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Monthly Archives: December 2009
Incidence of Death in US States – December 31, 2009
I last posted a list of the US States with incidence of death per 100,000 on September 9, 2009. Not surprisingly, the numbers have gotten much worse in the following months. Here is the current list, in descending order: South … Continue reading
Posted in Outbreak, public health
Tagged case fatality rate, H1N1, incidence, pandemic, swine flu
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Chan kills the WHO?
In the latest bizarre media output from the Director-General of the WHO, Margaret Chan takes on anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists. Or does she? From an interview in The Canadian Press with Helen Branswell: And in wild and wacky reaches of the … Continue reading
Pandemic H1N1 greatly increases the death rate among pregnant women – The California study
Pregnant women died at much greater rates during previous pandemics than other people. The 2009 pandemic is no exception. From The New England Journal of Medicine Eight patients in this series died…None of the eight received antiviral agents within 48 … Continue reading
Posted in pathology, Science
Tagged fatality rate, H1N1, pandemic flu, pregnancy, pregnant, swin flu
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Pandemic H1N1 10 times more lethal to children than seasonal flu – The Argentinian study
One of the great falsehoods promulgated about the current influenza pandemic is that the new H1N1 virus is no worse than seasonal flu. This statement is based on comparing seasonal death rates among the elderly, which assume excess deaths in … Continue reading
Posted in pathology, Science
Tagged Argentina, case fatality rate, children, H1N1, pandemic, swine flu, Tamiflu
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Turkey goes silent
The government of Turkey has announced that they will now censor coverage of the spread of the pandemic within that country. Specifically, they will hide data relating to deaths. [hat-tip, Oric]. From ANSAmed, December 23, 2009 Turkey’s Health Ministry will … Continue reading
H1N1 and Gaza – Empircal evidence that movement restrictions are effective in a pandemic
Egypt and Israel both reported their first deaths due to the new H1N1 in July. Yet, the first pandemic H1N1 death in the Gaza Strip did not occur until 5 months later in December. Given that the Gaza Strip borders … Continue reading
Posted in Outbreak, Science
Tagged Egypt, Gaza, H1N1, Israel, movement restrictions, pandemic, swine flu
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Rare Mutation in Matrix Gene Invalidates RT-PCR Assay for Pandemic H1N1?
There are 8 genomic segments in the Influenza A genome. The matrix (M) gene is usually highly conserved, that is, mutations accumulate more slowly in it than the other genomic segments. This is presumably because mutations would interfere with the … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged H1N1, influenza, M, matrix gene, pandemic, real time PCR, RT-PCR, swine flu, test
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Not a mosquito bite – Cover up in Trinidad and Tobago?
We all depend on honest reporting of cases of pandemic flu to alert us that a more virulent virus has evolved. Unfortunately, many politicians view H1N1 deaths as “bad press” that they’d rather not acknowledge. This creates a clear conflict … Continue reading
Posted in hospitals, Outbreak, public health
Tagged H1N1, pandemic, swine flu, Trinidad and Tobago
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The polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1) gene of pandemic H1N1
The second genomic segment of the influenza A virus encodes the polymerase basic protein 1 gene (PB1). This is the second longest genomic segment and is sometimes labeled “segment 2″. This gene produces three proteins: PB1 (sometimes referred to as … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged H1N1, influenza, pandemic, PB1, polmerase basic protein 1, swine flu
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Situation in Vietnam – December 14, 2009
As discussed previously, there have been recent outbreaks of both H5N1 and H1N1 in close proximity in Vietnam. Here are some additional details. There have been poultry outbreaks of H5N1 in Dien Bien Province, which borders both Laos and China. … Continue reading
Posted in Outbreak
Tagged H1N1, H5N1, influenza, pandemic, reassortment, recombination, swine flu
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