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EPIDEMICS
South American nations meet on stemming swine flu

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner (C) listens to Health Minister Juan Luis Manzur (4th-R) during a meeting with Health Ministers Jorge Tapia Sainz (3rd-L) of Bolivia and Esperanza Martinez (2nd-L) of Paraguay, Jose Pages (L) from the Pan American Health Organization, the Chief of Cabinet of Argentina's Helalth Minister Juan Nadalich (3rd-R) and Brazil's Epidemiology director Eduardo Hage (2nd-R) to analize the situation of the influenza A(H1N1) (swine flu) pandemic at the Casa Rosada government house in Buenos Aires, on July 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of AFP.

New Zealand plays down economic impact as swine flu spreads
The economic impact of swine flu will be "relatively mild", the New Zealand central bank said in a report as new cases of the disease were confirmed in the Pacific region Wednesday. Both the Marshall Islands and Tonga reported their first cases of the A(H1N1) virus to join the growing ranks of Pacific islands affected by swine flu. In New Zealand, nine people have died among 1,984 confirmed cases of the disease, which the World Health Organisation has said is unstoppable. However, the New Zealand health ministry has projected there will be fewer than 200 deaths among the population of four million, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has released a paper suggesting it will have a limited macroeconomic impact. "We appreciate there is a real human cost to influenza, as this strain is already unfortunately demonstrating," Reserve Bank assistant governor John McDermott said. Bank analysts estimated a baseline decline in production of 0.62 percent in the first year after the outbreak. "Our preferred baseline case is predicated on recent ministry of health assumptions that suggest less than 200 swine flu deaths," researchers Martin Fukac and Kirdan Lees said in their report. "We find relatively mild declines in output of, at most, 0.62 percent cumulated over the first year after the outbreak." They cited earlier studies of the 1918 pandemic, which killed 650,000 people in the United States alone. Most of the deaths happened in a single month, and while the human toll was great, it did not really affect production, they said. "The broad pattern of data from historical episodes does not support large impacts on output from outbreaks of influenza." In the Marshall Islands, President Litokwa Tomeing, in a public address to the nation of 55,000, urged the public "not to panic" after the first four cases of swine flu were detected. Health officials are concerned about the possible rapid spread in the crowded capital of Majuro where an estimated 32,000 people live on about six square miles of land. Radio and TV Tonga News reported Wednesday that two people had also tested positive for swine flu in the Pacific kingdom. The head of public health, Dr. Malakai 'Ake said one of the infected women had arrived from Australia and the other was a local resident. Tonga and the Marshall Islands join Guam, Palau, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, New Caledonia and French Polynesia with confirmed cases in the Pacific islands.
by Staff Writers
 Buenos Aires (AFP) July 15, 2009
 Health ministers from six South American nations hit by the swine flu pandemic met in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to coordinate defenses against the virus which has killed nearly 200 people in the region.

The ministers from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay are alarmed at the momentum the A(H1N1) virus has picked up in their countries, which have entered the southern hemisphere's winter.

Argentina, hosting the gathering, has been worst-hit.

It counts 137 confirmed deaths and more than 3,000 infections, giving it the worst fatality toll in the world after the United States, which has 211 deaths and more than 30,000 infections.

Chile has 33 deaths, Uruguay has 15, Paraguay has six, Brazil has four, and Bolivia has two.

In terms of confirmed infections, Chile has the most, with 10,491 counted, though tallying methodology appeared to vary across the region.

A World Health Organization (WHO) tally gives a total of more than 430 deaths around the world and 94,500 infected cases.

Although Uruguay's president, Tabare Vazquez, said Wednesday that swine flu appeared "more benign" than the run-of-the-mill seasonal flu, which kills tens of thousands every year, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the flu outbreak was the "worst in 50 years."

The increased risk for younger people and incomplete data for the virus was of concern.

There were also fears that the flu might mutate further, perhaps becoming more virulent, as occurred with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that caused tens of millions of deaths.

WHO chief Margaret Chan warned that no vaccine against A(H1N1) would be ready before mid-September -- after the southern winter ended.

Although hasty development efforts by drug labs should have a vaccine created in August, "clinical trial data will not be available for another two to three months," she told Britain's Guardian newspaper.

She has also warned that poorer countries would receive the vaccine after richer nations.

Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said before the ministers' meeting it was "urgent to coordinate actions."

"The region must share medicine and supplies to treat the sick," he said.

An Argentine health official added that worries that developing countries would suffer a lag in getting the vaccine was also to be discussed.

In the meantime, South American nations are pushing forward with individual strategies to stem the spread of the flu.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo announced Wednesday that winter school vacation in his country had been extended by a week to prevent classroom contamination.

In Chile, extra medical personnel were being recruited and anti-viral drugs were being bought. Public events drawing crowds were suspended.

Bolivia was carrying out mass vaccinations for common flu, even though they were ineffective against the A(H1N1) virus.

Elsewhere in Latin America, there were also concerns.

In Mexico, where the swine flu first came to light, there have been 124 deaths and 12,521 infections. Authorities there say the flu is out of control in the southern state of Chiapas, a region popular with tourists that has recorded 1,900 infections.

Central America has seen 10 deaths, seven of them in Costa Rica.

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EPIDEMICS
WHO chief doubts speedy swine flu vaccinations
 London (AFP) July 15, 2009
 The world's top health official said Wednesday a vaccine to combat the surging swine flu pandemic would not be readily available for months as the number of deaths from the virus spiralled. The comments by World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan came as Australia and Japan reported a surge in cases of the A(H1N1) virus, and Argentina dramatically upped its death toll from 94 to 137 in ... read more






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