ติดเชื้อหวัดมรณะ เฉียด1,900 ระบาด23ประเทศ
องค์การอนามัยโลก (WHO) เปิดเผย เมื่อวันที่ 6 พ.ค. 2552 ตามเวลาท้องถิ่น ถึงสถานการณ์ไข้หวัดใหญ่สายพันธุ์ใหม่ 2009 ว่า ขณะนี้พบการระบาดอย่างเป็นทางการใน 23 ประเทศ และพบผู้ติดเชื้อแล้ว 1,893 ราย ประเทศเม็กซิโก พบผู้ติดเชื้อที่ได้รับการยืนยันแล้ว 942 ราย และมีผู้เสียชีวิต 29 ราย สหรัฐอเมริกา มีผู้ติดเชื้อ 642 ราย เสียชีวิตเพิ่มเป็น 2 ราย
ขณะประเทศที่ได้รับการยืนยันผู้ติดเชื้อ แต่ยังไม่มีผู้เสียชีวิต ได้แก่ ออสเตรีย 1 ราย แคนาดา 165 ราย จีน 1 ราย โคลอมเบีย 1 ราย คอสตาริกา 1 ราย เดนมาร์ก 1 ราย เอลซัลวาดอร์ 2 ราย ฝรั่งเศส 5 ราย เยอรมนี 9 ราย กัวเตมาลา 1 ราย? ไอร์แลนด์ 1 ราย อิสราเอล 4 อิตาลี 5 ราย เนเธอร์แลนด์ 1 ราย นิวซีแลนด์ 5 ราย โปรตุเกส 1 เกาหลีใต้ 2 ราย สเปน 73 ราย สวีเดน 1 ราย สวิตเซอร์แลนด์ 1 ราย และ สหราชอาณาจักร 28 ราย
สำนักข่าวต่างประเทศรายงานอีกว่า องค์การอนามัยโลก เตรียมเรียกประชุมบรรดาผู้เชี่ยวชาญ ในสัปดาห์หน้า เพื่อหารือถึงความเป็นไปได้ถึงการผลิตวัคซีน สำหรับโรคไข้หวัดใหญ่ สายพันธุ์ใหม่ 2009 โดยการประชุมดังกล่าว จะเป็นการประชุมแบบเทเลคอนเฟอเรนซ์ ในวันที่ 14 พ.ค.
นางมารี -พอล เคียนนี ผู้อำนวยการ ด้านการวิจัยวัคซีน ของ WHO เปิดเผยเมื่อวันพุธ ตามเวลาท้องถิ่นว่า การประชุมแบบเทเลคอนเฟอเรนซ์ ในวันดังกล่าว จะหารือถึงการผลิตยาเพื่อรองรับการผลิตวัคซีนจำนวนมาก ทั้งนี้ ที่ประชุมยังจะเสนอแนะกลุ่มผู้ผลิตยา ในการหยุดผลิตวัคซีน เพื่อใช้สำหรับไข้หวัดตามฤดูกาล เพื่อนำไปสู่การผลิตวัคซีนที่สำคัญกว่า ทั้งนี้ ผู้เข้าร่วมประชุม นอกจากกลุ่มผู้เชี่ยวชาญของ? WHO แล้ว ยังรวมถึงกลุ่มผู้ผลิตยา เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้ควบคุมเมือง และกลุ่มผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านโรคไข้หวัด รวมถึงคณะกรรมการที่ปรึกษาของ WHO
------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/16119/strict-checks-for-14-students-teachers-back-from-mexico
14 Thais back from Mexico
Published: 4/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Fourteen Thai students and teachers who were due to arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport from Mexico Sunday night will undergo strict screening for seven days for swine flu.Those found to show no signs of infection would be allowed to return home but put on a medical surveillance programme.
They would be told to stay at home over the surveillance period, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said.
The group of seven students and seven school directors were to arrive at Suvarnabhumi at 11.20pm by a United Airlines flight. They were on an educational exchange programme.
