Influenza A/H1N1 continues to spread in Asia

he number of influenza A/H1N1 confirmed cases continued to rise in most of Asia countries on Friday.

New Zealand now reported 216 confirms cases. Meanwhile, it was moving to a “manage it” phase as part of its response to the Influenza A/H1N1 outbreak. The shift in phase reflected the increased spread of the virus, rather than a change in the severity of the illness, said Health Minister Tony Ryall.

“We’re remaining in code yellow we are not moving to code red, this is a reflection of the spread, not the severity, of the flu,” he said.

“Our focus is now moving to helping those people in the community that have the illness.”

Finance Minister Bill English said influenza A/H1N1 represents “one more bend in the road to recovery,” but the economy faces significantly larger challenges.

Westpac Bank is estimating that influenza A/H1N1 could cut 1 percent to 2 percent from New Zealand’s economic growth over the next year which may lengthen the recession by another two of quarters.

Malaysia declared four more imported cases of A/H1N1 flu on Thursday, bringing up the total number of the patients to 27, according to local media on Friday.

So far, 12 of the 27 patients had fully recovered and the other15 still remained in quarantine and treatment in hospital, the ministry said.

The ministry also said that 10 of the 27 patients were foreigners, and currently a total of 160 close contacts of these patients were under quarantine in the country.

Malaysia has introduced ten new measures to prevent A/H1N1 flu from spreading in the country.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that one of the measures was compulsory health declaration form by all travelers arriving in the country, which would be gazetted next week.

Other measures included sending health officers on board flights to scan body temperatures of passengers coming from the United States, Melbourne of Australia and Manila of the Philippines.

Also, Malaysia would give A/H1N1 flu vaccines to high-risk groups to reduce infection risks.

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry on Friday announced 71 more patients, who are confirmed to have caught the A/H1N1 flu virus, bringing the country’s total number to 589.

The Japanese government relaxed its guidelines for dealing with the new A/H1N1 influenza Friday although the total infection tally is still on the rise.

Under the revised guidelines, the government basically allows every medical institution in the country to see new-flu patients and for people with mild symptoms to recuperate at home.

The government will also stop counting all individual infections and focus instead more on early detection of group infections.

The health Ministry also decided the same day to start producing a vaccine against the new flu in mid-July, which would allow for inoculations to start as early as October, by stopping output of seasonal flu vaccine.

The tally of infections in Japan approached 750 as of Friday morning after the first cases were confirmed May 9. But symptoms are milder than initially feared and no one died due to the disease.

In Australia, Health Minister Nicola Roxon issued a statement on Friday night after a man confirmed with the virus died, saying that A/H1N1 flu remains mild in Australia and most people infected make a rapid and full recovery.

“While swine flu (A/H1N1 flu) is mild in most, severe in some and moderate overall, those with existing conditions are more vulnerable to the severe effects of the disease,” Roxon said.

Roxon said that during the protect phase of the pandemic, the government remained focused on identifying, targeting and treating people who are most vulnerable to severe complications from A/H1N1flu.

In Bangladesh, the first A/H1N1 flu case was detected on Thursday, the health ministry said in press statement on Friday.

Singapore has confirmed another 26 new cases of influenza A/H1N1 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases here to 103, the country’s Health Ministry said on Friday night.

Singapore reported its first confirmed case of Influenza A/H1N1on May 27. So far, 29 patients have been discharged. The remaining74 patients are still in the hospital and their conditions remain stable.

In China’s Hong Kong, a study done by local experts showed that the magnitude of influenza A’s summer peak has become higher in recent years in Hong Kong.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Observatory jointly studied the relationship between weather and influenza activity in Hong Kong.

The study analyzed the information of the laboratory-confirmed influenza A and B cases admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital and the Observatory’s weather data from 1997 to 2006.

The study found that, in general, there were more influenza A than influenza B-associated admissions in Hong Kong. The two types of influenza showed a different relationship with weather conditions.

As the new strain disease, influenza A/H1N1, which is spreading among different countries and regions, belongs to the influenza A type, Chan expected the magnitude of the new virus will become stronger during June and July.

Hong Kong health authorities announced Friday 16 new cases of influenza A/H1N1 were confirmed, bring to 237 the total number of influenza A/H1N1 cases in the city.

On the same day, the Education Bureau of the HKSAR government announced that classes of four schools would be suspended for 14 days between June 20 and July 3.

Macao reported an A/H1N1 influenza suspect case on Friday involving a Macao resident who tested positive for the virus in preliminary tests.

