others don't.
For those wondering when the serious phase kicks in, requiring immediate medical attention, they may want to remember an old advertisement for the Canadian Lung Association, with the tagline: "If you can't breathe nothing else matters."
Flu usually does not degenerate past the usual symptoms of aches, coughs and perhaps mild fever. Not being able to breathe well, or having a fever over 38 C, are not usual symptoms of flu.
The current concern of public health experts is that it is impossible to determine who will come down with such symptoms.
Though underlying illnesses and pregnancy are know to increase the risk of a serious case of swine flu, that's about it.
We are neither in a crisis, nor in need of any sort of emergency response. We need only be aware that swine flu is here.
In the mid-Island area there are about 30 H1N1 cases, much higher than usual for this time of year. One woman in Nanaimo was admitted to hospital after her symptoms developed into respiratory distress.
Researchers are also finding new aspects to this virus not seen in other viruses. It can move to other parts of the body, causing vomiting and diarrhea in 40% of cases.
This may be a new and different strain of flu virus, and it is for exactly that reason that communities need a measured and rational response. The flu may or may not spread widely, and if it does the vast majority of people will likely suffer no serious symptoms.
While the Vancouver Island Health Authority is preparing its response to swine flu, individuals should also be preparing their own responses. The first is handwashing, the best defence against any virus. Cover coughs and sneezes and practise good overall hygiene.
Those with the illness should stay at home until they start their recovery. Though most people will suffer just the usual symptoms, we also want to minimize its spread to those in high-risk categories and to keep as low as possible the number of people who will develop the more serious symptoms.
While there are the paranoid who will be convinced that swine flu is the next plague, there will also be those who will think that if they just ignore it, it will go away. Both outlooks fail to take account of the current reality. And the history of human illness is filled with stories of how panic or ignorance only spread a virus.
Between fear and complacency is a common-sense approach. Whether it's the flu itself, or our approach to it, extreme measures are warranted only when the evidence is there.
Just as a person should seek medical intervention only when their conditions become serious, an emergency response will be warranted only when a disease has become a threat.
The likelihood of that scenario is nil, and even if it did happen, Nanaimo has an emergency plan.
Swine flu may be taking on new dimensions, but we can't let fear dominate our response to it.
What we do and don’t know about swine flu
PLANNING on throwing a swine flu party for your kids and their friends?
Don’t.
That’s the advice of medical experts on both sides of the Atlantic. They’ve sounded a public alarm recently over reports some parents have been considering the idea as a way to expose their children to the supposedly "mild" current form of the virus, so they’ll be better protected if the bug mutates into something far deadlier this fall and winter.
Upon reading these news reports, however, it’s soon clear that nobody’s actually thrown such a "party." So far, it’s just been online chatter in forums for parents about the idea, one based on actual "chicken pox parties" that took place, based on somewhat similar logic, years ago.
Ah, well. You can’t blame experts for trying to nip such foolishness in the bud.
It’s true, people who’ve caught swine flu have, in the vast majority of cases, been relatively mildly affected. But experts like Canada’s top public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, point out the virus is unpredictable; younger people in good health have become severely ill and died.
Within this tale, meanwhile, lurks the greatest, potentially deadliest unknown: Will the 2009 swine flu outbreak mimic the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic?
Nearly a century ago, as the First World War drew to a close, the Spanish influenza virus caused a round of mild cases of flu in the spring of that year. The bug returned with a vengeance that fall and the following winter, killing more than 50 million people worldwide.
Like the Spanish flu, the swine flu virus is also of the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A strain.
Canada, like many other developed countries, is getting ready, in case.
The country already has a deal with GlaxoSmithKline for its new swine flu vaccine, expected to be ready by this fall. Dr. Butler-Jones says Canadians may need three flu shots this year — the regular one, plus two swine flu shots a month apart. He’s optimistic the program will be wrapped up by Christmas.
Canada also has a significant stockpile of antiviral medications; enough, it’s said, to treat a quarter of the entire population. That’s more than sufficient, experts say, based on the assumption that only a fraction of Canadians who get swine flu would become sick enough to be hospitalized and need antiviral treatments.
Something else to ponder. Statistically, health experts say, swine flu victims in Canada seem to be younger, under age 20, and get relatively sicker than in other nations such as the U.S., Britain and Australia. The need for advanced ventilators — which enable a person severely ill with swine flu to breathe — seems greater here in Canada, as well.
Ottawa is trying to buy more ventilators. In Nova Scotia, meanwhile, health officials are reviewing current numbers of ventilators to assess need.
The World Health Organization has also warned that indigenous populations, like Australia’s Aboriginals and Canada’s native peoples, are more vulnerable to the effects of a flu pandemic due to impoverished living conditions and low quality health care.
There have been reports of native communities in northern Manitoba being hard hit by swine flu.
While this is all sobering news, it’s also important to remember that swine flu, for all the coverage it has received thus far, has to date killed just a small fraction of the number of people who die annually due to the regular seasonal flu.
According to the WHO’s website, as of Monday the official worldwide count was 94,512 cases, with just 429 deaths. Canada’s totals were 7,983 cases and 25 deaths.
In comparison, the seasonal flu kills 250,000 or more people each and every year.
The difference, of course, is that the regular flu proves most deadly for the elderly, while swine flu seems less a problem for people over age 50 than for younger, even healthy adults.
And, of course, the unknown is whether we’re only seeing a small first wave of illness now, while a tsunami is coming.
There is hopeful research, by New Zealand and Dutch teams, that suggests the new swine flu virus is perhaps less dangerous than originally thought, but the point is no one really knows for sure, yet.
The best advice remains to practise good hygiene and plan to get vaccinated.
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