16 Mumbaikars test positive for swine flu, in 24hrs

MUMBAI: As many as 16 Mumbaikars, including seven children, tested positive for swine flu in the last 24 hours. Taking stock of the situation across the country, the Union health ministry advised states on Wednesday to vaccinate their healthcare workers, but did not recommend immunization for the general population.

Among the children who tested positive for the H1N1 virus on Wednesday, two, both 10 months old, from Nagpada and Andheri had to be admitted to different hospitals. The remaining five, including a three-month infant from Versova and four kids under 10 years from Goregaon, Mahalaxmi and Kandivli, were treated as outpatients. Around 17% of the H1N1-hit this year are very young children.

Where To Go For Swine Flu Treatment in Mumbai

The Union Government has identified the Kasturba Hospita,as the facility at Mumbai, for testing and isolation of suspected swine flu patients. The government has set up a screening facility at the Chatrapati Shivaji International airport for all the inbound passengers to prevent the spread of H1N1. Doctors from the Hospital are round the clock screening the passengers at the Airport.

Kasturba Hospital
Arthur Road, Sane Guruji Marg,
Mumbai 400011
Ph: 022- 23083901 / 23092458 / 23000889,

The Government has also identified the following hospitals as the facilities for Swine Flu testing

Sir JJ Hospital
J J Marg, Byculla,
Mumbai – 08
Ph- 91-22- 23735555, 23739031, 23760943,23768400
/ 23731144 / 5555 / 23701393 / 1366

Haffkine Institute
Acharya Donde Marg,
Parel, Mumbai – 12
Ph- 91-22- 24160947, 24160961, 24160962

Following are the screening centres in Mumbai:

1. Kasturba Hospital
Arthur Road, Sane Guruji Marg, Mahalaxmi
Jacob Circle, Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra 400011, India
022-23083901, 23083902, 23083903, 23083904

2. Cooper Hospital
Vile Parle West, West
Mumbai, Maharastra 400056, India
022 26207254‎ / 022-22605892 / 022-22605897

3. VN Desai Municipal Hospital
11th, Golibar Road
Opposite Santa Cruz Gymkhana, Santacruz East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400055, India
+91 22 26182081

4. SK Patil Hospital
Daftarri Road, Malad (E), Mumbai, Mumbai
022 28894381

5. Kurla Bhabha Hospital
Near Kurla Rlwy Station
Kurla, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400070, India
+91 22 26500241

6. Shatabdi Hospital
Dock Labour Board Colony, Govandi, Mumbai
022 25564070 / 25563289

7. Mahatma Phule Hospital
Kannamvar Nagar 2, Vikhroli (east), Opposite Samaj Kalyan, Mumbai – 400083
022 25782253 / 25782283

8. Bhabha Hospital
K B Bhaba Hospital Building, Bandra (West), Mumbai - +91 22 26422775

9. Rajawadi Hospital
Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400077, India
022 25094149

10. Bhagwati Hospital
Ground Floor, Bhagwati Hospital, Mandapeshwar Road, Mandapeshwar, Borivali (west), Mumbai
022 28932461

11. M T Agarwal Hospital
Dr. R P Road, Mulund West, Mumbai
022 25640767

12. Siddharth Hospital
Opposite Motilalnagar Post Office
Motilal Nagar, Goregaon, Mumbai
022 28766886

Swine Flu Activated in Mumbai

With two new cases of swine flu being detected on Wednesday from Haffkine Laboratory in Parel, the count of patients has risen to 80 since January this year.

A 24-year-old male from Powai and a 47-year-old male from Kurla have been tested to be positive for H1N1 virus, BMC officials said.

While the Powai-based male has sought treatment on OPD basis, the 47-year-old male from Kurla has been admitted to civic-run KEM hospital in Parel.

"Both the patients have been put on Tamiflu treatment and are stable," said Dr Mangala Gomare, epidemiology cell, BMC.

After a period of dormancy since June last year, the virus resurfaced in Pune earlier this month, rekindling fears of a resurgence of the disease in Mumbai. Confirming these fears, a six-year-old Mulund boy and his grandmother tested http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpositive with the virus. The count of patients soon shot up to five, with a 57-year-old, a 53-year-old and a 37-year-old falling prey to the bug in close succession, on March 22, March 24, and March 25 respectively.

Super Religare Laboratories (SRL), one of the private laboratories authorised to perform H1N1 screening in the state, detected the H1N1 virus in three newly diagnosed patients. While authorities are downplaying the chances of a pandemic, statistics spell out a different, rather disturbing reality.

State authorities are following treatment protocol set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), with a majority of patients being administered Tamiflu, as prescribed by the international agency.

At risk

Those who are experiencing symptoms like cough, cold, and runny nose

Those who are on steroids

Those who are immuno-compromised

Pregnant women and children

Classic H1N1 symptoms

* Discharge of mucus from nostrils

* Fever

* Sore throat


Vaccine

According to WHO, vaccines are the most effective ways to safeguard oneself from contracting any kind of influenza during epidemics and pandemics.