Mr Witthaya said about 300 passengers and cabin crew were on the plane with the Thais.
The students, all from Bangkok, travelled to Mexico last August. Their initial scheduled return was in July. The seven teachers left for Mexico on a study tour on April 25.
Mr Witthaya said his ministry would monitor the health of the 14.
An ambulance was to pick them up at the aircraft once they landed at Suvarnabhumi. They were then to be taken to a surveillance room where they would undergo check-ups.
Staff at the ministry's centre of operations against medical and public health emergencies asked relatives of the 14 people to attend a meeting at Suvarnabhumi airport at 9pm to explain the procedures, Mr Witthaya said.
Any of the 14 found to have fever would be sent for treatment at Bamrasnaradura Hospital. Those without signs of fever could choose to be monitored at the hospital or return home with health kits such as masks, hand-cleaning gel and a thermometer.
Those who opted to return home would be checked by disease control officers every day.
They would be told to avoid leaving home during the surveillance period, Mr Witthaya said.
Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbode said the Public Health Ministry had been monitoring the health of international passengers from all airlines.
Those with fever and coughing are advised to immediately see a doctor.
Meanwhile, laboratory test results of the suspected flu case of an 11-month-old boy were last night reported to be negative.
The child had returned from New Zealand and lives in the northeastern province of Buri Ram.
Mexico was optimistic Sunday that the swine flu epidemic is coming under control, as diplomats complained over Mexicans being held in isolation in China although they show no signs of infection.
Mexico, at the epicentre of the international flu outbreak, said the national death toll had reached 19, but Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said "each day we're seeing fewer serious cases."
He said "the mortality rate is dropping" and there were "enough elements to say that we are in a stabilisation phase."
Just days earlier, the Mexican government had spoken of 159 "probable" deaths from the new variant of swine flu, which was shown to be spread by human-to-human contact.
But stringent tests by US and Canadian labs on the mountain of "probable" cases excluded most of them.
In China, Mexico's ambassador complained that Mexicans were being treated unfairly after learning that about 50 were being held in isolation in across the country.
Ambassador Jorge Guajardo succeeded in visiting 10 Mexicans being detained in a hotel in Beijing, but only after a brief standoff with a Chinese official who did not want him to enter.
The ambassador said a Mexican diplomat living in the Chinese city of Guangzhou had been subjected to special testing after his return from Cambodia -- which has no confirmed swine flu cases -- just because he was Mexican.
"We of course object every time somebody is singled out for their nationality, and for no other reason, especially when they have no symptoms or when they are coming from a country that has absolutely no cases," Guajardo said.
Source: http://www.prthaiairways.com/thaiair_4p/front/news_detail.php?lg=en&dng=676
THAI Announces Preventive Influenza A (H1N1)
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has implemented preventive measures to prevent the spread of swine flu, as a precaution for THAI’s passengers and customers using the Company’s facilities.
ACM Narongsak Sangapong, THAI’s Senior Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretariat, and Acting President, said that THAI has implement preventive measures to safeguard against the spread of the Mexican strain of swine influenza subtype H1N1 and has set up a Crisis Management Operations Center (CMOC) to issue the preventive measures. THAI’s CMOC function will serve as a coordinating unit with internal and external departments, in order to implement critical measures internally and coordinate with external departments that include government organizations. The preventive public health measures are built upon the same principles that THAI implemented during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic and received a letter from the World Health Organization (WHO) commending the Company for responsible steps taken to protect passenger safety and reduce opportunity of contracting SARS.
