Mysterious U.S. Swine Flu Probe Widens as Mexico Finds Swine Flu *updated*

WELLINGTON — The number of Asian tourists visiting New Zealand has plummeted due to swine flu fears, officials said Tuesday.

The numbers of visitors from China, Japan and South Korea fell by half in June compared with the same month last year as the influenza A(H1N1) virus spread in New Zealand and elsewhere.

"Experience with past shocks, like SARs and September 11, meant we knew that arrivals from our Asian markets would likely be badly hit by the swine flu outbreak," Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said.

Visitor numbers from Japan fell 67 percent to 2,300 last month from June last year, the lowest number of arrivals from there since June 1985, Statistics New Zealand said Tuesday.

In the same month the number of visitors from China fell 49.4 percent to 2,556 and South Korean tourist numbers dropped 48.5 percent to 3,114.

Overall, the number of Asian visitors fell 37.4 percent to 17,982 in June compared with a year earlier. www.google.com...

Eighth H1N1 Death In Miami-Dade County

MIAMI (CBS4)
The eighth person in Miami-Dade County has died from the H1N1 flu, the Miami-Dade County Health Department announced Tuesday.

The victim was a 31-year-old man.

Swine flu girl died of septic shock

A six-year-old girl with swine flu died of septic shock following a bout of tonsilitis, it has been announced.

The post mortem results on Chloe Buckley, from from West Drayton in west London, showed the tonsilitis was caused by streptococcus A bacterium.

It is not clear to what extent swine flu contributed to Chloe's death on July 9 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for London, said: "Following the death of six-year-old Chloe Buckley on July 9, a post mortem examination has concluded that Chloe died of septic shock as a result of a tonsilitis infection caused by the streptococcus A bacterium.

"Chloe was also found to have the swine flu H1N1 virus.

"It is not possible to say to what degree swine flu contributed to her death.

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Child's swine flu death linked to tonsilitis infection



[edit on 21-7-2009 by JBA2848]

Unborn Baby's Death Tied to Swine Flu, Mom Critical

An unborn child in Australia has died and the mother is fighting for her life after being struck by swine flu.

Health officials said the woman, 19, was transferred from Palm Island to Townsville Hospital on Saturday.

The mother remained in a critical condition in intensive care Tuesday, the Townsville Bulletin reports.

The woman reportedly carried her child to 36 weeks before the baby died. It is only the second swine flu-related death in Queensland, Australia after a 38-year-old woman died at Brisbane's Mater Public Hospital last week.

It is also believed to be the first swine flu-related death of a baby in Australia.

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reply to post by JBA2848


How sad for the family!

Thank you everyone for posting updates. One would think that this story that began in April would have disappeared from the boards by now. I appreciate your efforts to keep us informed.

New Zealand reports 11th death of Influenza A/H1N1

WLLINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of deaths from Influenza A/H1N1 in New Zealand rose to 11 on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said.

The latest death was a child who had underlying medical conditions and died within the past week.

There were a total of 2,443 confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1in New Zealand on Tuesday, up from 2,368 on Monday.

But the actual number of confirmed cases will be significantly higher, as only a small proportion of people with symptoms are being tested.

There are 74 people in hospital with influenza A/H1N1, 26 of whom are in intensive care. Half of those in intensive care are in hospitals in Auckland.

The New Zealand government said Influenza A/H1N1 has not yet peaked and health services remain under pressure.

The health authorities said they were prepared for a possible increase in flu cases which the Health Ministry said could happen as a result of children returning to school from holidays this week.　

Swine Flu Girl, 15, Dies In Glasgow Hospital

A 15-year-old girl has died in hospital after contracting swine flu, taking the number of UK deaths linked to the virus to 30.

The teenager died in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and had underlying medical conditions, the Scottish Government said.

She is the fourth person with swine flu to have died in Scotland
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18th Flu Victim

There's another confirmed death from the H1N1 flu in Quebec: the 18th since the outbreak began in late April.

The patient, a woman in her 40's from the Chaudiere-Appalaches region East of Quebec City, had underlying health problems making her more vulnerable to the virus.

A woman in her 70's from the Quebec City area who was initially reported to be the province's 18th H1N1 flu victim, has since been removed from the list. The H1N1 diagnosis was wrong in her case.

