Human Influenza continues to hit our region and city, died last night as the youngest of 6 years, Jostin Leonardo Villarroel Ojeda, who was placed on Monday at the Hospital Base Osorno (HBO). Yesterday came the PCR which confirmed that the virus had AH1N1.
A boy of eleven years, died in the southern Chilean region of Bio Bio, became the 13th fatality of influenza AH1N1 in this country, health sources reported today.
HRH Crown Prince calls on all parties to be prepared to face any eventuality
HIS Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday questioned the country's preparedness with regards to the recent spread of Influenza A (H1N1), calling for all parties to be ready for the "worst-case scenario".
In the sabda made prior to the National Disaster Council Meeting at the Fire and Rescue Department headquarters, His Royal Highness said that even though we may feel that the situation is under control at the moment, we must be prepared for any eventuality, especially since no proven prevention measure, such as an effective vaccine, has been found yet.
"Are we prepared to face a sudden increase in infections (cases), which is much more than (initially) projected?" His Royal Highness asked. "What steps have been planned if the virus mutates and has greater potential to cause deaths?
"Do we have the logistical capacity and sufficient manpower to implement a mass quarantine?" His Royal Highness added.
These are the questions that we should be asking and contemplating, to which the answers will require the input, ideas and understanding of all the relevant agencies, His Royal Highness said.
Two more Philadelphia residents have died of complications related to swine flu, officials with the city Department of Public Health said last night.
Both patients - a man and a woman - were described only as middle-aged adults with underlying medical conditions whose infections were confirmed posthumously late last week.
The deaths in Philadelphia, only one of which was included in yesterday's update by the state Department of Health, were the fourth and fifth in Pennsylvania attributed to influenza A(H1N1). and the third in Philadelphia.
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HONOLULU (KHNL) - The Queen's Medical Center confirmed Tuesday several employees have been infected with swine flu. They work in different departments at the main hospital and are recovering at home.
Sources tell KHNL/K5 employees who tested positive for the H-1-N-1 virus include two doctors and at least one nurse. Hospital officials say the situation is under control, and they're doing the best they can to prevent the virus from spreading.
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An emergency room physician who contacted the Review-Journal on Tuesday said he believes the health district, which for several weeks has followed the CDC recommendations by tracking only H1N1 cases requiring hospitalization, is doing the public a disservice by issuing a number of “confirmed cases” that make it appear that the Las Vegas Valley isn’t hard hit by the virus.
District health officials on Monday said Clark County has 80 confirmed cases, which the district’s chief health officer called “the tip of the iceberg.”
Argentina has the world’s highest rate of deaths associated with swine flu infections
The National Government despite the alarming figures, refused to declare a national health emergency.
So far 16 provinces including Buenos Aires took their own healthcare decisions individually, to extend the winter break to about a month.
Schools which serve meals will have them available for pupils to pick them up and take them home every day during the emergency.
Parents are advised not to let their children go to crowded public places.
So far, 38 were killed by H1N1 virus, and world agencies believe the number of deaths is unusually large considering the total number of infections (1,587).
It is believed that the actual number of infections reaches 15,000 with 43 deaths.
The deceased by province are:
Province of Buenos Aires : 29
Buenos Aires City: 6
Santa Fe: 5
Corrientes: 2
Misiones: 1
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Total: 43
These figures suggest the official information does not entirely reflect the actual situation of the pandemic in the country.
All this leads to misinformation as well as fear in most of the population, while some are not aware of the real situation and consider it common seasonal flu.
Unfortunately, some authorities reacted a little late regarding preventive measures, declaring that the strain of H1N1 virus circulating in our country was a “weakened” version of the illness, while figures seem to indicate it is a very aggressive and dangerous strain.
Health centers, collapsed, and when a patient arrived with flu symptoms, was sent him home and told to return only if 48 hours later the symptoms persisted. Despite the cold, parents had to take their children with a fever of 38 °C or more out in the cold and wait in a crowded hospital lobby for long hours among hundreds of patients affected by all kind of diseases. This when the WHO said treatment with antiviral drugs such as, Tamiflu is most effective within the first 48 hours of infection.
Meanwhile, Chief of Cabinet Sergio Massa, said that from now on health authorities will change their current procedures and provide treatment right away to every patient suspected of being infected.
According to Massa, the government has a stock of two million treatments of Tamiflu, so he would be prepared for a resurgence of the epidemic, which according to many experts, could take place in the next two weeks.
