Posted on 06/24/2009 8:04:24 AM PDT by metmom
KVUETravis County teen dies from swine flu: According to the health department, the 14-year-old boy died in a San An.. http://bit.ly/GVHXe
( I Can only post a link & excerpt )
REQUIRES is the KEY WORD , Read the article ..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/health/policy/19swine.html
State Requires Flu Vaccination for Caregivers
Published: August 18, 2009
UK:
Mass graves could be dug to cope with autumn bout of swine flu
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:19 AM on 19th August 2009
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207592/Mass-graves-used-autumn-bout-swine-flu.html?ITO=1490
The government is planning to create a series of mass graves to cope with a second outbreak of swine flu in the autumn.
A Home Office document warns that a mass burial site may be needed to cope with the potential crisis.
The proposals were discussed between government officials and council bosses last month, and will affect those areas where there may not be enough graves for victims of the illness.
Within weeks of a full-blown pandemic, the number of burials could more than double and inner city areas “may experience a shortage of grave space”, according to the report.
The Framework for Planners Preparing to Manage Deaths http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/news/manage_deaths_guidance2.aspx - a -page document - discusses using “a grave that is for a number of unrelated persons, excavated mechanically in advance and designed for efficient preparation and use.”
It said this approach would create a “burial site for multiple graves and consecutive burials” but added there must still be “marking of the position of individual burials”.
It added that some cemeteries “may experience shortage of grave space, in particular in inner city areas”.
Freight containers and “ inflatable” storage units may be needed to provide extra mortuary space. But it stated that “refrigerated vehicles and trailers should not be used”.
During the meeting, in which a senior official from Westminster council, gave a presentation, officials discussed the need for cemeteries and crematoriumsto work seven days a week and the hiring of extra staff to cope.
The report also warned there may be a need for more “basic and shorter services at the chapel” or for “memorial services” to be held at a person’s home instead.
Whitehall officials are also speaking to coffin makers to see if they could meet demands.
Retired doctors may also be called back to work to issue death certificates so GPs can focus on patients.
According to the document it may no longer be possible to bury some people in family plots and it may also become impossible to fly home the bodies of Britons who die abroad.
Meanwhile, NHS Blood and Transplant appealed to the public to give blood to avoid stocks being reduced over the autumn and winter as regular donors fall ill with swine flu. People cannot give blood when they have flu so it is important to keep the blood banks well stocked, it warned.
Israel:
Woman dies of apparent swine flu
Published: 08.19.09, 11:18 / Israel News
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3764112,00.html
A 64-year-old woman hospitalized at the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba died Wednesday of apparent H1N1 virus complications.
The Health Ministry said the woman was in a high-risk group and was suffering from other illness as well, adding that while no official cause of death was determined at this time, the connection to swine flu cannot be ruled out. (Meital Yasur-Beit Or)
Swine flu: First Maltese death confirmed
19 August 2009
by Elaine Attard
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=92765
The first death in Malta caused by complications related to the A(H1N1) swine flu virus was confirmed by the Health Department in a statement yesterday. It is of a Maltese 82-year old woman who was admitted to hospital last Friday and died on Monday night.
The woman had suffered from chronic heart and respiratory problems and therefore fell under the vulnerable category, said the department, which took the opportunity to remind the public to practise good hygiene such as washing hands frequently, and to remain at home if they have influenza symptoms.
The department pointed out that even the normal seasonal influenza could be fatal, especially among vulnerable individuals, such as persons with chronic heart disease, respiratory conditions and renal problems, pregnant women, children under five years, diabetics, those with a weak immunity and those who experience complications.
244 swine flu cases have been registered in Malta and Gozo. 37 are being kept under quarantine and 198 recovered without complications. At the moment, only the vulnerable cases are being swab tested for swine flu.
The help line 2132-4086 is available for those seeking more information. The help line can also be reached via e-mail on disease.surveillance@gov.mt. Information leaflets are available on www.gov.mt or www.doi.gov.mt.
I’ve never seen such a anticipation of a pandemic like this.
And it’s not just in the way of being prepared. It’s like they want it to happen and hope it will happen.
Second Wave Of Swine Flu Could Overwhelm Resources In Europe And North America Say Canadian Experts
Article Date: 18 Aug 2009
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=160981
A panel of experts in Canada has written an article in a leading medical journal suggesting that if the H1N1 pandemic swine flu follows the same disease pattern in the northern hemisphere this fall as it has in the southern hemisphere, then resources in North America and Europe could be overwhelmed. The experts say strong leadership will be needed to mobilize effective immunization and other campaigns and they also call for the appointment of national and local leaders and champions.
