Current WHO Pandemic Alert remains at Phase 5
Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Related Deaths by Country (as of 8 AM PST May 13th)
| WHO Regions & Country | Lab Confirmed Cases | Lab Confirmed Deaths | ||
| Cases Confirmed on May 12th | Total Cases | Deaths Confirmed on May 12th | Total Deaths | |
| AMERICAS | ||||
| Mexico | 0 | 2059 | 0 | 56 |
| US | 409 | 3009 | 0 | 3 |
| Canada | 28 | 358 | 0 | 1 |
| El Salvador | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Costa Rica | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Columbia | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Guatemala | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazil | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Panama | 13 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| Argentina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cuba (new) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| EUROPE | ||||
| UK | 13 | 68 | 0 | 0 |
| Spain | 3 | 98 | 0 | 0 |
| Germany | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| France | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Denmark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Italy | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Portugal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sweden | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Poland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Norway | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Finland (new) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN | ||||
| Israel | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| WESTERN PACIFIC | ||||
| China (incl. Hong Kong) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Australia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Japan | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| SOUTH-EAST ASIA | ||||
| Rep. of Korea | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Thailand (new) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 477 | 5728 | 0 | 61 |
*Lab confirmed cases and deaths have been provided by the WHO’s Influenza A (H1N1) – Update #27.
Local/National News- On May 12th, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that 26 additional cases of Influenza A (H1N1) had been confirmed. Ontario still has the most cases in Canada (113), followed by British Columbia (83), Nova Scotia (64), Alberta (53), Quebec (25), Saskatchewan (12), PEI (3), New Brunswick (2), and Manitoba (2). Canada’s total case count is now at 358. PHAC
- The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) is reporting the following confirmed case numbers across the province:
- 32 in Fraser Health
- 2 in Interior Health
- 16 in Northern Health
- 23 in Vancouver Coastal Health
- 10 on Vancouver Island
- Four workers at two Toronto hospitals, one of whom had contact with patients, have tested positive for the novel H1N1 flu. Two of the employees were reportedly exposed to the virus in the community, and one of them passed it on to two coworkers. A hospital spokeswoman said so far no novel H1N1 infections have been reported in any patients that had contact with the sick staff members. Toronto Star
International News
- WHO authorities said on May 12th that countries should save antiviral drugs for those patients most at risk, including those already suffering from other diseases or complications. Associated Press
- The virus isolated from a second swine flu patient in the Netherlands has an intriguing mutation in a gene called PB2 that could mean that the virus has become better at spreading from person-to-person, a team of Dutch researchers reported on Friday on ProMED, a monitoring system for disease outbreaks.
- At a news briefing on May 12th, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that pregnant women are at increased risk for flu complications such as pneumonia, dehydration, and premature labor, especially with the novel H1N1 strain. She said the CDC is investigating 20 cases of the disease in pregnant women, a few of whom have had severe complications, and one fatality, a previously reported Texas woman. Schuchat urged prompt antiviral treatment for pregnant women and prophylaxis if they had come in contact with suspected or confirmed cases. CDC briefing transcript
- On May 11th, Cuba's health ministry announced the nation's first H1N1 case- a Mexican medical student who was studying at a clinic in Cuba and had recently returned from a visit to his home country. A few hours later, Fidel Castro, Cuba's former president, posted a column on the government's Web site accusing Mexico of hiding the flu outbreak until after US President Obama's visit in April. AP
- Europe's heavy use of antiviral medication against swine flu does not appear to be creating drug resistance, but countries should follow the lead of Mexico and the United States to target the medicine to patients most at risk, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. WHO flu expert, Dr. Nikki Shindo, told reporters there is always a risk that drug-resistant flu viruses will emerge through the overuse of such antivirals. Associated Press
- Roche, the maker of Tamiflu (oseltamivir), announced that it is donating 5.65 million treatment courses to the WHO to replenish a 2-million-course regional outbreak stockpile and a 3-million-course rapid-response stockpile. The donation also establishes a pediatric stockpile of 650,000 courses. Production capacity will reach 110 million courses over the next 5 months and will amount to 36 million courses per month by the end of the year if needed. Roche press release
- The U.S. CDC has released Clinical Data Collection Forms and Templates for Collection of Information on Patients Infected with Novel Influenza A (H1N1). The data collection forms are for public health officials, researchers, and clinicians in the medical and academic communities in the United States and in other countries.
So far, how does influenza A H1N1 compare to past pandemics?
A recent report published in the journal, Science, has analysed the ongoing H1N1 outbreaks and concludes that the spread of this novel virus has all of the characteristics of a pandemic. Fortunately, the data also indicates that thus far, fatality rates are much lower than those seen during the 1918 flu outbreak or those anticipated from an avian influenza pandemic.The study focuses largely on data from Mexico, and found the following:
- 6,000 – 32,000 individuals had been infected in Mexico by late April (despite only 2,059 lab confirmed cases as of today)
- The swine flu rate has a basic reproductive rate of 1.2-1.6. This number takes into account how easily the virus spreads within a population, by comparison seasonal flu is usually about 1.2, while the more severe waves of the 1918 pandemic were around 2.
- Swine flu strikes children more than the elderly. One theory to explain this is that adults are more likely to have encountered similar viruses and developed some level of immunity to them.
- The fatality rate from this season’s swine flu outbreak has been measured at around 0.4% but the data is still very preliminary. This is similar to the milder 1957 influenza pandemic.
Posts
