Uganda: Vets and medics sign up to fight diseases #H5N1 #Marburg #Ebola #birdflu

13 January 2013 

In a rare example of cross- disciplinary collaboration, veterinary and human medicine experts have agreed to work together to fight disease outbreaks, after many claimed lives and left thousands with grave physical trauma last year.

The diseases targeted for control include Avian influenza (bird flu), Anthrax, Ebola, Marburg haemorrhagic fevers, anthrax and nodding syndrome. Their spread is blamed on contact between man and animals. The World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the World Medical Association (WMA) have agreed to work together to control these outbreaks.

At the local level, the Uganda Medical Association and Uganda Veterinary Association have also agreed to work together to conduct joint research, prevention and control strategies.
According to Dr Margaret Mungherera, president of the Uganda Medical Association, the two associations are expected to sign a memorandum of working together, next month.

Continued:  http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23127%3Avets-and-medics-sign-up-to-fight-diseases&catid=34%3Anews&Itemid=114

Avian Influenza Found in New York Live Bird Market; Japan and Taiwan Halt Poultry Exports from New York

January 11, 2013

USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories has confirmed H5N1 (presumably low pathogenic) from a live bird market in New York.  According to USDA’s agreement with Taiwan, FSIS has been notified to amend the FSIS Export Library to state that the export of poultry meat and meat products from the State of New York to Taiwan is prohibited effective immediately.

This is also the situation for Japan.  Japan’s avian influenza bans cover product produced from birds from farms in the banned state, as well as from birds slaughtered/eggs laid in the state; product processed in the  state; and product that was stored in or transited the state, except after final packaging for FSIS meat products and after official sealing for table shell eggs.

Continued:  http://nccwashingtonreport.com/2013/01/11/avian-influenza-found-new-york-live-bird-market-japan-taiwan-halt-poultry-exports-new-york/

Seasonal Flu: Secondary Infections to blame for flu deaths

By: Kayla Bremer
Doctors say secondary infections are to blame for the two flu–related deaths reported in Lancaster County.
It's the most cases doctors have seen at this time of year in more than a decade.  For most, the flu causes a miserable couple of days but some are at risk for secondary infections.
The most common are sinus infections and bronchitis, but doctors are most worried about pneumonia.
"If you feel like you're getting worse instead of better, that's the time to let somebody know," Dr. Thomas Martin said.  "Check it out further to determine if you may be getting a secondary problem."
Dr. Martin says most people can tolerate the illness, but for some with weak immune systems, it can be deadly.
"Fortunately your not very likely to get secondary complications but the concerns are the very young and the very old and people with underlying problems such as asthma or emphysema."

Continued:  http://www.klkntv.com/story/20572817/secondary-infections-to-blame-for-flu-deaths

US scrambles for flu shots as death toll continues to rise

January 12, 2013
Excerpt:
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo declared a Public Health Emergency for all of New York State Saturday.
Cuomo issued an Executive Order which allows pharmacists to administer flu vaccinations to patients between six months and 18 years of age. The order is in effect for 30 days.
New York has already reported 19,128 cases of the flu, nearly five times the amount of cases reported all of last flu season. Two deaths in New York were children.

-snip-

"We're hearing of spot shortages," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Colorado offers an example. Kaiser Permanente, which has 535,000 members in the state, stopped giving flu shots this week. But it expected to resume vaccinations when new shipments arrive, expected this weekend.

-snip-

 

Full article:  http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/12/us-scrambles-for-flu-shots-as-death-toll-continues-to-rise/

 

Replikin Count of Influenza H3N2 Replikin Lethality Gene in the U.S. Approaches That of 1968 H3N2 Pandemic

January 10, 2013

A new study from Bioradar UK Ltd released this week reports that the H3N2 Lethality Gene Counts are approaching those of the highly lethal H3N2 pandemic of 1968

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/business/press-releases/article/Replikin-Count-of-Influenza-H3N2-Replikin-4183469.php#ixzz2HrNtu6Z7

FDA: Current Drug Shortages: Oseltamivir Phosphate (Tamiflu) for Oral Suspension (6mg/mL 60 mL) (Initial Posting Date) – 1/10/2013

[I could not copy the whole block into one screen shot.  Click on link below for the whole thing].