The editorial article was written by Dr Paul Hébert, Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), and colleagues, and appears in the 17 August issue of the journal.
Hébert and colleagues wrote that vaccination must be the top priority against H1N1 flu this fall if the anticipated second wave of the pandemic virus follows the same pattern of spread in the northern hemisphere as it has in the southern hemisphere.
Canada and much of the Western world does not have much experience in implemeting time-sensitive mass vaccination campaigns, wrote the panel. We already struggle to get vulnerable groups vaccinated for seasonal flu, they added.
For example, in some years, only 15 per cent of people living in Nunavut (a major portion of northern Canada) are vaccinated, and last year, during the most recent outbreak of mumps in Nova Scotia’s young adult population, only 15 per cent of targeted individuals were vaccinated (note this is the population segment most likely to be severely affected by the 2009 H1N1 swine flu).
“We need to act now to overcome these access and delivery problems,” wrote Hébert and colleagues.
“No immunization program is 100 per cent effective. If a sufficient number of cases are not prevented, we can expect a large number of young critically ill patients filling all tertiary level intensive care beds,” they warned, adding that although most infections have been mild so far, unlike most seasonal flu strains, in more serious cases the new 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus seems to invade the lower respiratory system more aggressively, causing more severe illness.
“The world’s experience so far tells us that serious illness associated with this virus often manifests as acute lung injury resulting in overwhelming hypoxemia,” they wrote.
Hébert and colleagues suggest Canada needs national leadership to make sure vaccines, expertise and equipment reaches everyone that needs them. New laws may be needed to give people power to act quickly.
Each country should have a “visible independent health care czar, with executive powers across all jurisdictions and who is ultimately accountable to the highest office,” they added.
After that, the priority is local leadership, including “champions” to coordinate rapid response.
“In countries such as Canada that have shared responsibilities between many levels of government, collaboration and clear communication are essential as a first line of defence,” they wrote.
“To see that this happens, governments need to have or enact laws to provide the necessary power to ensure rapid action on complex issues.”
They also pointed out that a second wave is likely to hit the northern hemisphere this fall if the H1N1 virus follows the same pattern as it has in the southern hemisphere. This would overwhelm our resources; for example in most areas there are still no plans on how to get the correctly trained health professionals in place to “deliver technologies to help patients survive”.
Hébert and colleagues wrote “this is not a time for complacency”, and urged that health czars and other national leaders call an immediate summit and bring together officials from public health, critical care, first response, and other health care areas, as well as decision makers, community planners and members of the public to:
“Communicate next steps and to ensure that actions taken by leaders will work at the ground level”.
One of the ideas that health czars need to get across to the public is that everyone has a responsibility in tackling the pandemic, it is not just a top down approach, but also a bottom up approach that is needed.
An example of the bottom up approach that Hébert and colleagues referred was one being promoted in the UK called the “flu buddy” system, where individuals partner with one another and take responsibility to check each other’s health status regularly.
New York State is making workers get the vaccination . THe union is upset but seems to have no recourse . The new regulation, which requires vaccination against seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus, would affect workers and volunteers who come into direct contact with patients, including nurses, doctors and aides, and even nonmedical staff members like food service workers if they enter a patient’s room, a Health Department spokeswoman, Diane Mathis, said. And if you don’t get the vaccination you can’t work .....
A whole soccer team in Iceland catches the swine flu
18. Aug 2009 - 09:00
http://www.pressan.is/News/ReadIcelandicNews/a-whole-soccer-team-in-iceland-catches-the-swine-flu
The whole starting line-up of the premier-league team FC Grindavik has caught the swine flu. Last Friday eight players were already sick from the disease and the team´s game against FC Vestman Islands, scheduled on last Sunday, was been posthoned until next Thursday.
Most of the players are recovering but lack energy in training. Grindavik is a fishing village of ca. 2,500 inhabitents, south of the capital Reykjavik, close to Keflavik Airport.
Confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Iceland are now 118 of the 320,000 population.
