Most Recent Flu in the News - 2011:
Increasing immunity: The Vitamin C controversy
Right now, your immune system is hard at work trying to protect you from diseases and infections. At the same time, doctors are hard at work trying to figure out how to increase your immune system's fighting power. But is there anything you can do to boost it yourself?
You feel it coming on, a symphony of sneezes and sniffles. Don't think your safe during the hot season, according to Cardiff University in Great Britain, summer colds can be just as nasty as winter ones. A 2011 report says they're worse because they can last longer and have a better chance of coming back.
Right now researchers are busy investigating ways to increase our immune systems to better ward off viruses and diseases. Dr. Jeffrey Actor is studying the immune-boosting molecule that's naturally produced in our bodies.
"Lactoferrin has the ability to balance the immune system in a way that protects you," says Jeffrey K. Actor, Ph.D, from UTHealth Science Center in Houston.
His plan is to one day add it to tuberculosis and flu vaccines to increase the body's natural response to the infections, and give it to people in pill form before they go in for surgeries. It could protect them from hospital-acquired infections.
"You've allowed them to become more protective almost ahead of time," he says.
Actor says that will take years. So what can you do right now to give your body a fighting chance? We've all heard vitamin c can help with colds but there are some controversies.
Dr. Amitava Dasgupta believes it works. He drinks orange juice when he feels a cold coming on, but a comprehensive analysis of 29 vitamin C studies shows it won't protect most people from catching the common cold. The study does show doses of 200 milligrams or more can slightly reduce how long your cold lasts.
"The studies are mixed," explains Amitava Dasgupta, Ph.D, a professor of pathology & laboratory medicine at UTHealth Science Center in Houston.
Dasgupta takes 500 milligram capsules of vitamin C two days during a cold but no more than that.
"It can crystalize in your kidney causing very painful stones," says Dasgupta.
If you don't like orange juice, a little booze might help.
"Just one glass of red wine a day can give you protection against the common cold," adds Dasgupta.
Research shows polyphenols and resveratrol in red wine stop cold and flu viruses from multiplying in your body. As for food, garlic, oats, barley and mushrooms can help keep your immune system healthy. Also, just relax! Stress raises cortisol levels and makes you more prone to illness.
"Whatever you can do to lower your stress is very helpful," says Dasgupta.
Laughter really could be the best medicine. Research shows it increases the production of anti-bodies and activates protective cells. So drink up, eat up, chill out and laugh it up! They could be the best things to protect you from the common cold.
The Federal Trade Commission doesn't take any company's exaggerated health claims lightly. In 2010, yogurt maker Dannon claimed some of its products could help people ward off colds and the flu. It settled out of court for those unproven ads, paying $21 million to 39 states involved in the federal lawsuit.
Copyright 2012 by Ivanhoe Broadcast News and News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Baby monkeys given standard doses vaccines develop autism symptoms
(NaturalNews) If vaccines play absolutely no role in the development of childhood autism, a claim made by many medical authorities today, then why are some of the most popular vaccines commonly administered to children demonstrably causing autism in animal primates? This is the question many people are now asking after a recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh (UP) in Pennsylvania revealed that many of the infant monkeys given standard doses of childhood vaccines as part of the new research developed autism symptoms.
For their analysis, Laura Hewitson and her colleagues at UP conducted the type of proper safety research on typical childhood vaccination schedules that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should have conducted -- but never has -- for such regimens. And what this brave team discovered was groundbreaking, as it completely deconstructs the mainstream myth that vaccines are safe and pose no risk of autism.
Presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in London, England, the findings revealed that young macaque monkeys given the typical CDC-recommended vaccination schedule from the 1990s, and in appropriate doses for the monkeys' sizes and ages, tended to develop autism symptoms. Their unvaccinated counterparts, on the other hand, developed no such symptoms, which points to a strong connection between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders.
Included in the mix were several vaccines containing the toxic additive Thimerosal, a mercury-based compound that has been phased out of some vaccines, but is still present in batch-size influenza vaccines and a few others. Also administered was the controversial measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which has been linked time and time again to causing autism and various other serious, and often irreversible, health problems in children (http://www.greenhealthwatch.com)
"This research underscores the critical need for more investigation into immunizations, mercury, and the alterations seen in autistic children," said Lyn Redwood, director of SafeMinds, a public safety group working to expose the truth about vaccines and autism. "SafeMinds calls for large scale, unbiased studies that look at autism medical conditions and the effects of vaccines given as a regimen."
Vaccine oversight needs to be taken from CDC and given to independent agency, says vaccine safety advocate
Adding to the sentiment, Theresa Wrangham, president of SafeMinds called out the CDC for failing to require proper safety studies of its recommended vaccination schedules. Unlike all other drugs, which must at least undergo a basic round of safety testing prior to approval and recommendation, vaccinations and vaccine schedules in particular do not have to be proven safe or effective before hitting the market.
"The full implications of this primate study await publication of the research in a scientific journal," said Wrangham. "But we can say that it demonstrates how the CDC evaded their responsibility to investigate vaccine safety questions. Vaccine safety oversight should be removed from the CDC and given to an independent agency."
Toddler is Indonesia's seventh bird flu fatality this year
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A 2-year-old boy has died of bird flu in western Indonesia, becoming the country's seventh fatality from the disease this year.
The Health Ministry says the boy died last week in Riau province.
The ministry said Wednesday that the boy may have had contact with quails' eggs sold by his father.
Bird flu, which began ravaging poultry in 2003 and has killed more than 350 people worldwide, is still present in some areas of Asia and the Middle East.
Indonesia has been the hardest-hit country, accounting for 157 of the deaths.
Are USDA assurances on mad cow case 'gross oversimplification'?
The mad cow discovered in California last week was not really a mad cow. It suffered from a closely related disease. There is no cause for alarm at this point, but several top scientists say the public health implications may not be as clear the U.S. Department of Agriculture would have us believe.
The diseased dairy cow from a rendering (or carcass recycling) plant in Hanford, Calif., near Fresno, was infected with a condition variously known as BASE (bovine amyloidotic spongiform encephalopathy), atypical BSE and L-type BSE, which has so far been found in about 70 animals in the world. Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman for USDA, confirmed the diagnosis in an email Tuesday.
This condition, first reported in two Italian cows in 2004, causes the same rapid crippling and death as the classic bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that swept through Britain and much of Europe in the 1980s and '90s. But the brains of the animals look very different after their demise.
Some experiments have shown that this rare disease can jump from species to species, infecting lab mice and even non-human primates. The research also suggests that the infectious agent for the rare disease could be more virulent than BSE, more likely to appear in meat (classical BSE is mostly in brain and nervous tissue) and might be carried in milk. Many scientists are quick to point out that all this research consists of studies too small to be conclusive.
The U.S. government has confirmed the first case of mad cow disease in six years, but the government is stressing there is no threat to human health. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
However, there is an urgent need for further study, they say.
What irks many scientists is the USDA’s April 25 statement that the rare disease is “not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.”
The USDA’s conclusion is a “gross oversimplification,” said Dr. Paul Brown, one of the world’s experts on this type of disease who retired recently from the National Institutes of Health. "(The agency) has no foundation on which to base that statement.”
“We can’t say it’s not feed related,” agreed Dr. Linda Detwiler, an official with the USDA during the Clinton Administration now at Mississippi State.
In the May 1 email to me, USDA’s Cole backed off a bit. “No one knows the origins of atypical cases of BSE,” she said
The argument about feed is critical because if feed is the cause, not a spontaneous mutation, the California cow could be part of a larger outbreak.
The British and European outbreaks of BSE ignited because the industry turned cattle -- natural vegetarians -- into cannibals, feeding them the remains of cattle and other animals. U.S. farmers did the same, but Britain had a huge incidence of a related disease in sheep called scrapie, and many scientists believe that was the source of the massive cattle outbreak. Although experiments showed that BSE could infect monkeys and other animals, it was not until the first human infections that anyone realized the threat it poses to people. The human form of the disease, first discovered in Britain in the 1980s, has been blamed for the deaths of at least 280 people worldwide, with 175 in the UK alone.
How could the California cow have been infected with feed? Following the British outbreak, ranchers in the U.S. and most of the rest of the world stopped feeding cattle the remains of cattle, sheep and other mammals. But a farmer’s feed still could get contaminated by other means. The USDA still allows chickens to consume the remains of cattle. Chicken litter, containing urine and feces, is fed to cows. That could theoretically transmit the infection to cattle.
And if it is feed, what does that say about the potential of an outbreak in the rest of this cow’s heard? It appears the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture are investigating. Dr. Jim Cullor, associate dean of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine and an expert on many animal illnesses, spoke to me from his office, which is close to the dairy farm that housed the sick cow. He would not identify the farm (nor will any government agency) but he did say dairy farms in the area usually have about 3,000 animals (about half of them milk producers). But some farms in the area have as many as 10,000 head, Cullor explains. Typically, the inspectors would visit the farm’s “hospital,” where sick animals are treated. They would also go over the hospital’s records as well as the farmer’s feed and records of past feed purchases.
“That farmer will feel like he’s had a visit from the IRS,” Cullor quipped.
But does such an inspection guarantee safety? Dr. Michael Hansen of the Consumers Union, along with many scientists, argues that, like Europe, the U.S. should test all animals that look sick or are over 6-years-old before they enter the food supply. The rationale behind testing healthy animals 6 years old or older is that BSE usually takes that long to develop.
"With thorough testing we would know the food supply is safe,” Hansen said. “We wouldn’t be guessing.”
We would also learn the true incidence and origin of spontaneous and atypical cases.
But the U.S. tests far fewer animals -- about 40,000 of the 35 million cattle slaughtered annually. The argument is about cost, an estimated $25 to $30 per animal. Widespread testing would add a few cents to the cost of a pound of beef. Britain, Europe, Japan and several other nations have decided it is worth it. The USDA says it is not and declares: “The surveillance program allows USDA to detect the disease if it exists at very low levels in the U.S. cattle population.”
Few scientists would argue that the one California cow which never was headed to the U.S. food supply represents a health hazard. But many maintain that the current surveillance is insufficient. Dr. Kurt Giles, an expert in neurogenerative diseases now at the University of California, San Francisco, was at Oxford during the British outbreak. He told me USDA’s assurances about safety today remind him of British statements during the 1980s.
