Argentina's swine flu efforts
CNN's Brian Byrnes looks at what officials in Argentina are doing to curtail the spread of the H1N1 virus.
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วันอังคารที่ 21 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2552
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Quarantined teacher 'speaks out'
A Cornish teacher who is quarantined in a Beijing hotel after one of the pupils he was chaperoning on a trip contracted swine flu has spoken of his experience.
Dave Bennett, a teacher at Penair School in Cornwall, is being held in the hotel along with another member of staff and 15 pupils from the school.
Their enforced stay at the hotel is as a result of one their party - a Year 10 female student - contracting the virus.
Mr Bennett said their stay was being made "as comfortable" as possible.
The teenager who contracted swine flu is being cared for in hospital.
She has mild symptoms, is being treated with anti-viral drugs in hospital and is said to be responding well.
She and her fellow students were part way through a two-week cultural exchange visit to China when she was diagnosed with the virus.
'Bit daunted'
Mr Bennett said: "The children are being extremely well looked after.
"They are a little bit daunted by the fact that we have two tests each day on our temperature, to see whether we have caught that, and I think everyone is slightly anxious at those times that they might not pass the test.
"But in every other respect the Chinese government have really made exceptional efforts to make our stay here as comfortable as they can."
Nine British school pupils have so far been diagnosed with swine flu in Beijing, according to Chinese health officials.
Nine US teenagers are also being treated in hospital after contracting the virus.
More than 80 British school pupils and teachers remain in quarantine in the Yanxiang Hotel, along with a number from the US.
However, the first batch of British school pupils who were quarantined in China have been released.
A total of 20 students and three teachers were allowed to leave Yanxiang Hotel after seven days of restrictions.
cnn.com
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Labour hopeful's swine flu fear
Labour's candidate in the Norwich North by-election is being treated in hospital for suspected swine flu.
A scheduled visit by Lord Mandelson was cancelled because party workers had been in contact with Chris Ostrowski.
It is not known if he has swine flu but a party spokesman said "every possible precaution" was being taken.
Twelve people are standing in Thursday's by-election. Labour MP Ian Gibson resigned after he was deselected over his expenses claims.
A spokesman for Labour's Norwich North Labour campaign said Mr Ostrowski had felt unwell and was taken to hospital on Tuesday morning.
He said he had collapsed at home and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
"Chris is receiving world class care from an excellent team of doctors, nurses and staff," he said.
"Clearly, our priority is to ensure that nobody falls ill from swine flu unnecessarily and we will follow the medical advice and take every precaution necessary."
Collapsed at home
Dr Gibson had a majority of 5,459 over the Conservatives in 2005 but announced he was quitting on 5 June amid a row about the way he had been treated by the party.
The by-election is the first parliamentary contest since the MPs' expenses scandal broke and the parties have been campaigning hard in the constituency.
The Conservatives have been running a high profile campaign for their candidate Chloe Smith - party leader David Cameron made his fifth visit to the constituency on Monday. April Pond is standing for the Liberal Democrats.
Rupert Read is standing for the Greens, Glenn Tingle for the UK Independence Party and Robert West for the BNP.
Among the independents standing is Craig Murray, former Ambassador to Uzbekistan, who left the post in 2004 after criticising its human rights.
Laud Howling is standing on behalf of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party while Thomas Burridge is representing The Libertarian Party and Anne Fryatt is representing the None of The Above Party.
Peter Baggs and Bill Holden are also standing as independents.
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Baby delivered prematurely from swine flu patient dies
By Rich Phillips
CNN Senior Producer
(CNN) -- An infant girl delivered prematurely from her mother, who has the swine flu virus, has died, hospital officials said Monday.
Parker Christine Opdyke was delivered 14 weeks early by doctors at Wellington Regional Medical Center in Florida's Palm Beach County.
Her mother, Aubrey Opdyke, was placed into a medically induced coma June 3 to help give the baby as much oxygen as possible. But doctors delivered Parker on Saturday after her mother suffered a collapsed lung last week.
Aubrey Opdyke remains comatose and in critical condition in Wellington's intensive care unit.
"Despite heroic efforts on the part of physicians and nurses, we are sad to announce that baby Parker Christine Opdyke has expired," said a written statement from the hospital.
No other details were available Monday. Attempts by CNN to reach the family were unsuccessful.
Even under the best circumstances, delivering a child at 27 weeks is a very early birth, Dr. David Feld, a Palm Beach County obstetrician and gynecologist, told CNN affiliate WPEC.
"When you have an infectious case, I don't think you're going to see that lung maturity as quickly, and I think that is the issue," he said. But, he said, now that Aubrey Opdyke is no longer pregnant, she will be able to fight for her own life.
