INFOFLU: Newsletter 15 Februari 2010

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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 ...

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 Februari 2010

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