World Health Officials Tackle Swine Flu Challenges- CANCUN MEETING- Important Articles

[Tonka]

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World Health Officials Tackle Swine Flu Challenges
100+ Countries Report Cases
OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: 10:50 am PDT July 2, 2009
UPDATED: 1:46 pm PDT July 2, 2009


CANCUN, Mexico -- Swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August. The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan and health ministers from around the globe huddled Thursday in Cancun for a two-day summit to design strategies for battling the pandemic. Nations attending include the United States, Canada, China, Britain and Brazil.

"As we see today, with well over 100 countries reporting cases, once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable," Chan said during opening remarks.

Mexican officials wanted the meeting held in the Caribbean resort city of Cancun -- where tourism has plunged -- to highlight the country's success in controlling its epidemic with a five-day national shutdown of schools and businesses in May.

The measures were applauded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and international health officials.

"Our presence here is an expression of confidence," Chan said. "Mexico is a safe, as well as a beautiful and warmly gracious, place to visit."

But Mexico is starting to see an increase in swine flu cases in isolated areas. In southern Chiapas state and the state of Yucatan -- adjacent to Quintana Roo state, where Cancun is located -- cases have more than doubled in a worrying sign that the country may see a resurgence, especially when its winter flu season begins in November.

In the space of a week ending Tuesday, the number of cases in Yucatan state jumped from 683 to 1,362, and in Chiapas from 492 to 1,079, Mexico's Health Department said. During the same week, Quintana Roo reported 102 new cases.

Yucatan and Chiapas officials blamed the spike on outbreaks in schools, which have since closed a few weeks early for summer break. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said most of those infected were local residents who had recently traveled to northern Mexico.

"Unfortunately we let our guard down, especially after classes started, and the outbreak is unstoppable," Yucatan Health Secretary Alvaro Quijano told local news media.

Mexico has confirmed a total of 10,687 cases to date, including 119 deaths.

With the Southern Hemisphere in the midst of its winter flu season, Chan said officials are keeping a close watch on those countries. U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sibelius said the United States will give 420,000 Tamiflu treatments to the Pan American Health Organization to be distributed in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chile's epidemic has followed closely behind outbreaks in Mexico and the United States. Cases in the South American country have swelled to 7,342, including 15 deaths. The government has predicted it could see as many as 140 children hospitalized a day.

Argentina, meanwhile, has 1,587 cases and with 26 deaths, ranks third behind Mexico and the United States.

Under mounting pressure, the country's new health minister, Juan Luis Manzur, announced more than $250 million in extra anti-flu funding Wednesday and ordered schools suspended for a monthlong winter break. Health experts consulted by Buenos Aires' leading daily newspaper Clarin estimated that 2.5 million, or 20 percent of people in the capital and its suburbs, could catch the virus.

The city government declared a health emergency this week, along with the provinces of Jujuy and Mendoza, but the federal government has yet to do so.

Mirta Roses, head of the Pan American Health Organization, said a team of 25 experts began working with the South American country this week.

Britain, which has officially reported 7,447 swine flu cases, is the hardest-hit nation in Europe. Many flu experts believe numbers could jump exponentially now that the virus is entrenched.

British officials had been trying to contain the flu by liberally giving out the drug Tamiflu to all suspected victims and their contacts. Health minister Andy Burnham said Thursday that Britain will now only give the antiviral to people with the virus after forecasting 100,000 new swine flu cases a day by the end of August.

Experts questioned Burnham's prediction.

"It seems like a lot of mathematical modeling and not too much common sense," said John Oxford, a professor of virology at St. Bart's and Royal London Hospital.

Oxford predicted swine flu would taper off with summer's warm weather.

Australia has the most cases in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 4,568 confirmed as of Thursday, an increase of 198 in one day. A 45-year-old man died in the intensive care ward of a Sydney hospital on Monday, becoming the 10th death.

Worldwide, there were 332 deaths and more than 77,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, according to the latest figures available from the WHO.

Researchers say they have discovered why outbreaks have been more like a series of local blazes than a wide-raging wildfire.

The new virus has a protein on its surface that is inefficient at binding with receptors in people's respiratory tracts, restricting its ability to spread quickly, according to a report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Chan emphasized that most people recover from the illness without medical treatment and most who die have underlying medical conditions. She said researchers may have a vaccine by August but tests to determine its safety would need to be done before making it available to the public.

She also warned that officials are concerned about the virus mutating.

"Like all influenza viruses, H1N1 has the advantage of surprise on its side," she said.

____

AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London and AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid in Washington contributed to this report.

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: World Health Officials Tackle Swine Flu Challenges

HEALTH | 04.07.2009

European flu vaccine producers urged to not forget poor countries

Poor countries may not have access to swine flu vaccines

The World Health Organization and developing nations have called for measures to ensure poorer countries have access to a future A(H1N1) vaccine.

According to Margaret Chan, World Health Organisation Director General, a vaccine for swine flu, the first pandemic of the 21st century, may be available as early as August. That is good news - at least for peole in industrial countries.

But during a WHO swine flu summit, which wrapped up on Friday in Cancun, Mexico, Chan said that laboratories with capacity to produce the vaccine are mostly located in Europe. Experts say this could have dire consequences for poor countries, especially those in the southern hemisphere.

The tourists have stayed away, but the WHO meeting has brought some trade to Cancun.

90% of projected stocks committed to rich countries

Jon Kim Andrus, an expert from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), said that 90 percent of the vaccine is already commited to high income countries, where some 893 million people live, and 10 percent to countries like China and Russia, which can produce some of the vaccines themselves.

