Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

[DB]

http://www.plenglish.com/Article.asp...7D&language=EN

Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

Guatemala, Mar 17 (Prensa Latina) An influenza virus has invaded the Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City, where 11 of more than 110 patients have died up to Friday.

The first seven dead carried the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and the other four died of diabetes, heart disease, malnutrition and cancer.


Health officials will do autopsies to determine the exact causes of death and may change antiviral medication because those the nation possesses are not effective against the H3N2 strain.


Nearly 180 workers of the hospital received temporary leave as they have run a fever or had coughing and breathing problems.


According to officials, the virus could have spread to San Juan de Dios Hospital, where there are three suspected cases.

[DB]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

This is very troubling.

[CreativeOne]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

From WEDNESDAY
Guatemala, miércoles 15 de marzo de 2006

http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2006/marzo/15/136942.html

(machine translation)
Without vaccines against influenza Doctor of Roosevelt recognizes deficiency; he manages purchase to India By: Martín Rodriguez P. Photo of cover the deputies of the Commission of Health interrogate to doctors of the Hospital Roosevelt on the bud of influenza that affects to that nosocomio. Photo Presses Frees: Daniel Herrera. The shortages of the national network of hospitals, in the heat of crisis of influenza, have a corolario: the vaccines and the antivirales finished in the Hospital Roosevelt, and could possibly arrive this week. Thus the doctor recognized Carlos Mejía, head of Infectología of the referred hospital, during a meeting with deputies of the Commission of Health. However, he assured that everything is under control. "the antiviral Osentamirir available in the national market I exhaust myself '; we are pending to obtain it. Already there are negotiations with a company of the India, that could give five thousand preliminary tablets between 48 and 96 hours ", explained Mejía. The cost of each tablet is of USS3 (a Q24), and will serve to take care of 70 patients. Other eight people passed away by influenza the week just last. Meanwhile, another similar antiviral is administered to the patients, less effective. "the situation is controlled, although that does not mean that it cannot have new buds", Mejía said. The doctors explained that in this type of situations first a high rise occurs, that is by that it is crossed, and soon smaller buds occur. The medicine deficiency is not limited the antivirales. Also the vaccine reserves are exhausted against influenza, but a new lot will come tomorrow to the country. Workers of the hospital denounced that there is discrimination in the distribution, but the doctors explained to the deputies who have been applied bovine to the high-priority personnel, in agreement with manual the international. Víctor Perez, director of Roosevelt, announced that the emergency declaration will stay one more week. Bud: Other two possible victims influenza type To could more have summoned up the life of two patients in the Hospital Roosevelt. Medical analyses will confirm today if the man and the woman passed away Tuesday had the virus. Of being thus, they would add the eight deaths since the bud was declared, the 1 of March. Added to this, three new cases of patients with the virus were detected yesterday, one of them with VIH, according to explained Carlos Mejía, head of Infectología of the hospital. "we are watching them very close by, and its situation is stable at the moment", indicated. Of more than 100 internal ones than it had in the isolation area, they are left 49, and the hospitable authorities will decide at the end of week if they extend the safety measures, explained Víctor Lopez, director of that center.

[CreativeOne]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

Guatemala, viernes 17 de marzo de 2006

http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2006/marzo/17/137117.html

