Category Archives: Influenza

Influenza

H7N9 update: 120 cases! The more you’re exposed, the greater your chances of getting sick!

28 April 2013 (00:51 UTC-07 Tango)/17 Jumada t-Tania 1434/08 Ordibehest 1392/19 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

The Chinese province of Hunan reporting its first human case.  A 64 years old woman became sick with pneumonia after working with poultry. She’s in critical condition, but improving.

Travel agencies in Taiwan reporting a 30% drop in bookings to mainland China, after a Taiwan man came back from China sick with H7N9.

On top of that, potential visitors to Taiwan, from Japan, have also been canceling their trips: “…the number of tour groups composed of Japanese corporate employees has declined remarkably.”-Mori Chen, Star Express

Researchers in Canada think the reason so many old men are getting sick, is because of their life long exposure to H7 strains of the flu, as a result of their work with poultry.  A similar antibody-dependent enhancement has been confirmed with dengue fever, and studies have shown that lab animals exposed to flu are more likely to finally get sick than “influenza-naïve animals”.

Basically the more you come into contact with a disease the weaker your immune system gets, even you if you never show symptoms: “…..we should also stay open to the possibility that pre-existing cross-reactive antibodies may actually facilitate the viral infection process, a phenomenon best recognised for dengue through the mechanism of antibody dependent enhancement.”-Danuta M. Skowronski, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Virus-host interactions and the unusual age and sex distribution of human cases of influenza A(H7N9) in China, April 2013 

 

Influenza

H7N9 update: Spreads to Beijing! Worse than first thought!

13 April 2013 (22:45 UTC-07 Tango 12 April 2013)/02 Jumada t-Tania 1434/24 Farvardin 1392/04 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

“It is possible that these severely ill patients represent the tip of the iceberg and that there are many more as-yet-undetected mild and asymptomatic infections.”-Human Infection with a Novel Avian-Origin Influenza A (H7N9) Virus, NEJM

A seven years old girl is now hospitalized in Beijing, with H7N9.  44 cases, 11 deaths since the end of March.

The girl developed symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat and headache on the morning 11 April.  By the evening she had been unsuccessfully treated with Tamiflu, her condition worsened and she was hospitalized.  Doctors say oxygen treatment reduced the severity of her symptoms.  Test confirmed H7N9.  Her family is involved in the poultry business.

This follows warnings from Chinese and international health officials, that H7N9 is much worse than first thought.

In a report published in NEJM researchers warned the H7N9 virus is more virulent than first thought, and they warned of global spread: “…the pandemic potential of these novel avian-origin viruses should not be underestimated……..We are concerned by the sudden emergence of these infections and the potential threat to the human population. An understanding of the source and mode of transmission of these infections, further surveillance, and appropriate counter measures are urgently required.”

  The report confirmed claims made earlier in the week by health official in Thailand, it’s new to continental Asia, and it’s never infected humans before:  “The transmission of H7 viruses to mammals has been reported only rarely in Asia. Human infections with N9 subtype viruses had not been documented anywhere in the world.”

Of interest is the first three people to die were treated with lots of anti-biotics, which is odd because anti-biotics don’t work on viruses, and “Antiviral therapy was initiated 6 to 7 days after the onset of illness.” 

 

 

Influenza

H7N9 update: Thailand says virus new to continental East Asia, came from U.S.! Inspectors say Thai chicken is good to eat!

08 April 2013 (19:39 UTC-07 Tango 06 April 2013)/27 Jumada l-Ula 1434/19 Farvardin 1392/28 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

“H7N9 used to be found only in poultry in Europe, the United States and Japan. Never before have there been reports of people contracting the disease…..To be ready for H7N9, every hospital in Phuket will strictly monitor patients who have serious respiratory symptoms similar to those brought on by pneumonia and influenza. Surveillance Rapid Response Teams have been ordered to be ready around the clock.”-Bancha Kakong, Phuket Provincial Health Office

The Thai Agriculture Ministry is not worried about the Chinese ban on poultry imports: “H7N9 spread in China won’t affect Thai poultry exports.”

Thai officials say several foreign inspectors have given the OK for Thai chickens.  Qatar is the latest country to resume importing poultry from the southeast Asian country.

At latest count there are 21 cases of human H7N9 infections in China, six have died.