“It is so reminiscent of that absolute certainty,” he said.
Robert Bazell is NBC's chief science and medical correspondent. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RobertBazellNBC
Mad Fish Disease
The new case of mad cow disease in California is bringing to light some unsavory feeding practices that the meat industry doesn’t want us to find out about. Most cows don’t just eat grass anymore; they’re fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, and manure, providing a route for mad cow disease to spread.
In Mad Cow California: Stop Weaning Calves on Cattle Blood I explored one such practice, in which dairy calves are weaned on milk “replacer” made with cow blood as a cheap source of protein (after all, their mother’s milk is reserved for grocery store shelves). We know blood can be infectious with mad cow disease—that’s why if you lived in Europe over the last few decades you may be banned from donating blood here in the U.S. for fear you may be incubating the human form of mad cow disease. Yet we continue the cannibalistic feeding practice of allowing dairy calves to suckle on cow blood products.
In Stop Feeding Cows Chicken Manure I related the meat industry’s fear that people will find out they’ve been cutting corners by feeding American cows tons of chicken feces every year. Just like school lunch officials willing to feed pink-slime-burgers to shave off 3 cents per pound, the livestock industry is willing to feed their wards crap, even when the public is placed at risk.
While cow blood can still be fed to cows, cow brains cannot be. So what happens to your average bovine brain? It gets fed to pigs, pets, poultry, and fish. What are the public health implications of feeding cow brains to fish? Find out in my NutritionFacts.org video pick:
Cannibalistic feeding practices can also increase the levels of industrial pollutants in animal products. See my 3 min. video Cannibalistic Feed Biomagnification. And for more on the risks of aquaculture, check out Farmed Fish vs. Wild-Caught (2 min.), Artificial Coloring in Fish (1 min.), and Is Distilled Fish Oil Toxin-Free? (3 min).
Lethal combo of flu, MRSA bacteria behind Marylan family deaths
Two of the three members of a Maryland family who died of flu complications last month also had been infected with the drug-resistant bacteria commonly known as MRSA, according to a report released today (April 26).
All three family members who died were infected with the influenza A virus, and two were also infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the report from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The cases serve "as a reminder that influenza can cause very severe illness and can result in death," the CDC researchers wrote.
News reports have identified the family members as Lou Ruth Blake, 81, and her children Lowell Blake, 58, and Vanessa Blake, 56, of Calvert County, Md. Three additional family members were infected with the flu and two needed to be hospitalized, but neither was infected with MRSA and both recovered, the report said.
People infected with both the flu and MRSA have a higher mortality rate than people infected with only the flu, according to the report.
Signs that a person is infected with both include a rapid worsening of symptoms, and signs of pneumonia.
Two of the three family members who died had been vaccinated against flu, according to the report. Although the influenza vaccine does not prevent all cases of flu, it remains the best method for preventing complications from influenza, the CDC said. The agency recommends that all people over 6 months of age be vaccinated against the flu. Hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes can also prevent the flu from spreading, according to the CDC.
People with severe respiratory illness should be treated with antiviral medications, the report said. In addition, when there's a high suspicion that a bacterial infection exists, treatment with antibiotics should be considered.
Mad cow case confirmed in California
The United States Department of Agriculture confirmed Tuesday that it found a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California.
The infected cow was found as part of a "targeted surveillance system," says John Clifford, the USDA's chief veterinary officer, who said at no time did it present a threat to humans.
This is the nation's fourth confirmed case since 2003 of the ailment known as mad cow disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat parts of the animal infected.
"The animal was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so it at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health. Additionally, milk does not transmit BSE," Clifford said. The cow was found at a "rendering plant," which takes sickly or sub-standard animal meat and recycles it into inedible products.
The animal tested positive for atypical BSE, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.
The USDA in collaborating with international animal labs and U.S. public health officials to determine the origins of the case.
It does not expect the finding to affect U.S. trade in beef.
Worldwide cases of BSE peaked in 1992 with 37,311 confirmed cases. In 2011, there were 29 cases. This is attributable primarily to the use of feed bans, according to the USDA.\
Vietnam pleads for help as mystery disease kills 19, sickens 171
HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam has asked the World Health Organization to help investigate a mystery disease that has killed 19 people and sickened 171 others in central Vietnam.
Le Han Phong, chairman of the People's Committee in Ba To district in Quang Ngai province, says patients first experience a rash on their hands and feet along with high fever, loss of appetite and eventually organ failure.
He says nearly 100 people remain hospitalized, including 10 in critical condition. Patients with milder symptoms are being treated at home.
Phong says the first case was detected last year and that the disease had died down until a spate of new infections were recently reported, mostly in one impoverished village.
A Ministry of Health investigation was inconclusive.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Report links vaccine to narcolepsy
An official report has concluded that an increase in the sleep disorder narcolepsy among young people since 2009 is associated with the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix.
The report, commissioned by the Department of Health, found there was 13-fold higher risk of narcolepsy among children and adolescents who received the vaccine compared with unvaccinated young people.
The results are very similar to those seen in similar studies in Sweden and Finland.
Around 27 young people who received the vaccine in Ireland have received a diagnosis of narcolepsy. However, health authorities are aware of other potential cases which have yet to be confirmed.
Narcolepsy is a disorder typically characterised by excessive sleepiness, sudden loss of muscle tone and hallucinations.
The Department's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said health authorities were responding to the needs of children and their families.
He said the Minister for Health will be bringing proposals to Cabinet shortly to comprehensively meet the needs of young people affected.
The report notes that it is unlikely that the vaccine alone would be sufficient to explain narcolepsy among young people.
International experts agree that a number of factors are likely to have contributed to the increased risk of narcolepsy.
Among the possible factors are a genetic pre-disposition which is more common in northern Europe.
Dr Holohan emphasised that vaccination was very safe. "It is important that the current vaccination programmes continue to protect children and adults against the serious consequences caused by these preventable diseases," he said.
China reports bird flu outbreak
BEIJING: Agricultural authorities in northwest China have culled about 95,000 chickens after an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus, state press reported Wednesday.
The outbreak in Touying township of the Ningxia region was discovered on Friday last week after over 23,000 chickens began showing symptoms, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.
The ministry said the "epidemic is now under control", the report said, while work teams have been sent to the area to step up prevention measures.
China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world's biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.
In January, a man in southwest China's Guizhou province died after contracting the bird flu virus, the second such fatality reported in China this year, health authorities said.
Fight flu at work the old-fashioned way this winter
With the scientific community still undecided on the effectiveness of flu vaccines, Dr. Lerato Motshudi of Alexander Forbes Health says there are other, proven, ways to reduce the transmission of influenza in the workplace this winter.
There is equally as much evidence supporting the efficacy of flu vaccines in reducing the incidence and complications of influenza as there is evidence suggesting that vaccines make little to no difference to the spread of infection and flu complications in healthy people.
As such, "getting back to the basics of good hygiene in the workplace offers a cheaper and more effective way of reducing staff absenteeism this winter" says Dr. Motshudi.
Flu vaccines do not immunise work forces against flu. Instead, theoretically, they boost immunities, making individuals more resistant to the acquisition of specific flu viruses and, hence, "reduce the rate and severity of infection - in theory saving companies millions in lost person hours" explains Dr. Motshudi. The truth of the matter is, however, a little more varied.
Certainly, there are individuals for whom these vaccinations may work and equally, there are those who will not be impacted at all. The intention with vaccination is to advantage the healthy individuals who are looking to remain healthy during peak flu season. This result, however, has not been conclusively demonstrated.
Instead, Dr. Motshudi and her team argue that as an alternative to spending, say, R110 000 vaccinating 2000 employees, "companies can put a few basic hygiene practices in place that are proven to reduce the transmission of bacteria and viruses, lessening the burden of infections and minimising absenteeism in the work place."
These practices include:
" Promoting the washing of hands with soap and water - before eating, after using the bathroom or after touching your nose and mouth. "The flu virus is airborne and enters people's systems through their mouth and nose. Reducing the ability and the amount of virus that hitch a ride to your mouth or nose on your hands will reduce infection rates" explains Dr. Motshudi.
" Maintaining normal person spaces. When engaging with the people, keeping a normal person space in between allows for general infectious agents that may be present to be well diluted by sufficient air, decreasing the number of viruses that eventually get through.
" Ensuring good ventilation of work places. "Open windows or good ventilation systems in cases where windows do not open all have a measurable impact on reducing airborne hazardous substances" says Dr. Motshudi.
" Encouraging healthy eating. "Consuming vitamins C and E (fresh fruit and most vegetables) in winter is proven to boost immunity and reduce the severity of infections" says Dr. Motshudi.
" Having a brisk walk outside at lunch or other regular exercise. "Effective regular exercise sessions that double your heart rate have a documented benefit on the immune system" says Dr. Motshudi.
Dr. Motshudi adds that amongst designated groups, like the aged, those living in hostels or any groups of individuals with compromised immune systems (diabetics, cancer patients, the highly stressed, HIV infected, etc.), flu vaccines have shown to be up to 90% effective in reducing transmission of infection as well as complications. As such, flu vaccines should most definitely be encouraged amongst these populations.
In normal healthy populations, however, there is no conclusive evidence that flu vaccines make much difference.
Instead, promoting the basics of good hygiene in the workplace offers "a cost-effective and scientifically proven method to improving organisational health and reducing financial loss through absenteeism this winter" adds Dr. Motshudi.
Chicken flesh contaminated with E. coli bacteria
Whew. Am I glad I eat faux chicken instead of chicken flesh. Scientists recently tested 120 raw chicken products purchased in 10 major cities and found that nearly half of them were contaminated with E. coli bacteria -- in other words, fecal matter. Yuck!
According to Michael Greger, M.D., the author of Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, chicken "juice" is essentially raw fecal soup. Chicken carcasses are so contaminated that University of Arizona researchers found more fecal bacteria in the kitchen than they found when swabbing a toilet. Greger even thinks it might be "safer" to lick the rim of the toilet seat than the kitchen countertop in a meat-eater's house, because people don't prepare chickens in their toilets.
