HealthMap has a new iPhone app! - "Outbreaks Near Me"

HealthMap has developed an iPhone application, which can be obtained free of charge from the iTunes store! The app is named “Outbreaks Near Me,” as it uses GPS technology to show health alerts and ongoing outbreak news in the vicinity of the user. The application also allows users to submit disease reports, and to search for outbreaks in specific locations worldwide.

For more information and screenshots see:
http://www.healthmap.org/iphone

To download the app for free on the iTunes store see:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=328358693&mt=8

We look forward to your feedback. And stayed tuned for applications on other devices including the Google and Blackberry phones.

H1N1 (swine flu) weekly highlights: August 25-September 1, 2009

• Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iran, Reunion Island, Sweden, and Syria reported their first H1N1 fatalities.

• Angola reported its first confirmed H1N1 case.

• WHO reports that swine flu is spreading at an "unbelievable" rate and has become the prevalent strain of flu. WHO is also warning of a severe form of flu that "goes straight to the lungs" and can leave healthy young people severely ill.

• A soon to be published study reports that ~10% of New York City's residents (about 800,000 people) were infected with H1N1 in the spring.

• With students returning to school for the fall semester, colleges across the US have already started seeing rises in swine flu cases.

• The first doses of vaccine were delivered to the UK and France, although they cannot be used until the vaccine is licensed. In China, two vaccines passed safety evaluations.

• In response to the H1N1 outbreak in Chilean turkeys last week, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that turkey meat is still safe for human consumption, but that the disease could spread to other poultry farms in the world, and that the most concerning scenario would be if H1N1 were introduced to poultry populations where Avian Influenza (H5N1) is common.

• An Egyptian man who had been to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage has tested positive for both avian and swine flu (H5N1 and H1N1), although initial reports did not indicate if both were active infections.

Photo taken from http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2009/200908/20090827/article_411929.htm

H1N1 (swine flu) weekly highlights: August 21-24, 2009

Schedule change! The weekly updates will now be posted on Wednesdays. This issue includes includes highlights since the previous post on August 21st.

• United Arab Emirates, Oman, Northern Ireland, Malta, and Greece reported their first H1N1 fatalities.

• Chilean authorities announced that they have detected the H1N1 flu virus in turkeys, marking the first time the virus has been found outside of humans and pigs.

• In a new set of guidelines, the WHO stated otherwise healthy people infected with H1N1 do not need antivirals like Tamiflu. This decision should increase availability of the drugs to those who may need them most, as the Northern Hemisphere prepares for a second wave of H1N1 infections.

• As SINOVAC Biotech Company reported a successful preliminary clinical trial for its A/H1N1 influenza vaccine, the WHO urged China to share its vaccine with needy countries.

• While many countries hurried to make mass vaccination plans (particularly in the Northern Hemisphere), New Zealand has taken a "wait and see" approach.

• In the US, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology urged the government to help drug companies expedite the supply of swine flu drugs and vaccines. They also warned that 30,00 to 90,000 Americans could die, almost 2 million be hospitalized, and 30% to 50% of the country could be infected.

• French researchers reported that H1N1 was 100 times more likely to directly cause death than seasonal influenza in a study performed in Mauritius and New Caledonia.

• In an effort to avoid a rapid increase in cases, the Sultanate of Oman is waiting until December to resume classes.

• Fearful of people infecting prized animals, livestock shows around the world have limited human access or canceled pig exhibits.

Image taken from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/22/AR2009082202337.html?hpid=topnews

H1N1 (swine flu) weekly highlights: August 14-20, 2009

• This week, World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 1799 people have died from H1N1 worldwide.

• South Korea, Japan, Ghana, Madagascar, Yemen, Malta, New Caledonia (France), Kuwait, and Cook Islands each reported their first H1N1 fatalities. French Polynesia reported its first death, but diagnostic tests performed in France raised questions about the validity of this report.

• The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Belarus each reported their first confirmed H1N1 case.

• In the United States, federal officials urged businesses to prepare for a resurgence in swine flu. Recommendations included flexible sick leave, cross-training individuals with mission critical tasks, limiting face-to-face meetings and travel, and encouraging hand-washing.

• The Health Protection Agency in the UK sent a letter to neurologists requesting they be alert for any increase in diagnoses of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). GBS, a sometimes fatal nerve disease, has been linked to the swine flu vaccine administed in the United States in 1976.

• WHO reports that over 1 billion doses of vaccine have been ordered. As many companies report lower than expected yields, many countries, including the US, are warning their citizens of delays to planned vaccination timetables.

• A second piggery in Australia has been quarantined due to swine flu.

