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In this Issue
Seasonal Flu Map 
Click here to view the
Current Pandemic Flu Threat Level 3 
Each issue, Affiliated Physicians brings you the World Health Organization's current Pandemic Flu threat level. Confirmed Cases of Avian Flu (H5N1) 
Human Cases of Animal Cases of Your Local and State Pandemic Planning Activities 
Click here to find your State's activities. Worldwide Headlines: Tests confirm Vietnam's fifth bird-flu death China reports new 8 hospitalized in Indonesia for suspected bird flu DID YOU KNOW? 
Avian flu (H5N1), also referred to as the bird flu, has been in existence and has affected humans since 1997. The first known case of the virus occurred in Hong Kong when eighteen people were stricken with severe respiratory disease. Six of the eighteen people died. Health officials determined that the cause of death was from close human contact with poultry that were infected with a particularly severe strain of influenza. Health officials ordered the killing of 1.5 million birds within three days. Watch how Avian flu has spread recently Quick Links Affiliated Physicians Pandemic & Seasonal Flu Services Affiliated Physicians Corporate Web Site Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy US National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza World Organization for Animal Health If this monthly Newsletter was forwarded to you and you don't want to miss an issue:  |
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Affiliated Physicians Webinar: "Planning and Implementing a Pandemic Flu Antiviral Program"  On January 23, 2008 Affiliated Physicians hosted a Webinar entitled, "Planning and Implementing a Pandemic Flu Antiviral Program." Executives from more than 250 national companies participated in the event. The Webinar addressed key issues that companies struggle with regardless of their size, employee population, number of locations or financial limitations when implementing an antiviral program, including: Program Eligibility:
A copy of the Webinar is now available online and can be accessed by clicking here. Click here for a PDF copy of the presentation slides. FEDS AIMING FOR BETTER FLU VACCINE NEXT SEASON 
WASHINGTON - It's time to write up the recipe for next year's flu vaccine - and the nation's influenza experts are aiming for better protection than this year's shot wound up offering. The flu vaccine must be reformulated every year to keep up with the fast-evolving influenza virus, and this year the government made a rare wrong bet on which strains would cause the most disease. The flu season got off to a slow start, but it rocketed in mid-January because of some new strains that are sickening even people who got vaccinated. It seems the vaccine is a good match for only about 40 percent of the virus now spreading in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration brought together flu specialists for the annual rite of predicting what strains are most likely to strike next winter. Targeting new strains Still Time (and Good Reason) to Get a Flu Shot  Perhaps you've heard the news that this year's flu vaccine doesn't do a very good job of protecting against this year's flu-and have thought that a good excuse to skip getting a shot. Not a smart move, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine does provide protection against one of the three flu strains making people sick this year, and it gives "cross protection" against the others-meaning the illness, should you get it, will be milder and the risk of complications lower. How completely a vaccine works depends on how accurately scientists predict which strains will circulate in a given year and match that to the vaccine. Three virus strains are included in each of the two types of flu vaccine: a shot containing killed virus, and FluMist, a nasal spray containing weakened live virus. Of the 5 to 20 percent of the population who get the flu each year, more than 200,000 people end up hospitalized, and about 36,000 die, according to the CDC. The flu shot is recommended for such high-risk groups as children ages 6 months to 5 years, pregnant women, those ages 50 and older, those with chronic medical conditions (such as heart disease, asthma, and diabetes), those living in long-term-care facilities and nursing homes, healthcare workers, and those who provide care for or come in regular contact with high-risk groups. The nasal spray is an option for healthy people ages 2 to 49 who are not pregnant. >> Read More Reports Of Increased Survival In Bird Flu Patients Taking Tamiflu  Physicians from countries worst-affected by the deadly bird flu (H5N1 influenza virus) have reported an increased survival rate in patients treated with the oral antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir). These data reinforce the World Health Organization (WHO) advisory that Tamiflu is the only antiviral strongly recommended for the treatment of humans infected with the H5N1 virus. The physicians' report was revealed this week at the International Symposium on Respiratory Viral Infections (ISRVI) in Singapore.