Influenza

H7N9 update: FAO says most farmers unaware of infected poultry! New cases in Quails!

06 April 2013 (00:26 UTC-07 Tango)/25 Jumada l-Ula 1434/17 Farvardin 1392/26 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is warning that most farmers in Asia are not aware of the new H7N9 bird flu virus.

The FAO says word needs to get out to the farmers that H7N9 is not like H5N1, in that it has no “red flag” warning signs.

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission is now saying the 16 human infections are isolated cases. So far there is no evidence the virus spread human to human.

Hangzhou city has joined Shanghai in shutting down live poultry trading.  Hangzhou is in Zhejiang Province, and one of the human cases there has been traced to infected quails bought in a market in Shangcheng District.

 

Influenza

H7N9 update: China says it will spread! Now a Class 5 Disease, influenza Command Center established! Proof that it spreads human to human!

04 April 2013 (12:29 UTC-07 Tango)/23 Jumada l-Ula 1434/15 Farvardin 1392/24 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Officials in China’s capital, Beijing, say the new H7N9 will spread, because China is an international crossroads for migratory birds.

The massive city of Shanghai has begun killing off poultry. This after pigeons tested positive for the new virus.

Also, Shanghai’s Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission reporting that one of the new human cases is a person who was in contact with another person who died from H7N9.  The new patient now quarantined.

Taiwan’s Department of Health has classified H7N9 as Category 5 Notifiable Infectious Disease.  Taiwan is the first country to do so.  This means if someone dies in Taiwan, of H7N9, they must be cremated, and this includes tourists from other countries.   The island nation is also the first country to establish a Central Epidemic Command Center for H7N9 influenza.

 

Influenza

H7N9 update: WHO scrambling to find vaccine that works! New strain is combination of 3 old strains! Resistant to Tamiflu!

04 April 2013 (18:50 UTC-07 Tango 03 April 2013)/23 Jumada l-Ula 1434/15 Farvardin 1392/24 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

“It is not yet known how these persons became infected. The possibility of animal-to-human transmission is being investigated, as is the possibility of person-to-person transmission.”-UN World Health Organization statement

“This thing doesn’t any longer look like a poultry virus. It really looks to me like it’s adapted in a mammalian host somewhere.”-Richard Webby, UN WHO center for influenza studies at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee U.S.A.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says the genetic make up of the new H7N9 contains genes from several different bird flus.

Those other viruses include H9N2 which seems to be specific to China and South Korea.  Others are H7N7, which is highly infectious, and the H3N2 virus that is resistant to Tamiflu treatment.

The UN World health organization held a press conference in which they tried to calm things down by saying there is no pandemic, yet.  They then went on to say they were grabbing at straws, studying whether existing vaccines could work on the new virus.

A day ago the U.S. CDC said they were scrambling to create a vaccine.

Influenza

H7N9 update: Vietnam bans poultry imports from China! Two more cases reported, one person dies!

03 April 2013/22 Jumada l-Ula 1434/14 Farvardin 1392/23 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

“If we don’t eradicate it pretty quickly, this virus will become endemic and spread across China and beyond China.”-Malik Peiris, University of Hong Kong.

Vietnam has been dealing with H5N1 bird flu outbreaks, now Vietnam’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry is banning all poultry from China, because of the new H7N9 bird flu.

This after China reported that a third person has died.  A man in Zhejiang Province died.  He was a cook working in Jiangsu Province. Just before the reports of his death health officials in that province revealed they had two cases of H7N9.  Zhejiang borders the other provinces that are also reporting human cases of H7N9.  All people infected are in critical condition.

Influenza

Influenza update, 31 March 2013: New killer H7N9! More people dying of Swine Flu! Government cover up! Flu season twice as long as last year’s! Preps underway for pandemic! More studies say vaccine is bad for you!

China is reporting two people dead, caused by the latest type of bird flu, H7N9.  The UN World Health Organization (WHO) says the human deaths in China are the first in the world for this type of bird flu.  Two men in Shanghai (the same place where thousands of dead pigs were pulled from the river, some reports say as many as 3300) became the first people known to get infected with H7N9 bird flu, and it killed them fast.  A third person is infected, a woman, and she in in the hospital in critical condition.

In the recent past health officials were concerned with H5N1 bird flu, but H7N9 looks to be more lethal, now that it’s jumping to humans.

