infoflu

Press Release: Anti-bird flu campaign must go on: Komnas FBPI

2010-03-11T11:45:00.000+07:00

Jakarta, March 10, 2010, Komnas FBPI – At the end of his tenure, the
Indonesian bird flu coordinating agency urges that the fight against
avian influenza and pandemic response should continue even without its
presence.

The National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic
Influenza Preparedness (Komnas FBPI) ends its mandate in March 13,
2010, as stipulated by the 2006 Presidential Regulation on the
establishment of Komnas FBPI.

Komnas FBPI insist that all Indonesians, and those who live in the
country, must remain active in curbing bird flu and responding to the
H1N1 pandemic influenza.

'The story of Komnas FBPI from 2006 to 2010 is the tale about the
dedications of government, private sector, experts, international
partners, and community members in dealing with an infectious disease.
This is the most important lesson for taking actions on any infectious
disease in the future, "said Komnas FBPI Chief Executive Bayu
Krisnamurthi.

On the occasion of National Coordination Meeting on the Handling of
Bird Flu and Pandemic Influenza 2006-2010, Komnas FBPI states that
Indonesia has managed to control the wide spread of H5N1 in Indonesia
and responding to pandemic influenza H1N1. Although already under
control, bird flu virus remains exist and may infect people at any
time.

"The key is we must be able to fight the virus, live healthy and know
how to protect ourselves," he added.

Deputy Chief Executive of Emil Agustiono, adds that the strength built
by the commission would be useful to face any environmental and health
crisis in the future.

Emil explained that the current spread of emerging and reemerging
infectious diseases (EREID's) such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, nipah, rabies,
BSE, West Nile, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, and anthrax.

"We need to maximize the capital that we have had and still manage to
be an asset to any health disaster in the future."

To support the continuation of the campaign, the national coordinating
meeting recommends that: first, the war against bird flu still needs
to be continued along with fight toward other zoonoses. Therefore,
there is a need to set up the National Committee for Zoonoses Control
(Komnas Zoonosis).

Second, all works of pandemic influenza preparedness and response,
should be taken over by the National Disaster Management Agency
(BNPB).

And lastly, continue promoting the ideas and systematic approach to an
integrated health system, that merge human health, animal health and
environmental health by involving experts from various fields of
science, including social sciences.

National Coordination Meeting was attended by 300 representatives from
ministries and central government agencies, local governments,
international organizations, social organizations and institutions.

Komnas FBPI extends its appreciation to all experts and government
officials who have dedicated themselves in the fight against avian
influenza and pandemic influenza response; the international partners
who work together to build the capacity of response, surveillance and
early detection; the members of the media who help spread prevention
messages and in particular, to the people of Indonesia, who have taken
the initiatives to make Indonesia safer and healthier.

Tanggap Flu Burung!

Take Action Against Bird Flu, Our Hands Prevent Bird Flu!
Be Flu Wise and Flu Care!

Press Release: Perang Melawan Flu Burung Tak Boleh Berakhir: Komnas FBPI

2010-03-11T09:40:00.000+07:00

Perang Melawan Flu Burung Tak Boleh Berakhir: Komnas FBPI

Jakarta, 10 Maret 2010, Komnas FBPI – Di penghujung masa tugasnya, Komite Nasional Pengendalian Flu Burung dan Kesiapsiagaan Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza (Komnas FBPI) menegaskan bahwa peperangan melawan avian influenza (flu burung) dan merespon pandemi tidak boleh berakhir.

Seluruh komponen bangsa, terutama masyarakat harus tetap aktif dalam penanganan flu burung dan respon pandemi influenza, dengan atau tanpa Komnas FBPI.

”Perjalanan Komnas FBPI selama 2006-2010 adalah perjalanan semua lapisan—pemerintah, swasta, para ahli, mitra internasional, dan masyarakat—menangani penyakit menular dengan secara bersama-sama dan dimana-mana. Hal ini adalah pelajaran terpenting bagi penanganan penyakit menular apapun di masa depan,” ujar Ketua Pelaksana Harian Komnas FBPI Bayu Krisnamurthi.

Pada kesempatan Rapat Koordinasi Nasional (Rakornas) Penanganan Flu Burung dan Kesiapsiagaan Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza 2006-2010, Komnas FBPI menyatakankerjasama erat selama ini telah membuahkan hasil: terkendalinya penyebaran virus H5N1 di Indonesia dan merespon pandemi influenza H1N1. Walaupun sudah terkendali, virus flu burung tetap ada di lingkungan kita dan dapat merebak lagi sewaktu-waktu.

”Kampanye Tanggap Flu Burung sudah menyebarkan pesan pencegahan ke lebih dari 90 persen penduduk Indonesia. Maka dari itu kita harus dapat melawan virus tersebut, hidup sehat dan tahu cara melindungi diri,” tambahnya.

Dalam mandat kerja empat tahunnya, Komnas FBPI telah menjadi lembaga koordinasi yang mewadahi perdebatan, perbedaan pendekatan, serta pembangunan kapasitas semua orang dan institusi yang terjun aktif mengendalikan flu burung dan meningkatkan kesiapsiagaan menghadapi pandemi.

Wakil Ketua Pelaksana Harian Komnas FBPI Emil Agustiono menambahkan bahwa kekuatan yang dibangun Komnas adalah modal besar menghadapi krisis kesehatan dan lingkungan di masa depan.

Emil menjelaskan bahwa saat ini merebak emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EREID’s) seperti: HIV/AIDS, SARS, Nipah, Rabies, BSE, West Nile, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, dan Antrax.

”Tujuh puluh persen penyakit bersumber dari hewan, bersifat lintas batas, dan umumnya berdampak luas,” tambah Emil.

”Kita perlu memaksimalkan modal yang sudah kita punya dan tetap mengelolanya agar menjadi aset bagi penanganan bencana kesehatan apapun di masa yang akan datang.”

Hasil Rakornas Komnas FBPI merekomendasikan agar: pertama, Penanganan Flu Burung tetap perlu dilanjutkan bersama dengan pengendalian zoonosis lainnya secara keseluruhan. Untuk itu, perlu dibentuk Komite Nasional Zoonosis (Komnas Zoonosis) melalui Peraturan Presiden, sebagai suatu badan yang berada di Kementerian Pertanian dengan operasionalisasi tugas tetap berkoordinasi dengan kementerian-kementerian terkait khususnya yang berada dalam koordinasi Kementerian Koordinasi Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat.

Kedua, melanjutkan tugas-tugas Kesiapsiagaan Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza, diusulkan agar tugas tersebut berada dalam tanggung jawab Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB), yang juga dalam koordinasi Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat.

Dan terakhir, perlu dipromosikan pemikiran-pemikiran dan pendekatan sistim
kesehatan terpadu diikuti langkah-langkah konkrit yang mengintegrasikan pemahaman atas saling keterkaitan antara kesehatan manusia – kesehatan hewan dan kesehatan lingkungan dengan mengikutsertakan para ahli dari berbagai bidang ilmu, termasuk ilmu sosial dan lingkungan hidup.

Rakornas dihadiri 300 orang perwakilan dari kementerian dan instansi pemerintah pusat, pemerintah daerah, organisasi internasional, organisasi kemasyarakatan dan lembaga.

Setelah empat tahun berdirinya Komnas FBPI yang bertugas mengkoordinasikan kegiatan pencegahan, pengendalian, dan penanggulangan flu burung (avian influenza) serta kesiapsiagaan menghadapi pandemi influenza, sesuai Peraturan Presiden No.7/2006 tentang Komnas FBPI., komite berkhir masa tugasnya pada tanggal 13 Maret 2010.

Komnas FBPI mengucapkan apresiasi yang setinggi-setingginya bagi para ahli dan aparat yang mendedikasikan dirinya dalam perjuangan melawan flu burung dan merespon pandemi influenza, kepada mitra internasional yang bekerjasama membangun kapasitas respon, surveilans dan deteksi dini, kepada media yang menyabarluaskan pesan-pesan pencegahan dan terutama sekali, kepada masyarakat Indonesia yang telah tanggap terhadap bahaya ancaman penyakit menular.

Tanggap Flu Burung! Tangan Kita Pencegah Flu Burung! dan Ambil Tindakan TEPAT (Tenang, PAhami, dan Tanggap)

Newsletter 3 Maret 2010

2010-03-03T14:03:00.002+07:00

Photo
Spring break revelers dance at the beach in the resort city of Cancun, Mexico Monday March 1, 2010. Cancun, Mexico's spring break king, is rebounding quickly from last year's triple blow to its tourism industry caused by the country's swine flu epidemic, drug violence and a global economic crisis. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100302/2681/919abf5233ba448d950305dcec997703

New Issue

Social Stress May Enhance The Immune Response To Influenza Virus

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study using mice suggests that a repeated stressful situation that triggers the animals' natural “fight-or-flight” response may actually enhance their ability to fight disease when re-exposed to the same pathogen.

The study showed that the stressed mice had a 10-fold increase in their resistance to an influenza infection, and that this protection lasted at least up to three months after the stressful episodes.

While appearing to clash with years of findings that showed stressful situations can lower an individual’s immune response, the new work actually does not. Instead, it offers new insight into the fine balance the immune system maintains to protect against disease.

The report, carried in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology, describes new work emerging from Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

“Not all stress suppresses the immune system,” explained John Sheridan, professor of oral biology and associate director of the IBMR. “Some stressors actually give rise to enhanced immune responses.” […]

Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news186695836.html

Research

Administration Of Influenza Vaccine To The Egg Allergic Child Under 36 Months

RATIONALE: To determine which population of egg allergic children (EAC) can safely receive the influenza vaccine (INF), and how to optimize testing and administration.

METHODS: A retrospective chart review from 10/2004 to 1/2009 of EAC ages 6-36 months seen in Allergy Clinic during influenza immunizationseason (10/1-2/28). EAC were identified with positive skin (ST) or RAST test to egg. EAC who did or did not receive INF or INF testing were evaluated.

Adverse events after INF were compared to a non-EAC control group of our patients given INF. We reviewed likelihood of receiving full testing (prick and intradermal (ID)), graded vaccine, or full vaccine to determine the best protocol.

RESULTS: 140 EAC were tested for INF and 53 EAC were not tested. Morbidities of asthma and anaphylaxis were no different in the 2 groups (p>.3). Likelihood of receiving ID prior to INF decreased over time from 100%-2% (p<.0001). Likelihood of receiving full INF vs graded INF increased with repeat dosing, 65%-87.5% (p<.0024).

5/140 tested EAC did not receive INF after positive STor ID to INF (3 with anaphylaxis), but 14/17 EAC with anaphylaxis received INF (2 with positive ST to flu, 9 negative, 3 not-performed). 135/140 received INF without significant complications (equivalent to non-EAC). 28/135 EAC were safely given INF without prior ST.

CONCLUSIONS: 96% of skin tested EAC safely received INF (76% ST negative, 23% ST positive); and 21% who received INF had no prior ST. 70% of all EAC received INF. EAC can safely receive INF. […]

Read more: http://www.jacionline.org/webfiles/images/journals/ymai/Abstracts_Saturday_1-64.pdf

Comment

Everyone in U.S. should get flu vaccine: experts

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Everyone in the United States over the age of six months should get seasonal influenza vaccines every year, federal vaccine advisers said on Wednesday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the long-awaited vote to recommend virtually universal flu vaccination -- something public health experts have long recommended.

"The new recommendation seeks to remove barriers to influenza immunization and signals the importance of preventing influenza across the entire population," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2419902520100225

Quote

"If they want to base it on good evidence, they should wash their hands. I would also encourage them to write to their Congressman or Senator, asking them to put pressure on the U.S. government to run a proper trial and get an answer to whether these vaccines actually work." Tom Jefferson, epidemiologist, Cochrane Collaboration.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100301/hl_time/08599196730600

News Flash

Malaysia confirms first swine flu death this year

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's government has confirmed the country's first death linked to swine flu in nearly half a year.Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai says the 22-year-old woman died of respiratory...

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/malaysia-confirms-first-swine-flu-death.html

Mum dies of swine flu after birth of son

A young mum died from swine flu just weeks after giving birth to her son. Allison McCaffery, 26, developed flu symptoms during pregnancy which worsened following the birth of baby boy Jacob by...

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/mum-dies-of-swine-flu-after-birth-of.html

New inhaled drug protects from flu in single dose

Reuters

The now-waning pandemic of H1N1 influenza sparked new interest in the development of better drugs to fight flu, which kills 250000 to 500000 people globally ...

Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSN2523296420100226%3Ftype%3DmarketsNews&usg=AFQjCNEyc0sOOEqGZa9ExKGiM4DUThvHQw

A/H1N1 passes peak in flu season: Health Ministry

Xinhua

The A/H1N1 influenza outbreak, which has killed nearly 800 people on the Chinese mainland, has passed its peak in the autumn-winter flu season, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Read more: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6906801.html?

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 3 Maret 2010

2010-03-03T13:47:00.001+07:00

New Issue

Social Stress May Enhance The Immune Response To Influenza Virus

The study showed that the stressed mice had a 10-fold increase in their resistance to an influenza infection, and that this protection lasted at least up to three months after the stressful episodes.

The report, carried in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology, describes new work emerging from Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news186695836.html

Research

Administration Of Influenza Vaccine To The Egg Allergic Child Under 36 Months

RATIONALE: To determine which population of egg allergic children (EAC) can safely receive the influenza vaccine (INF), and how to optimize testing and administration.

CONCLUSIONS: 96% of skin tested EAC safely received INF (76% ST negative, 23% ST positive); and 21% who received INF had no prior ST. 70% of all EAC received INF. EAC can safely receive INF. […]

Read more: http://www.jacionline.org/webfiles/images/journals/ymai/Abstracts_Saturday_1-64.pdf

Comment

Everyone in U.S. should get flu vaccine: experts

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Everyone in the United States over the age of six months should get seasonal influenza vaccines every year, federal vaccine advisers said on Wednesday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the long-awaited vote to recommend virtually universal flu vaccination -- something public health experts have long recommended.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2419902520100225

Photo

Spring break revelers dance at the beach in the resort city of Cancun, Mexico Monday March 1, 2010. Cancun, Mexico's spring break king, is rebounding quickly from last year's triple blow to its tourism industry caused by the country's swine flu epidemic, drug violence and a global economic crisis. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100302/2681/919abf5233ba448d950305dcec997703

Quote

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100301/hl_time/08599196730600

News Flash

Malaysia confirms first swine flu death this year

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/malaysia-confirms-first-swine-flu-death.html

Mum dies of swine flu after birth of son

A young mum died from swine flu just weeks after giving birth to her son. Allison McCaffery, 26, developed flu symptoms during pregnancy which worsened following the birth of baby boy Jacob by...

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/mum-dies-of-swine-flu-after-birth-of.html

New inhaled drug protects from flu in single dose

Reuters

The now-waning pandemic of H1N1 influenza sparked new interest in the development of better drugs to fight flu, which kills 250000 to 500000 people globally ...

Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSN2523296420100226%3Ftype%3DmarketsNews&usg=AFQjCNEyc0sOOEqGZa9ExKGiM4DUThvHQw

A/H1N1 passes peak in flu season: Health Ministry

Xinhua

The A/H1N1 influenza outbreak, which has killed nearly 800 people on the Chinese mainland, has passed its peak in the autumn-winter flu season, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Read more: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6906801.html?

Newsletter 3 Maret 2010

2010-03-03T13:46:00.003+07:00

New Issue

Social Stress May Enhance The Immune Response To Influenza Virus

The study showed that the stressed mice had a 10-fold increase in their resistance to an influenza infection, and that this protection lasted at least up to three months after the stressful episodes.

The report, carried in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology, describes new work emerging from Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news186695836.html

Research

Administration Of Influenza Vaccine To The Egg Allergic Child Under 36 Months

RATIONALE: To determine which population of egg allergic children (EAC) can safely receive the influenza vaccine (INF), and how to optimize testing and administration.

CONCLUSIONS: 96% of skin tested EAC safely received INF (76% ST negative, 23% ST positive); and 21% who received INF had no prior ST. 70% of all EAC received INF. EAC can safely receive INF. […]

Read more: http://www.jacionline.org/webfiles/images/journals/ymai/Abstracts_Saturday_1-64.pdf

Comment

Everyone in U.S. should get flu vaccine: experts

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Everyone in the United States over the age of six months should get seasonal influenza vaccines every year, federal vaccine advisers said on Wednesday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the long-awaited vote to recommend virtually universal flu vaccination -- something public health experts have long recommended.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2419902520100225

Photo

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100302/2681/919abf5233ba448d950305dcec997703

Quote

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100301/hl_time/08599196730600

News Flash

Malaysia confirms first swine flu death this year

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/malaysia-confirms-first-swine-flu-death.html

Mum dies of swine flu after birth of son

A young mum died from swine flu just weeks after giving birth to her son. Allison McCaffery, 26, developed flu symptoms during pregnancy which worsened following the birth of baby boy Jacob by...

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/mum-dies-of-swine-flu-after-birth-of.html

New inhaled drug protects from flu in single dose

Reuters

The now-waning pandemic of H1N1 influenza sparked new interest in the development of better drugs to fight flu, which kills 250000 to 500000 people globally ...

Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSN2523296420100226%3Ftype%3DmarketsNews&usg=AFQjCNEyc0sOOEqGZa9ExKGiM4DUThvHQw

A/H1N1 passes peak in flu season: Health Ministry

Xinhua

The A/H1N1 influenza outbreak, which has killed nearly 800 people on the Chinese mainland, has passed its peak in the autumn-winter flu season, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Read more: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6906801.html?

Newsletter 3 Maret 2010

2010-03-03T13:46:00.001+07:00

New Issue

Social Stress May Enhance The Immune Response To Influenza Virus

The study showed that the stressed mice had a 10-fold increase in their resistance to an influenza infection, and that this protection lasted at least up to three months after the stressful episodes.

The report, carried in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology, describes new work emerging from Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news186695836.html

Research

Administration Of Influenza Vaccine To The Egg Allergic Child Under 36 Months

RATIONALE: To determine which population of egg allergic children (EAC) can safely receive the influenza vaccine (INF), and how to optimize testing and administration.

CONCLUSIONS: 96% of skin tested EAC safely received INF (76% ST negative, 23% ST positive); and 21% who received INF had no prior ST. 70% of all EAC received INF. EAC can safely receive INF. […]

Read more: http://www.jacionline.org/webfiles/images/journals/ymai/Abstracts_Saturday_1-64.pdf

Comment

Everyone in U.S. should get flu vaccine: experts

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Everyone in the United States over the age of six months should get seasonal influenza vaccines every year, federal vaccine advisers said on Wednesday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the long-awaited vote to recommend virtually universal flu vaccination -- something public health experts have long recommended.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2419902520100225

Photo

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100302/2681/919abf5233ba448d950305dcec997703

Quote

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100301/hl_time/08599196730600

News Flash

Malaysia confirms first swine flu death this year

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/malaysia-confirms-first-swine-flu-death.html

Mum dies of swine flu after birth of son

A young mum died from swine flu just weeks after giving birth to her son. Allison McCaffery, 26, developed flu symptoms during pregnancy which worsened following the birth of baby boy Jacob by...

Read more: http://www.dowell-netherlands.com/2010/03/mum-dies-of-swine-flu-after-birth-of.html

New inhaled drug protects from flu in single dose

Reuters

The now-waning pandemic of H1N1 influenza sparked new interest in the development of better drugs to fight flu, which kills 250000 to 500000 people globally ...

Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FidUSN2523296420100226%3Ftype%3DmarketsNews&usg=AFQjCNEyc0sOOEqGZa9ExKGiM4DUThvHQw

A/H1N1 passes peak in flu season: Health Ministry

Xinhua

The A/H1N1 influenza outbreak, which has killed nearly 800 people on the Chinese mainland, has passed its peak in the autumn-winter flu season, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Read more: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6906801.html?

Empat Tahun Komnas FBPI (Press Release)

2010-03-02T18:01:00.003+07:00

Para menteri anggota Komnas FBPI menyatakan komitmen terhadap pengendalian flu burung/avian influenza dan penyakit berpotensi pandemi dengan memperluas lingkup kerja Komnas FBPI dan melanjutkan program-program andalannya yang berhasil dengan merumuskan pembentukan sebuah lembaga koordinasi.

Ketua Pelaksana Harian Komnas FBPI menyimpulkan bahwa selama Komnas FBPI menjalankan mandatnya sejak 13 Maret 2006, ditemui beberapa tantangan yaitu upaya penanggulangan flu burung masih pada langkah-langkah kedaruratan, belum berkesinambungan.

Dilain sisi, kesadaran masyarakat dalam penanggulangan wabah penyakit meningkat, dalam bentuk laporan dini dan langkah-langkah pencegahan. Hal ini merupakan pembuktian bahwa penanggulangan penyakit adalah tanggung jawab bersama antara pemerintah, masyarakat, dan swasta.Para menteri KIB II mengapresiasi kinerja dan prestasi Komnas FBPI (yang anggotanya merupakan jajaran menteri Kabinet KIB I) telah berhasil menurunkan angka kasus kematian manusia dari 45 kasus meninggal tahun 2006 menjadi hanya 19 kasus meninggal tahun 2009 dan kasus pada unggas, yang pada tahun 2004 terjadi sekitar 5 juta unggas mati, sementara di tahun 2009 hanya terjadi sekitar 50 ribu unggas mati karena flu burung.

Di ujung masa tugasnya, Komnas FBPI berhasil membebaskan Propinsi Kalimantan Barat dari status endemis flu burung.

Untuk itu Komnas FBPI merekomendasikan:

Penanganan Flu Burung tetap perlu dilanjutkan bersama dengan pengendalian zoonosis lainnya secara keseluruhan. Untuk itu, perlu dibentuk Komite Nasional Zoonosis (Komnas Zoonosis) melalui Peraturan Presiden, sebagai suatu badan yang berada di Kementerian Pertanian dengan operasionalisasi tugas tetap berkoordinasi dengan kementerian-kementerian terkait khususnya yang berada dalam koordinasi Kementerian Koordinasi Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat.
Untuk melanjutkan tugas-tugas mengenai Kesiapsiagaan Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza, diusulkan agar tugas tersebut berada dalam tanggung jawab Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB), yang juga dalam koordinasi Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat.
Perlu dipromosikan pemikiran-pemikiran dan pendekatan sistim kesehatan terpadu diikuti langkah-langkah konkrit yang mengintegrasikan pemahaman atas saling keterkaitan antara kesehatan manusia – kesehatan hewan dan kesehatan lingkungan dengan mengikutsertakan para ahli dari berbagai bidang ilmu, termasuk ilmu sosial dan lingkungan hidup.