Important Info on Swine Flu

New Swine Flu Strain Infects Two Kids in U.S.

Federal and state health officials have said that a new swine flu strain recently sickened two pre-school children in Pennsylvania and Indiana, but they cautioned that the cases appeared to be isolated.

Both the children recovered, however, and there is no evidence that the virus is spreading easily among people, meaning that it does not appear to pose a threat of becoming a significant public health concern, officials said.

“We want people to be aware of these things, and we want physicians to be aware,” said Lyn Finelli, chief of surveillance and response at the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Influenza Division.

Both children are 2 years old. In one case, a boy in Indiana was apparently infected by a caretaker who had been showing pigs at a county fair a few days before the boy became ill. In the other, a girl in Pennsylvania appears to have been infected when she went to a county fair and petting zoo.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, on Friday, issued an advisory urging the public to take precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses in light of its investigation into the new swine flu strain.

Samples from both children were sent to state laboratories, where it was determined that they were unusual and were sent to the CDC for analysis.

Flu viruses commonly pick up genes from one another when different strains infect the same person or animal. Such re-assortment events can be a concern when the mix produces a strain that might be more easily spread or cause more serious illness, or a strain against which people have little immunity.

Each winter, scientists try to predict which flu strains will circulate so they can develop an effective vaccine for the following season.

Influenza viruses are commonly found in humans, swine, birds and other animals and there are more than 50 strains of human flu virus alone. Seasonal flu season typically runs December through March.

source: ibtimes

Fears on new swine flu epidemic in Kenya

Personnel from the Kisumu District Hospital examine a student of Otieno Oyoo Secondary School for symptoms of swine flu in 2009. Photo/TOM OTIENO

The swine flu outbreak in Britain is causing panic in East Africa, particularly Kenya.

The disease has claimed the lives of 24 British adults since October 2009, and there is fear it might re-emerge in the region, as tourists fleeing the cold winter season in the Northern Hemisphere flock into the East African countries.

Some holiday makers have complained that unlike last year, passengers arriving from Europe and Asia are no longer subjected to screening or filling detailed forms on their health status.

But the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation urged Kenyans not to panic as no cases had been identified so far.

The Director of Public health, Shahnaz Sharif said the re-emergence of the disease in England should not be a big issue in Kenya, having been among countries affected by the 2009 outbreak.

“Swine flu is no longer a new disease in Kenya; we have dealt with it in the past and we can deal with it again,” Dr Sharif said.

Dr Sharif however, said the dry conditions in the region would make it difficult for an outbreak to occur.

“The cold conditions are ideal for swine flu and other influenzas to spread. However, in Kenya our cold season is between May and July,” said Dr Shariff.

In 2009, 191 cases of swine flu were confirmed in Kenya. The source of the deadly flu is believed to have been a British medical student from the college of medicine at Nottingham University in the UK, who was part of a group of 35 others on a field trip to the KEMRI-CDC laboratory in Kisumu.

The student tested positive for the deadly virus and was isolated at the Duke of Breeze Hotel in the lakeside town of Kisumu.

Presently, while medical experts in Britain deny that the virus ever disappeared and are uncertain as to whether all the new cases are of swine flu, both the Independent and the Daily Mail have raised fears of “a new epidemic.”

A press release from the National Health Service said that most of the fatalities had underlying health conditions.

However, the numbers of people hospitalised with severe flu have also risen, and there have been several outbreaks in schools and at a military base.

The UK’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) has warned that although the overall number of cases of flu is not unusual for this time of year, the number of severe cases of H1N1 is higher than expected in England.

HPA said, worldwide, flu rates are currently low, although some areas of South Asia and central and western Africa are reporting surges in H1N1 detections.

The agency also said that it is difficult to say how many of the new cases are swine flu. Each year several flu strains circulate in the population.

This year, H1N1 is one of the strains, but others, such as influenza B, are circulating too.

It is only possible to tell whether a particular case is caused by swine flu through laboratory testing.

Officials insist that the virus “didn’t go away.” Swine flu (like other strains of flu) just becomes less common in summer and may increase in prevalence during winter.

They say, although many people developed immunity or received immunisations to H1N1 in 2009, not everyone did.

Those with reduced immunity to this infection are more likely to contract the infection.

Also read: H1N1 flu: Tips for when to seek medical attention

source: theeastafrican.co.ke

If You Love Your Kids, Please Do Not Make This Mistake

Posted By Dr. Mercola |

The Swedish Medical Products Agency has received reports from health care professionals regarding narcolepsy as suspected adverse drug reaction following Pandemrix flu vaccination.

The reports concern teenaged children who developed narcolepsy symptoms one to two months after vaccination against the H1N1 pandemic. Finland is also looking into the possible link following an increase in the sleeping disorder among children this spring.

According to The Local:

“In the European Union, around 30 million people were vaccinated using Pandemrix. Sweden bought 18 million doses, which was enough to provide two injections for each person in its 9.3 million population.”

The Pandemrix package insert shows that “somnolence”, although not narcolepsy per se, is a known potential side effect of the drug.

Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has also issued an order to stop the use of Pandemrix swine flu vaccine due the probable link to narcolepsy in children. The agency received six reports of children who developed chronic sleep disorders after they received the vaccine in January 2010,Seer Press News reports.

Six cases of narcolepsy with cataplexy – a rare disorder characterized by chronic sleepiness, together with a loss of muscle tone – have been detected in France in persons vaccinated against influenza A/H1N1.

As you may recall, Australia also banned the swine flu vaccine for children under the age of 5, back in April, 2010, due to excessively high rates of febrile convulsions.

Read Full Article

Sources:
The Local August 19, 2010
Seer Press News August 26, 2010
WAToday.com.au April 23, 2010
birdflu666/wordpress.com August 29, 2010
The Epoch Times August 28, 2010

Swine Flu (H1N1) Hits India, 3 Dead, 328 Infected In July

New Delhi, India (AHN) - A four-year-old Surat girl from Gujarat died on Wednesday while she was undergoing treatment for swine flu. Doctors from the Surat Municipal Institute of Medical and Education Research said that the girl did not leave the city, causing concern for a new outbreak.

Resident of Bhakti Nagar in Pandesara, Muskan Gopal Singh was reportedly admitted to the hospital late on Tuesday in a very serious condition and was given medication for the virus immediately after being admitted to the hospital. However, the medication did not help and she died a day later.

The casualty in Gujarat came just three days after a 25-year-old woman, Jyoti Singh, died while undergoing a treatment at Utter Pradesh’s CSM Medical University in Lucknow. Hakkami village, from where Jyoti belonged, was put on swine flu alert and residents were requested to go for a swine flu test in case of any symptoms of the virus.

Meanwhile, 20 people, including five children and a pregnant woman, on Wednesday tested positive for swine flu. With this, the number of cases rose to 328 this month.

In Kolkata, 26 others were undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the city with two of them were in critical state. The H1N1 claimed life of city’s first victim, a 58-year-old, who was also suffering from multiple myeloma, on Tuesday.

In a separate development, Italy has reported second incidence of madcow disease in a 42-year-old woman from Livorno.

Soon after diagnosing the woman with a variant of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) - the human form of the fatal brain-wasting illness, the Milan neurological hospital transferred her to western Tuscan region of Livorno where she was believed to be in her final stages of the disease.

The doctors could not find out how the woman got infected from the CJD. This is the second madcow case in last eight years.

The news broke out less than a week after the European Union proclaimed that it had almost eradicated madcow disease in all animals from Europe.

source: allheadlinenews

How flu can trigger a heart attack

As research suggests that flu can trigger a heart attack, Professor Julian Halcox explains why the flu virus can have such a potentially lethal affect on the body and extols the virtues of vaccination.

INFLUENZA infections are usually unpleasant and debilitating but they should be of particular concern for those with and at risk of heart disease.

Severe, life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia, are well recognised but an increasing body of research suggests that all too often a bout of the flu is complicated by a heart attack.

This is a particularly important consideration at this time of year as we enter the flu season and in light of the swine flu pandemic.

Our outlook can clearly be improved by making sure that those at risk get vaccinated as soon as possible and by all of us following the sensible infection control measures in the Catch It, Bin It, Kill It campaign.

Flu is a serious infection caused by the influenza virus, which is characterised by fevers, aches and pains and often severe upper respiratory symptoms.

The intense inflammation driven by the infection can also have devastating consequences for the heart by significantly increasing the risk of heart attack caused by coronary thrombosis – the formation of a blood clot in one of the arteries that supplies blood to the heart.

This is much more likely to occur in those who already have coronary artery disease or are at increased risk of this condition because they have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure; they smoke or because they are getting older.

It is these people who have most to gain from vaccination.

A paper that reviewed studies exploring the link between flu and heart attacks was published recently in one of The Lancet journals.

The authors found a several fold increase in the risk of heart attack in those with documented flu or a flu-like illness and also that the death rate from cardiovascular disease in the population increased by up to 50% during influenza epidemics.

The specific impact of swine flu was not examined. They did, however, look at the impact of seasonal flu vaccine in at-risk patients and found that vaccination could potentially halve the risk of cardiovascular death.

However, larger studies are needed to improve the accuracy of this estimate.

Considered in its entirety, this important paper sends out a strong message that we should take flu very seriously and encourage uptake of vaccination by those at increased cardiovascular risk.

The current recommendations are that the seasonal flu vaccine should be given to people over the age of 65 and those with other health conditions that put them at increased risk of complications.

Those at high risk of cardiovascular disease due to a bad risk factor profile could also potentially benefit from vaccination.

It is worrying that less than half of those eligible actually receive the vaccination, usually due to refusal or failure to respond to their invitation to attend for the jab.

Although mild side-effects of the vaccination are common, serious complications are rare and the potential benefit to the high-risk individual and net benefit to the population greatly outweighs the risks of harm.

But what about swine flu and heart disease?

