Swine Flu Pandemic – WHO Preparing To Announce?
June 9, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
The World Health Organization is preparing to declare a swine flu pandemic, officials hinted Tuesday, saying that the goal now is to prevent countries and populations from panicking.
“One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to panic if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation,” Feiji Fukuda, WHO’s acting assistant director-general, said in a media call Tuesday.
“We know the virus is spreading and we are now seeing activity picking up in a number of countries. We know that we are getting closer to probably a pandemic situation,” Fukuda said.
The number of countries reporting lab confirmed cases of human swine flu stood at 73 Tuesday, with 26,563 cases, including 249 deaths.
Fukuda says WHO “has been working extremely hard in terms of preparing countries, preparing populations for what a potential move to Phase 6 would entail.” The virus continues to be sensitive to anti-viral drugs, he says. The majority of infections are occurring in younger people, under age 60, which is different than normal season flu.
WHO is concerned about the “disproportionate number” of serious cases occurring in the outbreak of HIN1 at St. Theresa Point, a remote First Nation in northern Manitoba, where hundreds of people have reported symptoms in the community of 3,200 and at least 20 have been treated in hospital.
These are observations of concern to us,” Fukuda said.
WHO Says Swine Flu Verging on Pandemic
June 2, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is “getting closer” to declaring a global outbreak of the swine flu virus as the infection appears to be taking hold outside of North America.
WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths.
The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the United States, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.
“We still are waiting for evidence of really widespread community activity in these countries, and so it’s fair to say that they are in transition and are not quite there yet, which is why we are not in phase 6 yet,” Fukuda said.
Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO’s scale, signaling a pandemic _ a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is “at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6,” Fukuda said.
WHO is now debating whether to add a second measure that indicates how dangerous the virus is _ rather than just how widespread _ after several countries raised concerns that declaring a global pandemic could cause mass confusion and panic even though it is still unclear how dangerous the virus will be.
Some nations have already imposed costly trade and travel barriers, “drastic actions” that Fukuda said WHO would seek to prevent.
Swine Flu – First U.S. Death Is Reported
April 29, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
American authorities confirmed the first death outside of Mexico from swine flu on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the disease continued to rise in Europe.
President Obama, in a morning news conference, called on local authorities to be vigilant in reporting new suspected cases, and called on schools to consider closing temporarily if a confirmed case was reported among its students.
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Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that the first American death of the disease was a 23-month-old child in Texas. He gave no other details about the child. The death was confirmed by President Obama, who said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the child’s family.
Swine Flu – World Counting Down To Pandemic Says Top Virologist
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
A Chinese virologist who helped fight SARS and bird flu warned on Monday of a possible swine flu pandemic that the most populous countries in Asia, China and India, would be ill-prepared to handle.
“We are counting down to a pandemic,” said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the civet cat.
“I think the spread of this virus in humans cannot possibly be contained within a short time … there are already cases in almost every region. The picture is changing every moment.”
Guan, who has been studying and tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus ever since it was discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997, said there would be “many problems” if swine flu reached China and India, “where populations are so dense and health infrastructure is still insufficient.”
The virus, which carries swine, avian and human DNA and the designation H1N1, has already killed up to 103 people in Mexico, infected 20 in the United States and six in Canada.
There are many questions surrounding this virus, such as why it appears milder in the United States and deadlier in Mexico.
“It may seem weaker for now in the United States, but we do not know if it will get more virulent when it goes to another place as it mutates constantly,” said Guan.
Mexico Swine Flu Death Toll Rises To 103
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The probable death toll from a swine flu epidemic in Mexico has reached 103 people, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova announced.
The minister said on national television that the number of those hospitalized due to the epidemic stood at about 400.
The previous probable death toll, announced Saturday, stood at 81 confirmed and suspected swine flu fatalities.
Meanwhile, the number of cases under observation has reached 1,614, up from 1,324, according to the minister.
Swine Flu – U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency
April 26, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The United States has activated an emergency plan to combat swine flu as the Obama administration announced measures Sunday to contain the sometimes deadly virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the strain of swine flu and is prepared to distribute a quarter of the U.S. stockpile of 50 million doses of anti-viral medications in places around the country where swine flu has been located or may be expected to spread, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a briefing at the White House.
Travel advisories have not been issued by the State Department, Napolitano said, nor is the United States going to screen passengers on flights arriving from Mexico. She said funds have been freed up in case a larger response is needed.
Hand-washing, mask-wearing and other measures will help prevent the spread, Napolitano said explaining how the public can help slow potential contaminations.
“If you are sick, stay home,” Napolitano said. “Take all of those reasonable measures that will help us mitigate and contain” the illness.
People who are ill should not go on airplanes, to school or other places, added Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the CDC.
Besser said the United States is working with the World Health Organization, Canada and Mexico as well as other organizations to reduce the spread of the virus, which appears to have originated in Mexico and has resulted in up to 81 deaths there.
UK Crew Member In Hospital After Mexico Flight
April 25, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
A British Airways cabin crew member was taken to a London hospital as a precaution after developing flu-like symptoms on a flight from Mexico City, the airline said Saturday.
It was the first such reported precautionary measure in Britain since the emergence of a new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico. It has also infected at least 11 people in the United States. The man has undergone tests, but the results are not expected back until Sunday. No other crew members or passengers on the BA242 flight into Heathrow airport were detained.
“He has flu-like symptoms and is responding well to treatment,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement.
“The patient was admitted directly to a side room and the hospital is scrupulously following infection control procedures to ensure there is no risk to any other individual in the hospital.”
Outbreak at New York City School Likely Swine Flu
April 25, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
At least eight students at a New York City high school probably have human swine influenza, but health officials said Saturday they don’t know for sure whether they have the same virus that has killed scores of people in Mexico. At least two cases of the flu have been confirmed in Kansas.