Image taken from http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0820/swineflu.html

Novel Influenza A (H1N1) weekly highlights (7-13 August, 2009)

For the upcoming influenza season, we are introducing a weekly summary of Influenza A (H1N1), swine flu, news highlights. These will be posted on Fridays and will cover the preceding 7 days.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the global confirmed swine flu case count was rapidly approaching 200,000.

• Iraq, Ireland, Mauritius, Nicaragua and the Palestinian Authority reported their first H1N1 flu deaths. In the US, Arkansas and Montana reported their first H1N1 flu deaths.

• Pakistan and Cameroon reported their first H1N1 flu cases.

• India reported its first H1N1 death late last week, but the number of deaths has rapidly increased to its current total of 21 (as of August 13, 2009). Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, has been the worst hit, recording the highest number (13) of H1N1 deaths in the country thus far. To control the spread of H1N1, starting on August 13, 2009, Mumbai, India's financial capital, will be shut down. All educational institutions and public places will be shut for one week, while malls, theatres and multiplexes will close for three days.

• Seven members of the Matsigenka tribe who live along the Urubamba river in the Peruvian Amazon have tested positive for H1N1, raising fears that the deadly H1N1 influenza virus could have a devastating impact on remote indigenous tribes, who have limited immunity to infectious diseases that circulate in the outside world.

• Swine flu was a hot topic at the North American summit attended by U.S. President Barack Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

• The US issued new guidelines for schools which urged them to stay open but separate sick and healthy students and staff. School boards across the country have begun preparations for the new academic year.

• Vaccine trials started in several countries, including the US and the UK, as the WHO assured the public that fast-tracking vaccines would not compromise safety.

Preventable Disease Outbreak: Mumps in Europe

Image courtesy www.cdc.gov





Image courtesy http://phil.cdc.gov



Despite the availability of the MMR vaccine, mumps has made a resurgence in many parts of Europe. So far in 2009, Ireland has seen over 3000 cases of mumps (more than 2755 cases than the same period in 2008). In England and Wales, the number of cases doubled to nearly 1700 in the 1st part of 2009 as compared with 2008.

According to the British Medical Association (BMA) only one in four children under five in the UK has been given the recommended two doses of MMR, which are needed to give full protection against illness. It is estimated that one dose of MMR is ~80% effective at preventing mumps as compared to an effectiveness of ~88%-95% with 2 doses of the vaccine. A majority of the outbreaks that have been occurring throughout Europe have been occurring in high schools, universities, and sports clubs – in groups of older teenagers who never received the 2nd dose of the MMR vaccine. The 2nd dose of the vaccine can be given at any age, and can offer valuable protection against mumps. In fact, the BMA recently advised that the MMR vaccine be made compulsory for all school children before admission is allowed – this issue is currently being debated in the UK.

Image courtesy www.dailymail.co.uk

Mumps is an acute viral illness with symptoms including fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, and swelling of salivary glands. Severe complications can occur, and include encephalitis, meningitis, inflammation of the testicles, inflammation of the ovaries and/or breasts, spontaneous abortion, and permanent deafness. Since the mumps virus replicates in the upper respiratory tract, it is spread through direct contact with respiratory secretions or saliva. There is no treatment available for mumps, however a vaccine exists (contained as part of the MMR – measles, mumps, rubella – vaccine), which can prevent the disease. It is recommended that children get two doses of the vaccine. (More information about MMR vaccination can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mumps/default.htm).

In addition, children and adults with mumps typically miss significant amounts of school or work, as the illness requires isolation and exclusion from school or the workplace for up to 9 days after the onset of symptoms.

Regardless of whether or not MMR vaccination becomes mandatory for school admission, without an increase in vaccination an outbreak of measles is a looming possibility on top of the already rising numbers of mumps cases.

Related Articles (More available at http://www.healthmap.org):

Mumps Outbreak ‘Shameful’
http://www.imn.ie/index.php/current-issue/news/1779-mumps-outbreak-shameful

PRO/EDR> Mumps, students - UK (07): (England, Wales)
http://apex.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:3218791544036427::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1010,77656

Record Number of Mumps Cases Reported this Year
http://news.eircom.net/breakingnews/15753637/

High Rise in Cases of Mumps
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/eyauqlojcwcw/

Influenza A (H1N1) – “Swine Flu”: An Overview

** Please visit http://h1n1.nejm.org/ (The New England Journal of Medicine) to read Digital Disease Detection: harnessing the web for public health surveillance. N Engl J Med 360;21 May 2009. A map created for the journal focusing on Influenza A (H1N1) case detection can also be viewed by visiting:  http://www.healthmap.org/nejm/ **

