Summary from Indonesia Outbreak tracking as at 28 September 2006
| Cases Discussed | Jun-06 | Jul-06 | Aug-06 | Sep-06 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Died, no tests | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Died, tested positive | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Other tested positive | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Suspected symptoms | 4 | 2 | 46 | 40 | 92 |
| Tested negative | 0 | 6 | 25 | 7 | 38 |
| Totals | 10 | 14 | 80 | 54 | 158 |
(From WHO as at 28 Sep)
Total human cases worldwide 251, deaths 148 (2006 – 104 with 70 deaths)
(If you want the links to open in a new window, hold down the shift key and then click on the link)
Indonesia
Vietnam
United Kingdom
Canada
United States of America
General
Link to news thread for 28 September (link News Reports for Sept 28 )
(Usual disclaimer about may not have captured everything. Feel free to add your own where omissions have occurred.)
Please note that I copy the links directly from the thread so if they don’t work you may need to re-visit the Thread.
(Indonesia) Another bird flu family cluster confirmed
29/09/2006 - 7:08:37 AM
An Indonesian woman whose brother died of bird flu this month is also sick with the virus, a senior Health Ministry official said today, confirming the country’s latest family cluster of infections.
The 21-year-old woman is being treated in a hospital in Surabaya city in east Java province, said Nyoman Kandun. Her 11-year-old brother died from bird flu on September 18. He was suspected of contracting the virus from infected chickens close to his house.
“This is a family cluster,” said Kandun, adding that the source of the woman’s infection was not yet known. link
COMMENT this confirms the age of her brother which the ‘team’ was trying to ascertain earlier.
(Also seems TinyURL is not working at present - sigh! More work for myself when I create the News Summary tomorrow ..)
(Illinois, USA) Seminar stresses world flu threat By COURTNEY KLEMM - H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR - With the approach of the common flu season, health care and infectious disease specialists are warning the public and health care workers to take extra hygiene precautions and prepare for the possibility of a flu pandemic.
St. Mary’s Hospital hosted a presentation Thursday afternoon about the planning and risks associated with the pandemic flu, which included Dr. Suhail Siddiqui of the Infectious Disease Specialists of Central Illinois and coordinators with the Macon County Health Department. The presentation will be repeated today at Decatur Memorial Hospital. [more http://tinyurl.com/eo5aq ]
Jakarta Post link to above article. http://tinyurl.com/kjxbt
JAKARTA (AP): An Indonesian woman whose brother died of bird flu this month is also sick with the virus, a senior Health Ministry official said Friday, confirming the country’s latest family cluster of infections.
http://tinyurl.com/z8dqe Microchip for diagnosing influenza - A microchip-based test that can differentiate between flu strains and help trace strains back to their origin. According to reports, the chip can diagnose 72 influenza strains, including the H5N1 avian influenza strain, in less than 12 hours, can be used in lower-level biosafety facilities, can help differentiate between animal and human source, geographic origin, and compare to existing viruses. Will be in use by 2007.
http://tinyurl.com/zdtb8 New WHO Influenza Pandemic Task Force Meets in Geneva - The World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza Pandemic Task Force met for the first time September 25 in Geneva. The 21-member task force, established to comply with a 2006 World Health Assembly resolution, will advise WHO on potential public health issues of international concern related to avian and pandemic influenza, including issues such as determining the appropriate phase of pandemic alert, declaring an influenza pandemic, and implementing the appropriate international response measures to a pandemic.
When the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) come into force June 15, 2007, the task force will disband and an emergency committee will be convened if needed to advise WHO on disease events of international public health importance.
http://tinyurl.com/ho33x Pandemic could hit most Nunavimmiut - KUUJJUAQ - Nunavik’s regional health board has a plan on how the region can cope during a pandemic – a worldwide outbreak of illness that could kill billions of people.For now, the H5N1 bird flu is only transmitted by direct contact with affected birds, but that could change.
According to the World Health Organization, if bird flu does spread to human beings, this virus has the potential to assume pandemic proportions, spreading around the world. If this happens, one in three people in southern Quebec could fall ill or die, and more than seven in nine in Nunavik could be hit by the pandemic.
