Diseases ( incl Covid19 ) 02 (Oct 12 - May 20)

[winston]

Boy with Sars-like virus in isolation in Queen Mary Hospital

A four-year-old boy visiting Hong Kong from Saudi Arabia is sick in Queen Mary Hospital with a Sars-like virus suspected to be the same one that emerged in the Middle East last month.


Source: SCMP

[winston]

Australia reports bird flu case in New South Wales

PARIS (Reuters) - World animal health body OIE said on Thursday that Australia had reported a case of a highly pathogenic bird flu virus at an egg farm in the New South Wales region.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/ ... healthNews

[winston]

Testing stepped up as more hit by SARS-like virus by Mary Ann Benitez

Residents and tourists with unexplained pneumonia, not only those from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, will be tested for a new SARS-like virus.

Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man called yesterday for enhanced vigilance after four more cases of "severe acute respiratory infection" in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were confirmed by the World Health Organization.

Patients with no history of travel to the two Middle Eastern countries but who develop symptoms of the novel coronavirus may need to be tested, Ko said.

While there is no cause to raise the alert level for SARI, he said new cases highlight the need to enhance surveillance measures in hospitals and border control points.

The WHO was notified on Friday of four additional SARI cases - three from Saudi Arabia and one in Qatar - bringing total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus to six, with two deaths, in the past two months.

Two of the latest cases in Saudi Arabia are from the same family living in the same household. One died and the other recovered.

The health agency urged all member states to continue their surveillance for SARI. It is reviewing the case definition and other guidelines.

"Until more information is available, it is prudent to consider that the virus is likely to be more widely distributed than just the two countries that have identified cases," it said.

The WHO expressed concern because a novel coronavirus spawned the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003, with it spreading from Hong Kong.

Of the nearly 900 who died, 299 came from Hong Kong. About 8,500 people worldwide were infected.

Yuen Kwok-yung, University of Hong Kong microbiology professor, said the genetic makeup of SARI is similar to SARS and both come from bats.

Yuen said the chance of person-to- person transmission is not very high for the new infection because none of the health workers who cared for patients has been infected.

The International Society for Infectious Diseases said increased surveillance of patients even without travel history to Saudi Arabia or Qatar is prudent advice.

"The presence of cases in the same family can either be a sign of human-to- human transmission or may be related to exposure of the family members to a common source such as farm animals or bat excreta or other bat bodily fluids," the society said.


http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 21126&fc=1

[winston]

Swine flu kills nine Palestinians

AFP - Nine Palestinians have died in an outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain known as swine flu, the office of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said on Saturday.

"Latest figures and information...show that 187 cases have so far been recorded, the majority of which are in the northern West Bank," it said in a statement. "The number of recorded deaths... stands at nine until now."

It added that the Palestinian health ministry "has the necessary medicines, testing kits and equipment to deal efficiently with the spread of the virus".

The virus has affected Israel and the Palestinian territories in the past, killing dozens of people.

In 2009, an H1N1 epidemic erupted in Mexico and spread into a worldwide pandemic that caused at least 17,000 deaths.

In 1997, the H5N1 strain of influenza, commonly known as bird flu, broke out in Hong Kong.

Spreading from live birds to humans through direct contact, it causes fever and breathing problems and claimed 359 human lives in 15 countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, from 2003 to August of this year, according to the World Health Organisation.

Nearly all major epidemic diseases in humans originated in livestock and health professionals keep a constant watch on animal diseases to assess the risk of strains developing that can cross the species barrier.

http://www.france24.com/en/20121229-swi ... lestinians

[winston]

Two women die from H1N1 flu in Beijing

Two Chinese women have died from the H1N1 flu strain in Beijing in the past 10 days, Chinese state media said on Sunday, the first reported deaths from the virus in China’s capital since 2010.

Source: SCMP

[winston]

So Swine Flu is appearing in BJ and Jordan ...

Swine flu kills Jordanian: health minister

The H1N1 influenza strain known as swine flu killed a 26-year-old Jordanian man on Sunday, Health Minister Abdullatif Wreikat said on Sunday.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130106-swi ... h-minister

[winston]

Drugmakers report U.S. shortages of flu vaccine, Tamiflu

(Reuters) - This year's early and potentially severe flu season has created shortages of the children's formulation of the leading treatment and most forms of the top-selling U.S. vaccine, according to their manufacturers.

Roche Holding AG told Reuters late on Wednesday that it had a shortage of the liquid formulation of Tamiflu, which is used mainly to slow down or stop the symptoms of the flu in children already infected with the virus.

Roche said the company had informed wholesalers and distributors in recent weeks that they would face temporary delays in shipments. Pharmacists can create a substitute oral formulation by dissolving Tamiflu capsules into a sweet liquid, according to Tara Iannuccillo, spokeswoman for Roche's Genentech unit, which makes Tamiflu.

Sanofi SA, the largest flu vaccine provider in the United States, said on Thursday that it had sold out of four of its six formulations of its Fluzone seasonal flu vaccine due to the unanticipated late-season demand for vaccines.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/ ... mesticNews

[iam802]

20 Students Diagnosed with H1N1 Flu in China

http://english.caijing.com.cn/2013-01-11/112427607.html

[winston]

New York declares flu emergency

AFP - New York's governor declared a health emergency over a flu epidemic that has sickened more than 19,000 people, allowing pharmacists to immunize infants and children.

Governor Andrew Cuomo's move comes amid a nationwide epidemic expected to last several weeks.

There have been at least 28,747 cases reported across the country so far this season, and 20 children have died from the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the true number of cases is likely far higher as many who fall ill do not go to the doctor to get tested.

In hopes of curbing the spread of the potentially lethal virus, Cuomo said it was critical to suspend, for the next 30 days, a legal limit that usually only allows New York pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to patients 18 years of age or older.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130113-new ... -emergency

[winston]

US flu epidemic worsens, 29 children dead

A flu epidemic gripping the United States is more severe than usual, striking the elderly especially hard, health authorities said Friday as they also announced 29 child victims.

http://www.france24.com/en/20130118-us- ... ldren-dead