Global's H1N1 Update - 09/29/09, 0830 hrs PST

The next update will be on Thursday, October 1st, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 20th September, 2009

Local/National News

An unpublished, scientific paper, written by Dr. Danuta Skowronski of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and Dr. Gaston De Serres of Laval University, has raised the possibility that recipients of the seasonal flu vaccination in 2009 are twice as likely to contract the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus. The study, which involved 2000 clinical subjects from British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario, is currently under review at the World Health Organization. Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the agency's Initiative for Vaccine Research, confirmed that the WHO is assembling a team of experts to peer review the paper. CBC

The above mentioned study has caused the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia to suspend seasonal flu shots for anyone less than 65 years of age until after the H1N1 vaccinations have been completed. Manitoba is currently undecided while New Brunswick is a lone hold-out, announcing it would forge ahead with seasonal flu shots for all residents in October, as originally planned. Globe and Mail

The Catholic Archdiocese of Winnipeg has banned handshaking between church-goers over concerns it could lead people to contract the H1N1 influenza virus. Archbishop James Weisgerber said all city Catholic churches and schools are now in "Stage 1" of a three-stage pandemic prevention plan. The archdiocese also said public holy-water fonts at church entrances have been drained to be replaced there by hand-sanitizing stations instead. CBC

The B.C. Medical Association wants its member physicians to be paid a fee by the provincial government for phone consultations involving potential H1N1 influenza cases. BCMA president Dr. Brian Brodie said it would be financially and medically smarter to keep possible H1N1 patients at home rather than having them come to physician offices, where other patients could be infected with the virus. The phone consultation fee, recently proposed by the BCMA in discussions with the ministry of health, is $14.74, half the current office-visit fee. Vancouver Sun

International News

Shops, hotels, and tour operators in Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, in western Saudi Arabia are counting the losses as many pilgrims, worried about swine flu, stay at home. The haj, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, is still two months away but there has already been a marked fall in visitors for the minor pilgrimage known as umra, which can be done at any time of the year. Tourism officials have said that hotel occupancy rates during the last ten days of the fasting month of Ramadan, when many perform umra, fell by more than a third to 55 percent compared to last year. Reuters

Vaccine News

Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu has said that no “serious adverse reaction” has been reported from people being immunized with the China-made H1N1 flu vaccine. Zhu’s comments follow reports of Beijing announcing 14 cases of adverse reaction out of 39,000 residents, who were inoculated with the vaccine. Earlier, Liang Xiaofeng, director of the immunization center under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had said the inoculations are safe, but that the possibility of adverse reactions cannot be ruled out. Health News

The U.S. government is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side-effects as mass swine flu vaccinations begin next month. The idea is to detect any rare but real problems quickly, and explain the inevitable coincidences that are sure to cause some false alarms. Scientists at Harvard Medical School are linking large insurance databases that cover up to 50 million people with vaccination registries around the country for real-time checks of whether people see a doctor in the weeks after a flu shot and why. The CDC is also preparing take-home cards that tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side-effects to the nation's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system. CBC

American health insurers Aetna Inc. and Anthem Blue Cross have confirmed they will cover administration of a swine flu vaccine for all plan members. Both companies said members will not have to make a co-payment or a deductible to get the vaccination. Anthem Blue Cross also said the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza "will move to an economical tier in plan formularies." Associated Press

A rally has been planned in Albany by health workers primarily from Stony Brook University Medicine Centre to protest the mandatory vaccination prescribed to all health workers in the New York state. Workers who refuse the shot will be reassigned to non-patient care roles. However, once these roles have been filled, those who continue to refuse will have their employment terminated. Some nurses and many other health care providers say the regulation violates their personal freedom and leaves them vulnerable to vaccine injury, citing deaths associated with the last federal government swine flu vaccination program in 1976. Newsday

Week’s Feature

Although most cases so far have been mild, an H1N1 infection can severely damage the lungs of some people. The following links provide a comparison of a healthy set of lungs with those of a patient infected with H1N1.