A region-wide quarantine would be one way to limit the northward spread of a pandemic to Nunavik, health officials told the regional council. This lock-down would continue until the first wave of the illness ended, and a vaccine could be manufactured. The first wave of illness would strike over two or three months; the second would follow in three to nine months. Under this worst-case scenario, food destined for a quarantined Nunavik would be dropped off at airports and pilots would not go outside the aircraft, and patients needing special care would go to Chibougamou instead of Montreal.
INTERVIEW-Migration puts EU on bird flu alert - PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Europe is on alert to protect poultry from bird flu this autumn but must work harder to avoid another slump in meat sales should the virus strike. While experts believe trade in poultry has played a role in international transmission of bird flu, wild birds can carry the virus long distances. But they note there hasn’t been widespread detection of H5N1 in Russia this summer compared with levels seen in 2005. “Awareness is higher, but the risk of the virus in wildlife is lower, based on what we’ve seen this summer,” Thiermann said.
Most European Union countries have relaxed measures requiring poultry to be kept indoors but authorities are ready to revive the order should risk levels increase. “In view of the forthcoming migratory season of wild birds, there is a continued need for the highest levels of vigilance,” the European Commission said. “Member states are therefore urged to keep appropriate biosecurity measures, early detection systems and rigorous import controls in place,” it said. In Germany, the lock-up order remains in force, but large numbers of exemption permits have been issued during the period of low risk, allowing extensive free-range farming. And in Britain, the government has launched a new strategy of testing birds more intensively in areas where an outbreak is more likely to occur. Some 14 EU states that have detected H5N1 — Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Britain, France, Slovakia, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Spain. But no cases have been reported since Spain in late June.
http://tinyurl.com/qadm8 Nine tests failed to detect H5N1, doctors reveal - Nong Bua Lamphu man, 59, becomes the third killed by disease this year A 59-year-old man from Nong Bua Lamphu was yesterday declared the latest victim of bird flu, bringing Thailand’s death toll to 17 since the disease was first detected in 2004.
Officials said he was the first to die of complications rather than H5N1 itself. “This case study has taught us that having the antiviral drug oseltamivir at hand doesn’t necessarily mean we can cure it,” said Dr Kumnuan Ungchusak, head of the Bureau of Epidemiology.
The case was the first that took almost a month from the day the patient fell ill to his eventual death, compared to past cases in which victims died within a few days of falling sick, Kumnuan said.
At first, doctors treating the man were not aware he had been in contact with sick chickens before falling ill, Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, the director-general of the Disease Control Department, said.
An autopsy revealed the man had succumbed to a drug-resistant bacteria called Acinetobacter, he said, adding the patient was given the antiviral oseltamivir right after his wife told doctors he had been in contact with sick chickens.
The first advanced Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test detected no signs of the H5N1 virus, nor did several repeat PCRs conducted later after the man’s wife finally said that her husband had been in contact with sick chickens, Paijit said. He was the first person to undergo nine PCR tests, yet the virus was still not detected until an autopsy was conducted on tissue taken from his lungs and faeces.
That PCRs failed to detect the virus could be because of the effects of oseltamivir, which might have prevented the virus from being present in the respiratory-tract areas where swabs were taken for testing, according to Dr Tawee Chotpitayasundond, of the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.
The Department of Livestock Development, meanwhile, insisted Nong Bua Lumphu was not on the list of bird-flu districts and past testing on poultry had found no signs of H5N1 there.
http://tinyurl.com/zdtb8 - For above: INTERVIEW-Migration puts EU on bird flu alert
Thanks Anon for your efforts gathering these stories - they have all been previously posted on the News Thread over the past week except the one from Quebec - this note will remind me to include it in the Summary ;-)
Indonesia another in Bandung cluster??
The Hasan Sadikin hospital has admitted another relative of the family showing bird flu infection symptoms. The 18-year-old is a niece of the brothers who lived with them at Kebonwaru, Batununggal district, Bandung. A 20-year-old man hospitalized here over the past week for infection with the deadly bird flu virus died Thursday, raising the nationwide death toll to 52, or roughly a third of the total deaths worldwide. The government confirmed the 20-year-old was positive for H5N1 earlier this week. The man’s 23-year-old brother died with bird flu symptoms on Sunday just before being admitted to the hospital.
A third sibling, a 15-year-old female, is currently being treated at the same hospital even though she has been declared negative for the virus.
