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swine flu
185 documents for swine flu
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Prior to 1998, the swine flu in North America was related to H1N1 virus. "The virus was antigenically and genetically stable with little evidence of evolution," [Richard Webby] says in a recent article published by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. "The situation changed in 1998 with the emergence of the H3N2 triple reassortant. [Christopher Olsen]'s lab did the veterinary lab analysis of last year's H3N2 outbreak and has since posted a paper in this month's Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases on the Centre for Disease Control website about this strain's progression in North America. Obviously, this has implications for Manitoba, where pigs outnumber humans eight to one. The Manitoba government's recent assessment of this province's vulnerability to avian influenza i...
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Canada has stockpiled millions of doses of antiviral drugs Relenza and Tamiflu to guard against pandemic flu, but [Frank Plummer] doubts these drugs will offer much defence against the new strain of human swine flu. Plummer said the virus is a mix of North American swine flu and a swine flu that originated in Thailand, and scientists have no idea where it came from, when it surfaced, or how. We do not know whether this swine influenza virus or some other influenza virus will lead to the next pandemic," [David Butler-Jones] said. "Scientists and public health agencies around the world remain on high alert. "So far we have no indication of any increased swine flu," [Joel Kettner] said. "But we're watching for it."
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Meanwhile, teams of scientists from the Winnipeg-based National Microbiology Lab have started work on a vaccine to protect against H1N1 swine flu and are investigating whether the existing flu shot could offer any protection from the virus. Dr. Frank Plummer, the lab's scientific director, said scientists will test to see if the flu shot will protect animals from swine flu since the annual shot already contains H1N1 human flu virus. Plummer said there are still many unknowns about human swine flu, but said genetics or environmental factors could help explain why Mexico seems to be experiencing a more severe form of swine flu than Canada and the U.S. Winnipeg's lab has done most of the testing of swine flu samples from Mexico. Plummer said he's had a good working relationship with Mexica...
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Given that this is a potentially highly contagious issue, we follow (the emergency response protocol) to a T," [Donna Michaels] said. "We want parents to know their schools are safe. We wouldn't take a chance with children's lives. "We're reinforcing the message from public health. We're very alert to the situation and that's an important part of our job... and that we're certain we've done everything we possibly can do," she said. Dr. Wayne Lees, the province's chief veterinary officer, said Sunday a host of biosecurity measures are in place, including mandatory showers that hog barn workers must take before and after they enter the barns and special clothing they wear while in the barns. And pigs undergo health inspections before and after they are slaughtered, and the province is t...
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Dr. Frank Plummer, the lab's scientific director, said scientists will test to see if the flu shot will protect animals from swine flu since the annual shot already contains H1N1 human flu virus. Health officials across the country are bracing for more cases, and the Manitoba's chief medical officer expects it's only a matter of time before the disease surfaces here.
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The WHO also announced Thursday it would stop using the term "swine flu" after the agriculture industry and the UN food agency expressed concerns that the term was misleading consumers about pork. "From this time we will be referring to this human virus as the H1N1 flu virus to make it very clear that this disease is not spread from pigs or from either pork or pork products," said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief medical officer of health.
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The isolated fly-in community of 3,200 could be the first in Manitoba to be hit hard by a suspected swine flu outbreak, confirming the "worst fears" of First Nations leaders who warned impoverished aboriginal reserves are ill-equipped to deal with widespread infections. He's in a delicate situation," said Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider. "It gives you a good sense of how terrible and tragic will be when a community has to deal with an epidemic," [Ron Evans] said. "No one expected H1N1 to surface at this time so the communities are caught off guard.
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We are taking these precautions," [David McDougall] said. "We're doing the best we can. "Some of the staff are working overtime to staff the beds," [Jan Currie] said. "We're very full and we want to be able to predict if we need more (beds) to manage it." Red Sucker Lake Chief Larry Knott is watching the outbreak of respiratory illness in St. Theresa Point closely, and said he worries his community won't be able to heed much of the preventative advice from public health practitioners. Handwashing is key to preventing the spread of influenza, but Knott said many residents don't have running water and must get fresh water in a pail from the lake.
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Confirmation of the second H1N1 or swine flu case in the province comes as scientists at Winnipeg's microbiology lab scramble to quickly develop a vaccine to be ready in time for when flu season starts in the fall.
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Just how lethal the H1N1 is still being calculated. In Manitoba, where 685 cases of H1N1 are confirmed, it has had tremendous impact on some aboriginal communities, with First Nations people disproportionately falling very sick. Canada, from reported cases, appears to be hit hard, with 20 cases per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of 7.1 in Mexico and the United States. (Experts caution that this may be due to higher testing in this country.) To date, 31 Canadians testing positive for H1N1 have died, four in Manitoba.