(Machine translation

COMMUNITARIAN JOURNALISM Because the virus that affects to the Hospital Roosevelt is resistant to drugs available in Guatemala, the authorities transact the purchase, of urgency, another treatment abroad. "They detected that the stock is H3N2 - the same one that occurs in the United States -, and the antivirales that we have here are not recommended", indicated Carlos Mejía, head of Infectología. The Ministry of Health already is transacting the suitable drug purchase to fight the disease. Julio Valdés, medicine adviser, indicated that the product is not available in Latin America and hope that Monday arrives the insumos. Each treatment will have a USS39 cost, and will acquire around 500. They increase cases But these are not the only problems that must solve, since the virus continues making damage in nosocomio. Until now 11 people related to the virus have passed away. Seven cases have been confirmed, and four are in study. Outside the area of isolation, located in the second plant, a new case in the maternity, and seven more in the unit of Surgery was detected yesterday, of the third floor. "We considered that they are going away to give more, because the virus is in the atmosphere. We cannot eliminate it, but we are trying to control it ", indicated Mejía. San Juan, in alert In the Hospital San Juan de God also three cases of possible influenza in workers were identified, but they are pending to confirm it, indicated Ludwig Ovalle, director of that center. So far they are combat ready. Hospital: They will not isolate more Víctor zones Lopez, director of the Hospital Roosevelt, explained that although more cases in the third floor were detected, do not have predicted to isolate more areas. "we have transferred to Them to the zone in isolation, and they are not of high risk". There were 41 people in this section, 30 suspects of influenza yesterday, in observation, and four with evident symptoms. Lopez indicated that the affected rate of personnel is low, around the 4 percent, when in the cases of buds she can arrive until the 40 percent. "That sample that the measures have been effective". Respect to the deceaseds with VIH, said that it is difficult to determine if the real cause were influenza or the other opportunistic diseases. While the hospital calls to the calm, the relatives of the entered ones are alarmed by the virus. Gloria of Kings cried yesterday the death of her son. "It was for leaving, but the doctors said to me that he left it because he had the virus. and a day later died. It must it have removed from here before ".

[DB]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

Oh yeah, this is very bad.

[Goju]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans- errr... ummmm

Bird-flu traced to Guatemala, Mexico

TSUKUBA, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) A weak strain of the H5N2-type avian influenza that was detected in chickens at a poultry farm in Ibaraki Prefecture is almost identical to the virus found earlier in chickens in Guatemala and Mexico, a national research institute said Thursday.
The National Institute of Animal Health in Tsukuba said its gene analysis showed that 97 percent of the base sequence of the virus found in chickens at the Arebamento Kanto farm in Ibaraki is identical to the virus found in chickens in Guatemala.

The institute also said 90 percent of the base sequence of the virus in Ibaraki was identical to the one found earlier in Mexico.

Shigeo Yamaguchi, who heads infectious disease research at the institute, said the virus originating in Guatemala may have been carried to Japan, but it may be difficult to identify the specific route and nature of the spread.

The Japan Times: July 1, 2005
(C) All rights reserved

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/news/nn07-2005/nn20050701a5.htm

[Goju]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans...ehhmm

Bird Flu-Wary Guatemala Chases Chicken Smugglers

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/34363/newsDate/09-Jan-2006/story.htm

UATEMALA: January 9, 2006


GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala is cracking down on chicken and egg smugglers following an outbreak of low pathogenic bird flu on the other side of its porous border with Mexico, the country's agriculture minister said on Sunday.


"We're trying to seal the border against all contraband products," Agriculture Minister Alvaro Aguilar told Reuters.
Mexican authorities killed some 300 birds after detecting a near harmless strain, which cannot be transmitted to humans, in homesteads in the southern state of Chiapas last month.

The bird flu found in Mexico was not the H5N1 virus that is slowly spreading across the globe, beginning in Asia.

Mexico has said no other cases of the disease have been detected, but Aguilar said even a benign strain could hurt local producers and that the Central American nation was not taking any chances.

Guatemala has banned cheap Mexican eggs and poultry for years despite a free-trade agreement, citing sanitary concerns about its neighbor's poultry.

But smugglers often move contraband chicken and eggs, which are past their sell-by dates, across a border that is unguarded jungle river in places, selling them in neighborhood markets across the country.

Scientists cannot agree whether the content of eggs from bird-flu infected chickens are free from the virus, but say there is some risk because the surface of shells may still be tainted with virus-laden excreta.

Aguilar said the country was beefing up border vehicle checks, but acknowledged difficulties posed by 'blind spots' on a frontier crossed annually by thousands of illegal migrants hoping to reach the United States.

"We are reinforcing border controls, but there is a lot of smuggling, above all of eggs, and it's difficult to control," Eduardo Spiegeler, head of poultry health at the agriculture ministry, told local radio.

"People don't appreciate the consequences this trade could have," he said, urging Guatemalans to buy only local produce.

Poultry production is dominated in Guatemala by the powerful Gutierrez family, whose Pollo Campero fast-food chicken chain has branches from South America to New York.



Story by Herbert Hernandez


REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[Goju]

Re: Flu Kills Eleven Guatemalans

i recall reading that Low Path AI turned to High Path AI in about six months. in Asia?

anyone remember that?