Boston, MA:
Cases of swine flu higher among city blacks, Hispanics
By Stephen Smith
Globe Staff / August 18, 2009
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/18/cases_of_swine_flu_higher_among_bostons_blacks_hispanics/
U.S. Health Officials Slash by Almost One-Third October H1N1 Vaccine Estimates
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540062,00.html
N.Y.C. Funeral Directors meeting
Boro prepares for fall’s swine flu cases
By Anna Gustafson
Thursday, August 13, 2009 9:14 AM EDT
City officials are bracing for a surge of swine flu cases this fall and funeral home directors need to be prepared to accommodate a possible related 50,000 to 85,000 deaths, the director of the Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association told a gathering of funeral home representatives in Forest Hills last week.
“As funeral directors, we really need to know what we’re about to face,” Martin Kasdan said. “When swine flu comes back, it could possibly be devastating.”
About 15 officials from area funeral homes attended the meeting sponsored by the MetFDA at Schwartz Brothers in Forest Hills Aug. 6. The MetFDA is holding four meetings in the city and one in Westchester this month to better prepare funeral homes for a possible increase in deaths as well as a rise in the number of sick and absent employees.
MetFDA officials said they were also relaying information from the meetings to city agencies, including the city Health Department and the medical examiner’s office, with which they have been working in preparation for a potential second wave of swine flu.
Swine flu, otherwise known as H1N1, first hit the city in May in a group of St. Francis Preparatory students in Fresh Meadows. The outbreak occurred after the students had arrived home from a trip to Mexico, where the World Health Organization said the global pandemic originated.
As of July, more than 900 New Yorkers had been hospitalized with H1N1 and 47 had died, including two Queens residents, according to city statistics.
Flushing resident Mitchell Wiener, an assistant principal at IS 238 in Hollis, became the city’s first swine flu casualty May 17. A second unnamed woman from Queens died from swine flu May 24, according to the city.
City residents continue to come down with H1N1, but the numbers have continually decreased since the spike of cases in May, health officials said.
“The Health Department monitors influenza-like illnesses every day in New York City,” said city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “While every hospitalization is concerning and every death is a tragedy, our surveillance data indicate that the number of people newly infected is declining.”
The Centers for Disease Control has predicted a 2.1 percent to 3.3 percent death rate among those who come down with swine flu this fall, which translates into an additional 52,000 to 86,000 deaths in the city over a three-month period, Kasdan said.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Kasdan said of the possible death rate. “Is the CDC right? Who knows — hopefully not. But you need to be prepared.”
The potential upswing in fatalities poses a wide array of questions for city officials and funeral directors, such as where to store bodies, how to hold funerals in a climate where swine flu is passed easily from person to person and how many extra supplies will be needed.
“You may have to wait for funerals because the family is sick or until the cemetery says they’re able to do the burial,” Kasdan said. “You might have to store bodies longer.”
Kasdan said the city medical examiner is already looking into possibly using vacant city buildings to store bodies, and the city has contracted for a unit to be built in Germany that will handle hundreds of bodies.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/08/13/astoria_times/news/astoria_times_newsmizhiqz08122009.txt
First child victim of Swine Flu virus in Spain
The 11 year old boy is the third death on the Canary Islands and the 12th in Spain
By m.p. - Aug 18, 2009 - 1:20 PM
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_22754.shtml
An 11 year old boy has become the first child victim of the A(H1N1) virus in Spain, and the country’s twelfth death from the new flu. He died on Monday evening at the Hospital Materno Infantil on Gran Canaria and is understood to have had a serious underlying health condition. The boy was admitted to hospital on 7th August and transferred to Intensive Care on Thursday last week, where he died at 7.45 on Monday evening.
He is the third patient to have died from the Swine Flu virus on the Canary Islands, and the regional government’s health department have confirmed to Canarias 7 newspaper that there are seven currently patients in Intensive Care Units on the islands confirmed as having the virus. Health councillor, Mercedes Roldós, said six of them have an underlying health condition. The seventh patient, a young woman, does not.
She said there are no plans to delay the start of the school year on the islands, as Spain’s Health Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, has also said for the country as a whole. The Minister has not, however, ruled out closing schools should the situation worsen and gave the average infection rate in Spain as 33 cases for every 100,000 people, much lower she said than in the UK, France or in Belgium.
She announced on Monday that normal flu vaccinations are to be brought forward this year to September.
NICD says treatment more important than testing fior swine flu
Gia Nicolaides
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) says laboratories are overwhelmed with the number of swine flu tests that are being sent through.
Six people in South Africa have died from the H1N1 virus. At least 3 500 cases have been confirmed.
