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
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