Posted on 06/24/2009 8:04:24 AM PDT by metmom
Within minutes, six-year-old Rubjit Thindal went from happily chatting in the back seat of the car to collapsing and dying in her father's arms.
"If we had known it was so serious, we would have called 911,'' Kuldip Thindal, Rubjit's distraught mother, said in Punjabi yesterday. "She just had a stomach ache -- she wasn't even crying.''
Rubjit was pronounced dead at hospital barely 24 hours after showing signs of a fever. Later, doctors told her parents she had the H1N1 influenza virus. She is believed to be the youngest person in Canada with the virus to have died.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.guelphmercury.com ...
Tymoshenko: One swine flu death recorded in Kyiv
Today at 13:44 | Interfax-Ukraine
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/city/detail/51891/
One person has died of swine flu in Kyiv, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said.
“I’ve just received a report from the health minister confirming the death of a man from California flu [A(H1N1) flu virus],” she said at a teleconference with regional governors in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The first deputy chairwoman of Kyiv City State Administration, Irena Kilchytska, in turn, said that “a man died of pneumonia yesterday and we have the first confirmation that this was [due to] the H1N1 virus.”
NY:
Pembroke Student Death Confirmed To Be Swine Flu
By Jennifer Stanonis
Story Published: Nov 4, 2009 at 6:24 AM EST
Story Updated: Nov 4, 2009 at 6:38 AM EST
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/69062892.html
It’s now confirmed that a student in the Pembroke Central School District died from Swine Flu (H1N1) nearly two weeks ago. “As with every school district, the Pembroke Central School District does understand the concerns that exist in every community relative to H1N1,” School District Superintendent Gary Mix said.
A family member of the student says, the parents of 5th grader Jared Peters were told Monday by the Genesee County Health Department that their son died from H1N1 and that more tests are still being done. He attended the Intermediate School, which is grades three through six and has about 300 students. The superintendent says they continue to stress the importance of good hygiene to help prevent future cases. “From the start of the school year we have stressed universal precautions and good hygiene including frequent hand washing, coughing, and sneezing etiquette as well as the importance of staying home if there are flu-like symptoms in order to minimize the spread of H1N1,” Superintendent Mix said.
A parent of a student in the district says she’s concerned about her own child’s health and other loved ones. “Friends and family that go to school here and it’s very awful about this child that passed away,” one parent said.
The Genesee County Health Commissioner Randy Garney says the health department is holding an H1N1 vaccination clinic on Thursday from 2 to 4pm at the Genesee County Building Number Two in Batavia. About 500 vaccines will be available. “It’s open to the public but targeted populations, caregivers of children under 6 months, children 6 months to 24 years, healthcare providers who give direct patient care, and people 25 to 65 with underlying chronic conditions,” Garney said.
Swine flu kills 15 in Turkey
The Turkish Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that 15 people had died of swine flu so far.
Scientists track swine flu virus for tiny changes that would cause big problems
San Jose Mercury News (CA) - Nov. 04, 2009
http://www.therapeuticsdaily.com/news/article.cfm?contenttype=sentryarticle&contentvalue=1942932&channelID=28#
SAN FRANCISCO _ As the H1N1 flu virus spreads at breakneck speed, a team of scientists are close behind. They are watching its evolution through a cutting-edge technology in hopes of answering the question: Where did it come from _ and where is it going?
Their lab at the University of California-San Francisco holds a growing international collection of viral samples, including some from San Jose swabbed from the noses of sick people, since the first days of the swine flu epidemic. Genetic analysis of each sample will alert researchers to any tiny change that would create a giant problem.
Study: H1N1 Poses ‘Special Threat’ to Obese
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571566,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/nutrition
Swine flu can cause severe disease in people of all ages and appears to pose a special threat to those who are obese, according to an analysis of H1N1 cases in California.
Public health researchers analyzed the state’s first 1,088 hospitalized and fatal cases of H1N1 infection between April 23 and August 1.
