Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of December 31st, 2009
National News
Flu clinics are reopening in Alberta and the province's deputy medical officer of health says there is still demand for swine flu vaccinations. Provincial officials say about one million people in Alberta have been vaccinated so far. Alberta Health Services will offer the shot at public clinics and they will also be available in doctors' offices in the coming days. Winnipeg Free Press
Toronto Public Health will be holding immunization clinics to give a second H1N1 vaccine dose to those who need it for full protection. “All children from six months to less than three years of age, and those with chronic health conditions who are from three to nine years of age, require a second dose of H1N1 vaccine at least 21 days after receiving their first shot,” the city said Monday in a news release. Toronto Public Health reminded people that the flu usually circulates until the spring. CTV
International News
New research from Italy shows having a seasonal flu shot, or even a case of seasonal influenza, appears to “prime” an H1N1 vaccination and potentially make it more effective. The results are somewhat surprising, because seasonal flu shots alone give no protection against H1N1. The study from Novartis, a major vaccine maker, is based on ferrets, not humans. Canada.com
China said Monday it had recorded 659 H1N1 deaths in 2009, nearly all of them in the last two months of the year, and warned that the danger of mass outbreaks still existed in certain areas. In November, renowned medical whistle-blower Zhong Nanshan, who helped expose the scale of the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, said the true H1N1 death count was being covered up. The government responded by ordering more accurate case reporting by officials. AFP
The Public Health Ministry in Thailand has accepted that it made mistakes in its handling of the H1N1 pandemic outbreak, admitting that it failed to deliver a clear message and left people confused about the preventive measures against the virus that claimed 191 lives. When H1N1 hit the country last May, the ministry had consistently told people that the virus was not any more virulent than the seasonal flu. As a result, Thais became complacent and when the ministry reported the first deaths from the new flu, people no longer believed in the recommended preventive measures. The Nation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported last week that only four US states had widespread flu activity, down from seven the week before. However, outpatient medical visits for flu-like illness, which was at the national baseline the previous week, edged back above that level, reaching 3.2%. Also, deaths due to pneumonia and flu climbed back above the epidemic threshold. There were four flu-related deaths in children, down from nine the previous week. CDC
A humanitarian agency said North Korea recently issued a nationwide alert about its apparently worsening outbreak of pandemic H1N1 influenza. The Seoul-based Buddhist aid group, Good Friends, said that North Korean officials declared that novel H1N1 patients should be given priority. The group said the statement was of a type issued only twice before, for war-related casualties in the 1950s and in 2002. South Korea has shipped 500,000 doses of antivirals to the North. Washington Post
Vaccine News
France has cancelled over half the flu vaccines it ordered to combat the H1N1 flu virus, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Monday, in an effort to head off criticism after reserving too many shots. The government estimated 94 million individual shots were needed, thinking that everyone would need two jabs for immunity against the illness. Doctors now say a single vaccination is sufficient, meaning that France, with a population of some 65 million has a massive oversupply and is already trying to sell on some of the surplus shots it has received. Reuters
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is standing by its decision to stockpile and widely distribute antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu, for use against the H1N1 virus, despite an updated review that questions their usefulness. The review assessed 20 trials to see how well antivirals prevented or reduced the symptoms of influenza, its transmission, and complications in healthy adults. The authors questioned the reliability of evidence that the drugs reduce the risk of complications in healthy adults and advised against prescribing them to treat seasonal influenza. CMAJ
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