Healthy lungs: X-Ray

Patient with H1N1: Diagnostic Imaging X-Rays

Global's H1N1 Update-09/24/09, 0830 hrs PST

The next update will be on Tuesday, September 29th, at 08:30 PST.
The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 13th September, 2009

Local/National News

The Government of Canada, in partnership with provincial and territorial governments, has launched a national television ad promoting infection prevention behaviours to prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care produced the ad and the Public Health Agency of Canada is paying for it to air on television stations across Canada. The ad encourages Canadians to wash their hands, cough into their arm, and keep common surfaces clean to prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu. PHAC

The Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese has confirmed two known cases of H1N1 in its high schools in the Lower Mainland. One of the cases is at Notre Dame Regional Secondary, where 100 students were absent today; the other confirmed case is at St. Patrick's Regional Secondary. Superintendent Doug Lawson commented, "I would imagine there are a fair number of families who are electing not to come to school." News1130

International News

According to Dr. James Turner, president of the American College Health Association and executive director of student health at the University of Virginia, more than 13,000 college students have had flu-like symptoms in the last month at 250 colleges spread across the country. However, there is no way to tell how many of those are H1N1 because health officials are no longer testing every sick student. So far, two students have died from the flu — one at Troy University in Alabama on September 4 and one at Cornell University on September 11. Chicago Tribune

Sanofi-Aventis (SA) will begin delivering the first doses of its new swine flu vaccine in the United States by mid-October. SA will be able to produce at least 800 million doses of the vaccine per year. The U.S. has ordered 195 million doses but may order more if there's enough demand. Typically fewer than 100 million Americans seek flu vaccine every year. Health Key

The Japanese Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry is looking at giving subsidies to all hospitals and clinics across Japan to better deal with swine flu. The money would be used not only to improve medical facilities but also to reinforce quarantine systems and purchase vaccine. Hospitals that receive the subsidies would also have to increase the number of beds for patients whose swine flu symptoms become serious and put in place shields to prevent other patients from getting infected. Japan Times

Antiviral News

At a conference in San Francisco organized by the American Society for Microbiology, researchers presented data on peramivir, a new antiviral drug that works the same way as Tamiflu and Relenza but is given intravenously. Studies report that a single 15- to 30-minute infusion of peramivir was equivalent to a five-day course of Tamiflu in alleviating symptoms of the seasonal flu. An intravenous drug could also be used by patients who cannot swallow Tamiflu capsules or inhale Relenza. New York Times

Vaccine News

With evidence mounting that the swine flu virus will become the dominant strain causing flu infections in 2009, public health officials across Canada are debating scrapping vaccine programs for seasonal flu, allowing health workers to focus instead on swine flu vaccination. Young children getting both shots would have to visit the clinic and get inoculated four times to be fully protected. Health officials in Quebec are already saying they're putting the seasonal flu shot program on standby. CTV

Week’s Feature

Concerned about the H1N1 vaccine? Watch CBS’s coverage of the safety and required dosage of the vaccine

Global's H1N1 Update - 9/22/09, 0830 HRS PST

The next update will be on Thursday, September 24th, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 13^th September, 2009

Local/National News

The Conservative government is spending more than five times as many taxpayer dollars on promoting its economic plan as it is on raising public awareness about the flu pandemic. The Public Health Agency of Canada says it has a total marketing budget of $6.5 million to inform Canadians about the H1N1 virus and how to avoid infection. In comparison, $34-million has been earmarked for a media campaign promoting the Conservative's recession-fighting budget. CTV

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, with Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo, recently signed a communications protocol , promising to work closely with aboriginal leaders to control the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. The protocol is aimed at improving communications between government officials and First Nations communities, particularly those in remote and rural areas. CBC

The federal government won't say if Canadians who suffer harmful side effects from the new swine flu shot will be able to take the vaccine maker to court. The Public Health Agency of Canada will not reveal whether drug companies are shielded from H1N1 flu vaccine lawsuits in this country like they are in the United States. American Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has granted legal immunity to "individuals and entities involved in all stages of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine development, testing, manufacture, distribution, prescribing, administration, and use.” CBC

International News

The United States is reporting increases in influenza-like-illness activity above the seasonal baseline, most notably in the southern, southeastern, and parts of the northeastern United States. In Europe and Central Asia, influenza activity remains low overall, except in France, which is reporting increases in influenza-like-illness activity above the seasonal epidemic threshold. In the tropical regions of the Americas and Asia, influenza transmission remains active. Geographically regional to widespread influenza activity continues to be reported throughout much of South and Southeast Asia, with increasing trends in respiratory diseases being reported in India and Bangladesh. WHO