While it is a little early to know whether the risk of heart attack during infection with the H1NI virus is increased to the same extent as with other strains of the influenza virus, it would be unwise to assume that there is no increase in risk.

What does appear to set pandemic swine flu apart from illness caused by the more common seasonal influenza virus is that children appear to be particularly susceptible to more severe infections, whereas the elderly do not appear to be at such high risk.

Importantly, those with underlying health problems, particularly conditions associated with weakened immune systems, do appear to be at increased risk.

The swine flu vaccine is now available – undoubtedly people with, and at high risk of, heart disease should be strongly considered for vaccination.

A recent small study showed that the conventional seasonal flu vaccine appeared to reduce the likelihood of swine flu infection by over a half and also to reduce the risk of death for those becoming infected despite vaccination.

However, infection was still common and the seasonal flu vaccine should not be considered to provide comprehensive cover against swine flu.

Therefore, those at increased risk from both swine flu and seasonal flu should receive both vaccines.

The swine flu vaccine is produced by a similar method to the conventional vaccine and appears to be safe and effective, although we will need to carefully monitor the impact of the vaccination programme and refine our approaches as more information is gathered.

At this time of year, the risk of contracting flu starts to increase dramatically and the sooner those that need these vaccinations receive them the better – ideally before the end of November.

So if you are one of those likely to benefit, do yourself a favour and see your doctor about getting vaccinated.

Professor Julian Halcox is a consultant cardiologist at Cardiff University and the University Hospital of Wales

SOURCE: walesonline

First autopsies show pattern of lung injury causing H1N1 deaths

Researchers from Brazil have performed the first autopsies, finding a pattern associated with H1N1 flu deaths from pneumonia. The findings are hoped to lead clinicians to better management of H1N1 flu and pneumonia by providing clues about the need for antibacterial and antiviral medications to limit lung damage and deaths from the pandemic flu.

"The lack of information on the pathophysiology of this novel disease is a limitation that prevents better clinical management and hinders the development of a therapeutic strategy," said lead author, Thais Mauad, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Pathology at São Paulo University, in Brazil.

The study, due for publication January 1 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that 75 percent of 21 patients autopsied who died from H1N1 influenza had underlying medical conditions such as cancer or heart disease. The patients died in São Paulo with confirmed H1N1 infection in July and August, 2009.

One fourth of those autopsied with H1N1 flu had no underlying medical condition. All of the H1N1 patients who died experienced rapid progression of flu symptoms that lead to death, and were between age 39 to 50.

According to Dr. Mauad, body aches and fever were less frequently present in patients who died from rapid progression of respiratory symptoms associated with H1N1 flu. "Most patients with a fatal form of the disease presented with difficulty breathing (dyspnea), with fever and myalgia being less frequently present."

All of the patients who died from H1N1 flu had acute lung injury that followed three distinct patterns. “All patients have a picture of acute lung injury," said Dr. Mauad. "In some patients this is the predominant pattern; in others, acute lung injury is associated with necrotizing bronchiolitis (NB); and in others there is a hemorrhagic pattern." Bronchiolitis is an inflammation of the small airways in the lung. Necrotizing refers to destruction of the lung tissue.

Patients with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease and cancer who died from H1N1 flu were more likely to have a hemorrhagic lung condition. Bacterial co-infections were associated with necrotizing bronchiolitis (NB).


“It is important to bear in mind that patients with underlying medical conditions must be adequately monitored, since they are at greater risk of developing a severe H1N1 infection," said Dr. Mauad. In these patients, H1N1 infection may present as a potential fatal disease, requiring early and prompt intensive care management, including protective ventilation strategies and adequate hemodynamic management. "We found that 38 percent of these patients had a bacterial infection (bronchopneumonia). This has important consequences because these patients need to receive antibiotic therapy, in addition to antiviral therapy."

Cytokine storm was also found to play a role in deaths from H1N1 influenza. Cytokine storm leading to H1N1 flu deaths is the result of an overly vigorous inflammatory response that causes acute lung injury.

The scientists say the first autopsies uncovering distinct patterns of infection from H1N1 flu in the lungs should lay some groundwork for a better understanding of the disease. "We would like to deepen our efforts into the understanding of the immune responses in cases of severe infection," said Dr. Mauad. "This could ultimately lead to new therapeutic approaches”.

source: examiner

Should your kids get H1N1 vaccine?

Vaccine for the H1N1 virus is being distributed and will become available soon to the general public. Mary Rose Corrigan, health specialist for the city of Dubuque, answered a few questions regarding what parents should know about the vaccine.

Question: What are the advantages of having your children vaccinated?

Answer: Illness with the 2009 H1N1 virus has ranged from mild to severe. Although most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred. Young children also are at high risk of serious complications from the 2009 H1N1 strain, just as they are from seasonal flu.

Question: What are the disadvantages?

Answer: Very few. With any vaccine or medication, there are potential side effects. A vaccine could cause a serious problem, such as a severe allergic reaction. However, the risk of any vaccine causing serious harm or death is extremely small.

