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Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

Swine Flu is Back - 2016

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    Posted: December 18 2015 at 1:43pm
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-12-swine-flu-outbreak-nears-tehran.html

An outbreak of swine flu in Iran has claimed 42 lives since mid-November, including in a province neighbouring Tehran, Health Minister Hassan Hashemi said Thursday.

Hashemi, quoted by ISNA news agency, said 33 deaths from the H1N1 virus were recorded in Kerman and five in Sistan-Baluchistan, both provinces in southeastern Iran.

comment: the infecting strain is coming from outside of Iran. 

"This flu comes from beyond our borders, especially from Sistan-Baluchistan" near Pakistan, the minister said Monday. "But every year it becomes wilder and more resistant" to treatment."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic

comment: We need to watch this for it could become another Pandemic "not if, but when." 

We just had to deal with this in India early this year.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/tips/swine-flu-in-india-five-facts-you-should-know-about-the-deadly-virus_1551024.html

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http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/human-rights/19621

The swine flu presently sweeping across Iran is a full fledged outbreak. It has already spread to many provinces in the country, including highly populated areas such as the capital city, Tehran. Yet despite its increasing severity, the Iranian regime has yet to take any credible step to fight the outbreak.

Fearing social unrest, the regime is publishing contradictory figures and false reports on the number of those afflicted, including a mounting death toll.

While, the regime’s leaders claim that just a few have been affected and that the disease is under control, the regime’s Ministry of Health is sending a contradictory message. The Ministry of Health alleges that following the outbreak in Kerman and Sistan-Baluchistan provinces, the deadly disease will spread to Kurdistan, Lorestan, Khuzestan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Tehran, Semnan and Northern Khorassan provinces in the coming weeks.


comment: The outbreak is not limited to Iran. It is coming from Pakistan and could spread to other countries.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 20 2015 at 9:06am
"Hashemi, Rouhani’s Minister of Health, reacted to the crisis with callous and unnerving indifference.. He even stated, “Always the virus that causes flu is dangerous to some… there is no need for vaccination in this season” (Iranian regime state TV – December 8).

Sounds more like a vaccination issue than a potential pandemic strain to me, Med.
And this guy's the Minister of Health?



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"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 9:18am
There's also a large out break in the Caribbean!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 9:44am
Considering the proximity to India this could also be a new mutated strain!

This is an article I read back in March.

Deadly outbreak of swine flu in India may be due to a mutated strain

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/23/deadly-outbreak-of-swine-flu-in-india-may-be-due-to-a-mutated-strain.html
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 11:20am
Originally posted by arirish arirish wrote:

Considering the proximity to India this could also be a new mutated strain!

This is an article I read back in March.

Deadly outbreak of swine flu in India may be due to a mutated strain

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/23/deadly-outbreak-of-swine-flu-in-india-may-be-due-to-a-mutated-strain.html


Arirish - I did some more digging to get you a cleaner link to the original publication from MIT and also the debate about it.

http://news.mit.edu/2015/swine-flu-outbreak-india-mutations-0311

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-and-US-researchers-clash-over-swine-flu-strain-mutation/articleshow/46552397.cms



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 11:30am
http://news.mit.edu/2015/swine-flu-outbreak-india-mutations-0311

Since December, an outbreak of swine flu in India has killed more than 1,200 people, and a new MIT study suggests that the strain has acquired mutations that make it more dangerous than previously circulating strains of H1N1 influenza.

The findings, which appear in the March 11 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, contradict previous reports from Indian health officials that the strain has not changed from the version of H1N1 that emerged in 2009 and has been circulating around the world ever since.

With very little scientific data available about the new strain, the MIT researchers stress the need for better surveillance to track the outbreak and to help scientists to determine how to respond to this influenza variant.

“We’re really caught between a rock and a hard place, with little information and a lot of misinformation,” says Ram Sasisekharan, the Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT and the paper’s senior author. “When you do real-time surveillance, get organized, and deposit these sequences, then you can come up with a better strategy to respond to the virus.”

In the past two years, genetic sequence information of the flu-virus protein hemagglutinin from only two influenza strains from India has been deposited into publicly available influenza databases, making it difficult to determine exactly which strain is causing the new outbreak, and how it differs from previous strains. However, those two strains yielded enough information to warrant concern, says Sasisekharan, who is also a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

He and Kannan Tharakaraman, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering, compared the genetic sequences of those two strains to the strain of H1N1 that emerged in 2009 and killed more than 18,000 people worldwide between 2009 and 2012.

