Feb 5, 2010
WHO: Most regions show declining H1N1 activity
Although pandemic flu activity continues to decline or remain low in most of the Northern Hemisphere, some areas of the world are experiencing active but declining transmission, particularly North Africa and some areas of Eastern Europe and East Asia, the World Health Organization said today (WHO) today. Global H1N1 deaths have risen by several hundred from a week ago, to at least 15,174. China continues to report relatively high levels of influenza B.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_02_5/en/index.html
Feb 5 WHO update
Europe notes high H1N1 death rate in kids
Pandemic flu raised the death rate in European children last year but not adults, according to a study in Eurosurveillance. Children aged 5 to 14 years in eight countries had a 28% higher death rate than expected, in contrast to mortality in all age-groups, which was lower than in a typical year from seasonal flu. The higher death rate in children amounts to about 77 additional deaths in that age-group. The researchers called their estimates "conservative."
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19480
Feb 4 Eurosurveill report
Northern Vietnam reports outbreak
An outbreak of H1N1 has affected the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Kan, health officials said in a VietNamNet story today. Eighteen people recently contracted pandemic flu, said health official Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga. The patients have shown typical symptoms, he said, including fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle pain.
H1N1 patient experienced quadriplegia
A letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases outlines the case of a Thai patient with pandemic flu who developed acute respiratory distress followed by severe neurologic problems, including quadriplegia. Physicians ruled out Guillian-Barre syndrome, and the patient later regained muscle strength. Last May four Dallas children experienced pandemic-H1N1related neurologic symptoms.
http://tinyurl.com/eid-02-04-10-h1n1-neuro
Feb 4 Emerg Infect Dis letter