THAI has implement preventive measures to safeguard against the spread of the Mexican strain of swine influenza subtype H1N1, which include regular deep-clean fumigation with EcoTru 1453 on board flights flown to and from high-risk countries for approximately 30-40 minutes prior to next flight departure.36 Common touch points are disinfected as an additional preventive swine influenza measure by cleaning items in the passenger seat pocket, aircraft interior, passenger seat, galley, and lavatory on board THAI aircraft, whereby this measure is implemented in addition to regular on-ground cleaning upon flight arrival and partly conducted by cabin crew for passenger hygiene while on board THAI flights with increased cabin lavatory cleaning during flight. The 36 aircraft equipment parts are safety pamphlet, flight wallet set, inflight magazine, passenger overhead bin, partition, passenger cabin wall, stairway, window, movie screen, passenger seat pocket, safety seat belt, meal tray, armrest, dust passenger seat and back seat, clean and vacuum aircraft carpet and passenger seat, aircraft door, handle of aircraft door, armed-disarmed lever, door knob, food cabinets as well as internal and external fixtures, sink and counter, food cabinet shelves, food cabinet handle, trash bin area, clean kitchen floor, faucet, door knob, sink and counter, toilet flush button or handle, mirror, toilet seat, trash bin lid, toilet seat cover, latch, external and internal area of toilet, and lavatory floor.THAI has installed special High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor called TRUE HEPA air filters on all its aircraft, which is the finest filtering 0.001 micron particles for clean air that is 99.999% particle-free. TRUE HEPA air filters are guaranteed by Airbus and Boeing to keep air as pure as in hospital surgical units. For passenger safety, TRUE HEPA air filters on THAI’s aircraft are changed more often than the recommended standard. THAI’s cabin crew will observe for possible symptoms of ill passengers, especially those who have respiratory problems, such as cough or sneeze. Surgical masks are available for passengers to wear to prevent spread of infection, separate contagious passengers from others, and cabin crew will contact the international infectious diseases unit prior to flight landing. THAI has also provided influenza vaccinations for the Company’s flight crew and cabin crew annually, for the past 3-4 years.Furthermore, THAI ensures that contract farming is conducted with regard to fruits, vegetables, and meats used in meal preparation, according to the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) for hygienic meals on board. As for ground services, THAI's staff at the check-in counter and boarding gate are also required to observe passengers for possible influenza symptoms. Should a passenger exhibits symptoms, the probable case must be reported to the physician on duty at the airport to conduct a check on the symptoms. If there are any doubts to the passenger’s condition, staff are allowed to refuse or deny boarding.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/03/national/national_30101870.php
Swine flu reported in Korea as Asia tries to block virus
By Deutsche Presse Agentur
Sun, May 3, 2009 : Last updated 18:28 hours
South Korea on Saturday reported East Asia's second human case of swine flu as other countries in the region sought to minimize the risks of infections by cancelling flights and imposing visa requirements on Mexico, the worst-hit country in the outbreak.
The 51-year-old nun in South Korea confirmed to have the H1N1 strain of the flu has been isolated in hospital since Tuesday after displaying flu symptoms after her return a week ago from Mexico, the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The announcement came after Hong Kong on Friday night confirmed its first swine-flu case, a 25-year-old Mexican who flew Thursday to the city. He was taken to a hospital isolation ward, and the hotel where he was staying was quarantined.
In response, the governments in mainland China and Taiwan were trying to trace passengers who flew with the Mexican patient as China also suspended direct flights from Mexico, Singapore imposed visa requirements for its citizens and tensions rose among the 240 guests and more than 100 staff quarantined for a week at the Hong Kong hotel.
Indian national Kevin Ireland, 45, said from his room at the Metropark Hotel that the guests began joking Friday night and trying to make light of news that they would be confined to the facility for 24 hours, but he said the atmosphere rapidly deteriorated when they learned from television reports that the quarantine was actually for seven days.
"This morning, there was a Korean gentleman, and he was way off the handle," the father of two from New Delhi said Saturday. "He was screaming and shouting and throwing a tantrum. There is a young couple from the UK. She has been crying incessantly.
"Then there is a South African couple with a 10-month-old baby and their grandmother. The wife was taken away for tests and they are really quite agitated."
He said conditions were exacerbated by "brusque" police, a lack of fresh clothing and linen among the guests, and a dearth of information from authorities.