US Food & Drug Administratiion - Current Drug Shortages O - R (alphabetized)
The information provided in this section is provided voluntarily by manufacturers.  FDA cannot require firms to report the reason for shortage or duration of the shortage or any other information about shortages.  FDA appreciates all information provided by manufacturers.  We post information about shortages as soon as we receive it from the manufacturers.  To report information about shortages or supply issues, manufacturers can send updates to drugshortages@fda.hhs.gov.  Healthcare professionals and patients are also encouraged to notify us of shortages at drugshortages@fda.hhs.gov.

**Listed by Generic name or Active Ingredient**
Excerpt:
Oseltamivir Phosphate (Tamiflu) for Oral Suspension (6mg/mL 60 mL) (Initial Posting Date) – 1/10/2013 

 
Link:  http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm314742.htm#oseltamivir

Minister of Agriculture: endemic bird flu in Egypt, "Shame"

1/12/13
Wrote: Fatin Solomon
Dr. Salah Abdul Momin, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation has been completed, providing space for a large poultry farms in the New Valley governorate in order to get out of the block, and limit, which may cause the disease.
He pointed out that those spaces were completed divided on cut and will be announced soon, pointing out that the crisis facing the ministry at the moment is the high proportion of farms offense, and which exceed 60%, as is random those farms to work without a license and randomly, which puts us in major crisis.
He described endemic bird flu in Egypt as a "disgrace", adding it is also a shame not to deal with the problems that Egypt is going through national Kmchklat Vllqdhae must all join together to confront them.
He stressed that since the emergence of the disease in Egypt have been taken many precautionary measures to curb the spread of the disease, including the need to stop backyard poultry and transport of live birds between provinces and trafficking, these problems bear their burden everyone where it is system is not borne by the government alone.

http://dostor.org/%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF/%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1/126628-%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86-%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%81%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B1

FluView Week 1 ending January 5, 2013

[I will place last weeks information in brackets in green color, after this weeks information.  All editing below is mine.]

2012-2013 Influenza Season Week 1 ending January 5, 2013

As a result of the end of year holidays and elevated influenza activity, some sites may be experiencing longer than normal reporting delays and data in previous weeks are likely to change as additional reports are received.

Synopsis:

During week 1 (December 30-January 5), influenza activity remained elevated in the U.S., but may be decreasing in some areas.

• Viral Surveillance: Of 12,876 specimens tested and reported by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories, 4,222 (32.8%) were positive for influenza. 
  [Of 9,363 specimens tested and reported by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories, 2,961 (31.6%) were positive for influenza.]
• Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was slightly above the epidemic threshold.  [The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold. ]
• Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths: Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported. One was associated with an influenza A (H3) virus and one was associated with an influenza A virus for which the subtype was not determined. 
  [Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported and were associated with influenza B viruses.]
• Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 4.3%; above the national baseline of 2.2%. Nine of 10 regions reported ILI above region-specific baseline levels. Twenty-four states and New York City experienced high ILI activity; 16 states experienced moderate ILI activity; 5 states experienced low ILI activity; 5 states experienced minimal ILI activity, and the District of Columbia had insufficient data. 
  [The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 5.6%; above the national baseline of 2.2%. Nine of 10 regions reported ILI above region-specific baseline levels. New York City and 29 states experienced high ILI activity; 9 states experienced moderate ILI activity; 4 states experienced low ILI activity; 6 states experienced minimal ILI activity, and the District of Columbia and 2 states had insufficient data.]

Pneumonia and Influenza (P&I) Mortality Surveillance:

During week 1, 7.3% of all deaths reported through the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to P&I. This percentage was slightly above the epidemic threshold of 7.2% for week 1.

Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality:

Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC during week 1. One was associated with an influenza A (H3) virus and occurred during week 52 (week ending December 29, 2012) and one was associated with an influenza A virus for which the subtype was not determined and occurred during week 1 (week ending January 5, 2013). This brings the total number of influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported during the 2012-2013 season to 20. Additional data can be found at http://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html.

Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations:

The Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) conducts population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations in children younger than 18 years of age (since the 2003-2004 influenza season) and adults (since the 2005-2006 influenza season).
The FluSurv-NET covers more than 80 counties in the 10 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) states (CA, CO, CT, GA, MD, MN, NM, NY, OR, TN) and additional Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Project (IHSP) states. The IHSP began during the 2009-2010 season to enhance surveillance during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. IHSP sites included IA, ID, MI, OK and SD during the 2009-2010 season; ID, MI, OH, OK, RI, and UT during the 2010-2011 season; MI, OH, RI, and UT during the 2011-2012 season; and IA, MI, OH, RI, and UT during the 2012-2013 season.

Data gathered are used to estimate age-specific hospitalization rates on a weekly basis, and describe characteristics of persons hospitalized with severe influenza illness. The rates provided are likely to be an underestimate as influenza-related hospitalizations can be missed, either because testing is not performed, or because cases may be attributed to other causes of pneumonia or other common influenza-related complications.
Between October 1, 2012 and January 5, 2013, 3,710 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported. This is a rate of 13.3 per 100,000 population. The most affected group is people ≥65 years. Among all hospitalizations, 3,198 (86.2%) were associated with influenza A and 484 (13.0%) with influenza B. There was no virus type information for 22 (0.6%) hospitalizations. Among hospitalizations with influenza A subtype information, 767 (98.7%) were attributed to H3 and 10 (1.3%) were attributed to 2009 H1N1. The most commonly reported underlying medical conditions among hospitalized adults were metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and chronic lung disease (excluding asthma). Among 55 hospitalized women of childbearing age (15-44 years), 10 were pregnant. The most commonly reported underlying medical conditions in hospitalized children were asthma, neurologic disorders, and immune suppression. More than 40% of hospitalized children had no identified underlying medical conditions. Additional FluSurv-NET data can be found at: http://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/FluHospRates.html and http://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/fluview/FluHospChars.html.

These are only a few of the reports featues.  For the full document including many charts, click on the link below.  The weekly reports can be easily accessed by links provided on the right side-bar, scrolling down to Worldwide Update Influenza Activity.


http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ 

EuroFlu Weekly Electronic Bulletin

Summary, week 1/2013 Levels of influenza activity in countries in the WHO European Region are heterogeneous, with widespread activity mainly in the western and northern parts of the Region and no or sporadic activity in the eastern part, but a gradual increase overall. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and type B viruses continue to co-circulate, but the proportion of A(H1N1)pdm09 relative to A(H3N2) is increasing. The number of reported hospitalizations due to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) remains stable, with 8% of cases being associated with influenza detection.

Full Document:  http://www.euroflu.org/cgi-files/bulletin_v2.cgi?display=1&code=470&bulletin=470

Seasonal Flu: Ohio: 1 Child Died; 22yo Died w/no underlying health conditions; Couple got flu despite being vaccinated this season...

1/11/13
Excerpt:

An Ohio child has died from complications of the flu, and hospitalizations continue to climb here and across the country.
State health officials have learned of one child’s death this season, said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Tessie Pollock. She said she could not share the county in which the child lived, or the child’s age or gender. The child was not from central Ohio.


Officials in Greene County did discuss the Tuesday death of a 22-year-old Wright State University student. Public-health officials are investigating the flu-related death of Amelia Catherine Perry of Fairborn for possible contributing health conditions, but the woman appeared otherwise healthy, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Theibert and his wife, Suzanne Cotton, both were smacked by flu despite getting shots earlier in the season. They were sick for a week, he said.

...Dr. Dennis Cunningham, an infectious-disease specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Cunningham said that in November and December, the hospital system and its urgent-cares were diagnosing flu in about 600 kids a week through lab tests.
“Right now we’re at about 240 kids a week who are testing positive,” he said.