Like other studies, they found the average patient who was hospitalized with H1N1 flu was younger than what is commonly seen with seasonal flu, but they also found severe disease at both ends of the age spectrum.
“What our study shows was that once you were hospitalized, if you were elderly you have a higher risk of dying,” Dr. Janice Louie of the California Department of Public Health in Richmond, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
NOT A MILD DISEASE
“One of the perceptions we’ve been trying to dispel is that this is a mild disease,” she said in a telephone interview.
“This can be very severe. In this paper, 30 percent of patients required intensive care.”
Overall, 11 percent of people who were hospitalized died, but among people 50 and older, 18 to 20 percent died.
The most common causes of death were viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
As with other studies, obesity appeared to play a significant role in the severity of disease.
In the 268 cases of adults over 20 whose weight was known, 58 percent were obese, with a body mass index of over 30, and of these, 67 percent were morbidly obese, with a BMI of over 40.
BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A person 5 feet 5 inches tall becomes obese at 180 pounds (82 kg).
“There definitely is something that is standing out as far as the obesity issue,” Louie said.
“We certainly don’t see the same thing with seasonal flu.”
Louie said in California, the flu has caused shortages of antiviral drugs and of N95 respirator masks, but so far, based on her contact with doctors in the state, swine flu has not overwhelmed hospitals.
A report by Trust for America’s Health suggested a mild pandemic could send as many as 168,025 people in California to the hospital.
Dutch report first patient resistant to Tamiflu drug
Health News
Nov 4, 2009, 11:16 GMT
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/health/news/article_1511305.php/Dutch-report-first-patient-resistant-to-Tamiflu-drug
Amsterdam - Dutch health authorities have recorded a first case of a swine flu-infected patient resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
The Royal Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM said the patient had been hospitalized, but declined to identify the hospital or provide further details about the patient’s condition.
The RIVM, located in De Bilt in the central Netherlands, also said the patient’s relatives were currently being tested for swine flu.
The World Health Organization previously recorded a total of 39 cases of Tamiflu-resistant patients.
Resistance against a particular drug develops when the virus itself has undergone a mutation, which often happens spontaneously.
If a patient, as a result of the viral resistance, no longer responds to Tamiflu, there are no other drugs available to treat his illness.
Earlier this week, some 34 million vaccines for swine flu arrived in the Netherlands.
Mongolia’s A/H1N1 flu death toll rises to six
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-04 18:21:23
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/04/content_12386648.htm
ULAN BATOR, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — Mongolia’s death toll from the A/H1N1 flu virus had risen to six, its health authority said Wednesday.
So far, 690 people had been reported as infected with the virus in Ulan Bator and 169 people in 17 provinces, according to the Press and Information Service of the Ministry of Health.
The health authorities have taken a series of measures against the spread of the A/H1N1 virus since Oct. 12, when the first A/H1N1 case was registered in the country.
The government has earmarked 6.4 billion tugrik (4.5 million U.S. dollars) to buy vaccines and anti-viral medications as well as medical diagnostic equipment, and restricted cultural and sports activities.
_________________
Yemen resumes classes after two-or-three-month closure
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-04 14:02:41
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/04/content_12384990.htm
Photo Gallery =>
Pupils attend classes at a primary school in Sanaa, capital of Yemen, on Nov. 3, 2009. Most primary and middle schools in Yemen have resumed classes recently after a two-or-three-month closure to prevent the large-scale outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza. (Xinhua/Yin Ke)
Scotland:
Third swine flu death
Published: Wednesday, 4th November, 2009 12:41pm
http://www.cumnockchronicle.com/news/roundup/articles/2009/11/04/393663-third-swine-flu-death/
Another Ayrshire person has died from Swine flu.
The adult patient was reported as having significant underlying health conditions.
This death brings the total number of H1N1 related deaths in Scotland to 31 and is the third in Ayrshire.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: “It is with regret I need to confirm another H1N1 fatality. I send my condolences to the patient’s family and loved ones.