Watch this space;{}
Recombinomics Commentary September 29, 2006
An Indonesian woman whose brother died of bird flu this month is also sick with the virus, a senior Health Ministry official said Friday, confirming the country’s latest family cluster of infections.
The 21-year-old woman is being treated in a hospital in Surabaya city in east Java province, said Nyoman Kandun. Her 11-year-old brother died from bird flu on Sept. 18. He was suspected of contracting the virus from infected chickens close to his house.
“This is a family cluster,” said Nyoman, adding that the source of the woman’s infection was not yet known.
—
“The above comments indicate that there are now two confirmed cases in Tulungung cluster. The time gap in onset dates indicate the index case, who died on September 18, infected his sister, who was transferred September 25, prior to the WHO update on her brother, which did not mention her hospitalization. Although stable, she remains on a respirator ad in isolation.
This cluster is in addition to the confirmed cluster in Bandung, as well as suspected clusters in Sumatra and Tasikmalaya.
In the East Java cluster, the grandmother of the two confirmed cases has been hospitalized and samples have been collected from other family members as well as six classmates of the index case.
‘’‘In the past, H5N1 was isolated from a patient in Kedari, and the sequence of that isolate matched the other human H5N1 bird flu isolates from Java. These sequences do not match the poultry isolates on Java. It is likely that the human cases are being infected by H5N1 evolving in a reservoir other than domestic poultry.
The presences of concurrent multiple clusters throughout Indonesia remains a cause for concern.’‘’
In yesterday’s new thread, Tom DVM – at 23:25 said When they finally realize the writing is on the wall and it’s not far away…they will start ‘singing like jaybirds’ because they will be thinking about consequences and responsibility. I don’t want to see this for a while.
Neither do I, but I think this latest WHO announcement may be the beginnning of that process. What do you think, Tom?
Some may start “singing” soon and others will continue to step over the bodies as long as they can.
Channel NewsAsia
29 September 2006
“The world is half way to finding answers to combating the avian flu, according a leading scientist speaking at a Singapore gathering of experts in emerging infectious diseases.
Dr Yi Guan, Director of State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said at the Applied Biosystems lecture series that his research team has isolated more than 2000 H5N1 viruses, which is 80 per cent of the world total. Still he says, there is much more to understand in terms of the genesis, spread and maintenance of the H5N1 influenza virus.
The latest discovery we have made in our studies is that the virus, after an outbreak will stay in a region for some time, and then diversify. It will cause a lot of trouble if we have different viruses in different regions,’ says Dr Guan.(excerpt)
Following goes with the above..
Dr Guan also believes that the development of Tamiflu as an antiviral is only the first in line to be developed, ‘We cannot only count on Tamiflu – in some cases, there is the potential ability to be drug resistant. We need to develop more’.
Edna Mode at 08:04 -
Your post not directed to me, but I have to say that’s exactly what I thought when reading the info suddenly coming from the WHO. Had to wonder, why now??? Kicked up my PPF also:(
COMMENT RE (Virginia) City schools ready for bird flu (link http://tinyurl.com/nfefc) from the summary
What a frigging joke! They “might” have to close schools during outbreaks? Come on people! jeez
Carrey stalks off to thank her stars her kids are already home and safe, even if they are making a huge mess on the kitchen table with the paints.
The information about the death of the 20M is not new. However the quote from their Health Misister a little bit disconcerting.
‘Indonesia’s bird flu death toll rises to 52
“….Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said any conclusion on human-to-human spread could not be based on small cases. “You cannot just declare there is human-to-human (transmission) from a doctor’s examination. It may need thousands of cases first,” Koran Tempo quoted her as saying….”
Phuket prepares for the new Bird Flu from Phuket Post (Thailand)
…With growing concerns that the Bird Flu virus, H5N1, is mutating into a virus that can be transmitted directly from human to human…
…Seetamanoth, deputy chief medical officer for the province, told Phuket Post that the newest strains of H5N1 are more easily transmitted from birds to humans and has the ability to mutate and infect other humans. “Nobody can tell when that will happen, so what we are doing is being very wary of poultry…
… Symptoms of new mutant flu are the same as with bird flu and include high fever, aching muscles, sore throat, mucus build-up and appears similar to pneumonia…
Comment: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Has anybody else seen another reference to this?
Filipinos lulled into false sense of security vs avian flu? from MQ7 (Philippines)
EITHER we’re very lucky, or we just don’t know it yet.