The researchers found that the recent Indian strains carry new mutations in the hemagglutinin protein that are known to make the virus more virulent. Hemagglutinin binds to glycan receptors found on the surface of respiratory cells, and the strength of that binding determines how effectively the virus can infect those cells.

comment: It is very difficult in the research community for some to publish results which have such sweeping conclusions. No doubt, Swine Flu has mutated - that is what viruses do quite frequently. This could make the current vaccines less effective and cause more problems if a new strain evolves and makes its way to other countries.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 1:12pm
Med-Thanks for the links!

JD said- "Sounds more like a vaccination issue than a potential pandemic strain to me, Med. And this guy's the Minister of Health?"

I agree but one does not rule out the other! I've been following the situation in India and this strain died back but did not die out all summer! Something's different!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 21 2015 at 7:30pm
Yep, India got hit hard a short while ago - and during a heatwave, no less Confused
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"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 22 2015 at 5:45pm
It's not over. Although it is a jumble on there with all kinds of old news posts and new dates - this looks pretty solid.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-12-swine-flu-toll-iran.html

December 15, 2015

An outbreak of swine flu has claimed 57 lives since mid-November in Iran, where hundreds of people have been diagnosed with the virus, the health ministry said Tuesday.

"Around 900 patients have been diagnosed with the H1N1 flue virus across the country," the head of the ministry's communicable diseases department, Mohammad Mehdi, told AFP.

He said 57 patients have died, 15 higher than the last death toll announced on December 10.

The deaths from the H1N1 virus have been mostly in southeastern Iran: 33 were recorded in Kerman and five in Sistan-Baluchistan provinces.

"In the past two weeks 2,700 suspected cases have been tested," Gouya told Mehr news agency.

comment: It's back and hard to know how many have it or have died outside the clinics.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2015 at 9:19am
Background and briefing - Swine Flu spreading in Iran and now in Israel as well.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2015 at 10:06am
There are also reports from Algeria and Egypt-calling it bird-flu while detecting H1N1, indicates this virus has adepted to warmer weather (comes from India via Pakistan, Iran westward). Over the spread of H1N1 the mild cases seem to be spreading most (more than a "super-spreader"?)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26692335#

Transmission of the First Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Pandemic Wave in Australia Was Driven by Undetected Infections: Pandemic Response Implications.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

During the first wave of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Victoria, Australia the rapid increase in notified cases and the high proportion with relatively mild symptoms suggested that community transmission was established before cases were identified. This lead to the hypothesis that those with low-level infections were the main drivers of the pandemic.

METHODS:

A deterministic susceptible-infected-recovered model was constructed to describe the first pandemic wave in a population structured by disease severity levels of asymptomatic, low-level symptoms, moderate symptoms and severe symptoms requiring hospitalisation. The model incorporated mixing, infectivity and duration of infectiousness parameters to calculate subgroup-specific reproduction numbers for each severity level.

RESULTS:

With stratum-specific effective reproduction numbers of 1.82 and 1.32 respectively, those with low-level symptoms, and those with asymptomatic infections were responsible for most of the transmission. The effective reproduction numbers for infections resulting in moderate symptoms and hospitalisation were less than one. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the importance of parameters relating to asymptomatic individuals and those with low-level symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:

Transmission of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was largely driven by those invisible to the health system. This has implications for control measures-such as distribution of antivirals to cases and contacts and quarantine/isolation-that rely on detection of infected cases. Pandemic plans need to incorporate milder scenarios, with a graded approach to implementation of control measures.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 27 2015 at 2:13am
https://flunewseurope.org/

Week 51/2015 (14−20 December)

  • Influenza activity remained low in most countries in the WHO European Region.
  • While the number of consultations for influenza-like illness and/or acute respiratory infections was stable, the proportion of sentinel specimens testing positive for influenza virus increased from 6% for week 50/2015 to 11% for week 51/2015.
  • Sporadic detections of A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and type B influenza viruses were reported.