A strain of the flu has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico. The World Health Organization chief said Saturday the strain has “pandemic potential” and it may be too late to contain a sudden outbreak.
New York health officials said more than 100 students at the private St. Francis Preparatory School, in Queens, had come down with a fever, sore throat and other aches and pains in the past few days. Some of their relatives have also been ill.
New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said nose and throat swabs had confirmed that eight students had influenza type A, indicating probable cases of swine flu, but the exact subtypes were still unknown.
Samples had been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for more testing. Results were expected on Sunday.
via Source
California Has Vigorous Swine Flu Plan – Schwarzenegger
April 25, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
California has made a “rigorous and thorough” response to a new strain of flu that has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and infected eight in the United States, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday.
California, home to six of the U.S. cases, was coordinating with federal and international health experts on its plan, which includes surveillance of patients with flu-like illness, Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
Other steps the state has taken include requesting extra flu experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and expanding lab testing and veterinary activities, he said.
California has also activated its Joint Emergency Operations Center with the Department of Public Health and been in communication with officials in Mexico.
The governor advised Californians to take “common-sense” steps to avoid contracting the flu, including covering the nose and mouth when sneezing, washing hands with soap and water often and avoiding close contact with others.
Four of Mexico’s suspected cases have been reported in Mexicali, which shares a border with California
via Reuters AlertNet – California has ‘rigorous’ flu plan -Schwarzenegger.
WHO Ready With Antivirals To Combat Swine Flu
April 24, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it was prepared with rapid containment measures including antivirals if needed to combat the swine flu outbreaks in Mexico and the United States.
The Geneva-based agency has been stockpiling doses of Roche Holding’s Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, a pill that can both treat flu and prevent infection.
The new virus, not previously detected in pigs or humans, has proved sensitive to the drug, the WHO said in a statement.
The WHO and its regional office in Washington, D.C., are also sending experts to Mexico to help health authorities with disease surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and clinical management of cases.
Mexican health officials have reported more than 850 cases of pneumonia in the capital, Mexico City, including 59 who died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases including 3 deaths have been detected.
They have also informed the WHO about a third suspected outbreak of swine flu in Mexicali, near the U.S. border, with four suspect cases and no deaths so far.
Swine Flu – Outbreak in Mexico, U.S. Tied To New Unique Strain
April 24, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Swine flu updates and latest news stories can be found here. Swine flu news updates
MSNBC Reports Outbreak in Mexico, U.S. Tied To New Swine Flu The unique strain of swine flu found in seven people in California and Texas has been connected to the deadly flu that has broken out in Mexico, killing as many as 60 people, NBC News has confirmed.
The strain has never been seen before and is raising fears of a possible pandemic across North America.
The World Health Organization said it was concerned at what it called hundreds of “influenza-like” cases in Mexico, and also about the confirmed outbreak of the new strain of swine flu in the United States.
Mexico canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding area on Friday after authorities noticed a higher number of flu-like deaths than normal in recent weeks.
An urgent probe into an unusual flu outbreak that’s infected seven people in the U.S. was widened after Mexico sought assistance to investigate more than 130 cases of severe respiratory disease that may be related.
Authorities in Mexico asked the Public Health Agency of Canada to help identify the cause of the lung illness linked to 20 deaths, including two in the state of Baja California Norte, which borders California. The Mexican cases include five health- care workers, the Ottawa-based agency said in an e-mail today.
UPDATE: Mexico shuts schools over deadly influenza epidemic
Mexico authorities have closed all schools in the capital and central Mexico as the WHO announced hundreds of human cases of swine flu in the country, including 57 suspected deaths.
The outbreak has killed at least 20 people in the past month, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said in announcing the school closures.
“This afternoon the epidemic was confirmed by Canadian and US labs to be a new influenza virus,” Mr Cordova said in a televised statement in which he urged people to avoid large crowds, shaking hands, kissing people as a greeting, or using the subway.
The Government has gathered 600,000 vacines to help protect health care workers dealing with the outbreaks, the health minister said.
The World Health Organisation said there are 800 suspected swine flu cases in Mexico and seven cases reported in the southwestern United States.
It was not immediately clear whether Mexican authorities had identified the outbreak as that of swine flu, as labeled by the WHO.
Tests in Mexico found patients were infected with H1N1 and type-B influenza strains and the parainfluenza virus, the agency said. In the U.S., doctors discovered a new strain of H1N1 swine influenza in patients in San Diego County and Imperial County, California, and in San Antonio, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said today.
“It will be critical to determine whether or not the strains of H1N1 isolated from patients in Mexico are also swine flu,” Donald Low, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, told the Canadian Press.
Canada’s National Microbiology Lab received 51 specimens from Mexico yesterday and will be testing them for a range of pathogens, the public health agency said.
Thirteen fatal cases of severe respiratory illness were reported in Mexico City, four in San Luis Potosi, a city north of the capital, and another in Oaxaca city in the south. Most cases occurred in southern and central Mexico in previously healthy adults aged 25 to 44 years old.
Canada Issues Travel Advisory
Canadians who have recently returned from Mexico should be on alert for flu-like symptoms that could be connected to a severe respiratory illness, federal health officials said Thursday in issuing a travel advisory.
A severe respiratory illness appears to have infected 137 people in south and central areas of Mexico, with cases concentrated in Mexico City and three other areas, including 20 deaths, the Public Health Agency of Canada said.
In the United States, health officials in Texas and California were scrambling this week to deal with a new strain of swine flu, which has been diagnosed in seven people.
The states share a border with Mexico not far from a town where two deaths were reported.
The U.S. cases are unusual, because it appears none of the patients had contact with pigs, and the virus is one that health officials have never seen before.