“We’re actually having more inpatients with flu this year than back when we had H1N1.”

Full Article:  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/01/11/ohio-childs-death-tied-to-flu.html

 

WHO looks for more info on new coronavirus

1/11/13
By Helen Branswell
Excerpt:

The WHO is hosting a meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Cairo, pulling together researchers who work on coronaviruses, public health officials who have been involved in the outbreak and others who can help to flesh out what is known so far.
Among those attending will be people who led responses to other emerging disease outbreaks, such as the 2003 SARS crisis. Someone from Canada has been invited to attend to discuss the country’s SARS experience, but the WHO won’t reveal the list of the invitees.
In part, a WHO official admits, the aim is to encourage more sharing of information than has occurred up to date. Between 25 and 30 people have been invited, and the meeting will be held behind closed doors.
“Often what we find is that people who are involved in research are reluctant to share preliminary findings,” said Dr. Anthony Mounts, the WHO’s point person for the coronavirus investigation.
“(It’s) partly because they want to publish but I think also because there’s a reluctance to share stuff that they’re not quite confident in yet, because it’s still preliminary. But we find that when they come to meetings like this they’re much more willing to share it openly.”
Among those expected to attend is Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York. Lipkin is an expert on emerging infectious diseases; a brief biography on his centre’s website says he has identified at least 400 previously unknown viruses in the past decade.
Lipkin travelled to Saudi Arabia last fall to try to find the source of the new coronavirus, and a comment he made to the journal Nature suggests he found something. But he hasn’t shared that information in any depth and most observers believe a publication is probably pending. (Scientific journals typically won’t publish findings that have already been reported elsewhere.)
The Nature article, published in early December, said Lipkin revealed he had discovered that partial genetic sequences of a virus from bats match the new coronavirus. “The finding gives insight into the original source of the virus,” he told Nature.

Full article:  http://metronews.ca/news/world/505109/who-looks-for-more-info-on-new-coronavirus/

Reminder: CDC Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Availability

You can get the CDC Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report (FluView) by scrolling down this page,  and looking at the right side-bar.  It's located under "Worldwide Update On Influenza Activity".  4th listing.

Iowa: Flu patients flooding Des Moines medical centers

1/11/13
For the first time since the H1N1 virus caused a flu pandemic in 2009-10, Des Moines-area hospitals have issued a joint appeal urging patients to stay away from local emergency rooms if they need nonemergency medical care.

The Mercy and Iowa Health systems and Broadlawns Medical Center cited heavy volumes of patients and long wait times at their emergency rooms and increased hospital admissions due to an unusually early spike in flu cases.

The hospitals are directing individuals with non-life-threatening illnesses to seek treatment at walk-in and urgent care clinics to keep emergency rooms available for serious cases. The hospitals also are restricting patient visitors.

Continued:  http://dmjuice.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130111/NEWS/301110059/1001

Official: Flu deaths continue to rise among children

January 11, 2013
Atlanta (CNN) -- The spread of the flu across the United States appears to have slowed in portions of five states in the South and Southeast, a federal official told CNN early Friday, even as a National Institutes of Health director warned of the onset of "a classic flu epidemic."

The news came hours before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was due to release its flu advisory report for December 30 to January 5, which according to the official with knowledge of the findings will also show the number of flu-related deaths for children climbed by two last week.

Continued:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/health/us-flu-season/index.html

Seasonal Flu: New York in Midst of Flu Epidemic

January 11, 2013
A ferocious flu “epidemic” has New Yorkers rushing to doctors, hospitals and drug stores — with emergency-room visits up 150 percent over last year, city health officials said yesterday.
“It’s a bad year. We’ve got lots of flu,” said city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, who noted influenza-related cases spiked from 2 percent of all emergency-room visits for the peak of last year’s flu season to 5 percent this year.