Palm Beach County has had 247 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, but only one death. In late June, a 25-year-old pregnant woman died, but her baby survived.
Pregnant women have long been a prime concern of health care officials regarding the flu virus, but are of particular concern during this outbreak of swine flu. Pregnant women have always been advised to get a flu shot because they are at greater risk because of the weakened immune system resulting from their pregnancy. But the H1N1 epidemic has seen new complications and challenges.
"We have seen, with this virus, worse complications and severe infections in pregnant women," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're urging women who are pregnant who develop fever or respiratory symptoms to seek care promptly."
The CDC said it is vitally important for pregnant women to recognize the signs and symptoms, like fever and cough, to get to their doctor quickly and to begin taking antiviral medicines early on.
"I know that many pregnant women don't want to take anything while they're pregnant," said Schuchat. "This is a situation where you need to be more worried about your health and the baby's health."
The CDC also recommends that pregnant women get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available, in addition to an annual flu shot. "For people who are at high risk, like pregnant women, planning to receive both vaccines is probably the right way to go," Schuchat said.
The CDC's advisory committee will meet later this month to make recommendations on at-risk groups who should receive the new vaccine.
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Council calls swine flu meeting
Residents of a Wiltshire town will be attending a public meeting later after a woman with swine flu died at the Great Western Hospital.
Malmesbury Town Council is holding the event and inviting people to come to discuss concerns and queries.
NHS Wiltshire will be on hand to provide answers at the meeting.
"I'm really very very keen to reassure people that most people do recover very quickly," said Maggie Rae, director of public health at NHS Wiltshire.
It is not yet known whether the woman who died had underlying health problems.
At the time of the death, NHS Wiltshire sought to reassure the public there was a "robust" plan in place to deal with the problem, which is supported by a fully-operational pandemic flu incident room.
Later this week a national flu service is due to be launched where diagnosis can be given via the phone or website.
bbc.co.uk
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Increase in Welsh swine flu cases
A rapid increase in swine flu cases in Wales is indicated in latest figures.
National Public Health Service (NPHS) for Wales estimates put those with flu-like symptoms at more than 2,300, compared with some 500 a week earlier.
They suggest that the highest numbers are in Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham.
The NPHS said levels were "low but increasing," and GPs in Wales said the "vast majority" of people will recover quickly after mild illness.
Figures show 77.1 cases of a "flu-like illness" diagnosed by GPs out of every 100,000 people in Wales, the equivalent to 2,313 people in Wales contacting their GPs in the last seven days with flu-like symptoms.
The NPHS said not all of these people would have swine flu and not everyone with flu-like symptoms would contact their GP.
But officials expect that the proportion of cases will increase as the virus spreads in Wales.
The highest rate of diagnosis is 143.8 per 100,000 people in Newport, and the lowest 25.9 per 100,000 in Neath Port Talbot.
So far there are 77 confirmed cases in Wales, with six new ones.
Three of the new cases are Denbighshire teenagers aged 13, 15 and 17 linked to travel from Spain. The others are women aged 24, 26 and 44 from Newport, Carmarthen and Neath Port Talbot respectively.
Dr David Bailey, chairman of the BMA's Welsh GP committee said: "It is understandable that people will be worried when they hear about the potential number of fatalities that may arise due to the pandemic.
"It should be remembered that these are worst case scenarios to enable government to plan.
"We urge everyone to follow the recommended advice and telephone their doctor or NHS Direct, rather than physically going to the surgery if they have symptoms and are concerned.
"In most cases, it will be a mild illness and the vast majority of people will recover quickly by taking paracetamol or ibuprofen, and drinking plenty of fluids.
"Anyone who is not recovering quickly or who is in a more vulnerable group, for example young children, pregnant women, those with underlying health conditions, should get extra advice as a small number will need more intensive treatment.
"The message we need to get across is it's a pandemic flu - this is new, we haven't seen this before and yes, most of us will probably catch it.
"We must remember that every year there are deaths from complications of seasonal flu; this is unfortunately inevitable with any strain of influenza, but following the recommended advice will minimise the risk."
Doctors advise using "simple but effective" hygiene measures such as frequent hand-washing, covering your mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing, and putting the tissue into a bin.
People are advised that if they develop flu-like symptoms they should stay at home and check them using the various sources of information supplied - by leaflet, 24-hour telephone information lines or websites.
Experts say that for most people the illness is mild and gets better within five to seven days. Anybody with severe symptoms is urged to contact their GP or NHS Direct services.
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UK school group leaves swine flu quarantine in China
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A group of British children and teachers quarantined for nearly a week in China because of swine flu fears were allowed to leave their hotel Tuesday, Britain's Foreign Office said.