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut hubungi:

Dian Argarini
Bidang Komunikasi Komnas FBPI

Email: komunikasi.fbpi@gmail.com
HP: 0817788025
Website: www.komnasfbpi.go.id, www.fluburung-indo.blogspot.com
Twitter: @infoflu

Newsletter 18 Februari 2010

2010-02-18T17:07:00.001+07:00

New Issue
H1N1 flu has hit kids with neuromuscular disorders especially hard

Derek Collette, 13, who has cerebral palsy, winces with pain as his mother Christina Collette helps lift him out of bed in the morning. Derek has been largely confined to a wheelchair and unable to go to school since he had the flu in May 2009. [...]
Source: USA TODAY
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yj8zmje

Research
Flu-induced stress response is critical for resistance to secondary infection
A new study reveals how infection with the influenza virus impacts the way that the immune system responds to subsequent infections. The research, published by Cell Press in the February 18th issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe, provides a new understanding of the physiological and pathological consequences of the flu.
Much of what is known about how the immune system protects against infection comes from studies examining exposure to a single pathogen. However, in the natural environment, organisms are commonly exposed to multiple infectious agents at the same time, so it is important to determine how the host's response to one pathogen alters its response to another. This is particularly relevant for infection with influenza because it is often accompanied by secondary bacterial infections that are more lethal that the initial viral infection.
"Several studies have demonstrated that infection with influenza virus can result in a suppression of the immune system," explains senior study author, Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov from the Department of Immunology at the Yale University School of Medicine. "However, these studies focused primarily on the local effects of influenza at the site of infection. The effect of influenza virus infection on the systemic immune response is less well understood."[...]
Source: Eurekalert
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ydl9v6k

Comment
When swine flu pandemic hits home
By Steve Sternberg, USA TODAY
Joan Bishop's thoughts trend toward disaster. Earthquakes, hurricanes, "dirty bombs," weapons of mass destruction, killer pandemics — she has studied them all.
But Bishop, 46, of Fairfax, Va., says her expertise did little to stop the H1N1 pandemic from landing on her doorstep. Despite taking all the recommended precautions, two of her three daughters, Beri, 10, and Bailey, 13, contracted swine flu. Each posed a different challenge because their unique risks — Beri's autism and epilepsy and Bailey's asthma — made them more difficult to treat.
What's more, Bishop says, her expertise intensified her concerns about her children.
"I know too much," she says. [...]
Source: USA Today
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ykmwz44

Risk Communication
Health officials: Don't forget 2nd dose of H1N1 vaccine
If your child had a first dose of the H1N1 vaccine, but didn't get the second dose, you'll be getting a phone call if you live in Salt Lake County.
Officials at the Salt Lake Valley Health Department say more than 16,600 local children are overdue for the second vaccine dose required to protect them from the H1N1 virus, so they began making "reminder calls" this week. [...]
Source: deseretnews.com
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ybcazc5

Photo

A student from Pelambayan Religious School reciting the 'Ratib Al-Attas' and other prayers to seek protection against Influenza A (H1N1) in a religious ceremony organised by the Islamic Studies Department held at the school. Picture: BT/Yusri Adanan
Source: The Brunei Times
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yhlhymm

Quote
“It's mind-blowing to me. This is a very serious disease. People are still getting sick, still being hospitalized and we are still having the occasional death." Dr. Bob England, PHOENIX - Health officials.
Source: azfamily.com - "So many H1N1 shots available they are being thrown away"
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yconzf8

News Flash
HK reports 70th fatal case of influenza A/H1N1
Xinhua
He attended Princess Margaret Hospital on Dec. 30 last year due to flu symptoms. Positive result for influenza A/H1N1 was confirmed on the same day. ...
Read more: http://goo.gl/gGQh
Flu jab for the elderly may be a waste of time: review of evidence
Telegraph.co.uk
All people aged over 65 are offered the seasonal flu vaccine and around three quarters have it, the latest Government figures show and is thought to cost ...
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ygcejkj
By 2012, no more bird flu in S Kalimantan
Antara
Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian province of South Kalimantan remained prone to the attacks of bird flu but it would be free from the deadly virus by 2012.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yz988ur
500000 people vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu in Mexican capital
Xinhua
17 (Xinhua) -- At least 500000 residents of Mexico City have got vaccinated against the A/H1N1 flu, the city's health official told media on Wednesday. ...
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ycoj9dn

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 17 Februari 2010

2010-02-17T10:58:00.001+07:00

New Issue
Study links pandemic spread to gaps in paid sick leave
Employees without paid sick days were more likely to work when they were sick during the peak of the fall pandemic wave and may have extended the outbreak by infecting their coworkers, according to a research group.
Using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Labor, the investigators estimate that almost 26 million employed Americans age 18 and older may have been infected with the pandemic H1N1 virus from September through November. They projected that nearly 18 million took at least a part of a week off due to illness and that 8 million apparently worked while they were sick. [...]
Source: CIDRAP
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/biz-plan/news/feb1610sickleave-jw.html

Research
Gastrointestinal absorption of Tamiflu in critically ill patients with H1N1
An increased dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is unlikely to be required in the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, contrary to current international guidelines, found a new study http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.092127 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.
World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend that all critically ill patients should be treated with Tamiflu and if the patient was unresponsive to standard doses or critically ill, a higher dose should be considered.
The CMAJ study looked at the gastrointestinal absorption of Tamiflu in 44 patients, 18 years of age or older, with suspected or confirmed pandemic (H1N1) influenza who were admitted to nine ICUs in two cities in Canada (Winnipeg and Ottawa) and Tarragona, Spain because of respiratory failure. As critically ill patients may have gastrointestinal absorption issues, guidelines suggest higher doses of Tamiflu.[...]
Source: eurekalert.org
Read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/cmaj-gao021610.php

H1N1 learnings: Risk factors for severe outcomes among patients admitted to hospital with H1N1
A new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.091823 of all patients in Canada admitted to hospital for H1N1 in the first five months of the outbreak summarizes the risk factors for a severe outcome (www.cmaj.ca). The H1N1 pandemic presents important learnings for clinicians and researchers and data on severe outcomes can help inform future treatment and prevention guidelines.
The risk of a severe outcome among patients admitted to hospital with H1N1 was elevated among those who had an underlying medical condition and patients 20 years of age and older. Patients aged 65 years and older were at the greatest risk for death.[...]
Source: eurekalert.org
Read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/cmaj-hlr021610.php

Fulminant Myocarditis Associated With Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A Virus in Children
Acute myocarditis is a well-recognized, albeit rare, manifestation of numerous viral infections (1) with a broad spectrum of symptoms and clinical features (2). Fulminant myocarditis may present with fatal arrhythmias, atrioventricular block, and/or varying degrees of cardiogenic shock (3).
The prevalence of myocardial involvement in influenza infection ranges from 0 to 11% depending on the diagnostic criteria used to define myocarditis (4).
Fulminant myocarditis is an uncommon complication, typically diagnosed in association with circulatory collapse or at autopsy in patients with influenza-associated fatal outcomes (5). A few case reports and series (6–8) represent the incidental diagnoses of influenza-associated acute fulminant myocarditis, but the true prevalence remains unknown.
Here we present the first known report of acute myocarditis in pediatric population associated with the present pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus infection. Four cases occurred within a 30-day period, and 3 of them were diagnosed as fulminant myocarditis with fatal or near-fatal outcomes. [...]
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Read more: http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/j.jacc.2010.01.004v1

Comment
Stolen: WHO statement on the H1N1 Pandemic

Dr. Joanne Stolen
I would like to summarize a statement put out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in regard to the H1N1 Pandemic and the various accusations swirling around. The statement I am summarizing was given by Dr. Keiji Fukuda on behalf of the WHO at the Council of Europe hearing on pandemic (H1N1) 2009. He is a special adviser on pandemic influenza. Before coming to WHO, Dr. Fukuda was chief of the epidemiology unit in the influenza branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 193 member states. The WHO implements the global health policies decided upon by these countries and provides technical support to the countries that helps all countries to protect and improve the health of their populations. The response to the H1N1 pandemic is just one example.
Basically the statement points out that this current influenza pandemic is a scientifically well-documented event in which the emergence and spread of a new influenza virus has caused an unusual epidemiological pattern of disease throughout the world. The labeling of the pandemic as “fake” is to ignore recent history and science and to trivialize the deaths of more than 14,000 people and the many additional serious illnesses experienced by others. The H1N1 influenza pandemic has created immensely complicated challenges for countries as well as the global community, and there is much to learn about how the world can improve its handling of such events and a need to separate fact from rhetoric. Recently, accusations have been made that policies and recommendations of the WHO were influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. The WHO guards against the influence of any improper interests. The influenza pandemic policies and responses recommended and taken by the WHO were not improperly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. [...]
Source: summitdaily.com
Read more: http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20100215/NEWS/100219870/0/FRONTPAGE

Risk Communication
Righttime Medical Care Provides Free H1N1 Vaccine to Community
Righttime Medical Care is doing its part to help the community in these troubled economic times by giving free H1N1 flu shots to its patients. "We’re celebrating 20 years of service this year, and feel this is a good way to give back to the communities we serve,” said Robert G. [...]
Source: PRWeb via Yahoo! News
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100216/bs_prweb/prweb3611294_2

Photo

India’s H1N1 death count touches 1309

Source: The Med Guru
Read more: http://www.themedguru.com/20100216/newsfeature/india-s-h1n1-death-count-touches-1309-86132362.html

Quote
"We are going to be vaccinating...starting with pregnant women, people at entry points, people who are involved in sports administration," said Motsoaledi. South Africa Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
Source: Goal.com - World Cup 2010: Swine Flu Threat In Mind
Read more: http://www.rs.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/02/16/1793220/world-cup-2010-swine-flu-threat-in-mind

News Flash
Questions and Answers: Flu-Related Hospitalizations and Deaths in the United States from April 2009 - January 30, 2010.
CDC Swine Flu Updates
This Q&A provides updated information about flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in the United States reported to CDC from April 2009 - January 30, 2010.
Read more: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=769690

Seoul to Deliver Hand Sanitizers to Pyongyang
Korea Times
South Korea plans to deliver 1 billion won worth of hand sanitizers to help North Koreans fight the H1N1 flu virus, the Ministry of ...
Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.koreatimes.co.kr%2Fwww%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F2010%2F02%2F116_60926.html&usg=AFQjCNH9NBUVV6ZtPzlodLI9lAdLHQLbyw

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 16 Februari 2010

2010-02-16T11:26:00.001+07:00

New Issue

Corrected - Swine Flu Outbreak Threatens At World Cup

South Africa faces a possible health crisis if a swine flu outbreak strikes during the soccer World Cup this year, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told parliament on Monday.

"One of our biggest nightmares is the fact that 2010 is going to be held in June when there is a possibility of another bout of H1N1," Motsoaledi said.

The month-long tournament, hosted in Africa for the first time, is expected to attract 450,000 tourists during the South African winter.

Motsoaledi said the department of health had managed to acquire 1.3 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine and another 3.5 million doses from the World Health Organisation (WHO). [...]

Source: NY Times - Reuters

Newsletter 15 Februari 2010

2010-02-15T12:15:00.001+07:00

New Issue

Swine flu killed up to 17,000 in U.S. - report

H1N1 swine flu has killed as many as 17,000 Americans, including 1,800 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.Skip related content

The swine flu pandemic put as many people into the hospital as during the normal influenza season -- but most were younger adults and children instead of the elderly, and it was during the months when usually very little or no flu is circulating, the CDC said.

"CDC estimates that between 41 million and 84 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April 2009 and January 16, 2010," the agency said in a statement. Usually the CDC goes with a middle number, which is about 57 million people infected.

Source: Yahoo news - Reuters

Research

Low levels of antibiotics cause multidrug resistance in 'superbugs'

For years, doctors have warned patients to finish their antibiotic prescriptions or risk a renewed infection by a "superbug" that can mount a more powerful defense against the same drug. But a new study by Boston University biomedical engineers indicates that treating bacteria with levels of antibiotics insufficient to kill them produces germs that are cross-resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.

In the Feb. 12 issue of Molecular Cell, research led by Boston University Professor James J. Collins details for the first time the biomolecular process that produces superbugs. When administered in lethal levels, antibiotics trigger a fatal chain reaction within the bacteria that shreds the cell's DNA. But, when the level of antibiotic is less than lethal the same reaction causes DNA mutations that are not only survivable, but actually protect the bacteria from numerous antibiotics beyond the one it was exposed to.

Source: Eurekalert

Comment

Global health is public health

Last year, in The Lancet, Jeffrey Koplan and colleagues1 provided a new definition for global health and proposed several distinctions between global health, international health, and public health. This attempt to distinguish differences between global health and public health conflicts with the key tenets of a global public health strategy (panel). These tenets offer the foundation of a redesigned global health system that could accomplish the optimum level of health for populations. This approach has profound implications for training, scholarship, and practice necessary to improve human health.

Panel

Key tenets of global public health
Belief that global health is public health. Public health is global health for the public good.
Dedication to better health for all, with particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable populations, and a basic commitment to health as a human right.
Belief in a global perspective on scientific inquiry and on the translation of knowledge into practice, not limited by political boundaries, but sensitive to contextual issues that might influence illness, the design or choice of interventions, or health systems.
A scientific approach to health promotion and disease prevention that examines broad determinants of health including, but not limited to, delivery of medical care, and creates integrated approaches in clinic, community, and government.
Commitment to an interdisciplinary approach and collaborative team work to analyse problems of populations. Global concerns, such as climate change, and cross-disciplinary issues, such as zoonotic diseases and human health, involve close collaborations between medicine, public health, veterinary medicine, and many other disciplines.
Multilevel systems-based interventions deployed to address the interactive contributions of societal and health-governance issues, corporate responsibility, and environmental, behavioural, and biological risk factors are key.
Comprehensive frameworks for financing and structuring health policies and services that support community-based and clinical prevention integrated with health-care delivery and deployment of a balanced workforce of physicians, nurses, and other providers.

Source: The Lancet

Risk Communication

Two Approaches to Integrating Social Media

Two links caught our attention this week that could be of interest to stations covering H1N1. While these examples are not directly related to swine flu, they may inspire you to try new approaches in your coverage.

The first is Crowdsourcing: A Field Guide from WNYC. Crowdsourcing entails soliciting your audience to help collect, curate, and vet information around a specific topic or issue. WNYC has been experimenting with crowdsourcing for the last few years, most notably on the Brian Lehrer Show (recently, the program asked the audience to contribute examples of the recession’s impact for their Uncommon Economic Indicatorsproject). The guide provides case studies on how to implement crowdsourcing at your station, along with tips on where it fits in your existing editorial process and standards. There’s a useful 10 point quick-guidethat rounds up the big takeaways from the field guide.

While the recent snowstorms in the Washington DC area don’t reach the crisis threshold, it’s fair to say they had a major impact on the region. The Washington Post is using the Ushahidi platform (which we mentioned in our round-up of responses to the earthquake in Haiti) to map the impact of the storm. The map provides an online tool that allows the audience to highlight locations still buried from the storm — impassable streets and sidewalks, cars buried, and power outages. But they also encourage folks to map opportunities to help in the dig out — snow blowers available or a shovel to share.

Getting to know emerging tools and techniques during more routine scenarios will allow public media outlets to respond more effectively when and if a crisis hits.

Source: FluPortal

Photo

AP Photo

Brigney Polio 4, reacts after getting a swine flu vaccination at Carlin Springs Elementary School in Arlington, Va. , Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. Swine flu-shot drives for all ages are scheduled around the country for what's officially dubbed National Influenza Vaccination Week, in hopes of preventing a possible third wave of the epidemic later this winter.

Source: Daylife

Quote

"At the same time we live in an age when there is real and widespread public concern about welfare standards for farm animals, threats from animal diseases old and new (such as blue tongue, bird flu and swine flu), and food safety."

Source: The Northern Echo

News Flash

Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia

WHO

The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 25-year-old female from South Jakarta District, DKI Jakarta Province died on 25 January 2010. Laboratory tests were positive for H5N1 virus infection.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 87

WHO

As of 7 February 2010, worldwide more than 212 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 15292 deaths.

Pemerintah Cabut Larangan Impor Babi

Antara

Pemerintah mencabut larangan impor hewan babi dan produk turunannya yang diberlakukan sejak Mei 2009 mengusul merebaknya virus H1N1 yang dikenal dengan penyakit flu Babi pada 2009.

CDC: Swine flu made 57 million Americans ill

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Swine flu cases are down, but health officials say the disease's cumulative impact has grown to 57 million US illnesses, 257000 hospitalizations ...

Newsletter 12 Februari 2010

2010-02-12T11:20:00.002+07:00

New Issue

WHO experts to determine if worst of flu pandemic is over

GENEVA — The World Health Organisation said Thursday that its emergency panel of swine flu experts would meet this month to formally determine whether the pandemic has passed its peak.

"WHO will be asking the emergency committee to convene later this month to review the situation and provide the WHO with guidance on whether we are entering a post peak period," said Keiji Fukuda, Special Adviser to the WHO Director-General on Pandemic Influenza.

Source: AFP

Research

H1N1 patients required more intensive hospital care than typical flu patients

When compared to a typical flu, the H1N1 virus resulted in a higher proportion of patients requiring specialized hospital services—and affected younger people more—according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

The study, H1N1 in Canada—A Context for Understanding Patients and Their Use of Hospital Services,is the first of its kind to examine at a pan-Canadian level how hospitalizations for H1N1 differed from hospitalizations associated with a typical flu. It compares Public Health Agency of Canada FluWatch analysis from April to December 2009 with CIHI hospital statistics for the baseline year 2007–2008. The comparison group included patients with influenza and/or pneumonia, the most common complication of influenza.

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information

Comment

Letter: Pharmacists to be first-line resource

As concern mounts about the fate of our national health care plan, and the population that will face the outcome of these policies, pharmacists will play a more active role in health care needs.

The role of pharmacists is not to count pills anymore, but to deliver a wide-range of services and advice to the public. As a student-pharmacist at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), I have been trained to give the H1N1 flu vaccine, the proper use and effectiveness of over-the-counter (OTC) products, explain what Medicare is, and how to find cost-effective plans, and take blood pressure. These are not arbitrary skills that I have acquired, but some of these are tools that I have seen pharmacists perform at the local pharmacy where I intern.

Pharmacists are also trained on whether or not to recommend OTC medications, or if a referral to a physician is best. A symptom that you are feeling may be associated with a medication you are on, an interaction with another drug, or another reason the pharmacist may be able to help you with, saving you from a trip to the physician's office.

Source: Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

Risk Communication

A Guide to Reporting on Crises

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), which aims to “raise the standards of journalism,” has just published a comprehensive guide for journalists called “Disaster and Crisis Coverage.” It offers detailed advice that you could apply to H1N1 or any other crisis.

The guide starts off with a reminder of journalism’s importance during a disaster:

Veteran journalist and consultant Michael Marcotte says a news organization plays four key roles during a crisis. It’s a vital information resource, telling what is happening where, who is affected, how things are changing, and why. It’s a communication lifeline, saving lives by relaying critical information to and from affected parties. It’s an early warning beacon, transmitting timely, reliable information that prevents harm. And it’s a community forum, giving citizens a way to come together, share concerns and support one another during difficult times. [...]

Source: Flu Portal Blog

Photo

Health workers at an NHS Direct call centre in south London. A swine flu hotline, launched seven months ago amid fears of a global pandemic of the virus, was switched off after a steady fall in the number of cases reported.

Source: (AFP/File/Peter Macdiarmid)

Quote

"Chan said 'ministers of health' should take advantage of the 'devastating impact' swine flu will have on poorer nations to get out the message that 'changes in the functioning of the global economy' are needed to 'distribute wealth on the basis of' values 'like community, solidarity, equity and social justice".

Source: Medical News Today

News Flash

Swine Flu services close

Emergency Service News

The National Pandemic Flu Service, set up to support the NHS in dispensing drugs to patients at the height of the pandemic, has closed today.

H1N1 Causes Severe Heart Inflammation

Medpage Today

Four children seen with H1N1 influenza infection at a San Diego hospital developed acute myocarditis, which killed one of them, researchers said.

SA’s 2010 swine flu danger

The Citizen

South Africans have been warned not to become complacent about swine flu as it remains a grave health threat around the world ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Hong Kong reports 68th fatal case of A/H1N1 flu

Xinhua

Hong Kong Hospital Authority announced Thursday that a 47-year-old male patient had died of A/ H1N1 flu-related disease, bringing the toll of ...

To Prevent Bird Flu, South Jakarta to Operate New Slauthering House

Berita Jakarta

As part of its efforts to curb the spread of bird flu in its area, West Jakarta Municipal Administration will operate a new chicken slaughtering house (RPA) located in Petukanganutara urban village in April. The house has a capacity of around 14,400 chickens a day.

Pandemic Preparedness Untested In Ontario Hospitals

Medical News Today

One quarter of Ontario hospitals surveyed in a Queen's University-led study do not have an influenza pandemic plan and few plans that do exist have been tested. In addition, key players were not involved in developing the plans, and funding for pandemic preparedness was inadequate.

Newsletter 11 Februari 2010

2010-02-11T10:31:00.001+07:00

Bidang Komunikasi Komnas FBPI E-Newsletter * Wisma ITC Lt. 4 Jl. Abdul Muis No. 8 10160 Jakarta * www.komnasfbpi.go.id * www.fluburung-indo.blogspot.com * www.twitter.com/infoflu

New Issue

BJOG release: Swine flu in pregnancy – what to look out for

A new study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology examines how the swine flu virus, Influenza A H1N1 (2009), affects pregnant women.

Clinicians at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore treated 211 confirmed cases of pregnant women with swine flu between 26 May 2009 and 14 September 2009. These were women who had fever and/or acute respiratory illness at presentation and a positive diagnosis of having swine flu through a throat swab.

Most of these patients reported having fever at home but only 62.2% had a fever when they arrived at hospital. Cough was the most prevalent symptom, occurring in 90.5%. Other recorded symptoms were: runny nose (62.1%), sore throat (58.8%), muscle ache (32.2%), headache (18%), and breathlessness (13.3%). Co-morbidities included: asthma (12.8%), hypertension (0.5%) and gestational diabetes (1.9%). There were two cases of pneumonia, one requiring admission to intensive care. Both recovered.