"Dissemination of any kind of information is lacking," he said. "You ask people questions, and you get no response."
Meanwhile, South-East Asian health ministers prepared for a meeting next week that is to focus on the regional stockpiling of anti-influenza medicines to combat swine flu, officials said Saturday.
Besides including the 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), host Thailand has also invited ministers from China, Japan and South Korea to the first such regional meeting on tackling the outbreak of the H1N1 virus.
"We're in discussion with the three countries and still awaiting the response on their level of participation," Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thongpaksi said.
Senior-level health officials are to hold a preparatory session Thursday, followed by the ministerial meeting Friday in Bangkok.
The cases reported in South Korea and Hong Kong became Asia's third and fourth after Israel reported it had two cases. All four patients were travellers from Mexico, which late Friday reported it has had 16 deaths from swine flu and 397 infections.
In response, China informed Mexico that it suspended flights by Aeromexico to Shanghai. The government was considering arranging a charter flight to collect Chinese passengers in Mexico who were booked on the first cancelled flight to Shanghai on Sunday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
The Mexican patient hospitalized in Hong Kong had flown from Mexico to Shanghai before taking the flight to Hong Kong.
Health authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, were trying to trace 11 of the 41 local people who arrived in Shanghai on the same flight from Mexico as the infected man, state media said.
The health officials had contacted 30 of the 41 passengers and placed them under a seven-day quarantine, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Likewise, Hong Kong and Taiwan was tracing people who flew with the Mexican patient.
Health Minister Yeh Chin-chuan said at a news conference that 26 people, including eight Chinese mainlanders, had flown on the Shanghai-Hong Kong flight before flying on to Taiwan on the same day. Health authorities had contacted 19 of them but were searching for the seven others, he said.
Among those who have been tracked down, at least six were sent to a hospital for tests to see whether they were infected with the H1N1 flu strain.
Taiwan also issued a travel alert Saturday for Hong Kong and South Korea as Singapore imposed a visa requirement on Mexicans beginning Saturday.
Previously, citizens of Mexico did not need a visa to enter Singapore, which, like Taiwan, has yet to report an infection with the H1N1 virus.
Singapore had already enhanced its surveillance of people arriving from Mexico. Beginning Monday, those with a travel history to Mexico over the past seven days would be quarantined for seven days upon their return to Singapore, the Ministry of Health said.
Ireland said the guests at the Metropark Hotel in Hong Kong regarded their quarantine as an "overreaction."
"We've all got jobs to do, lives to lead and responsibilities," he said.
Health Minister Yeh said H1N1 is bound to enter Taiwan but the public need not panic because the government is fully prepared to fight the virus.
"We are not worried about the virus entering Taiwan," he said. "We are worried about it causing community infection and spreading from one person to another."
South Korea's confirmed infection caused fear to grow that the N1N1 virus could quickly be spread from human to human in South Korea. A 44-year-old woman who lives with the sick nun is being examined on suspicions that she too could have been infected.
The nun, however, has recovered from her fever and other symptoms and might be released from hospital this weekend, authorities said.
Fourteen countries have reported human infections with the new flu strain that has genetic elements from three species - pigs, birds and humans. The only country besides Mexico to report deaths is the United States with one fatality from 141 infections.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-01-swine-flu-world-friday_N.htm
Hong Kong reports first confirmed swine flu in Asia
HONG KONG (AP) — A Mexican tourist visiting Hong Kong was diagnosed with swine flu Friday in Asia's first confirmed case of the disease.
Officials ordered a week-long quarantine of the Metropark Hotel where the 25-year-old man stayed and started tracking down his recent contacts.
Earlier Friday, China's health minister warned the country it should prepare for an outbreak.
The government declared swine flu a category II infectious disease, a notice on the health ministry's website said. That means any infection must immediately be reported to government authorities and gives local governments the ability to quarantine areas. The same category was given to SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed nearly 800 people in 2003.