I don't advise licking either, but I do recommend the great-tasting soy-based chicken from Gardein, Boca, and other vegan-friendly companies. Unlike chicken flesh, which can also contain listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, and even arsenic, faux chicken is cholesterol-free and generally low in saturated fat and calories. See PETA.org for more information and product suggestions -- unless, of course, a poop-covered bird sounds appetizing to you.
Tamiflu Made My Kid Hallucinate
I think the flu is preferable to delirium. My 9-year-old son took Tamiflu and became a child possessed. I'd never heard about this potential side effect, which appears to be most common in kids.
It’s flu season, so like the responsible mother I am, months ago I had dutifully researched the dates and times of flu vaccine availability at clinics. All five of us showed up at the pediatrician’s office one Saturday morning for the express purpose of having some live influenza vaccine — a.k.a. FluMist — spritzed up our noses.
Then, one morning earlier this month, my 9-year-old son awoke, cheeks flushed, head throbbing, body aching. A trip to the doc confirmed he had a strain of influenza that the vaccine had not contained. That was the first bit of great news. The second was that he could take Tamiflu, which could alleviate his flu symptoms in time for our weekend trip to San Francisco.
Forty dollars later, I had a paper pharmacy bag of Tamiflu capsules earmarked for a feverish boy. He took the first dose around lunchtime and followed it up with dose No. 2 shortly before bed.
About three hours after falling asleep, this boy who never has nightmares awoke and began running around the house, convinced he was being chased. He was crying and clearly terrified. He tore through the living room, wailing, then ran into my bedroom and cowered under the covers. He began babbling about things that made no sense and insisted he was changing into another person. For my husband and me, it was profoundly disturbing to watch.
The episode ended as abruptly as it had begun. Our boy was back, breathing heavily and almost as weirded out as we were. Because he’d never acted like this before, my thoughts immediately turned to Tamiflu. A quick read of the package insert informed me that the flu itself may cause hallucinations. But there are also reports of people taking the drug experiencing “neuropsychiatric events,” including delirium and odd behavior leading to injury, particularly in kids in Japan. Some of the episodes, the insert noted, were fatal. Death by hallucination was not one of the side effects the pediatrician had warned us about; she’d mentioned only diarrhea and upset stomach.
Because death is a fate much worse than the discomforts of the flu, we stopped the medication. Then the journalist in me began poking around. Here’s what I learned after calling Roche, which manufactures Tamiflu:
1. As a company policy, they are “unable” to provide refunds for their medicines. With nearly any other product I can think of that delivers an unsatisfactory experience, the customer has the right of return. I smell Big Pharma at work.
2. Extensive evaluation shows no evidence of a causal link between Tamiflu and neuropsychiatric abnormalities and no mechanism has been identified by which Tamiflu could cause such events,” according to spokeswoman Tara Iannuccillo.
Tamiflu is drawing attention from more than just one wigged-out mom: this week, a study in the journal PLoS Medicine called on Roche to make public its full clinical study reports about the antiviral drug in light of a Cochrane review that found that more than 10,000 pages of regulatory evidence were not enough “to clarify major discrepancies regarding the effects and mode of action of the drug.”
I did my part to shed light on the sketchy side effect, reporting my son’s experience to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration via MedWatch, its adverse event reporting system. If you’ve ever wondered how the government knows when a drug does strange things, here’s your answer. The online form, available here, was comprehensive and easy to fill out; I followed up with a call to the FDA.
It turns out that hallucinations, odd behavior and nightmares aren’t unusual for kids taking Tamiflu. “Reports of neuropsychiatric adverse events were the category most frequently reported in pediatric patients,” wrote FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao in an email.
Maybe I’m in the dark; I hadn’t heard about that before. In the future, assuming the flu vaccine again fails to live up to its promise, I will skip Tamiflu altogether. It was really upsetting to watch my son behave as if he was possessed. If he’s going to have a mind-altering experience at age 9, I don’t want it to be pharmaceutical-related.
Bonnie Rochman is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @brochman. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.
Swine flu case worries U.S. scientists
After a lull of several months, an influenza virus that is sporadically jumping from pigs to people in the United States has made another appearance.
U.S. public health officials have reported a new human infection with the swine-origin H3N2 virus — officially called H3N2v (for variant) virus. The case is a young girl living in Utah; she is the 13th person known to have been infected with this new virus since it was first spotted last July.
Twelve of the 13 cases have been children under 18. In this case, state officials are asking that the girl's precise age not be revealed.
She was taken for medical care because of a fever in late March. When she tested positive for influenza she was given the flu drug oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, and has since recovered. Members of her family and close contacts were tested for flu, but no additional cases were found.
The girl is believed to have become infected when she visited a swine processing plant in the week before she became ill, Dr. Michael Jhung of the Centers for Disease Control said in an interview.
This is the first of these cases seen in Utah, and the farthest west this virus has been spotted. Previous human cases have been reported in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maine, Iowa and West Virginia.
About half of the cases had some exposure to pigs. But the rest did not and the CDC has acknowledged some limited person-to-person spread of the virus has likely taken place in some of these infections.
Utah is not a major pork producing state. In fact, it ranks 27th in hog production, according to the U.S. National Pork Producers Council. But the processing plant the child visited handled pigs from other states, Jhung said. He declined to specify which ones.
The new H3N2v case is the first spotted since November.
Flu experts are keeping a close eye on this virus, which contains a gene from the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus; that gene, the M gene, is believed to enhance the ability of flu viruses to infect people.
It remains unclear what kind of a threat the swine H3N2 — a distant cousin of the human H3N2 virus — poses to people.
Emergence of 'new gene constellation' for influenza A (H3N2)
CDC reports 12 cases of human infection with influenza A (H3N2) variant viruses involving genes from avian, swine, and human viruses that had acquired the M gene from the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus.
CDC reported the emergence of a "new gene constellation" for influenza A (H3N2) and its temporal association with 12 human infections of A (H3N2)v, leading the agency to state that a better understanding is needed of the ability of these viruses to cause human infection and the degree to which current seasonal influenza vaccines might generate cross-reactive antibodies to them.
In the April 12 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), CDC reported that since August 2011, it had gained knowledge of 12 cases of human infection with influenza A (H3N2) variant viruses involving genes from avian, swine, and human viruses (i.e., A [H3N2]v) that had acquired the M gene from the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus. Of the cases, 11 were among children younger than 10 years of age and, for 6, the affected patients were not reported to have had recent exposure to swine, indicating that human transmission had occurred.
CDC analyzed presence of serum cross-reactive antibody in various age groups that were or were not vaccinated with the 2010–11 seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). According to patient age, the following results were reported by the agency:
<10 years: Little or no cross-reactive antibody to A (H3N2)v
<3 years: No effect on cross-reactive antibody levels
≥10 years: Cross-reactive antibody detected in 20% to 30%
Adults: Modest increase in level of cross-reactive A (H3N2)v antibodies
Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and microneutralization (MN) assays were performed. HI assays detect antibodies that slow the binding of virus to receptors on red blood cells, while MN assays quantify antibodies that neutralize and prevent infection, explained CDC. Serum HI titers of 40 or greater are related to lowered risk for influenza infection among adults. The 50% protective titer for the MN assay is not known; however, research regarding antibody response in patients infected with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus showed that the MN titer was generally twofold higher than the HI titer when the HI titer was 160 or lower. Following this rationale, CDC presented titer achievements of 80 or more for the MN assay.
The agency stated that no evidence of antibodies to A (H3N2)v was found among 20 children aged 6 to 35 months, either before or after receiving the 2010–11 TIV. However, 40% or 45% of children demonstrated seroconversion (i.e., increase in antibody titer of a fourfold or more) to the seasonal A (H3N2) virus contained in the vaccine according to HI and MN assays.
This was in contrast to the results for 30 patients aged 18 to 49 years, in whom somewhat higher levels of prevaccination antibody to A (H3N2)v were observed. Among this age group, 33% attained HI titers of 40 or more and 43% MN titers of 80 or more. Following immunization with TIV, the percentage of patients aged 18 to 49 years with cross-reactive HI and MN antibody to A (H3N2)v increased to 50% and 63%, respectively. Consistent with CDC expectations, following vaccination, 80% of adults in this age group achieved HI titers of 40 or higher and 70% achieved MN titers of 80 or higher to the seasonal A (H3N2) vaccine component.
Prevaccination antibody to A (H3N2)v also was seen among older adults (aged ≥65 years), with 17% of 30 patients achieving HI titers of 40 or more and 30% achieving MN titers of 80 ore more. According to either assay, this increased to 40% postvaccination. As a comparison, for the seasonal A (H3N2) vaccine component, CDC reported that 67% and 90% of patients 65 years or older exhibited postvaccination HI titers of 40 or greater or MN titers of 80 or greater, respectively.
The results for these two adult populations, said CDC, indicated that "receipt of TIV boosted the levels of antibodies to A (H3N2)v, but to a lesser extent than the antibody response to the A (H3N2) vaccine component."
The agency further reported that a vaccine virus specific for A (H3N2)v has been developed and, if needed, could be used to produce an H3N2v vaccine. CDC advised that receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine continues to be the best option for protecting against circulating human influenza viruses for all age groups and that the vaccine could provide some protection against A (H3N2)v infection in the adult population.
Serum samples from a 2010–11 TIV study and the 2007–08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used for analysis. The TIV study included samples from patients aged 6–35 months, 18–49 years, and 65 years or older, and all serum samples were collected in fall 2010 before vaccination and at 3 to 4 weeks postvaccination. CDC noted that samples from children 4 to 17 years of age came from NHANES and were part of a larger set of samples received by the agency that were labeled with age and date of sample collection only.
Posted by Joe Sheffer (jsheffer@aphanet.org)
Did the swine flu jab leave my son (15) with chronic sleep disorder?
THE mother of a Dublin teen who collapses when he laughs or cries, fears he could be suffering from a serious sleeping disorder as a result of the swine flu vaccine.
Mary Fitzpatrick says her son Conor (15) can't be left on his own since he developed the debilitating condition narcolepsy.
His school work has suffered severely as he can fall asleep in any place, at any time.
Ms Fitzpatrick spoke to the Herald days after it emerged that two countries, Finland and Norway, have linked the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix to narcolepsy but an Irish investigation into the situation remains stalled.
The Ballymun mum says she only realised that her son was suffering from the condition when she read about the possible links between the Pandemrix vaccine and narcolepsy in a Herald article.
