The WHO Pandemic Alert remains at Phase 5.
Local/National News
- The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced on May 16th that there were no new H1N1 cases confirmed in Canada. Ontario still has the most cases in the country (187), followed by British Columbia (100), Alberta (67), Nova Scotia (66), Quebec (47), Saskatchewan (19), Manitoba (4), PEI (3), New Brunswick (2), and the Yukon (1). Canada’s total case count remains at 496. PHAC
- The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) continues to report the following confirmed cases across the province: 20 in Northern Health; 2 in Interior Health; 13 on Vancouver Island Health; 27 in Vancouver Coastal Health; and, 38 in Fraser Health.
International News
- Japan said Sunday that its confirmed cases rose to 74, from just five cases one day earlier. Japan earlier confirmed its first case of swine flu caught within the country, showing that efforts to block flu at its borders had failed. Associated Press
- Turkey's health officials said the virus was detected in a man and his mother who had traveled to Istanbul from the U.S. Associated Press
- Additional countries--Malaysia and Peru--reported their first novel H1N1 cases, the Voice of America reported on Friday. Malaysia's health ministry reported a case in a student returning from the United States. According to other media reports, the Peruvian patient is a woman who got sick after returning from New York. Voice of America News
Today’s Key Question
What is the genetic lineage of the novel influenza A (H1N1) strain?
The current swine flu virus bears the same two identifying markers (H1 and N1) as the 1918 Spanish influenza virus, but it is still genetically unique. This picture depicts its genetic lineage and breaks the science down:
Posts