The Hong Kong patient, who flew there via Shanghai on China Eastern Airlines flight MU 505, developed a fever after arriving in the territory Thursday afternoon, Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters. The patient, whose diagnosis was confirmed by Hong Kong's Health Department and the University of Hong Kong, has been isolated in a hospital and is in stable condition, Tsang said. He gave no further details about the tourist's identity.
The patient, who was traveling with two others, took taxis from Hong Kong's airport to his hotel and from the hotel to the hospital, but did not venture out otherwise, Secretary for Food and Health York Chow told a news conference.
But as a precaution the government has ordered a week-long quarantine of the Metropark in the territory's Wan Chai bar and office district and will treat its guests with the drug Tamiflu, Chow said. Police officers wearing masks and gloves guarded the building. Hotel staff inside the building were also wearing masks.
There are about 200 guests staying at the hotel and 100 staff working there, Director of Health Lam Ping-yan said.
Chow said officials will also track down other people who flew on the airplane, paying special attention to passengers who sat near him, and urged the taxi drivers who drove him to contact health officials.
The two others who were traveling with the Mexican and a friend he came into contact with during his stay have also been isolated in a hospital but have not shown symptoms of illness, Chow said.
While South Korea has reported three probable cases of swine flu, the Hong Kong case is the first confirmed case in Asia, where governments have been stepping up precautions to prevent its spread from other parts of the world.
In the Pacific, New Zealand has reported four lab-confirmed swine flu cases and 12 other probable cases.
Nearly 170 people suspected of having swine flu have died in Mexico, and more than 3,000 have been sickened. One toddler has died in the United States, and half a dozen countries in Europe have confirmed cases, as do Canada and Israel.
Tsang urged calm in a city that was badly hit by the outbreak of SARS in 2003. Severe acute respiratory syndrome killed 299 here.
"All other public activities, including school, public exhibitions, sports activities and all other kinds of socializing, economic and business activities can proceed as normal," Tsang said.
Even before the swine flu case emerged, Hong Kong officials had already stepped up precautions, screening visitors for fever and ordering air travelers to fill out health declaration forms. The government also launched a citywide cleanup. Public toilets are being cleaned every two hours and escalators in wet markets are wiped down every hour.
Elsewhere around the world, Mexico's chief epidemiologist charged the World Health Organization was slow to respond to Mexico's emerging crisis over the new strain of the swine flu, first spotted in that country. He called for an investigation.
Dr. Miguel Angel Lezana told The Associated Press late Thursday that Mexico's National Epidemiology Center, which he oversees, alerted the Pan American Health Organization on April 16 about alarming occurrences of flu and atypical pneumonia in Mexico. But no action was taken until eight days later when the World Health Organization said it was "very, very concerned" the outbreak could grow into a pandemic.
WHO officials said Friday the health body had been informed on about April 9 of unusual cases of "suspicious influenza" from Mexico that had begun in late March, but that U.S. and Canadian laboratories identified the virus on April 24, when the organization responded rapidly. (United Nations World Health Organization(WHO))
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-01-swine-flu-main-friday_N.htm
2/05/2009 By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
Govt. officials confirm 653 swine flu cases worldwide
The worldwide tally for the fast-spreading swine flu, or H1N1 influenza, virus reached 653 cases in 15 countries, government officials said Friday.
A Mexican tourist visiting Hong Kong was diagnosed with the H1N1 strain of flu Friday and has been isolated in a hospital there in stable condition. This is the first case of the strain in Asia.
France reported its first two confirmed cases on Friday.
Speaking on TF1 television, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said the patients, a 49-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, both recently returned from Mexico. They have been hospitalized at two Paris hospitals and are "doing well," she said.
Bachelot also said another patient hospitalized at a third Paris hospital likely has the virus, but it has not been officially confirmed yet. Bachelot said all three had received anti-viral treatments.
She said the "form (of the virus) in our country appears benign" but did not rule out that the French cases could prove more serious. "This virus has killed (people) in Mexico. ... Therefore we must take all necessary precautions."