The virus in the inactivated 2009 Advertisement

H1N1 vaccine has been killed, so you cannot get influenza from the vaccine. The risks from inactivated 2009 H1N1 vaccine are similar to those from seasonal inactivated flu vaccine. Mild problems include soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given, fainting (mainly adolescents), headache, muscle aches, fever and nausea. If these problems occur, they usually begin soon after the shot and last one to two days.

In the live nasal vaccine, some children and adolescents 2 to 17 years of age have reported mild reactions, including runny nose, nasal congestion or cough, fever, headache and muscle aches, wheezing, abdominal pain or occasional vomiting or diarrhea.

Some adults 18 to 49 years of age have reported runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, chills, tiredness/weakness and headache.

Life-threatening allergic reactions to vaccines are very rare. If they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot. There is a reporting system for severe vaccine reactions (http://vaers.hhs.gov).

Question: When will the vaccine become more widely available?

Answer: Dubuque County will be receiving vaccine allocations approximately every week as it is distributed from the manufacturers. Primary health care providers in the community who have signed on to give vaccines, including Crescent Community Health Center, will provide it to their patients.

Question: What should parents do to get their children vaccinated?

Answer: Call their pediatrician, family practice doctor or other medical home. If a child does not have a regular doctor or medical home, the child can receive the vaccine through Crescent Community Health Center.

source: theonline

H1N1 flu: Tips for when to seek medical attention

As the flu season progresses, health officials are reminding South Dakotans that most normally healthy people who get the flu can recover at home without a visit to a doctor.

“Unless your symptoms are severe, the best thing you can do is stay home rather than go to the doctor’s office and risk spreading the virus to other individuals,” said Dr. Aris Assimacopoulos, Infectious Disease Specialist for Avera Health. “Most people can recover at home by resting and drinking plenty of fluids.”

The symptoms of H1N1 flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, runny nose, headache, fatigue, chills and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. Those whose symptoms are severe or who are at high risk for complications should seek medical care. This includes pregnant women, young children and those with underlying health conditions. Treatment with antiviral medication may be advised for these high risk groups.

“Children and adults who are ill and at high risk for complications or those with severe symptoms should call their doctor about whether they need to be seen,” said Dr. Wendell Hoffman, Patient Safety Officer for Sanford Health. “Don’t go to the emergency room unless you can’t reach your doctor and you have severe symptoms or at higher risk because of a chronic health condition.”

For children 5 and older and adults, treat fever and aches with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Do not give aspirin to children and teenagers with the flu because it can cause Reye’s syndrome. Check with a physician before giving over-the-counter cold medications to children younger than age 4.

There are several warning signs indicating the need for medical treatment. With children who have flu symptoms, seek medical care if the child has trouble breathing, has bluish or grayish skin color, isn’t drinking enough, is difficult to wake or is extremely irritable. Ill adults who have difficulty breathing, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness or confusion should also seek care. Warning signs for both adults and children include severe or persistent vomiting or flu symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough.

“It’s also important that those with flu-like symptoms not visit family and friends in the hospital or nursing home. Many are instituting visitor restrictions to protect these vulnerable populations and it’s critical that people follow those restrictions,” said Dr. James Keegan, Chief Medical Officer and Infectious Disease Specialist for Regional Health.

The Department of Health offers the following general advice for people with flu symptoms:

•Stay home, drink plenty of fluids and rest as much as possible. Avoid travel.

•Stay home from work or school until at least 24 hours after your fever is gone – without the use of fever-reducing medicine.

•Wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

•Sneeze or cough into a tissue or into your elbow.

•In general, avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness.

SOURCE: prairiebizmag

Top 10 things to know about cats and swine flu

A 13-year-old, domestic shorthair, indoor cat in Iowa was recently confirmed to have contracted the swine flu/H1N1 virus. The cat lives with three people, two of whom where sick for about a week before the kitty showed signs of illness. While it is not definitively known if the people in the house had swine flu, tests by both Iowa State University and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that the feline did have the H1N1 virus. The cat has since recovered and is reportedly doing just fine.

What do concerned cat parents need to know and do to protect their precious pussycats? Here are important facts and tips:

• This is the first—and only--confirmed case of the H1N1 virus (or any other strain of flu) jumping from a human to a cat.

• The number of other animals confirmed to have the H1N1 virus is very small.
According to the USDA, the list includes several pigs in Minnesota and South Dakota, and a pet ferret in Oregon. The ferret’s owner had swine flu before his pet developed the disease.

• For some perspective, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as of October 24, 2009, there have been close to 25,000 confirmed cases of swine flu in people in the U.S.

• The cat in question most likely contracted the disease from the people she lives with. This point is worth stressing: it is extremely unlikely that you will catch the swine flu from your cat. There is no evidence that pets can pass the disease to people.

• Since it appears that you can transmit the swine flu to your pet, you should take the same precautions around her as you would around other people: wash your hands; wear a mask around others if you’re sick; keep contact to a minimum if you’re not feeling well; avoid others who do not feel well. You should also consider getting the vaccine if you had not previously planned on doing so.

