Influenza Virus Mashup

While the abstract from the 2019 conference on Dengue fever in Key West, Florida has been making headlines the recent spike in Dengue infections in Puerto Rico has gone relatively unnoticed by the press.

[Crof’s H5N1] Whatever happened to bird flu?

Sometimes the absence of a story is the story. I’ve been reflecting lately on the near-total disappearance of H5N1 stories from the world’s media.

Yes, we get an occasional report from Ida at Bird Flu Information Corner about outbreaks in poultry and occasional human cases in Indonesia. Once in a great while, Vietnam reports an outbreak.

[Crof’s H5N1] India: Swine flu vaccine shortage in Delhi

Via IndiaTalkies.com, an IANS report: Swine flu vaccine shortage in Delhi. Excerpt:
The recently launched indigenous swine flu vaccine seems to be in short supply at chemist shops in Delhi at a time when the deadly disease has claimed three lives in the city this year.

‘The vaccines are not yet available.

[Crof’s H5N1] WHO delays judgement on swine flu pandemic?

Via Google News, an AFP report: WHO delays judgement on swine flu pandemic.

Experts advising the World Health Organisation on whether to end the year-old swine flu pandemic alert could now meet as late as August, the agency’s chief said on Wednesday.
An emergency committee of 15 scientists headed by Australian infectious diseases expert John Mackenzie.

[Crof’s H5N1] CIDRAP: New tools to fight flu

Via CIDRAP, Lisa Schnirring writes: Experts anticipate new flu-fighting tools.

As the world recovers its bearings after spikes in pandemic flu activity and anticipates how the upcoming flu season will unfold, antiviral and vaccine experts in Atlanta today plotted out the new prevention and treatment tools public health officials may someday use to fine-tune their disease […]

[Avian Flu Diary] Study: HAIs, Universal Surveillance, & MRSA

Note: Although this story falls more under the purview of Maryn Mckenna and her superb Superbug Blog, Maryn has been on a brief hiatus the last few days, and so I’ll take a stab at it.

HAI’s are Hospital Acquired Infections.

TB (Tuberculosis) tests

Capillia Neo TB workstation to test TB which was once a scourge here in the US, had been thought on the brink of eradication in the western world by the 1970s.

With the advent of new and powerful antibiotics and vaccines, the age of infectious diseases appeared to be nearing its end.

[Crof’s H5N1] Canada: Vaccine program had problems

Via the National Post: Federal H1N1 vaccine program had bugs.

Ontario received little co-ordination from the federal government on the delivery last year of the H1N1 flu vaccine resulting in supply-and-demand needs never being aligned, according to a report Wednesday by the province’s top doctor.

Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer.

[Avian Flu Diary] More From the ICEID Conference

Being a semi-recovered Lymie (no active infection, but some residual sequelae), I’ve a deep interest in tick borne diseases like Lyme, Erlichiosis, STARI, Babeisis, and RMSF (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever).

In recent years we’ve seen these – and other – tick borne illnesses show up in regions.

[Avian Flu Diary] CIDRAP Coverage Of ICEID 2010

Lisa Schnirring, staff writer for CIDRAP, has their first report on the ICEID 2010 conference going on in Atlanta this week.

I’ve just reproduced the opening paragraphs, follow the link to read it in its entirety. And check back to CIDRAP’s Latest News Page for additional updates and stories.

[Avian Flu Diary] Puerto Rico: Dengue Running Above Epidemic

While the abstract from this week’s ICEID 2019 conference on Dengue fever in Key West, Florida has been making headlines the recent spike in Dengue infections in Puerto Rico has gone relatively unnoticed by the press. First, this summary from CIDRAP on the ICEID Abstract, then the latest CDC Dengue Surveillance report for Puerto Rico.

Seroprevalence testing suggests more dengue cases in Florida In the wake of the re-emergence of dengue virus infections in Florida, a seroprevalence study has found that even more patients have evidence of recent or presumed recent infections, according to findings presented today at ICEID. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health questioned 240 patients about their illness history and collected their serum samples. Forty-one percent of the study subjects had evidence of previous infections.

[Crof’s H5N1] WHO delays judgement on swine flu pandemic

Via Google News, an AFP report: WHO delays judgement on swine flu pandemic. Excerpt: Experts advising the World Health Organisation on whether to end the year-old swine flu pandemic alert could now meet as late as August, the agency’s chief said on Wednesday. An emergency committee of 15 scientists headed by Australian infectious diseases expert John Mackenzie was meant to reassess by mid-July whether to recommend an end to the A(H1N1) pandemic. But WHO chief Margaret Chan

INTERNET FLU NEWS

[Crof’s H5N1] India: Swine flu vaccine shortage in Delhi

Via IndiaTalkies.com, an IANS report: Swine flu vaccine shortage in Delhi. Excerpt: The recently launched indigenous swine flu vaccine seems to be in short supply at chemist shops in Delhi at a time when the deadly disease has claimed three lives in the city this year. ‘The vaccines are not yet available in chemist shops as it is a drug which requires a licence for keeping it in shops,’ Kailash Gupta, President of All Delhi Chemist Association told IANS.

[Crof’s H5N1] Whatever happened to bird flu?

Sometimes the absence of a story is the story. I’ve been reflecting lately on the near-total disappearance of H5N1 stories from the world’s media. Yes, we get an occasional report from Ida at Bird Flu Information Corner about outbreaks in poultry and occasional human cases in Indonesia. Once in a great while, Vietnam reports an outbreak. But NewsNow Bird Flu carries almost no stories about H5N1 except for an occasional report on an academic study of the disease.

While the abstract from this week’s ICEID conference on Dengue fever in Key West, Florida has been making headlines the recent spike in Dengue infections in Puerto Rico has gone relatively unnoticed by the press. First, this summary from CIDRAP on the ICEID Abstract, then the latest CDC Dengue Surveillance report for Puerto Rico. Seroprevalence testing suggests more dengue cases in Florida

I

HAI’s are Hospital Acquired Infections, and they create a heavy burden on the healthcare system in this country – and around the world. MRSA, C. Diff, garden variety staph, various pneumonias, and other infections… more

INTERNET FLU NEWS

Via CIDRAP, Lisa Schnirring writes: Experts anticipate new flu-fighting tools. Excerpt: As the world recovers its bearings after spikes in pandemic flu activity and anticipates how the upcoming flu season will unfold, antiviral and vaccine experts in Atlanta today plotted out the new prevention and treatment tools public health officials may someday use to fine-tune their disease responses. The tools range from new antivirals undergoing testing in unique combinations through novel routes.

Being a semi-recovered Lymie (no active infection, but some residual sequelae), I’ve a deep interest in tick borne diseases like Lyme, Erlichiosis, STARI, Babeisis, and RMSF (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever). In recent years we’ve seen these – and other – tick borne illnesses show up in regions of the country, and the world, where they’ve not been seen before. Additionally, mosquito borne illnesses.

Filipe