There are now more than 30 Irish families who believe their children have suffered the serious sleeping disorder from the vaccine.
The children and young adults, aged between four and 22, now suffer from extreme drowsiness, sudden naps and terrifying paralysis attacks.
Irish health authorities have stressed that clinical research into a potential link between the vaccine and narcolepsy has not yet concluded, and the HSE is carrying out a study of all cases in Ireland.
A report on the findings is due to be published in the coming weeks.
Families are now campaigning for education and training support, as well as compensation. But it was while Conor was getting tests in hospital in 2010 that Mary saw an article in the Herald about a possible link between the Pandemrix vaccine and narcolepsy.
"I read a report in the Herald about the possible links and it was like somebody punched me in the face," Mary explained.
"Conor had been like every other child his age until he got the vaccination which initially caused him to get very ill, and then over the coming months he got tired and would fall asleep more often," said Mary.
Hallucinations
"I thought it was because he was coming into his teenage years but then around May of 2010 everything changed completely. He started to collapse when he laughed or cried or felt any strong emotion. His legs would go weak and he would lose muscle tone in his face and body overall," Mary explained.
Mary helped co-found a group called SOUND (Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder) for parents and children affected by the disorder.
"To date we have 33 families who have contacted us, but our fear is that there are other children out there who are undiagnosed and could benefit from our help," she said.
"Conor is traumatised by what has happened to him, and he knows it's for life. He does have medication now which helps, but as it wears off his symptoms start to return. He can't be on his own because of what could happen, and I won't let him go swimming unless I'm with him.
"Conor used to be a bright child but now he finds the days in school very long and his concentration is compromised." she explained.
Conor attends St Aidan's School in Whitehall, and is due to sit his Junior Cert this year. And although he can fall into a sleep state in an instant, he only sleeps for short periods.
On a good night Conor may be able to sleep for an hour or two, and he often suffers from hallucinations and sleep paralysis where he is awake but unable to move his body.
Mary believes that if the link between the vaccine and narcolepsy is confirmed, Conor and all other affected children should be compensated for the "life they could have led."
hnews@herald.ie
- Conor Feehan
AZ health officials warn public about Norovirus by Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Seven clusters of Norovirus found in assisted-living homes for seniors have authorities in southern Arizona warning the public about the sometimes fatal flu-like illness.
The Pima County Health Department is warning the public to be vigilant about washing their hands, keeping common areas disinfected and staying home if they're sick.
Extra caution should be used around the elderly and children, who are more susceptible to Norovirus.
The department is investigating seven clusters of the virus found in assisted-living facilities in the area.
They say Norovirus is not uncommon in such homes but that it's rare to see so many clusters at the same time.
The department says that Norovirus is highly contagious and can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps.
The elderly, infants and people with other medical conditions can suffer more serious symptoms, which could lead to death.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Deadly 2009 flu outbreak in Alberta under study
CALGARY — When Laura Harris visited her neighbourhood walk-in clinic in the fall of 2009, she felt the sickest she’d ever been.
She was exhausted and nauseous, and had a hacking cough. Her doctor gave her some antibiotics to help her feel better.
That afternoon, her older brother, Jonathan, visited the same clinic. But the physician said his symptoms weren’t as severe, and told him to go home to recover.
In the next few days, as Laura began to feel better, Jonathan’s symptoms got worse. Within a week, he was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
The 25-year-old Calgarian was in intensive care at the Rockyview Hospital, intubated and in a medically-induced coma, when his family learned the young man had been struck by the global influenza pandemic sweeping through Alberta: H1N1.
A week after he was admitted to hospital, Jonathan Harris died Oct. 29, 2009, suffering complications of the H1N1 virus.
Two-and-a-half years later, his family still grapples with how the healthy, happy young man, who suffered only from asthma, succumbed to the new strain of influenza.
“I just assumed he would start to feel better, not get worse. It’s not what we expected. That’s not how a cold or flu ever went before,” said his mother, Elizabeth Harris.
“It was so not in our expectations.”
During the pandemic, 72 influenza-related deaths were reported to Alberta Health and Wellness.
A recent public health report probing the province’s H1N1 deaths expanded the review to 123 potential cases after linking reported cases to Vital Statistics records.
The report, from the office of the chief medical officer of health, concluded that 64 Albertans died directly as a result of being infected with the flu, leading to a mortality rate of 1.77 deaths per 100,000.
The influenza mortality rate, though, for 2009, was just the third highest for the period between 1983 and 2010.
The analysis echoed previous studies of H1N1, in that the strain proved fatal for patients younger than those who typically succumb to influenza. The average age of Albertans who died of the disease was 53.8, roughly three decades younger than is typical during an influenza season.
The report showed that three cases of H1N1-related deaths in Alberta’s hospitals may have been missed in initial reporting — a small number that left outgoing chief medical officer of health, Dr. Andre Corriveau, pleased that the province’s surveillance system seemed to work well during the hectic period.
“It also gave us a sense of the risk factors,” said Corriveau of the report, released in January.
“People weren’t dying randomly. There were some specific risk factors that were associated with deaths, even though it occurred in a younger population,” added Corriveau, who helped steer Alberta through the pandemic.
Roughly 84 per cent of deaths directly linked to H1N1 had one or more chronic underlying health conditions, such as chronic heart or kidney disease. Many patients also suffered from epilepsy — a new risk factor not generally considered to make patients more vulnerable to influenza, noted Corriveau.
“It seems to have emerged in other places as a risk factor that nobody knew about with regards to severe influenza,” said Corriveau, noting the findings could be studied to help identify vulnerable populations for annual flu strains.
According to the study, provincial figures found people of aboriginal descent were almost twice as likely to die of H1N1-related causes than non-aboriginal Albertans.
That doesn’t mean aboriginal people were more vulnerable to the disease, Corriveau said, rather they were more likely to suffer from underlying chronic health conditions that compounded its effects.
“When we do our analysis and we separate aboriginal descent with clustering of risk factors, it’s not so much the genetics of being aboriginal, it’s about the fact that those communities often cluster with those kinds of risk factors,” said Corriveau.
“Because there’s a clustering of those other risk factors, it makes them stand out as a cultural group or as a specific group in our population.”
The public health analysis found the reported mortality rate for Alberta was the fifth highest in Canada, after Newfoundland and Labrador, and the three northern territories. The report cautioned the rate could be due to more complete reporting, differences in how cases are recorded, or greater exposure to the disease of those most vulnerable.
“For example, low socioeconomic status, Aboriginal status, crowding, or earlier entry of influenza into Alberta resulting in an opportunity for more people to be affected before a vaccine was released may have all contributed,” the report stated.
Corriveau said the province plans to use the detailed analysis to learn from past mistakes and help plan for the next pandemic.
“I think in the end we did do a good job. We minimized the number of deaths by providing antivirals broadly to the population,” Corriveau said.
The Harris family say they still mourn the loss of Jonathan, calling him a “gentleman” and a family man, eager to have children of his own.
The technical writer, who worked at Shaw, had a new girlfriend, a new apartment and a huge appetite for enjoying life, said his father, Glenn Harris.
He had asthma, and suffered from seasonal allergies, but the family can’t think of any reason why the young man would be hit so hard by influenza it would leave him vulnerable to an aggressive case of pneumonia — and eventually prove fatal.
The father said he still spends time organizing Jonathan’s computer files, photographs and music. It’s a simple task that brings him closer to his son.
“We’re not as totally focused on it everyday as we used to be, but it doesn’t take much for little things, a sight, a word, a smell, to bring back a whole lot of memories, both the good memories beforehand, and the memories of those horrible two weeks.”
jkomarnicki@calgaryherald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Spain reports nursing home flu outbreaks despite high vaccination rates
Spanish scientists, writing today in Eurosurveillance, report three H3N2 outbreaks in separate nursing homes in Navarre this year that occurred in residents who had an 82% to 97% flu vaccination rate.
Attack rates of influenza-like illness (ILI) in each home were 2.9% (15/523, all but 4 of whom had been vaccinated), 18% (4/22, all vaccinated), and 67% (44/66, all but 2 of whom were vaccinated).
Those homes had vaccination coverage rates of 82%, 91%, and 97%, respectively. Of the 63 ILI case-patients, 23 were swabbed, and, of those nasopharyngeal samples, 13 (57%) were positive for H3N2 flu.
The authors write, "The design and the size of the study were not adequate to obtain estimates of the vaccine effectiveness. However, the high attack rate in vaccinated persons and the number of vaccine failures suggest reduced vaccine protection in these nursing homes."
They underscore the importance of hygiene measures and early outbreak detection.
Apr 5 Eurosurveill report
Seventh resident dies of flu at nursing home in Broughty Ferry
A seventh person has died in an outbreak of a flu virus at a nursing home near Dundee, it has been confirmed.
NHS Tayside said 28 residents at the Orchar nursing home in Broughty Ferry were known to have been affected by the influenza A virus.
The health board had previously said that a sixth person had died on Monday
The identities of the latest two deceased have not yet been released.
NHS Tayside had previously said that a man aged 74 and four women aged 81, 88, 90 and 91 died on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 March.
Its health protection team is investigating the outbreak along with Tayside Police.
On Saturday, a police spokesman said officers were investigating the full set of circumstances surrounding the deaths.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: "A seventh person has now died with the Influenza A virus confirmed as contributing to the death.
"A total of 28 residents are now known to have been affected which includes the seven residents who have died.
"None of the residents affected is in hospital and all are being cared for at the home with intensive support from GPs and primary care."
Influenza A infection usually causes relatively mild symptoms but it can be a very serious illness among the elderly or those with chronic health problems.
Orchar nursing home, owned by London-based Carewise Homes group, has suspended admissions at present.
Its director Oshi Weissbraun released a statement: "We are very proud of Orchar nursing home and, in the two and half years we have owned it, we have continually improved it, with major investment in the refurbishment of the building and with recruitment of high-quality management and staff.
"In these very unfortunate circumstances, we offer our sincere condolences to all the bereaved families and we are deeply grateful for the wonderful support we are receiving from our residents' families."
Sixth resident dies of flu at Orchar Nursing Home in Broughty Ferry
A sixth person has died in an outbreak of a flu virus at a nursing home near Dundee, it has been confirmed.