• There is currently no vaccine available for pets to protect them from the swine flu.

• Remember, the disease is called the swine flu, not because the disease originated in pigs, but because, according to the CDC, laboratory tests showed that the H1N1 virus had many similarities to a strain of flu that does frequently present in pigs.

• The USDA will be posting results for domestic animals infected with H1N1.

• You should take your cat to the vet to be tested for the virus if she exhibits the following symptoms: lethargy; loss of appetite; breathing problems; sneezing and/or coughing; nasal discharge; fever.

• According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners, your vet will collect a respiratory secretion sample and send it off to a special diagnostic lab.

The most important thing to remember is that you are in little or no danger of getting swine flu from your cat. Exercising a little common sense and extra precautions if you should come down with the virus, will keep your cat in the pink.

source: examiner

Tips For Not Spreading H1N1 Virus To Pets

After reports of pet owners infecting their animals with the H1N1 virus, veterinary experts said simple precautions can drastically reduce the likelihood of passing the virus to pets.

“It is widely documented that pets can catch the flu from humans; however, it is not proven that pets can infect humans with the virus,” said Dr. Jean Duddy of Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston's Internal Medicine service. “Pet owners should be on the lookout during flu season for flu symptoms in their pets that are identical to those experienced by humans including lethargy, loss of appetite, dehydration, fever, coughing and sneezing. If you suspect that your pet is sick, it is important to take him or her to your veterinarian for treatment and not to attempt treatment yourself.”

If you think you have the H1N1 or another virus, you can reduce the chance of spreading a virus to a pet by:

Avoid close contact with your pet until you are no longer infectious

Wash your hands before and after touching your pet

Do not sneeze on or near your pet

Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing

Do not kiss or hug pet

Wear gloves when changing your cat’s litter

“When you are sick it is important to treat your pet as you would a family member or friend to prevent infecting them,” Duddy said.

SOURCE: thebostonchannel

Tips To Avoid H1N1 And Flu During Halloween

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Some parts of Halloween might be scary, but your child's safety shouldn't be. So here are some tips to avoid the flu and H1N1 while trick or treating.

Health officials suggest when giving out candy, to hand it or scoop it. Do not use a candy bowl because it can harbor and spread germs.

Avoid touching and eating unwrapped candy, reaching into candy bowls and touching other people's hands.

Also use hand sanitizer or wipe and wash your hands frequently. Children tend to put their hands in their face which is how H1N1 is commonly spread.

Most importantly, stay home if you are sick. "If you're child is sick and has a fever it's really not worth. H1N1 is a severe disease so you want to keep them home. Don't send them out trick or treating. Get them a bag of candy and do something at home," said Cindy Wasson of the Public Health Deptartment.

Finally, if you do go out trick or treating, put the candy aside for two days before eating it so that germs on wrappers can have time to die.

If you haven't gotten your costumes yet, avoid trying them on in the store. Buy a prepackaged costume that has not been worn. Also wash a mask before wearing it.

Remember it is better to be safe than sorry.

SOURCE: turnto23

Black Community May Face More Serious Cases of H1N1

Government officials warn that the H1N1 flu virus is spreading rapidly and that the Black community may have a higher rate of existing health conditions that could make the illness a serious threat.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed the launch of a vaccine program for the flu and the White House Administration’s outreach efforts within the African-American community in a conference call with reporters Oct.7.

“Oct. 4 officially began the flu season,” Sebelius said, “We do know that H1N1 is different than other flus. Already we’ve had as much flu activity as we had at the height of past flu seasons and 98 percent of current cases are H1N1.”

While Blacks are no more susceptible to H1N1 than the rest of the population, they do have a higher rate of existing health conditions that may make the flu a more serious threat.

“We have an independent advisory committee on immunization that looks at the flu every year and figure out who should get vaccinated first,” said Sebelius. “[Their decision is] mostly based on who is likely to get seriously ill from the flu, so folks with underlining health conditions are definitely a group of priority. And communities of color have higher rates of chronic illness such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes.”

The secretary said authorities expect a long flu season this year, and do not anticipate it dying down anytime soon.

H1N1 is widespread in 27 states, and has reached regional status as an illness, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s chief health officer for the flu outbreak, Dr. Anne Schuchat.

“We are taking this very seriously…about 36,000 people die each year from the seasonal flu,” she said. “Three areas have been very important to us in planning this immunization effort; safety of the vaccine is a top priority and no short-cuts have been taken, access is another area and that’s why we’ve provided resources to states and cities to be able to offer the vaccine. The last is cost, we don’t want finances to be a barrier for anyone wanting to be vaccinated.”

Schuchat said the flu poses a risk on many college campuses this fall, both at predominately White schools as well as Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“As a flu expert, I would think this virus is going to be common on many campuses if it isn’t already common,” she said. “There’s nothing about risk of disease that differs, or about behaviors that I think would be greatly different [between the two types of schools]. We really hope that the vaccine will be available to all communities serving our college campuses. We know that younger people across campuses are at higher risk of getting the flu, fortunately they are also at a much lower rate of being hospitalized than middle-aged people.”

source: afro

Second wave of swine flu pandemic begins to hit US

Technician Heather Bickley tested samples for H1N1 flu at the Arizona State Health Lab in Phoenix. At least 26 states are now reporting widespread flu activity, federal officials said.

