Tech Valley Continuity, Albany, NY

Swine Flu - H1N1 Monitoring Center

Due to the decline in meaningful activity, we are no longer monitoring the weekly statistics for the H1N1 pandemic. However, this has been an excellent reminder of how important it is for businesses and organizations to ensure they have a "widespread communicable disease" section in their continuity plans.

Tech Valley Continuity encourages all organizations to check their business continuity plans to make sure you address:

H/R Policies	Work-From-Home	Supply Chain Disruption
Extended Absenteeism Excess Overtime FMLA EAP Union Position	Who can Work From Home Data Security Personal Use of Equipment	High Demand for Some Goods Delayed Production Transportation Issues Ability to Meet Service Level Agreements

Increased expenses: Overtime; Law of Supply & Demand; New programs / training
Decrease in revenue: Prospect / Sales Rep Absenteeism

Remember, bad things can/will still happen - even if you're out sick.
Check your business continuity / disaster recovery plans.
Are you ready?

Need help setting up your Plans? Tech Valley Continuity can help.

Effective August 30, 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have modified the statistics reported. "States and territories can now report to CDC either laboratory confirmed of pneumonia and influenza syndromic hospitalizations and deaths resulting from all types of subtypes of influenza, not just those from 2009 H1N1 influenza virus." (CDC) The result is that full impact of the H1N1 virus is not easily discernable. The numbers as reported by the CDC will be shown below and reflect both seasonal and H1N1 statistics.

U.S. Influenza and Pneumonia Statistics
As reported for periods beginning on August 30, 2009
Click Here To View the Current Update

Current US Statistics Since August 30, 2009 as Reported by the Centers for Disease Control:
Through January 9, 2010
Laboratory Confirmed Influenza Related Hospitalizations: 38,445
Laboratory Confirmed Influenza Deaths: 1,779

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control Provides Updates on Fridays
as of July 24, 2009 individual cases are no longer being recorded.
Instead the Centers for Disease Control is reporting hospitalizations and deaths:

As reported by CDC	Hospitalizations	Deaths
Total reported prior to Aug 30, 2009	9,079	593
Total Reported since Aug 30, 20099	38,445	1,779
Total Reported in U.S.	47,524	2,372

U.S. Influenza-associated Pediatric Mortality from April 26, 2009 to January 9, 2010
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control

Date Reported	Lab-Confirmed 2009 H1N1	Lab-Confirmed Influenza A Subtype Unknown	Lab-Confirmed Seasonal H1N1
This Week (Jan 3-9,2010)	6	1	0
Since Aug 30, 2009	195	40	1
Since April 26, 2009	255	43	2

Each Week The World Health Organization posts statistics that reflect the spread of
the H1N1 virus. Initially the W.H.O. provided statistics for all reported cases by
country, but as the pandemic became more widespread they do not report individual cases.
This chart illustrates the number of deaths reported by the W.H.O.
For the most recent update and more information click here

H1N1 Swine Flu chart showing countries involved, number of deaths and number of deaths per thousand.

WHO statistics as reported through Dec 27, 2009:
At least 12,220 confirmed deaths

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Informational Links:

WHO - Pandemic (H1N1) 2009
One-stop access to U.S. Government H1N1, avian and pandemic flu information.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Flu.gov

Latest News Items from RSS Feeds
Due To Frequent RSS Updates, these stories may not be available upon request