The Philippines, so far, has not had any reported case of avian influenza (of the H5N1 strain) within its shores yet. The relative calm, however, doesn’t mean there’s no storm approaching…
…This seeming immunity from a disease that is already making its deadly presence felt in other Southeast Asian countries may be lulling the country’s citizens into a “false sense of security,” experts fear. And this could also lead to a situation where the country will be caught by surprise and by the time it prepares for the onset of avian flu, it would be too little, too late…
Pandemic plans must include poor, experts say from Helen Branswell at The Globe and Mail (Canada)
…“Within countries rich and poor, the burden will be felt most by the poorest in those settings,” Ruth Faden, executive director of the Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, said in an interview…
…Well-to-do and middle-class families would likely be able to manage if schools are closed to slow spread of a pandemic virus. But single working parents could have to choose between work and caring for their children, and kids from low income families who rely on school meals could go hungry.
Likewise, telling people to stockpile food is a useful recommendation only for those who can afford to buy additional foodstuffs – and who have a place to store them.
“A general recommendation for people to do X, Y and Z only makes sense if people have the resources to do those things,” Ms. Faden said…
Comment: For quite a few kids in North America, the school lunch is the only real meal they get all day.
Story in the Chicago Tribune this morning from Indonesia about mud coming out of a failed gas exploration drilling site, enough to cover a football field 75 feet deep, every day, for the past four months. They don’t know how to stop it. Four villages have the mud inflow so far, but the mud is spreading still.
Here’s a version that I Googled:
Re. the AARP story about pandemic in print but not on their website, I emailed them to complain about that, and they answered with a confirmation that their article was not on their website but gave me a link to their interview with Anthony Fauci in December 2005.
http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourhealth/avian_flu.html
Guess they’re not going to put it up. Any other members want to write?
DennisC @ 11:01 -
“….Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said any conclusion on human-to-human spread could not be based on small cases. “You cannot just declare there is human-to-human (transmission) from a doctor’s examination. It may need thousands of cases first,” Koran Tempo quoted her as saying….”
OMG!
Winter bird flu mutation risk: WHO From correspondents September 29, 2006 THE risk of a mutation of the bird flu virus increases in winter, the season of normal human flu, the World Health Organisation said today.
“The H5N1 virus does not sleep and still constitutes a danger,” said Mike Perdue, a doctor from the WHO program to fight influenza.
Migrating birds carry the virus and can infect poultry that are kept in the open, he said.
With many people infected with regular flu, the risk increases for a genetic adaptation of H5N1 that could be transmitted between humans, he said.
“It’s impossible to predict if the virus is going to mutate. For now, it’s not the case,” he said, underlining that checks had significantly increased since last year http://tinyurl.com/lmf8d
China shares bird flu samples in “breakthrough”-WHO
Reuters http://tinyurl.com/gdwku Thu 28 Sep 2006 1:05 PM ET By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Sept 28 (Reuters) - China has shared long-sought samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus, in what many scientists view as a breakthrough in cooperation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.
The samples, taken from some of the thousands of wild birds which died in Qinghai Lake in April 2005, have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a WHO collaborating centre in Atlanta, for further analysis, WHO officials said.
“My understanding is they have been shipped to a WHO collaborating centre now from the Ministry of Agriculture,” WHO scientist Michael Perdue told a news briefing.
He said the animal samples, the first from China in 2–1/2 years, should help scientists understand the origin of a sub-type of the deadly H5N1 virus which later circulated in Turkey and Africa but is genetically different from the one hitting other parts of Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
UK farm ministry orders Intervet bird flu vaccine
Reuters http://tinyurl.com/pkkjr Fri 29 Sep 2006 9:34 AM ET
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain’s farm ministry said on Friday it has ordered 10 million doses of vaccine to protect poultry against bird flu, from Akzo Nobel <AKZO.AS> unit Intervet.
The ministry said the order followed a tendering process it announced in July. The vaccine can be used against both the H5 and H7 strains of the virus.
The vaccine can be used in poultry and other captive birds.
The ministry said five million doses had already been manufactured at Intervet’s production facility in Spain and are expected to arrive in the UK within the next 3 weeks.
The remaining five million doses will take a further 13 weeks to manufacture, it added.
Earlier this year, the ministry ordered 2.3 million doses of vaccine for possible preventive vaccination of zoo birds.