Source: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Research

Logistical feasibility and potential benefits of a population-wide passive-immunotherapy program during an influenza pandemicAbstract

Treatment strategies for severe cases of pandemic influenza have focused on antiviral therapies. In contrast, passive immunotherapy with convalescent blood products has received limited attention. We consider the hypothesis that a passive-immunotherapy program that collects plasma from a small percentage of recovered adults can harvest sufficient convalescent plasma to treat a substantial percentage of severe cases during a pandemic. We use a mathematical model to estimate the demand and supply of passive immunotherapy during an influenza pandemic in Hong Kong. If >5% of 20- to 55-year-old individuals recovered from symptomatic infection donate their plasma (donor percentage > 5%), >67% of severe cases can be offered convalescent plasma transfusion (treatment coverage > 67%) in a moderately severe epidemic (R ₀ < 1.4 with 0.5% of symptomatic cases becoming severe). A donor percentage of 5% is comparable to the average blood donation rate of 38.1 donations per 1,000 people in developed countries. Increasing the donor percentage above 15% does not significantly boost the convalescent plasma supply because supply is constrained by plasmapheresis capacity during most stages of the epidemic. The demand–supply balance depends on the natural history and transmission dynamics of the disease via the epidemic growth rate only. Compared to other major cities, Hong Kong has a low plasmapheresis capacity. Therefore, the proposed passive-immunotherapy program is a logistically feasible mitigation option for many developed countries. As such, passive immunotherapy deserves more consideration by clinical researchers regarding its safety and efficacy as a treatment for severe cases of pandemic influenza.

Source: The National Academy of Sciences

Comment

From headline news to has-been
by Fergus Walsh (BBC News)
Swine flu began as a global health emergency, but thankfully never lived up to the initial fears. Cast your mind back to July 2009 and Britain was in the grip of swine flu fever. There were more than 100,000 cases a week and it dominated the headlines. When the National Pandemic Flu Service was launched it initially went into meltdown. Little wonder as at one point the website was getting 2,600 hits per second.

Source: BBC Blog

Risk Communication

CDC: Enjoy a safe and healthy Lunar New Year!

[...] Important Health Information

Mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, are common throughout Asia, so it is very important to take steps to prevent insect bites. In addition, you may need to take prescription medicine to protect yourself from malaria or get a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis. Talk to your doctor about which prevention measures are right for you and your destination.
Food and Water. Eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water can cause illnesses such as hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and travelers’ diarrhea. Read about how to prevent these diseases by visiting the Safe Food and Water page of the Travelers’ Health website.
Seasonal flu, 2009 H1N1 flu and avian flu

Flu is a common illness in travelers. It is important to consider getting a seasonal flu shot before your trip. Learn more about seasonal flu.
This year a vaccine against 2009 H1N1 flu is also recommended, especially if you are at risk from health complications from flu. Learn more about 2009 H1N1 Flu and read the Travelers’ Health H1N1 outbreak notice: 2009 H1N1 flu: Global Situation.
Due to the circulation of 2009 H1N1 flu, some countries may screen arriving travelers for symptoms of the flu. Read more about possible screening for international travelers.
Another type of flu called avian influenza (“bird flu” or H5N1) has been found in poultry and wild birds in Asia, Europe, and Africa. While rare, human infection and death from H5N1 have been reported. To learn more about H5N1 virus visit, see Human Infection with Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus: Advice for Travelers.

Source: CDC

Photo

AP Photo

Swine flu shots are advertised outside of Airport MD at Miami International Airport in Miami Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.

Source: Daylife

Quote

"If this had been a bird flu virus then we would have needed enough antivirals for everybody and everybody would have wanted it. A lot of planning went into how to deal with the pandemic and in general we have been relatively successful in the dealing with it." Professor Wendy Barclay, a virologist from Imperial College London.

Source: From headline news to has-been - BBC

News Flash

Drop in swine flu cases leads to helpline closure

BBC News

The National Pandemic Flu Service in England is to close because of the sharp decline in cases of the H1N1 swine flu virus. ...

Bird Flu Watch ahead of Chinese New Year

Thai-ASEAN News Network

Livestock officials across the country have stepped up bird flu control measures as the Chinese New Year celebrations draw near.

Swine flu pandemic winding down, claims ministry

Austrian Independent

It said seven people with swine flu had had to be hospitalised during the past week, compared to 15 during the previous week. The ministry added that the ...

India's H1N1 toll touches 1274

TheMedGuru

... worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, ...

Suspect quarantined in Lampung hospital

The Jakarta Post

Abdul Moeloek General Hospital in Bandarlampung, Lampung, has again quarantined a patient suspected of being infected the bird flu after showing symptoms of high fever, coughing and difficulties of breathing.

Two-thirds of swine flu vaccines remain unused in NI

BBC News

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland still has half a million swine flu vaccines which remain unused. In mid-January, there were more than 60% of ...

Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO

WHO

Newsletter 10 Februari 2010

2010-02-10T13:38:00.001+07:00

Photo

AP Photo

In this Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 photo, Quicken Loans Arena has signs up where water fountains used to be for fans, photographed after the NBA basketball game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks in Cleveland. Citing concerns over swine flu, the team said Monday, Feb. 8, that all drinking water fountains have been removed from the arena to reduce the spread of bacteria and communicable diseases. The team did not consult the city's health department, which does not recommend removing fountains as a health precaution, said department director Matt Carroll.

Source: Daylife

New Issue

Study finds lack of preparation for flu pandemics
One-quarter of Ontario hospitals don't have a plan for dealing with an influenza pandemic, says a survey in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Among smaller and rural hospitals, only about 60% had such a plan when the data were collected, a team led by Dr. Dick Zoutman, an infection control expert at Kingston General Hospital, discovered.
The study is based on data collected in 2007, well before the Spring, 2009 outbreak of H1N1 in Canada.
Zoutman said the figures are the most recent and are "highly relevant.
"They give us a very good idea as to the extent of some of the larger gaps in the level of preparedness. I have no reason to believe some of the gaps have been completely closed."[...]
Source: Toronto Sun
Read more: http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/09/12801946-qmi.html

Research

A rapid test for the detection of influenza A virus including pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009

A new rapid diagnostic test for detection of influenza A virus was evaluated with four sets of experiments: first, a comparison with a commercial diagnostic kit against a panel of virus strains was conducted; second, the kit was tested against a collection of 40 strains of influenza A virus isolated from five different host species and 26 strains of other respiratory viruses used as controls; third, the kit was tested against specimens collected in the field obtained from human and chicken; and fourth, the kit was tested against the novel pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 clinical specimens obtained from admitted to hospital patients. The test kit displayed a sensitivity of 88% for both human specimens and avian specimens. The corresponding specificity was 99.3% for human specimens and 96.5% for avian specimens. This test kit may be useful for rapid diagnosis of influenza A virus.

Source: Science Direct

Comment

Jennifer Aniston 'helping Mexico' with birthday holiday

Jennifer Aniston chose to celebrate her 41st birthday in Mexico to help boost the country's tourism industry.

The former "Friends" actress jetted off to the sun-soaked resort of Los Cabos last week with pals Courteney Cox, Sheryl Crow and rumored love interest Gerard Butler for a week of fun leading up to her birthday on Wednesday.

And Aniston has revealed she chose the destination to help encourage others to return to Mexico for holidays following the recent swine flu outbreak, which crippled the country last year.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle Blog

Risk Communication

Swine flu service to be closed

A swine flu hotline and Internet service will be switched off this week as the number of cases dwindle, say health chiefs.

Was the threat of swine flu exaggerated? Use the poll on the bottom right of this page to have your say
Patients on Wearside are being advised that the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) will shut down at 1am on Thursday.
Source: Sunderland Echo

Quote

"Our study indicates that parental worries about H1N1 vaccine safety have limited national efforts to vaccinate kids against H1N1 disease".

– Matthew Davis

SOURCE: Medical News Today

News Flash

Satu Lagi Warga Bekasi Tewas karena Flu Burung

Kompas

[...] kasus flu burung atau H5N1 masih terjadi di Indonesia. NL (25), warga Bekasi, Jawa Barat, meninggal dunia pada 25 Januari 2010 akibat virus H5N1.

Eggs Withdrawn at Markets after Flu Outbreak

The Irrawady

Burmese authorities have banned the sale of eggs in markets in Rangoon Division after the discovery of the A/H1N1 virus at a chicken farm, according to Rangoon sources.

Senegal confirms H1N1 outbreak

Africa News

The Senegalese Minister of Health and Preventive Medicine, Modou Diagne Fada, confirmed that the country had been hit by the epidemic AH1N1 influenza. According to earlier reports, the first cases were detected in the religious city of Touba and nearby Diourbel (located in the central part of the country).

Public outcry over swine flu tests on Romanian children

WAZ Euobserver

Growing concern in Romania about the opaque circumstances in which a vaccine against swine flu is being tested on children has forced health authorities to postpone the launch of the vaccination campaign by at least one month.

Swine flu vaccination study extended to children

Physorg

A study being run in Scotland to identify any rare side effects of the swine flu vaccine has now been expanded to include under-16s.

Newsletter 5 Februari 2010

2010-02-05T11:42:00.003+07:00

Photo

In this photo made Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, Clorox bleach bottles are posed for a photo in Moreland Hills, Ohio. Household products maker Clorox Co. said Thursday, Feb. 4, that its second-quarter profit jumped 28 percent as it continued to get a boost from sales linked to the swine flu.

Source: Yahoo - AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

New Issue

Swine flu pandemic hit European children: study

The pandemic of H1N1 swine flu raised the death rate among children across Europe late last year but not adults, researchers reported on Thursday.

Early reports showed about a 28 percent rise in deaths among children aged 5 to 14 in eight countries, Anne Mazick of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark and colleagues found.

This added up to about 77 deaths above what would normally be seen in that age group in those months, they reported in the online journal Eurosurveillance here. [...]

Source: Reuters

Research

Study Supports Seasonal Influenza Vaccine for Young Infants

Vaccination against seasonal influenza is safe and produces a protective immune response in infants as young as 6 to 12 weeks, concludes a study in the February issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

Source: Newswise

Comment

It's official, the swine flu 'pandemic' is over (shame it cost us £1billion and scared thousands witless)

By Jenny Hope

The swine flu pandemic, which has cost the nation more than £1billion, was declared over yesterday.

With the number of new cases plummeting, health chiefs announced the 24-hour flu helpline will close down next Thursday.

Critics said the seven-month outbreak had been mishandled by ministers and health officials, who had made a flawed assessment of the threat.

Swine flu has killed 411 Britons, with 124 more still in hospital - yet the 5,000 cases a week are far below the average for seasonal flu.

Source: Daily Mail

Risk Communication

Thais urged to voluntarily get vaccinated against A/H1N1 flu

Thailand's public health ministry Thursday instructed public health stations nationwide to urge people to voluntarily get vaccinated against the A/H1N1 influenza.

Only some 125,670 Thais were vaccinated against the A/H1N1 influenza during a period from January 11 to 29, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit disclosed Thursday.[...]

Source: Chen Qi - The World of Micro-organism bacteria fungi archaea H5N1 H1N1

Quote

"Our preliminary data show that the mortality reported during the 2009 influenza pandemic did not reach levels normally seen during seasonal influenza epidemics," the researchers wrote.

From the article: "Swine flu pandemic hit European children: study"

Source: Reuters

News Flash

Swine flu service to be shut down

Press Assoc. via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

The National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) will be stood down in response to the "steady reduction" in the number of cases of swine flu, it has been announced.[...]

Big drop in swine flu rate

Irish Health

The swine flu pandemic now appears to be diminishing significantly, with the latest reported rate of H1N1 in the community only 7.5 per 100000. [...]

China: Everyone should be immunized against H1N1

Silobreaker

Via Shanghai Daily: Ministry: All should have swine flu shots. Excerpt:China says it is expanding its free inoculation plan against swine flu to include all people, except for those with contraindication to the vaccine, according to a latest notice posted ...

Newsletter 4 Februari 2010

2010-02-04T14:15:00.000+07:00

New Issue

HHS Video: We Heard The Bells

This is an 8 minute trailer for a longer (1 hour) film on the 1918 pandemic. I’ve not seen any air dates for the completed film, but the transcript is available on the Flu.gov site.

You can watch this trailer on YouTube, or on the Flu.Gov site on the We Heard The Bells page.

Source: Avian Flu Diary

Research

Association between Severe Pandemic 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection and Immunoglobulin G2 Subclass Deficiency

Background.Severe pandemic 2009 influenza A virus (H1N1) infection is associated with risk factors that include pregnancy, obesity, and immunosuppression. After identification of immunoglobulin G2 (IgG2) deficiency in 1 severe case, we assessed IgG subclass levels in a cohort of patients with H1N1 infection.

Methods.Patient features, including levels of serum IgG and IgG subclasses, were assessed in patients with acute severe H1N1 infection (defined as infection requiring respiratory support in an intensive care unit), patients with moderate H1N1 infection (defined as inpatients not hospitalized in an intensive care unit), and a random sample of healthy pregnant women.

Results.Among the 39 patients with H1N1 infection (19 with severe infection, 7 of whom were pregnant; 20 with moderate infection, 2 of whom were pregnant), hypoabuminemia ( ), anemia ( ), and low levels of total IgG ( ), IgG1 ( ), and IgG2 (15 of 19 vs 5 of 20; ; mean value ± standard deviation [SD], g/L vs g/L; ) were all statistically significantly associated with severe H1N1 infection, but only hypoalbuminemia ( ) and low mean IgG2 levels ( ) remained significant after multivariate analysis. Follow‐up of 15 (79%) surviving IgG2‐deficient patients at a mean (±SD) of days (R, 38–126) after the initial acute specimen was obtained found that hypoalbuminemia had resolved in most cases, but 11 (73%) of 15 patients remained IgG2 deficient. Among 17 healthy pregnant control subjects, mildly low IgG1 and/or IgG2 levels were noted in 10, but pregnant patients with H1N1 infection had significantly lower levels of IgG2 ( ).

Conclusions.Severe H1N1 infection is associated with IgG2 deficiency, which appears to persist in a majority of patients. Pregnancy‐related reductions in IgG2 level may explain the increased severity of H1N1 infection in some but not all pregnant patients. The role of IgG2 deficiency in the pathogenesis of H1N1 infection requires further investigation, because it may have therapeutic implications.

Source: University of Chicago Press

Risk Communication

Targeted prevention stopped spread of H1N1 at Alabama boys camp

Providing preventive Tamiflu and educating and emphasizing the need for repeated hand sanitizer use and disinfectant spray helped stop the spread of H1N1 influenza at a boys' summer camp in northern Alabama, according the co-director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Source: Eurekalert

Photo

Chemists discover how antiviral drugs bind to and block flu virus

Researchers have determined where an antiviral drug binds to and blocks a channel necessary for the flu virus to spread. The team also discovered that the drug spins in the channel, meaning there could be room for developing drugs that do a better job blocking the channel and stopping the flu.

Source: ScienceDaily

Quote

"I volunteered at an H1N1 clinic a couple times this past month ... These guys are so much better at taking the shots."

Source: Boston Globe

News Flash

H1N1 fears lead to worldwide garlic shortage

Baltimore Sun

The Dispatch is reporting that Chinese consumers believe that garlic will ward off the swine flu, so they've been stockpiling it. ...112 people dies of A/H1N1 influenza in Hungary

Xinhua

In all 112 people have died of the A/H1N1 influenza in Hungary, Hungarian Health Minister Tamas Szekely told a news conference in Budapest on ...

A/H1N1 flu deaths down for four straight weeks in China

Xinhua

China reported 13 new deaths from A/H1N1 influenza last week as more than 74 million people have been vaccinated to stem the spread of the ...

36 new H1N1 cases in one day (AsiaOne)

H1N1 Alliance™

THIRTY-SIX people tested positive yesterday for Influenza A (H1N1) in Brunei Darussalam. The new cases were recorded by the Ministry of Health in just one day.

Newsletter 3 Februari 2010

2010-02-03T12:53:00.005+07:00

Photo

Recruits of the paramilitary police receive injections of the H1N1 vaccine at a military base in Taiyuan, Shanxi province February 2, 2010.

Source: Daylife - Reuters

New Issue

Over 10,000 ducks die in Cambodia

The Cambodian government said on Monday that more than 10,000 ducks have died and some 30,000 others are being sick in the country's southern province of Takeo.

Kao Phal, director of animal production department of agriculture ministry said that samples of the dead ducks being examined and the results will be known Tuesday or the day after.

He said that those dead ducks were reported happening a few days ago and now some 30,000 others are being sick.

Kao Phal said while sample testing is being examined, he could not tell what the cause to the deaths of the ducks was.

However, he said no report of any disease or death of human lives, but at the same time precaution to villagers is strictly advised by the government health concerning authorities.

According to Kao Sophal, the case is happening in Prey Khla village, Rominh Commune, Koh Andeth district in Takeo province, some 90 km south of Phnom Penh.

Cambodia, in the past and present, has had reports on the bird flu and influenza A/H1N1.

Source: Avian Flu Diary Blog - Eastday.com

Research

Medical journal recants 1998 study linking autism to vaccine

A major British medical journal on Tuesday retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease.

The retraction by The Lancet comes a day after a competing medical journal, BMJ, issued an embargoed commentary calling for The Lancet to formally retract the study. The commentary was to have been published on Wednesday.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Comment

The Emergence Of Operational Biosurveillance As A Professional Discipline

by James M. Wilson V, MD

Parallels With The Birth And Operationalization Of Modern Meteorology

The most direct, and in a sense the most important, problem which our conscious knowledge of nature should enable us to solve is the anticipation of future events, so that we may arrange our present affairs in accordance with such anticipation. -Heinrich Hertz (1898)

The emergence of operational biosurveillance as a professional discipline and early warning service to the public bears remarkable similarity to the birth of modern meteorology.

Meteorology as a practice and the concept of "forecasting" the weather was started by Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy of the British Navy in the mid-1800s. The promotion of meteorology as a professional discipline was to be his final career in life and suffered the hardship of every social pioneer seeking to change societal function. He was ostracized by academicians, fought with competing individuals and organizations, struggled for funding and recognition by the British government, and as a lifelong sufferer of depression ultimately committed suicide under the strain. The world owes the term "forecast" and the operationalization of weather forecasting to Fitzroy and his remarkable persistence.[...]

Source: Biosurveillance blog

Risk Communication

Views on Swine Flu; 63% aware, 59% of them feel threatened: Poll

A recent Gilani poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan shows that majority of all Pakistanis (63%) claim to be aware about swine flu while the remaining are unaware. Among those who are aware, 59% believe Pakistanis are in a danger of being affected by swine flu to a great or some extent, 35% believe there is not much danger to Pakistanis or no danger at all while 6% are unsure.

It is seen that Pakistanis take various measures to protect themselves from swine flu, amongst which washing hands with soap and water, and covering mouth and nose while coughing top the list.

When asked if they were satisfied with the government’s actions to fight swine flu, 48% appear to be satisfied to a great or some extent, while 49% seem to be dissatisfied and 3% gave no response.

The recent Gilani poll was conducted in Pakistan by Gallup Pakistan, affiliated with Gallup International Association, among a sample of 2805 men and women from rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during January 2010.

Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

Quote

"It's not the H1N1 that makes you sick, it's your body's reaction to it"

Source: Kansas.com - The Wichita Eagle

News Flash

Doctors hail new treatment for severe swine flu cases

ABC Online

Doctors in Melbourne believe they have found a new and effective way to treat people with severe swine flu. The doctors at the Austin Hospital have found ...

Asean to ensure availability of antiviral drugs

ANTARA

... 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. ...

New outbreak of bird flu confirmed in Cambodia

AP via Yahoo! Asia News

Cambodian authorities began a mass killing of ducks Wednesday after confirming a fresh outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus.