Date	RSS Feed Source	Title	Text
12/30/2009	MSNBC	How contagious is H1N1? New study finds out	If someone in your home has swine flu, your odds of catching it are about one in eight, although children are twice as susceptible as adults, found one of the first big scientific attempts to find out how much the illness spreads.
12/30/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 81	As of 27 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 12220 deaths.
12/23/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 80	As of 20 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 11516 deaths.
12/22/2009	Fox News	Drugmaker Recalls Nearly 5 Million Doses of H1N1 Flu Vaccine	Drugmaker Medimmune is recalling nearly 5 million doses of swine flu vaccine because the nasal spray appears to lose strength over time.
12/22/2009	Troy Record	A dog has confirmed case of swine flu	WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - A dog in suburban New York is the first in the nation confirmed to be carrying the same strain of swine flu that is infecting humans, experts said Tuesday.
12/18/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 79	As of 13 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 10582 deaths.
12/15/2009	Fox News	800,000 Doses of Kids' H1N1 Vaccine Recalled	Health officials are recalling hundreds of thousands of doses of swine flu vaccine after tests indicated they may not be potent enough to protect against the virus.
12/11/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 78	As of 6 December 2009, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 9596 deaths.
12/11/2009	NY Times	Swine Flu Death Toll at 10,000 Since April	Federal health officials said Thursday that almost 10,000 people had died of swine flu since April, a significant jump from mortality numbers released last month.
12/8/2009	MSNBC	H1N1 may be mildest pandemic on record	Leading epidemiologists are predicting that the H1N1 pandemic could end up ranking as the mildest since modern medicine began documenting influenza outbreaks.
12/4/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 77	As of 29 November 2009, worldwide more than 207 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 8768 deaths.
12/4/2009	MSNBC	Swine flu shot may give young kids fever	The European Medicines Agency warns that young children given GlaxoSmithKline's swine flu shot may get a fever after their second dose.
12/3/2009	World Health Organization	WHO use of advisory bodies in responding to the influenza pandemic	WHO is aware of some concerns, expressed in the media, that ties with the pharmaceutical industry among experts on the Organization's advisory bodies may influence policy decisions, especially those relating to the influenza pandemic.
12/2/2009	World Health Organization	Oseltamivir resistance in immunocompromised hospital patients	WHO has been informed of two recent clusters of patients infected with oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 viruses. Both clusters, detected in Wales, UK and North Carolina, USA, occurred in a single ward in a hospital, and both involved patients whose immune systems were severely compromised or suppressed. Transmission of resistant virus from one patient to another is suspected in both outbreaks.
11/30/2009	MSNBC	CDC: Swine flu cases may be declining	Swine flu infections seem to be dropping, but the number of children who died with the illness rose by about 30, according to a government report released Monday.
11/30/2009	Fox News	Employers Play 'Dr. Mom' to Limit H1N1 Flu Impact	Big businesses are spending serious time and money trying to limit the swine flu pandemic's impact on operations, from bankrolling video on good hygiene to training employees to cover for co-workers with critical jobs.
11/29/2009	MSNBC	5 die from swine flu at hajj	Five people have died from swine flu during the hajj, Saudi Arabia says. Some experts warn the true extent of the virus will not be known until pilgrims return to their home countries.
11/27/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 76	As of 22 November 2009, worldwide more than 207 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 7820 deaths.
11/26/2009	MSNBC	Drug-resistant H1N1 no major change in virus	Tamiflu resistance in some H1N1 patients with badly weakened immune systems does not seem to reflect a major change in the virus' susceptibility to the frontline drug, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.
11/25/2009	Fox News	CDC: West Virginia Doctor Had H1N1 - Twice	It is possible to contract the H1N1 virus twice, a West Virginia doctor learned the hard way, Charleston's Daily Mail reported.
11/25/2009	MSNBC	China reports 8 cases of swine flu mutation	China has detected eight cases of swine flu mutation, a health official said Wednesday, amid longstanding concerns among scientists that the virus could change into a more dangerous form.
11/24/2009	Fox News	H1N1 Vaccine in Recalled Canada Over Deadly Allergy Risk	The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline says it has advised medical staff in Canada to not use one batch of swine flu vaccine for fear it may trigger life-threatening allergies.
11/23/2009	Albany Times Union	Quarantine advised for student papers	UAlbany mulls placing papers in quarantine box till any H1N1 would die
11/20/2009	NY Times	Signs That Swine Flu Has Peaked in U.S.	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu activity was declining in all regions of the country.
11/20/2009	NY Daily News	Drug-resistant strain of swine flu appearing, worries H1N1 virus mutating	Drug-resistant strains of swine flu are cropping up around the globe - with four cases confirmed at a North Carolina hospital on Friday.
11/20/2009	MSNBC	H1N1 mutation found in some flu fatalities	Norwegian health authorities said Friday they have discovered a potentially significant mutation in the H1N1 influenza strain that could be responsible for causing the severest symptoms among those infected.
11/20/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 75	As of 15 November 2009, worldwide more than 206 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 6750 deaths.
11/19/2009	MSNBC	Problems plague swine flu vaccination program	When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be 'messy.' They were right.
11/19/2009	Associated Press	Experts say radical measures won't stop swine flu	LONDON (AP) -- Health experts say extraordinary measures against swine flu - most notably quarantines imposed by China, where entire planeloads of passengers were isolated if one traveler had symptoms - have failed to contain the disease....
11/18/2009	Fox News	Potential New Cold Virus Mimics H1N1, Hospitalizing Kids	Runny nose, fever, cough, even pneumonia — the symptoms sound like swine flu but children hospitalized at one U.S. hospital in fact had a rhinovirus, better known as a common cold virus, doctors said on Tuesday.
11/17/2009	MSNBC	Santas lobby for H1N1 shots priority	Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine flu vaccine. Many of the nation's Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine because they'll be around so many kids ' and most are overweight, which puts them at additional risk.
11/17/2009	World Health Organization	Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Ukraine - update 2	Preliminary tests reveal no significant changes in the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus based on investigations of samples taken from patients in Ukraine. Analyses are being performed by two WHO influenza collaborating centres as part of the global influenza surveillance network.
11/16/2009	Fox News	Gangs Making 'Millions' Selling Fake H1N1 Drugs Online	Criminal gangs are making millions of dollars out of the H1N1 flu pandemic by selling fake flu drugs over the internet, a web security firm said on Monday.
Archive of Older RSS Feeds

Tech Valley Continuity - Turning Potential Disasters into an Annoyance™