By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz.—Thousands of Jerry’s Kids won’t be going to summer camp this year because of the swine flu.
The Tucson-based Muscular Dystrophy Association says it is canceling the remainder of its summer camps immediately because swine flu has been reported in camps.

The MDA says children with muscular dystrophy are particularly at risk from the flu, although none of the children sickened after camps in recent weeks have died. About 1,800 children have gone to camp this year, but another 2,500 set to go in 35 states will be affected by the cancelations.

MDA spokesman Bob Mackle said Tuesday that nine children and three adults were confirmed to have swine flu after attending three MDA camps in May or early June.

By Stephanie Desmon, The Baltimore Sun

Elderly woman suffered serious underlying condition, officials say

An elderly woman from the Baltimore area is the first person in Maryland to die from the swine flu, health officials said Tuesday.

Officials did not name the woman, who died on Monday, or give her age or hometown. They did say she suffered from a serious underlying medical condition in addition to the H1N1 influenza virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 87 deaths nationwide of people who have contracted this strain of the flu, which started making people sick in Mexico this spring. More than 21,000 people across the United States have become ill with the flu, but most have had relatively mild cases.

“While hundreds of Marylanders have recovered from this relatively mild form of novel flu, this death illustrates how serious influenza can be, especially for persons with serious underlying health conditions,” said John M. Colmers, the state’s health secretary, in a statement.

To date, 370 cases of the swine flu have been confirmed in Maryland. That figure is likely a fraction of the total swine flu cases statewide. Many people who become ill with flu-like symptoms are not tested and recover within a week’s time, much like seasonal flu.

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– 5 confirmed cases in Wales including two new cases: – A 28 year old male from Powys. He has been offered antivirals and is recovering. The NPHS has identified six close contacts who are all are well and have been offered antiviral medicine. The NPHS is investigating the source of the infection. – A three year old boy from Ceredigion. He has been offered antivirals and is recovering. The NPHS has traced 14 close contacts, including children who attended Cylch Meithrin, Cei Newydd. All are well and have been offered antiviral medicine. The infection is linked to a confirmed case of swine flu from Birmingham.

– 0 probable cases in Wales.

– 148 people have been under investigation in Wales. Of these, swine flu has been confirmed in five cases (see above) and ruled out in 133 cases, leaving 10 still under investigation. All of these are displaying, or have displayed, mild symptoms.

– Of the 10 people under investigation, seven were well when first identified, but reported recent flu-like symptoms following travel to affected areas. Blood tests are being undertaken on these individuals to see if they had the flu and to help the NPHS understand the pattern of the disease from the past. Their symptoms may or may not have been due to swine flu. Testing will be conducted in a number of weeks to check whether these people did have swine flu – scientifically it won’t work before that. Investigations have shown that people they had close contact with did not catch flu from them when they were ill.

– No further details will be confirmed or denied about cases in order to protect their right to confidentiality.

– There are now 2,508 laboratory confirmed cases in the UK – five cases in Wales, 566 cases in Scotland, 1,923 cases in England and 14 in Northern Ireland.

– One person with swine flu in the UK – a case in Scotland – has died. The patient had underlying health conditions.

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(ChinaPost.com.tw) – The bride wore white and a face mask. A Chicago couple married in surgical masks and latex gloves Sunday after learning less than 48 hours before that they both had swine flu. Ilana Jackson and Jeremy Fierstien went ahead with the ceremony after doctors assured them guests wouldn’t be at serious risk.

But to be sure, the 26-year-olds kept a 10-foot distance from family and friends at all times, even walking around the gathering instead of down the aisle at a Highland Park synagogue.

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Due to overriding concern for the health and safety of Jerry’s Kids, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced today that it is immediately canceling the remainder of its annual summer camp program because of the H1N1 virus. “These children are much more vulnerable because of their weakened respiratory muscles, so we are taking this preemptive action to protect them from possible exposure to the swine flu,” said Dr. Valerie Cwik, MDA medical director.

Approximately 1,800 children have attended 33 MDA summer camps in the past month, with another 2,500 scheduled to attend the remaining 47 camps that have now been canceled. An equal number of volunteer counselors also attend each camp.

Out of 1,800 children who’ve attended MDA camps this year, 11 cases of swine flu were reported after the children left camp. Six suspected cases have been reported at the MDA Summer Camp in Worcester, Pa., which ends tomorrow.

One child from the Pennsylvania camp has been hospitalized and is in stable condition. Another child, who attended camp in Utah, was hospitalized, treated and released. In Minnesota, 10 cases of swine flu were reported after camp ended there June 12.

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By Jonathan Owen, The Independent

Primary care trusts are to set up anti-viral drug distribution centres and swine flu testing clinics amid fears that the infection could spread out of control.

The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, wrote to health authorities last week urging hospitals to test all patients who show signs of flu-like symptoms. He wrote: “Transmission from person to person in this country is increasingly common. There is evidence that sporadic cases are arising with no apparent link either to cases elsewhere in the UK or to travel abroad.”

