>>Drug-resistant swine flu seen in Danish patient

For the first time, a case of swine flu has proven resistant to Tamiflu — the leading pharmaceutical weapon against the new virus, international health officials said Monday.

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It appears the strain developed in a patient who was taking the drug to prevent illness, and it has not spread to others. That’s a much better scenario than if the patient had not been taking Tamiflu and picked up a drug-resistant strain already spreading through the public, said Bridges, associate director for science in the CDC’s influenza division.

Full Article: here.

>>Mexican swine flu victims were young, some healthy

Swine flu patients in Mexico were young and many were healthy before developing severe infections, doctors reported on Monday.

The first detailed studies of the outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza show the epidemic in Mexico resembled the early stages of other pandemics, and showed there is no way yet to predict who will become severely ill from the virus.

Full Article: here.

>>Swine flu parties ‘a bad idea’

Throwing “swine flu parties” in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, doctors say.

Reports have emerged of people intentionally mixing with friends who have flu.

Their reasoning is that it is best to be infected before the winter when the virus could become more deadly.

But public health expert Dr Richard Jarvis said such behaviour could undermine the fight against swine flu.

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But he added that if people actively sought to get flu, health services may not be able to act in the same way as they are doing now.

The approach to date – although it is changing in the areas such as Birmingham and London which have the largest outbreaks – has been based on containment.

Full Article: here.

>>Swine flu shuts down nursery at Mt. Sinai hospital

No newborn babies have been infected with swine flu but a nursery at Mount Sinai Hospital has been closed after somebody who was in contact with the unit was confirmed to have a minor case of the H1N1 virus.

“I can tell you at the moment no babies have been infected, but obviously there’s a time period after exposure so the investigation is going to go on,” Dr. Alison McGeer, director of infection control at Mount Sinai Hospital, said.

Full Article: here.

>>Mystery Aborigine swine flu death

Officials in Australia are trying to determine how an Aboriginal man caught and then died from swine flu.

The 26-year-old man became Australia’s first person to die after testing positive for the virus.

He had been living in Kiwirrkurra, one of the country’s most remote Outback communities.

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In the past week the number of confirmed cases doubled in the Northern Territory, where Aborigines make up almost one-third of the population.

Full Article: here.

>>WHO: 51 more swine flu deaths as pandemic spreads

The World Health Organization says the global tally of deaths from swine flu has increased by 51 to 231.
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The global body says Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Fiji and Slovenia reported their first cases over the weekend.

Full Article: here.

>>Six-Year-Old Peel Girl Dies From H1N1 Flu Virus

The H1N1 flu virus has taken another life in Ontario – and this is the youngest patient yet. Health officials have confirmed a six-year-old girl succumbed to the ailment in Peel Region, making her the fourth person to die from the bug since it first surfaced earlier this year.

Full Article: here.

>>Pandemic Might Be as Severe as 1968 Hong Kong Flu

The pandemic sparked by swine flu may be as severe as the Hong Kong flu of 1968-69 that cost an estimated 0.7 percent of global gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.

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Transmission of the bug is likely to accelerate as the flu season begins in the Southern Hemisphere and again when it returns in the Northern Hemisphere, the bank said in a report released yesterday. As many as 1.5 million people die in a normal flu season worldwide, and even a mild new flu might add another 1.4 million deaths, the report said.

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Simulations of the potential economic and human costs of a pandemic based on avian flu that was undertaken for a 2006 report suggested that the costs of a global outbreak could range from 0.7 percent to 4.8 percent of global GDP, depending on the severity of the outbreak, the lender said.

Full Article: here.

>>Vaccinate kids to control H1N1 flu – researchers

Targeting children for vaccination may be the best way of using limited supplies of vaccine to control the current H1N1 flu pandemic, British researchers said on Thursday.

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Researchers from the University of Warwick said that vaccinating children rather than adults would not only help protect a group at greatest risk of exposure to the virus, but would also offer protection to unvaccinated adults.

This so-called “herd immunity” effect would mean significantly less vaccine would be needed to help control the spread of H1N1, also known as swine flu, which was first detected in Mexico in April.

Full Article: here.

>>Four new Canadian deaths related to swine flu

As four more people in Quebec and Manitoba were confirmed dead Tuesday after they contracted swine flu, three chiefs from northern Manitoba travelled to Ottawa, demanding a meeting with the federal and Indian affairs ministers for help with what they called a “pending atrocity” in their communities.

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Of the three communities, only St. Theresa Point currently has any doctors, according to the chiefs. Chief David McDougall, from St. Theresa Point, said his community had been hit with at least 27 confirmed H1N1 flu cases, including his own 20-year-old son. He said the community has at least two doctors working on the outbreak at the moment.

The chiefs said they lack the basic hygienic tools to stop the spread of the flu in their communities, where it’s not uncommon for a dozen people to live in two-bedroom houses, many with no running water.

Full Article: here.

>>First batch of swine flu vaccine produced

Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG said Friday it has successfully produced a first batch of swine flu vaccine weeks ahead of expectations.

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The announcement comes a day after the World Health Organization declared swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, a pandemic. The move indicates that a global outbreak is under way. WHO says drugmakers will likely have vaccines approved and ready for sale after September.

Full Article: here.

>>WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years

The World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic Thursday — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases.

The long-awaited pandemic announcement is scientific confirmation that a new flu virus has emerged and is quickly circling the globe.

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WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan made the announcement Thursday after the U.N. agency held an emergency meeting with flu experts.

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“The world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st century,” Chan told reporters. “The (swine flu) virus is now unstoppable.”

Full Article: here.

>>Australian swine flu spike could force WHO pandemic declaration

A sharp increase in the number of reported cases of the H1N1 virus in Australia may prompt the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the first global pandemic in over forty years.

The number of Australian cases of the virus, commonly known as swine flu, has reached more than 1,200, with state and federal medical officers set to hold an emergency meeting in Sydney to review the country’s swine flu protection measures.

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With over 26,000 H1N1 cases worldwide, the WHO could move to Phase 6, the highest on its pandemic alert system.

Full Article:  here.

Swine flu cases on remote Manitoba reserve a ‘wake-up call’: chief

The emergence of swine flu on a remote northern Manitoba reserve is a wake-up call for governments to address poor living conditions and improve health care for aboriginals, the community’s chief said Thursday.

David McDougall of St. Theresa Point First Nation said there are two confirmed cases of swine flu on the reserve. Another 21 people are in hospital suffering from flu-like symptoms.

As a result, some people in the community of 3,200 are wearing masks and most are avoiding large get-togethers, he said.

It’s still not clear how swine flu reached the reserve, McDougall said. But he added the spread of the illness has likely been exacerbated by the shortage of housing and cramped quarters.

Full Article: here.

>>Swine Flu Spam Spikes In May: McAfee

Swine flu spam was the attack du jour in May for spammers, who sent more than 5 billion swine flu spam messages a day in just six days, according to a McAfee June 2009 spam report released Monday.

Full Article: here.

The irony

Current definition of spam: Unsolicited e-mail sent to a large number of addresses.

Original meaning: A spiced canned pork product.