Influenza A (H1N1) Cases and Deaths
*Cases reported by The World Health Organization (WHO) are as of January 31, 2010
National News
As a result of a rapid clinical trial at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, there may be a change in the guidelines for vaccinating egg-allergic patients against H1N1. Current guidelines recommend that these patients only be vaccinated in the presence of an allergist. The Institut recommended that allergists need not be present, as long as a physician is close by and the vaccine is administered in a hospital setting. After approval from the Quebec Ministry of Health, expanded vaccinations to egg-allergic patients are scheduled to begin. Canadian Medical Association Journal
International News
A study by the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark has shown that the pandemic H1N1 influenza has been especially dangerous for children. The study found a 28% increase in influenza-related deaths among 5- to 14-year-olds above baseline rates. The United States, with 300 million people, has confirmed more than 300 child deaths from H1N1 and says there were likely far more. This number of child deaths is more than double the numbers seen during the annual seasonal flu. The Vancouver Sun
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the count of H1N1 flu cases with resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) worldwide now numbers 225. Resistant viruses have spread from person to person in several clusters but not spilled into the community at large. The WHO, in the current issue of its Weekly Epidemiological Record, said many of these cases involved people with severely weakened immunity, reinforcing the importance of monitoring for the problem in such patients. CIDRAP
Vaccine News
With winter approaching in the southern hemisphere, Australian authorities are urging parents to immunize their children as they brace for what will be their second pandemic wave. New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant recalled that during the first wave, “What we saw with swine flu [in 2009], was a younger age group hit hard, the nought to fives hit particularly hard.'' According to the Australian Medical Association, 1,267 people in total with H1N1 were admitted to hospital in New South Wales between May and September of 2009. Children numbered 600 of these, many suffering severe complications and some requiring intensive care. The Australian
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