Panama - 15 confirmed cases

[FrenchieGirl]

Panam? - H1N1 - 15 casos confirmados


Google Translation

Panama - H1N1 - 15 confirmed cases

EPIDEMIC OF INFLUENZA A (H1N1) Newsletter 10 May 2009

10/05/2009

The Ministry of Health continues with epidemiological surveillance activities in health facilities and community.

Through the intensive search for contacts of confirmed cases have been investigated more than 100 people and conducted 200 tests, including sentinel surveillance, which has identified 12 new cases confirmed, as follows:

? 8 contacts the first case
? 2 indirect contacts of the first case
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from Mexico
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from United States.

To date we have recorded 15 confirmed cases in the country of which most are between 20 and 39 years of age and region are distributed as follows:

? 11 Panama Metro Region
? 2 in the region of West Panama
? 1 of the San Miguelito
? 1 region Cocl?

All these patients have been investigated and have been given effective treatment. 11 have managed in isolation at home closely supervised by staff from the MOH and 4 have required hospitalization. All are in stable condition and evolve successfully.

[Dark Horse]

Re: Panama - 15 confirmed cases

Panam? - H1N1 - 15 casos confirmados


Google Translation

Panama - H1N1 - 15 confirmed cases

(snip)
has identified 12 new cases confirmed, as follows:

? 8 contacts the first case
? 2 indirect contacts of the first case
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from Mexico
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from United States.

To date we have recorded 15 confirmed cases in the country of which most are between 20 and 39 years of age and region are distributed as follows:

? 11 Panama Metro Region
? 2 in the region of West Panama
? 1 of the San Miguelito
? 1 region Cocl?

All these patients have been investigated and have been given effective treatment. 11 have managed in isolation at home closely supervised by staff from the MOH and 4 have required hospitalization. All are in stable condition and evolve successfully.

I find this information disturbing because the demographics are so different from what we see as almost a child's disease in the states and the percentage of hospitalization required (4 out of 15 confirmed). Perhaps the demographics are misleading because of the small number of patients, but something to watch as the disease moves into the Southern Hemisphere.

I'm beginning to think that the difference in social networks between kids and adults may be a significant factor in the number of children affected in the U.S. That is, school kids are so close together for a good part of the day with doubtful hygiene, whereas adults even in an office environment are a bit more distanced and more likely to take hygenic measures that are recommended in every news article on H1N1.

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: Panama - 15 confirmed cases

Dark Horse, Another factor may be cultural. Latin countries are much more extrovert in their kissing, cuddling, shaking hands, embracing, between adults, than some other cultures. As for kids, I suspect they behave roughly the same regardless of society. So the demographics of flu patients in Latin countries may be slightly different to other types of societies. Certainly, in Mexico, the government advised against "touchy" practices

[WTB]

Re: Panama - 15 confirmed cases

I think it is a problem of denominator. In US, alomost everybody who cought is being tested. As in porrer country, only the worse cases get tested.

We have to remeber that the statistic for the 1918 flu is number of death on number of hospitalisations.... and that diagnostic facility where none. So the numbers where higher du to overdiagostic of every symptoms of severe cought.

Remember to compare what is comparable and the problem in this pandemic is to find denominator that are comparable.

WTB

[Snicklefritz]

Re: Panama - 15 confirmed cases

Google Translation

Panama - H1N1 - 15 confirmed cases

EPIDEMIC OF INFLUENZA A (H1N1) Newsletter 10 May 2009

10/05/2009

The Ministry of Health continues with epidemiological surveillance activities in health facilities and community.

Through the intensive search for contacts of confirmed cases have been investigated more than 100 people and conducted 200 tests, including sentinel surveillance, which has identified 12 new cases confirmed, as follows:

? 8 contacts the first case
? 2 indirect contacts of the first case
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from Mexico
? 1 case reported contact with aliens from United States.

To date we have recorded 15 confirmed cases in the country of which most are between 20 and 39 years of age and region are distributed as follows:

? 11 Panama Metro Region
? 2 in the region of West Panama
? 1 of the San Miguelito
? 1 region Cocl?

All these patients have been investigated and have been given effective treatment. 11 have managed in isolation at home closely supervised by staff from the MOH and 4 have required hospitalization. All are in stable condition and evolve successfully.

The median age in the US is 36, Mexico 26, Panama 27.

[FrenchieGirl]

Panama - 29 confirmed cases

La Prensa

[Google Translation]

Panama - H1N1 - 29 confirmed cases

Virus A (H1N1) is gaining ground

Minsa

The final report notes that seven of the 11 newly infected are children aged between 7 and 12 years from various schools.

URANIA CECILIA MOLINA
umolina@prensa.com

Stood at 29 yesterday, the number of people have been infected with influenza A (H1N1).

The latest report from the Ministry of Health refers to the confirmation of 11 new cases in children between 7 and 12 years are most affected. Seven of the cases are related to other children who had the disease.

The document also indicates that eight of the patients living in the district of Panama, one in San Miguelito, and investigates the origin of two others.

Of the cases reported as positive after the appearance of the virus in Panama, last Friday, only two people have been hospitalized. Others have been treated at home.

The Health Minister Rosario Turner, spoke yesterday with reporters covering the issue and explained that Panama has been the country of the region that has reported the highest number of cases because the Gorgas Memorial Institute is able to at least consider the evidence for 24 hours and because the staff of Health through the fence to look for health-infected.

In other countries in Central America and Colombia, the health authorities should send suspicious samples to Atlanta, United States, to be confirmed, so the reporting of cases is slower.

Turner also indicated that the level of disease-virus-diseased people in Panama is 0.9 per 100 thousand inhabitants, less than in Mexico, estimated at 1.6 per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Until yesterday 109 samples were analyzed, of which 43 were discarded and the results of 37 are pending.

Another article in the same edition
Restricting visits to hospitals and prisons

Lethality of the virus A (H1N1) has been low

In the laboratory the Gorgas Memorial Institute thousand are ready to analyze evidence. The specific fee is $ 20.

Urania Cecilia Molina
umolina@prensa.com

Influenza A (H1N1) is less virulent that the state, said yesterday the Health Minister Rosario Turner, in an attempt to lower the tension that resulted in the population began to appear.

Turner reported that the stationary influenza caused 450 deaths last year. The new virus, he added, has a low fatality rate, recent reports indicate that 0.1%, until a couple of days was 1.2% - but because more cases are occurring, there are fewer deaths. Still, he reiterated that preventive measures should be kept as hand washing and covering mouth when sneezing.

Since it was confirmed the first case, last Friday, public hospitals have been saturated with people who use its facilities to the slightest possibility of introducing the disease, however, the final report of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) said that there 29 cases, of which 11 were confirmed yesterday.

Nestor Sosa, director of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, said that they are able to do a thousand tests and did not rule out that they can run out of reagents for purchase application is in other countries.

The test for determining whether the virus A (H1N1)-the latest of which apply to suspects, has a cost of $ 20.

On the other hand, Minsa authorities met with representatives of private hospitals and clinics to standardize the criteria for care and training on sampling that are sent to the Gorgas.

It was agreed that if a patient requires hospitalization, should be transferred to St. Thomas Hospital, where care is centralized.

The prison system has restricted visits to prisons, as did those in charge of the Hospital Regional Rafael Est?vez in Chiriqu?. In Cocl?, schools Sime?n Conte, Clelia Martinez and Federico Zuniga sent students to their homes, and provide a Columbus area in the regional headquarters of Minsa of treatments for patients with respiratory problems.