Here is the link for the other site as well, which includes the Summary for Dec 16
Not Bird Flu but a Brain Fever Has taken about 400 lives in India since July.
<snip> The encephalitis toll has climbed up to 401 since its outbreak in July,” Manoj Verma, a senior government official in northern Uttar Pradesh state, said Saturday. <snip>
This is the link. http://tinyurl.com/ykmmu5
Thanks both of you!
Tags: News Reports, December 17, (All Tags) :: Add/Edit Tags on this Post
News Reports For December 17 | 17 comments | Post A Comment
If it were H5N1, with three times more patients than past years, there would have been some deaths. It’s still a concern, not an alarm. A lot of severe seasonal flu cases could mask an H5N1 case, though only for a short time. Recent example was Thailand.
Truth empowers.
by: anon.yyz @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 16:34:30 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
He is assuming that there will be enough Tamiflu? What planet is he living on?
by: bluette @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 16:11:32 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
this spring “ The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Jordan free of bird flu in May this year two months after the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus was detected in four turkeys in the northern Governorate of Ajloun.The discovery prompted a huge cull affecting over 50,000 homebred birds.” …so they must have testing facilities. We are having a pretty miserable flu season in the states so it may be nothing.
by: mojo @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 16:04:54 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
what is typical for a flu season in Jordon? Have you came across any references to this?
by: cottontop @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 15:51:49 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
Truth empowers.
by: anon.yyz @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 15:06:14 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
by: cottontop @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 14:17:43 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
http://www.menafn.co… QUOTE
The president of the Jordan Thoracic Society Dr. Khamis Khattab said: “I don’t know how many more are being treated in the hospital this year, but more are admitting themselves because the severity of their illness and complications are acute compared to previous flu seasons.” He speculated that this year’s flu “could be a new virus.”
Hijjawi said a specialist based at the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt, had recently flown to Jordan to examine the virus and provide technical support for the ministry.
END QUOTE
New seasonal strain, I hope. Number infected might be due to shortage of vaccines. No deaths reported.
Truth empowers.
by: anon.yyz @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 14:15:08 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
We’re seeing outbreaks of flu in many places, including the US, which are reported as more severe than usual, as well as more widespread. There are unusually large numbers at my own school, with severe respiratory problems - including pneumonia - and high fevers. Could this be the first wave? Isn’t it true that the first wave of the Spanish Flu pandemic was similarly milder than the second wave, so that it wasn’t realized we were in a pandemic until that second wave started killing people worldwide? Yet even with this historical warning, are the health authorities testing these victims in Jordan for H5N1, or even trying to find out for sure what strain of flu it is? How about in those outbreaks in the US, any testing for type by the CDC? Maybe they are, but I haven’t heard.
I’ve raised this concern before, but let me continue beating my little drum until it turns out to be a dead horse.
by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 13:55:43 PM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
The link to the USGS commentary that mentioned contaminated quail eggs in SK was being very tempermental this morning. So I finally accessed it and copied the relevant parts of the article to post here. I don’t think the significance of 100,000 potentially H5N1 contaminated quail eggs sent to market should be underplayed. I’m hoping one of you magnificent newshounds out there will try to track this down: where were these eggs sent? Were any directly from the quails that later died? And is any follow up or monitoring of consumers being done? The USGS report sort of takes an “oh well” attitude. Anyway, here it is:
Avian Influenza
Update: December 14, 2006
H5N1 in Wild Birds (snip)
A mortality event at the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary at the Chilika Lake, on the eastern coast of India, has killed over 80 birds with another 277 sick. Birds involved are mainly pintails, but also included shovelers, gadwalls, bar-headed geese and sea eagles. The saline lake is habitat for as many as 300,000 migratory birds from as far away as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tibet, and Siberia. The cause of death has not been determined and H5N1 has not been ruled out.
(snip)
H5N1 in Domestic Animals A third outbreak of HPAI within the same month has been reported in Gimje, North Cholla province, South Korea. The farmer reported on 12/10/06 to the authorities that over 1,000 quail died over a 4-day period. The farm raises over 290,000 quail. Some experts and local farms suspect the disease might have spread along the major local highway, Route 23, but an unnamed provincial official is quoted in a Korean news report as saying “Quail are hardy birds, and it seems the infected birds got the virus from migratory birds at the same time as the poultry in Iksan and fell ill after the full incubation period of 21 days.”
Before the movement of poultry from the farm was halted, over 100,000 quail eggs had been sent to market. Quail eggs are not washed before sale and authorities fear the fecal contamination might contain virus.
Also, 15,000 young quail were sent to a farm in Koksong, South Cholla on 12/9/06. No evidence of disease has been reported at Koksong; 360,000 poultry within 500 m of the Gimje farm will be culled. So far, over a million birds have been or will be culled in the three outbreaks this year in South Korea.
by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 13:43:55 PM CST [ Reply ]
http://www.menafn.co… MENAFN - Jordan Times) AMMAN — The availability of influenza vaccinations has failed to keep pace with demand this year as the Kingdom experiences one of its worst flu epidemics in recent memory, according to physicians. The dearth of vaccines, they say, occurred this October and early November and was largely a result of a surge in demand by citizens.
