Flu Scan for Jun 21, 2013

News brief

Indonesian child dies from H5N1 infection

Indonesia's health ministry today announced that a 2-year-old boy died from an H5N1 avian influenza infection, according to a translated statement posted on FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board.

The boy got sick on Jun 10 and was treated by a pediatrician for a fever. His condition worsened, and he was hospitalized on Jun 18 and placed on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. He tested positive for H5N1 and died the following day.

An investigation into the source of his infection revealed that his mother had bought chicken pieces from a possibly contaminated market 2 days before he got sick.

The new case raises Indonesia's tally of H5N1 infections to 193 and its death toll to 161.
Jun 21 FluTrackers thread

 

H7N9 gene analysis suggests multiple reassortments

The newest genetic analysis of the novel H7N9 virus that sparked an outbreak in China suggests that it arose from multiple reassortments with different H9N2 lineages, a sign that the virus can change quickly.

A team from Shanghai's Tongji University and The Pennsylvania State University reported its findings yesterday in a letter to Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The authors said five of the six internal genes appear to come from multiple sources. Four of these genes cluster with a 2012 H9N2 virus from a brambling, and each falls into other clusters as well, suggesting rapid reassortment, with the result that current H7N9 isolates can be grouped into nine lineages or genotypes.

The H7N9 M gene falls into two different clusters, suggesting that it may have come from two different H9N2 strains.

The team also calculated nucleotide substitution rates for each of the H7N9 genes, finding higher rates for four of them.

The group concluded that the findings point to multiple reassortments with different H9N2 lineages, showing that the virus can change quickly and bears watching, in case it gains the ability to more easily infect humans.
Jun 20 Clin Infect Dis letter

 

CDC: US-supported flu vaccination programs growing in Laos, Nicaragua

Seasonal influenza vaccination programs are taking root and expanding in Laos and Nicaragua with the help of a growing list of donors and support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC said in a statement this week.

The project began last year with donation of flu vaccine to Laos by Walgreens Co. This year other donors are joining Walgreens, including bioCSL, the US Department of Defense, UPS, and Becton, Dickinson and Co.

The donors are providing vaccine, related supplies, and discounted shipping to both Laos and Nicaragua, and are also helping Uganda make plans for a future vaccination program, the CDC reported.

In Laos, the vaccination program focuses on pregnant women, healthcare and essential government workers, and people over 50. Vaccine is being distributed in all 17 provinces, mainly through hospitals.

The vaccination program in Nicaragua usually targets children and healthcare workers, but this year, with the donated vaccine, the government is expanding the effort to include pregnant women.
Jun 18 CDC statement

Foodborne Disease Scan for Jun 21, 2013

News brief

CDC lowers case count in hepatitis A outbreak linked to berry mix

Federal officials have reduced the case count in a foodborne outbreak of hepatitis

Hepatitis A cases have been linked to Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend.

A from 118 to 113, saying they are now counting only confirmed cases.

In addition, the number of affected states has been reduced from eight to seven, all of them in the West, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an update today.

The cases have been linked to Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend, a frozen berry and pomegranate mix.

The latest illness-onset date in the outbreak is Jun 13. Fifty people (44%) have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, the CDC reported.

The product was sold at Costco and Harris Teeter stores, but all cases so far have been associated with products from Costco. Townsend Farms Inc. of Fairview, Ore., has recalled certain lots of the product.

The CDC had listed the case count as 118 in a Jun 18 update.
Jun 21 CDC update


Cuke-related Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak over

The recent outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul infections linked to cucumbers imported from Mexico was declared over yesterday in a final notice from the CDC.

The case count was 84, with 18 states involved. There were 17 (28%) hospitalizations and no deaths among those infected.

Two suppliers in Culiacan, Mexico—Daniel Cardenas Izabal and Miracle Greenhouse—were placed on import notice Apr 24 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which blocked importation of their cucumbers into the United States unless they could demonstrate that the vegetables were not contaminated with Salmonella.

The outbreak summary says that the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern of the outbreak agent has rarely been seen before in PulseNet data and has typically caused five or fewer cases per year.

Among the states reporting cases, California had the most, with 29. Illness-onset dates ranged from Jan 12 to Apr 28, and patient ages ranged from 1 to 89 years.
Jun 20 CDC final update

 

House's defeat of farm bill may be boost for food safety law

The US House version of the farm bill went down to a surprising defeat yesterday, dooming a provision that could have further delayed implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), reported Food Safety News (FSN) today.

Late on Jun 19, the House had agreed to add an amendment from Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Mich., that would have required the FDA to conduct a "scientific and economic analysis" of FSMA regulations before implementation, the story said. Benishek complained that FSMA rules might require farmers in his district to inspect every piece of fruit for bird feces and redesign their irrigation systems to meet water and soil monitoring standards.

Food safety and consumer advocates strongly opposed the amendment, while United Fresh, a produce industry group, predicted that it would have had little impact, because the FDA has already done much of the analysis it calls for.

The agency published a detailed analysis of the preventive controls and produce safety rules when they were released in January, the story said.

The New York Times reported that the bill, which failed on a 234-195 vote, would have cut projected spending on farm and nutrition programs by close to $40 billon over 10 years, with $20.5 billion coming out of the food stamp program.
Jun 21 FSN story
Jun 20 Times story

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