Two students outside the Yan Xiang Hotel where a group of British children and teachers have been quarantined.A spokesman could not confirm the number of children and teachers released from quarantine, but they were among a group of 111 that was sequestered in a Beijing hotel six days ago.The students and teachers came from various schools in Britain and were all traveling to China together as members of the same British school association, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.Twelve children were hospitalized and diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. One child is in the hospital awaiting test results to confirm the virus, the Foreign Office said.The group released from quarantine Tuesday will now be moved to a different hotel, the Foreign Office said. The second group is due to be released from quarantine Wednesday, the Foreign Office said.Olivia Bishop, one of the teachers on the trip, said Chinese authorities pulled three students aside as soon as they landed at the airport because they had high temperatures.Two tested positive for mild symptoms of the virus, she said, and the rest of the group was able to continue with planned sightseeing."When we got back to the campus that evening, we were about to have our dinner and we were told to go back to a classroom and wait, and then we were taken to the hotel to be quarantined," Bishop told Sky News.cnn.comส่วนที่เหลือ
Australia to begin first human test of swine flu vaccine
(CNN) -- The first human trials of a swine flu vaccine are expected to start in Australia Wednesday, as the World Health Organization confirmed that more than 700 people had died from the virus worldwide.
A scientist examines samples from suspected swine flu patients at a WHO laboratory in Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne-based company CSL Ltd. plans to test a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, on 240 volunteers, a company representative said.
The test will be conducted on healthy adults between the ages of 18-64. Participants will receive two shots three weeks apart and will undergo blood tests to determine if they are generating an appropriate immune response to the virus, the company said.
"We appreciate that new influenza strains like the 'swine flu' can surprise us with properties that mean they might require higher dosing and two injections rather than one to provoke the desired level of immune response in humans," said Dr. Russell Basser, global director of clinical development for CSL.
The World Health Organization revealed Tuesday that more than 700 people had died after contracting the virus, 260 more than the latest death toll, released July 6. The jump in the death toll is due simply to the two-week gap in reporting cases, a WHO spokeswoman explained.
The H1N1 virus has spread around the world with unprecedented speed, according to the WHO. Past influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the current H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks, it said.
Because there are so many cases emerging so quickly, the WHO changed its reporting guidelines this week. It decided to stop giving a tally of cases and focus instead on identifying unusual patterns.
The counting of all cases is no longer essential because it is exhausting countries' resources, the organization said.
While the virus is spreading quickly, the WHO offered some reassurance to those concerned about the disease. It said the virus has so far been characterized by mild symptoms in most patients, who usually recover -- even without medical treatment -- within a week of developing symptoms.
Meanwhile, a group of British children and teachers quarantined for almost one week in a Beijing hotel because of swine flu fears have been allowed to leave their hotel.
A spokesman from Britain's Foreign Office could not confirm the number of children and teachers released from quarantine, but said they were among a group of 111 that was sequestered in a Beijing hotel six days ago.
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The students and teachers came from various schools in Britain and were all traveling to China together as members of the same British school association, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.
Twelve children were hospitalized and diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. One child is in the hospital awaiting test results to confirm the virus, the Foreign Office said.
The group released from quarantine Tuesday will now be moved to a different hotel, the Foreign Office said. The second group is due to be released from quarantine Wednesday, the Foreign Office said.
WHO declared H1N1 a global pandemic on June 11. More than 120 countries have reported cases of human infection since the virus was first identified in Mexico in April. There are more than 98,000 documented cases worldwide
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วันจันทร์ที่ 20 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2552
Students quarantined
A group of British students and teachers are being held in Beijing, China, after four were diagnosed with swine flu.
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Airlines stop swine flu victims flying
LONDON, England (CNN) -- British airlines have put into effect measures to stop people with swine flu boarding flights in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading further.
British Airways said there had been a "very small number of cases" where people who had checked in with symptoms of H1N1 had been advised not to travel after having medical checks.
Virgin Atlantic also said victims would not be allowed to board one of its planes without a fit-to-fly certificate from their doctor or a hospital, though there had been no cases yet.
The World Health Organization declared the virus a global pandemic June 11. More than 120 countries have reported cases of human infection. About 98,000 cases have been documented worldwide, with 440 deaths, according to the WHO.
With 29 deaths and a huge rise in the number of cases, Britain has the worst swine flu figures in Europe.
Eight British schoolchildren remained in hospital in China on Monday after contracting swine flu on a trip to the country, the Foreign Office said. The teenagers were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus in Beijing. More than 50 of their classmates and teachers are also quarantined in a hotel. Watch as students are quarantined
Medical screening for the swine flu virus has been introduced at many airports around the world for passengers arriving on international flights but there are concerns that many people may not be aware they are infected.