On top of the dead pigs in the Huangpu River, Chinese have also been pulling thousands of dead ducks out of the Pengshan/Nanhe River.

In Australia, two people died at a old folks home in Queensland. There was an outbreak of flu.  14 people were infected with flu A.  Seven were hospitalized and 15 employees became sick as well.  This is just the beginning of the flu season Down Under.

In Pakistan, flu has made an appearance by killing a doctor.  Recently a surgeon at the Holy Family Hospital died.  Nurses at the hospital complain that only doctors are given gloves and masks, while they and ward boys go unprotected.  Pakistan’s National Institute of Health said the doctor’s death was the result of his being treated for allergies with steroids which weakened his immune system.  There have been five deaths related to other types of flus as well.

In the country of Georgia, health officials reporting 22 deaths connected to both versions of H1N1 bird and swine flu.

In India, more deaths being reported.  A woman just died from H1N1 swine flu in the state of Gujarat.  Gujarat and Rajasthan are dealing with the most cases of swine flu.  In all of India, from 01 January to 24 March there have been at least 445 human deaths caused by swine flu!  But wait, there’s more!  Gujarat is expecting thousands of religious pilgrims for two days of religious celebrations, and the fear is swine flu will spread like wildfire.  They’ve even called up 2500 law enforcement/health personnel: “Following the alert we have in all set up 16 stalls of which 6 will be in Dakor while 10 will be on the routes leading to the holy place. We will keep an eye on people who may have swine flu like symptoms and will convince them to return.”–HF Patel, district health officer of Kheda

Despite the obvious epidemic in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research actually ordered state health officials to treat swine flu as a normal seasonal flu.  This brought condemnation and accusations of government cover up from the High Court in Gurjarat, the hardest hit state.   The Gurjarat High Court is basing their case on the number of prisoner requests to visit sick and dying relatives, which has skyrocketed, and the fact that even doctors are dying.  The court gave local health officials until 09 April to present a detailed report of cases.  A judge blasted the poor conditions of government run hospitals: “Even for patients there are no beds in hospitals, what rain basera [guest beds?] for their relatives? This is an eye-wash! They are sleeping outside the Civil Hospital. And health and hygiene are worst in government hospitals.”

In United Kingdom, reports say swine flu is resistant to treatment with Tamiflu. A study done in collaboration with UN WHO and Australian researchers, shows a small increase in swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu.  But the big worry is that most of the patients in the study had never been treated with Tamiflu before, which means they caught a swine flu that had become resistant to Tamiflu on its own.

In Sweden, researchers confirmed that the swine flu vaccine, Pandemrix, causes narcolepsy.  The government ordered the Swedish Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket) to do the study, when more than a hundred people developed the sleeping disorder after getting the flu shot.  The study found that the younger you are the more chance of getting narcolepsy from Pandemrix.

In Republic of Ireland, people are protesting the Health Minister, because of increased cases of narcolepsy in children. Last April the Minister issued the results of their own study which showed swine flu vaccine causes narcolepsy. Some Irish families are now suing GlaxoSmith-Kline, the maker of Pandemrix.

Speaking of vaccines, in Texas U.S.A., A&M University announced it’s joining with pharmaceutical companies to help prepare for a influenza pandemic.  They are helping to create and run a $91 million USD vaccine factory. The goal is to be able to produce 50 million doses within four months of a pandemic outbreak!

In Belgium, health officials announced the worst of their flu season has past. They said the epidemic lasted 12 weeks, compared to only six weeks last year.  At the peak of the epidemic 1083 people sought medical help.

The U.S. Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention says the dominate strain of influenza is now flu B.

 

 

 

Influenza

Influenza update, 26 March 2013: More than 100 children in the U.S. die! Infected chickens sold to public! Naproxen turning out to be anti-flu? More proof vaccines don’t work! Swine flu killing hundreds in the past two months! Warning about Super Flu!

The U.S. CDC says 105 children have died so far this flu season.  They also claim that 90% did not get vaccinated.

In Minnesota U.S.A., deaths have hit 180!  Four in the past week.  compare that to last last flu season when 33 Minnesotans died.

In Pennsylvania U.S.A., doctors are concerned about increasing cases of flu B: “I think the reason it surprises me in March is that it was an early season too. So this season has been going on a long time. This has been a bad flu season.”-Scott Tyson, Pediatrics South Mount Lebanon

In Licking County, Ohio U.S.A., health officials report 2378 flu cases as of 09 March. They expect more.