A revolutionary new air filter could help reduce the spread of the H1N1 virus and other illnesses among passengers on board commercial airline flights. The aerospace giant BAE Systems has joined forces with Quest International, to develop a machine that destroys up to 99.9 per cent of infectious viruses and bacteria, as well as pollutants, that can circulate in the confines of an aircraft, especially on long-haul flights. The device, called AirManager, uses a controlled electric field to filter out and destroy any airborne particles or germs as they pass through an aircraft’s air conditioning system, emitting only clean, sterilized air. Fox News

Vaccine News

Nine countries have agreed to share extra swine flu vaccine with less-developed countries just as vaccine companies prepared to deliver supplies. The United States pledged 10 percent of its vaccine supply, joining Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and Britain. Two vaccine manufacturers, Sanofi Aventis and GlaxoSmithKline, have also said they would donate 150 million doses of pandemic vaccine to the WHO. Washington Post

Australia's drug regulator has announced that it has approved CSL Ltd.'s H1N1 vaccine for people over the age of 10. Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon said health authorities will recommend that immunizations start September 30, which would make it one of the first countries to start offering the shots to its population. Those most at risk, including front-line health workers, pregnant women, those with chronic illnesses, and Aboriginals in remote outback communities will be first in line. Fox News

The first batch of H1N1 flu vaccinations in the United States will come in the form of a nasal spray. 3.4 million doses of nasal spray called Flu Mist will be distributed in the first week of October, Dr. Jay Butler, chief of the CDC' s H1N1 flu vaccine task force, said Flu Mist is not recommended for those groups at a high risk of developing complications from the A/H1N1 virus. This group includes pregnant women, children younger than 2, and people with asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases. The nasal spray vaccine is only for healthy people aged 2 to 49. Xinhua Net

Week’s Feature

H1N1 do's and don'ts: Keeping safe from the virus

Global's H1N1 Update - 09/17/09, (0830 HRS PST)

The next update will be on Tuesday September 22nd, at 08:30 AM PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 6th September, 2009

Local/National News

An Albertan has become only the second Canadian to fall ill with a drug-resistant strain of H1N1, say Alberta Health Services officials. “Any resistance to medication is important because it could possibly lead to further cases of resistant disease and potentially impact how a disease spreads” says Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services. Officials discovered the case after sending a sample to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. The first such case was discovered in Quebec. EDMONTON SUN

Canada's election agency is stockpiling hand sanitizer as it prepares for a possible election and a potential swine flu outbreak. A spokeswoman for Elections Canada said each polling station will have two bottles of hand sanitizer along with posters urging flu-stricken voters to cough into their sleeves and wash their hands. The agency emphasized that “The health and safety of Canadian voters during a general election is a priority for Elections Canada. We are taking appropriate steps in line with government of Canada guidelines to provide Canadians with a safe and healthy voting environment.” GLOBE AND MAIL

International News

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the new swine flu vaccine, a long-anticipated step as the U.S. government works to get vaccinations underway next month. The bulk of vaccine will start arriving Oct. 15, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirmed, stating that:. “Eventually [the vaccine] should be available at 90,000 sites around the country.” CTV

In a study with implications for H1N1 treatment, British researchers have found that some patients with severe breathing problems do better if their blood is run through a heart-lung machine than if they are attached to a conventional ventilator. “We are expecting ECMO to prove an invaluable weapon in the fight against the winter resurgence of the infection,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Giles Peek, at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, England, using the shorthand for the official name for the therapy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The British study, which took eight years and screened 766 patients to find two groups of 90 to undergo competing treatments, found that ECMO gave adults a 16 percent better chance of survival.NEW YORK TIMES

A meeting of flu experts sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Medicine was told that the new pandemic H1N1 influenza was circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade before it jumped to people, and much better surveillance is needed among both pigs and people. The new H1N1 strain was only identified in April 2009, from two children in California. By then it had been spreading in Mexico and the United States for months. GLOBE AND MAIL