 

Season

  • The proportion of influenza virus postive sentinel specimens increased to over 10% for the first time since week 40/2015, indicating the start of the season. 
  • The increase in virus detections seen since week 49 in sentinel and non-sentinel cases is due almost exclusively to influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. This subtype was detected more frequently than A(H3N2), and B/Victoria lineage was detected more frequently than B/Yamagata in both sentinel and non-sentinel specimens. Viruses characterized so far this season are genetically similar to the strains recommended for inclusion in this winter’s trivalent or quadrivalent vaccine for the northern hemisphere.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 27 2015 at 7:50am
Originally posted by Dutch Josh Dutch Josh wrote:

https://flunewseurope.org/


The proportion of influenza virus postive sentinel specimens increased to over 10% for the first time since week 40/2015, indicating the start of the season. 



What is the epidemic level for flu in Europe?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 30 2015 at 9:54am
It is happening.

http://www.medindia.net/news/112-swine-flu-deaths-reported-in-iran-since-mid-november-156582-1.htm

December 30, 2015 1:56 a.m.

Media said that a swine flu outbreak in Iran has killed 112 people since mid-November and the country's first medical worker has died of the virus.

"About 1,190 people have been diagnosed with the (H1N1) virus and hospitalized" and "the death toll has reached 112", state news agency IRNA quoted a health ministry official as saying.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 02 2016 at 8:12am
Continuing to wait for more reports from Iran which seem to have vanished during the New Year's Holiday.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-reports-112-swine-flu-deaths-since-mid-132048462.html


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 04 2016 at 8:03am
http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_4-suspected-swine-flu-deaths-reported-in-turkey_408593.html

Four people suspected to be suffering from swine flu have died in the Central Anatolian province of Niğde and the southern province of Adana in the past two days.

Three people in Adana died after they were hospitalized with symptoms of swine flu, Governor Mustafa Büyük announced on Saturday. One of the victims was a four-month-pregnant woman while the other two were Syrians, he said.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 04 2016 at 8:08am
Epidemic flu level Europe is 10%: 

Week 52/2015 (21-27 December)

  • Influenza activity remained low in most countries in the WHO European Region.
  • The proportion of influenza virus-positive sentinel surveillance specimens increased to 17% from 11% the previous week.
  • Detections of A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and type B influenza viruses among sentinel surveillance specimens were reported by 14 countries.

Season

  • For the first time since week 40/2015, the proportion of influenza virus-positive sentinel surveillance specimens was over 10% for two consecutive weeks, confirming the start of the influenza season in week 51/2015.
  • The increase since week 49/2015 in virus detections among sentinel and non-sentinel patients with respiratory disease is due largely to A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses, the subtype representing 84% of subtyped type A viruses. Influenza type B viruses of the Victoria lineage were detected more frequently (75%) than those of the Yamagata lineage (25%). Viruses characterized so far this season are genetically similar to the strains recommended for inclusion in this winter’s trivalent or quadrivalent vaccines for the northern hemisphere.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 07 2016 at 9:14am
Eight people died from swine flu in Turkey since early 2016

Eight people have died as a result of swine flu in Turkey since early 2016, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muazzinoglu said, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported Jan. 6.

http://en.trend.az/world/turkey/2477097.html
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 19 2016 at 8:14am
Once more we are seeing outbreaks of Swine Flu in many countries. It is very hard to tell in the U.S. as the current tracking system for even Flu is very limited to a very small handful of samples for the entire country. 

The Flu is out there, especially Swine Flu, and the last reports from Iran were of a jump in cases and now there is silence.

http://outbreaknewstoday.com/iran-swine-flu-update-deaths-double-in-two-weeks-98079/

It really is unlikely that after such a rise in case there would be no more. We look at a 15 day silence with no reports at all.

Last year in the United States the Swine Flu was widespread in the United States on this date. Is it possible the vaccine has been that effective for the first time in years in stopping it.

Disease and the resistance to antibiotic and antivirals has been on the rise for a decade. Suddenly are not serious outbreaks?  As I sit looking out the window the raining is falling hard in California. It is winter, one would expect there to be finally storms. The same is true of the flu. There should be more of it.