Despite the climbing number of A/H1N1 influenza cases in neighboring regions, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) just reported its first confirmed case Thursday.

Better data needed’ on swine flu

The government must map the spread of swine flu more accurately in order to predict the number of people who are likely to die from it, scientists say.

Researchers at Imperial College say data is vital to ensure the country is “best prepared to fight the pandemic”.

They predict that one in 200 people who get swine flu badly enough to need medical help could go on to die.

Meanwhile, the BBC understands that vaccines may not be ready until later than the government had predicted.

Medical correspondent Fergus Walsh said World Health Organisation officials expected the first stocks to be available in September or October, not August as ministers had said.

Chief medical officer Liam Donaldson also told the BBC that to cope with “the height of the pandemic”, the government was considering changing the rules to speed up the death certification process for swine flu victims.

“We want to try and reduce as much as possible the burden of work on doctors and we are considering all sorts of things which will help will that,” he said.

“That’s one of the options that’s being looked at.”

Margin of error

Accurate predictions about the number of deaths likely to occur from swine flu are not yet available.
Current estimates suggest it is about as virulent as some types of seasonal flu, but far less deadly than some previous flu pandemics.

The BBC’s science editor Susan Watts said in a good year a thousand people die of seasonal flu, but in a bad year it can be 30,000.

Any estimates about swine flu are subject to a wide margin of error, not least because not everyone who catches it develops symptoms.

But despite the difficulties, the Imperial College scientists – who are advising the government on its swine flu strategy – say more accurate mapping of the spread of the virus must be carried out if it is to be effectively managed.

Dr Tini Garske said: “If we fail to get an accurate prediction of severity, we will not be providing healthcare planners, doctors and nurses, with the information that they need to ensure they are best prepared to fight the pandemic as we head into the flu season this autumn.”

She said data must be collected “according to well designed study protocols and analysed in a more sophisticated way than is frequently being performed at present”.

‘Only an estimate’

Not everyone who is infected with swine flu will become ill enough to report their case to a doctor.

Of the proportion who do, scientists predict that 0.5% of them – one in 200 – could go on to die.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has said there could be 100,000 new cases of swine flu a day later in the year.

If that prediction and the Imperial College figures are both correct, that could mean 500 people dying every day.

There need to be plans for hospitals to share workloads across areas
Prof Steve Field
Royal College of GPs

The chief medical officer told the BBC that was “only an estimate”.

“There are higher and lower estimates, we can’t be absolutely sure at this stage where the mortality will fall,” Sir Liam said.

“Our own estimates show a much broader range than that and a lower figure, but the truth of the matter is it’s far too early to say.”

There have so far been 17 swine flu-related deaths in the UK.

On Tuesday, a post-mortem examination ruled that a GP who died after contracting it was not killed by the virus.

Prof Steve Field, from the Royal College of GPs, said plans to manage the outbreak were on schedule.

“What we’re learning is this is happening in hotspots around the country… so there need to be plans for individual hospitals and for hospitals to share workloads across areas,” he said.

Tiny Med Island Finally Succumbs To Swine Flu

The last country in the European Union to be infected with the swine influenza virus is Malta! This tiny Mediterranean island with a population of 400,000 people managed to hold out until the beginning of July despite hundreds of thousands of tourists arriving by plane and sea.
Tiny Med Island Finally Succumbs To Swine Flu

The Director of Health for the island Mr. Ray Busuttil explained that in line with correct procedure the infected individuals had been given the antiviral medication Tamiflu and members of their family and other people they had been in contact with had also been given the drug.

As is often the case in small confined places like Malta news of the swine flu infections spread rapidly and in some cases caused undue panic. Many people decided not to go to work with or canceled holidays abroad because they were frightened of coming into contact with people who were infected. The number of cases in Malta currently stands at 39 confirmed.

However the Maltese government said that they were keeping a close eye on the situation and that other then following simple hygiene practices such as washing hands, people should continue with their lives as normal. The government said that avoiding crowded gatherings was also a good idea however this will be hard to enact especially as there are so many summer parties and gatherings on the beach at this time of year. Some health experts predict that with the huge Isle of MTV concert coming up on Wednesday evening the virus could spread significantly more.

In line with the World Health Organisation recommendations the Maltese government has a stock of Tamiflu which will enable 25% of its population to be treated and more medicine has been ordered from its manufacturer Roche. The Maltese government has also invested in 10,000 courses of the other effective influenza medication Relenza.