“A rise in influenza cases is to be expected as we enter the winter months but fortunately, for most, H1N1 is mild and symptoms shouldn’t persist longer than a week.
“However, we must all remain vigilant and I would underline the importance of maintaining hygiene standards and urgently seeking medical advice if you believe you are at greater risk of influenza complications. If you are concerned about flu-like symptoms contact your GP for advice or call NHS 24 on 08454 24 24 24.
“The roll out of the vaccination programme is now underway, and I urge everyone who is in the priority groups to accept the vaccine, when invited to do so by their GP.
“Further information on the vaccine programme is available via the new Scottish Swine Flu Vaccination Helpline on 08000 28 28 16.”
Belarus
Panic because of the flu in Belarus
04/Nov/09
Belarusian besiege the pharmacy, although the authorities ensure that the presence of swine influenza virus has been confirmed only in 59 people. One person died.
- There is no reason to panic - convinces the principal physician of Belarus Valentin cob. Acknowledges, however, that the recently increased incidence of the usual flu - there are about 40 percent. more than last year.
However, the Belarusians are convinced that the country is rampant epidemic of swine flu, and the authorities deliberately hide this information. According to polls conducted during the talk show “choice” on state television ONT up 93 percent. the audience said that the authorities hide from the public about swine flu.
The pharmacies from Monday there is no antiviral drugs, redeemed or measures to strengthen the body’s resistance. Within two days they disappeared from the shelves of masks. Belarusian government announced then that will bring 100 thousand. masks from Lithuania.
Authorities themselves heat up the atmosphere. In Minsk, and seven other cities were suspended teaching in schools, and capital to work in hospitals, university medical students were mobilized.
http://wyborcza.pl/1,75477,7217619,Panika_z_powodu_grypy_na_Bialorusi.html
House to Hold Hearing on Federal Response to H1N1
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/04/house-holds-hearing-federal-response-hn/
A House committee will look into the federal response to the H1N1 virus at a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can expect some tough questioning about the availability of the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, a senior House lawmaker is seeking a quick floor vote on a bill to guarantee five paid sick days to workers if their employer tells them to stay home with H1N1 or a similar contagious illness.
House Education and Labor Committee chairman George Miller says his measure would protect about 50 million workers with no paid sick leave.
Many of those employees work in low-wage jobs in food service and hospitality, where they would be exposed to others and could spread their sickness. He says those workers shouldn’t have to choose between their paychecks and the health of co-workers or customers.
Iran’s swine flu death toll reaches 33
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110430§ionid=3510212
Health officials have announced that swine flu has already claimed the lives of 33 Iranians, bringing the national tally to 2,153.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, 515 new confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported in the country in the past week, adding that the infection rate has increased to 2,153.
In the same period, 11 individuals have also died due to the A/H1N1 flu, Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, Deputy Health Minister Hassan Emami-Razavi said the Iranian government had allocated some $20 million to order two million doses of the A/H1N1 flu vaccine to immunize one million individuals.
He also stressed that pregnant women, seniors and those suffering from chronic diseases including asthma, heart diseases, diabetes and cancer along with healthcare workers are the first priorities to receive the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Iran ordered the closure of hundreds of schools in the country as a precaution against the spread of the A/H1N1 flu among students.
Iranian authorities had earlier cancelled the Umrah (minor hajj pilgrimage) in the holy month of Ramadan with the aim of containing the A/H1N1 virus.
Authorities urged individuals intending to participate in the major hajj to adopt simple precautionary measures such as washing hands several times a day and avoiding close contact with others.
They added that making healthy food choices and drinking enough water with the aim of boosting one’s immune system could help in stopping the spread of the virus.