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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/19-Jan-2016/swine-flu

Punjab - India -

The dark shadow of swine flu is hovering across Punjab as the disease has started taking its toll on citizens. So far the death toll has swelled to 13 while a total of 54 cases have been detected from all over Punjab. The number of patients affected by the disease has reached 14 in Lahore. Overall, five deaths have been reported in Rawalpindi, four in Multan while one person each died in the cities of Lahore, Chakwal, Gujranwala and Sahiwal. Swine flu, also known as H1N1 in medical terms, is a disease that spreads through contact with a sufferer, while shaking hands, aerially, or using a utensil that had earlier been in contact with a patient of the disease.

The grim situation is worsening in different cities of Punjab due to the lack of virology laboratories and delayed diagnosis. While the government officials and the Punjab health department are claiming that adequate arrangements have been put in place to tackle the menace, the reality looks bleak, with the number of swine flu cases increasing. There are clear indications that delayed diagnosis resulted in fatalities that could have been avoided. The overwhelming majority of those who get swine flu are those who never bother about visiting a doctor after catching the virus. Symptoms of H1N1 are just like any other flu symptoms: sudden fever and cough, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat, decreased appetite, and runny nose. Sometimes there is nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea also.

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http://www.medindia.net/news/russia-at-least-17-deadly-swine-flu-cases-reported-157126-1.htm

Local authorities in Russia's second-largest city said that 313 people had been hospitalized with the virus in the last 10 days.

Four swine flu-related deaths were also recorded in the southern region of Rostov among the 120 reported cases of the virus in the area, authorities said Tuesday.

These latest cases follow the deaths of four adults and one child from the virus in the nearby region of Dagestan, and the deaths of two infected patients in Yekaterinburg and the southern region of Adygea.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 24 2016 at 3:42am
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/19-Jan-2016/swine-flu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab,_India

The dark shadow of swine flu is hovering across Punjab as the disease has started taking its toll on citizens. So far the death toll has swelled to 13 while a total of 54 cases have been detected from all over Punjab. The number of patients affected by the disease has reached 14 in Lahore. Overall, five deaths have been reported in Rawalpindi, four in Multan while one person each died in the cities of Lahore, Chakwal, Gujranwala and Sahiwal. Swine flu, also known as H1N1 in medical terms, is a disease that spreads through contact with a sufferer, while shaking hands, aerially, or using a utensil that had earlier been in contact with a patient of the disease.
The grim situation is worsening in different cities of Punjab due to the lack of virology laboratories and delayed diagnosis. While the government officials and the Punjab health department are claiming that adequate arrangements have been put in place to tackle the menace, the reality looks bleak, with the number of swine flu cases increasing. There are clear indications that delayed diagnosis resulted in fatalities that could have been avoided. The overwhelming majority of those who get swine flu are those who never bother about visiting a doctor after catching the virus.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2016 at 1:30pm
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/01/22/446878/Russia-swine-flu/

Swine flu has killed nearly 40 people in Russia since last month, with one of the cases reported in the capital, Moscow.

According to official data gathered by the AFP, at least 39 people have died of the disease.

“Eleven people died from the virus and nearly 50 schools have declared a quarantine,” health authorities in the southern region of Volgograd told state news agency RIA Novosti on Friday.

Six fatal swine flu-related deaths have also been recorded in the southern region of Rostov and five deaths were reported in Saint Petersburg.

These latest cases follow the deaths of four adults and one child from the virus in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, and the deaths of two infected patients in Yekaterinburg in the Urals and the southern region of Adygea.

Swine flu fatalities have also been reported in the Kostroma, Tambov and Kaliningrad regions, among others.

Anna Popova, a senior doctor in the country, assured the public that “all necessary measures” were being taken to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in Russia.

comment: It is very unusual since the last 2 years in January there were serious outbreaks in the U.S. we are not seeing it here. It is possible that Russia who is watching very closely is reporting this where we aren't. You might notice all but one state around Washington D.C., we have the only widespread areas in the U.S. Why around the capitol? 

Since there were quite a few cases in Armenia that is one possible source.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/world/a/30671836/double-flu-blow-forces-saint-petersburg-school-closures/

Saint Petersburg has recorded the highest number of swine flu deaths in an outbreak that has claimed some 80 victims nationwide since the start of the winter, according to AFP calculations based on statements by regional officials.

Authorities say there are treating some 12,000 people with flu symptoms every day and up to 80 percent of these cases could be swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.

