Influenza Update - December 8

Pandemic H1N1 Update Dr. Stuart B. Weiss INFLUENZA UPDATE Dec 8, 2009 SUBSCRIBE: Click button at bottom or send email to: sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com Will pandemic H1N1 continue its downward trend or will it follow the pattern of 1957. Only time will tell. As influenza activity continues to wane and vaccine stockpiles continue to increase, now is the time to encourage people to protect themselves by getting vaccinated. Current Situation: The CDC confirmed that the number of states reporting widespread influenza activity has decreased again, from 32 states down to 25. The number of people visiting physicians in the US for influenza-like illness has decreased for the fifth straight week although the overall number is still high for this time of year. The number of deaths due to flu is still above the epidemic threshold for the United States. 99% of all sub-typed virus in the U.S. is still pandemic H1N1. The number of new influenza cases on college campuses dropped again this week. The WHO reports that while there is slowing of influenza activity in several parts of the world, activity continues across the northern hemisphere: Western and Northern Europe: Activity has peaked or is peaking. Numbers of new cases has plateaued in many parts. Central Europe (from Baltic to Balkan countries, from Germany to Romania): Influenza activity continues to increase Eastern Europe: Activity seems to be peaking and leveling off in most of eastern Europe. In the Russian Federation, activity remains high with an increasing trend. East Asia: Increasing influenza-like illness in Japan and southern China. Decreasing activity in northern China. South and Southeast Asia: India, Nepal and Sri Lanka continue to show increasing flu intensity. Africa: Influenza activity continues across the continent with co-circulation of seasonal H3N2 and pandemic H1N1 Southern Hemisphere: Countries in temperate zones continue to show little to no activity, most countries in tropical zones have decreasing activity. Vaccine Update: The CDC reported that 73 millions doses of vaccine has been released with 10 million more expected this week. Some states are reporting a surplus of vaccine and are relaxing their vaccine criteria to include all citizens. Liquid Tamiflu shortage is easing as Roche reported that more Tamiflu suspension is being shipped. CDC reported 17 additional pediatric deaths this week due to flu related complications. Vietnam reported another H5N1 (Bird flu) case in a 33 year old male who eat duck blood pudding. From Pro-Med: "raw blood soup (tiet canh in Vietnamese) is a dish made with raw blood of ducks or geese (sometimes pigs), with peanuts and herbs on top. This is the typical protein-rich breakfast of the country people in Northern Vietnam, but is dangerous because of the H5N1 bird flu virus. It is made by taking fresh blood and sticking it in the refrigerator to gently congeal. Raw blood soup is a Vietnamese dish that makes very little effort to appeal to the taste buds of the non-Vietnamese diner. Usually you will find a few chopped peanuts scattered on top of your blood dish but that's as far as it goes for fanciness. Blood soup has the oddest texture and tastes strangely metallic." For the curious (& unsqueamish) an image of plates of duck soup is available at www.loupiote.com/photos/87750125.shtml . HOUSEKEEPING ITEM: If you get this Alert through a mailing list and not directly from us, subscribe by clicking the button at the bottom or send an email to me at sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com ANALYSIS: The number of flu cases continues to trend downward in the U.S. and Canada as well as western and northern Europe. The question is whether this will continue through the remainder of the flu season or will we see a pattern similar to the 1957 pandemic where there was a surge at the beginning of the school year followed by a waning period which ended with a new surge in December. Or will we see seasonal flu begin to circulate as is occurring in parts of Africa. Its too early to know but it is important to keep your eye on this evolving situation. The report of the first new case of H5N1 in Vietnam in the past 6 months reminds us that H5N1 is entrenched in the bird population in southeast Asia and although much of our attention has been on pandemic H1N1, you should not forget to keep some attention of that virus as well. ADVICE: If you live or work in a state that has relaxed its immunization criteria, encourage employees to be vaccinated. Pandemic H1N1 is still causing serious illness across the U.S. and Canada and the vaccine is proving to be extremely safe. Take this opportunity to review your work from home program. There have been several reports released recently about the common pitfalls associated with work from home programs especially as it relates to the "last mile". Review potential problems with your IT staff. Also take a look at which outside critical vendors/contractors need access to your network and make sure that they will be able to get in. TOOLS: Pandemic QuickStart - If you need to quickly bring your company up to speed with its pandemic planing efforts, we can help with our quickstart resources. Virtual Medical Director - If you don't have a corporate medical director, our Virtual Medical Director program may be a good solution for you. Our Virtual Medical Director service provides you with 24 hour access to physicians and experts trained in emergency medicine, disaster medicine, business continuity, occupational health and mental health crisis management to give you situation updates, analysis and advice. We have affordable decision support plans that you can enroll in. Pandemic Planning Assistance - We have a policy matrix, policy toolkits, FAQ's, posters, employee educational materials, a trigger based action plan template . We can help you jumpstart your planning or take a look at your current plans with a fresh set of eyes. Not preparing now would be a serious mistake. If you have any questions or concerns that we can help you with, please feel free to reach out to me. My email is: sweiss@MedPrepGroup.com MedPrep Consulting Group is internationally recognized as a leader in pandemic, disaster and business continuity planning, training and exercising. We have resources and expertise that you can count on. Ask us about our Virtual Medical Director Program. Dr. Stuart Weiss is the CEO of MedPrep Consulting Group. For more information, visit www.MedPrepGroup.com Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP MedPrep Consulting Group LLC