dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Feb 3, 2012 10:06:09 GMT -5
Mexico offers vaccines to address swine flu in Central America 2012 February 3, 2012 - 4:06 am 4:06 a.m.
Mexico, Feb. 3 (EFE). - The Mexican government announced that it has made available to the Central American countries and Dominican Republic an emergency vaccine bank to classical swine fever.
The announcement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) comes after a regional meeting from 19 to Jan. 21 in Nicaragua, which analyzed the animal health emergency declared in November 2011 in Guatemala. In response, through the National Health Service, Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA), Mexico "provided technical advice to the Guatemalan border surveillance intensified, and offered the support of a mobile lab" that is in the border town of Metapa, in the state of Chiapas. In the coordination meeting on programs of classical swine fever in Central America and the Dominican Republic, held in Managua, "countries requested assistance and training to strengthen its activities in the subject." They put his bench Mexico vaccines available to Guatemala and "any other nation in Central America that required", the statement issued today.
Speaking to EFE, the director of SENASICA, Enrique Sanchez, said that Mexico is a country free of classical swine fever, but is "developing and maintaining a stock" of vaccines in a bank with adequate biosafety conditions. The bank "is the seed to produce up to one million doses in a week" of vaccines against classical swine fever, a resource that since late last year has made available to Guatemala, where it is already vaccinating the entire population pigs, except in the Peten region.
Sanchez said the area where there are still cases "is far from our border" with Guatemala, Mexico despite which "raised the alert level" on the border with the Central American country. At the meeting of experts, Guatemala agreed to notify "promptly" to the countries of the region any emergency that might arise. translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crhoy.com%2F
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Feb 3, 2012 10:09:45 GMT -5
translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.crhoy.com/&ei=qgMrT_m3PNDHrQeqsJDmDA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CFQQ7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcasos%2Binfluenza%26hl%3Den%26gl%3Dus%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D1019%26tbs%3Dqdr:h%26prmd%3Dimvns
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Feb 3, 2012 15:05:47 GMT -5
I think Mexico needs a vaccine against the cartel. They're killing everyone. Somehow I missed this, Lone.
GOOD POINT!
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dothedd
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Joined: Dec 27, 2010 20:43:28 GMT -5
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Post by dothedd on Feb 3, 2012 15:17:01 GMT -5
Swine flu outbreak in Mexico could spread HK scientist says Mexican strain could cause another global pandemic if it is a major mutation Emily Tsang and Associated Press Feb 02, 2012
Swine flu is back in Mexico, the epicentre of a previous pandemic that panicked people around the globe, including Hong Kong, nearly three years ago.
The potentially deadly H1N1 virus may trigger another world pandemic - if mutation has occurred, a local academic warns.
But information is scarce on whether a major mutation has taken place in Mexico, which recorded 250 cases of swine flu, officially called influenza A(H1N1), last year; 35 Mexicans died from various forms of flu.
"It is common for a virus to undergo minor DNA reshuffling every couple of years," said Ho Pak-leung, a microbiology professor at the University of Hong Kong.
"That is why the world experiences a flu pandemic every few years. If the swine flu virus in Mexico has mutated and nobody has immunity, it is possible for the modified virus to be exported to other countries, even to Hong Kong."
That was what happened in May 2009, when Hong Kong hosted an inflected Mexican air traveller from Shanghai.
The Department of Health quarantined for seven days 33 passengers who had sat near the 25-year-old patient on the flight, and the taxi driver who had taken him from the airport to the Metropark Hotel in Wan Chai. A further 283 hotel guests were also quarantined. The measures held off a viral outbreak until the summer ended, but more local cases emerged towards the end of the year, culminating in an outbreak.
Almost three years on, the country that "exported" swine flu to Hong Kong saw more cases of all types of flu and more incidents of the swine-flu strain last month than in the whole of last year, federal health officials said on Tuesday.
Despite the dramatic increase, Mexican Health Secretary Salomon Chertorivski Woldenberg said the number of infections was well within a normal flu season for the country.
Mexico saw 1,623 cases of all strains of flu last month, 90 per cent of them swine flu, he said. Thirty-two people died, all but three from swine flu, he said. That compared with about 1,000 flu cases during the whole of last year.
In Hong Kong, Secretary for Food and Health Dr York Chow Yat-ngok said on Tuesday that he expected a high local infection rate over the next two months.
However, he noted that most of the infections were cases of influenza B and there was no evidence of major mutation in the swine flu strain.
