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First British swine flu death without other issues: official
London (AFP) July 10, 2009 A patient at a hospital in southeast England has become the first person in Britain without underlying health problems to die from swine flu, officials said Friday. The patient died at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital in Essex, health authorities said, adding the individual's family had requested that no further details be released. "The patient had no underlying health conditions," said a statement from NHS (National Health Service) East of England. "This case tragically underlines that, although the virus is proving generally mild in most people, it is more severe in some cases. "As with all flu-like viruses, some people are at higher risk than others. Unfortunately, people who are otherwise healthy could also become seriously ill or, sadly, die." Fourteen other people have died in Britain after contracting swine flu, but they all had underlying health problems. Although the nature of these conditions has not been revealed, Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson has said people who suffer breathing problems or are clinically obese are at high risk. The government said Wednesday that 9,718 cases of swine flu had been confirmed in Britain since the disease reached the country in late April. It said last week that Britain could soon face more than 100,000 cases a day if the current rate of infection is maintained. Health officials have abandoned efforts to contain the virus, given the high number of cases, and have switched to focusing on treating infected people who fall into a high-risk group. People who present the symptoms of swine flu are now given antiviral drugs without laboratory testing to confirm the presence of the virus. More than 98,000 cases of swine flu, including over 440 deaths, have occurred since the outbreak began in Mexico at the end of March, according to the World Health Organisation.
earlier related report "With regard to the laboratory-confirmed cases, 4.2 percent of them have required hospitalization and there have been 25 deaths associated with the new human influenza," the health ministry said in its latest A(H1N1) virus report. It said that children aged five to 19 comprised 50 percent of the total cases, but that "in the last week, we have observed an increase in confirmed cases among children under five, who now comprise 14 percent" of the total, the ministry reported. Chile's number of confirmed infections shot up by nearly 1,500 over the past week, to 9,549, the ministry said. Chile and Argentina -- the country hardest hit by swine flu in South America with 88 deaths -- share the southern cone of the continent, which is in the midst of winter. The spread of swine flu in the southern hemisphere is being closely monitored by health experts as it could be a harbinger of things to come later this year north of the equator, when North America, Europe and much of Asia enter the fall and winter when seasonal flu spreads more rapidly. With the nine new deaths in Chile and a fifth death reported in Colombia, the number of swine flu fatalities in South America has risen to 140. The World Health Organization, which last month designated a global swine flu pandemic, earlier this week reported 94,512 confirmed infections, including 429 deaths.
earlier related report The Public Health Ministry said a 63-year-old woman hospitalised with the A(H1N1) virus a week ago had died in Samut Prakarn province, just outside the capital Bangkok. It has also said that the virus could spread to up to 30 million Thais and there could be about 1,200 fatalities if the infection continued to spread for up to three years, according to ministry forecasts. The ministry said there were now 3,228 confirmed cases of swine flu, with six in a serious condition. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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'Significant' new swine flu outbreak likely in US: ObamaBethesda (AFP) Maryland (AFP) July 9, 2009 US President Barack Obama and top officials urged Americans Thursday to ramp up preparations against swine flu, warning that the virus could return with a vengeance in the fall and pledging a huge campaign to beat it. "I think it's clear that although we were fortunate not to see a more serious situation in the spring when we first got news of this outbreak, the potential for a significant ... read more |
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