To stop regular flu and the H1N1 virus from spreading, the city's primary schools will be closed for two weeks from February 1, and some parents have already taken action.

comment: treating 12,000 people a day with symptoms is definitely an outbreak and could become a serious epidemic in Russia.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2016 at 11:38pm
http://www.influenza.spb.ru/en/influenza_surveillance_system_in_russia/epidemic_situation/

Conclusion

Influenza and ARI morbidity data.  Increase of influenza and other ARI activity was registered during the week 03.2016 in traditional surveillance system in Russia. The nationwide ILI & ARI morbidity level (60.6 per 10 000 of population) was lower than the national baseline by 12.8%.

Etiology of ILI & ARI morbidity. The overall proportion of respiratory samples positive for influenza  was estimated as 25.3%. Percent of positive ARI cases of non-influenza etiology (PIV, adeno- and RSV) was estimated as 22.2% of investigated patients by IFA and 16.0% by PCR. 

Antigenic characterizationTotally 45 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 2 A(H3N2) viruses were characterizated antigenically in two NICs of Russia since the beginning of the season. 35 (76.6%) influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 strains were related closely to influenza A/California/07/09 virus, 10 (23.4%) influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses had decreased up to 1/16 titers. Two A(H3N2) strains were similar to influenza A/Hong-Kong/4801/2014 virus but reacted with antiserum to influenza A/Switzerland/9715293/2013  vaccine strain up to 1/4 - 1/8 of homological titer only.

Genetic characterization. Three influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses were identical for 97.8% to A/California/07/09 virus and for 99.0% to influenza A/South Africa/3626/13  virus. All investigated strains had  substitutions S84N, S162N+ and I216T in HA.

In sentinel surveillance system clinical samples from 57 SARI and 50 ILI/ARI patients were investigated by rRT-PCR. 24 (35.6%) influenza SARI cases were detected including 21 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, 1 influenza A(H3N2) and 2 influenza B cases. 5 (10.0%) influenza ILI/ARI cases were detected including 4 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 1 influenza A(H3N2) cases.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2016 at 11:39pm
Where is Henry Niman when you need him ? "All investigated strains had  substitutions S84N, S162N+ and I216T in HA. "

These changes could mean that the virus is "attacking" in a different way, adopted to avoid vaccination ? 



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2016 at 6:39am
It would appear that some countries, including the U.S. are not reporting accurate Swine Flu numbers. Iran had gone completely silent on December 10th after a rash of infections and now almost a month later I find this.

December 28, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/world/middleeast/iran-deaths-from-swine-flu-rise.html?smtyp=cur&_r=0

Deaths from a swine flu outbreak in Iran have more than tripled in the past three weeks to at least 112, Agence France-Presse said Monday, quoting the Iranian news media. Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, head of the Health Ministry’s communicable diseases department, was quoted as saying the outbreak, which began in November, was under control and likely to diminish in coming days. He was also quoted as saying that nearly 1,200 people had been hospitalized with the sickness caused by the virus, known as H1N1. Iranian health officials said in early December that the virus had mostly affected people in the southern areas of Iran and that they feared it could spread to Tehran and provinces in the north and east. Swine flu is named for a virus that infects pigs, but the H1N1 strain spreads via human-to-human contact and escalated into a global pandemic in 2009 before it was controlled in 2010.

comment: You don't go from an almost triple increase to no cases. It just doesn't make sense. Relating this to the epidemic happening in Russia and the last CDC report which was weeks ago and is supposed to be weekly, how can we have widespread flu surrounding the capital and no numbers?

Don't ask, don't tell?

This is in the dead of winter and January has been classically a bad month for flu.

http://www.vishwagujarat.com/india/swine-flu-kills-11-in-rajasthan/

It is in India and is highly contagious.

Swine Flu Kills 11 in Rajasthan


As many as 11 deaths have been reported this year in Rajasthan due to the highly contagious H1N1 virus, popularly known as swine flu, officials said.

“Since the start of this year till January 19, 11 people have died due to swine flu virus in the state. Besides, 54 people have been found positive for swine flu,” a medical and health department official told IANS.

In 2015, swine flu had hit the state hard, with over 6,800 positive cases reported in the year and the toll hitting 468.

Rajasthan’s Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore has directed the setting up of separate out patient departments (OPD), isolation wards and ICUs in all government hospitals for people suffering from H1N1.

