CMAJ editorial urges pandemic vaccine without adjuvant for high-risk groups

An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is urging the government to fast-track pandemic H1N1 vaccine for high-risk groups.

And to do that, it suggests offering these groups the vaccine without an adjuvant, a boosting compound that may stretch limited supplies.

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Using adjuvanted vaccine offers the benefit of faster delivery of enough vaccine to meet Canada’s needs. For instance, it could allow a half dose or a third of a dose to be used for each person, such that each batch that rolls off the production line will protect more people than vaccine without adjuvant.

Full Article: here.

Read the CMAJ editorial here.

In April, Egypt ordered a complete cull of the country’s pig population. Approximately 350,000 pigs were slaughtered.

Unfortunately, Egypt’s garbage management industry, which features one of the world’s highest recycling rates at 85%, was pig-dependent. Organic waste which previously was sorted out and fed to the pigs, is now piling up as rubbish — leading to major garbage and health problems.

Read more: here.

“Three amigos” summit dominated by swine flu, trade

Leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada gather on Monday to present a united front to try to limit the spread of the H1N1 swine flu, but there is less unity on simmering trade issues.
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The leaders, sometimes referred to as “the three amigos,” are expected to issue a joint communique stressing their shared commitment to keep a predicted resurgence in the H1N1 virus this autumn as limited as possible.

A senior Obama administration official said the goal was to ensure that the people of the three countries are fully informed about steps to mitigate the spread of the virus, which is believed to have originated in Mexico last spring.

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.

>>Toronto Man May Be GTA & Ontario’s First H1N1 Flu Death

Toronto appears to have its first case of a death from the H1N1 flu. Ontario Health Minister David Caplan confirms that a man died at his home on Saturday, and it’s believed he may have succumbed from complications of the disease.

Full Article: here.

UPDATED:  ‘Atypical’ Toronto swine flu victim had other medical condition: official

>>Spread of Swine Flu Puts Japan in Crisis Mode

On Thursday, confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus in Japan reached 279, centering on Kobe and the neighboring city of Osaka, in western Japan. Like many other countries, Japan has reported mild flu cases and no deaths. Still, it is in crisis mode: more than 4,800 schools have been closed in the region, medical services are swamped, and testing laboratories are working around the clock.

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The outbreak has come as a particular shock for hygiene-obsessed Japan, where hand-washing is religiously taught in schools, children play in sanitized sandboxes, and everything from underwear to ballpoint pens comes with supposed antibacterial properties.

Full Article: here.

>>Mexico City ends swine flu alert, no cases in week

Mexico City lowered its swine flu alert level from yellow to green on Thursday, and the mayor said “we can relax” now that there have been no new infections for a week.

City Health Secretary Armando Ahued said nobody has been hospitalized with respiratory infections in the last three days, and no swine flu cases have been confirmed since May 14. “We are seeing a 96.1 percent drop in cases, and that’s why we are dropping the alert level to green today,” Ahued said.

Full Article: here.

>>Nations urge WHO to change criteria for pandemic

Dozens of countries urged the World Health Organization to change its criteria for declaring a pandemic, saying the agency must consider how deadly a virus is — not just how far it spreads across the globe.

Fearing a swine flu pandemic declaration could spark mass panic and economic devastation, Britain, Japan, China and others asked the global body on Monday to tread carefully before raising its alert. Some cited the costly and potentially risky consequences, such as switching from seasonal to pandemic vaccine, even though the virus so far appears to be mild.

Full Article: here.

>>Swine flu outbreak no reason to panic

It’s difficult to tell in some instances which is moving faster — the virus or the information announcing its progression. Updates arrive not hourly, but every minute, from every corner of the globe.

Here in Kingston, we can go online to www.kfla.ca and click on the infection watch live website to monitor changes in area illness activity. Green, yellow and red indicate, respectively, normal, elevated or high activity of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.

Full Article:  here.

>> Kingstonians appear to be taking outbreak seriously

Gemmill said that local health authorities are monitoring the new influenza strain via a 24- hour “syndromic surveillance” system that reports any unusual changes in respiratory and gastrointestinal illness activity. The public can view the system by logging onto www.kfla.ca and clicking on “infection watch live website.”

Full Article:  here.