Newsletter 2 Februari 2010

2010-02-02T13:23:00.003+07:00

Photo
New recruits salute during a ceremony to join the army at an army recruit training center in Nonsan, south of Seoul February 1, 2010. The ceremony was suspended last September to protect people from a possible spread of the H1N1 flu. Source: Daylife - Reuters Read More: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0eNG4N09u0aR1?q=H1N1 Quote"By the summer of 2009, shortly after the H1N1 flu pandemic had first emerged, there was a waiting list for the first several million doses of the forthcoming new flu vaccine. At the head of the line, naturally, were the world's richest nations.."Source: WNYW Fox 5 New YorkRead more: http://www.daylife.com/quote/06Fv0Psd1z0F2?q=H1N1

New Issue
Economics of Flu Vaccines by Colleen O'Rourke
[...]
Discussion Questions:1. Do you think that the goal of those who control flu vaccine policy should be to get the best health outcome, to minimize the cost to GDP, or some combination of the two? What public health policies would achieve your preferred policy goal?2. Assume that society does want to maximize productivity in dollar terms rather than health outcomes. Now, take into consideration the fact that those who do get sick might require expensive medical treatment, the cost of which will be partially borne by society. How does this alter the analysis of who should receive the vaccines?3. Economists often are fond of markets as allocation mechanisms because the forces of supply and demand determine a price that allocates goods to those who are willing to pay for them the most. How would a market for flu vaccine work? Why is it different from a market for non-life-affecting goods and services, like books or cars?4. Firms (especially ones with high-productivity employees) value their employees’ health. It is estimated that that the total yearly economic cost of the flu in the U.S. is over $80 billion. Many companies have started to recognize this and have made attempts to protect their own economic interest by paying for or providing flu vaccines to their employees. As a result, employees who otherwise may not have been vaccinated (since the unsubsidized cost exceeds the expected health benefit) are more likely to accept the free vaccine. Is this efficient? Is it equitable?5. Vaccines have a limited shelf-life – that is, they can only be used for a particular period of time if they are to be effective. For this reason, the timing of development, production, and distribution of flu vaccines in the United States is largely based on the pattern of the flu season in previous years. Go to Google Flu Trends to see a graph comparing the incidence of flu activity in the United States this year with previous years. How does the current flu season differ from previous years? If you were in charge of setting production policy for 2010, what might you change in order to produce the correct amount of vaccine for each strain of flu at the appropriate time?
Source: Econblog
Read more: http://econblog.aplia.com/2010/01/economics-of-flu-vaccines.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EconAplia+%28Aplia+Econ+Blog%3A+News+for+Economics+Students%29

Research
Tropism and Innate Host Responses of the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus in ex Vivo and in Vitro Cultures of Human Conjunctiva and Respiratory Tract

Abstract

The novel pandemic influenza H1N1 (H1N1pdm) virus of swine origin causes mild disease but occasionally leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. It is important to understand the pathogenesis of this new disease in humans. We compared the virus tropism and host-responses elicited by pandemic H1N1pdm and seasonal H1N1 influenza viruses in ex vivo cultures of human conjunctiva, nasopharynx, bronchus, and lung, as well as in vitro cultures of human nasopharyngeal, bronchial, and alveolar epithelial cells. We found comparable replication and host-responses in seasonal and pandemic H1N1 viruses. However, pandemic H1N1pdm virus differs from seasonal H1N1 influenza virus in its ability to replicate in human conjunctiva, suggesting subtle differences in its receptor-binding profile and highlighting the potential role of the conjunctiva as an additional route of infection with H1N1pdm. A greater viral replication competence in bronchial epithelium at 33°C may also contribute to the slight increase in virulence of the pandemic influenza virus. In contrast with highly pathogenic influenza H5N1 virus, pandemic H1N1pdm does not differ from seasonal influenza virus in its intrinsic capacity for cytokine dysregulation. Collectively, these results suggest that pandemic H1N1pdm virus differs in modest but subtle ways from seasonal H1N1 virus in its intrinsic virulence for humans, which is in accord with the epidemiology of the pandemic to date. These findings are therefore relevant for understanding transmission and therapy.
Source: American Journal of Pathology
Read more: http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajpath.2010.091087v1

Comment

Revealed: Swine flu death rate in Scotland third worst in world..it's even worse than Mexico
By Derek Alexander SCOTLAND'S swine flu death rate is the third worst in the world - beating Mexico where the virus was first discovered.Only Argentina and Latvia have worse death rates.Last night, ministers were being urged to investigate as medical experts blamed Scotland's poor health record for the shocking findings.Stefan Chmelik, of New Medicine Group, said: "There is something of a general health crisis in Scotland."It stands to reason that if you're fit and healthy then you're more able to fight off disease - and if you're unhealthy then you're potentially more susceptible."In Scotland, the swine flu mortality rate is 13.2 per million people - more than double the 5.76 figure for the rest of the UK.It's also 45 per cent higher than Mexico and three times higher than Poland, where health bosses have refused to administer a vaccine.Argentina tops the poll with 15.37 deaths per million, followed by Latvia with 14.37.Swine flu has caused more than 14,000 deaths in more than 200 countries.Tory health spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: "These are quite alarming statistics and underline the very poor state of public health in Scotland, even in comparison to less wealthy countries."The Scottish government denied Scotland's swine flu figures are concerning.A spokesman said: "Each country has different methods of reporting instances of H1N1 infection and deaths."We've put enormous effort into ensuring robust and accurate surveillance."
Source: Daily Record Scotland
Read more: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/02/01/revealed-swine-flu-death-in-scotland-third-worst-in-world-it-s-even-worse-than-mexico-86908-22010337/

Risk Communication
Preventive Steps Helped Summer Campers Avoid Swine Flu
An Alabama summer camp managed to contain the spread of swine flu by giving preventive Tamiflu to kids at risk and encouraging the use of sanitizers for hands and surfaces, a new report says. Children are especially vulnerable to swine flu, also known as H1N1. The disease struck three boys who attended a two-week boys' camp in July 2009. They were given medication and sent home, according to the report.
Source: Yahoo News - Health Day News
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100201/hl_hsn/preventivestepshelpedsummercampersavoidswineflu

News Flash
36 new H1N1 cases in one day

Chen Qi Blog
THIRTY-SIX people tested positive yesterday for Influenza A (H1N1) in Brunei Darussalam. The new cases were recorded by the Ministry of Health in just one day. This stresses the importance for...
Obama budget boosts funds for tropical diseases

Reuters

With the pandemic of H1N1 swine flu barely on the wane, the budget cuts funding for pandemic influenza and other new infections by 29 percent to $75 million ...

Newsletter 1 Februari 2010

2010-02-01T13:45:00.000+07:00

New Issue

Global swine flu death toll rises to 14,711: WHO
GENEVA — The death toll from the swine flu pandemic has risen to at least 14,711, up 569 from a week ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Friday.

WHO said the spread of the A(H1N1) virus peaked in most of the northern hemisphere in October and November, but transmission was still active in parts of North Africa, eastern and southeastern Europe and south and east Asia.

Source: AFP

Research

Study identifies key demographic and psychological factors that predict protective behaviour during pandemics

A study that looked at how people behave during pandemics has identified key demographic and psychological factors that may predict protective behaviours. The study is published online today, 30th January 2010, in the British Journal of Health Psychology.

Dr Alison Bish and Professor Susan Michie at the Health Psychology Unit, University College London, investigated the results of a number of studies into how people behave during pandemics, such as the recent swine flu outbreak, to better understand protective behaviour and to improve interventions and communication in the future. The review included the results of 26 published studies on associations between demographic factors, attitudes and behavioural measures during outbreaks including SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) between November 2002 and July 2003, Bird Flu (Avian influenza) in 1997, and Swine Flu (in 2009).

Source: News-Medical.Net - Latest Medical News and Research from Around the World

Comment

Living With the Swine Flu
By: Chitra Ahanthem
First of all, testing positive for swine flu hasn’t made it any worse for my physical state. The bouts of fever that made me seek the H1N1 test have not made any appearance though in their wake, they have left me with severe weakness. I have kept pretty much to myself right after I had come back from Bangkok and this whole experience of being taken to the isolation ward of JN Hospital and finding the most pathetic state of medical care facilities have only given me some moments of laughter. I have been told that at no point was it important for me to stay at the isolation ward but that’s not my point at all. That does not change the fact that the isolation room at JN Hospital is in a pitiable condition. Period. Bathroom water seeped to the room, the walls were dirty, there was one faint bulb, a great many mosquitoes and some cob-webs, no water in the cistern in the bathroom and a European bath pot that had live vermin. It was confusing too: when I was told at one point that I was to stay there, I asked whether staying in isolation meant that I would be cared for by the staff round the clock. No, it still meant that my family members would take care of me, bring me food etc etc. This, when I thought being kept in an isolation room meant fancy stuff: not allowed to meet anyone etc. That is when I made my pitch that I wanted to stay at home. [...]

Source: KanglaOnline

Risk Communication

Our Guides: Tools for Your Reporting and Website

Over the course of the FluPortal project, we’ve been putting together “how-to” guides that explain various web tools and social media you can use in your reporting.
And now we’ve assembled them all in one place: here!

Source: Flu Portal Blog

Photo

South Jakarta ::: Official conducts operation of healthy chicken transport
Kebayoran Lama – Livestock and Fishery Sub-service of South Jakarta stopped about 17 from 26 units of truck to transport chicken meat from outside Jakarta. Those chicken meat trucks could not show animal health certificate. This action, Healthy Chicken Transport Operation (Operasi Transportasi Ayam Sehat/OTAS), was carried out at Jl. Raya Kebayoran Lama and Jl. Ciledug [...]

Source: Bird Flu Information Corner Blog - Poskota

http://www.poskota.co.id/metro/jaksel-metro/2010/01/29/tak-bawa-skkh-truk-ayam-kena-razia

Quote

"Residents are afraid they will be infected by the bird flu virus. The poultry company has taken several measures, such as isolating the healthy chickens, destroying the sick and those showing signs of being infected," said South Lampung Livestock Agency head Ahmad Khandrie.

Source: The Jakarta Post

News Flash

UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update

CDC
This report provides an update to the international situation as of January 29, 2010. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to report updated 2009 H1N1 flu-associated laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths on its Web page.

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 85

WHO
As of 24 January 2010, worldwide more than 209 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 14711 deaths.

Newsletter 29 Januari 2010

2010-01-29T14:09:00.001+07:00

New Issue
H1N1 boy, 10, died of organ failure
A 10-year-old boy died from organ failure after developing severe pneumonia as a result of swine flu, an inquest has heard.
Angus Hardie, from Hockley, Essex, was a "healthy, fit and well child" - one of twins - before being taken seriously ill last year, the hearing was told.
He was admitted to Southend Hospital on October 3 suffering from a headache, fever and diarrhoea and vomiting. His condition was so serious he was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London for specialist treatment, but he failed to improve and died on October 6.
Consultant paediatric pathologist Irene Scheimberg, who carried out a post-mortem examination, gave the cause of Angus's death as multiple organ failure, bronchopneumonia and influenza H1N1.
Source: Google news - The Press Association
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hnieTISxmBIjTncFtYwkupOOFZZw
Research
Influenza and H1N1 Bad for Your Heart
Another reason to get a flu shot: The virus may cause heart damage.
Harvard Health Letters
If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, what are you waiting for? The hour or so it would take is nothing compared with the time you might spend fighting the flu or something worse - like recovering from the heart attack it could trigger.
As of early October 2009, much of the focus has been on swine flu (more formally called H1N1 flu). That's understandable. H1N1 is new, and no one knows how much damage it will cause. But the "regular" flu isn't something to sneeze at. Seasonal flu kills about 36,000 people each year in the United States, hospitalizes more than 200,000, and costs us more than $10 billion in direct medical expenses and lost productivity.
Seasonal flu and H1N1 flu are different in some ways and similar in others. One of the similarities is that both may be hard on the heart. Getting vaccinated against seasonal flu and swine flu is good insurance for your health and heart.
Source: WHOTV
Read more: http://www.whotv.com/health/sns-health-swine-flu-heart,0,3895492.story
Comment
The Intellectual Property Fight That Could Kill Millions
The hothouse environment of Indonesia is ground zero for a potential bird flu pandemic. But a fight over ownership of flu genes is blocking the efforts to track deadly infections on the move.
by Delthia Ricks
Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali is best known as a tourist hub, the bustling port of entry to a volcanic paradise. But when Indonesian authorities learned that a Mexican swine flu had gone global, that hub became a surreal microcosm of flu politics. Each arriving passenger was scanned for fever. A Dutch woman, apparently ill while in flight, was greeted by health workers in hazmat suits and whisked into quarantine while fellow passengers were spritzed with disinfectant. The woman was found to have nothing more than a bad sore throat, according to news reports, but that did not change a thing. The controversial head of the Indonesian Health Ministry, physician Siti Supari, quarantined sick foreigners at warp speed. Already embroiled in a battle royal with the world’s superpowers over another flu virus—the ultra-lethal bird flu—Supari did not have time to deal with a new enemy. She would do everything possible, she told her fellow citizens, to protect them from the new pathogen spawned by a pig.
The recent frenzy in Bali stood in notable contrast to the research paralysis that has gripped this tropical archipelago since late 2006, when Supari declared that flu viruses circulating in Indonesia belonged to her government alone. It was a bizarre, 21st-century twist on an age-old intellectual property argument. Developing nations had long fought passionately over plant and native human genes, but no one had ever before staked claim to microbes that birds could carry anywhere. Yet the 57-year-old health minister insisted she had cause: Rich Western nations were patenting the viral genomes, then using the information to create vaccines that were sold for profit to other Western powers while benefiting Indonesia not at all.
If Supari had stopped there, she might have garnered real support. But she ramped up the rhetoric, launching a barrage of fear bombs by accusing the United States of genetically engineering H1N1 (the swine flu virus) and H5N1 (the bird flu pathogen) as biological weapons. Wielding those charges, she flouted agreements with the World Health Organization (WHO), refusing to share samples from Indonesians infected with avian influenza—specimens the rest of the world desperately needs to track a virus on the move.
Source: Discover Magazine
Read more: http://discovermagazine.com/2009/dec/28-intellectual-property-fight-that-could-kill-millions
Photo
A vaccine against the A(H1N1) or swine flu is prepared at a hospital in Prague, Czech Republic in 2009. Canada announced Thursday it has donated five million swine flu vaccine doses and six million Canadian dollars (5.6 million US) to the World Health Organization for its pandemic relief efforts.
Source: AFP/File/Matej Divizna
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100128/photos_ca_afp/ec2dd78b483f11d53d61c5b6b6f64736
Quote
"But we do not wait until [these global virus outbreaks] have developed and we see that lots of people are dying. What we try and do is take preventive actions. If we are successful no-one will die, no-one will notice anything."
Swine Flu Warning Justified Says WHO
Source: Silobreaker - Medindia
Read more: http://www.medindia.net/news/Swine-Flu-Warning-Justified-Says-WHO-64269-1.htm
News Flash
1m doses of bird flu vaccine
The Straits Times
THE Health Ministry will be buying about one million doses of H5N1 avian flu pre-pandemic vaccine soon.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed yesterday that his ministry is evaluating a tender to stock up on the vaccine.
A/H1N1 epidemic remains moderate in France
Xinhua
The spread of the A/H1N1 flu continues in France but at a moderate pace, the French health surveillance institute InVS said Thursday. ...
Canada to donate H1N1 vaccine to WHO
Globe and Mail
A registered nurse injects a dose of the H1N1 flu vaccine at a Toronto health clinic on Thursday, October 29, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS Globe and Mail Update ...
Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 28 Januari 2010

2010-01-29T10:31:00.001+07:00

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.

Source: ASEAN
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)

Sciencedaily.com

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 ...

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Kalimantan Barat Dinyatakan Bebas Flu Burung

2010-01-27T13:41:00.004+07:00

Pada tanggal 25 Januari 2010, di Hotel Kapuas Palace, Menteri Pertanian memberikan Surat Keputusan Menteri Pertanian Nomor: 316/Kpts/PD.630/1/2010 tentang Pernyataan Kalimantan Barat Bebas dari Penyakit Hewan Menular Influenza pada Unggas (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza/HPAI) kepada Gubernur Kalimantan Barat.

Pertimbangan bahwa di Provinsi Kalimantan Barat telah dilaksanakan pemberantasan penyakit hewan menular influenza pada unggas (HPAI) dan dilakukan tindakan biosecurity/desinfeksi dan sanitasi, depopulasi, desposal dan pengawasan lalu lintas unggas/produknya serta public awareness secara intensif dan sistematik sejak tahun 2005 sampai dengan tahun 2009.

Selain itu, bahwa berdasarkan hasil pengamatan (Active Surveillance) yang dilaksanakan Balai Penyidikan dan Pengujian Veteriner (BPPV) Regional V Banjarbaru dalam jangka waktu 4 tahun terakhir tidak ditemukan lagi penyakit hewan menular influenza pada unggas (HPAI) di seluruh wilayah Kalbar.

Namun tetapi, untuk menjaga dan mempertahankan agar Kalbar tetap bebas dari penyakit hewan menular influenza pada unggas (HPAI) diharapkan:

Meningkatkan kewaspadaan terhadap kemungkinan penularan baru flu burung dengan sistem pengamatan dan pengidentifikasian yang teratur dan berkesinambungan, serta dilaksanakan tindak pencegahan dan penolakan penyakit yang ketat dan tegas sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan;
Melaksanakan kegiatan pengendalian lain terhadap penyakit hewan menular influenza pada unggas sesuai dengan petunjuk teknis yang berlaku di bidang pemberantasan penyakit hewan menular influenza pada unggas (HPAI).

Newsletter 27 Januari 2010

2010-01-27T13:27:00.000+07:00

New Issue

U.S. gets 'F' on bioterror response

The delayed response to the H1N1 influenza outbreak demonstrated the United States was "woefully behind" in its ability to produce needed vaccinations and treatments rapidly, the commission said.

"H1N1 came with months of warning," the commission's report said. "But even with time to prepare, the epidemic peaked before most Americans had access to vaccine. A bioattack will come with no such warning."

Source: CNN

Research

Expectant women warned over swine flu

Expectant women are being warned to protect themselves against a second wave of swine flu expected in coming months after research confirmed they were more prone to serious illness compared with other healthy people.

The first major review of 112 people admitted to seven Melbourne hospitals with the virus last year found that 13 per cent of the patients were pregnant or had just given birth.

The research published in the Medical Journal of Australia also found that two patients had suffered rare complications of influenza including Guillain-Barre syndrome, a debilitating form of paralysis, and rhabdomyolysis, a muscle-melting condition.

Source: The Age Australia

Comment

While world focused on swine flu, bird flu just kept on trucking in 2009

by Scott McPherson

I just got a news story in my Google Alerts folder. Opening it and clicking on the accompanying link, I was shown something I had not seen in ages and ages -- namely, the WHO statistics for H5N1 bird flu for 2009.

Now, you know how fond I am of saying that influenza plays "King of the Mountain." That image of children trying to topple the reigning King at the top of the dirt pile (growing up in southern Florida, with all its construction and fill dirt, that game was enormously popular) is exactly what I try to convey with regards to flu strains.

Pandemic viruses play that game quite well. In fact, I have not bothered to even get my seasonal flu shot yet, because I believed that there would be no seasonal flu until very late in the season. based on the stats I have been getting from various flu sources, I was right on the money.

So there is virtually no seasonal flu, anywhere in the world, save for some Influenza B that I recently read was either in China or Japan.

But there is one flu strain that keeps on trucking, unabated by events that combine to make seasonal flu virtually nonexistent. And that is H5N1 bird flu.

It can be argued, possibly successfully, that H5N1 isn't seen in people enough for swine flu to even care about it. H1N1v just casts a look over its shoulder at H5N1 and ignores it.

Source: Blog

Read more: http://www.scottmcpherson.net/journal/2010/1/26/while-world-focused-on-swine-flu-bird-flu-just-kept-on-truck.html

Risk Communication

Maybe a major step forward in web research

Just moments ago I discovered the Guardian's new data bank, World Government Data. I haven't had a chance to explore it yet, but it could be a remarkable resource for flu and other health issues. Explore it and let me know what you think.

Source: H5N1 Crofsblog

Photo

A woman reacts while receiving a vaccination against the H1N1 virus at a park in Cancun January 19, 2010.

Source: REUTERS/Stringer

Quote

"We feel we should move quickly. Our purpose is to try to provide guidance, to try to reduce harm" Keiji Fukuda, WHO flu expert.

Source: WHO defends its swine flu warning - BBC

News Flash

WHO denies drugs firms swayed its flu decisions

Reuters
Although many millions around the world have been infected with H1N1, and many thousands have died, the pandemic proved milder than health experts had ...

Shionogi to release new H1N1 treatment Rapiacta

Japan Today
Shionogi & Co said Tuesday it will market a new drug for treatment of the H1N1 strain of influenza, starting Wednesday. The drug is named Rapiacta (generic ...

67.78 million people receive A/H1N1 flu vaccinations (People’s Daily)

People's Daily
By 12:00 pm January 24, the State Food and Drug Administration have distributed 553 batches of A/H1N1 flu vaccinations sufficient for 102.27 million people. China’s 31 provinces as well as Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have received vaccinations sufficient for 88.03 million people, and 67.78 million people have received shots against the swine flu, said a report from the the …

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

#NB: Maaf 2 hari kemarin tidak bisa update newsletter karena sedang dinas ke Pontianak :)

Newsletter 22 Januari 2010

2010-01-22T13:23:00.001+07:00

New Issue
Serologic study finds H1N1 infections surged past official estimates
In one of the first large serologic studies of pandemic H1N1 infection, British researchers found that in areas hit hard during the first wave, one in three children were infected by the virus, ten times higher than surveillance estimates.
Serologic studies, such as this report by scientists from England's Health Protection Agency (HPA) published today in The Lancet, are needed to help public health officials gauge the true burden of disease. Flu surveillance captures only the number of people who seek medical care for illnesses, missing asymptomatic or mild infections.
Public health officials also use serologic studies to assess the effectiveness of vaccination and other strategies and to fine-tune their modeling assumptions for future flu outbreaks.
Source: CIDRAP
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan2110serology-jw.html

Research
Correlates of severe disease in patients with 2009 pandemic influenza (H1N1) virus infection
Abstract
Background: In the context of 2009 pandemic influenza (H1N1) virus infection (pandemic H1N1 influenza), identifying correlates of the severity of disease is critical to guiding the implementation of antiviral strategies, prioritization of vaccination efforts and planning of health infrastructure. The objective of this study was to identify factors correlated with severity of disease in confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza.
Methods:This cumulative case–control study included all laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza among residents of the province of Manitoba, Canada, for whom the final location of treatment was known. Severe cases were defined by admission to a provincial intensive care unit (ICU). Factors associated with severe disease necessitating admission to the ICU were determined by comparing ICU cases with two control groups: patients who were admitted to hospital but not to an ICU and those who remained in the community.
Results: As of Sept. 5, 2009, there had been 795 confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza in Manitoba for which the final treatment location could be determined. The mean age of individuals with laboratory-confirmed infection was 25.3 (standard deviation 18.8) years. More than half of the patients (417 or 52%) were female, and 215 (37%) of 588 confirmed infections for which ethnicity was known occurred in First Nations residents. The proportion of First Nations residents increased with increasing severity of disease (116 [28%] of 410 community cases, 74 [54%] of 136 admitted to hospital and 25 [60%] of 42 admitted to an ICU; p < 0.001), as did the presence of an underlying comorbidity (201 [35%] of 569 community cases, 103 [57%] of 181 admitted to hospital and 34 [76%] of 45 admitted to an ICU; p < 0.001). The median interval from onset of symptoms to initiation of antiviral therapy was 2 days (interquartile range, IQR 1–3) for community cases, 4 days (IQR 2–6) for patients admitted to hospital and 6 days (IQR 4–9) for those admitted to an ICU (p < 0.001). In a multivariable logistic model, the interval from onset of symptoms to initiation of antiviral therapy (odds ratio [OR] 8.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.82–24.1), First Nations ethnicity (OR 6.52, 95% CI 2.04–20.8) and presence of an underlying comorbidity (OR 3.19, 95% CI 1.07–9.52) were associated with increased odds of admission to the ICU Abstract (i.e., severe disease) relative to community cases. In an analysis of ICU cases compared with patients admitted to hospital, First Nations ethnicity (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.04–10.1) was associated with increased severity of disease.
Interpretation: Severe pandemic H1N1 influenza necessitating admission to the ICU was associated with a longer interval from onset of symptoms to treatment with antiviral therapy and with the presence of an underlying comorbidity. First Nations ethnicity appeared to be an independent determinant of severe infection. Despite these associations, the cause and outcomes of pandemic HINI influenza may involve many complex and interrelated factors, all of which require further research and analysis.
Source: Canadian Medical Association
Read more: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/cmaj.091884v1

Mask Use, Hand Hygiene, and Seasonal Influenza‐Like Illness among Young Adults: A Randomized Intervention Trial
Abstract
Background: During the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic, antiviral prescribing was limited, vaccines were not available early, and the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) was uncertain. Our study examined whether use of face masks and hand hygiene reduced the incidence of influenza‐like illness (ILI).
Methods: A randomized intervention trial involving 1437 young adults living in university residence halls during the 2006–2007 influenza season was designed. Residence halls were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups—face mask use, face masks with hand hygiene, or control— for 6 weeks. Generalized models estimated rate ratios for clinically diagnosed or survey‐reported ILI weekly and cumulatively.
Results: We observed significant reductions in ILI during weeks 4–6 in the mask and hand hygiene group, compared with the control group, ranging from 35% (confidence interval [CI], 9%–53%) to 51% (CI, 13%–73%), after adjusting for vaccination and other covariates. Face mask use alone showed a similar reduction in ILI compared with the control group, but adjusted estimates were not statistically significant. Neither face mask use and hand hygiene nor face mask use alone was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of ILI cumulatively.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that face masks and hand hygiene may reduce respiratory illnesses in shared living settings and mitigate the impact of the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic.
Source: University of Chicago Press
Read more: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/650396

Comment
Swine flu wasn't overhyped – research meant we had to play it safe
Simon Jenkins's distaste for scientists leads him to declare that they deliberately overstate risks, and make panic predictions (Swine flu was as elusive as WMD. The real threat is mad scientist syndrome, 15 January). In reality, scientists worked calmly – not "frantically" as Jenkins asserts – to predict the progress of the disease and to understand risk.
Jenkins says of the initial predictions about the spread of swine flu: "The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, bandied about any figure that came into his head, settling on '65,000 could die', peaking at 350 corpses a day."
Worst-case predictions are not figures plucked out the air "to convey plausibility", but result from well-researched computer simulations. Margins of error are high; no one pretends otherwise. Yet Jenkins is delighted when a worst-case scenario isn't met, as though he were right and everyone else wrong.
Source: Guardian
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/21/swine-flu-panic-health-tamiflu?