He asked hospital authorities to keep ventilators ready and provide three-layer masks in OPDs.

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http://www.samaa.tv/health/2016/01/swine-flu-poses-new-threat-as-death-toll-rises-in-pakistan/

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health on Friday issued advisory for all the provinces regarding threats posed by Swine Flu as number of people affected by the deadly virus rose to 150.

The NIH stressed the need for early diagnosis of the flu, saying patients suffering from diabetes and heart diseases could be more prone to the virus.

It also asked the relevant departments in all the federating units to send blood sample within four days of examination of the patients.

Health experts say the virus could spread in the country if adequate measures were not taken.

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comment: While so much focus is on Zika right now, Swine Flu is still a threat for another global pandemic. It has been mutating and this new outbreak in Pakistan could be a new strain. While Zika is a nasty disease with no treatment or cure, it is unlikely it will be as lethal or virulent as the Swine Flu which caused the last pandemic.


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Swine Flu continues to spread in Russia.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-01-29/remember-swine-flu-it-s-back


Most of the Western world may be watching the new Zika virus, and with good reason: It’s spreading fast and it may be causing severe birth defects.

But in Eastern Europe, it’s swine flu that’s commanding attention, killing scores of people across the region and making authorities tell the public not to panic.

Swine flu — remember that? Also called H1N1, it's the strain that became a pandemic in 2009 and claimed tens of thousands of lives around the world. Well, in Eastern Europe, it’s back.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s health minister declared a flu epidemic after 83 people died since late last year. Almost 85 percent of the fatal cases were blamed on H1N1, the ministry said.

Worse still, the virus has reportedly hit rebel-held eastern Ukraine particularly hard. The region is under the control of Moscow-backed separatists and largely cut off from quality goods and medicine.

In Russia, meanwhile, at least 50 people have died from swine flu in the past month, according to Agence France-Presse. Officials in both Moscow and St. Petersburg have declared city-wide epidemics.

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http://aaj.tv/2016/02/two-die-from-swine-flu-in-karachi/
Pakistan - February 2, 2016

KARACHI: Two people have been died from Swine Flu in different private hospitals of Karachi on Tuesday.

The dead included, an old man, Salman Badami, 83, and, one-year-old Salma.

It could not be ultimately said that how many other people have been affected by this deadly disease.


http://www.mapsofworld.com/pakistan/cities/karachi.html

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http://www.india.com/news/india/swine-flu-government-issues-advisory-to-states-996238/

New Delhi, Mar 1: An advisory has been issued to all states to step up their preparedness to tackle swine flu, Rajya Sabha was informed today. “Government has issued an advisory to all the state governments and UTs to step up preparedness for H1N1 Influenza,” Union Health Minister J P Nadda said in a written reply.

The advisory includes enhanced surveillance, capacity for laboratory diagnosis, setting up of screening centres in outpatient departments of hospitals and earmarking isolation wards, including ventilator beds.

The advisory also includes stocking of personal protective equipments and to make drug Oseltamivir available and also to create awareness among the public for early reporting to hospitals for treatment, Nadda said.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 07 2016 at 6:45am
Better late than never - we aren't being told the numbers in the current swine flu global outbreak. It is out there and many countries are simply not telling about it.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-02-swine-flu-deaths-ukraine-september_1.html

Although it is epidemic in warn torn Ukraine, we have heard very little.

The war-scarred country has been swept by a general flu epidemic that has claimed 313 lives since September 28, when the first illness was recorded, a spokeswoman at Ukraine's flu and acute respiratory infections centre told AFP.

"Of that number, 253 have been confirmed as being caused by swine flu," she said on condition of anonymity.

It marked only the second known time that Ukraine has released swine flu toll figures, which an official at the health ministry told AFP at the start of the month were being treated as a state secret for undisclosed reasons.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 08 2016 at 2:12pm
[QUOTE=Dutch Josh]Where is Henry Niman when you need him ? 



[/QUOTEgood question his site not been upgraded for  months]
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Originally posted by carbon20 carbon20 wrote:

[QUOTE=Dutch Josh]Where is Henry Niman when you need him ? 
[/QUOTEgood question his site not been upgraded for  months]


And that is since I interviewed him and posted it here. Last talked to him 2/6/16 and I am trying to reach him. Zika keeps baring her fangs but the Eagle has not landed yet.

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