Minister of Health Saad Kharabsheh referred to the influenza situation in the country as an “epidemic,” with a conspicuously larger number of people falling ill.
The symptoms of this year’s strain, which are lasting longer than usual and are more intense, include a sore throat, achy joints, fever, and an unusual occurrence of “temporary asthma-like side effects.”
Dr. Ahmad Irani, an internist in Amman, said he has treated three times the number of flu stricken patients this year. “My patients say this is the worst flu they have had in their lives.”
Doctors have also confirmed that employees are taking as many as six to seven days off work because of the intensity of the virus. snip Hijjawi said a specialist based at the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt, had recently flown to Jordan to examine the virus and provide technical support for the ministry.
more at link
by: mojo @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 13:40:32 PM CST [ Reply ]
by: Jane @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 11:50:38 AM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
This AP article was on the front page of the Springfield, MO Sunday paper today: Trailers packed with cots and medical supplies are parked in secret locations around Colorado, ready for doctors to open makeshift hospitals in school gyms if a flu pandemic strikes.
snip
- How will you keep grocery stores stocked?
- Will you reserve enough anti-flu drugs for utility workers so the water and electricity stay on?
- If you close schools, will local businesses let parents stay home with their children, or fire them?
Snip
Louisiana has discussed expanding visiting hours so relatives can help with some patient care or even giving recovering patients some light duty.
snip
The CDC’s Wortley does not think superfast vaccination is the best to practice. The first scarce doses of vaccine to arrive in each state will be reserved for high-risk groups, such as health care workers and those most at risk of death.
The federal government is debating whether other people needed to keep critical industries going, such as grocery truck drivers and power-company workers, should be added to that list. But it will not be first-come, first-served.
“You’re potentially talking about a vaccination campaign that draws out over more than a year,” Wortley said. “Really, the issue isn’t how many people can you vaccinate in a day. The issue is how do you pull off this type of campaign where people are going to be wanting vaccine and there’s not enough?”
More: http://www.news-lead…
Pretty bold beginning for this town’s info intro, but absolutely no mention of individuals beginning to stock up on anything at all.
by: LEG @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 10:46:30 AM CST [ Reply ]
I’m curious to anyone’s reaction here to the link in today’s news that says Chicken Little is Wrong.
by: FL Doc @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 10:38:36 AM CST [ Reply ]
Talking about how the differences in state prepardness and what different states were doing to prepare.
by: Greenmom @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 08:18:22 AM CST [ Parent | Reply ]
If a serious health disaster — like a mass outbreak of bird flu — hits, not all emergency plans are smart ones, experts say. That’s why state disaster preparedness officials are urging the Legislature not to adopt a proposal designed to make it easier for health workers to travel across state lines in the event of an emergency.
[snip]
Last summer, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws created draft legislation to allow health-care workers to travel to other states to help if there is an emergency, like a pandemic or a natural disaster. The draft, known as the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Care Practitioners Act, has been submitted to states around the country.
Dr. Catherine Slemp, executive director of the state Office of Threat Preparedness, though, urged legislators last week not to adopt the act in the coming session. While the act’s intent is good, it doesn’t address crucial legal issues such as liability, and leaves the state scrambling to verify the medical credentials of out-of-state health-care providers, she said. http://wvgazette.com…
by: Nimbus @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 07:42:53 AM CST [ Reply ]
looking at news now it seems like half the states in the US have an article in one of their local papers about how ready or not ready their state is for a flu pandemic. Is this a reaction to the recent release of the Trust for America’s Health study showing that most of the plans suck?
medical information provided is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. if you believe you have a medical problem, consult your practitioner.
by: Lisa the GP @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 03:36:08 AM CST [ Reply ]
I hope this wasn’t on the Dec 16 thread, if so I missed it… Survivors Recall Horror Of Flu Pandemic
(AP) CHEVY CHASE, Md. At the height of the flu pandemic in 1918, William H. Sardo Jr. remembers the pine caskets stacked in the living room of his family’s house, a funeral home in Washington, D.C.
The city had slowed to a near halt. Schools were closed. Church services were banned. The federal government limited its hours of operation. People were dying — some who took ill in the morning were dead by night.
“That’s how quickly it happened,” said Sardo, 94, who lives in an assisted living facility just outside the nation’s capital. “They disappeared from the face of the earth.”
more at:
this was picked up by several other news outlets; any thought as to why they’re running it now?
is there any news expected from the Indonesian conference?
medical information provided is for discussion purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. if you believe you have a medical problem, consult your practitioner.
by: Lisa the GP @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 00:34:15 AM CST [ Reply ]
News Reports For December 17 | 17 comments | Post A Comment
Did anybody note the breakout of AF in Aceh, Indonesia?
Jefiner — 17 December 2006, 18:54
It was discussed here in the Indonesian News Diary:
Here is the link to the Indo thread/diary over at FW2 http://tinyurl.com/y7xcpn
They seem to be on top of it
Thanks, Kim and Anon—