http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hea ... le1868015/

Unlike last year, when the H1N1 pandemic virus was the main influenza strain, public health officials are now battling H3N2, a seasonal flu that disproportionately affects the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Toronto has had more than 700 laboratory-confirmed flu cases this season, compared to the 100 or so cases it sees every year. Winnipeg reported 135 flu cases between July, 2010, and Jan. 8; the city had nine lab-confirmed cases during the same period in 2007-08.

“A colleague of mine and some others around here are starting to call this whole problem a flunami, which it probably is, based on the numbers of cases we’re seeing,” said James Downey, an infection control officer at Toronto East General Hospital.

Michael Gardam, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network, echoed the sentiment. “I’ve never seen a flu year like this,” he said. “This is by far the worst flu year I’ve ever seen. It’s a mess.”

At UHN, Dr. Gardam said as many as 30 flu patients were moved to surgical beds because there was no room in the medical unit, and they remain there. UHN has admitted more than 130 patients showing flu-like symptoms, much more than the 65 it admitted during the H1N1 pandemic. A note from the network’s president and chief executive officer, Bob Bell, sent to staff Tuesday said that if the flu situation doesn’t ease, elective surgeries could be cancelled later this week.

__________________
"Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it."-- Mark Twain

"Inter arma silent Musae"--when the weapons speak, the muses fall silent.

An't nanum hearm deth, doth hwaet ye willath.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished
unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.36

Maybe the only thing that will save humanity from catastrophic climate change is a flu pandemic of record proportions.

The Black Death, which peaked in Europe between 1348 and 1350, is estimated to have done away with between one quarter and two thirds of the population. It may have killed two thirds of China's, which for a variety of causes was down to an estimated 65 million in the late 14th century.

Green movement supporters, economists and ecologists should be urging people to avoid the influenza vaccine like the plague. They should especially urge their political opponents to proclaim that vaccines are a socialist conspiracy plot.

If the human population can be reduced to less than a billion, we have a fighting chance to save the planet.

I'm with you, roadkill.

Some days I doubt I could think of a billion people worth saving.

Northern Hemisphere countries show steady rise in flu

Lisa Schnirring Staff Writer

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/con...811global.html

Jan 18, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – Flu activity is increasing in many of the Northern Hemisphere's temperate-zone countries, with influenza B cocirculating with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus across Europe and teaming up with influenza A (H3N2) in the United States and Canada, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update.

North African and Middle East countries are among the regions reporting increases in flu activity, with Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia reporting mostly influenza B and Iran and Pakistan reporting that most viruses are the 2009 H1N1 strain, according to the WHO in its Jan 14 update.

In recent weeks some countries in northern Asia have reported rises in respiratory disease levels, the WHO said. Flu activity, most of it H3N2, appears to have peaked in Mongolia and northern China in the third week of December, but South Korea and Japan are reporting that the 2009 H1N1 virus has become the dominant strain.

Over the past several weeks UK countries have seen a steady rise in the number of hospitalizations and deaths from the 2009 H1N1 virus, but other European countries such as France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Denmark are also reporting hospitalizations and deaths from it and influenza B.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also issued a flu surveillance report on Jan 14, which provided more details on influenza in that region. It said most countries are reporting regional or widespread activity, especially in western European countries. In Denmark doctors visits for flu-like illness were highest in children younger than 15, but Ireland, England, and Norway all reported that visits were highest in those ages 15 to 64.

In Ireland, the level of doctor's visits for flu-like illnesses is now the same as for last year at this time, which was during the pandemic. England's level is three times higher than at this time last year.

Countries in tropical zones and the Southern Hemisphere's temperate zones are reporting very little flu activity. H3N2 circulation in Paraguay and severe 2009 H1N1 infections in Sri Lanka that were reported earlier are declining. The WHO noted that one exception is Australia, where small numbers of H3N2 and influenza B viruses continue to circulate.

In a separate update on oseltamivir (Tamiflu) resistance among 2009 H1N1 viruses, the WHO said it received three more reports of viruses carrying the H275Y substitution known to confer resistance to the drug, raising the total to 319 so far.