In the United States, Obama used his Saturday address to highlight efforts his administration is making to curtail spread of the disease, but also to reassure Americans. "The good news is that the current strain of H1N1 can be defeated by a course of antiviral treatment that we already have on hand," the president said.
The government had 50 million courses of the treatment on hand, Obama said, and has begun making deliveries to states from that stockpile. He added that federal officials have purchased 13 million more doses of the medicine over the last few days.
In his address, the president referred to the virus by its scientific name, H1N1, and avoided the more commonly used "swine flu." Some analysts have blamed swine flu panic for a steep drop in pork prices this week. According to survey by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, 13% of Americans believe, incorrectly, that it is possible to get the flu strain from eating pork.
The virus was nicknamed swine flu because it originated from pigs. But it has now mutated into a form that passes easily between people. Obama noted in his Saturday address that the contagion has nothing to do with animals.
"This is a new strain of the flu virus, and because we haven't developed an immunity to it, it has more potential to cause us harm," the president said. "Unlike the various strains of animal flu that have emerged in the past, it's a flu that is spreading from human to human. This creates the potential for a pandemic, which is why we are acting quickly and aggressively."
Schools across the country continued to close because of concerns over actual or suspected cases. More than 430 schools were closed as of Friday, affecting as many as 250,000 student in Texas, Alabama, New York, California, South Carolina, Connecticut, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, Ohio, Utah, Washington state, Michigan, Maine and Maryland. That was about 100 more schools reported closed than reported on Thursday.
While emphasizing at a Friday news conference that the closures to date represent a tiny fraction of the almost 100,000 schools in the country, Education Secretary Arne Duncan instructed teachers, parents and students to be prepared if their school does close.
To teachers, Duncan said: "Think about reworking upcoming lesson plans so students can do their schoolwork at home if necessary."
To parents: "Learn about what they're learning at school. Keep them on task."
And to students: "Don't fall behind your peers at other schools that are still in session. Keep working hard."
A flight from Germany to Washington was diverted to Boston because a passenger complained of flu-like symptoms.
Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella says United Airlines Flight 903 was being diverted Friday afternoon after a 53-year-old female passenger told flight attendants about her symptoms. He said the flight from Munich had 245 passengers and six crewmembers. The flight had been scheduled to land at Washington Dulles International Airport later Friday.
It isn't yet clear what caused the woman's symptoms or whether she might be suffering from swine flu.
Still, the flu was beginning to look a little less ominous. New York City officials reported Friday that the virus still has not spread beyond a few schools.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the illness so far had proven to be "a relatively minor annoyance." City health officials said they have found few signs that the local outbreak of swine flu is spreading beyond a few pockets or getting more dangerous. The city has 50 cases, the most of any city in the United States.
Meanwhile, prescriptions for antiviral, flu-fighting drugs increased nine-fold on Monday compared to daily sales for the previous month, according to the healthcare information company SDI. Sales began to go up on Friday, April 24, the day after the CDC reported cases of the H1N1 influenza in the United States. They have remained high since then, SDI reports.
Clinics and hospital emergency rooms in New York, California and some other states are seeing a surge in patients with coughs and sneezes that might have been ignored before the outbreak.
The World Health Organization is working on creating a vaccine against the H1N1 viru, says Marie-Paul Kieny, WHO's Director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research.
"Vaccines are an extremely effective protection against influenza," she says. In the case of seasonal influenza, vaccines protect millions of people each year against death.
Therefore, it is "critically important" to create a vaccine against the H1N1 virus, she says.
However, that takes time. Testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that the flu virus for next year's seasonal influenza, which is currently in the early stages of production, does not provide protection against this newly-evolved strain.
Creating a new flu vaccine from scratch will take between four to six months and there's really no way to speed up the process and still make it safe and ensure the vaccine is effective, Kieny says.
"We think 600 million doses is achievable in a six-month time frame" from that fall start, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Craig Vanderwagen told lawmakers.