Swiss measures aim to protect flocks from bird flu
Reuters http://tinyurl.com/frcn2
Fri 29 Sep 2006 5:11 AM ET GENEVA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Switzerland on Friday announced “targeted” preventive measures to protect its poultry against bird flu carried by migratory birds heading south to Africa.
For six months from October 15, free-range chickens will be banned within one kilometre of 21 major lakes and rivers, where wild birds infected with the H5N1 virus might stop to rest or drink, it said.
“Within these regions…free-range poultry will be banned as well as poultry markets and exhibitions,” the Swiss economy ministry said in a statement.
“The period of vigilance will not be limited to periods of migration, but throughout the winter,” it said. The measures, to remain in place until April 30, 2007, could also be reinforced.
Singapore News http://tinyurl.com/jsgc4 New inroads made in battling the Avian flu and Dengue fever
By Yvonne Yong | Posted: 29 September 2006 1739 hrs
Dr Yi Guan, Director of State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said at the Applied Biosystems lecture series that his research team has isolated more than 2000 H5N1 viruses, which is 80 per cent of the world total. Still he says, there is much more to understand in terms of the genesis, spread and maintenance of the H5N1 influenza virus.
‘The latest discovery we have made in our studies is that the virus, after an outbreak will stay in a region for some time, and then diversify. It will cause a lot of trouble if we have different viruses in different regions,’ says Dr Guan.
Comment
gharris – at 12:29 For six months from October 15…Within these regions…free-range poultry will be banned…
I wonder if the free-range chickens have penciled this in on their calendars. This ranks right up there with a doctor in an article the other day who was quoted as saying that someone who catches H5N1 “can get seriously unwell.” Oi.
NEWS - From Promed - Preliminary Program for IMED 2007 Meeting - http://tinyurl.com/kzupz
Confirmed Speakers:
Dr David L. Heymann - Acting Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases and Representative of the Director-General for Pandemic Influenza and the Representative of the Director-General for Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr Adriano Duse - NHLS and School of Pathology of the University of Witwatersrand
Clinical Microbiology & ID, Johannesburg, South Africa
Dr Antoine Flahault - Professor, University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris
Dr Daniel Lucey - Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Program Threat Agents and Emerging
Infectious Diseases
The meeting will embrace the “One Medicine” concept, recognizing that just as diseases reach across national boundaries, so do they cross species barriers. We therefore welcome the full participation of both the human and animal health communities.
Please see some of the elements of the program:
Session 2: Animal Reservoirs for Emerging Pathogens
and
Session 2: Outbreak Control: What Do We Need Besides Good Luck?
and
Session 2: Detection, Surveillance and Control of Emerging Diseases in Wildlife
and
Session 1: Balancing Science, Surveillance and Society: Who Needs to Know What and When
Session 2: Vaccines Against Emerging Diseases
Phuket prepares for the new Bird Flu
Phuket Post http://tinyurl.com/guztz (2006–09–29 14:52:30)
Wiwat Seetamanoth, deputy chief medical officer for the province, told Phuket Post that the newest strains of H5N1 are more easily transmitted from birds to humans and has the ability to mutate and infect other humans. “Nobody can tell when that will happen, so what we are doing is being very wary of poultry. All chickens and eggs coming into Phuket through the check point at Tha Chat Chai, are being sprayed to sterilise them and we are also checking all chicken farms on Phuket.”
Symptoms of new mutant flu are the same as with bird flu and include high fever, aching muscles, sore throat, mucus build-up and appears similar to pneumonia.
“We don’t have an anti-virus to protect against this new flu yet. There are various types of medicine available, but they are very expensive and difficult to find. For now, we will keep a close look out for people with flu and pneumonia symptoms at Phuket’s hospitals.”
Flu-Vaccine Should Move Out Of Eggs, FDA Says from The Pittsburgh Channel (Pennsylvania)
…The Food and Drug Administration released Thursday new guidelines for using cells instead of eggs. They explain the state-of-the-art options for ensuring the safety and purity of different types of cell cultures.