The ECDC said two 2009 H1N1 viruses from patients in the United Kingdom had the H275Y substitution, neither of whom had been treated with oseltamivir.

In other global flu developments, Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) released a statement on Jan 15 detailing a novel flu infection in a 3-year-old boy from China's Jiangsu province. The boy, who has a chronic kidney condition and is on long-term corticosteroid treatment, got sick on Dec 31.

Tests on the boy's respiratory specimens by China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention revealed a "European avian-like H1N1" swine influenza reassortant. The CHP said the boy's close contacts were asymptomatic, but did not say if he had any contact with pigs or other animals.

See also:
Jan 14 WHO global flu update
Jan 14 ECDC flu surveillance report
WHO weekly update on oseltamivir resistance
Jan 15 CHP statement

__________________
"Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it."-- Mark Twain

"Inter arma silent Musae"--when the weapons speak, the muses fall silent.

An't nanum hearm deth, doth hwaet ye willath.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished
unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.36

US indicators show flu activity increasing

Lisa Schnirring * Staff Writer

CIDRAP >> US indicators show flu activity increasing

Jan 21, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – Flu in the United States picked up last week, increasing its geographic impact and sending more people to doctors' offices, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

The rise in activity comes after 2 weeks of slight declines in some indicators, during which the CDC warned that flu activity had not likely peaked yet. Such rises and falls aren't unusual, and flu activity in the United States typically peaks in January or later, it said today in a surveillance update.

Meanwhile, British officials said yesterday that flu levels are declining in the United Kingdom, with the number of doctor's visits declining for the third consecutive week, according to an update from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

In the United States, flu activity in two more regions, which include six northeastern and six Midwestern states, pushed above their baselines, as the level stayed elevated again in the region that includes eight southeastern states.

Seventeen states reported widespread flu activity, up from 11 the previous week. States reporting regional activity dropped from 17 to 15.

Doctor's visits for flu-like illnesses rose slightly above the national baseline of 2.5% after dipping below it the previous week.

The percentages of respiratory samples that tested positive for flu also rose, to 25.9%, which is up from 16.3% the week before.

Deaths from pneumonia and flu stayed below the epidemic threshold, according to the CDC's report. Two more pediatric flu deaths were reported, one from an influenza A (H3) virus and one from an influenza A virus that wasn't subtyped, raising the total for the season to 10.

Of the respiratory specimens that tested positive for flu, nearly 85% were influenza A. Though most of the influenza A samples were H3N2, the percentage of 2009 H1N1 viruses doubled from the previous week, to nearly 16%. More of the viruses were subtyped, though, compared with the previous week. About 15% of samples yielded influenza B, down from about 26% the week before.

British health officials said doctor's visits for flu-like illness fell to 66.5 per 100,000 people last week, down sharply from 108.4 per 100,000 the week before. The levels had declined over the previous 2 weeks, but health officials were cautious and warned that they could be down due to some offices being closed during the holiday period.

The HPA reported 142 more flu deaths, but said a substantial number of them occurred over the past 6 weeks and because of a holiday backlog were just confirmed. Since Britain's season started in October, 254 deaths have been reported.

The predominant UK strains are still 2009 H1N1 and influenza B viruses. The HPA said a small proportion of severe infections are still occurring, especially in people younger than 65.

In cases for which information is available, 81% of the patients who died from flu were in groups that put them at high risk for complications.

Ongoing surveillance continues to suggest a modest increase in some invasive bacterial infections, such as pneumococcal and meningococcal disease, according to the HPA. "Although we expect to see more cases of these bacterial infections during the winter months, the HPA is monitoring the situation closely and currently investigating whether co-infection with flu is contributing to these increases," he said.

See also:

Jan 21 CDC flu update summary

Jan 21 CDC FluView

Jan 20 HPA report

__________________
"Patriotism means being loyal to your country all the time and to its government when it deserves it."-- Mark Twain

"Inter arma silent Musae"--when the weapons speak, the muses fall silent.

An't nanum hearm deth, doth hwaet ye willath.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished
unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire

Economic Left/Right: -3.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.36