Risk Communication
Parents and Children Can Take Steps to Avoid H1N1
Ways to make the swine flu less fearsome for your family.
Your child has symptoms that used to just upset you: runny nose, sore throat, cough.
Now those same symptoms terrify you.
You know they may be signs of the H1N1 "swine flu" influenza strain.
That flu has already swept through many parts of the country and experts fear a resurgence this fall.
Parents now have to sift through a swirling mass of information about this new health threat. Younger children may be even more confused.
"What I'm hearing is that parents are fearful because of the unknown, because it's something new. People get the feeling that it's a changing playing field where recommendations are changing, which is true," says David Ulery, pediatrician at Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
Kids cope with flu fears in their own way.
"Kids are fearful of the shots. But some of our children say, 'I'm not afraid of the shot, so can I get one for my sister because she's afraid and then she doesn't have to get one?' " says John R. Meurer, associate professor of pediatrics and chief of general pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and medical director of Milwaukee's Downtown Health Center.
There are ways to make the swine flu less fearsome for both parents and children. Here are some ideas.
FLU-FIGHTING TIPS FOR PARENTS

Raise your family's general health level. Make sure everyone gets enough sleep, eats right and exercises to improve immunity.
Know the contagion timetable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with H1N1 virus may infect people from one day before getting sick to five to seven days after. This "infection window" may be longer for children.
Remember the swine flu's method of operation to outfox it. The swine flu spreads through the same viral techniques as seasonal flu: through the coughs and sneezes of flu sufferers and by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching your mouth or nose.
Stay informed on swine flu vaccination techniques. Current data suggests that people ages 10 and older will need one injection; ages 9 and younger might need two. You may also be given the option of getting your child vaccinated with a nasal spray, usually recommended for children older than 2 who do not have chronic health problems. "We feel the spray is better," Ulery says.

And the old saying about sugar making "the medicine go down" holds with shots, too. "Tell your child he or she will be rewarded after getting the shot, maybe with a sticker or a little book or treat," Meurer says.

Focus on prevention. "Avoid people who are sick," Meurer says. The CDC recommends staying at least 6 feet away from flu sufferers. Keep surfaces such as kitchen counters and toys clean by wiping them down with household disinfectant according to product directions. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. Wash your hands frequently or use a hand sanitizer that contains alcohol.
Know the swine flu symptoms. The H1N1 virus symptoms are mainly the same as the seasonal flu: fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue. However, health experts say that H1N1 sufferers also often experience vomiting and diarrhea.
Recognize signs of an emergency. Call the doctor immediately if your child has fast or troubled breathing, bluish or gray skin color, won't drink fluids, has severe or persistent vomiting, or will not wake up or interact.
Make sure young flu victims drink plenty of fluids.
Talk to your kids about the swine flu. "Let them know the risk is low and prevention works," Meurer says.

WHAT TO TELL YOUR KIDS

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth without washing your hands first. Germs spread this way.
Stop a germ. Cough into your inner elbow sleeve or into a tissue to prevent spreading the virus on your hands.
Learn the best - and most fun - way to wash your hands. The trick is to wash them for at least 20 seconds. How long is that? "Sing 'Happy Birthday to You' to yourself twice while washing," Ulery says.
For more fun, you can wash your hands to a new song by Grammy-winner Bill Harley that just happens to be called - what else? - "Wash Your Hands." Download a free copy at www.billharley.com.
Flu shots aren't so bad. "When you get an injection, hold still and look away," Meurer says.

Sources: Daily Press - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Journal Sentinel files

Read more: http://www.dailypress.com/health/sns-health-avoid-h1n1-flu,0,6217957.story

Photo

Six-year-old Michael Gray spent six days in a Manitoba hospital with the H1N1 flu.
Source: CTV News
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100121/aboriginal_h1n1_100121/20100121?hub=Health&s_name=

Quote
"Predicting disease and mitigating hazard in at-risk populations is an important aim of public health epidemiology, and in preparation for future waves of H1N1, determining the correlates of disease severity is incredibly important".
Source: Science Daily
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100121140326.htm

News Flash
'Two thirds' of London nurses without swine flu jab
BBC News
A BBC London Freedom of Information request has shown the majority of medical staff remain unprotected against the virus.
Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8471304.stm

Vaccine additive broadens flu protection
Emerging Health Threats Forum
An adjuvant currently used in European pandemic flu vaccines elicits a greater variety as well as a greater number of antibodies than non-adjuvanted vaccines, according to a study published this week in Science Translational Medicine.
Read more: http://www.eht-forum.org/news.html?fileId=news100121041342&from=home&id=0

It's official: You can't get swine flu from barbecue, feds say
Ledger Enquirer
You can't get the novel virus commonly called "swine flu" by pigging out on barbecue, even if the boar or sow you used for chow had the disease, the federal government has confirmed.
Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/breaking_news/story/984195.html

Awareness programme on A(H1N1) held
The Hindu
An awareness programme on A (H1N1) influenza was organised by the District Field Publicity Office at Darbar High School here on Thursday.
Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/2010/01/22/stories/2010012256690300.htm

High H1N1 rates in aboriginals not caused by genetics
CTV News
A new study says genetic susceptibility is unlikely to be responsible for increased rates of severe H1N1 cases in aboriginal people.
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100121/aboriginal_h1n1_100121/20100121?hub=Health&s_name=

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 21 Januari 2009

2010-01-21T15:20:00.002+07:00

New Issue
Response: Swine flu wasn't overhyped – research meant we had to play it safe
by Tom Sheldon
There was no conspiracy or panic. Scientists were right to prepare us for a major crisis
Simon Jenkins's distaste for scientists leads him to declare that they deliberately overstate risks, and make panic predictions (Swine flu was as elusive as WMD. The real threat is mad scientist syndrome, 15 January). In reality, scientists worked calmly – not "frantically" as Jenkins asserts – to predict the progress of the disease and to understand risk.
Jenkins says of the initial predictions about the spread of swine flu: "The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, bandied about any figure that came into his head, settling on '65,000 could die', peaking at 350 corpses a day."[...]
Source: Guardian
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/21/swine-flu-panic-health-tamiflu

Research
UK child H1N1 flu rate was much higher than thought
One child in three caught the pandemic H1N1 flu in the first wave of infection in hard-hit areas of England in 2009 -- up to 10 times more than originally thought, scientists said on Thursday.
Blood samples suggest children are central to flu's spread and should be a key target group for vaccination, experts from Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) wrote in the study in The Lancet medical journal.
"This...study shows the true extent of H1N1 infection in the initial wave of the pandemic in England in 2009. Its findings should be applicable to other countries that have experienced a similar first wave," they said.
For their study, the scientists used around 1,400 blood serum samples taken in 2008 as a base line and compared them with more than 1,900 serum samples taken in August and September 2009, after the first British wave of H1N1 infection.
They found that rates of infection in the first wave were greatest in children under 15, with an estimated 42 percent of schoolchildren aged 5 to 14 years infected in high incidence areas like London and parts of central England.
The blood sample data also showed the child infection rate for the British capital, where 32 percent of under 15s were infected, was 10 times higher than original HPA estimates.
Elizabeth Miller, who led the study with HPA colleagues, said children "have an important role in transmission of influenza and would be a key target group for vaccination, both for their protection and for the protection of others through herd immunity." [...]
Source: Reuters
Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100121/tsc-uk-flu-britain-011ccfa.html?printer=1 Comment

Comment
Infectious Disease Events, Crises, and Disasters: An Operational Definition
by James M. Wilson V, MD
O’Neil and Naumova recently highlighted the controversy of imprecise public health definitions of outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic. They observed, “the public health community has not settled on a solid definition of ‘outbreak’ except in a very broad sense”. 1 While neither the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public website, nor the American Public Health Association (APHA)’s Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, provide a definition for the term outbreak, APHA defines epidemic as “the occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness (or an outbreak) with a frequency clearly in excess of normal expectancy”. 2 Merriam-Webster defines outbreak as “a sudden rise in the incidence of a disease” and defines the term epidemic as “affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time”. 3 The terms outbreak and epidemic are often used interchangeably in the literature, by practitioners, and especially by the media. The term pandemic is generally reserved for epidemics that span multiple continents.
Stallings suggested that disasters should be considered as disruptions to daily-expected routines to the point where social functioning is threatened without action. He posits that a disaster should not be considered as such if it does not affect all facets of society. 13This confounds an attempt to categorize patient- or hospital-level infectious disease events as disasters. Stallings’ viewpoint drew upon Coleman’s original theory of community integration, which proposed “vital processes” of a community “keep it alive as a community and prevent its disorganization”. These processes included:
- work
- education of children
- religiously related activities
- organized leisure activities
- unorganized social play of children and adults
- voluntary activities for charitable or other purposes
- treatment of sickness, birth, death (healthcare)
- buying and selling of property
- buying consumable goods (food, etc.)
- saving and borrowing money
- maintenance of physical facilities (roads, sewers, water, light)
- protection from fire
- protection from criminal acts [...]
Source: Biosurveillance blog
Read more: http://biosurveillance.typepad.com/biosurveillance/2010/01/infectious-disease-events-crises-and-disasters-an-operational-definition.html

Risk Communication
Facebook Flu Fighters

Screenshot of some of the Flu Fighter characters [Facebook]
Children’s Hospital Boston and Health and Human Services have developed together a Facebook application called “I’m a Flu Fighter!”
The app is part of a project designed “to empower individuals to promote positive health behaviors amongst their friends and family through the use of social networks.”
It has several elements: you can pick a flu-fighter character for your profile, advertiseyour vaccination status, and “challenge” your FB friends to “join you in the fight against flu.” It also includes info on flu vaccines.
Source:
Read more: http://www.fluportal.org/2010/01/facebook-flu-fighters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Fluportalorg+%28FluPortal.org%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Photo
AP Photo
A man wearing a mask looks on while people wait in line to get a vaccine against swine flu in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. Thousands turned up to get a flu vaccine following a sharp rise in fatalities over the past days according to health officials.
Source: Daylife
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/photo/08op0dvd8O7qq?q=swine+flu

Quote
"In response to this intervention by India, it was agreed that WHO would formally write to national focal points in all countries clarifying the factual position about the H1N1 pandemic to quell all doubts that had been created".
Source: Business Week
Read more: http://rss.businessweek.com/%7Er/bw_rss/asiaindex/%7E3/qiXmXi6s_6E/who-to-clarify-h1n1-data-after-false-pandemic-claim-india-says.html

News Flash
Swine Flu Still a Threat for West Africa
Though the threat of the H1N1 pandemic appears to be waning in the United States and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the World Health Organization is still concerned about potential outbreaks of swine flu in West Africa.
This week, health officials in the West African country of Nigeria reported its first swine flu-related death and said the country has 11 confirmed cases of the virus. Last week, Mali's Health Ministry reported six confirmed H1N1 cases in Bamako, the country's capital.
Source: VOA News
Read more: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Swine-flu-Still-a-Threat-for-West-Africa-82170742.html

1918 And 2009 H1N1 Flu Probably Not Spread By Birds
Medical News Today
The two strains of the H1N1 influenza virus responsible for the 1918 and 2009 global flu pandemics do not cause disease in birds. The results of the study, published in the February issue of the Journal of General Virology, also show it is unlikely that birds played a role in the spread of the H1N1 virus in these pandemics.
Read more: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/176578.php

Swiss warn on flu vaccine with autoimmune disease
Reuters
Switzerland's medical regulator recommended patients with serious autoimmune diseases should not use an H1N1 flu vaccine from Novartis, saying there were no studies assessing the innoculation in that population.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60J1X120100120

Estée Lauder Companies Says Second Quarter Results Will Exceed Earlier Expectations Financial Results to be Reported on January 28, 2010
PR Inside
[...] The lower spending versus plan, which continued from the fiscal first quarter, reflected the Company’s measured approach to investing, particularly in advertising and promotion, in light of the global economic downturn, and several external potential risks, such as the H1N1 pandemic, which have not materialized in the quarter. [...]
Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/est-e-lauder-companies-says-second-quarter-r1679318.htm

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 20 Januari 2010

2010-01-20T13:04:00.002+07:00

New Issue
ECDC DAILY UPDATE 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic
19 January 2010, The last Daily Update
The ECDC Public Health Event Strategy Team (PST) decided yesterday to downgrade our crisis management activities to Public Health Event level 0 (PHE 0). ECDC has been operating its pandemic response in under a crisis management plan since April 2009, diverting significant resources from other parts of the organisation to respond in a robust and coheren way. Although the pandemic is far from over and considerable uncertainties on developments in the coming months exist, currently the workload related to pandemic response has clearly decreased. The ECDC activities related to the pandemic will continue under a reinforced influenza programme.
Source: ECDC
Read more: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/h1n1/pages/home.aspx

Research

Public health management of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection in Australia: A failure!
Grant W. WATERER, 1,2,3 David S. HUI 4 * AND Christine R. JENKINS 5,6
ABSTRACT
In April 2009, severe cases of pneumonia preceded by influenza-like illness were noted to occur in Mexico and North America. A novel influenza A (H1N1) virus was identified as the cause and it rapidly evolved into a pandemic, leading to a large number of cases in Australia despite implementation of public health control measures. In this paper, two senior academics discuss the management of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection in Australia from the public health perspective.
CONCLUSION
It is important to note that geographically targeted non-pharmacological measures such as early case isolation, household quarantine, school/workplace closure and restrictions on travel are useful measures in controlling an influenza pandemic only at its early phase.42 As pointed out by both authors, these measures and their goals can only be achieved effectively through international collaboration, faster and more efficient coordination across the various national and interstate health planning bodies, with more surge capacity in clinical service, laboratory testing and more support for the general practitioners.24
Source: Interscience
Read more: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/123226687/HTMLSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

JACR: H1N1 outbreak yields low imaging utilization rates
In an evaluation of the utilization of radiology resources among individuals diagnosed with H1N1, 70 percent of patients were found to have received no imaging studies and patients sufficiently ill to require imaging underwent an average of 1.4 chest radiographic studies, said a recent study that appeared in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. [...] The authors said that the result of the study “reveals both reassuring and troubling information. Of the 222 patients with documented H1N1 infection seen within our health system, only 30 percent received any kind of related diagnostic radiology exam, with all 66 receiving at least one chest radiograph. Resource use was highest in the ICU population, with a mean of 33.5 chest radiographs, 5.1 abdominal radiographs, 1.1 thoracic CT exams and 4.2 nonthoracic CT exams [per patient]."
During the length of the study, the authors found that 71 percent of all radiographic exams were obtained during one month in the ICU population, while the non-ICU populations’ imaging studies were spread out relatively evenly over the course of the study period. [...]
Source: healthimaging.com
Read more: http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=20248:jacr-h1n1-outbreak-yields-low-imaging-utilization-rates

Comment
Fear, for all the wrong reasons
Logic and fact have been replaced by self-serving spin. We need not live in this culture of dread.
Iwasn't born when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in his 1933 inaugural address that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," but I have finally gotten the message.
In an individual or in a society, fear instills a kind of depression that bogs us down. At its worst, it makes us passive, drives us to lose heart, quit making informed decisions, quit voting or caring. Today we have a culture of fear created by political, corporate and media hucksters cynically selling their ideas, their products, themselves.
Source: USA Today Blog
Read more: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2010/01/column-fear-for-all-the-wrong-reasons-.html

Risk Communication

Panic and Flight Behavior Reporting During Infectious Disease Events, Crises, and Disasters
The idea of people “panicking” due to disaster is a misnomer. The literature repeatedly shows the normal response is to bond and protect loved ones- to the point of even placing individuals in greater harm.
Assertions of the sociological and anthropological community are this phenomenon is universal for disasters of any etiology- including epidemics. However, a literature review of studies supporting the assertion that social behavior in the context of epidemic-caused disasters is similar to that seen in natural disasters is limited.
We undertook a review of ProMED reports for the ten-year period January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2007. Known biases in ProMED during this period included a bias towards English language reporting on human health events. The results were interesting. Only 1.7% of the reports in this period covering infectious disease events affecting humans or animals contained the word “panic”. Of these “panic” reports, we noted the following:

Concern about the potential for “panic” (61%)
“Panic” reported with no behavioral evidence (27%)
“Panic” reported with behavioral evidence (12%) Bottom line, when “panic” was reported in association with an infectious disease event, it was a rare phenomenon. Evidence of actual anxiety behavior associated with the word “panic” was even more rare: 0.2% of all reports during a ten-year period.

To dive even deeper into this, we explored the number of times flight behavior was reported in ProMED during the same ten-year period. By “flight” we were specifically looking for public-initiated evacuation or abandonment of their community or family members.
In total, only 0.1% of all reports contained mention of flight behavior where public-initiated abandonment of a community or family members due to an epidemic was reported.
Family member abandonment was documented in one instance: Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Uige, Angola. On the date of this particular report, May 4, 2005, there were 313 cases and 280 deaths (89% fatalities) reported the prior day. This was more than six weeks after the discovery of the first outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever ever reported in Angola. A family reportedly abandoned a one-month-old baby whose mother had died of Marburg infection and fled the village. There was no indication the family abandoned any other family member. Neighbors feared contact with the baby and allowed the child to starve to death. The context of this report was one of epidemic resurgence involving substantial struggle with effective containment. Fatalities were reported on a daily basis.
In summary, The majority of “panic” and flight behavior reporting involved zoonotic diseases associated with causing active serious illness in humans at the time of reporting. Specifically, provocation of community and family abandonment involved diseases that, at the time of reporting, caused serious and lethal human disease. All reporting of community or familial abandonment occurred in undeveloped or developing countries. Of note, no reporting of “panic” or flight behavior was documented for Haiti in this ten-year period.
Despite the known biases in ProMED during the period of study and the fact all global infectious disease events during the time period studied were not reported in ProMED, we have found it to be highly analogous to our operational experience.
When considering the current critical information requirements for the Haiti disaster, it is our hope this information places “panic” and flight behavior reporting in perspective- it is a very rare phenomenon, but when documented usually represents a situation worthy of time-sensitive awareness and scrutiny.
Source: Biosurveillance blog
Read more: http://biosurveillance.typepad.com/biosurveillance/2010/01/panic-and-flight-behavior-reporting-during-infectious-disease-events-crises-and-disasters.html#

Photo

A child receives a vaccination against the H1N1 virus at a subway station in Mexico January 19, 2010. The service, provided by the Ministry of Health, is a government initiative offering free vaccinations against swine flu at all subway stations.
Source: REUTERS/Henry Romero (MEXICO - Tags: HEALTH SOCIETY) Yahoo news - Reuters
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/H1N1-Virus/ss/events/hl/042409swineflu/im:/100119/ids_photos_wl/r1356911557.jpg

Quote
"The government should put in place a special policy to provide support and help to serious H1N1 flu patients, because there are cases in a number of provinces in which patients have faced difficulty getting treatment due to financial strain"
Source: China Daily
Read more: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-01/20/content_9345534.htm

News Flash

INDONESIA: Bird flu cases down but risk remains high
IRIN News
Indonesia reported fewer deaths from bird flu in 2009, but health specialists warn that the risk to humans remains high.
Read more: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87771

Chan: Lack of H1N1 vaccine demand surprising
CIDRAP
The H1N1 influenza pandemic brought no "devastating surprises," but what has surprised public health agencies is the public's lack of interest in getting vaccinated, Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said yesterday.
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan1910chan.html

UPDATE 1-HK Disneyland lifts lid on financial losses
Reuters
[...] A paper by Hong Kong's Tourism Commission for local lawmakers, however, said Hong Kong Disneyland made the net loss in 2009 partly because of the "unfavourable impact" of the H1N1 swine flu outbreak and the global financial crisis. [...]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE60I0AK20100119?type=marketsNews

Q&A: Dean Michael Klag of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The JHU Gazette
I think we were very fortunate that we did not have an H5NI pandemic. Rather, it was anH1N1 pandemic. We knew we were going to have a pandemic of some sort ...
Read more: http://gazette.jhu.edu/2010/01/19/qa-with-the-deans-and-directors/

Mexican scientists reflect on swine flu lessons
Alert Net
Mexico's deadly swine flu outbreak exposed tensions between the country's academic scientists, on the one hand, and its government laboratories, on the other -- as well as its failure to invest enough in science and technology, say analysts.
Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/scidev/126381240726.htm

UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update
CDC
This report provides an update to the international situation as of January 15, 2010. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to report updated 2009 H1N1 flu-associated laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths on its Web page.
Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/international/

Microtest launches automated swine flu reporting service The Birchley Hall Press
Microtest, the UK’s fourth largest primary care clinical system supplier, has launched an automated swine flu reporting service to help its users meet primary care trust and Department of Health requirements quickly and easily.
Read more: http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/news/2010/n1001021.htm

WHO Dukung Inisiatif RI Dirikan "Collaborating Centre Influenza"
TV One
Direktur Jenderal Organisasi Kesehatan Sedunia (World Health Organization/WHO) DR Margaret Chan mendukung inisiatif RI mendirikan WHO Collaborating Centre Influenza di Indonesia.
Read more: http://www.tvone.co.id/berita/view/31843/2010/01/20/who_dukung_inisiatif_ri_dirikan_collaborating_centre_influenza

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 19 Januari 2010

2010-01-19T12:36:00.004+07:00

New Issue
Nigeria Records First Swine Flu Death
From Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Steve Dada in Lagos, 01.19.2010
The Federal Ministry of Health yesterday warned the public to beware of the deadly HINI Influenza virus, commonly known as Swine flu, as Nigeria has officially recorded its first death from the pandemic.
Before the latest case, there was a suspected Swine Flu death in December last year but the victim had died before samples could be collected, according to the ministry.
Source: THISDAY People - African News on Global News
Read more: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=164548
Research
Scientists find key to beat the new flu
Korean scientists have identified a substance commonly used in traditional Oriental medicine that can destroy the A(H1N1) flu virus responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide last year, a local research institute said yesterday.
The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) said the team led by Ma Jin-yeul, head of KIOM’s Oriental medicine convergence research center, extracted the material from natural substances widely used in traditional remedies.
The drug, known by its scientific name KIOM-C, was given to mice infected with the new flu virus, all traces of which vanished from the lungs of the test animals after nine days of treatment. Animals that received other drugs during the tests died.
Source: JoongAng Daily
Read more: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915485
Comment
Swine flu: the real threat is mad scientist syndrome
Remember the warnings of 65,000 dead? Health chiefs should admit they were wrong yet again about a global pandemic
By Simon Jenkins/London
The “Andromeda strain” was stalking the earth, and its first victims were clearly scientists. Drugs were frantically stockpiled and key workers identified as vital to be saved for humanity’s future. Cobra alerted the army. Morgues were told to stand ready. The Green party blamed intensive pig farming. The Guardian listed “the top 10 plague books”.
If anyone dared question this drivel, they were dismissed by Donaldson as “extremists”. When people started reporting swine flu to be even milder than ordinary flu, he accused them of complacency and told them to “wait for next winter”. He was already buying 32mn masks and spending more than 1bn on Tamiflu and vaccines. Surgeries refused entry to those with flu symptoms, referring them to a government “hotline” where prescription drugs were ordered to be made available without examination or doctor’s note. Who knows how many died of undiagnosed illness as a result? Lines were instantly jammed. It was pure, systematic government-induced panic in which I accept that the media played its joyful part.
This week the authorities admitted that, far from a winter upturn in swine flu, there has been a slump. From 100,000 a week at the peak, there were just 12,000 last week. After the coldest winter for decades, when deaths might be expected to rise, the rate is below that of seasonal flu. In the UK, 360 people have died under its influence, most with prior “non-flu” conditions. Swine flu is not nice. I have had it but bears no relation to the government hysteria.
Source: Gulf Times
Read more: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=337821&version=1&template_id=46&parent_id=26
Risk Communication
China issues swine flu travel warning for Lunar New Year
BEIJING – China's health ministry has urged vulnerable groups to get swine flu vaccinations or limit travel during the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday due to the spread of the A (H1N1) virus.
"Pregnant women, children, the elderly, obese people and those with chronic diseases should avoid public travel during the peak period of Spring Festival travel," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website late Wednesday.
Source: AFP
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/China+issues+swine+travel+warning+Lunar+Year/2441695/story.html
Photo
Two women wear face masks as they queue with other people outside Matei Bals hospital to take shots against the H1N1 flu virus in Bucharest, in this January 9, 2010 file photo.
Source: REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100118/ids_photos_ts/r3076640534.jpg/
Quote
"We are not out of the woods yet with this virus and it will be rather foolish for everyone to say 'That's it,' " said John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry in London. (Fading H1N1 scare leaves vaccine surplus).
Source: Seattle Times
Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010823058_fluvaccine18.html
News Flash
Flu pandemic remains moderate, easing in areas: WHO
Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, also said the H1N1 pandemic appeared to be easing in the northern hemisphere but could still cause infections until ...
Source: Reuters
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL2ZT20100118

World tourism to rebound from crisis in 2010: UN
He cited the global economic crisis "aggravated by the uncertainty around the A(H1N1)pandemic." But he said "the trend is bottoming out. ...
Source: AFP
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hsW-an_364vBjgVuNY93LF-21Xmw

New outbreak of H1N1 could occur in February (AsiaOne)
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Expressing worry about a sharp decline in the number of Taiwanese residents receiving H1N1 vaccinations, former Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Chin-chuan warned Sunday that a new wave of outbreak of H1N1 flu could hit Taiwan in February.
Source: AsiaOne
Read more: http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20100118-192553.html

Influenza Vaccines - Pipeline Analysis and Market Forecasts to 2016
It is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 12.7% to reach $6.4 billion by 2016. This high growth forecast is primarily attributed to the increase in patient population, a result of increasing world population, and the need to get vaccinated each year.
Source: PR-inside.com
Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/influenza-vaccines-pipeline-analysis-and-r1672218.htm

Taiwan records 10th H1N1 fatality involving pregnant woman
19 (CNA) Another pregnant woman in Taiwan has died of influenza A (H1N1) , bringing the total to 10 since the flu outbreak began, the Central Epidemic ...
Source: eTaiwan News
Read more: http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1159034〈=eng_news
Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 19 Januari 2010

2010-01-18T14:09:00.000+07:00

New Issue
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 83
As of 10 January 2010, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 13554 deaths.
Source: WHO
Read more: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_01_15/en/index.html

Asian Partnership on Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (APEIR) The 5th APEIR Regional Meeting
[...]
Dr Wiku Adisasmito, Indonesia: Policy analysis for pandemic influenza preparedness
The team set out to understand the generation of policy for stockpiling retroviral drugs for humans and vaccination for poultry. Across the region the first priority is for human health and all countries are stockpiling retroviral drugs as per WHO guidelines, but coverage is constrained by finances. Poultry vaccination policies differ between countries because of economic drivers for poultry industry. Different inter-sectoral strategic interests result in incoherent regional and possibly global health strategies. The team hopes their research will lead to strategies that take into consideration differences in national needs. [...]
Source: PR Web
Read more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/IDRC/H5N1/prweb3453404.htm

Research
Interim Results: Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccination Coverage --- United States, October--December 2009
In July 2009, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issued recommendations for use of the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine (1). Recognizing that the vaccine supply would not be ample immediately but would grow over time, ACIP identified 1) initial target groups, consisting of approximately 160 million persons, and 2) a limited vaccine subset of the target groups, initially estimated at 42 million persons (and more recently estimated at 62 million persons), to receive first priority while the 2009 H1N1 vaccine supply was limited (1).

FIGURE. Weekly estimates of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccination coverage among U.S. residents aged ≥6 months --- National 2009 H1N1 Flu Survey, week ending October 10, 2009, through week ending January 2, 2010Source: CDC
Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm59e0115a1.htm

Comment
H5N1 Forgotten (Almost), But Not Gone
While the world's flu fighters have concentrated on countering the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, avian influenza H5N1 has quietly continued to take its toll on both poultry and humans. Last year, 17 countries, stretching from Côte d'Ivoire and Germany to China and Japan, reported outbreaks of H5N1 in domestic poultry and wild birds; and the World Health Organization, which still says H5N1 poses a pandemic threat, recorded 72 human cases, 32 of them fatal.
Source: Sciencemag Blog
Read more: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/01/h5n1-forgotten.html

Risk Communication
National Influenza Vaccination Week: Radio PSAs: I never get the flu

60 seconds - scripts
Sebelius Announces New Facebook Application Called “I’m a Flu Fighter”
National Influenza Vaccination Week continues with a focus on the importance of young adults getting vaccinated against the H1N1 flu. Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will visit Hunter College in New York City for a roundtable discussion with students and faculty about the H1N1 flu. Secretary Sebelius will also announce a new Facebook application called, “I’m a Flu Fighter” that allows users to tell their friends that they received the flu vaccination and urge others to do the same. Source: HHS
Read more: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/01/20100114a.html

Photo

Reuters Pictures
Boonya Klaer-orm, 25, who is 8 months pregnant, receives a H1N1 influenza vaccine shot from a medical staff at a hospital in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok January 11, 2010. Thailand started the H1N1 vaccination programme on Monday to combat the deadly virus which killed 192 people in the country. Some two million doses of the vaccine were imported from France to be handed out to high-risk groups during the programme, health officials said.
Source: Daylife
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/photo/07VD2NY6padUC?q=h1n1

Quote
"It's still not too late to get vaccinated, and even though we've seen a decrease in hospitalizations and deaths, there could be another wave of H1N1".
Source: Sacramento Bee
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/302/story/2463548.html#mi_rss=Sacramento%20County%20News

News Flash

Scientists discover avian influenza outbreak closely related to bird migration
Xinhua
A research jointly conducted by Chinese and Asian scientists has discovered that highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak was closely related to bird migration. Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/16/content_12822523.htm

Swine flu looms with the return to school
The Australian
HEALTH experts are warning that Australians can expect a second wave of swine flu, possibly as early as the beginning of the school year just a fortnight away.
Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/swine-flu-looms-with-the-return-to-school/story-e6frg8y6-1225820164651

SEAsia to crack down on poultry smuggling to fight H5N1
Reuters
Disease experts in Southeast Asia will map out key poultry smuggling routes, especially along Cambodia's long border with Thailand and Vietnam, in a move to prevent the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the region.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60E1KH20100115

CDC finds pandemic vaccination gaps in risk groups, health workers
CIDRAP
During a week federal officials set aside to push flu immunization, a new report today reveals that pandemic vaccine uptake is low in two of the top priority groups—those with chronic conditions and healthcare workers.
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan1510cdc.html

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 15 Januari 2010

2010-01-18T13:49:00.002+07:00

Photo

Robot designed to help doctors diagnose H1N1 flu quivers as a man with a full protective outfit puts a tube into its throat during a demonstration at the Security & Safety Trade Expo in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. The life-sized humanoid was developed by Medical Education Technologies, Inc. (METI), the world's leading supplier of human patient simulators, based in Sarasota, Florida, to help medical workers recognize symptoms of the illness and learn to treat patients. It sweats, moans, cries and convulses just like a human would when infected with the H1N1 virus and if the robot is not treated properly the symptoms gradually get worse and it stops breathing. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Source: Boston

Read more: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/watching_the_h1n1_flu_pandemic.html

New Issue

H1N1 death rates higher for some ethnic and racial groups in California

Latinos, blacks and Native Americans in the state have been more likely to die from swine flue than whites, data show.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

California Latinos have been nearly twice as likely as whites to die of H1N1 flu since the pandemic began last spring, according to statewide figures released Thursday by the California Department of Public Health.

Over the same months, blacks in the state have been 50% more likely to die of H1N1 flu than whites, the report said.

Source: LA Times

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-h1n1-stats15-2010jan15,0,211614.story

Research

Human, Animal, Ecosystem Health All Key to Curbing Emerging Infectious Diseases

Strategies that integrate human, animal, and environmental health may help prevent outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, such as 2009 influenza A(H1N1), West Nile virus infection, highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection. [...]

Source: American Medical Association

Read more: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/303/2/117

Comment

'Kill swine flu without use of chemicals'? Using what -- imagination?

By Tami Dennis

Note to the easily alarmed: "Chemical-free" does not mean what you think it means.

The term has quite irritatingly become shorthand for "scary compounds we know nothing about and thus must be bad," used to describe whatever a company wants you to think is gentle, benign or guaranteed safe. Enough, I say! As a description of tangible substances, it's wrong. And I want you not to be fooled by it.

Here's an about.com answer to the question What is a chemical?

"Short answer: Everything is a chemical. Longer answer: Chemistry is the study of matter and its interactions with other matter. Anything made of matter is therefore a chemical. Any liquid, solid, gas. Any pure substance; any mixture. Water is a chemical. Technically speaking, so is a chunk of your computer." Oxygen? A chemical element. Water? A combination of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen. The human body? A whole passel of chemicals -- naturally occurring ones, no less.

There's more, but that's probably enough for today. If not, here's a fun site, chem4kids.com. Don't be chastened by the name. The very friendly home page does state that "it's for everyone."

As for the "kill swine flu without use of chemicals" reference, it's from a pitch for a product that uses tap water.

Source: LA Times

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/01/kill-swine-flu-chemical-free-chemistry-lesson.html

Risk Communication

FDA 2010 H1N1 (Swine) Flu Page

The FDA plays a vital role on the team led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the fight against the 2009 H1N1 virus. The agency works closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, other federal government agencies, and global partners such as the World Health Organization and foreign governments to protect public health during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Source: FDA

Read more: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm150305.htm

Quote

"My fears are people have truly lost interest in H1N1," said Frank Welch, medical director for pandemic preparedness in Louisiana.Thousands of high-risk kids missing 2nd H1N1 flu doses
Source: USA Today

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-01-14-H1N1-swine-flu-booster-children_N.htm

News Flash

Claims H1N1 is a fake pandemic are scientifically wrong and irresponsible: WHO

The Canadian Press

The perception has led to low uptake of H1N1 vaccine in many countries that had pre-purchase orders. A number of western European countries have announced ...

Read More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jFxM_0oyB5RPbXsZ5GLIYpBaNqrw

China issues swine flu travel warning for Lunar New Year

AFP

China's health ministry has urged vulnerable groups to get swine flu vaccinations or limit travel during the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year ...

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gIXLXr-YzdG-d6VXKE8_FsCS4LLg

Swine Flu Caused Permanent Lung Damage in Some

YLE

Swine flu has caused permanent pulmonary damage to some patients in Finland. In Kuopio, five people who were in intensive care with the H1N1 virus developed serious lung problems.
Read more: http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/01/swine_flu_caused_permanent_lung_damage_in_some_1367397.html

Glaxo becomes swine flu victimStuff

As the biggest gainer from the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, GlaxoSmithKline now has most to lose as countries cut back their orders.

Read more: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/3232361/Glaxo-becomes-swine-flu-victim

New ionator EXP(TM) and ionator HOM(TM) Kill Swine Flu Without Use of Chemicals

Sunherald

Revolutionary Water-Based Handheld Devices Clean and Leave No Chemical Residue; ionator EXP(TM) and ionator HOM(TM) Eliminate 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A Virus in Seconds

Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/457/story/1864511.html

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 14 Januari 2010

2010-01-14T14:29:00.000+07:00

New Issue

Efficient Formal Synthesis of Oseltamivir Phosphate (Tamiflu) with Inexpensive d-Ribose as the Starting Material

An efficient formal synthesis of oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) has been achieved in 12 steps with use of the inexpensive and highly abundant d-ribose as the starting material. This concise alternative route does not utilize protecting groups and features the introduction of 3-pentylidene ketal as the latent 3-pentyl ether, the use of a highly efficient RCM reaction to form the Tamiflu skeleton, and selective functional group manipulations. [...]

Source: American Chemical Society

Genetic analyses of influenza in wild birds can improve avian flu surveillance programs

Genetic analyses of avian influenza in wild birds can help pinpoint likely carrier species and geographic hot spots where Eurasian viruses would be most likely to enter North America, according to new research.
Source: ScienceDaily: Bird Flu Research News
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112123644.htm

Research

Influenza A Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus Infection in Domestic Cat

Influenza A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus continues to rapidly spread worldwide. In 2009, pandemic
(H1N1) 2009 infection in a domestic cat from Iowa was diagnosed by a novel PCR assay that
distinguishes between Eurasian and North American pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus matrix genes. Human-
to-cat transmission is presumed. [...]
Source: CDC
Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/3/pdfs/09-1737.pdf (download)

Comment

WHO prepares to don a hair shirt

The finger pointing and the told-you-so-ers are out in force these days and WHO seems to be one of their targets. In the face of wealthy European countries cutting their swine flu vaccine orders because of limited demand, critics are claiming that WHO exaggerated the threat in league with or under the influence of Big Pharma vaccine makers out to make a killing. This is really two issues. One, did WHO appropriately appraise the risk; and two, were they unduly influenced by greedy drug makers. I think the answer to these questions are "Yes" and "No." [...]

Source: Science Blogs

Risk Communication

Press swine flu briefing scrapped

Weekly government briefings about swine flu have been abandoned, a signal that the crisis is considered to be easing.
Figures show the number of new cases in England has fallen dramatically over the past month - from 9,000 over a week in December to under 5,000 last week.
The Department of Health said the briefings would be scrapped until there were any fresh developments.
It said it would now use fortnightly bulletins to keep journalists up-to-date with statistical trends.[...]

Source: BBC

Photo

AP PHOTO
IONATOR EXP KILLS SWINE FLU IN SECONDS, CHEMICAL-FREE - converts water into a powerful cleaner/sanitizer.

Source: Daylife

Quote

"Comparisons of deaths from pandemic and seasonal influenza do not accurately measure the impact of the pandemic for another reason. Compared with seasonal influenza, the H1N1 virus affects a much younger age group". [...]

Source: Irish Times

News Flash

2 swine flu virus mutations found
news.gov.hk
The Centre for Health Protection has detected two more human swine flu virus strains with mutations similar to the one Norway reported last year...
Read more: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/100112/txt/100112en05008.htm

Europe Cancels H1N1 Shots as Flu Fails to Heat Up
Wall Street Journal
Just months after rushing to order enough swine-flu vaccine to protect their citizens, European governments are ...
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126335633266727463.html?mod=WSJ_business_IndustryNews_DHC
Poland stands alone in refusing swine flu vaccines
Washington Post
AP WARSAW, Poland -- The decision seemed fraught with risk: a government refusing to import swine flu vaccines amid worldwide warnings of a ...
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/13/AR2010011300770.html
Vietnam Airlines 2009 profit falls 42 percent
AFP
The carrier also cited "epidemic outbreaks" for its profit fall, an apparent reference to the global A (H1N1) swine flu pandemic. But VNA noted it had still ...
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i1cVqFY2tqxuumah8I-CNegWNJEA

Newsletter 13 Januari 2010

2010-01-14T14:23:00.001+07:00

New Issue
WHO to review its handling of H1N1 flu pandemic
The World Health Organization is going to look into how it handled the H1N1 pandemic, the group said Tuesday, amid accusations it exaggerated the dangers of the virus.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a news briefing Tuesday that the United Nations health agency would conduct the review after the pandemic has subsided.
She said the review would involve independent outside experts and the results would be made public.
Source: CTV
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100112/who_flu_100112/20100112?hub=Health&s_name=

Research

Genetic Analyses of Influenza in Wild Birds Can Improve Avian Flu Surveillance Programs
Persistence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) virus in Eurasia and Africa, and concerns that the virus might be transported among continents by migratory birds has resulted in global surveillance programs. In the United States, state and federal agencies tested more than 326,000 wild bird samples from across the country from 2005 to 2008.
The new work by USGS has nationwide importance because it offers a method for avian influenza surveillance programs to target their efforts for the right species and in the best locations.
In the study, USGS scientists conducted the first-ever survey of avian influenza gene variation in a single host species -- the northern pintail -- at each end of the bird's migratory flyway in North America: Alaska and California. These birds migrate between North America and Eurasia and in Japan and China have been known to occur in outbreak areas of HPAI H5N1.
Source: Science Daily
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112123644.htm

Comment

H1N1 Influenza in 2009: From Possibility to Pandemic
It's surprising - and to me a bit exhausting - to realize that H1N1 influenza has been with us for 10 months now. Unlike those daily minor health scares that sometimes seem invented for the 24-hour news cycle, H1N1 influenza has become a persistent serious public health problem. And although we're seeing a drop in cases of H1N1 flu, there's still no end in sight.
As we start 2010, let's catch our breath. Take a look back with me at the time line of H1N1 influenza's path from discovery to worldwide pandemic in 2009:
March: Doctors take specimen samples from three children in Mexico and southern California with respiratory infections. (All three children recover completely.)
April: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention realize the children were infected with a never-before seen flu virus. The same day, the first recognized death from H1N1 influenza occurs in Mexico.
Source: Web MD blog
Read more: http://blogs.webmd.com/focus-on-flu/2010/01/h1n1-influenza-in-2009-from-possibility.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FocusOnFlu+%28Focus+on+Flu%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Risk Communication
Radio Interviews Available For DownloadYesterday’s Radio Sandy Springs interview of Revere from Effect Measure, and last week’s interview of Professor Vincent Racaniello of the Virology Blog are now archived and available for download or listening to.
These interviews, conducted by Sharon Sanders of FluTrackers, each run an hour and are both entertaining and informative.
01/11/10 Guest Revere of Effect Measure
Sharon Sander interviews one of the Reveres of the Effect Measure Blog
01/04/10 Guest Vincent Racaniello, PhD
Sharon Sander interviews Vincent Racaniello, PhD
You’ll also find these older interviews archived and available as well.
11/02/09 Guest Dr. David Fedson
08/17/09 Guest William Schaffner, MD
08/10/09 Guest Author John Barry
06/29/09 Guest Gregory Härtl of the WHO
05/26/09 Guest Dr. Michael Osterholm
05/18/09 Guest Dr. David Fedson Source: Afludiary
Read more: http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2010/01/radio-interviews-available-for-download.html

Quote
"It has been all over the news that the H1N1 pandemic is over ... The reality is that we don't know if it will resurge. It could come back with a vengeance in the next few weeks. Don't play the odds. Get vaccinated. Another interesting note is that the seasonal flu hasn't made its debut, despite the fact that the H1N1 has waned. The question is: why? It's a mystery."
Source: American Council on Science and Health
Read more: http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.1251/news_detail.asp

News Flash
Open Letter to the American People about the H1N1 Flu Vaccine
Since the 2009 H1N1 flu virus hit our shores, scientists, manufacturers, health providers, and federal, state, and local health officials have worked together to protect the health of the American people. Over 110 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine are now available, with more coming every day. Now is the time to protect yourself and those around you by getting vaccinated against the H1N1 flu.
Source: CDC
Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/open_letter_h1n1_vaccine.htm

Experts press for better H1N1 vaccine uptake in risk groups
Federal officials and representatives from some of the nation's biggest health advocacy groups today teamed up to push the importance of pandemic H1N1 vaccination for people who have chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and cancer.
Source: CIDRAP
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan1210chronic-br.html

VaxInnate Licenses Recombinant H1N1 Pandemic Swine Flu Vaccine to Biological E.; Vaccine Could Become Available for Use in India This Year
VaxInnate Corporation today announced that it has granted Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E. Limited a license to its recombinant H1N1 pandemic swine flu vaccine and is collaborating to facilitate the manufacture, clinical development and commercialization of the vaccine in India.
Source: Bussiness wire
Read more: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100112006111&newsLang=en

US reduces order for CSL's H1N1 vaccine
The US government recently cut back its contract for H1N1 influenza vaccine from Australian-based CSL Biotherapies by about 60%, mainly as a result of delays related to the company's commitment to make vaccine for Australia first.
Source: CIDRAP
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan1110vaccine.html
---
Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Indonesia mendirikan fasilitas peragaan flu burung pertama di dunia

2010-01-13T11:52:00.002+07:00

Pusat Peragaan Iptek (PP-IPTEK) TMII, bekerjasama dengan salah satu organisasi pemerintah Jerman GTZ (Deucthe Gesellscaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit) berusaha memfasilitasi perluasan informasi tentang apa dan bagaimana bahayanya flu burung kepada masyarakat dengan mengembangkan satu klaster baru tentang Flu Burung di galeri PP-IPTEK yang bertujuan untuk pencegahan lebih banyak lagi jatuhnya korban manusia.