NHS Tayside said 27 residents at the Orchar Nursing Home in Broughty Ferry were known to have been affected by the influenza A virus.
The health board had previously said that a man aged 74 and four women aged 81, 88, 90 and 91 died on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 March.
It has now been confirmed that a sixth person died overnight.
NHS Tayside's Health Protection Team is investigating the outbreak along with Tayside Police.
On Saturday, a police spokesman said officers were investigating the full set of circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The health board said: "All appropriate infection control measures have been put in place in the care home and there is no increased risk to the wider public."
The NHS Tayside statement added: "Where appropriate, residents have been offered antivirals, which can reduce the severity and infectiousness of influenza in those affected.
"Relatives who are visiting sick residents are being asked to take extra infection control precautions while at the care home.
"Influenza A infection usually causes relatively mild symptoms but it can be a very serious illness among the elderly or those with chronic health problems, therefore people should be aware of the simple measures they can take to reduce the risk of infection.
"These include always covering your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, disposing of tissues quickly and frequently washing hands with soap and water."
H5N1 influenza hemagglutinin and monocional antibodies
Avian influenza H5N1 virus is highly pathogenic partially because its H5 hemagglutinin contains a polybasic cleavage site that can be processed by proteases in multiple organs.
Methods: Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) specific to the synthetic peptide of hemagglutinin polybasic cleavage site of H5N1 virus were raised and tested for their neutralizing potential.
Results: Purified mAb showed suppression of H5N1 pseudovirus infection on Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells but the efficacy was less than 50%. Since those mAb are specific to the intact uncut polybasic cleavage site of hemagglutinin, their efficacy depends on the extent of hemagglutinin cleavage on the viral surface.
Conclusions: Proteolytic analysis suggests the low efficacy associated with those mAb may be due to proteolytic cleavage already present on the majority of hemagglutinin prior to the infection of virus.
Author: Henry J TsaiLi-Ann ChiAlice L Yu
Credits/Source: Journal of Biomedical Science 2012, 19:37
FDA admits mercury is still used in vaccines
Parents are advised to ask for an ingredient list for vaccines before vaccinating their children, as it has been revealed to be a myth that vaccines no longer contain mercury.
Ethan A. Huff has written an article in Natural News debunking the notion that vaccines are mercury free. Huff exposes the fact that "the toxic additive thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative linked to causing permanent neurological damage" is still present in many vaccines, including the influenza vaccine administered to children as young as six-months old.
According to the FDA website "Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine" due to "increasing awareness of the theoretical potential for neurotoxicity" posed by the presence of thimerosal in vaccines.
A lawsuit was recently filed against the FDA by a citizen-backed coalition advocating vaccine safety. According to Courthouse News Judge Brett Kavanaugh ruled that the FDA is not liable as thimerosal free vaccines, commanding a higher price, are available upon request. Thus Kavanaugh ruled
"parents concerned about the effects of thimerosal can obtain thimerosal-free vaccines for their school-age children"
when compulsory vaccinations are required. Although most vaccines for pregnant women and young children do not contain thimerosal the judgement went on to rule
"Thimerosal-preserved flu vaccines are necessary to ensure sufficient supply at a reasonable price."
Dr. Paul G. King produced a study entitled "Scientific Information Regarding the Use of Thimerosal As a Preservative in Vaccines" showing "Thimerosal, is metabolized (converted) into the toxic and “harmful” methylmercury. And then in turn, the harmful methylmercury is metabolized (converted) into the most harmful, long-term-toxic, “inorganic” mercury that is retained in bodily tissue."
Parents may not be aware that routine influenza vaccines contain a mercury-based preservative that has the approval of the FDA as a cheaper alternative to mercury free options which are actually available. It should be noted that the United Nations Environment Programme also released a paper concluding thimerosal did not pose a health threat when used in vaccines.
However, the use of contentious substances such as aspartame and thimerosal has vocal adherents and opponents arguing over the long-term health issues. Reports, such as the one produced by Huff, allow parents the opportunity to apprise themselves of the issues before vaccinating their children instead of relying on the FDA to opt for safety before price considerations.
Have fun in the sun, it’s good for you
You should make the most of the current blight weather as a dose of sunshine is good for you, a charity has said.
Arthritis Research UK is urging people to catch a few rays while the unusually warm temperatures last as it is a good way of boosting your vitamin D levels.
A deficiency in vitamin D levels can cause bone loss, muscle function issues and in extreme cases rickets. The charity said that just a few minutes each day basking in the glorious weather can help to fend off such problems.
Arthritis Research UK medical director, Alan Silman, explained: “Vitamin D is essential for strong, healthy bones. Our advice to people is to ‘Step outside!’ as this is the best way to get vitamin D.
“When the days are sunny, go out for a few minutes and expose your face and arms to the sunshine. Don’t allow your skin to go red, and take care not to burn, particularly in strong sunshine and if you have fair or sensitive skin. From June to August just fifteen minutes is generally enough time.”
He added that in less sunny months people can top up their vitamin D levels by eating oily fish such as tuna, salmon and sardines as well as ‘fortified’ vitamin D sources such as breakfast cereals.
It is believed that the strength of someone’s bones is often determined at birth or even in the womb, so Arthritis Research UK is currently funding a project with Southampton University to prove that pregnant women should be given vitamin D supplements.
It is hoped that this will help to increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life.
It is estimated that around three million people in the UK at present have osteoporosis and as a result some 230,000 fractures occur each year.
Human Mutation Is What Makes the Flu Deadly
If you've ever wondered why some people shrug off a flu while others die from the same virus, you're in good company—it's puzzled scientists for decades. But a new study suggests that a mutant protein found in some humans is responsible for the difference.
A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has found that a protein—snappily named IFITM3—which stops many flu viruses from invading cells is mutated in some humans. When the protein is deformed, many flu viruses spread more quickly through the body, penetrating deeper into the lungs and replicating 10 times more. Ultimately, those effects induce pneumonia, the most common cause of death in severe cases of flu.
The study, which is published in Nature, shows that patients admitted to intensive care units in the UK because of pandemic or seasonal flu were 17 times more likely than the European average to have the mutant protein.
The researchers suggest that it might be possible to create a drug that mimics the IFITM3 protein to help fight off flu viruses—but such a development is likely decades off. [Nature via New Scientist]
Pune Swine flu update: Five dead, eight new cases
Update from Monday,19th march: A 60-year-old S B Paigude was the latest victim to swine flu in Pune. He was a diabetes and hypertension patient. Paigude developed symptoms of cough and fever on March 15 and was admitted to a hospital when he developed breathlessness and Tamiflu was immediately given.
Eight new cases were detected on Monday while nine patients were successfully treated, officials said.
18th march:
Situation is now getting worse in Pune with the fourth victim (10-year-old Amrita suffering from Down’s syndrome) dying on Friday. Six more are critical and on ventilator support.
A high-level meeting was held to understand the cause and spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and methods to check its spread. It was headed by J K Banthia, additional chief secretary and attended by people from the Directorate of Health Services, Mumbai’s Haffkine Institute, Pune’s National Institute of Virology and the Directorate of Medical education and research.
The committee discussed that the patients who died with swine flu are the ones who suffered from other co-morbid conditions (because their immunity was compromised) like diabetes, hypertension, Down’s syndrome, cancer etc. They checked the virus and announced that there is no mutation seen in its structure. The weather conditions in the last two months have been erratic with the difference in day and night temperatures being quite high, something whch could have compromised the immunity of the people as well as led to faster spread of the virus, they said.
The committee also concluded that only high-risk patients coming under category A will be tested forthe H1N1 infections. The categorization is as follows:
Category C – mild symptoms like low-grade fever, cough, throat infections.
Category B – Patients with cough, running nose, headache. throat infection and fever above 38 degree centigrade. These patients are to be treated with a medicine called Tamiflu.
Category A – Patients having all Category B complaints and have breathlessness. They should be tested immediately and admitted to hospitals, especially if they already suffer from co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cancer or any chronic illnesses.
Four flu deaths reported, Black Hills least affected
Four South Dakotans have died from influenza, according to the South Dakota Department of Health.
A total of 277 cases of influenza as of March 10 have been reported in what has been a slow start to the annual flu season. There have been 89 hospitalizations, with the majority of those cases in people older than 64.
The four deaths occurred East River, in Faulk, Spink, Clark and Brookings counties. One death was a person between the age 50 and 64. The remaining three were in patients ages 64 and older.
According to data from the Department of Health, the Black Hills area has been the least affected by this year’s flu virus. In Pennington County, 13 cases have been confirmed with three hospitalizations. Meade County had one hospitalization, and Todd County had two. By contrast, Minnehaha County reports 62 cases and 23 hospitalizations.
Absenteeism in the schools due to illness remains at 3 percent.
CDC confirms flu with MRSA in Maryland cluster
Mar 19, 2012 (CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed reports from Maryland officials that a recent cluster of four severe influenza cases in the state involved a seasonal H3N2 strain, complicated in at least two cases by drug-resistant bacterial infections.
The case cluster in a rural community involved an 81-year-old woman and three of her adult children; the mother and two of her children died.
The CDC said genetic sequencing showed that the H3N2 strain in the cluster was more than 99% similar to other H3N2 isolates submitted by Maryland health officials this season.
Although full antigenic testing is pending, the viruses "are close to the H3N2 component of the 2011-2012 seasonal vaccine such that vaccination should offer protection against these viruses," the CDC said in a Mar 16 statement. Earlier, a local health official said that the elderly woman had received a seasonal flu vaccine but her children had not, according to previous reports.
The CDC also confirmed the state's earlier report that at least two of the cases involved co-infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Testing of the MRSA isolates is continuing, "but preliminary results indicate that some of the MRSA isolates from Maryland are pulsed-field types USA300," the CDC said. "Strains from the USA300 MRSA pulsed-field type can cause community MRSA infections including outbreaks of skin infections."
Staph co-infection with flu "is a potentially catastrophic complication of influenza that can progress rapidly to serious illness and death," the CDC noted.
USA300 is the most common type of community-associated MRSA in the United States, according to a March 2009 article in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC's weekly bulletin. The strain has been associated with fatal illnesses such as necrotizing pneumonia and severe sepsis.