WASHINGTON - After months of warnings and frantic preparations, the second wave of the swine flu pandemic is starting to be felt around the country. Doctors, health clinics, hospitals, and schools are reporting rapidly increasing numbers of patients experiencing flu symptoms.

While most cases so far are mild, and the health care system is handling the load, officials say the number of people seeking treatment for the flu is unprecedented for this time of year.

In Austin, so many parents are rushing their children to Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas with swine flu symptoms that the hospital had to set up tents in the parking lot to cope with the onslaught.

In Memphis, the Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center emergency room got so crowded with feverish, miserable youngsters that it had to do the same thing.

And in Manning, S.C., a private school where an 11-year-old girl died shut down after the number of pupils who were out sick with similar symptoms reached nearly a third of the student body.

“It just kind of snowballed,’’ said Kim Jordan, a teacher at Laurence Manning Academy, which closed Wednesday after Ashlie Pipkin died and the number of ill students hit 287. “We had several teachers out also.’’

“H1N1 is spreading widely throughout the US,’’ said Thomas Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The CDC reported last week that at least 26 states are now reporting widespread flu activity, up from 21 a week earlier.

Even though some parts of the Southeast that started seeing a surge of cases first now seem to be showing a decline, that could be a temporary reprieve, Frieden said. And other parts of the country are probably just starting to feel the second wave.

“Influenza is perhaps the most unpredictable of all infectious diseases,’’ Frieden said.

The pandemic has prompted scattered school closings around the country in recent weeks, including 42 schools that closed in eight states Friday, affecting more than 16,000 students.

Many colleges and universities have been hit particularly hard, forcing some to open separate dorms for sick students. Ninety-one percent of the 267 colleges and universities being surveyed by the American College Health Association are now reporting cases.

The government is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side effects as mass flu vaccinations begin next month. The idea is to detect any rare but real problems quickly, and explain the inevitable coincidences that are sure to cause some false alarms.

In just a few months, health authorities hope to vaccinate well over half the population against swine flu, which doctors call the 2009 H1N1 strain. No more than 100 million Americans usually get vaccinated against regular winter flu, and never in such a short period.

The last mass inoculations against a different swine flu, in 1976, were marred by reports of a rare paralyzing condition, Guillain-Barré syndrome, a sometimes fatal paralysis. Other possible side effects could potentially include heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and miscarriages.

On top of routine vaccine tracking, these government-sponsored monitoring projects are planned:

■ Harvard Medical School scientists are linking large insurance databases that cover up to 50 million people with vaccination registries around the country for real-time checks of whether people see a doctor in the weeks after a flu shot and why. The huge numbers make it possible to quickly compare rates of complaints among the vaccinated and unvaccinated, said the project leader, Dr. Richard Platt, Harvard’s population medicine chief.

■ Johns Hopkins University will direct e-mails to at least 100,000 vaccine recipients to track how they’re feeling, including the smaller complaints that wouldn’t prompt a doctor visit. If anything seems connected, researchers can call to follow up with detailed questions.

■ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing take-home cards that tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side effects to the nation’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system.

“Every day, bad things happen to people. When you vaccinate a lot of people in a short period of time, some of those things are going to happen to some people by chance alone,’’ said Dr. Daniel Salmon, a vaccine safety specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services.

source: boston

H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Tips and Information

The Facts: Pediatric Experts on How Parents Can Protect Their Families from the Flu This Season

With the early onset of flu season coinciding with the start of school this year, parents are concerned about the flu. Experts from The Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colo., offer a pediatric perspective on all types of flu, including H1N1, also known as swine flu. They offer practical advice on how parents can help protect their families from the flu, as well as what to do should their children catch the virus.

Key Facts:
As with seasonal flu, H1N1 is a viral respiratory infection. The main symptoms are a cough, sore throat, runny nose and fever. The flu is often confused with the common cold, but flu symptoms tend to develop quickly and are usually more severe than the typical sneezing and congestion of a cold.

Seasonal flu shots do not protect against H1N1. Updated annually, the vaccine for the 2009 influenza season was produced in January 2009, well before the worldwide H1N1 outbreak. Because of this, manufacturers did not include the H1N1 strain in the 2009 influenza vaccine. Therefore, the manufacturers are making a specific H1N1 vaccine that should be available for use in high-risk populations (i.e., all people from six months through 24 years of age, pregnant women, adults with chronic medical conditions, people who live with or care for children younger than six months, and health care personnel with direct patient contact) this fall.

If you think your child may have H1N1 or seasonal flu, call your pediatrician or primary care provider for advice. If your child has flu-like symptoms and is only mildly ill, it is best to care for him or her at home and limit contact with others. If you think your child has a viral infection, make sure they are getting plenty of fluids. Do not give your child aspirin or aspirin-containing products (Pepto-Bismol, for example). Treat their fever with infant/child approved doses of Tylenol or Motrin.

