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EPIDEMICS
Flu death toll mounts in South America

Photo courtesy of AFP.First case in Americas of drug-resistant swine flu: reports
Health officials in Canada have identified a case of swine flu that has proved resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, media reports said Wednesday. The case was detected in a Quebec man in his 60s, who had been taking a smaller-than-recommended dose of the drug before coming in contact with his son, who was ill with the virus, The Journal de Quebec and other local newspapers reported. The elderly patient, who also suffers from chronic bronchitis, presumably already had become infected with the A(H1N1) virus while taking the Tamiflu medication -- which any rate was administered in doses too small to ward off the virus. Doctors called the revelation "disquieting" proof of the virus's ability to evolve quickly, and noted a handful of similar drug-resistant swine flu cases that have cropped up elsewhere. "This would be the first case to our knowledge of Tamiflu resistance in swine fly in North America," said Guy Boivin, a physician at the Laval University Medical Center in Quebec, noting cases of drug resistance in Denmark, Japan and Hong Kong.

Swine flu set to spread with summer season: EU commissioner
The number of swine flu cases in Europe is set to rise with the summer tourist season and the mortality rate could climb by the end of the year, the EU's top health official warned Wednesday. "It is expected that the number of cases in Europe will rise more rapidly during the summer period due to the higher migration flows, the tourist season," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou told reporters. "The convergence between the seasonal flu epidemic, which will start in November, December, and the pandemic of the new virus could further raise the spread of the latter, as well as its mortality rate," she said. For the moment, she said, "the mortality rate remains relatively low". She urged the 27 European Union nations to ensure that citizens were informed about developments and how best to protect against the spread of the disease so as to avoid sparking panic. People "should remain calm, but at the same time remain vigilant because nobody knows how this virus will evolve in the near future," she said. More than 700 people have been killed around the globe by the A(H1N1) virus, which first surfaced in Mexico, and the World Health Organisation has warned that the pandemic is now unstoppable.
by Staff Writers
 Buenos Aires (AFP) July 22, 2009
 A mounting swine flu death toll in the South American winter launched a new warning Wednesday on what to expect from the pandemic.

With the global swine flu toll now past 700, Argentina now accounts for 165 of the fatalities -- and is the world's second worst-affected country, behind the United States with 263 confirmed deaths.

Chile on Tuesday announced that it had 68, up 28 in four days.

With every country in the region blaming the onset of the Southern Hemisphere winter, Uruguay had declared 20 deaths, Brazil 15, Peru 12, Paraguay 10, Bolivia five and Venezuela two.

Mexico, where the outbreak started, remained in third place with 128 deaths.

The huge Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro has expressed concern over its readiness to combat the A(H1N1) virus. "This problem is growing because we have difficulties with our basic care," Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said.

As with other regions, the swine flu fallout is growing. Concerns about the virus forced the cancellation of a 227-year-old Roman Catholic pilgrimage in Costa Rica.

Australia on Wednesday began human trials for a swine flu vaccine while a Chinese firm has begun a two-month clinical test of the country's first domestically produced vaccine.

The human trials at Australia's Royal Adelaide Hospital involve some 240 adults and 400 children. Australia has pre-ordered 21 million shots of vaccine from CSL Biotherapies after being badly hit by A(H1N1) with more than 14,000 cases and 38 deaths linked to the disease.

"As soon as I have confirmation that the vaccine is safe and effective, I will ensure it can be rolled out to the community," Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.

CSL spokeswoman Rachel David said many people had volunteered for the vaccine trial because they wanted to avoid catching the disease.

Chinese state media said Hualan Biological Engineering Inc completed its vaccine last month and will test it on more than 2,000 volunteers in Taizhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

The number of fatalities is growing even in countries still in the summer season.

Scientists fear swine flu could mutate to a more deadly form in a reprise of the Spanish and Asian influenza pandemics of 1918 and 1958.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said the global death toll had shot up from 439 to more than 700, a 40 percent leap from early July.

With upwards of two million people expected in Saudi Arabia over the next five months on pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina, Egypt advised vulnerable Muslims such as the elderly and pregnant women to stay home.

Thailand's death toll has reached 44 -- doubling in a week -- to overtake Australia's as the biggest in the Asia-Pacific region. The Pacific island of Tonga reported its first death, a woman who died before she could give birth to her baby.

Fans arriving for a football match involving English side Liverpool against Thailand in Bangkok had to pass through thermal scanners at Rajamangala Stadium as a precaution against swine flu.

In Europe, GlaxoSmithKline's French branch said it has called back 160 laid-off workers to produce millions of doses of anti-viral for Japan and other export markets.

The British pharmaceutical giant, which recently slashed 700 of 2,000 jobs at its laboratory in Evreux, near Paris, called the workers back to help cope with orders for 18 million doses of the Relenza drug.

burs/tw/ss

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EPIDEMICS
Australia, US And China Start Vaccine Trials As Flu Toll Mounts
 Sydney (AFP) July 22, 2009
 Australia on Wednesday began human trials for a swine flu vaccine, lending new urgency to global efforts to curb the pandemic after the death toll worldwide leapt past 700. As the trials started, Thailand's death toll reached 44 to overtake Australia's as the biggest in the Asia-Pacific region. In Latin America, Chile's toll jumped from 40 to 68. The human trials at Australia's Royal Ade ... read more






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