USA300 and similar strains produce toxins that lead to intense inflammation, according to a January 2010 perspective article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The strain also produces other kinds of toxins, including a variant of the one that causes toxic shock syndrome (toxic shock syndrome 1), the article says.
CDC: Flu widespread in 15 states
ATLANTA, (UPI) -- U.S. influenza activity remained elevated in some areas but the rate of influenza-like illness remains relatively low nationally, federal health officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said of the 4,742 specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System collaborating laboratories, 23.2 percent were positive for influenza for the week ending March 10.
The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was below the epidemic threshold and no influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness was 2.2 percent, which is below the national baseline of 2.4 percent.
However, 15 states reported widespread geographic activity -- California, Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
Twenty-two states reported regional influenza activity; three states reported local activity; the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 10 states reported sporadic activity, and Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported no influenza activity, the CDC said.
The timing of influenza activity and the predominant virus can vary by region and even between states within the same region.
Nationally, seasonal influenza A (H3) viruses have predominated since the start of the 2011-2012 season and remain overwhelmingly predominant in Region 5 -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin -- and Region 7, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
Although seasonal influenza A (H3) viruses remain predominant in the majority of regions, the overall proportion of 2009 H1N1 viruses is increasing nationally and in several regions, the CDC added.
OSHA Explains Its Opposition To Mandatory Flu Vaccinations
It may seem ironic, but OSHA is not on board when it comes to mandatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers. A position statement on the issue notes that the agency is “strongly supportive of efforts to increase influenza vaccination rates among healthcare workers in accordance with the Healthy People 2020 goals.”
However, OSHA does not see sufficient scientific evidence for the federal government to promote mandatory flu vaccine programs that lack an option to decline based on medical, religious, or other reasons.
What’s more, OSHA says, “The current influenza vaccine is no magic bullet.” Vaccine technology requires annual reformulation, which, according to OSHA, means that its effectiveness is variable. Every year there are strains of the flu that are not included in the vaccine.
OSHA also notes that reliance on a mandatory flu vaccine could provide healthcare personnel with “an unwarranted sense of security and result in poor adherence to other infection control practices…” That includes practices to guard against other infections, not just the flu.
Cats Killed by H5N1-Infected Turkey Consumption
ISRAEL - The Israeli veterinary authorities have reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Hadarom.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) received an immediate notification yesterday, wherein it was reported that H5N1 was diagnosed in turkeys on 8 March 2012.
On 9 March 2012, just before the culling of the birds, cats were seen eating carcasses. On 14 March 2012, four cats were found dead around the affected pen and some showed clinical signs such as respiratory signs and weakness. On 15 March 2012, the authorities succeeded to catch 16 cats roaming around the infected pen and euthanized them.
Out of 50 susceptible cats, eight cases were reported, out of which four deaths occurred. 16 were destroyed.
Clinical signs appeared on the cats about one week later.
Three stray cats die of avian flu in Eilat
Three stray cats found by the Veterinary Service and Health Ministry inspectors at Shalva and Holit in southwest Israel were confirmed as having died from eating poultry infected with avian flu.
The carcasses were sent for examination, and the diagnosis was confirmed. As a result, the health authorities on Thursday said it expects to catch 30 more stray cats in the area near Eilat.
The public was asked to avoid contract with stay cats in the area and to report to the local veterinary services any sick-looking cats just in case, even though the disease is not known to affect humans.
Three die from MRSA and influenza infections in Maryland
According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, five members of a Lusby, Maryland, family came down with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia along with influenza and three died from the infection.
Ruth Blake and her adult children, Lowell and Vanessa, contracted H3N2 at the same time that they had MRSA pneumonia. Blake was 81-years-old while Lowell was 58-years-old and Vanessa was 56-years-old. An additional child of Blake’s and her sister were hospitalized as a result of the combined infection, the Washington Post reports.
Blake was vaccinated against the flu this season but her children were not. It is assumed that the MRSA and flu both spread from the mother to her children. Health officials in Calvert said that the cases were isolated to a single family. David Rogers, the county’s health officer, said that it is suspected that Blake had the flu and suffered a major lung infection that turned into pneumonia.
“In older people, that can often be fatal,” Rogers said, according to the Washington Post.
Ruth Blake’s coughing is believed to have spread the virus and bacteria into the air, causing her caregivers to become infected.
MRSA pneumonia is a fast-acting lethal infection that kills lung tissue. The first cases of MRSA post-flu pneumonia occurred in Baltimore during the flu season of 2003-2004. According to a 2010 Johns Hopkins University report, in 2007 there were 457 deaths from the flu in the United States compared with 52,847 deaths as a result of post-flu pneumonia, Wired reports.
Aged garlic may ease cold symptoms
Cold and flu symptoms have a significant impact on our economy. Americans spend close to $3 billion dollars a year on over-the-counter cold medications, and roughly $400 million on prescription meds. On top of that, lost revenues from work absence are estimated at about $20 billion.
Finding ways to prevent colds and flu, or to at least minimize their symptoms or duration, can save both time and money.
Several botanical supplements are commonly used to prevent and treat colds. One of them is garlic, which contains multiple phytochemicals that stimulate the immune system to help fight off unwanted viruses and other germs.
A new study from the University of Florida published in the journal Clinical Nutrition suggests that aged garlic tablets can help to reduce the length and severity of the common cold.
In this study, 120 people were randomized to receive either a placebo pill or 2.6 grams per day of an aged garlic extract for 90 days. All participants kept diaries of any cold symptoms.
After 45 days, blood tests were done to measure immune system function. The folks taking the garlic were found to have more robust growth of two types of immune cells that are key players in the body's defense against germs and tumors - natural killer cells and gamma-delta T lymphocytes.
After 90 days of taking the supplements, the illness diaries of the participants showed that while there was no significant difference in the incidence of colds and flu between the people taking the garlic and those taking the placebo pill, the folks taking the garlic supplement reported 21 percent fewer cold symptoms, 61 percent fewer days in which their overall function was sub-optimal, and 58 percent fewer days of work or school missed because of illness.
The aged garlic extract used in this study is called Kyolic and comes from the Wakunaga company, which funded the study along with the University of Florida.
Another randomized study looking at garlic supplements in cold prevention showed a significant reduction in the number of occurrences of the common cold.
In this trial, 146 volunteers were randomized to receive either a garlic supplement or a placebo for 12 weeks. There were 24 incidences of the common cold in the group receiving the garlic compared to 65 in the placebo group.
In addition, the folks getting the garlic reported only 111 days of illness, compared to 366 days of illness in the placebo group.
Of course, in your effort to reduce the number of colds you get every year, don't forget to get plenty of sleep, keep up your healthy diet, exercise daily, and take your vitamin D.
And rinsing your nasal passages and gargling with some warm salt water every day can help wash away viruses or bacteria before they have a chance to penetrate into the body and cause mischief in the first place.
(c)2012 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) Distributed by MCT Information Services
Bird Flu Outbreaks in Israel Kill 10,500 Turkeys, Officials Say
Bird flu killed about 10,500 turkeys on two farms in western Israel, the first outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain in the country in 11 months, veterinary officials said.
The virus threatens 51,000 8-week and 12-week-old Turkeys on the farms in Hadarom, said Nadav Galon, Israel’s director of veterinary services and animal health, in a March 9 report to the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris. The outbreaks began on March 7 and were confirmed the following day. The source of the attack is being investigated, Galon said.
World health and veterinary officials have been monitoring H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in birds for the past decade because of their potential to infect people. If the virus becomes easily transmissible among humans, it could touch off a deadly pandemic.
Five Guatemalans Die of A(H1N1) Flu
Guatemala, Mar 12 (Prensa Latina) An outbreak of A (H1N1) flu in Guatemala has taken a toll of five lives and the government insists on calling on people to remain calm.
This is a seasonal flu and we should not be alarmed, said the minister of Health and Welfare, Francisco Arredondo, when confirming the deaths.
The latest decease was reported on Saturday, when a 15-year-old girl who was admitted at the San Marcos Hospital, in the central western department of the same name, died of respiratory complications and the autopsy revealed the infection.
The previous four victims were two children in Zacapa in late February, an adult in the Roosevelt Hospital and another adult in San Juan de Dios, both in the capital, last Friday.
All Guatemalan health centers are in a state of yellow alert since the first cases with characteristic symptoms of the disease were reported. Fifty-five of 493 suspected cases have tested positive so far.
3 family members die from flu in 4 days
LUSBY, Md. (WMAR) - Test results confirm that 2 of the family members had the flu and it may have been complicated by a bacterial infection.
We're waiting on results for the 3rd family member who died. A fourth member is being treated in the hospital.
Ruth Blake, 83, fell ill on February 23. Three of her children, a son and two daughters all in their 50's, went to take care of her, but Ruth died on March 1.
One daughter, 56, and her son, 58, both died on Monday. The third daughter, 51, remains in critical condition.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) says they are working to figure out what caused the deaths, but say that two of the fatal cases had influenza, and that they may have been complicated by bacterial co-infections.
DHMH says there have been no other similar clusters in Calvert County or anywhere else in Maryland.
Bats harbour influenza
Fruit bats in Guatemala are hosting a novel subtype of influenza A virus, according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The virus — designated H17 — appears to have diverged from known influenza viruses long ago, shedding light on their evolution. Therefore, it seems to pose no immediate threat to humans. However, it is similar enough to other subtypes that genetic exchange with them could pose a risk. “We can’t say don’t worry about it, nor can we say it’s not dangerous. We just don’t know yet,” says study co-author Ruben Donis, chief of molecular virology and vaccines in the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Donis and his colleagues are now testing bats in South America, Africa and Asia to document the geographical distribution of influenza — the first step towards determining whether bats are a reservoir behind outbreaks in humans.
“We are far away from speculating on any pandemic potential of this virus, but finding this ancient influenza subtype stresses again that bats are an important source of animal viruses," says Ab Osterhaus, head of virology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, who was not involved in the work.
Bats have come in for scrutiny in recent years after being linked to the emergence of Ebola virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and nipah virus. “With more than 1,200 known species, bats are the second-largest mammal group, so it’s not surprising that they carry a large diversity of viruses,” says Jon Epstein, a veterinary epidemiologist at EcoHealth Alliance in New York. “Finding older lineages of influenza in bats doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of influenza emerging into human populations, but it does help us understand the diversity of flu viruses in nature and how genes may be swapped between strains and species.”
