Pandemic (H1N1) 2009

From www.who.int:

11 December 2009 -- As of 6 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 9596 deaths.

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In United States and Canada, active influenza virus transmission persists but overall ILI** activity continues to decline for the 5th and 3rd consecutive weeks, respectively. In the US, after 8 weeks of increases, proportional mortality due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I mortality) has begun to decrease but remains elevated above the epidemic threshold; weekly numbers of lab-confirmed hospitalizations and deaths have also recently begun to decline. So far, comparing transmission during the current winter season to transmission during the summer season, there appears to be 2-3 times more hospitalized cases and deaths in the United States and approximately 4-5 times more hospitalized cases and deaths in Canada during the winter season. However, the overall rate of hospitalization and death in the population is similar to that which was observed in temperate countries of the southern hemisphere during their winter. This would indicate that transmission of the virus has been much more widespread and intense during the winter, as predicted, but overall rates of severe illness have not changed compared to southern hemisphere. Similar to seasonal influenza, persons with certain underlying conditions (compared to those without) were at significantly increased risk of hospitalization and death associated with pandemic H1N1 2009 virus infection. During the current winter season in Canada, 52% of hospitalized cases, 60% of cases requiring ICU, and 67% of fatal cases, had a underlying chronic medical illness. Similar to the experience of many countries, the most common underlying conditions among fatal cases in Canada were asthma followed by chronic cardiac disease, immunosuppression, and diabetes.

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I Never Get The Flu

From www2c.cdc.gov:

If you think 2009 H1N1 flu can't affect you, your family, or your friends—think again. Take 60 seconds to watch this reminder on why vaccination is so important. All of the excuses any of us make don't stand a chance against this serious disease.

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Read the complete article: I Never Get The Flu

Swine Flu in Australia Shows Minor Economic Impact, Study Says

From www.bloomberg.com:

The pandemic's impact was "lost a little bit in the overall slowdown that we're observing," Burns said in a telephone interview today. "It will be impossible to extract that portion of the overall slowdown that we have seen ...

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Pfizer's H1N1 Vaccine for Swine Flu Receives Conditional Approval

From www.veterinarypracticenews.com:

Pfizer Animal Health has received a conditional product license for its Swine Influenza Vaccine, designed to protect swine herds from the H1N1 strain of swine influenza virus.

The vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for vaccination of healthy swine, including pregnant sows and gilts, three weeks of age or older.

Earlier this year, the USDA provided a master seed of the H1N1 strain to multiple manufacturers in anticipation of potential transmission in swine herds. Pfizer Animal Health reported that it is the first U.S. biologics manufacturer to receive a USDA conditional license for this new vaccine.

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800000 swine flu doses for very young children recalled, but it's not a safety ...

From latimesblogs.latimes.com:

Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis is recalling 800,000 doses of vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 virus meant for children younger than 3 because the vaccine has lost potency since it was shipped from the factory.

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The doses in the recall are pre-filled syringes containing thimerosal-free vaccine made specifically for children ages 6 to 35 months old. At the time of manufacture, testing showed that the doses contained the recommended 7.5 micrograms of antigen, the virus component that is used to stimulate immunity. But later testing showed that some of the antigen had apparently degraded, leaving the vaccine less potent than desired. It is not yet known why that happened, Schuchat said, but it doesn't appear to be a storage issue.

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Read the complete article: 800000 swine flu doses for very young children recalled, but it's not a safety ...

Three more flu deaths as H1N1 impact fades in BC

From www.bclocalnews.com:

The number of severe new cases of H1N1 flu in B.C. dropped sharply over the past week.

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Just 32 new patients were hospitalized from swine flu over the past week. That's about a third the number of hospitalizations as a week earlier and way down from the peak in early November, when B.C. was recording almost 200 severe cases a week.

One of the new victims was a 36-year-old Vancouver Island man who died after contracting H1N1 despite having no underlying health issues.

"The tragic death of a young person is exactly why we have to keep driving home the message of how this disease works," provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall said.