"If they began marketing the vaccine right now, developing countries would not get any," Andrus said at the Cancun summit.

Spain's health minister, Trinidad Jimenez, called for the WHO, together with the European Union, to reserve a portion of vaccine stock to be purchased for developing countries.

"We cannot allow a massive reservation of stocks for purchase by a few countries," said Jimenez. Spain will not be able to build a laboratory capable of producing A(H1N1) vaccines until 2012.

The WHO and PAHO are negotiating with vaccine producers to secure donations or sales at lower prices for developing countries. Richer nations are being asked to share some of their vaccine stocks.

The WHO director general Chan said two companies had agreed to manufacture 250 million doses to be sent to developing countries, but she also acknowledged that the amount "is obviously not enough."

Chan said that while the first vaccines may be ready in August, recommendations for use may take awhile longer. She urged rich countries not to hoarde future vaccine stocks.

Chinese want to go it alone

China wants to be self-sufficient in vaccine production, Chinese Health Minister Zhu Chen said on the summit sidelines on Friday, and plans to have a vaccine available by September.

The Chinese minister said that some public companies in China are in the initial manufacturing process of a vaccine and that a preliminary version is likely to be ready by the end of this month.

The virus is currently being treated with influenza drug Tamiflu. However cases of infection resistant to the drug have been reported in Hong Kong, Denmark and Japan.

Great Britain the worst affected in Europe

Britain has warned it could face more than 100,000 cases of swine flu a day by the end of August, if the current infection rate is maintained. With nearly 7,500 cases of swine flu, the country has already been hit hardest in Europe.

British health officials say they have abandoned attempts to stop the flu spreading, instead focusing on those who are most susceptible, such as the obese or those with asthma or other respiratory conditions.

Three people have died in Britain so far from the virus.

Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova called for "solidarity so that money is not the only factor in producer decisions about the distribution of the vaccine."

Mexico was the epicenter of the pandemic and remains the second worst-affected country after the United States.

To date, at least 337 people have died around the world from swine flu, which has infected 80,000 people in 121 countries.

ch/reuters/dpa/afp/ap
Editor: Kateri Jochum

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: World Health Officials Tackle Swine Flu Challenges

WHO warns swine flu 'unstoppable'

WHO calls for vigilance over swine flu

The UN's top health official has opened a forum in Mexico on combating swine flu by saying that the spread of the virus worldwide is now unstoppable.

World Health Organization head Margaret Chan added that the holding of the meeting in Cancun showed confidence in Mexico, which has been hard hit.

The WHO says most H1N1 cases are mild, with many people recovering unaided.

As the summit opened, the UK alone was projecting more than 100,000 new cases of H1N1 a day by the end of the summer.

As the peak of the flu season approaches in South America, some areas have declared a public health emergency.

El Salvador reported its first death from swine flu, a day after Paraguay reported its first fatality.

'Mild symptoms'

"As we see today, with well over 100 countries reporting cases, once a fully fit pandemic virus emerges, its further international spread is unstoppable," Dr Chan said in her opening remarks.

She stressed that the overwhelming majority of patients experienced mild symptoms and made a full recovery within a week, often in the absence of any form of medical treatment.

The exceptions, she said, were pregnant women and people with underlying health problems, who were at higher risk from complications from the virus and should be monitored if they fell ill.

"For a pandemic of moderate severity, this is one of our greatest challenges: helping people to understand when they do not need to worry, and when they do need to seek urgent care," Dr Chan said.

Turning to the summit venue, the WHO chief added: "Mexico is a safe, as well as a beautiful and warmly gracious, place to visit."

Leaders and experts from 50 countries are in Cancun for the two-day meeting to discuss strategies for combating the virus.

It has been more than two months since the initial alert over swine flu.

Since then, the H1N1 virus has entered more than 100 countries, infected more than 70,000 people and killed more than 300 worldwide.

Authorities across South America are becoming increasingly concerned as the peak flu season approaches, the BBC's Andy Gallacher reports from Cancun.

Schools across Argentina have sent students home and pregnant women have been told they can take two weeks off work to avoid contracting the virus.

It is hoped the Cancun meeting will address many of the issues that might help slow the spread of swine flu but, our correspondent adds, many people are concerned that an effective vaccine has still not been developed.

[FrenchieGirl]

South Australia - Young males head the swine flu count

Young males head the swine flu count


JILL PENGELLEY
July 06, 2009 12:01am

MALES, aged 5 to 29 years, are most likely to contract swine flu, new data shows.

South Australia has recorded 573 confirmed cases, of which 70 were males, aged 15 to 19. There also have been 50 cases in boys, aged 10 to 14, and 50 in men, aged 20 to 24. The next highest group is girls, aged 15 to 19, with 48 cases.

While the swine flu count has risen sharply ? from 59 three weeks ago ? many more likely diagnoses remain unconfirmed as the Health Department has stopped laboratory testing every suspected case. Only 2 per cent of swine flu cases were in people aged 60 and more.

Why males appeared more susceptible to the disease was unknown.

With the surge in swine and seasonal flu numbers, the State Government yesterday launched an advertising campaign to steer non-urgent cases from emergency departments.

Health chief medical officer Paddy Phillips said patients with flu symptoms should see a GP first unless they had a chronic respiratory condition, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, were immune suppressed, pregnant or obese.

"If you or anyone you know is in an urgent or life-threatening situation, call 000 immediately or go straight to an emergency department," he said.