Continued:  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/city_flu_anguish_UtbvdBDeD51IsvdqsP1uOO

Seasonal Flu: Minnesota flu outbreak rivals deadly pandemic of 2009

January 10, 2013
Minnesota appears to be in the midst of the worst flu outbreak since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, health officials said Wednesday.
A record number of children -- 123 -- tested positive for the flu at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in the first week of January, and 16 were hospitalized, according to Patsy Stinchfield, the director of infectious diseases.
The numbers, she said, are higher "than our highest week in the H1N1 pandemic.''
-snip-
New statewide numbers are expected to be released Thursday, but one Health Department official said Wednesday that more than 900 people have been hospitalized so far this season -- a big spike just in the past week. By comparison, only 552 people were hospitalized in Minnesota during the entire last flu season.

Continued:  http://www.startribune.com/local/186225331.html?refer=y

Seasonal Flu: Michigan Confirms 4 Deaths

January 10, 2013
LANSING, MI - Michigan health officials have confirmed the fourth flu-related death of a child this season - a teenager from Central Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Community Health confirmed Tuesday night that the 15-year-old’s death was due to the flu, spokeswoman Angela Minicuci said Wednesday, Jan. 9.
Other children who have died from the influenza virus include an infant and a 6-year-old from Southwest Michigan and a 13-year-old from Central Michigan.

Continued:  http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/teen_from_central_michigan_is.html

Seasonal Flu: 6 New Flu Deaths Reported In Oklahoma

Jan 10, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY -

The number of flu deaths in Oklahoma jumped by six in one week, according to data released Thursday by the Oklahoma Department of Health.

On Thursday, January 3, only two influenza deaths had been reported. For the week ending January 8, the OSDH reports eight flu-related deaths.
Three of those death have occurred in Tulsa County; one more from a week ago.
The other deaths occurred in Creek, Mayes, Muskogee, Pittsburg and Rogers counties. Each county recorded one influenza death from January 2-January 8.
The data does not say if the deaths were male or female, but it shows four were between the ages of 19-64 and the rest were 65 or older.
The OSDH has seen 345 hospitalized cases of flu since September 30, 2012. Ninety-two of those cases were reported January 2-January 8, 2013.

Continued:  http://www.newson6.com/story/20553888/flu-deaths-jump-in-oklahoma

Iraq: 2 Died of Bird Flu in Hillah #H5N1

1/10/2013
Died old girl 28 years old, and the other did not exceed 25 years on Thursday, bird flu in the city of Hilla province of Babylon. 
medical source said at the hospital of Hilla surgical Agency (news): The girl first live neighborhood Hussein central city of Hilla, and died in the hospital and was "holder", noting that models of laboratory tests received from Public Health Laboratory of the Ministry of Health confirmed infected with bird flu. The source added: that the girl the second died today also before the arrival of the analysis results to sent to Baghdad on Wednesday, and continued: will be sampling Allamso two girls to take health measures. / end / 14. n. p /

http://www.ikhnews.com/news_view_70479.html 

Healing 4 people in Gaza from bird flu

1/7/2013
The Ministry of Health in Gaza Monday evening healing four cases including two women were infected with bird flu after receiving care hospitals sector said general manager primary care at the Ministry of Health Fouad Issawi said that his ministry has routinely sampling Laboratory randomized patients expected to have complications from the flu. 
pointed out that out of the total samples taken from the patients were discovered analyze positive for four cases of them two women, were treated at the hospital. 
confirmed Issawi that there have been no deaths related to the virus in the Gaza Strip, referring to the that hospitals and health centers on the readiness fully to deal with any infection. 
said Issawi The National Commission for the control of infectious diseases at the Ministry of Health is studying infectious diseases and control any rise abruptly in proportions and put prevention strategies and activities to combat these diseases. 
explained Issawi that there is a system monitor continuously All infectious diseases and report weekly by the Ministry of Health representative primary care and Relief Agency, based on indicators such monitoring is measured any problems emergency or spread any contagious disease. 
rose mortality resulting from this virus in the occupied West Bank to 12 cases, while the number of injuries installed to 352 so far.

http://arabi.ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/19552.aspx