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 December 6th, 2009
National News
Canadian scientists have helped make a discovery that might explain why some people develop severe illness when infected with H1N1 flu and others don't. Researchers from Toronto's University Health Network found high levels of a cytokine molecule called interleukin 17 in the blood of severely ill H1N1 patients, and low levels in patients with mild forms of the disease. In the cases of respiratory infections, cytokines plays a part in a potentially fatal immune reaction called a "cytokine storm," in which the immune system of a healthy person goes haywire and "overreacts" to an infection. CTV
H1N1 has taken the ten more lives in Ontario and eight more in other provinces to boost Canada’s fatalities total from the pandemic virus to 390. In Alberta, an infant with no previous medical history was among two reported dead. Also, a 16-year-old grade-11 Calgary student died on Tuesday after being in a coma since Nov. 2. The additional ten deaths in Ontario comes as a surprise because the province has reported a decline in all other indicators including hospital admissions and visits to doctors for influenza like illness. The 18 new deaths occurred between December 10 and December 15. Vancouverite
International News
China’s H1N1 flu death toll has leapt by more than a third in recent days to 442, just days after the government warned of a holiday-season spike in infections. Of the total deaths, 116 were reported in the week of December 7 to 13. The total number of A(H1N1) influenza cases totalled nearly 108,000. China has pledged to step up a H1N1 flu vaccination programme that has seen more than 34 million people jabbed, warning of heightened risks in the upcoming holiday season, particularly the Lunar New Year in February. Straits Times
In a bid to stop the spread of swine flu virus, Serbia’s Ministry of Education has announced it will suspend classes in schools. Tanjug news agency reports that the country's Minister of Education, Zarko Obradovic, explained that the first day of school will be on 11 January and the first semester will end ten days later, so that the teachers will be able to give final grades for that semester. "According to the information we have received from the working group monitoring the flu, the situation in Serbia is such that it is necessary to suspend school," the agency quoted Obradovic as saying. Balkan Insight
According to researchers from the Netherlands and Germany writing in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine, a lack of surveillance has led to the perception that Africa has a low prevalence of influenza, but sporadic reports show that flu circulates there undetected. The authors say improved surveillance and research into vaccine efficacy in rural tropical conditions are critical to reducing illness and death from endemic and pandemic flu in African countries. PLoS
The Korean government recently confirmed that pigs have contracted influenza A (H1N1), the first cases of an H1N1 infection among animals in Korea. Authorities said the virus is not as threatening to the animals as to humans and that there is little need to be anxious about cross-infections or a new pandemic. It was decided not to conduct wholesale slaughter of the swine and the government said there is little chance of acquiring the disease by eating pork from infected pigs. Korea Times
Vaccine News
The U.S. has recalled hundreds of thousands of doses of H1N1 swine-flu vaccine intended for young children, saying that testing has found that vaccine may not be potent enough to protect children from the pandemic flu. Canada's vaccine comes from a different manufacturer, a Quebec factory run by GlaxoSmithKline, and is not affected by the recall. The CDC said there's no indication anything in the doses of vaccine is dangerous in itself and described the recall as "non-safety-related." Ottawa Citizen
According to a report published by the New England Journal of Medicine, Novartis's pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine generated stronger immune responses when it was combined with an adjuvant than when used alone, though both formulations yielded good results. The authors published a preliminary report in September showing that the vaccine formulation containing Novartis's proprietary adjuvant, MF59, generated an immune response deemed likely to be protective. The final report, released today, says the nonadjuvanted formulation also elicited a good immune response albeit less intense than the adjuvanted version. CIDRAP
Two of the Calgary’s six H1N1 mass vaccination clinics will close permanently on Wednesday. However, there will still be four other clinics offering both the H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccine to Calgarians. All Albertans over six months of age are eligible to receive the H1N1 vaccine, and anyone in a high-risk category is also eligible to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. Edmonton Journal
U.S. government and private health officials have stated that despite a dip in cases, H1N1 influenza has not gone away and could resurge, making continued vaccination critical. Speaking on a webcast for health care providers conducted by the Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS), experts urged health care workers to take the vaccine themselves and to continue to push it out to patients. Federal officials remain concerned that some high-risk populations have not been vaccinated at high-enough rates, including racial and ethnic minorities, pregnant women and young children. CIDRAP
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