Vaccine News

Canada's vaccine manufacturer says one dose – not two – of its new H1N1 drug offers enough protection from the pandemic influenza virus, which potentially means that the country may have ordered more vaccine than needed for its citizens. Results from GlaxoSmithKline's first clinical trials in Germany showed that 98 per cent of healthy adults who received a shot containing 5.25 micrograms of antigen and the company's AS03 adjuvant – chemical boosters that can increase production – were protected from the virus when tested three weeks later. The Public Health Agency of Canada said yesterday the results from GSK are encouraging, but it was too soon to determine if just one dose was needed. GLOBE AND MAIL

Weekly Feature

Do you want to discover exactly how the influenza virus enters the cells of your body? And how does Tamiflu work to inhibit the virus? For the answers to all these questions, click on the following link: Influenza and Tamiflu

Global's H1N1 Update - 09/15/09, (0830 HRS PST)

The next update will be on Thursday September 17th, at 0830 HRS PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of 6th September, 2009

Local/National News

Judy Wasylycia-Leis, an NDP MP from Winnipeg has written to Elections Canada about H1N1 concerns should a fall federal election be called. She wants to know what measures Elections Canada has in place to safeguard voters from the spread of swine flu, considering an election poses significant health risks with large public events and many people coming into contact during canvassing. CBC

Stephen Harper’s Conservative government is accused of mismanaging the outbreak of H1N1 and dragging its feet on a vaccine. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has accused the Conservatives of leaving Canadians vulnerable to a possible H1N1 pandemic this fall. EDMONTON SUN

International News

As part of their advice on school measures to prevent H1N1 transmission, the WHO continued to recommend that students, teachers, and other staff who feel unwell should stay home. School closure can be aimed at reducing transmission in the school, although high levels of absenteeism among students and staff make it impractical to continue classes. School closure has its greatest benefits when schools are closed early in an outbreak, ideally before 1% of the population falls ill, thereby reducing the demand for health care by an estimated 30–50%. WHO

In countries such as Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, influenza activity continues to decrease or return to baseline. Active transmission persists in tropical regions of the Americas and Asia. Many countries in Central America and the Caribbean continue to report declining activity for the second week in a row. However, South American countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela are reporting increasing levels of respiratory disease. In the tropical regions of Asia, respiratory disease activity remains geographically regional or widespread but the trend is generally increasing as noted in India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. WHO

Antiviral News

WHO Collaborating Centres and other laboratories continue to report sporadic isolates of oseltamivir resistant influenza virus. Over 10,000 isolates of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus have been tested and found to carry the same H275Y mutation that confers resistance to the antiviral oseltamivir but not to the antiviral zanamivir. WHO will continue to monitor the situation closely in collaboration with its partners, but is not changing its guidelines for use of antiviral drugs at this time. WHO

Vaccine News

The world's seven largest economies and Mexico agreed Friday that the first doses of swine flu vaccinations should be given to pregnant women, health workers and those with risky health conditions. Top health officials from Mexico and the G-7 nations -- Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Britain -- attended the meeting. Representatives of Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, and Spain, which will next, also were there. CTV

In a poll of 1,000 Canadians conducted in late August, only 45 per cent of respondents said they planned to get the H1N1 vaccine and an equal percentage said they would not take the shot. A spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said the government has a monitoring program in place with the Influenza Research Network to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. "The government will not put forth a vaccine that is not safe and I think we need to get that message out." CBC

Week’s Feature

Traveling on work? Thinking of a holiday? Visiting an old aunt? Follow individual case and the regional distribution of the H1N1 virus across Canada and the United States in this interactive map. SWINE FLU

Global's H1N1 Update - (0830 HRS PST)

The next update will be on Tuesday September 15th, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of August 30, 2009

Local/National News

Provincial Health Minister Theresa Oswald released Manitoba's plan to deal with a potential H1N1 outbreak this coming flu season. Oswald's plan involves buying almost $22-million worth of a vaccine developed earlier this summer. It also boosts spending to buy extra anti-virals for patients who have already contracted the H1N1 bug, as well as more masks, gowns, gloves and other protective gear for health-care workers. The province will add 10 intensive care beds -- all in Winnipeg -- to its existing network of 183, hire more staff, and send a flu guide to every household in Manitoba outlining what people can do to help fight the flu. WINNEPEG SUN

Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed Tuesday that swine flu has been detected in one student at St. George's School in Vancouver, a boys' school, and other pupils are showing flu-like symptoms. Dr. Patricia Daly, the health authority's chief medical officer, said it was inevitable that the H1N1 strain of influenza would show up in schools. In an email sent to parents, St. George's said all staff remained on duty and the school has a large supply of Tamiflu antiviral tablets. Vaccines will be used when available. CBC

Health officials in the Yukon are putting pandemic flu plans in place, in part by creating a separate facility in time for the possible second wave of swine flu. The triage-type facility would serve as a first stop for Yukoners who have the flu or need immunization, Provincial Health Minister Glenn Hart said Tuesday. In the Northwest Territories, Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife is stockpiling everything from anti-viral drugs and face masks to new ventilators. Hospital CEO Kay Lewis anticipates that 15 to 30 per cent of the population could get swine flu, with half of those cases requiring treatment and one per cent potentially needing hospitalization. CBC

New Brunswick’s daycares’ preparation for the second wave could include buying insurance in case an outbreak forces a facility to close. The Oromocto Day Care Centre has already had to deal with a swine flu scare. A child who normally attends the centre was out of province and contracted the virus. The illness did not spread to any other kids at the daycare but when the flu season hits this fall the centre's owners may not be so fortunate. That is why Jean Robinson, vice-president with Early Childhood Care and Education New Brunswick, said the organization is working to offer daycares insurance against closure. CBC

International News

Fear of H1N1 flu will stop devout Neapolitans from performing a time-honored ritual when the city's annual festival begins in September. The decision to forbid kissing of the glass vial containing the blood of their patron Saint Gennaro was taken by ecclesiastical and city authorities. Marco Di Lello, national coordinator of the Socialist Party, said the ban would "fuel the psychosis (over flu) which risks becoming unstoppable," and appealed to the archbishop of Naples to try to have the ban revoked. On 4th September, a 51-year-old man became Italy's first fatal victim of the H1N1 virus when he died in a Naples hospital. REUTERS

Antiviral News

People who have had close contact with someone suspected of having swine flu should no longer be automatically prescribed antiviral medications, U.S. health officials have recently advised. The updated guidelines now recommend that doctors hold off on giving the antivirals for prevention unless someone develops a fever or respiratory symptoms. Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization & Respiratory Diseases, said the antivirals should be reserved for people hospitalized for influenza and those suspected of having swine flu that are at higher risk of complications from flu. CBC

Vaccine News

China is to become the first country in the world to start a mass swine flu vaccination programme for its population. The first people to be vaccinated will be those attending celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, Health Minister Chen Zhu said. Other critical groups are top government officials, students aged five to 19, patients, especially with chronic respiratory and coronary diseases, pregnant women, medical staff, and finally, police officers, soldiers, quarantine officials and railway, airline and border-control workers. Altogether Beijing plans to vaccinate 65 million people, or 5 per cent of the total population, before the end of the year. All 31 provinces on the Chinese mainland had reported A/H1N1 flu cases, bringing the total to 5,592. So far, nearly 70 percent have recovered and no deaths have been reported. BBC and ASIA NEWS

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose. The pilot study, run by of Leicester and Leicester Hospitals, was trialled with 100 healthy volunteers, aged between 18 and 50. Dr Iain Stephenson, who led the trial at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, said: “The clinical trial of Novartis MF59-adjuvanted cell-based A (H1N1) vaccine indicates that the “swine flu” vaccine elicits a strong immune response and is well-tolerated. ETHIOPIAN REVIEW

Week’s Feature

Swine Flu Drawn Out- Boost in Creativity Caused by the Virus

Global's Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update - September 8, 2009

As of 0830 HRS PSTNext update will be Thursday September 10th, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of August 30, 2009

Local/National News

Frontline health-care workers can expect new guidelines from the federal government on how to cope with the expected second wave of the swine flu pandemic. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. David Butler-Jones said the guidance document will include recommendations on how health-care workers can protect themselves, how to diagnose and treat severe cases and how to handle a surge of hospitalizations. CanWest News Service

The father of one of the competitors at the WorldSkills competition in Calgary died in a Calgary hospital Thursday of complications from swine flu. He arrived in Canada on August 28th and became ill shortly afterward. The symptoms developed within the following day and then evolved progressively from there. CBC