Probe power
Donis and his colleagues began developing molecular probes to detect viruses about eight years ago. At the CDC Field Detection Center in Guatemala, they used the probes to first screen for the presence of rabies virus in bats in 2009 and 2010. Then the samples were screened for other viruses, including influenza. Of 316 bats sampled from 21 species across eight locations, three little yellow-shouldered bats (Sturnira lilium) tested positive for H17.
“This study highlights the power of using generic PCR probes to broadly screen for and discover new viruses in new hosts — something that can be done at labs throughout the world,” says Epstein.
Ideally, Osterhaus says, the community will create an inventory of viruses identified in bat species to better determine the potential for viral spread to other mammals, including humans. “It is unfortunate that we are being blocked at the moment from publishing data on transmissibility of an avian influenza virus, which is crucial information we need for not just influenza viruses but for all emerging viruses,” he adds.
What is not yet clear is how influenza is transmitted between the bats. “We think the intestinal tract, where we found the highest concentration of the virus, is the target organ — suggesting infection may be the result of oral–faecal transmission,” says Donis.
In many ways, bats are perfect organisms to sustain viral transmission. They are social, migratory animals that are found in large numbers around the world. Several teams, including Osterhaus’s, are including bats in disease surveys. “If you want to go into virus discovery, start by looking at bats,” says Osterhaus.
But what really drives disease emergence, says Epstein, is how humans interact with wildlife — for example, by expanding agriculture and decreasing wildlife habitat.
Donis acknowledges that surveillance is costly and time-consuming, but argues that we should increase efforts to track both known and emerging pathogens. “The real questions are ‘where else could we find influenza?’ and 'have we looked carefully everywhere?'” he says.
Nature doi:10.1038/nature.2012.10112
References: Tong, S. T. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1116200109 (2012).
Many vaccinated people caught flu during season 2011-2012
According to NHK, many people in Japan caught influenza even though they had flu shots. Flu virus may be mutated in season 2011-2012.
According to the statistics from the local health research centers from Kobe City, Yokohama City, Mie Pref, Saga Pref and Sakai City, more than 80% of flu virus samples were mutated type A (H3N2) (especially 100% in Kobe). Those mutated flu virus were not effective by this year's vaccine.
The flu shots are not perfect. Each year, the drug companies forecast the trend of the flu in the previous summer because they cannot manufacture the vaccine quickly.
According to NHK, the drug companies might not be able to predict the mutated flu virus completely.
Therefore, there have been more chances to catch flu this year. People need to be cautioned.
NHK added that the people, who had a vaccine shot, did have fewer chances to catch flu. So it was not completely worthless to have a flu shot.
Although the season is coming to the end, even if you have a flu shot in Japan, you should still be careful with flu.
Wash your hands, gargle your throat when you came from crowded place and/or outside. Drink a lot of water and eat heathly diet!
Avian flu risk from factory farming
Avian flu will continue to remain a threat to human health as long as factory farms exists, a leading acdemic has claimed.
Dr Aysha Akhtar, author of the recently-published "Animals and Public Health: Why treating animals better is critical to human welfare", says factory farming has created a "worldwide natural laboratory" for the rapid development of a highly infectious form of the virus which could harm humans.
"The stressful and crowded conditions make a perfect breeding ground for new infectious diseases that can harm humans," explained Dr Akhtar, a neurologist and public health specialist at Oxford University.
She argues that, in order to promote human health, the treatment of animals needs to be improved. "Public health has long ignored the relationship between our health and animal treatment, largely owning to a misconception that animal welfare is an opposition to human welfare."
But Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, says the risk needs to be kept in perspective.
"There is a risk that, when you have a large number of birds in a confined space, there is a potential for low pathogenic avian flu to multiply and mutate into a pathogenic form," he said. "But that happens in the wild too; at least in a controlled poultry unit you are managing to protect against it."
Mr Bradnock said while producers should remain vigilant to minimise the risks of avian flu, there was a place for factory farming. "Without intensive poultry production, human populations may be denied the proteins they need in their diets and this could have other human health consequences."
UK swine flu death toll hits 14
Fourteen people in the UK are thought to have died after contracting swine flu, the government has announced.
Medical officials said the figures did not mean all those who had died had died as a direct result of swine flu, but that many had had the virus.
There are 335 people in hospital in England with swine flu, of which 43 are in critical care, they said.
The UK now has the third highest number of swine flu cases in the world, after the US and Mexico.
Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England, said the true number of people in the UK suffering from the virus was unknown, as many people would be treating themselves at home rather than contacting their GP.
The Ministry of Justice has also announced that there will not be any inquests into the deaths of two people who died after contracting swine flu.
Source: BBC
Alarming: In One Week H1N1 Deaths in Mexico Increase by 67%
The AH1N1 flu virus has left a total of 135 people dead in Mexico so far this year, with the number of fatalities up 67 percent in just one week, according to figures released by the authorities.
The total number of deaths from AH1N1 flu reported by Mexico’s Health Secretariat up to Feb. 9 was 81, with another 54 the following week.
The secretariat said Friday that deaths from the AH1N1 strain of flu from Jan. 1 to Feb. 16 represents 91 percent of the 149 fatalities from the different types of flu now active in the country.
At the same time, 4,440 cases of people infected with the AH1N1 flu virus have been reported in the same period of time, which also represents 91 percent of the total 4,884 flu cases.
Three seasonal flu viruses are currently active in Mexico - AH1N1, AH3N2 and influenza B - but the AH1N1 is by far the most prevalent this year.
The AH1N1 virus broke out in Mexico between March and April 2009, and locally the alert for the disease was in force up to June 29, 2010, by which time some 1,300 deaths had occurred and more than 70,000 people had contracted the disease.
81 Mexicans die of swine flu
Mexico City, Feb 12 (IANS/EFE) Eighty-one people have so far died of swine flu in Mexico this year, while at least 3,522 have been infected with the virus, health officials said.
From Jan 1 till Feb 9, there have been 3,882 confirmed flu cases, the health secretariat said in a statement.
Three seasonal viruses are currently active in Mexico -- AH1N1, AH3N2 and influenza B. The AH1N1 -- or swine flu -- has been the predominant one, with 91 percent of the infections.
The AH1N1 virus broke out in Mexico in March-April 2009. By June 2010, around 1,300 deaths had occurred and more than 70,000 people had contracted the disease.
Costa Rica Facing Increase In "Flu" Cases
The number of people attending medical centres with influenza and acute respiratory infections is higher than expected by health authorities.
According to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) the behaviour of these diseases has been "unusual in recent weeks".
Most of the cases are in the provinces of Cartago and San José.
Those most affected, according to the CCSS, are infants under one year of age and teens and adults between 15 and 39.
Up to January 28, the CCSS reports 419 people were hospitalized with respiratory complications.
Although there are no clear figures, the increase in cases include AH3N2 and AH1N1. In the case H1N1, the ministerio de Salud reports up 12 confirmed cases.
In January Salud reported five deaths - three from AH1N1, one from the seasonal virus and a 73 year old woman from San Carlos with Adenovirus, which infections most commonly cause illness of the respiratory system.
Seven people remain hospitalized to control the progress of these viral conditions.
Due the increase in cases the Ministerio de Salud and the CCSS recommend washing hands frequently and using alcohol gel and avoid contact with sick people.
Trial of Korean red ginseng extract for preventing Influenza-like illness
Standardized Korean red ginseng extract has become the best-selling influenza-like illness (ILI) remedy in Korea, yet much controversy regarding the efficacy of the Korean red ginseng (KRG) in reducing ILI incidence remains. The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of the KRG extract on the ILI incidence in healthy adults.
Methods: We will conduct a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the onset of the influenza seasons.
A total of 100 subjects 30-70 years of age will be recruited from the general populations. The subjects will be instructed to take 9 capsules per day of either the KRG extract or a placebo for a period of 3 months.
The primary outcome measure is to assess the frequency of ILI onset in participated subjects. Secondary variable measures will be included severity and duration of ILI symptoms.
The ILI symptoms will be scored by subjects using a 4-point scale.DiscussionThis study is a randomized placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the KRG extract compared to placebo and will be provided valuable new information about the clinical and physiological effects of the KRG extract on reduction of ILI incidence including flu and upper respiratory tract infections. The study has been pragmatically designed to ensure that the study findings can be implemented into clinical practice if KRG extract can be shown to be an effective reduction strategy in ILI incidence.
Trial Registration: NCT01478009.
Author: Ki-Chan HaMin-Gul KimMi-Ra OhEun-Kyung ChoiHyang-Im BackSun-Young KimEun-Ok ParkDae-Young KwonHye-Jeong YangMin-Jeong KimHee-Joo KangJu-Hyung LeeKyung-Min ChoiSoo-Wan ChaeChang-Seop Lee
Credits/Source: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Published on: 2012-02-08
Forty-two people killed by B-type flu: CDC
Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) Four more people in Taiwan died from flu complications Tuesday, raising the total number of flu-related deaths in the country since last July to 54, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that day.
Of the 54 fatalities, 42 were from complications of the Yamagata Influenza B strain, while 12 people died of the Type A flu virus, the CDC said.
Seven of the 42 people who succumbed had been vaccinated, according to CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw.
The vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the 2011-2012 flu season was supposed to protect against the same three viruses that last year's flu vaccine did, but no recommendations were made against Yamagata Influenza B, according to Chou, who noted that regardless of WHO or local directives, there could be misfires or miscalculations wherever predictions are involved.
He said the CDC might alter its next assessment when it places new orders for flu vaccine for the 2012-2013 flu season.
(By Chen Chin-fang and Deborah Kuo)
Mysterious deaths investigated
MIMS, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - The Brevard County Sheriff's Office and county health officials are investigating the death of two Titusville women, a mother and daughter, who were both complaining of flu-like symptoms prior to their death.
The ex-husband of the woman in her 60s, and the father of the younger woman, in her 40s, called 911 after he couldn't awaken the women from their beds in separate bedrooms.
When investigators arrived, they insisted the man living go to the hospital after observing his flu-like symptoms. Then, they put on full body suits and masks and searched each bedroom.