Health officials say people with underlying or chronic health conditions who catch swine flu need to be treated immediately.
The institute’s Lucille Blumberg says not everyone needs to be tested.
“Laboratories are being overwhelmed and are not coping with mild influenza illnesses. You do not need to get tested to either inform you about what you have got or what treatment you need,” says Blumberg.
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=19985
Swine flu spreading across Bengal
Kolkata, Aug 18 : With the swine flu virus gradually spreading to rural Bengal, the total number of those infected has risen to 53, even as a high level meeting to combat it was in progress at the Writers’ Buildings.
Five new cases were reported from rural areas during the past 24 hours prompting the medics to prepare themselve to combat the pandemic, official sources said.
One case each was reported at Midnapur, Howrah and Nadia and two from North 24 Parganas.
A city high school today declared suspension of classes till August 24 to keep at bay the pandemic despite suggestions from doctors not to do so. Doctors suggested rest of seven to 10 days if a pupil was found with symptoms of viral flu.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty called a special meeting on swine flu, the second such after a meeting last week, to take stock of the situation.
Health Secretary Samar Ghosh also attended the meeting in which many medics and administrators from private, army and railway hospitals were also taking part.
Last week, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee talked to the Chief Secretary to share his concern over the growing pandemic in the state, where there was no report of casualty so far.
The West Bengal Government was looking at every opportunity to open new clinics to fight the disease, official sources said.
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-94800.html
Doctor, nurses among swine-flu suspects in Meghalaya
17:27 HRS IST
Shillong, Aug 18 (PTI) A doctor working in New Delhi and two nurses of Shillong Civil Hospital here were among the five persons suspeted of having swine flu-like symptoms and their throat swab samples were today sent for H1N1 tests.
All the five have been kept in isolation and necessary treatment is being given, state’s Director of Health Services K H Lakiang said.
Dr Natasha Sangma, who had recently returned from New Delhi, and two nurses of Shillong Civil Hospital who had come in contact with the two H1N1 patients admitted at the hospital, have been admitted with flu-like symptoms.
A 26-year-old youth, who returned from Bangalore and a girl, who had come from Vellore, also showed suspected flu-like symptoms.
“We are screening people having travel history to places where the flu is prevalent. We have sent the samples today to the laboratory at Dibrugarh in Assam,” Lakiang said.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/235551_Doctor—nurses-among-swine-flu-suspects-in-Meghalaya
240 Kenyans quarantined over swine flu
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:37:49 GMT
Kenyan health officials quarantine over 240 villagers following diagnosis of swine flu among six individuals in the area.
The measures were taken after five pupils tested positive for the virus last week and one of them is said to have infected a parent, bringing the number of the afflicted to six.
Kenya’s Medical Services Director Shennaz Sharrif believes the few observed cases are likely spread the deadly virus fast enough to contaminate the region.
“We have 240 cases that we suspect to be infected with swine flu. We have quarantined people and banned public meetings in affected areas,” Sharrif said.
“The number of cases is going to increase as we are in the flu season. H1N1 is going to replace the common influenza that occurs at this time,” she said.
Kenya joined the global swine flu watch-list in June, when a visiting British student from Nottingham University became the first to be diagnosed with the disease.
The potentially fatal virus has not claimed any lives in the country yet.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=103842§ionid=3510212
US tries to counter some delay in swine flu shots
By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP) – 10 minutes ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8ECp7b405v1aBmsMNJBjxc8gwpAD9A5BSTO0
UPDATE 1-Sinovac says one-shot swine flu vaccine effective
Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:09am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLI54489920090818
Actor in swine flu ad catches swine flu
The actor from a popular UK public service announcement about how to avoid swine flu ... has been diagnosed with swine flu.
In the advertisement (video below) from the U.K. Department of Health, actor David McCusker first sneezes the “wrong” way in an elevator, spraying mucus everywhere, then sneezes the “right” way — into a tissue, which he promptly throws away and washes his hands.
The campaign’s tagline: “Catch It, Bin It, Kill It.”
Except now, according to the Daily Mail, McCusker has been diagnosed with swine flu.
“It was a shock when I found out,” McCusker told the paper.
“I quarantined myself and I’ve been getting lots of [grief] from mates,” he said. “I was supposed to ‘Catch It, Bin It, Kill It’ but instead I’ve been shivering, shaking and spreading it.”
About 36 in the UK have died from the virus.
http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/08/actor-in-swine-flu-ad-catches-swine-flu.html
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