In South Dakota U.S.A., the state Department of Health says 36 people have died so far.  11% of deaths are Native Americans.

In the world of professional baseball and basketball several players are out sick with flu.

In New Hampshire U.S.A., pet owners are being warned about the new H3N8 dog flu. The new to dogs disease has hit Vermont and Massachusetts.

North Dakota U.S.A. reporting cases of dog flu.

In New Zealand, doctors are urging people to get flu shots.  There have already been some flu cases in Kiwiland, but the official flu season hasn’t started yet.  Kiwi docs say it takes two weeks after getting a flu vaccine before it’s effective.

In Canada, health officials in the Province of Alberta are whining about the lack of people getting flu shots.  The provinces have mandated vaccination goals, and Alberta has reached only half its goal.  Health officials are also complaining about the lack of infants being vaccinated, but one family that got their baby vaccinated says it did no good:  “Even with the vaccination, he has been sick every month. So whether the vaccination worked or not, I’m not sure, but we did it as a precaution.”-Binod Pouyal, father of 19 months old who’s been sick ever since getting the shot

A Canadian company says tobacco protein can be used to grow cultures for flu vaccines.  Currently vaccines are made using chicken eggs, and some people are allergic.  Then there’s the recently approved way using bug guts.  Medicago says their new tobacco based system can grow more cultures in less time.

Researchers in France say naproxen is showing promise as an anti-flu viral medication.  The study was published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.  Apparently naproxen interferes with flu A viruses’ ability to bind with your cells.

In the state of Gurjurat, India, as of 23 March 149 people have died from swine flu! Local media reporting that the swine flu epidemic is so bad that the state government refuses to release anymore health data to the public. Public officials are currently debating how to handle the release of health data.

In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Indore district, six new H1N1 swine flu cases were reported, four are in critical condition.  So far 31 people are confirmed infected and 12 have died.  And in the state of Maharashtra, Pune district, health officials say 25 people got infected with H1N1, and six of them died, all in the past two and a half months!

In Netherlands, bird flu hit poultry farms in Flevoland province. 24000 chickens were destroyed.

Vietnam reporting bird flu outbreaks across the country.

Bird flu is infecting poultry farms in Bangladesh, and some of the thousands of infected chickens were sold to the public: “We came to know that a large number of poultry farms have been affected by bird flu virus in the northern districts include Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha…..we fear the authorities have allowed the farmers to market the sick chickens.”-Khandokar Mohsin, Bangladesh Poultry Industries Association

At the University of California Los Angeles, researchers have discovered that if you combine bird flu and human flu you’ll get killer “super” flus. This is based on research in Bangladesh, China and Egypt: “The mixing of genetic material between the seasonal human flu virus and bird flu can create novel virus strains that are more lethal than either of the original viruses.”-Thomas Smith, UCLA

 

 

 

 

Influenza

Influenza update, 17 March 2013: Ellen Degeneres down! H1N1 spreading! More studies reveal vaccines do not work, and can paralyze you! 12000 dead pigs found in river! A study suggest that breathing spreads flu faster than sneezing!

Reports that Ellen Degeneres canceled a weeks worth of TV shows, and her trip to Australia, because she’s sick: “People of Australia! I’m down, but I’m not out. I’ll be in Sydney next weekend, and Melbourne after that. More details soon!”

Speaking of Australia, a new bird flu is popping up, as the flu season is starting early Down Under. Ducks and chickens in Western Australia were confirmed to have a H5 type flu.  At least 95 poultry were euthanized. Health officials say from January to February 2013, more than 700 human cases of flu were reported. That’s significantly higher than usual, and much earlier than usual.

Researchers from multiple U.S. schools of medicine and public health say simple breathing can spread flu faster than sneezing. They analyzed droplets from infected people’s relaxed breath and found that it contained far more amount of virus, than if they had sneezed!!!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu activity in the States is still active, but decreasing in some areas.  So far 90 children have died.  The CDC tracks only child deaths caused by influenza, they do not keep tabs on adult flu related deaths.

In New York U.S.A., health officials are reporting a surprise resurgence in flu cases. Several counties are reporting more flu cases, along with norovirus, sinusitis and strep bacterial infections.

