Apr 8, 2010
Some Southeastern colleges see flu activity
Though flu-like illnesses remained at very low levels at colleges, with an attack rate of 1.6 cases/10,000 students, the level was 14% higher than previous weeks, the American College Health Association (ACHA) reported today. Disease incidence has remained below 5/10,000 students for 17 weeks. Low-level regional activity occurred in some Southeast states, consistent with trends in the general population. ACHA reported no signs of sustained transmission on college campuses.
http://www.acha.org/ILI_Project/ILI_Surveillance.cfm/?date=040810
Apr 8 ACHA surveillance report
School outbreaks prompt warning in Ghana
Health groups in Ghana, along with its health ministry, issued a warning of a heightened pandemic flu threat in the wake of several school closures in several regions of the country, GhanaWeb reported today. A statement from the groups said children are among the most vulnerable groups, and they advised the public to minimize crowding at social events targeted to children. It also reviewed hygiene measures for preventing flu spread.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=179999
Apr 8 GhanaWeb story
Malaysia also reports school outbreaks
School outbreaks of influenza-like illnesses, some of which has been confirmed as pandemic H1N1, have spurred Malaysia's health ministry to asked state officials to boost flu education and prevention activities, particularly in schools and public areas, The Star, a Malaysia-based newspaper, reported today. The country's health minister said illness clusters have been detected at seven schools and that students from six other schools have received outpatient treatment.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/8/nation/6012737&sec=nation
Apr 8 Star story
Study: H1N1 name game hinders lit searches
A study found that inconsistent naming of the novel H1N1 virus last spring impeded retrieval of relevant scientific articles in PubMed, an oft-used US National Library of Medicine database. Researchers developed a PubMed search algorithm covering different names of the pandemic virus and simulated results from the first 10 weeks of the pandemic. When they excluded one term from the string, such as "H1N1" or "swine," they found that the search missed from 14% to 21% of relevant articles.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0010039
Apr 7 PLoS Med study
Lung study finds variation in virus replication
An ex vivo study comparing flu virus replication in human lung tissue suggests that pandemic H1N1 replication varied among samples but overall replicated more efficiently than seasonal H1N1 but less efficiently than H5N1 avian influenza, Chinese researchers reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. They wrote that it's not clear if replication variations in the H1N1 virus relate to clinical outcomes.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/650544
Apr 6 J Infect Dis abstract
Israel to hold on to excess vaccine
Israel's health ministry told The Jerusalem Post that it plans to keep 3 million doses of unused pandemic flu vaccine in storage for a potential resurgence of cases in the fall or winter. The ministry had initially ordered 7 million vaccine doses, but later canceled 2.5 million of them. Fewer than a million Israelis have been vaccinated.
http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/Health/Article.aspx?id=172629
Apr 8 Jerusalem Post story
