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[/exprintable version
Influenza A(H1N1) - update 41
29 May 2009 -- As of 06:00 GMT, 29 May 2009, 53 countries have officially reported 15,510 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 99 deaths.
The breakdown of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases by country is given in the following table.
Laboratory-confirmed cases of new influenza A(H1N1) as officially reported to WHO by States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005)
Country Cumulative total Newly confirmed since the last reporting period
Cases Deaths Cases Deaths
Argentina 37 0 18 0
Australia 147 0 108 0
Austria 1 0 0 0
Bahrain 1 0 0 0
Belgium 8 0 1 0
Brazil 10 0 1 0
Canada 1118 2 197 1
Chile 165 0 79 0
China 30 0 8 0
Colombia 17 0 1 0
Costa Rica 33 1 0 0
Cuba 4 0 0 0
Czech Republic 1 0 1 0
Denmark 1 0 0 0
Dominican Republic 2 0 2 0
Ecuador 32 0 4 0
El Salvador 11 0 0 0
Finland 3 0 1 0
France 21 0 5 0
Germany 19 0 2 0
Greece 3 0 2 0
Guatemala 5 0 0 0
Honduras 1 0 0 0
Iceland 1 0 0 0
India 1 0 0 0
Ireland 3 0 2 0
Israel 11 0 2 0
Italy 26 0 3 0
Japan 364 0 4 0
Korea, Republic of 33 0 12 0
Kuwait 18 0 0 0
Malaysia 2 0 0 0
Mexico 4910 85 369 2
Netherlands 3 0 0 0
New Zealand 9 0 0 0
Norway 4 0 0 0
Panama 107 0 31 0
Peru 31 0 4 0
Philippines 6 0 4 0
Poland 4 0 1 0
Portugal 1 0 0 0
Romania 3 0 3 0
Russia 2 0 0 0
Singapore 4 0 3 0
Slovakia 1 0 1 0
Spain 143 0 5 0
Sweden 4 0 1 0
Switzerland 4 0 1 0
Thailand 2 0 0 0
Turkey 2 0 0 0
United Kingdom 203 0 66 0
United States of America 7927 11 1163 1
Uruguay 2 0 2 0
Grand Total 15510 99 2112 4
Chinese Taipei has reported 9 confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) with 0 deaths. Cases from Chinese Taipei are included in the cumulative totals provided in the table above.
]
WHO
Originally posted by blc4r4
Their temperature will then be taken and – if they show no symptoms then or the following morning – they will be allowed into classrooms the following morning to sit their exams.www.independent.co.uk...
Source: World Health Organization
Early signs of influenza A(H1N1) are flu-like, including fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhoea.
SOURCE: CDC
Oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu ®) is approved to both treat and prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people one year of age and older.
SOURCE
In conclusion, our experimental results, theoretical calculations and hypothesis imply the possibility that ubiquitous use of oseltamivir may result in selection pressures in the environment that favor development of drug-resistance. This raises the all-important question as to whether or not such a risk should be taken, or if a more restricted use of these agents should be advocated? This is an opinion shared by other researchers [28], and we would like to add that the effects of pharmaceuticals continuously released into the environment should not be underestimated and certainly investigated carefully before widespread use of a drug is encouraged.
The H1N1 virus is now in every state and territory in the country. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon conceded yesterday that while it was important to try to track and contain the disease, it may be impossible to keep quarantining people. More than 3000 Victorians are in voluntary home quarantine. Ms Roxon said health officials would review the Victorian situation if the disease numbers rose dramatically as was expected over the next week. There are 459 further tests waiting laboratory results. "There is a tipping point at which it won't be possible to continue to do that, and where we can assess that the disease really has become a community disease," Ms Roxon said. "And then we would move to a new phase where all of those efforts go into treatment and identification of people who are at risk. SOURCE: The Australian
Wales has their first confirmed case of swine flu. SOURCE: BBC News
My research of the H1N1 virus this week has focused on ways our drinking water might be making us susceptible to the swine flu. If you've been following my previous posts, you'll see I've discovered that scientists are looking at a possible link between susceptibility to H1N1 and higher levels or arsenic in drinking water. I would like to see more information on this but other than what I've posted in the past week or so, I haven't seen anything else new.
I did find this as I was reading this morning:
SOURCE: Food Consumer
Is there a risk from drinking water? Tap water that has been treated by conventional disinfection processes does not likely pose a risk for transmission of influenza viruses. Current drinking water treatment regulations provide a high degree of protection from viruses. No research has been completed on the susceptibility of the novel H1N1 flu virus to conventional drinking water treatment processes. However, recent studies have demonstrated that free chlorine levels typically used in drinking water treatment are adequate to inactivate highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. It is likely that other influenza viruses such as novel H1N1 would also be similarly inactivated by chlorination. To date, there have been no documented human cases of influenza caused by exposure to influenza-contaminated drinking water.
I was surprised that there was no mention of the possible link between susceptibility to H1N1 and higher levels or arsenic in drinking water. I wonder if further studies are being done to confirm this? I don't have time to do any more digging, but I'll keep looking.
[edit on 31-5-2009 by cornblossom]
Three further Eton College pupils have been diagnosed with swine flu, taking the total number of cases at the top public school to four.
More suspected cases at the Berkshire school are being investigated after a pupil tested positive there last week.
Health chiefs confirmed there were another 17 cases of the virus across the UK, bringing the total to 246.
The new cases included one patient from Wales, which is believed to be the first swine flu case in the country.
They also included two cases in Scotland.
Police flu powers in Tasmania
POLICE have the power to arrest Tasmanians who refuse to co-operate with authorities trying to stop the spread of swine flu.
Acting public health director Chrissie Pickin warned yesterday that police could be called when people were unwilling to obey directions given by health authorities or to stay in isolation.
A public health order was served on one. The other strongly argued against being put in isolation. "A couple of people in particular were quite shocked and weren't very happy about it at all," Dr Pickin said.
"If people do resist, the Director of Public Health has powers under the Public Health Act to enforce isolation. "In the unlikely event that a person fails to abide by a public health order, we may call on police for help as a last resort. Exactly how police might be used would depend on the circumstances of the specific case."
"We need the community to acknowledge [swine flu] could be a severe threat in Tasmania," she said. "People need to be supportive and follow our requests."
She said if a full outbreak of the virus took hold, the number of Tasmanians directly affected could climb to 100,000.
Health authorities are still considering whether to move to the next stage of the swine flu plan. Australia is in the containment stage of the outbreak, with 303 cases confirmed nationally.