"I don't want anybody to have false expectations. The science is challenging here," Vanderwagen told reporters. "Production can be done, robust production capacity is there. It's a question of can we get the science worked on the specifics of this vaccine."
Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases reached 659, according to the Associated Press, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control, WHO and government officials. Officially, the WHO lists the worldwide count of confirmed swine flu cases at 615.
In the U.S., the confirmed number of swine flu cases has topped 150. The CDC confirms 141, and states are confirming at least a dozen more. Cases now are confirmed in New York, Texas, California, South Carolina, Kansas, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Maine, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, Connecticut, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota.
The Harvard School of Public Health survey shows Americans appear to be responding to calls to increase hand washing. Fifty-nine percent of Americans said they were washing their hands or using hand sanitizer more frequently.
Despite public health officials' messages that only people who are sick with flu-like symptoms need to stay home, 15% of Americans said they were avoiding areas where many people are gathered, such as sporting events, malls or public transportation.
Other responses include 8% who said they were wearing face masks; 4% who have kept children home from school or daycare; and 1% who said they were getting a prescription for antiviral medications.
The survey was conducted on Wednesday, April 29, on a representative national sample of 1,067 adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/16068/flu-screening-bolstered-as-asian-cases-confirmed
Flu screening bolstered as Asian cases confirmed
By: POST REPORTERS and AFP. Published: 3/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Thailand has tightened its checking and screening measures to prevent a possible outbreak of swine flu following reported infections in Asia.
On Friday, Hong Kong confirmed its first case of flu, followed shortly by a case in South Korea.
In Thailand, two people are being quarantined for medical assessment after they came down with flu-like symptoms, officials said.
Health officials are gearing up for the arrival of a group of 14 Thai students and volunteers from Mexico, where the flu broke out, said Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart. The group, the first to come from Mexico since the outbreak, will undergo a thorough health examination at the airport. Any diagnosed with symptoms will be admitted to hospital, while those cleared will be allowed to go home but will remain under surveillance for seven days.
Maj-Gen Sanan, who chairs the panel monitoring swine flu, said the families of the 14 will be informed of any precautionary measures.
He will ask cabinet on Tuesday to approve the purchase of 10 infra-red thermal scanners worth 150 million baht.
The heat-detecting devices will be installed at airports and border checkpoints as part of stepped-up surveillance for the flu. Maj-Gen Sanan and Deputy Health Minister Manit Nopamornbode yesterday inspected the quarantine centre at Suvarnabhumi airport where six scanners have been installed.
About 180,000 passengers have been scanned over the past five days.
"A few dozen were found to have high fever but we checked carefully and found that none had contracted this new influenza," said Mr Manit. Passakorn Akarasewee, of the Communicable Diseases Control department, said the patients under health quarantine - a 42-year-old woman and 46-year-old man - are staying at state hospitals. He said initial test results showed the woman was free of the flu, but more tests were under way.
The male patient is being closely monitored.
He returned from a trip to France and Italy on May 1 with a fever.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he is confident the Asean health ministers meeting in Bangkok this week will strengthen flu defences around the region.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My reaction
1. Nowadays, the world has changed much than before. There are many new diseases such as SARs, Bird flu, and Swine flu. Even Swine flu is one kind of cold disease and Thai people can get the vaccination of cold disease but this vaccine is not protecting you from this Swine flu.
2. Swine flu or H1N1 is the virus first met in Mexico then spread to neighbor countries and now to Asia which first report Swine flu in Asia is in Hong Kong and following with South Korea.
3. This disease spreads quickly since the passengers who were infected the virus flied to other countries then they spread this flu.
4. It would have a big chance that this epidemic will spread around asia because although quarantine system at the airport is monitoring passenger’s health temperature, the infected passenger who is in virus developing process could get into the country very easy. This process can only detect only sick people.
5. Although, the protective vaccine for influenza is not effective 100 percent to prevent H1N1 virus from the human, optimistically, it is lucky to know that we have already had a course of antiviral treatment which is called “Tamiflu”.