Ukraine gripped by the A(H1N1) flu virus
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/ukraine-gripped-ah1n1-flu-virus
4 November 2009
A sudden flu outbreak has brought life in Ukraine to a halt. All public meetings are banned, schools are closed for three weeks, and nine regions are in quarantine. The Ukrainian health ministry says 70 people have died of the A(H1N1) flu virus and 15,000 are in hospital.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko focused the world’s attention on his country’s problems in an impassioned speech calling on the European Union, the World Health Organisation and NATO to come to Ukraine’s aid. The sudden flu outbreak was more than the country could cope with.
What’s more, the dramatic appeal came amidst rumours of biological warfare in the capital Kiev. A plane was said to have flown over the city releasing powder containing a mutated variety of the virus. The Ukrainian government categorically denies the reports. But in a country where everything is in short supply and presidential elections are on the horizon in January, such stories are hard to quash.
Denial
According to Piet Spijkers of Dutch Humanitarian Aid to the Children of Ukraine Foundation, the problem is that the Ukrainian government has systematically denied the existence of the A(H1N1) flu virus, known in the Netherlands as Mexican flu. It has provided no public information and taken no precautionary measures.
“Of course the situation is miserable, and a bit panic-stricken, but that’s typical of a country like Ukraine. They knew this was coming months in advance, just as much as we knew it in the West. But the government denies there are orphans, it denies there are street children, and they thought the Mexican flu was only for Mexicans. And now panic has struck.”
Mr Spijkers describes the situation in the children’s hospitals his foundation supports as appalling. There is a lack of basic medical supplies. There are barely any Flu tests, vaccines or anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu. The children’s hospital in Lviv, 130 kilometres from the Polish border, has 100 Tamiflu tablets for 160 patients. “If children get ill, we can’t even establish whether they have the A(H1N1) virus. We just have to go by the symptoms,” he says.
Garlic
Lviv, with a population of nearly a million, is one of the nine regions that have been placed in quarantine. The city’s pharmacies have been emptied. Even garlic, a popular household fever remedy, is either exorbitantly priced or sold out.
Election fever
The flu panic seems partly to have arisen out of political power games. Presidential elections are due in January, and both opposition and government know the electorate will judge them on their handling of the flu epidemic, says Mr Spijkers.
“I think politicians here are using or exploiting it to strike a political pose for the presidential elections in January. Of course there is something going on. But I’m afraid they’ve made a mess of it and now it has a political background.”
It’s in the interest of both President Yushchenko and his challenger, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, that the public sees their concern. According to Mr Spijkers there’s no other explanation as to why the government should be making such a show of the problems.
It’s unlikely that the flu will be a real vote winner. Even without the pandemic, the health service in the former Soviet republic is in a deplorable state. Ordinary Ukrainians barely have any access to decent medical care. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are rife.
The WHO is concerned at the speed with which the flu is spreading in Ukraine. A team of experts has been sent to the country to investigate whether the A(H1N1) virus has mutated. The organisation says the situation is actually no worse than in other countries. However, there is a striking rise in the number of patients admitted to hospital with lung diseases. It’s not clear whether they are infected with the A(H1N1) virus.
_________________
Amazon Indian tribe hit by swine flu
LONDON (Reuters) - Swine flu has hit an isolated tribe of Indians in the Amazon jungle, with seven dying in the last two weeks, Survival International said on Wednesday.
A further 1,000 members of the Yanomami tribe in Venezuela are believed to have caught the flu, the indigenous peoples rights group said.
.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5A32YI20091104
Ukraine
“Swine flu reached the army
04/Nov/09
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said that at this time in Ukraine registered 3967 patients with viral diseases among soldiers.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, this head of state said today during a meeting with leaders of armed groups.