Since the outbreak began there have been 2,506 confirmed cases of the flu.

Baby of swine flu victim, 25, fights for life at Boynton Beach hospital

BOYNTON BEACH — The baby born to a 25-year-old woman who died from complications from the H1N1 swine flu late last month is in critical condition at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach.

The woman, Latoya Nicole Riley, managed to give birth before becoming the first reported death related to the pandemic swine flu virus.

A second Palm Beach County woman stricken with the virus, 27-year-old Aubrey Opdyke, remains in an induced coma at Wellington Regional Medical Center. Her baby, Parker Christine Opdyke, died Saturday morning when doctors tried to deliver her.

According to Riley's obituary, her infant son, James Lamarr Baisden Jr., has two siblings: Keshawn Riley, 8; and Keon Miller, 4.

Riley, a Boynton Beach native, graduated from Atlantic High School and received her CDA license from Palm Beach Community College. She was a child care worker at Achievement Center for Children.
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H1N1 Flu: A Worst-Case Scenario

CBS) While we're nowhere close to what government planners say would be a worst-case scenario, health leaders at all levels have spent years planning for one. What they found was a grim picture of what could happen if a virus like H1N1 gets severely out of control.

The worst-case scenario report, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said on "The Early Show" Tuesday, predicts that about 30 percent of the U.S. population -- 90 million Americans -- could be infected.

The worst-case scenario plan also estimates 9.9 million hospitalizations, 1,485,000 intensive-care-unit admissions and 1,903,000 deaths.

The statistics, Ashton said, are based on a computer program that tracks and forecasts a path like a hurricane's. Part of the estimates, Ashton added, are based on infection patterns in the 1958 and 1968 influenza pandemics.

Swine flu deaths mount in South, Central America

The death toll from swine flu continued to mount in South and Central America Monday, with Argentina upping its figures to 165, making it the second worst-affected country after the United States.
Argentine Health Minister Juan Manzur said the number of fatalities caused by the A(H1N1) virus had risen by 28 since figures were last released by the Health Ministry on July 14.

Only the United States, where 211 people have died, has been worse hit by the worldwide pandemic that first emerged out of Mexico in April.

Elsewhere in the region, Panama reported its first fatality from the virus - a nine-month-old baby.

Panama's Health Ministry said in a statement that the infant died Sunday night at a children's hospital in the capital of "respiratory complications."

So far, authorities in Panama have confirmed 541 cases of swine flu in the country, with the majority of those in the area around Panama City.

Meanwhile, in El Salvador, authorities reported the country's sixth A(H1N1)-related fatality.

The Ministry of Education in the country, where 467 cases of infection have been recorded, has ordered classes be suspended for 12 days in four districts in the east of the country where the virus has hit hardest.

In Bolivia, the death toll from swine flu rose by two to five fatalities, authorities said. So far, around 700 people in the country have been infected with the virus, according to the Bolivian Health Ministry.
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Global death toll over 700

Geneva - The worldwide death toll from swine flu has doubled in the past month, reaching over 700 since the start of the outbreak last spring, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

The UN health agency also said it is examining how countries can tackle the expected explosion in cases predicted this fall, when students and workers in the northern hemisphere return from summer vacation.

Closing schools can help break the chain of swine flu transmission, though at risk of considerable economic cost, the British medical journal The Lancet reported on Tuesday. The study is to be published in next month's edition.

"School closures is one of the mitigation measures that could be considered by countries," WHO spokesperson Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told reporters in Geneva.

The agency has stressed that although the disease is "unstoppable" in the long term, slowing its spread is important to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed by the sheer number of new cases.

WHO stopped asking governments to report infections last week, saying it was "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for countries with large numbers of cases to keep track of each new one.

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Navy Swine Flu Quarantine

In Pearl Harbor, four Navy ships are being used as swine flu quarantine areas. The USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group ships, which arrived Friday, house sailors and Marines with flulike symptoms.

None with symptoms were allowed on shore but thousands from the ships are on leave in Hawaii.

The group heads next to San Diego after a seven-month deployment.

I wanted to share this link...

It is on the front page of Comcast Headline news...It states...
"Flu death toll at 700,school closures an option:WHO"
Link....

www.comcast.net...