All strains of flu are spread by coughing, sneezing and unclean hands. Practicing good hygiene is the best precaution to take to avoid the spread of influenza. Specific tips to prevent the spread of germs include:
Frequently wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner (wash for 15 seconds or the time it takes to sing the ABC’s once), especially after coughing or sneezing.

* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing

* When you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve

* Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, as this is how germs are spread

* If you have flu-like symptoms, stay home and limit contact with others until the symptoms are gone

* Get your seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccinations

Supporting Quote:
“The H1N1 virus spreads and looks much like seasonal influenza,” said Roberta Smith, infection control nurse with The Children’s Hospital’s department of epidemiology. “The simplest, most effective steps for parents to take to protect their families from flu include encouraging frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and keeping sick children away from others.”

source: businesswire

H1N1 Virus Can Be Deadly Even For Healthy People

Virus Can Send Immune Systems Into Overdrive

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Health experts said the death of a 24-year-old Independence woman from complications of the H1NI flu virus is a reminder of how serious the illness is.

The woman died on Wednesday after being hospitalized for severe symptoms, such as diarrhea and extreme fatigue. Officials are not releasing the woman's name.

KMBC's Dan Weinbaum reported that before contracting H1N1, the woman was healthy.

One possible explanation for her death was that her immune system overreacted to the H1N1 virus.

Dr. Christopher Harrison, a pediatric and infectious diseases expert at Children's Mercy Hospitals, said, "It's sometimes the strongest and the healthiest who can mount that super immune system and response that causes injuries to lungs or sometimes cross reaction to brain tissue."

Those with underlying medical issues -- also the youngest or oldest victims -- can suffer severe consequences from H1N1, but in healthy patients the virus can create a storm of immune system responses from which the body can't recover.

Doctors said the signs that the immune system is overreacting are rapid breathing, vomiting, gastrointestinal issues and flu symptoms disappearing while a fever and cough return.

Harrison said, "If you start having shortness of breath, you start getting confused, lightheaded or dizzy -- those are reasons to think my system might be overreacting."

There is a vaccine for H1N1 on the way, and it should be available in mid-October. Doctors are prioritizing recipients in this order: pregnant women; household caregivers with children 6 months old or younger; medical and health care providers; those aged from 6 months to 24 years old; and everyone aged 25 to 64 years old.

After those priority cases, the general public will have access to the vaccine.

A Kansas City woman who gave birth while she had the H1N1 flu remains in a medically-induced coma suffering from a severe respiratory condition.

Clinics throughout the Kansas City area will be offering seasonal flu shots on Monday.

In Johnson County, 500 people will be able to get a free flu shot at a drive-thru clinic at 97th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park. "We need to be concerned, we need to be vaccinated, and we also need to do all of the standard, public health precautions to protect ourselves both from seasonal and H1N1," said Lougene Marsh with the Johnson County Health Department. "We'll be administering those vaccine doses until we run out."

The Overland Park clinic runs from 10 am to 2pm, or until supplies last. It's only for people 18 and older.

The Medical Reserve Corps of Greater Kansas City will be training people willing to assist local health agencies. Anyone interested in volunteering can go to the Mid-America Regional Council's office at Sixth and Broadway on Saturday.

source: kmbc

New guideline for kids to prevent H1N1 virus

New guidelines from state health officials recommend that children under 5 who appear to have flu like symptoms should stay home longer than previously recommended.

Lori Heim has four young children. Her newest is just 6 weeks old.

"It makes you nervous when you have such young, a young baby, and then you have kids that are in school," says Heim.

Like every other child, Heim's are in the high-risk group for H1N1.

Now state health officials say if kids under 5 get sick, they need to stay at home for at least 7 days after flu symptoms appear, or 24 hours after symptoms go away--whichever is longer.

"There will be parents who'll need to stay home with their sick kids," says Heim.

It won't be easy for parents who'll need to take time off work.

Dr. Robin Molella from Mayo Clinic says even though there will be challenges, we shouldn't take these precautions lightly.

"All of us are going to use as much common sense as we can to try to get through this," says Molella.

She recommends using preventative measures as much as possible.

"With infants and other kids who haven't learned yet, parents can be washing hands and rubbing noses to get away any dripping into the nose and eyes, and making sure they throw those tissues away and then they want to make sure they wash their hands after they've done that," she said.

"Hopefully it won't hit us at home," says Heim.

She says her family has been taking extra precautions.

She runs her own business and says, luckily, she can take time off if she needs to.

But she does have employees and says she'll have to make exceptions if any of them call in with a sick child.

"If need be I can find coverage, just hopefully they'll use precautions and it won't hit hard," says Heim.

Health officials say the state's new guidelines are more protective than federal ones because the state is at higher risk of severe illness from the H1N1 virus.

These recommendations come just one day after the state reported "widespread" flu activity.

source: kaaltv