International News

Tropical regions of South and Southeast Asia continue to experience increasing or sustained high levels of respiratory disease. In tropical regions of Central America and the Caribbean, many countries are now reporting a declining trend in the level of respiratory diseases. Sustained influenza activity continues to be reported in South Africa and in the Southern and Western parts of Australia. In Japan, influenza activity continues to increase past the seasonal epidemic threshold, indicating an early beginning to the annual influenza season. In Canada and the United States, influenza activity remains low overall. WHO

The World Health Organization said Friday that 2,837 people have been reported as swine flu fatalities, up at least 625 deaths in the last week. More cases are being seen in the U.S. as schools and colleges resume, focused primarily in five southeastern states, along with an isolated case of swine H3N2 influenza in a patient from Kansas, according to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CIDRAP

Some 2,000 students at Washington State University have reported symptoms of swine flu, university officials said, in one of the largest reported outbreaks of the virus on a US college campus. The west-coast school last week instituted a blog to help provide information to students about the sudden and dramatic spread of the A(H1N1) virus on campus just days into the new school term. Yahoo News

Vaccine News

Canada will purchase supplies of unadjuvanted swine flu vaccine to offer to pregnant women who might otherwise choose not to be vaccinated. Adjuvants boost the immune system's response to vaccine, allowing smaller doses to be used. Canada is buying adjuvanted pandemic vaccine in order to use "antigen (vaccine) sparing" techniques so that limited global supplies can be stretched. Since there are no data on the use of adjuvanted flu vaccine in pregnant women, their usage may add to the already high degree of reluctance many pregnant women feel about taking any medication or therapy. Yahoo News

New Brunswick rolled out its vaccination plan on September 3rd with 1.1 million doses of vaccine ordered for the 750,000 residents in the province. Mass vaccination clinics will be held starting in November when the vaccine is available. The Department of Health says pregnant women, parents with children under the age of five, First Nations people, and children with chronic conditions will get the vaccine first. CBC

Guidance and Recommendations

To help protect against respiratory infection, health care workers who interact with patients suspected or confirmed of being infected with the H1N1 virus should wear fitted N95 respirators, which filter better than looser medical masks, according to an Institute of Medicine report. Medical masks fit loosely over the face, whereas respirators are designed to form a tight seal against the wearer's skin. When properly fitted and worn as recommended, N95 respirators filter out at least 95% of particles 0.3 μm or larger, which is a threshold smaller than the influenza virus particle. MEDSCAPE

Week’s Feature

Take this interactive quiz and test your knowledge about Influenza A H1N1 also known as “swine flu.”

Global's Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update - September 3, 2009

GMS Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update as of September 3, 2009

(0830 HRS PST)

The next update will be on Tuesday September 8th, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of August 23, 2009

Local/National News

Swine flu hit First Nations in Manitoba especially hard in the spring and leaders are upset they had to ask to be invited to an international conference in Winnipeg. Medical experts from across Canada and around the world have gathered in Winnipeg on Wednesday and Thursday for a conference on preparation for the resurgence of H1N1 in the fall. " Decisions are being made behind closed doors, without First Nations input," said David Harper, chief of the Garden Hill First Nation, one of the Manitoba communities that struggled with severe cases of H1N1. CBC

First Nations communities will be a high priority when Ottawa decides who will be the first to receive the swine flu vaccine this fall. At a news conference in Victoria focusing on First Nations health, a B.C. aboriginal leader suggested native communities — many of which were hit particularly hard by the virus last spring — should be among the first in line when the vaccine is ready. Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, has previously said health care providers and pregnant women will likely among the first to receive the vaccine. CBC

International News

The United States is unprepared to handle the potential spike in people needing mechanical ventilation due to infection with H1N1 swine influenza, warn researchers in the online open-access journal PLoS Currents: Influenza. "We calculate that 46 million people will contract the infection, resulting in 2.7 million hospitalizations, 331,587 episodes of acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, and nearly 200,000 deaths," write Dr. Marya D. Zilberberg, a health services researcher in Leeds, Massachusetts, and colleagues. Based on these estimates, the US may require the ability to provide mechanical ventilation at a volume between 23% and 45% over the current annual use.Medscape

President Barack Obama warned that a larger wave of novel H1N1 influenza is likely this fall and called on all Americans to prepare for it. Obama said the government is "making steady progress on developing a safe and effective H1N1 flu vaccine, and we expect a flu shot program will begin soon." Obama's statement came after the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimated that the novel virus could infect 30% to 50% of the population and cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths. CIDRAP