6. As mentioned, the first case was founded in Asia is in Hong Kong, it was a Mexican Tourist who infected the virus H1N1, he could pass the thermal scanning in the airport because at that time the sickness had not been develoed yet. Fortunately, after the identified patient had realized his sickness, he went to the hospital immediately. So there were not many people contacted to him just cab’s driver, his friends, and hotel’s staffs, therefore, the quarantine area could be limited.
7. The second case in Asia is in South Korea, the swine flu was reported right after Hong Kong. The 51-year-old nun in South Korea confirmed to have the H1N1 strain of the flu. She has been isolated in hospital since Tuesday after showing flu symptom. The woman has remained quarantined since returning from a trip to Mexico on Sunday.However, 315 passengers who were on the same flight with her from Los Angeles were tested but no one shows the positive result. Fortunately in both cases (Hong Kong and South Korea), the authorities have been informed almost immediately.
8. For more safety in Thailand, Thai airways has implement to prevent the spread of Swine flu by “deep clean” measure in aircraft one time a month with spraying Disinfecting ECO TRU 1453. The company also installed high quality air filter called TRUE HEPA on all aircraft for clean air 99.99% virus and bacteria-free because the H1N1 virus has developed and spread quickly from human to human and every passengers who have to fly with THAI Airways cannot avoid this situation so Thai Airways company should take care of the health and security first.
9. 14 Thais which 7 students and 7 volunteer teachers backed from Mexico on Sunday night. They were sent to a hospital to check the fever and three of them were suspected to be infected Swine flu.
10. After the spreading of Swine flu. Mexican people were treated unfairly in China. Ambassador Jorge Guajardo said “Mexicans were being treated unfairly after learning that about 50 were being held in isolation in across the country…just because they were Mexican.” It may because some people still not informed well about Swine flu fact. They just knew that this virus cause people died. Then they scared and do not want to contat with Mexicans.
11. “According to survey by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, 13% of Americans believe incorrectly that it is possible to get the flu strain from eating pork.” Consuming pork is safe if it has been heated more than 70 degree celsius to kill germ and virus.
12. In next week, Thailand will serve as host country to hold the meeting with South-East Asian health ministers including China, Japan, and South Korea ministers to find the best solution and prepare the anti-influenza medicines to handle swine flu.
Conclusion
The first case in Asia is Hong Kong case, the identified patient went to hospital immediately after arriving Hong Kong, so there would have a small chance that this flu will be spread over the island. The quarantine area could be very limited. The officer can only quarantine the passengers on that flight, his friends, the cab’s driver and the guests and staffs of the hotel. And follow with for South Korean case, the woman went to see the authorities immediately after arriving the airport.
However, in this time we should aware of this virus because it is a big chance that H1N1 virus can come through Thailand easily since the scanner cannot check the infected person who the virus is in developing process. This virus takes time to develop before show the sign. Therefore, THAI Airways set Crisis Management Operations Center (CMOC) to prevent the spread of H1N1 virus as the precaution to passengers.
In Thailand case, 14 Thais who had come back from Mexico were taken to check-up immediately after landing and the officials also took good care of them so we can be sured that this suspected case in Thailand were taken care of well. For higher security system standard, Thailand has tightened its checking and screening measurement to prevent a possible outbreak of swine flu. Suvarnabhumi airport installed six thermal scanners to detect the people who infect flu.
Swine influenza or H1N1 is spreading around the world and I think it will definitely come into Thailand. Because Swine flu was first found in Mexico and it spreaded rapidly to North America, Canada, France, Spain, Hong Kong, South Korea. From statistic on 2nd May 2009 there were only 653 Swine flu cases in 15 countries but last update from Thairath on 7th May 2009 the number of Swine flu case increase quickly to almost 1,900 cases in 23 countries. To protect ourselves in this situation, the best ways are wearing a qualified mask, using gloves and avoiding contacting with sick people and exercising to increase immunity.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น