GMS Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update as of August 13th, 2009
(0830 HRS PST)
The next update will be on Tuesday August 18th, at 08:30am PST.
The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6
- The Public Health Agency of Canada has awarded a $926,000 contract to the non-profit International Centre for Infectious Disease in Winnipeg to help small and medium-sized businesses respond to the H1N1 flu pandemic. According to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq "The International Centre for Infectious Disease, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, will develop extensive communication programs designed to reach over 300,000 small and medium businesses." CBC
International News
- Pandemic H1N1 influenza is spreading in India, Thailand, and Vietnam with the onset of Asia's monsoon season, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday. The regular flu season has started in those countries, and both H1N1 and seasonal flu are being detected, said WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi. However, the spread of pandemic H1N1 appears to have peaked in parts of the southern hemisphere, including Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. Reuters
- In his clinical observation of novel flu cases in the United States and South America, Richard P. Wenzel, MD, former president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, has noted that some patients are afebrile (without fever), even some with serious infections, and lack of fever might underestimate case totals, the New York Times reported yesterday. New York Times
- Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, will shut schools and movie theaters as pandemic flu-related deaths jumped, ignoring Indian federal government advice to keep educational institutions open. Schools will close for seven days and malls and movie halls for three to contain the virus, Prajakta Lavangare, a director general of the Maharashtra state government said. Bloomberg
- France's minister of education is ready to close all of the country's schools in the event of a major pandemic flu outbreak. "In case of a complete pandemic we are ready to close all of the schools in France," Luc Chatel, France's eduction minister, was quoted as saying by Le Figaro, a Paris-based daily. French authorities have, over the summer, worked on distance learning materials that can be broadcast on television, radio and the Internet to help students forced to stay home keep up with their classes, he added. AFP
- Health officials are being prudent to plan for a more severe second pandemic wave, but a historical review of previous pandemics offers confusing clues about patterns with no evidence that virus mutations led to increased transmissibility, two federal researchers wrote today in a commentary appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). JAMA
Guidance and Recommendations
- The PHAC has released interim guidance for the Prevention and management of cases of influenza-like-illness (ILI) that may be due to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus on cruise ships.
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