Swine flu is spreading more quickly in the U.S. Southeast, where schools started back earlier than in other areas after the summer break. The pandemic H1N1 influenza virus has been active since March but officials have seen a clear "uptick" in activity in some areas in recent weeks. Health experts say school age children and young adults are more likely than others to be infected with H1N1, and have said they expected the pandemic to become more active as schools started back and children mixed with one another. Reuters

A new iPhone application, created by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, enables users to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as H1N1 (swine flu), on the ground in real time. The application, "Outbreaks Near Me," builds upon the mission and proven capability of HealthMap, an online resource that collects, filters, maps and disseminates information about emerging infectious diseases, and provides a new, contextualized view of a user's specific location – pinpointing outbreaks that have been reported in the vicinity of the user and offering the opportunity to search for additional outbreak information by location or disease. EurekAlert

Vaccine News

The United States’ largest school district said it will offer free swine flu vaccinations to its 1 million-plus schoolchildren as New York City takes bold steps to avoid becoming the country's flu epicenter again in the fall. Hundreds of school districts nationwide have agreed to allow vaccinations in school buildings, once the vaccine becomes available in mid- to late October as the nation prepares for a spike in swine flu cases in the coming months.Yahoo News

The federal government is putting up an extra $2.7 million to test a vaccine meant to combat the next wave of H1N1 flu cases this fall. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the funding is on top of $10.8 million the government poured into swine flu research this summer. The cash will help fast-track the approval process for the vaccine. CTV

Global's Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update - September 1, 2009

GMS Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Update as of September 1, 2009

(0830 HRS PST)

The next update will be on Thursday September 3rd, at 08:30 PST.

The WHO Pandemic Alert level remains at Phase 6

Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths

Local/National News

Critical care specialists have said that experience to date suggests that the novel H1N1 flu may put a heavy burden on intensive care units (ICUs) in the coming months. ICUs in some of the hospitals hit hardest by virus nearly ran out of specialized equipment and skilled staff. The Public Health Agency of Canada has scheduled a meeting this week in Winnipeg to discuss the problem. CIDRAP

Manitoba's chief veterinary officer recently announced that the novel H1N1 virus has been detected on various pig farms in the province, according to a post on ProMED-mail, the Internet-based reporting system of the International Society for Infectious Diseases. No deaths were reported, but the animals showed mild flu-like symptoms. Movement of the pigs was limited to curb transmission, and veterinarians have been asked to help identify and report further outbreaks. ProMed-Mail Post

International News

In the southern hemisphere, most countries (represented by Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia) appear to have passed their peak of influenza activity and have either returned to baseline levels or are experiencing focal activity in later affected areas. A few others (represented by South Africa and Bolivia) continue to experience high levels of influenza activity. Pandemic H1N1 influenza virus continues to be the predominant circulating strain of influenza, both in the northern and southern hemisphere. WHO

The US federal government plans to provide H1N1 vaccine through the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) for eligible Washington residents who wish to be voluntarily vaccinated. DOH, working with Public Health in Seattle and King County, is pre-registering licensed health care providers in King County who are interested in providing H1N1 vaccine. Public Health – Seattle King County

Mexico's government projects that 1 million of its citizens will become ill this winter with the novel H1N1 virus. The country's health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova, said on August 28th that the number of cases is stable for now, with about 80 to 100 infections reported each day. He said the government is working on emergency plans on school closures, social distancing measures, and hospital preparations. Latin American Herald Tribune

Antiviral News

Antiviral susceptibility testing has increased in several countries, confirming that pandemic H1N1 influenza virus remains sensitive to the antiviral oseltamivir, except for sporadic reports of oseltamivir-resistant pandemic H1N1 virus. WHO

Vaccine News

The US pharmacy chain CVS has announced that seasonal flu vaccine will be available starting September 1st, 2009 at 500 of its stores, according to a company press release. Vaccine will be available to adults and children over 18 months without an appointment. The chain said it will host about 9,000 flu clinic events starting September 15th. With novel H1N1 vaccine expected to reach providers in October, the US CDC has said that people should receive the seasonal vaccine as soon as it is available. CVS Caremarx