In California U.S.A., University of California Los Angeles researchers are preparing to track a possible pandemic: “Using surveillance of influenza cases in humans and birds, we’ve come up with a technique to predict sites where these viruses could mix and generate a future pandemic.”-Trevon Fuller, Predicting Hotspots for Influenza Virus Reassortment

Also in California, San Diego County has now seen 51 deaths.  There have been 5046 lab confirmed cases so far this season. San Diego saw a record setting 58 flu related deaths back in the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic.

In Oklahoma U.S.A., 33 deaths including one last week. At least 1036 people have been hospitalized.

In Pennsylvania U.S.A., so far 174 people have died from flu complications.

In South Dakota U.S.A., a 35th person has died.

Health officials in Racine County, Wisconsin U.S.A., are calling it one of their worst seasons for flu cases: “We had two really mild seasons, and this last year was regular. We haven’t even had a second peak yet.”-Dottie-Kay Bowersox, City of Racine Health Department

In the Fertile Crescent country of Jordan, four people have died from H1N1 (a type of swine flu).

An experiment on vaccinated pigs, who were then infected with a version of H1N1 from Thailand, suggests that a vaccine for H1N1 does not work:  “The present study demonstrated that both the pH1N1 and rH1N1 influenza viruses, isolated from naturally infected pigs, induced acute respiratory disease in experimentally inoculated nursery pigs.”-Virology Journal 2013

More bad news for anyone who got a H1N1 shot.  It concerns vaccines given in 2009-10, in the United States.  A new U.S. Department of Health & Human Services study suggests that some people could be paralyzed with Guillain-Barré syndrome.  It’s already been shown that the vaccine used in the 1976 swine flu epidemic caused Guillain-Barré syndrome.  During the six weeks after the 2009 vaccine was first given, 54 cases of the paralyzing syndrome were reported.  Researchers still don’t know why the vaccine causes some people’s immune systems to attack their nervous systems.

Despite all the studies showing how ineffective flu vaccines really are, Iran has decided to start making their own. Iranian officials say their motivation is to save money, as the imported flu shots are very expensive for their government health system.

Another U.S. Department of Health & Human Services NIH study says weather has more effect on infections, and it has nothing to do with people staying indoors during cold/rainy weather: “One hypothesis that is often used to explain tropical influenza activity is that people congregate indoors more frequently during the rainy season, increasing contact rates and disease transmission. There is little data to confirm this…..The predictions of our climate-based models compared favorably to epidemiological information collected independently…”-Cecile Viboud, researcher

Another study says your body’s ability to repair and recover from a flu infection could determine your risk for future infections. The study looked at immune system cells called cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22), used in the repair of lungs of children sick with flu: “With the increasing prevalence of more infective and/or virulent strains of influenza, understanding the impact of virus on the host epithelium and the processes involved in lung repair are of great importance. A key finding is that even after the resolution of infection, influenza results in lung parenchymal remodeling that may be critical to susceptibility to further injury.”-John F. Alcorn, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

In Vermont U.S.A., more cases of dogs getting sick with the relatively new canine flu (it mutated from horse flu).  Dogs are going down fast as this is a new disease for them.

In Florida U.S.A., several horses have been quarantined at the Horse Shows in the Sun facility in Ocala: “The biosecurity measures we’ve put in place for EHV-1 should assist with reduction of the transmission of the flu virus. We’re being as proactive as we can.”-Mark Fagan, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

New Jersey U.S.A., reporting a blood shortage and is importing 30% of their blood supply from other states.  This is because local blood donations are way down due to too many people being infected.

Health officials in Austria are reporting that case numbers are more than 10000 per week! They say H1N1 is the top flu, followed by H3N2 and a mild form of flu B.

In Hong Kong, health officials reporting an outbreak in the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.  The flu has been identified only as a type A flu.

India continues to see increased cases of swine flu. Health officials are blaming humidity and warmer temps. Flu cases, and deaths, are reported at state levels in India, and they are growing rapidly.

In Shanghai, China, people are concerned about the ongoing case of dead pigs in a local river.  The number of dead pigs found in the river has now hit 12000!  The pigs are coming from farming areas upstream.  Officials are looking at the possibility of a new more deadly swine flu.  The Huangpu river is the main source of drinking water for tens of millions of people.