April....
again,it rocks the world...
A New Influenza Virus
Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin that was first detected in April, 2009. The virus is infecting people and is spreading from person-to-person, sparking a growing outbreak of illness in the United States. An increasing number of cases are being reported internationally as well.
It’s thought that novel influenza A (H1N1) flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus.
It’s uncertain at this time how severe this novel H1N1 outbreak will be in terms of illness and death compared with other influenza viruses. Because this is a new virus, most people will not have immunity to it, and illness may be more severe and widespread as a result. In addition, currently there is no vaccine to protect against this novel H1N1 virus. CDC anticipates that there will be more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths associated with this new virus in the coming days and weeks.
Novel influenza A (H1N1) activity is now being detected through CDC’s routine influenza surveillance systems and reported weekly in FluView. CDC tracks U.S. influenza activity through multiple systems across five categories. The fact that novel H1N1 activity is now detected through seasonal surveillance systems is an indication that there are higher levels of influenza-like illness in the United States than is normal for this time of year. About half of all influenza viruses being detected are novel H1N1 viruses.
MAY...
U.S. Closer to Viable Swine Flu Shot
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter - Sun May 24, 8:48 PM PDT
- SUNDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- U.S, health officials reported progress towards a viable H1N1 swine flu vaccine this week, with experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying they had two promising candidate viruses for use in such a shot.
"Today CDC received, from one institution, a candidate vaccine virus," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for science and public health program, said during a news conference on Friday.
The strain was created by "combining the genes of the novel H1N1 virus with other parts from other viruses," Schuchat explained. This type of hybrid virus will grow more easily in eggs -- an essential part of the vaccine production process.
The CDC, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has also created a second candidate virus using reverse genetics, Schuchat said.
The CDC is testing both viruses to make sure they can stimulate an optimal immune response, Schuchat said. "After that work is done suitable viruses will be sent out to manufacturers. We expect by the end of May that will happen," she said.
Also Friday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the federal government was allocating $1 billion to the search for a swine flu vaccine, the Associated Press reported. The funding is aimed at pilot testing of a vaccine and the setting up of a "pre-pandemic" stockpile that HHS said would cover at least 20 million people, including health-care workers and people at high risk for complications from the illness.
In related news, a study released on Friday suggests that many of the genes that make up the new H1N1 swine flu virus have been circulating undetected in pigs for more than a decade.
Scientists at the CDC and elsewhere sequenced the genomes of dozens of samples of the swine flu strain and found it is distantly connected to its closest viral relatives.
The researchers also found that the new H1N1 strain lacks genes that -- in other influenza A strains -- confer ease of transmission and virulence.
CDC officials discussed the findings at a teleconference Friday. The findings were released early in the journal Science because of the broad interest in this new strain of swine flu.
"From our analysis we have confirmed that the novel H1N1virus likely originated from pigs, based on data that each of the genetic components of this virus are most closely related to corresponding influenza virus genes identified from swine influenza viruses," said Dr. Nancy Cox, chief of CDC's Influenza Division.
However, this new virus is not similar to seasonal H1N1 viruses, she said. In their analysis of 70 samples of the new H1N1 virus from the United States and Mexico, the researchers found minor genetic differences, but consider the virus to be basically homogeneous, Cox noted.
Knowing the genetic make up of the virus makes it easier to come up with a candidate vaccine, Cox said. "We see much less variation among these new H1N1 viruses than we do for typical seasonal influenza viruses," she said.
Sequencing the virus' genetic code is also important for planning the public health response, including knowing which antiviral medications will be effective and which won't, Cox said.
And, Cox added, "We can take measures to be sure that the virus doesn't reemerge in a slightly different form."
In the future, scientists will need to keep a closer eye on pig populations to spot similar emerging flu viruses, the researchers said in the Science paper.
In the United States, most cases of the swine flu continue to be no worse than seasonal flu. Testing has found that the swine flu virus remains susceptible to two common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, according to the CDC.
While the new swine flu only seems to cause relatively mild infection, experts worry that, if the virus mutates, people would have limited immunity to it. The CDC is concerned that, as the H1N1 virus moves into the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season is just getting under way, it could mutate and return in a more virulent form in the Northern Hemisphere next fall.
On Thursday, U.S. health officials said that, while many states are still reporting new cases of infection, there seems to be an overall decline in visits to doctors and hospitals by people with the disease, indicating that the outbreak might be subsiding.
The CDC reported on Wednesday that some older people may have partial immunity to the new H1N1 swine flu virus because of possible exposure to another H1N1 flu strain circulating prior to 1957. So far, 64 percent of cases of swine flu infection in the United States have been among people aged 5 to 24, while only 1 percent involves people over 65, officials said.
On Friday, the CDC was reporting 6,552 U.S. cases of swine flu in 48 states, including nine deaths, although health officials said the death toll could be as high as 10.
The World Health Organization on Saturday was reporting 12,022 diagnosed cases in 43 countries, including 86 deaths, mostly in Mexico, believed to be the source of the outbreak.
Mexico City on Thursday lowered its swine flu alert level from yellow to green after no new infections had been reported for a week, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection
(As of May 22, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)
States # of
confirmed and
probable cases Deaths
Alabama 66 �
Arkansas 3 �
Arizona 520 2 deaths
California 553 �
Colorado 59 �
Connecticut 81 �
Delaware 94 �
Florida 129 �
Georgia 27 �
Hawaii 33 �
Idaho 18 �
Illinois 877 �
Indiana 106 �
Iowa 71 �
Kansas 34 �
Kentucky** 22 �
Louisiana 86 �
Maine 9 �
Maryland 41 �
Massachusetts 197 �
Michigan 176 �
Minnesota 39 �
Mississippi 7 �
Missouri 24 1 deaths
Montana 10 �
Nebraska 29 �
Nevada 32 �
New Hampshire 23 �
New Jersey 47 �
New Mexico 97 �
New York 327 1 deaths
North Carolina 12 �
North Dakota 5 �
Ohio 14 �
Oklahoma 50 �
Oregon 101 �
Pennsylvania 73 �
Rhode Island 9 �
South Carolina 36 �
South Dakota 4 �
Tennessee 89 �
Texas 900 3 deaths
Utah 122 1 deaths
Vermont 2 �
Virginia 25 �
Washington 494 1 death
Washington, D.C. 13 �
Wisconsin 766 �
TOTAL*(48) 6,552cases 9deaths
*includes the District of Columbia
**One case is resident of Ky. but hospitalized in Ga.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
My comment...
It's a very good news that they are closer to the shot.From the data,America has the highest death rate due to the swine flu infection.Although the American scientist can find the remedy,but a lot of money has been used for the research.And the shot must be upgraded frequently because the virus has the ability to mutate their genes to resist the vaccine.So,there should be another way to overcome the virus resistance.Allah is almighty.Despite we get the solution,Allah has the power to cure,control and decide what will be after that.As a muslim,everythings that happens in this life,we must remember Allah and take lessons from it.
