New Issue
Native American x H1N1 = 4 Times Higher Risk of Death
The facts are in: For Native Americans, the risk of death from H1N1 is four times more likely than it is for other Americans. According to the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC, more Native Americans die from H1N1 complications because of pre-existing health issues such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
National Relief Charities works on 75+ reservations year-round and is well aware of disease rates for Native Americans. Overall life expectancy for Native Americans has improved in recent decades but still trails that of other Americans by a few years. Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions for Native Americans, who are twice as likely to die from diabetes than other groups.
Diabetes and heart disease are also linked. In fact, the Indian Health Service cites that, for people with diabetes, the most common cause of death is cardiovascular disease. Forced changes in diet, economics, and lifestyle markedly increased the rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and obesity for Native Americans – all of which contribute to heart attacks, heart disease, and cardiac deaths.
Heart disease is a 20% higher risk for Native Americans than for any other race in the U.S., and the Center for Disease Control reports that heart disease kills American Indians at younger ages. For the Navajo Nation, heart disease ranks second as the cause of death and it’s on the rise, according to HHS.
Asthma rates are also high and on the rise, especially for Native American children. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that the asthma rate for American youth under age 20 is 9%, compared to 13% for Native youth.
These combined factors all put Native Americans at higher risk of H1N1:
o Twice as likely to die from diabetes as other Americans
o 20% more likely to have heart disease
o More likely to die from heart disease
o More likely to have heart complications from diabetes
o Children one-third more likely to have asthma
o Children more likely to have diabetes and associated heart disease
Source: PR - National Relief Charities
Read more: http://www.pr.com/press-release/208126
Research
New Zealand: Use of hand sanitizer drops after pandemic
Via Eurosurveillance: Update: Follow-up study showing post-pandemic decline in hand sanitiser use, New Zealand, December 2009. Abstract:
This study aimed to measure rates of hand sanitiser use in a hospital entrance foyer four months after a baseline study during New Zealand’s influenza pandemic.
Of the 743 people observed over one (summer) day in December 2009, 8.2% used the hand sanitiser, which was significantly lower (p<0.0001)>
Source: H5N1 Crofsblog
Read more: http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2010/01/new-zealand-use-of-hand-sanitizer-drops-after-pandemic.html
Comment
Women Wash Their Hands More Often Than Men
Koreans wash their hands more than they used to, whether in response to the bird or swine flu scares or for other health reasons. On average last year, they washed their hands 8.5 times, and women more often than men, at 9.9 times to 7.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commissioned Korea Research to conduct a phone survey of 1,500 people over 14 across the country. In 2006, the average was 7.6 times a day and in 2008 7.1 times.
Those over 50 washed their hands most frequently at 9.7 times, and teenagers and those in their 20s below average with 5.5 and 7 times. The duration of hand washing was similar as in the past, with 36.7 percent saying it takes 6 to 10 seconds. One out of seven people, or 16.6 percent, said they wash their hands in 1 to 5 seconds.
Source: Chosun
Read more: http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/28/2010012800625.html
Agenda
ASEAN Meeting on Promoting Access to Antiviral Drugs and Pandemic Influenza Vaccines on 27-29 January 2010 in Singapore
The ASEAN Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Singapore, is convening the ASEAN Meeting on Promoting Access to Antiviral Drugs and Pandemic Influenza Vaccines on 27 to 29 January 2010 in Singapore.The Meeting is supported by the ASEAN Plus Three Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Programme which is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). It aims to:
- provide an update on status of supply and availability of pandemic influenza vaccine and antiviral drugs at the global, regional (ASEAN) and national levels;
- share information among ASEAN Member States on the approaches, strategies and issues related to production, distribution, access and transfer of technology of pandemic influenza vaccine and antiviral agents within the region;
- discuss on how to share resources among the Member States, as follow-up to the Joint Statement of the ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers Special Meeting on Influenza A (H1N1) held on 8 May 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand; and
- provide recommendations on ways to promote increased availability of and access to pandemic influenza vaccines and antiviral agents within the region.
Read more: http://www.aseanplus3-eid.info/newsread.php?nid=1415&gid=8
Photo
Reuters Pictures
A woman receives a H1N1 influenza vaccine shot from a medical staff at a hospital in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok January 25, 2010.
Source: Daylife
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0c921XwbEQgIx?q=H1N1
Quote
"In the new year, we have not used the breath analyser so far due to swine flu threat, but looking at the situation, we might soon start using them again after consulting experts "
Source: Times of India
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/topic/Swine_Flu/quotes
News Flash
China reports smaller proportion of A/H1N1 in all flu cases
Xinhua
A/H1N1 flu cases in the Chinese mainland last week took up 26.8 percent of all flu cases, down from 39.1 percent the previous week. ...
Disease severity in H1N1 patients (Science Daily)
A new study concerning the severity of H1N1 influenza has found that admissions to an intensive care unit were associated with a longer interval between symptom onset and treatment with antivirals and with presence of an underlying medical condition. People of First Nations ethnicity were also found to be at higher risk of severe H1N1 infection compared to people of other ethnic origins.
Masks, hand sanitizer help halt flu spread
Reuters
During the current H1N1 epidemic, they note, vaccines were slow to arrive and use of antiviral drugs was "limited." To investigate what measures might be ...
Nigeria: Swine Flu Not From Pigs, Says Expert
AllAfrica.com
The chief veterinary officer in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Joseph Nyager, told THISDAY, that the so-called swine flu is a ...
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