A second A(H1N1) outbreak emerges in Taiwan, says CDC
The CDC cautions that the pandemic has now striken Taiwan again for the second time, as the peak will be seen in November: CECC
Central News Agency
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2009-10-15 12:00 AM Fonts Size:
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warned yesterday that a second wave of the influenza A(H1N1) outbreak is emerging in Taiwan after the previous one peaked in early September.
According to CDC Director-General Steve Kuo, the H1N1 situation has been moderating over the past five weeks since the previous peak but a slight jump in the number of patients diagnosed with the new flu strain recently signals the beginning of the second wave.
Statistics released yesterday by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) show that there was one more patient hospitalized with the H1N1 flu strain than a day earlier, bringing to 355 the total number of such cases since the outbreak began.
While 16 of the patients remained in the hospital, 315 had recovered and been discharged, and 24 others had died, the CECC said.
Meanwhile, 442 classes in 294 schools around the country remained suspended because of H1N1 infections among students. The number of affected classes accounted for 0.29 percent of the total, according to the CECC.
Epidemiologists have predicted that the second peak would appear in November.
Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang said it is hard to predict when the peak will be.
Yaung said that the DOH will continue to monitor the situation closely.
To help the public prepare for the epidemic, the DOH will distribute 5 million masks in inventory to 100,000 low-income families.
The distribution will begin on Nov. 1, Yaung said.
Also, the CECC is expected to make public details regarding its H1N1 vaccination program this coming Tuesday.
The designated day was selected because the results of human clinical trials for the H1N1 vaccine produced by local vaccine manufacturer Adimmune Corp. are expected to be released on that day, DOH Deputy Minister Chang Shen-chwen said.
Now people under 10 years of age will probably have to receive two shots.
Furthermore, those aged 10 years and older will likely need only one shot to be protected against the H1N1 virus, Chang said.
Two more swine flu deaths in Wales confirmed
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/10/14/two-more-swine-flu-deaths-in-wales-confirmed-91466-24932335/
Oct 14 2009 Madeleine Brindley,
TWO more people have died after contracting swine flu in Wales, including a new mother.
Officials are also understood to be investigating a further death which may be swine-flu related.
The two deaths, which were announced tonight, bring the Welsh swine flu death toll to three – 76 people have died in England, 10 in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland.
The Welsh Assembly Government today said a 43-year-old woman, from Carmarthenshire, who had been suffering with underlying health conditions, died on October 7.
And a 21-year-old pregnant woman, from Monmouthshire, died just two weeks after her baby was born by Caesarean section.
She had been transferred to Glenfield Hospital, in Leicester, for ECMO treatment, but she died on October 9.
