WHO confirms 2 recent H7N9 cases in China
The World Health Organization (WHO), citing Chinese officials, today confirmed two H7N9 avian flu cases reported by the media yesterday and provided further details.
The first patient is a 3-year-old boy from Guangdong province who became sick Oct 29, was admitted to a local hospital on Oct 31, and was transferred to another hospital on Nov 4. He is in stable condition and had contact with live poultry, the WHO said.
The second patient, a 64-year-old woman from Zhejiang province, is a farmer who also had contact with live poultry, the agency said. She became ill Oct 30, was admitted to a local hospital on Oct 31, and was transferred to another hospital on Nov 3, where she remains in critical condition.
The two cases bring the total H7N9 count to 139 lab-confirmed cases and 45 deaths. Six of those patients still remain hospitalized, the WHO said.
Nov 6 WHO statement
Cargill to start labeling products that contain finely textured beef
Cargill Beef of Wayzata, Minn., yesterday announced that it will label beef products that contain finely textured beef, a product derogatorily labeled "pink slime" by critics last year, which led some retailers to pull products that contained it.
"Our research shows that consumers believe ground beef products containing Finely Textured Beef should be clearly labeled," said John Keating, Cargill Beef president, in a company news release. "We've listened to the public, as well as our customers, and that is why today we are declaring our commitment to labeling Finely Textured Beef."
The company said the labeling will be in place for the product "prior to the 2014 grilling season." Finely textured beef consists of beef trimmings that are heated slightly, centrifuged to remove liquefied fat, and treated to kill bacteria. The process helps save meat that would otherwise be discarded, industry officials have said.
Cargill said finely textured beef is 95% lean. It announced a Web site dedicated to providing information on the product.
Last year the controversy caused South Dakota–based Beef Products Inc. (BPI) to close three of its four plants that made the product.
Nov 5 Cargill news release
May 8, 2012, CIDRAP News scan on BPI plant closings
Doctors group: Focus measles response on youngest kids
Measles outbreak response in Africa needs to focus on the youngest children, who are most affected, according to a report by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on a resurgence of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa, published yesterday in PLoS Medicine.
The group compared and contrasted two measles outbreaks that accounted for most measles cases in the region in recent years. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 128,111 measles cases occurred in 2010 and 2011, including 1,454 deaths. Sixty percent of those cases occurred in Katanga province, which saw an attack rate (AR) of 0.71% and a case-fatality rate (CFR) of 1.40%.
That contrasts with Malawi, which had 134,039 measles cases in 2010 but only 304 deaths. That country's AR was 0.96%, but its CFR was only 0.23%.
Age differences between the two outbreaks were dramatic. In Katanga, the median age of patients was 2 years, with 80% of reported case-patients 5 years old or younger and only 6% 10 years or older. In Malawi, the median age of patients was 7 years, with 41% of reported cases in children 5 years old or younger and 28% 15 years or older.
"Differences in measles epidemiology and country-specific control goals necessitate more than a one-size-fits-all strategy," the authors summarized. "The youngest children—who account for the most deaths and complications—should be prioritized by the outbreak response."
Nov 5 PLoS Med report