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Mar 10, 2012 10:43:39 GMT -5
Swine flu kills nearly 200 in Mexico already in 2012
A total of 166 people have died in Mexico so far this year from the AH1N1 flu virus -- also known as swine flu -- with a 23 percent increase in deaths in one week alone, according to health authorities. March 3, 2012 17:26
A total of 166 people have died in Mexico so far this year from swine flu, with a 23 percent increase in deaths in one week alone, according to health authorities. The country’s Health Secretariat reported out that of 6,066 cases of AH1N1 influenza, 207 people had died in 2012 -- 31 of them between Feb. 17 and 23 -- the Latin American Herald Tribune reported. Meanwhile, of a total of 5,544 cases involving three types of flu virus currently active in the country -- H1N1, H3N2 and influenza B -- 180 deaths had been confirmed, the Tribune quoted the Mexican Health Secretariat as saying. (GlobalPost reports: Mexico sees surge of swine flu as authorities urge calm) The country’s available flu vaccine is effective against all of strains. Around 85 percent of those who died of influenza so far this year had not been vaccinated, while 73 percent suffered from another ailment, such as diabetes mellitus, obesity and arterial hypertension. According to a report on the Hispanically Speaking News website, the H1N1 pandemic emerged in Mexico between March and April 2009, bringing Mexico City to a virtual stand-still. The World Health Organisation said in 2010 that it had killed at least 12,799 people worldwide since emerging, with the Americas continuing to report the biggest number of casualties, followed by Europe. H1N1 has since been declared a seasonal virus. In Mexico, before local alerts began in June 2010, more than 70,000 people had contracted the disease resulting in about 1,300 deaths, the report said.
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Mar 10, 2012 10:46:14 GMT -5
March 3, 2012
Costa Rica has reported similar high rates of influenza and acute respiratory infections this year, with the the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) saying that the behavior of these diseases has been "unusual in recent weeks," Inside Costa Rica wrote. Most of the cases are in the provinces of Cartago and San José.
March 8, 2012
Costa Rica Facing Increase In "Flu" Cases
The number of people attending medical centres with influenza and acute respiratory infections is higher than expected by health authorities.
According to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) the behaviour of these diseases has been "unusual in recent weeks".
Most of the cases are in the provinces of Cartago and San José.
Those most affected, according to the CCSS, are infants under one year of age and teens and adults between 15 and 39.
Up to January 28, the CCSS reports 419 people were hospitalized with respiratory complications.
Although there are no clear figures, the increase in cases include AH3N2 and AH1N1. In the case H1N1, the ministerio de Salud reports up 12 confirmed cases.
In January Salud reported five deaths - three from AH1N1, one from the seasonal virus and a 73 year old woman from San Carlos with Adenovirus, which infections most commonly cause illness of the respiratory system.
Seven people remain hospitalized to control the progress of these viral conditions.
Due the increase in cases the Ministerio de Salud and the CCSS recommend washing hands frequently and using alcohol gel and avoid contact with sick people.
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Mar 20, 2012 11:52:30 GMT -5
10-15% rise in H1N1 cases in March; Mexico, US affected too
Isalkar, TNN | Mar 20, 2012, 07.08AM IST
PUNE: Scientists at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) have seen 10 to 15% rise in swine flu cases in March. Incidentally, Mexico which reported the first case of swine flu infection in the world is also seeing an increase during this period since a pandemic shut down much of the country three years ago.
"There is a 'sudden and sharp' rise in the transmissibility of the swine flu virus this month. Usually, the virus transmission is not more than 1 or 2% during March. It is something unusual," A C Mishra, director, NIV told TOI on Monday.
"Cases of swine flu infection are also being reported from other parts of the world like Mexico and US during the same time as in Pune," Mishra said, adding, "This means that it is too early to write off the swine flu virus," Mishra said.
The NIV has been monitoring the influenza virus' activity through the monitoring study sites placed in village Vadhu, Janata Vasahat near Parvati and also through a system of random sampling from hospitals and dispensaries in Pune city.
"An analysis of reports from all the three systems shows an increase of 10-15% in the virus' transmission. That means 10-15% samples of suspected patients are being found positive for swine flu infection now, where as the rate should be 1-2% during this period of time," Mishra said.
He said that the pandemic strain of H1N1 virus had completely replaced the earlier seasonal strain of H1N1. "At present, pandemic H1N1 and a milder influenza B virus are co-circulating," Mishra said.
"A few months ago, there was global silence about swine flu cases. But, now sudden eruption is also being reported in areas like Mexico which was badly hit during the pandemic phase of the virus. Similarly, cases are also being seen in Pune," Mishra said.
When asked for a reason for the sudden spurt, he said, "The behaviour pattern of influenza viruses has been unpredictable. Hence, it is difficult to categorically pinpoint reasons. Though prolonged winter, wide fluctuation in temperature are among the contributing factors."
However, he maintained that the virus transmission would go down with the rise in temperature. "The prolonged winter has come to an end and this is the beginning of summer. We can not say whether the virus will strike back in monsoon," Mishra said.
Asked whether any significant mutation has taken place in the genetic make-up of the virus, he said, "Mutation in influenza virus is a continuous process. These are small changes in the virus that happen continually over time. There has been no harmful mutation detected so far. The virus is completely susceptible to Tamiflu. Its virulence level is also the same. Most who died of swine flu in the last six days had some other underlying medical condition."
There are 17,000 points in the genetic make of swine flu virus which are being mapped to find out mutation in the virus, Mishra said.
"The advisory remains the same. Avoid exposure to people with flu symptoms, wash hands frequently and eat and sleep well," he added.
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dothedd
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Post by dothedd on Apr 17, 2012 11:47:28 GMT -5
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