Indiana, Ohio report new H3N2v cases
Indiana and Ohio each reported a new variant H3N2 influenza (H3N2v) case last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly FluView update.
The new cases bring this year's total to 14, and the case in Ohio is that state's first. The other 13 cases have been in Indiana. Those two states had by far the most confirmed cases last year—138 in Indiana and 107 in Ohio, out of 309 total. Wisconsin had the third-most cases in 2012, at 20.
"At this time no ongoing human-to-human transmission has been identified, and all 14 cases have reported close contact with swine in the week prior to illness onset," the CDC said. Officials are investigating the extent of H3N2v in humans and pigs, the agency added, and "additional cases may be identified as the investigation continues."
At least some of the case-patients this year in Indiana had attended county fairs and had contact with swine there.
Jul 26 CDC FluView update
CDC H3N2v case count
ECDC says hepatitis C burden outweighs hepatitis B in Europe
The burden of hepatitis C in Europe, where the disease is mainly linked to injecting drug use, is roughly double the burden of hepatitis B, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said today in a report released for World Hepatitis Day (Jul 28).
The ECDC says the results of routine surveillance in the European Union and the European Economic Area show a "significant burden of disease" associated with chronic cases of both types of hepatitis. The hardest-hit age-group is 25- to 34-year-olds, who accounted for roughly 30% of both types.
For hepatitis B, 28 countries reported a total of 17,025 cases in 2011, of which 16.5% were listed as acute, 67.9% were chronic, and 13.6% were classified as unknown. Acute cases show a slight downward trend, which may reflect the expansion of vaccination programs. Chronic cases have increased in number and rate, which may reflect increased testing and changes in migration, the ECDC said..
The report says heterosexual contacts and hospital acquisition were the most common transmission routes for acute cases, while mother-to-child transmission was most common for chronic cases.
For hepatitis C, 29,896 cases were reported in 2011 by 26 countries. Of these, 81.4% were listed as of unknown status, 1.3% were acute, and 9.7% were chronic. Only 12 countries could classify cases as acute or chronic.
The report says changes in reporting practices and case definitions make trends over time unclear. Injecting drug use was listed as the transmission route for 78.1% of cases with complete information.
The ECDC said the surveillance results do not match up with published prevalence surveys, a discrepancy that points up differences in testing and surveillance practice across Europe.
Jul 26 ECDC statement
H7N7 detected in 3,400 South African ostriches
South Africa yesterday reported six outbreaks of low-pathogenic H7N7 avian flu that affected 3,400 ostriches, according to a report filed with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The number of infected birds ranged from 1 on two small farms to 2,344 on a farm housing 3,907 ostriches. All told, the six farms are home to 9,374 ostriches, for an attack rate of 36%. The outbreaks all began in May.
Officials were first notified of the outbreaks as part of ongoing efforts to follow up on an H7N1 outbreak in the area, according to the report.
Jul 25 IOE report