The letter followed an earlier warning from Sir Liam that millions of Britons could fall victim to swine flu in the coming months. Government officials admitted last night that illness rates from the virus could reach 50 per cent.

Primary care trusts are now being briefed to expect that the pandemic could affect as much as 40 per cent of the workforce before the end of the year, with many worried that there could be a surge of cases in the autumn, according to health industry sources.

The Department of Health sought to reassure the public last night. A spokesman said: “Previous pandemics have seen total illness levels of 25-35 per cent. So our plans are as robust as possible, we have based them on illness rates of 50 per cent, though we do not anticipate it being this high in the current pandemic. Based on this figure, the workforce could be reduced by 15-20 per cent at the pandemic’s peak. In the unlikely event that every school closed, this could rise to 35 per cent.” He said it was impossible to predict when the pandemic would peak, but added: “As part of ongoing planning, the NHS is being asked to ensure that antiviral collection points could, if needed, be put into action in a week.”

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Examiner

Infectious disease specialist, Dr. Leonard Mermel, suggested that older adults might have partial immunity to swine flu. A strain of H1N1 flu similar virus, dubbed “Russian flu”, spread across the United States in the late 1970s. It is possible that exposure to Russian flu could provide immunity against swine flu.

Russian flu circulated internationally between 1946 and 1957. It spread rapidly across the former Soviet Union, primarily affected students aged 14-20 and young military personnel. Pre-school children were affected in a subsequent wave. However, the epidemic affected far fewer individuals over age 30, and mortality was low in that group.

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Nothing was going to stop this wedding. Not a messed-up wedding cake, missing wedding rings, the bride running off with the best man, nothing. Of course, none of those happened. Swine flu, however, did.

In an unlikely set of events, both the bride and the groom in this Chicago wedding had swine flu. Realistically, it probably wasn’t all that unlikely, since they were going to be married, and likely shared some intimate time. Ilana Jackson and Jeremy Feirstein, both 26, received the news just 48 hours before their nuptials, from their doctor:

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Two elite flu reporters, Helen Branswell (Canadian Press) and Declan Butler (Nature), both noted yesterday the dearth of clinic information on the serious and fatal swine flu cases. First Butler:

Clinical researchers have been slow to respond to the 2009 flu pandemic, lament researchers writing in today’s Lancet. “Public health officials, virologists, epidemiologists, and policy makers have done well in responding to a rapidly emerging and complex problem. By contrast, the clinical research community’s response has been delayed and modest, ” writes Jeremy Farrar, a researcher in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and colleagues from Vietnam, the US and Mexico.

They deplore the “lack of information” on the pathogenesis and clinical aspects of those with severe illness, and argue that trials and other clinical research are urgently needed to better understand the disease, and learn of necessary tweaks to treatment regimes. What research is being done isn’t being published fast enough, add Farrar et al., contrasting this with the speedy publication by researchers in other disciplines who have published in fast-tracked journal articles, or shared on public wikis – eg here – in advance of formal publication. Clinical researchers need to “catch up,” they conclude, “To do otherwise would be unethical.” (Declan Butler, The Great Beyond [Nature blog])

I don’t know the slowness is “unethical.” Clinicians in the midst of an outbreak have their hands full managing critically ill patients. Papers don’t write themselves. They require time, effort and spare energy, three things not so abundant in such circumstances.

Branswell offers a view what those circumstances look like and a few hospitals:

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- 3 confirmed cases in Wales. – 0 probable cases in Wales. – 136 people have been under investigation in Wales. Of these, swine flu has been confirmed in three cases (see above) and ruled out in 123 cases, leaving 10 still under investigation. All of these are displaying, or have displayed, mild symptoms. – Of the 10 people under investigation, seven were well when first identified, but reported recent flu-like symptoms following travel to affected areas. Blood tests are being undertaken on these individuals to see if they had the flu and to help the NPHS understand the pattern of the disease from the past. Their symptoms may or may not have been due to swine flu. Testing will be conducted in a number of weeks to check whether these people did have swine flu – scientifically it won’t work before that. Investigations have shown that people they had close contact with did not catch flu from them when they were ill.

- No further details will be confirmed or denied about cases in order to protect their right to confidentiality.

- There are now 1,472 laboratory confirmed cases in the UK – three cases in Wales, 508 cases in Scotland, 952 cases in England and nine in Northern Ireland.

- One person with swine flu in the UK – a case in Scotland – has died. The patient had underlying health conditions. – Swine flu cases have been confirmed in 76 countries. For the latest international figures for the spread of swine flu, visit the website of the World Health Organization at www.who.int

Comment from Welsh Assembly Government and National Public Health Service for Wales

- Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, said:

“So far the virus is generally mild in most people, but proving more severe in a small number of cases, and tragically one person has died in Scotland.

“We have warned that we need to expect that, with large numbers of people contracting swine flu, there will be deaths, particularly in patients with underlying health conditions. Even with the seasonal flu, we do see excess deaths occuring.

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