The White House is eager to see more use of cells. There’s concern that if bird flu or some other super-strain hits, factories might run out of eggs and be unable to make more vaccine…
Comment
Banshee — at 13:24
Perhaps the FDA looked at the “Vaccine in hens’ eggs’ question which I posted on CE last April? Boy, aren’t they late in their “bird flu 3 Rs”! http://tinyurl.com/m3kjf. Honest, it’s taken them scientists that much time to understand this compared to us lay(wo)men? No wonder some of us are so angry and furious at TPTB!
banshee – at 13:24 wrote:
“Flu-Vaccine Should Move Out Of Eggs, FDA Says from The Pittsburgh Channel (Pennsylvania) … concern that if bird flu or some other super-strain hits, factories might run out of eggs and be unable to make more vaccine…”
Running out of eggs might suggest they are anticipating a shortage of healthy egg-laying hens, or the eggs they do get might be considered a biohazard. Someone is thinking ahead.
Research on viral hygiene-
“Study: Hotel Rooms Have Unseen Guests” By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer http://tinyurl.com/kroau
“Researchers had 15 people with lab-confirmed rhinovirus colds spend a night in individual rooms at a nearby hotel and, after they checked out, tested 10 items they said they had touched. About one-third of the objects were contaminated with rhinovirus.
“We were surprised to find so many,” Winther said.
Virus was found on 7 out of 14 door handles and 6 of 14 pens. Six out of 15 light switches, TV remotes and faucets tested positive, as did 5 of 15 phones. Shower curtains, coffee makers and alarm clocks also harbored viruses.
Surprisingly, virus turned up on only one of the 10 toilet handles tested.” …more
News. That one is direct from the Indo Ministry of Health, dated 27 September 2006. So maybe it’s a duplicate? http://tinyurl.com/khftu
Jakarta — the Ministry of the Health currently researches the possibility of the spread of the bird flu virus from humankind to humankind. This after having the incident three related that terjangkit this virus, one including dying. This case was named the spread cluster, where the virus H5N1 spread from humankind to humankind, and no longer the reason from the poultry. This matter was expected because of the possibility of the virus has termutasi so as to was easy to spread among humankind. This newest development, cash made the experts worried.
NJ. Preppie – at 16:17 wrote:
“Research on viral hygiene-
“Study: Hotel Rooms Have Unseen Guests” By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer http://tinyurl.com/kroau “Researchers had 15 people with lab-confirmed rhinovirus colds spend a night in individual rooms at a nearby hotel and, after they checked out, tested 10 items they said they had touched. About one-third of the objects were contaminated with rhinovirus.”
24 May 2004
NewScientist.com news service
Doctors may be harbouring disease-causing bugs in their ties that could potentially be transmitted to patients, a new study has found.
Nearly half the neckties worn by 42 doctors at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queen’s (NYHMCQ) contained bacteria which can cause dangerous conditions like pneumonia and blood infections, the researchers found.
“This study brings into question whether wearing a necktie is in the best interest of our patients,” says NYHMCQ’s Steven Nurkin, who led the team.
“Being well-dressed adds to an aura of professionalism and has been correlated with higher patient confidence,” he says. “But while there is no direct evidence to implicate neckties in the transmission of infection to patients, the link between contaminated necktie and the potential for transmission must be considered.”
Regular Flu Shot May Help Fight Bird Fl
A leading flu expert says an encouraging but small study in mice gives more reason to hope that ordinary flu shots might help protect people if bird flu starts spreading among humans and causes a pandemic.
Half of the mice given an ingredient from the regular flu shot survived infection with bird flu in the first experiment of its kind, Dr. Robert Webster of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., said Friday at an infectious diseases conference….
The mice results “suggest there is some basic cross-protection,” Webster said, and that it makes sense for countries to stockpile ordinary vaccine while those against bird flu are being developed.
mostly duplicate information, but I needed some good news about now.
Ordinary flu shots may help fight bird flu, mouse study suggests; experts advise caution
The experiment on about a dozen mice was led by Webster’s colleague, Richard Webby.
Regular flu vaccine contains the same ‘N’ ingredient as the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, and many people also have been naturally exposed to it from seasonal flu outbreaks over the last several decades. Some scientists think that might help people survive bird flu, even though it wouldn’t prevent infection because the ‘H’ parts are so different…
COMMENT:
The above news sounds so amazingly fantastic — regular flu shot may be 50% effective against pandemic flu. Can it possibly be true? It sounds too good to believe.
Didn’t Webster answer a question in the AARP interview about the seasonal vaccine? Didn’t he say it would help a little bit? Webster’s colleague thinks more of it than Webster.