Schools are closed but Dr. Carlos Bergallo, Chief of the Infectious Diseases of “Cordoba” Hospital and “Allende” Sanatorium said: “They did not close the malls or movie theaters or places of that kind, so if the kids get together in leisure centers rather than in a classroom, this measures are useless. ”
The infectologist was concerned over the increase in cases of pneumonia treated at his hospital, and warned of the possibility that the H1N1 virus mixed with that of seasonal influenza.
“The virus may have mutated, and we do not know it. Small genetic changes can make it more aggressive.”
According to the doctor, the seriousness of swine flu, is that, unlike the seasonal version which mainly affecting young children and the elderly, this new disease attacks with particular virulence young adults, and develops unusually quickly.
Piscataway man first from Middlesex County to die from swine flu PISCATAWAY — A 44-year-old Piscataway man is the first Middlesex County resident to die from complications of swine flu.
According to David A. Papi, drector of The Middlesex County Public Health Department, the man died at JFK Hospital in Edison on Saturday. The patient had multiple underlying medical conditions.
"It is with great sorrow that we report that Middlesex County has lost its first resident
due to complications from the novel H1N1 virus. Our thoughts and prayers are with the resident's family,'' Papi said.
"I was greatly saddened by this news and I send my heartfelt sympathy to the family,'' said Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler. "I hope they can find some small comfort in the many family members and friends who love them and share their grief.''
The symptoms of H1N1 flu are similar to seasonal flu and include fever, lack of appetite, muscle aches, chills, coughing and fatigue. Some people have also reported having a sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Contact your doctor if you have symptoms of the flu.
More information can be obtained by visiting the Middlesex County Public Health Department web site at co.middlesex.nj.us...
PISCATAWAY — A 44-year-old Piscataway man is the first Middlesex County resident to die from complications of swine flu.
According to David A. Papi, drector of The Middlesex County Public Health Department, the man died at JFK Hospital in Edison on Saturday. The patient had multiple underlying medical conditions.
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GOSHEN – The first two deaths of Orange County residents associated with swine flu were reported Wednesday by the county Health Department.
Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Jean Hudson said a 32-year-old Newburgh woman died on June 23. She had been admitted to St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital since June 13, she said.
Specimens were sent from the Medical Examiner’s Office and results were received in the past 24 hours.
A second woman, a 37-year-old also from the Newburgh area, died Wednesday from swine flu, Dr. Hudson said. That patient was being monitored in the hospital with swine flu.
The two women did not know one another, she said.
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A three-year-old Victorian boy with swine flu has died.
The boy is the first child with the disease to die and his death is being investigated by the coroner and the police, Victoria's Deputy Chief Health Officer, Dr Rosemary Lester said on Wednesday.
The family had asked her not to not to release any further details of the boy's medical history, Dr Lester said.
He is ninth person with the H1N1 Influenza 09 to die in Australia, with seven of the victims coming from Victoria.
Earlier on Wednesday, a 68-year-old man with cancer died in a Victorian hospital after contracting swine flu.
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TEMPE, Ariz., July 1 (UPI) -- The newest strain of the H1N1 influenza reveals an age shift toward a younger population compared with seasonal influenza, U..S. researchers say.
The researchers say 87 percent of the deaths and 71 percent of the cases of severe pneumonia occurred in people ages 5-59.
"The data show that the vast majority of cases of severe pneumonia and deaths occurred among those ages 5-59, which is atypical when compared with the age pattern supported by seasonal flu," one of the researchers, Gerado Chowell-Puente of Arizona State University, said in a statement. "If resources or vaccine supplies are limited, focusing prevention efforts on these age classes must be considered."
Because achieving high vaccination rates before the fall is not feasible with current technologies, effective distribution of a limited vaccine and antiviral stockpiles will be crucial to mitigate a potential second pandemic wave, Chowell-Puente said.
"The seasonal influenza vaccination strategy focuses on the very young and the very old -- the most vulnerable populations," Chowell-Puente said. "This is not necessarily the case for pandemics as we showed in our study."
The findings compiled by Chowell-Puente; Stefano Bertozzi and Arantxa Colchero of Mexico's National Institute of Public Health; Hugo Lopez-Gatell, Celia Alpuche and Mauricio Hernandez of the Mexico Ministry of Health; and Mark A. Miller of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Breaking
3:12 pm – At least 44 people died from swine flu in Argentina.
Dr Tim Blackmore says Wellington hospital is confirming 15 cases a day and 29 people are in hospital with swine flu.
He says 18 people were in hospital last Friday in Victoria. The state has a population of about five million.
Wellington also had 18 people in hospital that day, but that has since increased.
Dr Blackmore says the virus is mild to moderate for most people, but those most at risk, including children and those with respiratory diseases, may need help breathing
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