NC Reports Tamiflu Resistant Cases of Swine Flu

Not a good sign in the fight against Swine Flu. Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that’s resistant to the drug Tamiflu. It’s the first cluster of that many cases seen in the U.S.

Health officials said Friday the four cases were reported at Duke University Medical Center in Durham over the past six weeks.

Tamiflu is one of two medicines that help against swine flu. Health officials have been closely watching for signs that the virus is mutating, making the drugs ineffective.

About 52 resistant cases have been reported in the world since April, including 15 in the U.S. so far. Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say almost all the U.S. cases have been isolated.

via IndyStar.com | AP National | The Indianapolis Star.

Poll – Flu Pandemic Preparedness or Survive A Hotel Terror Attack

Currently we’re working on a couple of featured articles, with a plan to post one of them early next week. The flu pandemic preparedness article is fairly lengthy and will actually be a 3-5 part series. The guide for surviving a hotel terror attack is much shorter; however we’ve had a number of requests for it in light of the Mumbai terror attacks and the Homeland Security bulletin/memo issued earlier this week.

So, we’ll put it to a vote. This poll will be up until Saturdayand we look forward to your responses.

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Swine Flu Spreads Long After Fever Stops

When the coughing stops is probably a better sign of when a swine flu patient is no longer contagious, experts said after seeing new research that suggests the virus can still spread many days after a fever goes away.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been telling people to stay home from work and school and avoid contact with others until a day after their fever breaks. The new research suggests they may need to be careful for longer _ especially at home where the risk of spreading the germ is highest.

Swine flu also appears to be contagious longer than ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said.

“This study shows you’re not contagious for a day or two. You’re probably contagious for about a week,” said Gaston De Serres, a scientist at the Institute of Public Health in Quebec.

He presented one of the studies Monday at an American Society for Microbiology conference. It is the first big meeting of infectious disease experts since last spring’s emergence of swine flu, which now accounts for nearly all of the flu cases in the United States. More than 1 million Americans have been infected and nearly 600 have died from it, the CDC estimates.

via Studies: Swine Flu Spreads Long After Fever Stops.

Swine Flu Shots to Start in Three Weeks as U.S. Cases Spread

Swine flu vaccinations may begin in three weeks, earlier than previously anticipated, after the first U.S. tests found a single shot to be effective in eight to 10 days, U.S. health officials said.

The first shots may be available by the end of this month and administered to patients the first week of October, said Nancy Cox, director of the flu division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Health officials had previously planned for vaccinations to begin in mid-October, requiring two shots administered three weeks apart.

Swine flu outbreaks have rippled across U.S. schools and universities after pupils returned to classes in the past few weeks. Washington State University reported more than 2,500 cases, and the CDC last week reported a nationwide spike of influenza cases months earlier than the past three flu seasons. The test results are boosting hopes the vaccine may be available in time to curb the first pandemic in 41 years, Cox said.

“We were anticipating that it would begin mid-October,” Cox told reporters today at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco. “This was a conservative estimate but it was a necessary conservative estimate. We now feel that we will have vaccine for more people earlier and this is extremely good news.”

Source – Read Full Article

U.S. Looks For Volunteers For Swine Flu Vaccine Test

The U.S. Government is looking for volunteers in 8 states who are willing to be among the first to receive a swine flu vaccination.

Scientists will first will begin testing different doses of the swine flu vaccine in healthy adults. If there are no immediate safety concerns, testing will quickly begin in babies and children.

The studies take place at  medical centers in cities around the country including Baltimore; Iowa City, Iowa; St. Louis; Nashville; Seattle; Atlanta; Cincinnati and Houston.