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WHO: H1N1 still a global threat

From www.philstar.com:

MANILA, Philippines - The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that the Avian Influenza or A-H5N1 remains a threat to humans, with newly confirmed cases reported in Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

In a statement, WHO said the presence of the A-H5N1 in poultries in these countries poses a health risk in two ways.

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Swine flu's lesson: We're not ready for anything virulent

From www.dailyherald.com:

More than 1,000 people showed up to the Round Lake Area Park District Sports Center to try for scarce H1N1 vaccine administered by the Lake County Health Department.

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An estimated 50 million people got the flu - one out of six Americans. If the virus had been as deadly as first feared, the lack of vaccine would have created a national uproar.

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Read the complete article: Swine flu's lesson: We're not ready for anything virulent

21st century's first pandemic haunts world

From www.koreaherald.co.kr:

On June 11, the World Health Organization declared a global swine flu pandemic, raising its flu alert to the highest level. "The world is moving into the ...

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U.S. Flu Activity Report - Week Ending December 5, 2009 (Week 48)

From www2c.cdc.gov:

During week 48, seasonal influenza A (H1N1) and influenza B viruses co-circulated at low levels with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses. Over 99% of all subtyped influenza A viruses reported to CDC this week were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses.

This new system was implemented on August 30, 2009, and replaces the weekly report of laboratory confirmed 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations and deaths that began in April 2009. Jurisdictions can now report to CDC counts of hospitalizations and deaths resulting from all types or subtypes of influenza, not just those from 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. To allow jurisdictions to implement the new case definition, counts were reset to zero on August 30, 2009. From August 30 – December 5, 2009, 33,490 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations and 1,445 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated deaths were reported to CDC. CDC will continue to use its traditional surveillance systems to track the progress of the 2009-10 influenza season.

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H1N1 flu may be in retreat across the country

From www.nashuatelegraph.com:

Many, though hardly all, of more than 22 million people estimated to have become sick with swine flu thus far have had a relatively mild illness.

As expected, after several months when there wasn't enough swine-flu vaccine to go around, supplies have reached the point that a growing number of state and local health departments are dropping rules restricting shots only to high-risk groups and letting anyone get a shot.

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All the ingredients for another round seem to be present: people mingling and traveling and getting run down; colder, stormier weather driving more people indoors; low winter humidity levels kicking in, which studies show make it easier for flu virus to survive and spread.

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$7.65B From Congress for Flu Vaccines. But No Flu?

From www.ageofautism.com:

My wife and two children got the H1N1 flu shot and they didn't get the flu.

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Think of the money we could have saved if we knew only we only needed 7%.

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Does this mean The World Organization will have our civil rights uplifted yearly because of the flu in a continuous state of national emergency? How long has it been a half a year? Are they going to mandate it next year since it worked so well to contain the flu this year?

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The vaccine barely got out to the public. REmember the panic in the lines over who could get the limited supply and who couldn't? And the public turned it down in droves. The vaccine did not stem the pandemic.

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Read the complete article: $7.65B From Congress for Flu Vaccines. But No Flu?

Is swine flu's death toll rising?

From www.examiner.com:

The number one scare this year has undoubtedly been H1N1, swine flu. Flu pandemics are definitely not a new threat, and swine flu is certainly not a new kid on the block, having caused its fair share of trouble in the past. As more and more of us begin bundling up and staying inside to read a good book while winter creeps up to our front doors, cold weather inevitably brings with it an increase in disease communicability. New York Times reported federal health officials saying Thursday that nearly 10,000 people have died of swine flu since April. A month ago the estimate was only around 4,000. Why such a drastic change?

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Flu Pandemic Much Milder Than Expected

From www.npr.org:

There are a number of ways to measure how severe — or mild — a flu pandemic is. One way is to look at the proportion of the population that gets sick. The season isn't over yet, but so far it's been less than 8 percent.

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Lipsitch says assuming the virus doesn't change, it's reasonable to expect that between 10 percent and 20 percent of the population will become sick from it.

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Read the complete article: Flu Pandemic Much Milder Than Expected