Klaster flu burung merupakan diorama berukuran besar yang didalamnya berisi informasi seputar flu burung seperti: model virus HSN1, perbandingan jenis kandang yang sehat dan tidak sehat untuk unggas, poster-poster, pemutaran film, animasi komputer, quiz, permainan, dll. Pada fasilitas ini juga dilengkapi dengan arena bermain anak (ular tangga) dan arena demonstrasi yang berkait'an dengan flu burung. Program flu burung dikemas dalam bentuk yang menarik, interaktif, dan ,menyenangkan. Selain itu, akan dikembangkan pula program-program pendukung antara lain: materi pembelajaran bagi masyarakat, workshop bagi guru dan murid dengan segmentasi beda usia, peragaan/praktek pencegahan dan penanggulangan, serta bincang-bincang dengan pakar seputar avian dan swine influenza.

Klaster flu burung akan diresmikan penggunaannya untuk masyarakat luas oleh Deputi Pendayagunaan dan Pemasyarakatan Iptek -- Kementerian RISTEK, Dr. Idwan Suhardi, pada hari Selasa, 12 Januari 2010, puku110.00 s.d 11.00. Dengan adanya klaster flu burung ini PP-IPTEK berperan serta dalam meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat akan bahaya penyakit flu burung (terutama pada anak-anak), memberikan informasi karakter virus avian influenza dan jenis penyebaran penyakitnya, serta bagaimana cara pencegahan dan penanggulangannya.

Jakarta, 11 Januari 2010
Bagian Humas PP-IPTEK

Newsletter 11 Januari 2010

2010-01-11T15:31:00.001+07:00

New Issue
Diarrhea may be source of flu infection, researchers say
Diarrhea in flu-infected children may harbor the virus, scientists found, pointing to a previously unrecognized source of infection.
Tests on 733 children with influenza-like illness and an upset tummy found a minority of patients had seasonal strains in their stool and live viral particles were retrieved from one case. The finding, published yesterday in the journal BioMed Central, suggests that flu may invade the gastrointestinal tract, potentially acting as a mode of transmission. The research may help explain why gastric symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting, afflicts about one in five people with swine flu, the H1N1 strain that emerged last year and touched off the first influenza pandemic in 41 years. The study is believed to be the largest to investigate flu virus detected in the gastrointestinal tract of children with flu-like illness and diarrhea, the authors wrote.
Source: azcentral.com
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/01/08/20100108diarrhea-flu-source08-ON.html

Research
Immune response after a single vaccination against 2009 influenza A H1N1 in USA: a preliminary report of two randomised controlled phase 2 trials
[...] Findings: 410 of 423 children and 724 of 750 adults given an active vaccine, and 50 of 51 children and 95 of 99 adults given placebo were assessed for immunogenicity on day 21. After active vaccination, 45 of 101 (45%; 95% CI 35—55) to 47 of 94 (50%; 40—61) infants aged 6—35 months, 75 of 109 (69%; 59—77) to 80 of 106 (75%; 66—83) 3—9-year-old children, 134 of 141 (95%; 90—98) to 144 of 144 (100%; 98—100) of 18—64-year-old adults, and 93 of 100 (93%; 86—96) to 93 of 98 (95%; 89—98) elderly adults were seroprotected (proportion with titres ≥1:40). No vaccine-related serious adverse events occurred. Injection-site and systemic reactions were reported by up to about 50% of every age and vaccine group, with no noticeable differences between vaccine and placebo groups.
Source: Elsevier Limited
Read more: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2809%2962026-2/abstract

Comment
Influenza A: "They Organized the Psychosis"
by: Jean-Emmanuel Ducoin
And what if financial waste were to become a scandal of state ... and of many states? By dint of retracing the trail of the anti-influenza A shots, the debate over public policies during a pandemic is being utterly transformed into a vast denunciation of the collusion between laboratories and governments. We hardly doubt that, secretly, while laying low in the shadows, lobbyists did whatever necessary to convince decision makers to buy their vaccinations in massive quantities. Did these servants of the great trusts direct, and in consequence, manipulate the conditions of purchase? The troubling facts that we are publishing [see below] contain that which should arouse our most intense scrutiny. Our questions, moreover, are now shared ... and not by just anybody! The Council of Europe's Health Commission, no less, has, in fact, just voted for an official investigation to evaluate the influence of pharmaceutical groups on governments' and even the World Health Organization's choices ...[...]
Source: http://www.truthout.org
Read more: http://www.truthout.org/109103Ducoin

Risk Communication
What the CDC Is Saying about Swine Flu Severity?
by Peter Sandman
How deadly is the pandemic so far?
What age groups is it hitting hardest?
What age groups does the government say it is hitting hardest?[...]
This update draws some inescapable tentative conclusions from the most recent (December 10) tentative estimates of U.S. pandemic flu cases, hospitalizations, and deaths provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The update also contrasts the CDC’s estimates with CDC communication about them, and with the Department of Health and Human Services’ new H1N1 vaccination campaign, “Together we can all fight the flu,” launched on December 7.
I don’t have any opinion on whether the estimates the CDC reported on December 10 are reliable, valid, and useful. But I am certain that the arithmetic I have performed on those estimates to show what they mean is solid. And I am certain that what the CDC’s estimates mean diverges significantly from what the U.S. government is telling people about the pandemic.
(Continue . . . )
Source: The Peter M. Sandman Risk Communication Website
Read More: http://www.psandman.com/col/swinecomm.htm

Photo
A worker of the Beyoglu municipality uses disinfectant in a primary school classroom, part of precautions taken against the H1N1 virus in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. Two H1N1 patients died on Thursday, bringing the death toll from the flu in Turkey to three, the Health Ministry said. (AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)
Source: Boston
Read more: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/watching_the_h1n1_flu_pandemic.html

Quote
"There is a personal responsibility we share to do what we can to prevent the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus."
Source: News-Medical.net
Read more: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100110/Highmark-joins-with-CDC-to-promote-National-Influenza-Vaccination-Week.aspx

News Flash
Why Seniors Really Should Fear Swine Flu
Newsweek
In the federal government's explanations of swine flu, through its Web site and public-service announcements, ...
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/id/229947

UPDATE: 2009 H1N1 Flu International Situation Update
from CDC Swine Flu Updates
This report provides an update to the international situation as of January 8, 2010. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to report updated 2009 H1N1 flu-associated laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths on its Web page.
Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/international/

Swine flu toll reaches 12799: WHO
AFP
The Americas continues to report the biggest number of casualties with at least 6880 deaths while in Europe, at least 2554 people have died from the A(H1N1) ...
Read more: http://fwd4.me/Axi

Some immunity building up against pandemic flu: WHO
Reuters
GENEVA (Reuters) - Southern hemisphere countries struck by H1N1 flu last year are now broadly protected against new infections, the World Health ...
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL2ZT20100108

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 11 Januari 2010

2010-01-11T15:31:00.000+07:00

Newsletter 8 Januari 2010

2010-01-08T14:30:00.000+07:00

New Issue
Quarantine at ports found ineffective against new flu
The number of people infected with new flu who passed undetected through airport quarantine between April last year, when the new strain of influenza began spreading, and May was about 14 times higher than the number of infected people stopped at the airports, according to a study carried out by Tokyo University.
The research results confirm anew that to prepare for an outbreak of new infectious diseases, such as bird flu, it is essential to take comprehensive countermeasures, such as having medical institutions prepare to treat large numbers of patients and closing schools, in addition to quarantine, from the early stage of proliferation of such a disease.
Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun
Read more: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20100108TDY02305.htm

Research
When should we intervene to control the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic?
H Sato ()1,2, H Nakada3,2, R Yamaguchi4,2, S Imoto4,2, S Miyano4, M Kami3
We simulated the early phase of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic and assessed the effectiveness of public health interventions in Japan. We show that the detection rate of border quarantine was low and the timing of the intervention was the most important factor involved in the control of the pandemic, with the maximum reduction in daily cases obtained after interventions started on day 6 or 11. Early interventions were not always effective.
Source: Eurosurveillance
Read more: http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19455

Comment
Teaming Up with Olympians to Fight H1N1
Next month, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will begin in Canada. The world’s top athletes will gather in Vancouver, along with spectators from across the globe. These Games inspire all Americans to be physically active and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
One immediate step that you can take to protect your health is to get your H1N1 flu vaccination. Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls training for Vancouver are doing just that. Today, athletes, coaches, and staff who are Vancouver bound are getting vaccinated against the H1N1 flu at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the 2010 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. We urge all Americans to do the same and get their H1N1 vaccine.
Source: The White House Blog
Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/05/teaming-with-olympians-fight-h1n1

Risk Communication
To Reduce H1N1 Risk, Fly First Class
The perks of flying first class may include a reduced risk of acquiring H1N1 infection, according to a computer simulation of airborne transmission patterns within a large jet airliner.
Source: Medpage Today
Read more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/17853

Photo
AP Photo
L.A. Checker Cab driver Bhupinder Singh receives an innoculation as others wait, right rear, during a program to provide free H1N1 flu vaccinations to taxicab drivers, at a holding lot at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010. The program is sponsored by Los Angeles' nine franchised taxicab companies. "This is for the drivers' protection and for the protection of the public," said Michael Calin, general manager of Bell Cab (not shown).
Source: Daylife
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/photo/06n4cEXfLbfTN?q=h1n1

Quote
"With the high number of patients awaiting H1N1 vaccination, health agencies simply cannot afford to allocate staff to clinic appointment scheduling".
SOURCE: Freshnews.com
Read more: http://www.freshnews.com/news/264306/emedischedulecom-provides-online-clinic-scheduling-delaware-general-health-district

News Flash
Cilacap, Central Java ::: Bird flu attacks backyard chickens
Bird Flu Information Corner
At least 50 backyard chickens belong to locals in Desa Karangmangu, Kecamatan Kroya found suddenly dead. Head of Agriculture and Livestock Service of Kabupaten Cilacap, Gunawan, confirmed those chickens had died of bird flu or avian influenza (AI) virus.
Read more: http://birdflucorner.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/cilacap-central-java-bird-flu-attacks-backyard-chickens/
Which animal species are most likely to get flu?
The Economist
THE scientific value of zoos is sometimes called into question, but Mark Schrenzel and Bruce Rideout, two experts on wildlife diseases who work at San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, have just shown the value of having a wide range of animals to hand for study.
Read more: http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15211393
No U.S. decision on H1N1 vaccine orders: official
Reuters
The United States has not made a decision on whether to cancel or sell any of its orders for the H1N1 vaccine, unlike some countries in Europe, a federal health official said on Thursday.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6064WQ20100107?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FhealthNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Health+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
CDC hopes to prevent repeat of 1958 flu mortality surge
CIDRAP
Warning against complacency about H1N1 influenza, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said she doesn't want to see a repeat of what happened in 1957-58, when a perception that the pandemic was over was followed by a winter surge of flu- and pneumonia-related deaths.
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan0710cdc.html

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung.

Newsletter 7 Januari 2010

2010-01-07T13:41:00.001+07:00

New Issue
Doctor warns of higher mortality risk from steroid therapy
A risk posed by steroid therapy that crippled hundreds of patients of the 2003 SARS outbreak in China seems to have emerged in the current treatment regime for the H1N1 pandemic flu.
Overuse of the steroid glucocorticoid to treat critically-ill H1N1 patients has, in many cases, worsened their condition, even leading to deaths after weakening their immunity, warned Li Ning, president of Beijing Youan Hospital, one of the two government-designated hospitals to treat severe H1N1 cases.
Source: Xinhua
Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767959.htm

Research
Anti N1 Cross-Protecting Antibodies Against H5N1 Detected in H1N1 Infected People.
Frobert E, Bouscambert-Duchamp M, Escuret V, Mundweiler S, Barthélémy M, Morfin F, Valette M, Gerdil C, Lina B, Ferraris O.
Laboratoire de Virologie, Centre de Biologie et de Pathologie Est, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 59 boulevard Pinel, 69677, Bron Cedex, France.
The A(H5N1) influenza virus pandemic may be the result of avian H5N1 adapting to humans, leading to massive human to human transmission in a context of a lack of pre-existing immunity. As A(H1N1) and A(H5N1) share the same neuraminidase subtype, anti-N1 antibodies subsequent to H1N1 infections or vaccinations may confer some protection against A(H5N1). We analysed, by microneutralization assay, the A/Vietnam/1194/04 (H5N1) anti-N1 cross-protection acquired either during A/NewCaledonia/20/99 (H1N1) infection or vaccination. In cases with ocumented H1N1 infection, H5N1 cross-protection could be observed only in patients born between 1930 and 1950. No such protection was detected in the sera of vaccinated individuals. Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.S. National Library of Medicine
Read more: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20033691

Comment
Scientists predict rise in illnesses passed from animals to humans, like swine flu, bird flu and HIV
By Rosemary Black
If swine flu hasn’t given you enough health worries this winter, here’s some more dark news from the disease front: Scientists believe that a host of new illnesses passed from animals to humans are waiting around the corner, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Blame climate change and environmental disruption, experts say, and get ready for a boost in outbreaks because of global warming and changes in the way we farm and use the land.
Source: NYDailyNews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2010/01/06/2010-01-06_scientists_predict_rise_in_illnesses_passed_from_animals_to_humans_like_swine_fl.html#ixzz0bt9s7ISG

Risk Communication
N.J. providing H1N1 swine flu updates via Facebook, Twitter
Department of Health and Senior Services will offer videos, audio clips, posters, flyers, press releases and updates on the influenza
In an effort to reach more New Jerseyans through the increased usage of social media networks, the state Department of Health and Senior Services has created a Facebook page to share the latest information regarding swine flu and vaccine.
Individuals who have Facebook accounts can become a fan of the DHSS' H1N1 Resource page by searching the title on Facebook.
The department has also created a Twitter page, which is available at www.twitter.com/FluNJ.
Individuals who would like to access either Twitter or Facebook can also do so directly from the department's website at www.nj.gov/health.
Source: newjerseynewsroom.com
Read more: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/healthquest/nj-providing-h1n1-swine-flu-updates-via-facebook-twitter

Photo

Reuters Pictures
Panama's First Lady Marta Linares de Martinelli (C) receives the H1N1 vaccine in Panama City January 6, 2010. The Ministry of Health began a massive vaccination campaign against the H1N1 flu virus throughout the country with the first purchase of 300,000 doses of the vaccine, according to the health department press office.
Source: Daylife
Read more: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0cmr8Yh5DXfXx?q=h1n1

Quote
"Random use of steroids in all severe SARS or H1N1 patients is definitely wrong"
Source: Xinhua
Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767959.htm

News Flash
WHO-led H1N1 vaccine redistribution may be scaled back as countries reassess need
Google News
Softening demand for H1N1 vaccine may be spreading to a World Health Organization-led effort to provide developing countries with some pandemic vaccine, a WHO official said Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i2FZ88W88hY8W1zgTT-wrBXzq0cQ

RA Treatment Blunts Response to Seasonal Flu Vaccine
Medpage Today
The rheumatoid arthritis treatment rituximab (Rituxan), which depletes B cells, appears to hamper the humoral response to flu vaccine, Dutch researchers found.
Read more: http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/17824

Flu information for People with Diabetes and Caregivers of People with Diabetes
CDC Swine Flu Updates
People with diabetes are more likely to get flu-related complications like pneumonia and even be hospitalized or die from the flu than other people. Influenza may also interfere with blood glucose management. This fact sheet contains important information for diabetics.
Read more: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/download.asp?af=h&f=631665

Public health officials share school-based vaccination strategies
CIDRAP
School-based immunization campaigns have helped federal officials reach one of their top priority groups to receive the pandemic H1N1 vaccine, and lessons learned from the experiences may help other districts, not only this season but also during future flu seasons, experts said today at a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) live webinar.
Read more: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jan0610schools.html

Canada lends Mexico five million swine flu vaccine doses
AFP
OTTAWA — Canada will provide Mexico with five million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine to meet its immediate pandemic vaccine needs, Health Minister Leona ...
Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fafp%2Farticle%2FALeqM5hbgPCJ_d5MgwF8ECYb4eOJOyx9bA&usg=AFQjCNHV6evHaqMzmaD5JAm-KmzfN2uZ4g

A/H1N1 flu cases decrease in China
Xinhua
6 (Xinhua) -- A/H1N1 flu cases in the Chinese mainland decreased last week, said the Ministry of Health on Wednesday. According to the ministry's weekly ...
Read more: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.xinhuanet.com%2Fenglish%2F2010-01%2F06%2Fcontent_12766535.htm&usg=AFQjCNFdjfX0O3JW_4Z0wmDz1iZ9RuE9Dg

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 6 Jaunuari 2010

2010-01-07T13:35:00.001+07:00

New Issue
Fall flu wave tested pediatric hospitals with tough choices
... Pediatric hospitals throughout the United States have been at ground zero during both waves of the pandemic. The patients they care for are among the groups at highest risk for complications from the pandemic virus—young people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, neuromuscular disorders, and forms of cancer.
Source: CIDRAP

Research
Health Care Worker Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Regarding Mandatory Influenza Vaccination
Results: Many employees (70%) thought influenza vaccination should be mandatory for health care workers who did not have a medical contraindication. Nearly everyone, 363 of 391 (94%), who favored mandatory immunization had been immunized themselves. Of those who opposed mandatory immunization, 45 of 81 (55.6%) had been immunized (P < .001). Individuals who supported mandatory policies were more likely to believe that the vaccine is safe for both children and adults. There was no significant difference between the percentages of promandate and antimandate employees who believed influenza was dangerous for the patients where they work (66.5% and 62%, respectively, P = .07). Only 29% of antimandate employees believed they were at high risk of contracting influenza, compared with 51% of promandate employees (P < .001). Conclusions: Approval of mandatory influenza vaccine policies was high; however, attitudes about the dangers of influenza for patients were not associated with acceptance of mandatory vaccination policies for health care workers. Educational efforts targeting health care workers' fears and misconceptions about influenza vaccines might help to decrease the reservoir of unimmunized health care workers. [...] Source: Archpedi Comment Parting Shots: Now There’s Too Much H1N1 Flu Vaccine
A bunch of European countries ordered too much swine flu vaccine, so after months of waiting around for the flu shots to show up, they now find themselves canceling orders.
Source: Wall Street Journal Blog

Risk Communication
Blame it on Swine Flu - Hand Sanitizers Rival Pens as Most Popular Promo Product
The Advertising Specialty Institute announced that hand sanitizers now rival pens as one of the most popular logoed items that companies are giving away to clients and employees.
Indeed, searches of the key words “hand sanitizers” by promotional products distributors via the Advertising Specialty Institute’s promotional products database jumped 439% for the period between October 2009 and October 2008. Only searches for pens - which for years have been the best-selling logoed product in the promotional products industry - were higher that period. In addition, searches for sanitizer products of all kinds jumped by triple digits this year.
Source: Yahoo News - Advertising Specialty Institute

Photo

Figures in a Nativity scene, depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, wear face masks in a shop in the H1N1-hit city of Naples, Italy on November 5, 2009. Italy has reported 26 victims of the H1N1 influenza virus have died, and 41,000 people have been vaccinated in the country by the start of November. (REUTERS/Stefano Renna/Agnfoto)
Source: Boston

Quote
"The flu will be with us for a few more months." WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib.
WHO chief gets H1N1 flu vaccination
Source: Reuters

News Flash
Most Healthcare Workers Support Compulsory Influenza Vaccinations
Medscape
Most healthcare workers (HCWs) approve of mandatory influenza vaccines for hospital employees, and their numbers could be further boosted by giving opponents more information, according to a study released yesterday in the January 2010 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
NEW: Fact Sheet: Safety of Thimerosal in Vaccines Against 2009 H1N1 Flu
from CDC Swine Flu Updates
CDC is aware that pregnant women, parents of young children, and others may have questions about the safety of thimerosal in vaccines against 2009 H1N1 flu. The following fact sheet provides some information to help in making decisions.
IOM issues report on impacts of pandemic
Cidrap
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently published a report on the US and international impacts of the H1N1 pandemic, based on a workshop that was held in mid September and involved a committee of about 25 experts.
Flu Season: Factory Farming Could Cause A Catastrophic Pandemic
Huffington Post
I was intrigued (and disturbed) by a book I just read online -- www.BirdFluBook.org -- by Michael Greger, M.D. about the potential of a deadly flu pandemic, the likes of which we have never seen.
Detroit elementary students get free pizza for turning in H1N1 forms
Detroit News
Happy's Pizza is to provide a pizza party for students at Wilkins Elementary School on Wednesday as a reward for returning completed H1N1 vaccination forms.