Tamiflu knocked at No.1

Everybody complains about getting Viagra spam at some point but over the last few days Viagra has been knocked off the top spot and is no longer the most spammed drug in the world after the influenza medication Tamiflu became the no.1 inbox-clogger all over the globe. According to Mr. David Pruce from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society the sudden hike in the number of spam emails which contain the words Tamiflu is incredible and is obviously directly linked to the scare surrounding the swine influenza pandemic.

At Ukmedix News we want to remind all our readers that people who send out spam offering Tamiflu medication are almost certainly selling a fake version of it that is likely to be completely ineffective or dangerous. Tamiflu is also a prescription drug and therefore it is illegal to promote it in this way.

While many people may perceive sending out Viagra spam as a harmless activity which could only lead to disappointed men, the act of sending out Tamiflu spam to make people buy a dud medication which is supposed to be a lifesaver is almost tantamount to murder. In 3rd world countries tens of thousands of people die every year from using fake medications which don’t do what they are supposed to and now the criminal manufacturers of these products are trying to cash in on the fears of people living in the United Kingdom by sending out these evil spam emails.

If you receive Tamiflu spam you should delete it immediately and whatever you do don’t be stupid enough to buy anything from the website it links you to. Never take chances with influenza medication!

Increase In Healthline call numbers

Telephone health advice service Healthline has been fielding about 30 percent more calls since the swine flu outbreak, the Ministry of Health said today.

The World Health Organisation announced a pandemic of the AH1N1 swine flu this morning.

There have been 27 confirmed cases of the illness in New Zealand.

The ministry has advised people suffering symptoms of swine flu to contact the Healthline rather than visiting their doctor, in an attempt to help contain the disease.

This has resulted in an increase in the number of calls going to the centre.

A ministry spokeswoman said normal call levels were about 800 to 900 calls per day. Yesterday the team fielded over 1100 calls.

The staff were “coping well”, the spokeswoman said.

“They’ve been gearing up for the greater volumes.”

There had been a lot of calls about swine flu as well as seasonal influenza.

Seasonal flu hits up to 20 percent, about 760,000, New Zealanders each year. On average, 2.7 percent of the population (156,000 people) will go to their GP because of flu each year and an estimated 95 people will die.

Increase in H1N1 Influenza and Gatherings

Over the past few weeks, the Health Department has seen an increase in the number of H1N1 Influenza (Swine flu) cases being reporting across Thurston County. As with seasonal influenza, people with H1N1 Influenza are experiencing mild, moderate and more severe symptoms.

“With the July 4th holiday coming, many people will be going to family gatherings, getting together with friends and attending other events where they might be in a crowd”, says Dr. Diana Yu Thurston County Health Officer. “We want to make sure that local residents take precautions to prevent the spread of the flu.”

The Health Department is not recommending that community events be cancelled or public places be closed due to the increase in H1N1 Influenza cases. However, the County Health Officer is recommending that:

● People who are sick with fever and cough should stay home, away from public events, crowded places and family members in nursing homes

or other similar settings.

● Women who are pregnant, children under 5, adults 65 and older, and residents with chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease such as asthma, kidney or liver disease and some blood disorders – are encouraged to stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing.

● And with summer here, parents should avoid sending children who are sick with fever and other flu-like symptoms to day camps, summer camps or child care. People who work with children, should send sick children home and can contact the Health Department if they have questions.

H1N1 Influenza is a respiratory disease that is spread from person-to-person by coming into contact with germs from the cough or sneeze of someone who is infected. Some precautions you can take to better protect yourself are basic, but important:

● Stay away from people who are sick.

● Do not share snacks, food, drinks or cigarettes with others.

● Stay home from work, child care, family or public gatherings when you are sick with a fever and cough.

● Wash your hands often using soap, warm water, and paper towels, or use a commercially available hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

● Keep your hands away from your nose, eyes and mouth.

● Cough into your sleeve or cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze. Dispose of tissues in a covered container and wash your hands.

By following these precautions you can help prevent the spread of any type of Influenza, including H1N1. Symptoms of Swine Flu H1N1 include sudden onset of fever, cough, and sore throat. In addition, fatigue, lack of appetite, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can occur.

If you are sick:

● Call your healthcare provider before you go to see them. Report the symptoms you have. Follow the advice they give you for care.

● If you need to go to your health care provider, tell the clinic staff you think you may have flu-like symptoms when you get there and ask for a mask.

● If you have trouble breathing, seek medical care immediately.

● Drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

Public health officials remain concerned about the spread of H1N1 Influenza because it is a new virus and the flu shot people get each year does not prevent you from getting it. The international H1N1 Influenza (Swine flu) outbreak continues to be closely monitored by the Health Department with support from numerous local partners including the medical community, emergency responders and local government.

New H1N1 flu not going away: U.S. health agency

More than 1 million people in the United States may have been infected with the new H1N1 swine flu, U.S. health officials said on Friday, and infections continue to rise.

The new H1N1 influenza virus that has triggered a global pandemic is infecting people in the United States well beyond the normal period for influenza season, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing.

“The key point is this new infectious disease is not going away,” Schuchat said. “In the U.S., we’re still experiencing a steady increase in the number of reported cases, with 6,000 new cases reported just this week.”

That represents the largest number of cases to be reported in a one-week span since the beginning of the outbreak in April.

The World Health Organization is now reporting more than 67,000 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu and some 300 deaths worldwide.

In the United States, there have been 27,717 laboratory-confirmed cases, including more than 3,000 hospitalizations and 127 deaths.

“We are estimating about a million people in the U.S. or more have gotten this virus at a time of year when people really aren’t continuing to get the seasonal influenza viruses,” Schuchat said.

“A big question that everybody really has is what kind of illness, hospitalization and deaths will we see when our winter flu season begins?”

‘NOVEL VACCINE’

Schuchat said vaccine makers are developing H1N1 vaccine that will be tested in clinical trials over the summer.

She said the CDC has not yet decided if it will recommend people get the new shots when flu season in arrives in North America in the fall. But Schuchat said the CDC is asking state and local health departments to draw up plans for how to handle distribution of the vaccines.

“We want states to be ready to offer and administer this novel vaccine,” she said, focusing especially on how to reach younger people, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions like asthma and diabetes that put them at higher risk.

At a three-day meeting in Atlanta of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC researchers said one vaccination scenario could include as many as 600 million doses.

That could place a heavy burden on cash-strapped health departments, which would likely have to distribute two doses of the new vaccine, which might be required for full immunity, in addition to the regular seasonal flu vaccination program.

Schuchat said the CDC continues to watch for changes in the virus in the Southern Hemisphere, where flu season is now in full swing. “We have not seen any changes in the virus that are important at this point,” she said.

In the United States, the new flu continues to spread, with 12 states reporting widespread flu activity, something Schuchat said was “very unusual for this time of year.”

“That is just one feature that helps us to see that what we are seeing is quite different,” she said.

She said flu infections are even affecting children attending camps in the Northern Hemisphere summer, with outbreaks in 34 camps in 16 states.

Flu virus takes toll on May tourism

TOURISM arrivals fell again in May, the 12th consecutive month they have done so.

Worse, the spectre of Influenza A (H1N1) has cast a long shadow over an industry that is already reeling from the effects of the global economic downturn, and things look set to get a lot worse before they get better.

Last month, 730,000 tourists visited Singapore, a 13 per cent drop over the same month last year.

The H1N1 factor played a major part in crimping arrivals: Tourists from East Asian countries like China, Korea and Japan, which are among Singapore’s key markets, stayed away in droves.

People from these countries are more careful than most about avoiding the new flu bug, having lived through the Sars outbreak in 2003.

Visitors from Japan dropped 30 per cent year-on-year, and the plunge for those from China and Korea was even greater, at 40 per cent.

In its monthly release, the Singapore Tourism Board said: “The sharper declines in visitor arrivals in May 2009 from markets such as China and Japan can be attributed in part to the global outbreak of Influenza A.”

The effects of H1N1 are not just being felt in the tourism industry.

For instance, at the recently concluded Infocomm Media Business Exchange – billed as Asia’s largest technology trade show – Japanese telco giant NTT DoCo- Mo did not turn up despite having paid for its booth.

A company representative told The Straits Times that it was “a last-minute decision”.

She said: “At that time, (the H1N1 flu) was very serious in Japan. In order not to put people at risk, the company decided not to allow its staff to travel.”

Tourism industry players warned that the full impact of H1N1 on the trade has not been seen yet.

They noted that by the end of May, Singapore had only five confirmed cases of the disease. All were imported.

This was not enough for other countries to place the Republic on their lists of destinations to avoid.

But now, with the virus spreading to the community, and numbers likely to rise further, more people are expected to avoid Singapore.

So far, no country appears to have placed Singapore on its list of destinations to avoid.

But already, firms like Golden Travel and CTC Holidays say they have seen inbound business drop by 50 per cent to 70 per cent.

