Jun 25, 2009
Rochester, N.Y., health system strained by flu patients
The health system in the Rochester, N.Y., area is under heavy strain from a "very high volume" of novel flu patients, according to Dr. Andrew Doniger, public health director for Monroe County, which includes Rochester. In a Jun 24 report posted by the news site MPNnow, Doniger said people with possible flu should not try to see a doctor unless they have severe symptoms, such as persistent fever or breathing difficulty. He said the area had relatively few flu cases until the second week of June.
[Jun 24 MPNnow report]
Argentine pig tests positive for novel H1N1
A pig in Argentina has tested positive for novel H1N1 influenza, the director of the country's animal health and sanitation service, Jorge Amaya, said today, according to a Dow Jones News report. Because no animals have been moved into the area recently, animal health officials are exploring whether the animal contracted the virus from a human. Other hogs are being tested in areas in proximity to the pig, which has since recovered.
[Jun 25 Dow Jones Newswire story]
Basketball team brings H1N1 flu home to Iraq
Iraq has recorded its first cases of the novel H1N1 influenza, in five women's basketball players and their male coach, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). The six returned from Chicago to Iraqi Kurdistan a week ago and have been hospitalized for monitoring since then, the Kurdish region's health minister said. On the trip back from Chicago, the team passed through Amman, Jordan, where another player was held after she tested positive for the virus, the story said.
[Jun 25 AFP report]
Serbia plans restriction on athletes, reports first case
Serbian leaders announced yesterday that athletes attending the World University Games in Belgrade next month will be required to show a certificate saying they don't have the new flu, the Associated Press (AP) reported yesterday. Athletes without a certificate will be quarantined. And today, the nation's health minister said a 29-year-old Belgrade man who visited Argentina last week has Serbia's first confirmed case of the illness, the Web site Balkan Insight reported.
[Jun 24 AP report]
Egypt reports first case linked to pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia
Egypt has confirmed its first novel H1N1 case in an Egyptian returning from a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, according to Middle East Online, which cited a health ministry spokesman quoted by the state-owned newspaper Al-Akhbar. The man was hospitalized in stable condition. Health ministry officials had warned of the dangers posed by the flu to millions of Muslim pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia.
[Middle East Online report]
Manitoba aboriginal groups seek emergency declaration
Aboriginal leaders in Manitoba have declared an emergency in their communities over the novel flu, and they want the Canadian federal and provincial governments to do the same, the Canadian Press reported. The emergency declaration permits aboriginal groups to divert money from other programs, and a similar declaration at higher levels would lead to increased efforts to provide emergency supplies and healthcare workers to hard-hit communities, said the leader of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
[Jun 25 Canadian Press report]