When the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified two cases of genetically similar swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses in southern California on April 17^th 2009, no one could have predicted that before the month was through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) influenza pandemic alert level would be raised from a three to a five.  A summary of the events surrounding the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak to date is as follows:

• Mid-March: The Mexican village of La Gloria is put under an ‘epi-alert’ as a late outbreak of influenza appears to be affecting villagers
• April 1:  HealthMap identified a Spanish media report that a respiratory illness has sickened up to 60% of the residents of the small Mexican village of La Gloria
• April 2-6:  HealthMap identified additional Spanish media reports of continuing respiratory illness affecting residents of the community of La Gloria, Perote Valley, Veracruz, Mexico; residents suspect that the source of illness is related to manure “lagoons” from a local pig farm (Carroll Farms); 33 Mexican health officials are sent to the area to investigate the report of 400 ill and 2 dead
• April 13: CDC notified of a case identified as influenza A virus in California that did not match expected subtypes
• April 14: Determination by CDC that the virus was “swine” influenza A (H1N1)
• April 17: Mexican authorities notify Canadian officials of an outbreak of “respiratory illness”
• April 17: The CDC determines that two cases in neighboring counties in California due to “swine” influenza A (H1N1)
• April 21: The WHO is notified of the cases in California
• April 22: Reports of suspected and confirmed cases in Mexico continue to rise
• April 23: Additional US cases are confirmed in CA, and TX
• April 24: The WHO announces that the strains of influenza A (H1N1) in the US match the cases in Mexico
• April 25: Mexico declares national emergency, and WHO declares a public health emergency of international concern
• April 27: Reports begin to emerge about the possible link between a pig farm near La Gloria, Mexico and the 1^st reports of illness
• April 27: WHO raises the influenza pandemic alert level from a 3 to a 4, as confirmed cases and deaths increase in Mexico, and the US confirms 40 cases in 5 states
• April 29: Two days later the US has 91 cases in 10 states, and 1 death confirmed by the CDC; the WHO confirms cases in 9 countries (including the US and Mexico); the influenza pandemic alert level is raised a 2^nd time, from a 4 to a 5, by the WHO
• April 29: A media frenzy ensues as suspected and confirmed cases are reported around the globe
• April 29: Egypt orders that all pigs be culled in an effort to prevent the spread of disease
• April 29: The WHO and other public health authorities rename the “swine flu” to Influenza A (H1N1) in an effort to dispel fears surrounding the safety of pork products (well-cooked pork products are safe to eat, and there is no risk of infection from consuming pork), and to distinguish the influenza strain as one occurring in humans
• May 3: 200 pigs found to be infected with H1N1 virus at a farm in Alberta, Canada; suspected to have caught the virus from a Canadian who had recently returned from Mexico
• May 4: 226 cases and 1 death have been confirmed in the United States by the CDC in 30 states; WHO has confirmed 985 cases in 20 countries
• May 7: 2099 cases of human infection of influenza A (H1N1) in 23 countries have been officially reported by WHO

* These dates are based on our current assessment of media reports, and are subject to change as we complete our retrospective analysis. 

H1N1 is a novel influenza A virus that has begun spreading from person-to-person.  Symptoms of influenza A (H1N1) are similar to that of the regular human flu and include: fever, sore throat, fatigue, aches, chills, and cough.  Some affected by the new virus have reported diarrhea and vomiting.  It is not yet known how severe H1N1 will be.  While the virus seems to be now causing only mild illness, and the numbers in Mexico appear to be leveling off, the WHO warned countries to remain vigilant and to not become complacent, as the virus may re-emerge in the fall when temperatures cool. 

HealthMap began adding frequent updates on the situation surrounding the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak on April 24^th, using the social networking tool Twitter.com, in an effort to distribute breaking news alerts to our users as quickly as possible (www.twitter.com/healthmap).   While the media alerts have slowed, HealthMap will continue to post breaking news items on the twitter feed as they become available.  Lastly, additional news on the Influenza A (H1N1) situation can be viewed by visiting www.healthmap.org/swineflu.   

Related Articles (more available at www.healthmap.org):

Travel advisory warns of severe respiratory illness in Mexico:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/23/respiratory-illness-flu-mexico.html

‘I had a headache and fever’ says boy who survived:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6188732.ece 

Human-to-swine transmission escalates mutation risk:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090503.wflumain04/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090503.wflumain04

WHO warns against complacency:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8032094.stm

 

Other Sources for Reliable Information:

 

WHO Pandemic Influenza Phases: 

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html

WHO Influenza A (H1N1) Information Site:

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

CDC Influenza A (H1N1) Information Site:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/