"There’s no signs of trauma, no signs of foul play. It is suspicious only because we've located two deceased within the same residence."
Little was learned after a search of the home, so investigators questioned neighbors about the last time they had seen the two women.
"She seemed like she was in good spirits. We talked, she laughed a little bit. It's weird. Gonna miss her."
Investigators have ruled out carbon monoxide and any other deadly gases as a possible cause. Some pharmaceutical drugs were found, but each had a prescription for the medicine, leaving those who live in the neighborhood what could have killed their neighbors.
"It concerns me. If it was drugs, or something else, whatever, that concerns me. I live in this neighborhood."
The man has been transported to Parrish Medical Center for an evaluation.
58 People Die of Flu in Mexico So Far This Year
MEXICO CITY – A total of 58 people have died of the flu in Mexico so far this year, with 2,815 living patients confirmed to have the infection, the latest report by the Health Secretariat said.
From Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, according to the epidemiological report, the 58 deaths were caused by different strains of flu virus, the predominant one being the AH1N1 swine flu with 93 percent.
The Health Secretariat said in a communique Friday that the deaths make up 2 percent of the total number of confirmed cases of the illness.
Of the 2,815 cases of infection, 90 percent have been due to the AH1N1 virus, “the seasonal virus that has predominated since the beginning of 2012.”
Three seasonal flu viruses are currently active in Mexico: AH1N1, AH3N2 and influenza B.
Up to now, the average incidence of doctor’s visits for seasonal flu has been 15 out of every 1,000. During the 2009-2010 pandemic, doctor’s visits for the same illness surged to an average of 35 per thousand.
The AH1N1 virus broke out in Mexico between March and April 2009, and, at a local level, the alert for the disease was maintained until June 29, 2010, by which time there had been some 1,300 deaths and more than 70,000 cases of the infection.
This year, according to health authorities, the virus has come from the south, erupting strongly during the Southern Hemisphere winter and progressing northward through the Andean region, Central America and reaching Mexico in the last few weeks of 2011.
This year between 5,000 and 11,000 cases of flu are expected in the country, so authorities say that the number registered up to now is within the amount forecast for the season.
Costa Rica: AH1N1 Claims Fourth Victim
A 30 year old man, who was hospitalized in serious condition in the San Juan de Dios hospital, has become the fourth victim AH1N1 flu victim of the year.
So far this year, one person has died from the seasonal influenza and three by the AH1N1 strain, as the ministerio de Salud prepares to increase measures to prevent further infections and deaths.
Roberto Castro, member of the la Vigilancia del Ministerio de Salud, states that there have been advertisements the media, emphasizing the need to take necessary precautionary measures, with the intent to alert the population to the problem.
Confirmed are five more cases of the AH1N1, one of them in delicate condition at the San Juan de Dios.
In 2011, six people died from the virus, so it is worrisome than the year begins with four in the first month.
Dr. Castro, categorizes this year as "very special" and ensures that health authorities will be on the lookout.
Hand washing, covering your mouth when sneezing and coughing and vaccination is the key to preventing the spreading of the virus. And more deaths.
Mexico Reports a Rise of H1N1 Flu Cases
BROWNSVILLE - According to reports, there is a rise in the H1N1flu in Mexico, but Texas State Health Regional Director Dr. Brian Smith says there is no need to worry here locally.
Mexico has reported a few hundred cases of the H1N1flu throughout Mexico and Dr. Smith those numbers are usual for this time of the year, "We are in regular communication in Tamaulipas and we get weekly reports of any unusual activity to let us know what's going on and we haven't gotten any unusual reports in Tamaulipas."
Dr. Smith says there's also been an increase of influenza like illnesses in the State of Texas.
4 natural cold and flu remedies
Instead of going to the drugstore when you are coming down with a cold or the flu – why not try your local natural food store?
According to The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, these remedies will help you feel better quickly.
1. Eucalyptus Oil - “Eucalyptus oil is the ultimate cold season decongestant,” Kilham said. “Eucalyptus, it's a tree that originates in Australia, and grows all over the world now. The oil is inexpensive and very effective. Fill a bathroom sink full of hot water, drop about five drops of this into the water, drape a towel over your head -- breathe the vapors, and this helps to open up clogged up sinuses.”
2. Ginger - “Ginger is just about the best thing for relieving a sore throat, and it makes you feel better almost instantly,” Kilham said. “And it also contains ingredients that kill rhinoviruses, which are the viruses that cause colds.”
How do you use ginger root for a cold? Kilham said to break off a piece and chop it up very finely or grate it. Put it in a cup and pour boiling water over it, then you let it sit for about five minutes. Strain it and drink it – you can always add honey for extra flavor.
3. Mint - “For decongesting, this is one of my favorite remedies,” Kilham said. “And I like this because it's safe for children. Mint contains menthol, and menthol is a compound that helps to open up your sinuses. Chop it up finely, and put it in a cup, then pour boiling water over it. Let it sit for about five minutes. Strain it; you can add a little honey. It will help to decongest, and open up your breathing passages.”
4. Umcka - If you don’t have time to make a cold tea at home – try umcka. Umcka is the san tribal name for the African herb perigonian serdoties, according to Kilham.
“What you need to know about this stuff is it reduces the symptoms of a cold quickly, especially congestion. So at the first sign of a cold, you take about a half a teaspoon of this syrup and it starts to work immediately.”
These remedies don’t have the awful side effects of drugs, Kilham said, and they work quickly and efficiently. He also recommends getting lots of rest, drinking plenty of fluids and eating chicken soup.
Mexican swine flu outbreak kills 29, infects nearly 1,500
MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- An ongoing swine flu outbreak in Mexico has left at least 29 people dead and nearly 1,500 others infected, health officials confirmed on Saturday. Thousands more are also ill as the country faces several types of flu this season.
Since the start of the ongoing winter season, at least 7,069 people have reported suffering from symptoms similar to those of swine flu. Lab tests are still underway and have so far confirmed 1,456 cases of the disease, which is officially known as A/H1N1.
According to Mexico's Health Ministry (SSA), at least twenty-nine people have died of swine flu so far this season. While no health emergency has been declared, officials expect the death toll will rise in the coming weeks as Mexico also faces A/H3N2 and B influenza.
The H1N1 influenza virus emerged in the Mexican state of Veracruz in April 2009 and quickly spread around the world, causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global flu pandemic in June 2009. At least 18,000 people have died of the disease since, although the actual number is believed to be far higher.
In August 2010, the WHO declared that the swine flu pandemic was over. "In the post-pandemic period, influenza disease activity will have returned to levels normally seen for seasonal influenza," the WHO said at the time. "It is expected that the pandemic virus will behave as a seasonal influenza A virus."
(Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)
Swine Influenza Death Toll Reaches Nine in Mexico
The swine influenza outbreak in Mexico claimed its ninth life Tuesday as H1N1 continues to account for 90 percent of detected cases of flu in the country. According to Big Pond News, the total confirmed number of swine flu cases in the country currently totals 573.
That’s up by more than 200 cases since last Thursday, when the total reached 333. Still, Mexican health authorities are denying that the situation constitutes an emergency. They have been tracking the outbreak’s progress since December.
The Associated Press reported that the federal education ministry was planning to screen elementary school children for H1N1 Wednesday, but later retracted and said it would only screen children who exhibited symptoms of the virus. A few schools in Mexico City have closed due to the threat, but the government emphasized that they were private schools and the closures were not the result of government action.
The outbreak is a resurgence of the H1N1 virus that first hit Mexico and the United States in April 2009. In that strain, more than 1,250 Mexicans died before the World Health Organization declared the pandemic over in 2010.
In the United States, a different strain of swine flu is taking root. While H1N1 is now considered a seasonal flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are preparing for a strain known as H3N2.
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“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
- Thomas Jefferson
“I do not mean to be the slightest bit critical of TV newspeople, who do a superb job, considering that they operate under severe time constraints and have the intellectual depth of hamsters. But TV news can only present the 'bare bones' of a story; it takes a newspaper, with its capability to present vast amounts of information, to render the story truly boring.”
- Dave Barry
“The truth is more important than the facts.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright
“Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch, nay, you may kick it all about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening.”
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
“For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.”
- Patrick Henry
“It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away. Puzzling.”
- Robert M. Pirsig
“It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.”
- Thomas Jefferson
“When I tell any truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do.”
- William Blake
“If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world, but I am sure we would be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.”
- William Tecumseh Sherman
“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
- Edward R. Murrow
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
- Joseph Goebbels
“Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation.”
- George Bernard Shaw
“The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press.”
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“A wave of panic passed over the vessel, and these rough and hardy men, who feared no mortal foe, shook with terror at the shadows of their own minds.”
- Arthur Conan Doyle
“Fear cannot be banished, but it can be calm and without panic; it can be mitigated by reason and evaluation.”
- Vannevar Bush
“Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.”
- Ernest Hemingway
“Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on with dignity in spite of it.”
- Scott Turow
“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
- Malcom X
“If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.”
- Abraham Lincoln
“We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.”
- Aesop
“Media is just a word that has come to mean bad journalism.”
- Graham Greene
“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.”
- Albert Camus
“Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed.”
- Barry Goldwater
“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
- John F. Kennedy
“I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but people. And if we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from them, but to inform them by education.”
- Thomas Jefferson
“Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.”
- Agatha Christie
“Love all, trust a few.”
- William Shakespeare
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
- Carl Sagan
“All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgerize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level.”
- William Bernbach
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche
“If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'”
- Lyndon B. Johnson
“Lies are often much more plausible, more appealing to reason, than reality, since the liar has the great advantage of knowing beforehand what the audience wishes or expects to hear.”
- Hannah Arendt
“The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.”
- Oscar Wilde
“When in doubt, tell the truth.”
- Mark Twain
“When distant and unfamiliar and complex things are communicated to great masses of people, the truth suffers a considerable and often a radical distortion. The complex is made over into the simple, the hypothetical into the dogmatic, and the relative into an absolute.”
- Walter Lippmann
“If such a plague came today, killing a similar fraction of the U.S. population, 1.5 million Americans would die, which is more than the number felled in a single year by heart disease, cancers, strokes, chronic pulmonary disease, AIDS, and Alzheimer’s disease combined.”
- Gina Kolata