[i] According to the WHO the H5N1 virus has already killed 234 people in 12 countries.[ii] Tamiflu is the only antiviral reported to have been used against H5N1 in humans outside the laboratory and actually in the field. In Indonesia, of the total of 119 H5N1 human cases reported, 22 survived - an 18 percent survival rate overall. Of these, 33 patients received no Tamiflu, all of whom died. Tamiflu was administered to 86 patients with a 26 percent survival rate overall. Time from onset of illness to initiation of treatment appeared to influence survival. Of the 2 patients who received Tamiflu within 24 hours of illness onset both survived. 55 percent survived if given the drug within four days (6/11), and 35 percent survived if given Tamiflu within six days (13/37)3. The survival rate of those receiving it later than 6 days after illness onset was 18 percent (9/49)2 Recent information on 8 Vietnamese patients infected with H5N1, was also presented. All 8 patients received Tamiflu. However, all 8 patients presented to the hospital later than 5 days after onset of illness. Only 3 of the 8 patients survived reinforcing that treatment benefit is reduced for patients that receive the drug later in the course of illness. [iii],[iv] In 2 patients who were unable to take the drug orally due to the severity of their illness physicians administered the drug by nasogastric tube and found it was well absorbed and there was a reduction in H5N1 virus in these patients. >> Read More Human Resource Professionals Respond To Flu Season "You sound terrible. Go home." A new survey about flu in the workplace shows that 33 percent of organizations send employees home if they come to work sick. Just over one in 10 offer telecommuting options for workers who are ill but ask to work from home. "You sound terrible. Go home." The 2008 Flu Prevention in the Workplace Survey from the Society for Human Resource Management provides a snapshot of how human resource professionals are responding to the flu season. While most of them (59 percent) say their companies offer free flu vaccine to employees, other options are reported. Eighteen percent of companies encourage employees to get a flu shot offsite and 10 percent will pay for it. Nineteen percent offer shots onsite, but at employees' expense. Three percent do the same, but subsidize part of the cost. "Employers recognize the benefits of keeping their employees healthy and productive during work hours," said Susan R. Meisinger, president and CEO of SHRM. "Flu season is a real threat to all businesses, so prevention is top of mind for HR professionals." Educating employees on preventative measures to reduce the spread of flu at work is an initiative reported by 47 percent of HR professionals. Other common prevention efforts include making hand sanitizer and tissues easily accessible (52 percent). >> Read More UN warns of 'critical' bird-flu situation in Indonesia Rome - Indonesia's bird-flu or avian influenza situation remains "critical" and a high circulation of the virus that causes it could lead to mutations and threaten humans, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. Indonesia remains the nation worst hit by avian influenza despite efforts by the government and the international community to contain the disease, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement. "The human mortality rate from bird flu in Indonesia is the highest in the world and there will be more human cases if we do not focus more on containing the disease at source in animals," FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech. Avian influenza is deeply entrenched in 31 out of a total of 33 of the archipelago nation's provinces, according to FAO, with the virus endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and southern Sulawesi while sporadic outbreaks were reported in other areas. Particularly prone to infection is the country's chicken population of 1.4-billion, some 20 per cent of which is scattered in around 30 million backyards where people raise poultry for food or income. Conditions in Indonesia such as a highly decentralized administration, under-resourced national veterinary services, lack of engagement with commercial poultry producers, insufficient financial and human resources and a difficulty in informing people of the dangers of the disease were hampering efforts to eradicate it, Domenech said. "We have also observed that new H5N1 avian influenza virus strains have recently emerged, creating the possibility that vaccines currently in use may not be fully protecting poultry against the disease," Domenech warned. The FAO said it was supporting the Indonesian authorities to train officials working with village communities to prevent and control avian influenza. >> Read More |
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