Sep. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM
Toronto Star (excerpt)
“The federal government agreed to add oseltamivir — the generic form of the influenza treatment Tamiflu — to the list of drugs that companies can make for export because need for the drug may exceed the ability of Roche Canada, the patent holder, to produce it, an Industry Canada official said.
“They’ve made a herculean effort to supply, but the world’s a big place,” Doug Clark, director of patent policy, told Canadian Press yesterday.
And the WHO has indicated we’re still many years away, even at the current rate of meeting the outstanding demand, if the world is to be safe or well prepared for an eventual pandemic.
Average Concerned Mom – at 18:04 wrote:
COMMENT:
The above news sounds so amazingly fantastic — regular flu shot may be 50% effective against pandemic flu. Can it possibly be true? It sounds too good to believe.
This is good news about half the mice surviving a bird flu infection after receiving a regular flu shot. If we are only at risk of getting the avian flu virus that Dr. Webster infjected into his mice, that will be good for 50% of the folks. Considering that the mortality rate currently is 67% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H5N1).
My understanding is that there are at least 4 and counting viruses (also known as Clades/sub-Clades) capeable of being lethal to humans and, each would require a seperatae vaccination to provide immunity.
I have no idea what the one ingredient given to the mice (see Dennis C post)was nor can I guess. It doesn’t seem helpful to humans like it is in mice. If 50% protection was possible don’t you think that would be all over MSM? I found the comments about the ducks more intersting and even disturbing.
COMMENT
2 (tiny) bits of good news today:
1 The FDA’s comments on moving from egg based to cell based vaccines - some hope for the HA recombinant protein vaccine
2 That there may be a small degree of cross-immunogenicity with our seasonal flu vaccine. This still looks way too tentative for me, so I’m not banking it yet. But still, good to hear it.
This vaccine is getting lots of attention and more money thrown at it—most recently the NIH. siRNA is a therapeutic vaccine that is effective against all strains of a virus—both new and old. It targets specific conserved regions of the influenza viral genome.
read here: http://tinyurl.com/elplu
More ducks found in USA low path strain. http://tinyurl.com/j5daw
Leo7 – at 18:46
That one is not a vaccine, it is an antiviral formulation.
Interesting news. Researchers are looking for ninety year old survivors of the 1918 flu. They want them to donate a vial of blood for research. Neat story. Read here: http://tinyurl.com/rmxhd
Maybe it’s just me but I would’ve guessed someone would have already tried this, especially after JKT reversed engineered 1918 H1N1. Better late than never!
Anon 22:
You’re right, I guess I read the bottom and vaccine stuck in my mind. I think this might be even better as an anti-viral for treatment. Not enought of those by far.
ProMED PLAGUE, PNEUMONIC - CONGO DR (ITURI) (05): SUSPECTED, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
“A deadly epidemic feared to be pneumonic plague has broken out in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), WHO said on Fri, 29 Sep 2006.
There are dozens of suspect cases and up to 20 deaths in the outbreak, which a WHO team is investigating along with health ministry officials…
Preliminary indications point to pneumonic plague, the most deadly and least common form of the disease, which can be spread by humans without involvement of fleas, he said. “It seems it could be the pneumonic form, which is extremely contagious with a high mortality rate of about 50 percent … At least several dozen cases are reported and up to 20 fatalities,” Bertherat said.”
http://tinyurl.com/s8yll ______
Does a news item like this, that isn’t necessarily H5N1, belong on another thread, or can it go on news?
Are these the sorts of things we should be watching out for? It’s a bit disconcerting, as it has not yet been confirmed as Y. pestis/plague, and, as far as I know, given the symptoms of H5N1 and pneumonic plague, one could easily be mistaken for the other. The only thing is, pneumonic plague has a longer incubation period.
Sorry, sorry - pneumonic plague has a SHORTER incubation period than influenza.
I’m glad they have decided the seasonal flu vaccine might work for H5N1…because it doesn’t work for seasonal flu.
Good one!
I believe the hope by the big anti-BF alert PR machine is that the 50% figure could translate into 50% more people will be lulled into doing nothing even longer. Fear control is up and running. Turn your personal news filters up.
I am about to start creating the News Summary then I will create a new News thread so please give me about 30–40 minutes.
Closed to maintain Forum speed.