Among these patients - in 190 and found pneumonia in a 4 - virus strains A/H1N1. In connection with what Yushchenko called for an immediate leadership of the Ministry of Defense consult with the leadership of the Ministry of Health and other medical facilities for the effective treatment of military personnel.
http://www.unian.net/rus/news/news-345004.html
House to Hold Hearing on Federal Response to H1N1
The head of the CDC will face tough questions on the availability of the H1N1 flu vaccine.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/04/house-holds-hearing-federal-response-hn/
WASHINGTON — A House committee will look into the federal response to the H1N1 virus at a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can expect some tough questioning about the availability of the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Meanwhile, a senior House lawmaker is seeking a quick floor vote on a bill to guarantee five paid sick days to workers if their employer tells them to stay home with H1N1 or a similar contagious illness.
RI
RI HEALTH: Woman Dies of Suspected H1N1
Chris Boardman
Story Created: Nov 4, 2009 at 8:27 AM EST
Story Updated: Nov 4, 2009 at 8:36 AM EST
Final test results are expected back today on a woman, who health officials suspect died from the H1N1 swine flu.
The unidentified woman only described as being in her 40’s died Monday, after being admitted to the hospital over the weekend.
She had several underlying medical conditions and a preliminary test shows, she probably had the h-1-n-1 virus.
If she did die from H1N1 , her death would be the third related to the virus in a week.
The state’s health director says the virus is spreading.
http://www.abc6.com/news/69068477.html
FLU DEATH: The H1-N1 virus may have claimed its first life in the Quinte Region.
November 03, 2009
http://www.ckwstv.com/index.cfm?page=news&id=1399
THE H1-N1 VIRUS MAY HAVE CLAIMED ITS FIRST LIFE IN THE QUINTE REGION.
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS IN BELLEVILLE SUSPECT THE DEATH OF AN UNIDENTIFIED PERSON ON SUNDAY NIGHT WAS CAUSED BY SWINE FLU — BUT THEY’RE STILL WAITING FOR LAB RESULTS TO CONFIRM THAT.
AS NEWSWATCH’S MAX WARK REPORTS, HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO AVOID THE PANDEMIC — BY GETTING FLU SHOTS IN RECORD NUMBERS.
THOUSANDS ARE BRAVING LONG LINES... AND LONG WAITS FOR THEIR TURN TO RECEIVE AN H1-N1 VACCINATION.
NOW THERE’S WORD THAT SOMEONE MAY HAVE DIED OVER THE WEEKEND FROM THE NOW INFAMOUS VIRUS...
SCHABAS:
“THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST DEATH IN OUR HEALTH UNIT THAT WE’VE DOCUMENTED FROM H1-N1.
IT’S NOT CONFIRMED YET THAT THIS IS INFLUENZA BUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE CERTAINLY SUSPICIOUS.”
LAB RESULTS THAT WILL CONFIRM A CAUSE OF DEATH ARE STILL PENDING — BUT THE VICTIM HAD BEEN EXHIBITING “FLU-LIKE” SYMPTOMS BEFORE THEY DIED:
FEVER, NAUSEA AND RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS HAVE ALL BEEN LINKED TO THE DISEASE.
SCHABAS:
“THIS ISN’T A SURPRISE.
WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM H1-N1.
I SUSPECT THAT IN THIS FALL OUTBREAK WE WILL SEE ABOUT 100 DEATHS ACROSS ONTARIO.”
NC hospital segregates flu victims in outdoor tent
The Associated Press
http://www.newsobserver.com/356/story/174412.html
GREENSBORO, N.C. — A major North Carolina hospital is pitching tents to battle the spread of swine flu.
The Greensboro News & Record reported Wednesday that two tents in the Moses Cone Hospital parking lot are the first stop for patients seeking treatment for flu symptoms.
The idea is to cut the spread of the H1N1 flu virus by keeping those infected isolated and take the load off the hospital’s emergency room.
Hospital officials say the tents are heated and cooled and would be filled with medical equipment and emergency room staff. Patients will be evaluated there and admitted to the hospital if necessary.
New Ukraine government data doubles the number of cases (1/4 million to 1/2 million). Dr. Niman stated at PFI
http://www.singtomeohmuse.com/viewforum.php?f=1
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