So it jumped right out at me...

I know things are bad and have been all along...I come here and read to keep up since this started...

I appreciate all those who have kept posting information...

I am afraid things are going to get much worse here in the U.S.A. with this flu very soon...

Thanks to all those who have been vigilant with the news on this Flu...

The word is now out: Pregnant women are at increased risk of complications from pandemic swine flu. But they aren't the only people at higher risk.
Underlying Medical Conditions and Swine Flu

Flu viruses attack the upper and lower airways, making it harder for a person to breathe. That's one of the reasons the flu is such a miserable illness even for people who were healthy when they caught the flu bug.

But anyone with an underlying illness that can make breathing difficult is at much greater risk from the flu. Flu can send someone with a chronic lung condition -- such as asthma or COPD -- to a hospital equipped with mechanical ventilators.

The flu also makes a person's lungs more susceptible to bacterial infection. With seasonal flu, bacterial infections are a leading cause of flu deaths. Those most vulnerable to such flu complications are adults over 65 -- especially those in nursing homes -- and kids under 2. www.webmd.com...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Swine flu is spreading through Central Florida summer camps. Eyewitness News has learned of at least six outbreaks at camps in Orange and Brevard counties and talked with a mother whose child is in quarantine. www.wftv.com...

The H1N1 swine flu outbreak cost three major U.S. airlines $150 million in lost bookings as the outbreak sparked fears during the second quarter.

Houston-based Continental Airlines reported $50 million in lost revenue and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines said it lost $20 million during the quarter because of the flu. American Airlines said earlier this month the H1N1 cost it as much as $80 million. The carriers have flights in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The H1N1 swine flu outbreak cost three major U.S. airlines $150 million in lost bookings as the outbreak sparked fears during the second quarter.

Melbourne-based company CSL Ltd. plans to test a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, on 240 volunteers, a company representative said.

The test will be conducted on healthy adults between the ages of 18-64. Participants will receive two shots three weeks apart and will undergo blood tests to determine if they are generating an appropriate immune response to the virus, the company said.

"We appreciate that new influenza strains like the 'swine flu' can surprise us with properties that mean they might require higher dosing and two injections rather than one to provoke the desired level of immune response in humans," said Dr. Russell Basser, global director of clinical development for CSL www.cnn.com...

A Catholic camp for boys in Gilmanton ended a session one week early because of "a number of illnesses running rampant" among campers, a diocese spokesman said.

Ten campers had gone home and an additional 12 were sick at camp when the director of Camp Fatima ended a two-week session Friday, said Kevin Donovan. The illnesses included one confirmed case of swine flu as well as another flu strain, pinkeye, strep throat and upper respiratory infections, he said.

Most of the 276 campers went home, although some who live far away and plan to attend the next session remain, he said.

Camp Fatima is one of 10 or 12 camps that have consulted with the Department of Health and Human Services after finding influenza-like illnesses, said Chris Adamski, chief of disease control.

"By and large, we have not seen really significant numbers in any of the camps, but certainly when there's one case, it's concerning enough," she said.

The health department did not recommend closing the camp, but Donovan said the director decided to do so when the number of sick children overwhelmed the three-person nursing staff. Parents of campers in each session were notified, he said.

No such outbreaks have occurred at Camp Bernadette, the girls camp run by the Diocese of Manche



[edit on 21-7-2009 by wizardwars]

A 60-year-old Quebec man is one of a handful of people around the world to catch a strain of swine flu that is resistant to drugs.

Health officials said the man likely contracted the virus from his son and did not require hospital treatment.

Canada's lead researchers are trying to find out more about what this means for the effectiveness of millions of doses of stockpiled antiviral drugs.

Dr. Guy Boivin, Canada Research Chair on emerging viruses and antiviral resistance in Quebec City, said Tuesday the new strains of drug-resistant swine flu raise a red flag but should not scare anyone.

“We know the exact, specific mutation, and this is a mutation that has been reported before in human viruses that were resistant to Tamiflu, so it's not totally unexpected,” said Boivin.

Boivin said he suspects the Quebec father was already infected when he was given a low preventive dose of the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Boivin suspected the father’s virus adapted to the drug at that point, becoming resistant. www.cbc.ca...