Singapore leads Asia in new cases of Influenza A/H1N1

Singapore on Sunday confirmed 145 new cases of Influenza A/H1N1, leading the Asian region in new cases of the flu that the whole world is fighting against.

According to a statement issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Health on Sunday night, a total of 145 new cases of the disease were confirmed, bringing the total number of such cases to 599 in the city state.

Following Singapore, China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) reported 66 newly confirmed cases of the influenza in the 24 hours to 2:30 p.m.(0630 GMT) Sunday, bringing to 695 the total number of A/H1N1 influenza cases in the region.

A spokesman for Hong Kong Hospital Authority said Sunday that a total of 554 confirmed cases have been discharged from public hospitals upon recovery.

On the Chinese mainland, another 51 new cases of A/H1N1 flu were confirmed in the 24 hours ending 6 p.m. Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 729, but no fatality has been reported.

In Macao, the other SAR of China, reported two more confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 on Sunday, bringing the total number of such cases to 18 in the region.

In Vietnam, 24 more influenza A/H1N1 cases were reported, totaling the flu patients to 108 in the country.

And Malaysia’s confirmed cases of the flu climbed up to 124 with 12 new ones on Sunday while neighboring Indonesia reported six more positive cases of A/H1N1 flu, bringing the country’s total cases to eight.

In the Philippines, one of the hardest-hit nations in the region, its Health Department said a total of 861 A/H1N1 cases had been confirmed all over the country, 634 of whom had fully recovered since May 21.

The flu has also entered the military in the country. The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday confirmed that two solders have been infected with the Influenza A/H1N1 virus but said they are now recovering and that its spread to other troops had been contained.

Meanwhile, in Japan on Sunday, three Russian nationals visiting Japan’s Kanazawa, in Ishikawa Prefecture, to take part in a figure skating show have been confirmed infected with the new stain of influenza.

The city has asked eight other people taking part in the show who were in close contact with the three to refrain from going out or participating in the show.

India, one of the Asian nations that found the A/H1N1 flu later, added nine new cases, four each from Bangalore and Delhi and one from Punjab, bringing the country’s tally to 89.

Myanmar on Sunday is stepping up its preventive measures against the possible outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 following the first case of the new flu virus infection in the country on Saturday.

In Indonesia also redoubled its efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. The Ngurah Rai International Airport of Bali plans to install laboratory equipment for blood test following the cases of flu A/H1N1 infection in the country, Nyoman Murtiyasa, head of the airport’s health office said Sunday.

Sanofi to donate 100 million flu shots to WHO

Vaccine maker Sanofi Aventis said on Wednesday it will donate 100 million doses of vaccine against the new H1N1 swine flu to the World Health Organization once it gets them made.

WHO can then send the vaccines to countries that need them most if it is decided to immunize people against the new strain of so-called swine flu, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Christopher Viehbacher said.

“Exceptional times require exceptional responses. We need to act responsibly and we all have to play our part,” Viehbacher said in a statement released at the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle.

“That is the reason why we intend to donate 100 million doses of influenza vaccine to the World Health Organization to help developing countries face the influenza pandemic.”

WHO has not yet advised whether people should get vaccinated against H1N1, which has spread to all regions of the world, although it is only causing a moderate pandemic so far.

WHO has confirmed nearly 36,000 cases globally with 163 deaths, although flu experts say there are almost certainly hundreds of thousands of cases. Doctors do not test every person with symptoms.

Companies that make influenza vaccines have finished production of seasonal vaccines for the coming season in the northern hemisphere and have started work on an H1N1 swine flu vaccine in case it is needed. It would be given separately from the seasonal flu vaccine, which is a cocktail of the three most common strains — including another type of H1N1.

It is not clear how easy it will be to make a vaccine against H1N1 as it has never infected people before. This means two doses might be needed to get a full immune response.

WHO has estimated vaccine makers could produce up to 4.9 billion pandemic flu shots a year in a best-case scenario, leaving some of the world’s 6.5 billion population unprotected, particularly if more than one dose was needed.

Sanofi said it would reserve 10 percent of its output for WHO. “In the event that Sanofi Pasteur’s manufacturing facilities become fully committed to the production of pandemic vaccine, the company will also supply this vaccine under a tiered-pricing policy for developing countries,” the company said.

Sanofi said at full capacity its new Pennsylvania factory can make 100 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine per year and its existing facility can make 50 million doses per year. Its French plant can make 120 million doses per year.

The company said it makes 40 percent of the influenza vaccines distributed worldwide.