Those who do have symptoms have been advised by Britain's health authorities to delay their journeys until the signs have cleared up.
"We have a medical team within the airline as well as a contingency planning group which has met for the past few years to look at the issue of a flu pandemic," A British Airways spokeswoman said.
"We have a wide range of contingency plans in place which we can use depending on how the situation may evolve.
"If we have concerns about a customer or the customer is concerned, then we have a 24-hour medical service we can call to give advice to staff.
"They will speak to the customer and an assessment will be made about their fitness to fly.
"There have been a number of cases where we have advised customers not to fly on the basis of their diagnosis or symptoms of H1N1."
BA told CNN Monday though that it was "business as usual" and all flights were operating normally.
Virgin Atlantic spokesman Paul Charles said: "If there are signs of something being wrong, be it excessive sneezing or coughing, not looking well, high temperature, then the airport staff can call in a medical team for extra advice.
"If the medical team believe there are reasons not to fly, the passenger will be asked to produce a fit to fly certificate from their doctor or a hospital, and they will be put at our cost on to the next available flight."
Swine flu has spread so rapidly and extensively around the globe that the World Health Organization is changing tactics against the H1N1 virus, including stopping a tally of cases and focusing on unusual patterns.
"At this point, further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable," the WHO said.
The counting of all cases is no longer essential because it is exhausting countries' resources, the organization said.
"In some countries, this strategy is absorbing most national laboratory and response capacity, leaving little capacity for the monitoring and investigation of severe cases, and other exceptional events."
Monitoring is still required, the organization urged, but should focus on exceptional patterns.
"Because the numbers of cases have increased in so many countries, it is very hard to keep up," Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general, said earlier this month.
Laboratories have been inundated with testing requests and the virus is showing up in most lab tests in countries with major outbreaks, he said.
The organization said it will not issue global tables showing confirmed cases for countries that have reported cases, according to the release.
However, it will still report on nations that have not had cases so that its presence can be confirmed. "WHO will continue to request that these countries report the first confirmed cases and, as far as feasible, provide weekly aggregated case numbers and descriptive epidemiology of the early cases."
Meanwhile, governments should should be on the lookout for unusual patterns, the organization said.
While most patients have reported mild symptoms, a rise in severe symptoms or respiratory ailments that require hospitalization should be cause for concern, it said. Governments should also pay attention to unusual patterns linked to fatal cases, the WHO said.
Any changes in prevailing patterns should be flagged, including a rise in school and job absenteeism, and an increase in visits to the emergency room.
An overwhelmed health system may mean there is a rise in severe cases, the organization said.
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Swine flu a worry for summer camps
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Parents who send their children to summer camps have the added concern of swine flu this season. Some camp sessions have been canceled. Kids with flu-like symptoms have been quarantined or sent home and some camps are prescreening youngsters before accepting them. Lori Kenzie of Roswell, Georgia, has a 10-year-old daughter who attends Girl Scout camp every year. "We went to a camp last summer and there was no part of the check-in procedure that included any kind of screenings for health purposes, whether they had a fever or even head lice," Kenzie said. But this year was different. "This time they checked all the children when we checked in for temperatures, and interviewed the family members to see if anyone had been sick in recent months. They really ramped up their screening process, which I found reassuring," Kenzie said. Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp, chairman of Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said fears of swine flu, or type A (H1N1) influenza, have changed the operations of summer camp this year. "Some of the specialty camps we do [are] for kids with different diseases; for instance, kids with muscular dystrophy," Boscamp said. "There are a number of camps and if those kids get flu, they are at very high risk of developing severe respiratory disease, so those camps have all been canceled." But it's hard to tell whether a kid has a common cold or swine flu. "We know that there's still a lot of swine flu activity. ... We know that it's out there. Obviously not every camper who gets fever has influenza. And there's some difficulty in sorting that out," Boscamp said. Doctors and medical centers are fielding inquiries from camps and parents about what they should do. "The message we've delivered is so far we've seen nothing to suggest this influenza is a virulent one. So far the cases have all been mild. So we're not recommending people undergo treatment unless they're at high risk for complications," the pediatric specialist said. The World Health Organization declared the swine flu virus a global pandemic June 11. More than 70 countries have reported cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports more than 27,000 cases in the United States. Boscamp recommends parents, before sending their children off, ask the camp whether it's screening children first and whether any campers have come down with the flu this summer. He also advises parents to pack some extra hand sanitizer in their kids' knapsacks.
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How can I protect myself from influenza A (H1N1)?
Practice general preventive measures for influenza: How do I care for an ill person at home? If you are living in a country where there are infections follow additional advice from your national and local health authorities. What should I do if I think I have the illness? If you feel unwell, have high fever, cough or sore throat: What should I do if I need medical attention?
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