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Newsletter 5 Januari 2010

2010-01-05T14:54:00.004+07:00

New Issue
Insect Cells Provide the Key to Alternative Swine Flu Vaccination
Scientists in Vienna have developed a new technique for producing vaccines for H1N1 -- so-called swine flu -- based on insect cells. The research, published in the Biotechnology Journal, reveals how influenza vaccines can be produced faster than through the traditional method of egg-based production, revealing a new strategy for the fight against influenza pandemics.
Source: Science Daily

Research
Immune response after a single vaccination against 2009 influenza A H1N1 in USA: a preliminary report of two randomised controlled phase 2 trials
Eric Plennevaux PhD a, Eric Sheldon MD b, Mark Blatter MD c, Mary-Kate Reeves-Hoché PhD d, Dr Martine Denis DVM a Background
Data are needed from large clinical trials of paediatric, adult, and elderly people to find the appropriate antigen dose and vaccination schedule for the 2009 pandemic influenza A H1N1. We therefore report preliminary safety and immunogenicity results after one injection of a licensed monovalent pandemic H1N1 vaccine in the USA. [...]
Findings
410 of 423 children and 724 of 750 adults given an active vaccine, and 50 of 51 children and 95 of 99 adults given placebo were assessed for immunogenicity on day 21. After active vaccination, 45 of 101 (45%; 95% CI 35—55) to 47 of 94 (50%; 40—61) infants aged 6—35 months, 75 of 109 (69%; 59—77) to 80 of 106 (75%; 66—83) 3—9-year-old children, 134 of 141 (95%; 90—98) to 144 of 144 (100%; 98—100) of 18—64-year-old adults, and 93 of 100 (93%; 86—96) to 93 of 98 (95%; 89—98) elderly adults were seroprotected (proportion with titres ≥1:40). No vaccine-related serious adverse events occurred. Injection-site and systemic reactions were reported by up to about 50% of every age and vaccine group, with no noticeable differences between vaccine and placebo groups. [...]
Source: The Lancet

Comment
What will happen to swine flu in 2010?
By Fergus Walsh
[...] Swine flu has not entirely gone away, and there are still patients critically ill in hospital with the complications of the virus. But it is nothing like as bad as had been feared. The latest figures from the Health Protection Agency show that cases continue to decline across the UK with the majority of infections being mild.
[...] The biggest concern would be virus mutation. But there are no tangible signs of a mutated H1N1 pandemic virus spreading in the community. So far, so reassuring - but let's wait and see what the year holds. So many people have been infected with swine flu that there is now quite a bit of herd immunity in Britain, which might itself force the virus to change its genetic make-up in order to keep circulating. [...]
Source: BBC

Risk Communication
Ads During Bowl Games Will Urge Students to Get Swine-Flu Vaccine
With the H1N1 flu continuing to pose a particular threat to young people, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is using college-football bowl games to again urge college students and other young people to get vaccinated against the influenza disease, commonly known as swine flu.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Photo
An Afghan boy tries to sell protective masks on a market in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. H1N1 has left 11 people dead in Afghanistan, where hundreds of Afghan and international troops are battling the disease and facing a rising militant insurgency. The Afghan Ministry of Public Health reported Monday that 710 of the 779 cases of the flu in the nation have been among military personnel. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) #
Source: Boston.com

Quote
"The pillows and blankets do not pose a specific health risk, but removing them is one way that Southwest can be proactive in reducing the spread of swine flu. We would rather take precaution and ensure that our flight attendants and fellow Employees who assist tidying the aircraft do not handle these items that have also had contact from the public".
Source: Business Journal of Phoenix

News Flash
Deadly animal diseases poised to infect humans
Independent
The world is facing a growing threat from new diseases that are jumping the human-animal species barrier as a result of environmental disruption, global warming and the progressive urbanisation of the planet, scientists have warned.
FDA Warns Public of Continued Extortion Scam by FDA Impersonators
FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning the public about criminals posing as FDA special agents and other law enforcement personnel as part of an international extortion scam.
Oriental Magpie Robin tested H5N1 positive in HK
Xinhua
HONG KONG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of Hong Kong said Monday that an Oriental Magpie Robin, a common resident bird in the city, found in a country park in the New Territories was confirmed H5N1 positive.
Kapuas, South Kalimantan ::: Mass chicken deaths confirmed H5N1 positive
Bird Flu Corner
Kuala Kapuas – Thousands of chickens confirmed to have died of bird flu H5N1 virus in Kabupaten Kapuas. Confirmation test to dead bird specimens, such as organ, serum and swab, was done by Veterinary Investigation and Diagnostic Center (BPPV) Regional V, Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan.

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung.

Newsletter 4 Januari 2010

2010-01-04T11:31:00.005+07:00

New Issue
Short-term school closures may worsen flu pandemics
Washington: Closing schools for less than a fortnight during a flu pandemic may actually increase infection rates and prolong an epidemic.
These findings by University of Pittsburgh researchers, based on a series of computer simulations, indicate that schools may need to be closed for at least eight weeks in order to cut down the spread of infection. [...]
Source: http://www.samachaar.in

Research
Household Transmission of 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in the United States
Simon Cauchemez, Ph.D., etc
Background As of June 11, 2009, a total of 17,855 probable or confirmed cases of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) had been reported in the United States. Risk factors for transmission remain largely uncharacterized. We characterize the risk factors and describe the transmission of the virus within households. [...]
Conclusions The transmissibility of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus in households is lower than that seen in past pandemics. Most transmissions occur soon before or after the onset of symptoms in a case patient. [...]
Source: The New England Journal of Medicine

Comment
Swine flu 2009: what went right and tip of the hat
New York Times correspondent Don McNeil is an excellent medical reporter. He always asks intelligent questions at the CDC pressers and he writes good articles. And he's written one for The Times yesterday that I agree with, although his support for it seems to me less than objective. In essence he asked the country's flu establishment how well the US handled swine flu. None of his sources are CDC employees but all of them are deeply involved in flu and flu policy in one way or another. And they gave themselves a big pat on the back. I hope they didn't wrench their shoulders. That might be a bit snarky, because in fact I agree with everything they say. I just find it amusing they are being used as authorities:
The decision to order vaccine made with a 50-year-old egg technology, rather than experimental methods, was controversial.
The outbreak highlighted many national weaknesses: old, slow vaccine technology; too much reliance on foreign vaccine factories; some major hospitals pushed to their limits by a relatively mild epidemic.[...]
Source: Science Blogs

Risk Communication
Information Management and Communications in Emergencies and Disasters

This new manual helps improve how information and communications are handled: how to obtain good quality information, how to make sure it is available quickly and how to communicate the content to individuals and organizations that need it. [...]
Download the manual
Source: PAHO

Photo
Flickr
The US is in the midst of a vaccination campaign against H1N1, which is relatively mild but has proven unusually dangerous to children.
Source: Usable with attribution and link to: www.Futureatlas.com

Quote
"My impression is that most families of children with egg allergies are under the impression that they can't receive any influenza vaccine ... Many of these children can safely receive H1N1 or influenza vaccine, although it does need to be done in a very controlled manner."
SOURCE: The Star-Press | Muncie, IN

News Flash
Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 81
30 December 2009 -- As of 27 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 12220 deaths. [...]
Source: WHO
Successes and challenges of 2009
WHO
The headline that dominated the year was easily the H1N1 pandemic. On 11 June, 2009, WHO declared the start of the first influenza pandemic since 1968. In this episode we listen to WHO's Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, discuss the successes and challenges of 2009.
Will Higher Global Temperatures Make It Easier for Viruses to Jump Species?
Science daily
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Idaho soon will begin investigating whether viruses that have adapted to higher temperatures -- similar to increases due to global warming -- can jump species more easily. Bacteria May Cause H1N1 Death Rate Increase (CME/CE)
MedPage Today Infectious Disease
A bacterial coinfection with the H1N1 pandemic flu may explain the unusually high case fatality seen in Argentina earlier this year, researchers said.
China releases A/H1N1 flu prevention guide for women at risk
Xinhua
China's Health Ministry on Wednesday issued a guide to help prevent pregnant women and women with young children from getting the A/H1N1 flu. ...
Most swine flu cases without severe symptoms: study
AFP
Infection rates for the pandemic H1N1 virus in France, where the study was done, may be far higher than previously thought if these so-called "asymptomatic" ...

Disclaimer: Newsletter ini hanya merupakan kumpulan dari artikel/liputan/tulisan yang diambil dari berbagai sumber mengenai situasi terkini pandemi influenza di seluruh dunia termasuk Indonesia. Namun demikian isi/ilustrasi/foto tidak mewakili kepentingan atau kebijakan KOMNAS FBPI secara langsung

Workshop nasional peningkatan kapasitas Pemda dalam penanggulangan flu burung dan penyakit zoonosis se-Kalimantan

2009-12-29T13:35:00.002+07:00

Pertemuan ini merupakan upaya bersama Sekretariat Komnas FBPkah koordinasi, Kelompok
Kerja Regional (KKR) Komnas FBPI wilayah Kalimantan, dan Pemerintah Daerah Kalimantan
Barat untuk meningkatkan langkah koordinasi penanganan flu burung dan kesiapsiagaan
menghadapi pandemi influenza sekaligus mengantisipasi paska berakhirnya masa bhakti
Komnas FBPI tahun 2010.

Melalui pertemuan ini, merupakan forum penyegaran materi dan koordinasi kelembagaan
se-Kalimantan menuju wilayah pembebasan wilayah dari flu burung. Dalam hal ini
untuk memprakarsai Kalimantan Barat bebas flu burung.

Pembebasan wilayah perlu dideklarasikan. Secara politis, ekonomi, dan kesejahteraan sosial
akan memberikan hal positif untuk kemajuan daerah.

Syarat-syarat pembebasan wilayah Kalimantan Barat dari flu burung didukung oleh hasil
pemantauan bahwa wilayah dimaksud tidak dilaporkan kasus flu burung untuk jangka waktu
yang cukup lama.

Kutipan-kutipan terbaik tentang H1N1 tahun 2009 dari media Kanada

2009-12-28T09:51:00.001+07:00

Quotes from newsroom voters who picked top Canadian news story in 2009
Some quotes from voters who took part in The Canadian Press survey that chose the H1N1 flu pandemic as Canada's top news story for 2009:
"The H1N1 flu scare is almost more famous for the way it was handled by the media than how it spread wildly across the country." Victor Krasowski, news director, CJUK-CKTG, Thunder Bay, Ont.
-
"It was a coast-to-coast story that people followed with interest no matter where they lived in Canada." Lesley Sheppard, managing editor, the Times-Herald, Moose Jaw, Sask.
-
"The H1N1 situation, while abated, still has many people on pins and needles. We run frequent updates and the public asks for more!" Peter Lapinskie, managing editor, the Daily Observer, Pembroke, Ont.
-
"Everyone was talking about H1N1, whether you got the shot or not." Scott Metcalfe, news director, 680News, Toronto
-
"Note that in Saskatchewan, H1N1 has killed 12, all with pre-existing conditions. Meanwhile, drunk drivers continue to kill more than the flu, and nobody gives a damn." Vern Faulkner, managing editor, the Daily Herald, Prince Albert, Sask.
-
"From junior hockey players in Sarnia, Ont., jumping the (flu-shot) queue to the death of 13-year-old Evan Frustaglio, no other Canadian story this decade, let alone this year, created such feelings of anger, fear and apathy among Canadians. It also begged the question: Is our government able to handle a major catastrophe?" James M. Miller, managing editor, the Daily Herald, Penticton, B.C.
-
"The way health organizations spun this issue, I expected people to be falling dead in the street. It didn't happen and once again the so-called experts got it wrong when it comes to a new virus hitting people. You can only cry wolf so many times before the public stops listening to your warnings. Or maybe people already have. Despite all the fear-mongering by health organizations, a large number of people have not bothered to get inoculated. You can count me among that group." Rocco Frangione, news director, CFXN FM, North Bay, Ont.
-
"Initially, what a mess! But we seem to have come out of this thing better than expected. If nothing else, we're prepared for the third wave." Gerry Phelan, corporate news director, VOCM, St. John's, N.L.
-
"There isn't a Canadian out there that isn't affected by or interested in the virus and how in may affect their families." Sandy Heimlich-Hall, assistant news director, CFJC-TV/B100/CIFM, Kamloops, B.C.

Source: Yahoo News By The Canadian Press

Comparing deaths from pandemic and seasonal influenza

2009-12-23T12:36:00.002+07:00

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note 20

22 DECEMBER 2009 GENEVA -- Efforts to assess the severity of the H1N1 influenza pandemic sometimes compare numbers of confirmed deaths with those estimated for seasonal influenza, either nationally or worldwide. Such comparisons are not reliable for several reasons and can be misleading.

Numbers of deaths for seasonal influenza are estimates. They use statistical models designed to calculate so-called excess mortality that occurs during the period when influenza viruses are circulating widely in a given population.

Estimates using all-cause mortality

The models use data, as recorded in death certificates and medical records, indicating mortality from all causes, and compare the number of deaths during epidemics of seasonal influenza with baseline data on deaths during the rest of the year. The assumption is that infections with influenza viruses contribute to the “excess mortality” observed during the influenza season.

During epidemics of seasonal influenza, around 90% of deaths occur in the frail elderly, who often suffer from one or more chronic medical conditions. Although influenza can worsen these conditions and contribute to death, testing for influenza viruses is not done in most cases, and deaths are usually attributed to an underlying medical condition.

Methods for estimating excess mortality were introduced in the 19th century to capture these influenza-associated deaths that would otherwise be missed. Such estimates have helped counter assumptions that influenza is a mild illness that rarely kills.

Laboratory-confirmed deaths

In contrast, numbers of deaths from pandemic influenza, as notified by national authorities and tabulated by WHO, are laboratory-confirmed deaths, not estimates. For several reasons, these numbers do not give a true picture of mortality during the pandemic, which is unquestionably higher than indicated by laboratory-confirmed cases.

As pandemic influenza mimics the signs and symptoms of many common infectious diseases, doctors often do not suspect H1N1 infection and do not test. This is especially true in developing countries, where deaths from respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, are common occurrences. Moreover, routine testing for pandemic influenza is costly and demanding, and beyond the reach of most countries.

When testing confirms H1N1 infection in patients with underlying medical conditions, many doctors record these deaths as due to the medical condition, and not to the pandemic virus. These cases are also missed in official statistics.

As recent studies have shown, some tests for H1N1 infection are not entirely reliable, and false-negative results are a frequent problem. Accurate test results further depend on how and when samples were taken. Even in the best-equipped hospitals, doctors have reported seeing patients with distinctive and virtually identical disease profiles, yet only some have positive test results.

Moreover, in a large number of developing countries, systems for vital registration are either weak or non-existent, meaning that most deaths are neither investigated nor certified in terms of the cause.

Younger age groups

Comparisons of deaths from pandemic and seasonal influenza do not accurately measure the impact of the pandemic for another reason. Compared with seasonal influenza, the H1N1 virus affects a much younger age group in all categories – those most frequently infected, hospitalized, requiring intensive care, and dying.

WHO continues to assess the impact of the influenza pandemic as moderate. Accurate assessments of mortality and mortality rates will likely be possible only one to two years after the pandemic has peaked, and will rely on methods similar to those used to calculate excess mortality during seasonal influenza epidemics.

Source: WHO

Cerita Gambar dari Simulasi Respon Pandemi (Wabah) Flu, Pelabuhan Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, 17 Desember 2009

2009-12-23T11:02:00.006+07:00

Tim verifikasi kesehatan pelabuhan merespon laporan
bahwa ada penumpang kapal roro yang
terjangkit flu mematikan

Tim verifikasi melakukan tatalaksana penanganan pasien
di dalam kapal roro

Penyiapan pasien untuk dipindahkan ke kapal rumah sakit

Proses pemindahan pasien

Kapal rumah sakit yang menjadi tujuan pemindahan
pasien untuk penanganan lebih lanjut

Pasien telah sampai di kapal rumah sakit

Penanganan pasien di dalam kapal rumah sakit

Koordinasi di pelabuhan untuk mengantisipasi hal-hal
seperti logistik, keamanan, sumber daya, dll diikuti
oleh instansi multi sektor di pelabuhan

Foto oleh: Habibie Yukezain (Staf Komunikasi Komnas FBPI)

Simulasi Respon Pandemi Multisektor Penanggulangan Pandemi Influenza Surabaya, 17 Desember 2009

2009-12-14T10:36:00.001+07:00

Lembar Informasi/Fact Sheet: Simulasi Respon Pandemi Multisektor Penanggulangan Pandemi Influenza Surabaya, 17 Desember 2009

Latar Belakang:
Dunia telah mengalami tiga kali pandemi influenza (1918, 1957, 1968) dan sekarang sedang mengalami pandemi influenza keempat (Influenza A H1N1). Pandemi merupakan sesuatu yang tidak bisa diperkirakan waktu terjadinya, tersebar secara global, berdampak multi sektor, sehingga perlu belajar dari pengalaman masa lalu.

Pengalaman dengan kejadian pandemi influenza yang lalu menunjukkan bahwa dampak pandemi influenza tidak hanya terhadap aspek kesehatan, berupa meningkatnya angka kesakitan dan kematian, namun juga terhadap aspek sosial, berupa meningkatnya keresahan masyarakat, serta terhadap aspek ekonomi, berupa kelumpuhan sarana dan prasarana ekonomi. Oleh karena itu, langkah-langkah antisipatif perlu diambil, kemudian dituangkan kedalam suatu rencana aksi yang meliputi rencana kesiapsiagaan dan respon menghadapi pandemi. Komnas FBPI telah membuat pedoman tersebut, yang diberi nama Pedoman Nasional Kesiapsiagaan dan Respon Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza. Komnas FBPI berharap bahwa masing-masing pemangku kepentingan dapat menyusun rencana aksinya sendiri, yang dapat mereka gunakan sebagai acuan dalam mempertahankan kelancaran layanan sosial dan bisnis saat pandemi terjadi.
Badan Kesehatan Dunia (WHO) telah menetapkan bahwa dunia berada dalam fase enam pandemi influenza A (H1N1) 2009. Berdasarkan data WHO 29 November 2009, 207 negara telah terkonfirmasi dan 8.768 meninggal dunia. Sedangkan di Indonesia, berdasarkan Departemen Kesehatan tanggal 4 September 2009, 25 propinsi terkonfirmasi terinfeksi dengan 1.097 kasus dan 10 meninggal dunia.

Surabaya, selain ibukota propinsi dan perbatasan daerah, merupakan daerah industri dan perdagangan, sehingga menjadi daerah yang strategis baik dari sisi ekonomi maupun territorial. Oleh karena itu, untuk menjaga keberlangsungan kegiatan yang ada, pemerintah memandang perlunya seluruh sektor di kota Surabaya siap untuk merespon pandemi influenza.
Untuk menguji kesiapan dan respon seluruh sektor dalam penangulangan pandemi influenza, Komnas FBPI mengadakan Simulasi Respon Pandemi Multisektor Penangulangan Pandemi Influenza di Pelabuhan Utama Tanjung Perak Surabaya pada 17 Desember 2009.

Tujuan:
* Meningkatkan kesiapsiagaan menghadapi pandemi influeza yang melibatkan seluruh sektor mulai di level lapangan sampai pemangku kepentingan dengan menguji coba Pedoman Nasional Kesiapsiagaan dan Respon Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza di tingkat daerah.
* Menguji langkah tindak dari pemangku kepentingan agar mampu membangun kesiapsiagaan dan bertindak dalam merespon pandemi influenza: Menguji jejaring kesiapsigaan; Menguji strategi pencegahan, respon dan pembatasan penyebaran pandemi Influenza; Untuk memelihara dan meningkatkan kemampuan multisektor di daerah dalam penanggulangan pandemi influenza; Untuk menguji coba jalur koordinasi dan komunikasi di tingkat daerah dalam merespon pandemi influenza.

Sasaran:
* Petugas lapangan mampu melakukan tugasnya dalam rangka respon pandemi influenza sesuai prosedur tetap yang ada ditiap instansi.
* Pengambil kebijakan mampu melakukan komunikasi dalam respon pandemi influenza.

Waktu dan Tempat:
17 Desember 2009, 08.00 WIB - Selesai, Pelabuhan Utama Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, Jawa Timur.

Pelaksana Kegiatan:
* Penyelenggara : Komnas FBPI, Kelompok Kerja Regional IV Surabaya, dan TNI Angkatan Laut.
* Pelaku Pelabuhan: TNI AL Armada Timur, Marinir AL, RSAL dr. Ramelan, Kantor Kesehatan Pelabuhan. ASDP, KPPP, Imigrasi, Ditjen Bea Cukai, PELNI, KPLP.

Agenda:
* 08.00 - 08.20: Pembukaan (Ketua Pelaksana Simulasi, Walikota Surabaya, Ketua Pelaksana Harian Komnas FBPI) di Lapangan Utama Simulasi
* 08.20 - 11.00: Simulasi Pandemi

Skenario:
Simulasi dilakukan dengan mengujicobakan Pedoman Nasional Kesiapsiagaan dan Rencana Respon Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza di tingkat nasional dan daerah terutama pada jalur komunikasi dan koordinasi. Skenario simulasi dititikberatkan pada situasi pandemi fase enam yaitu mitigasi dampak flu mutasi ganas. Sedangkan fokus kegiatan simulasi adalah koordinasi multi sektor dengan pengetatan pengawasan di pintu masuk, penanganan kasus di kapal dan rumah sakit oleh tenaga kesehatan pelabuhan dan daerah.

Garis besar materi yang akan diuji coba dalam simulasi ini adalah:
* Intervensi non farmasi
* Perimeter/karantina wilayah
* Komunikasi risiko
* Keberlangsungan pelayanan esensial
* Pengamanan instalasi vital
* Pengawasan orang dan barang di pintu masuk dan keluar
* Aktivasi sistem komando pengendali lapangan (SKPL/ICS)
* Logistik umum

Informasi Lebih Lanjut:
Bidang Komunikasi Sekretariat Komnas FBPI
Wisma ITC Lantai 4, Jalan Abdul Muis No. 8
Jakarta 10160
Telepon: (021) 385 4227
Fax: (021) 385 8974
Email: komunikasi.fbpi@gmail.com
Contact Person:
* Habibie Yukezain - Staf Komunikasi Komnas FBPI (0818 940 627)
* Andika Pambudi - Staf Komunikasi Komnas FBPI (0856 987 5090)
* Sri Sukesi - Humas ADPEL (0813933379221)