Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01101 ... ool_9.html

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Here is another list of cases reported in the media (which I was e-mailed)

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum ... 304614/pg1

As of January 10, I have recorded 120 suspected deaths in the United
Kingdom and 925 critical care cases.
There are an additional 45 deaths reported in Wales, where flu has
played a contributing factor.

suspected deaths by region
Midlands 25
G. Manchester 21
N. Ireland 14
Wales 12
NE England 12
Scotland 10
Merseyside 9
Isle of Man 2
London 2
SE England 2
SW England 0

ICU cases
England 783
N.Ireland 33
Wales 71
Scotland 38
total 925

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Dr. Niman, please don't forget to give credit where credit is due...

Many of the policies that determine whether data is released or not are based on whether the WHO has declared a pandemic. The WHO is directly (or indirectly, depending on your definition) responsible for a lot of the data that is being with-held by prematurely calling the Pandemic over.

I hold the WHO as responsible in this entire fiasco as the health authorities who are covering up vital information.

So please, let's make sure we give the WHO appropriate credit for screwing up yet again.

Actually, the HPA is withholding the data because it is MORE like a pandemic. This is panic control.

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Last season’s deadly swine flu has resurfaced in the U.K. this winter. The illness has caused at least 45 deaths as of Jan. 5, according to the U.K.’s Health Protection Agency (HPA).

However, the full extent of the disease’s grasp might be “grossly under-report[ed],” according to a commentary published Monday by Recombinomics, a website that closely tracks infectious diseases. According to the expert-driven site, many other deaths—presumed to be the common flu or pneumonia—might actually be undiagnosed cases of H1N1, or swine flu.

The HPA officially reports that there have been a total of 135 cases of H1N1 so far this season, including the 45 deaths. Some U.K. hospitals are reporting being overwhelmed by flu cases. In two hospitals in Worcestershire, alone there were 58 flu patients admitted as of Jan. 7, with 15 people in critical condition, reported the Worcestershire News.

However, according to Recombinomics, the HPA’s figures are not credible and are likely missing a host of people, mostly young people, who have fallen ill but not sought medical treatment because they assume that they have ordinary flu, a chest infection, or other non-life-threatening condition.

In one anecdotal case cited by Recombinomics, Keith Ingham, a 50-year-old man from Exeter, in southwest England, unexpectedly died in his car after complaining of a chest infection.

"We all spent a nice family Christmas together at my sister's, and the last time we were all together was Boxing Day. I remember him saying he had flu-like symptoms, but he thought it was just a chest infection and didn't bother going to the doctors,” his youngest daughter Kerry, 27, told This Is Devon newspaper.

An autopsy concluded, according to the paper, that he “died from natural causes. It is believed he was suffering from pneumonia.”

Recombinomics says the case is illustrative of a “classical H1N1 fatality involving an adult under 65 who develops flu-like symptoms followed by pneumonia and death.”

Currently, young people are filling up beds in ICU units.

The Guardian reported that the strain surfacing in England this year is similar to last year’s strain. This means, according to The Guardian story, that most seniors are protected because they took the vaccine last season, so the highest risk group is now younger people.

However, Recombinomics analysts warn that a new H1N1 could be emerging, one that will be “able to infect those who were vaccinated or infected last season.”

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/49039/

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http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... oll_secret

Swine flu storm: Health bosses slammed for trying to keep death toll secret

Health bosses have been slammed for trying to keep secret details of swine flu deaths across the region.

MPs and patient groups have blasted the gag which stops local health trusts revealing the number of victims, and the area they are from.

It comes as the region bears the brunt of this winter’s outbreak, with at least 12 deaths in Greater Manchester and Macclesfield, out of 50 nationally.

How has this winter's flu outbreak affected you? Take part in our reader survey.

The region was one of the first places where health chiefs cancelled operations in order to double the number of critical care beds for patients seriously ill with swine flu.

Now bosses at NHS North West have banned health trusts from providing information on deaths from flu, including the H1N1 virus. They say data may be incomplete and therefore difficult to interpret – so they only want national figures released.

Comment: Swine flu 'gag' will only add to public's concern

But MPs and patient representatives say the move will create suspicion and panic.

John Leech, Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington said:"I can’t see why they would want to do that unless the figures are bad in comparison with the rest of the country. When organisations take this kind of approach it can make people suspicious and lowers confidence."

Hazel Blears, MP for Salford and Eccles, had already criticised Salford health bosses for refusing to give details of swine flu deaths since Christmas.

She said: "It is always important to give the public accurate and precise information then people can take their own decisions and public usually make very sensible decisions."

Last year, NHS North West gave out regular updates on swine flu, including deaths, but have so far refused to do this.

How has this winter's flu outbreak affected you? Take part in our reader survey.

An NHS North West spokeswoman said: "It is important to emphasise that this data is likely to be incomplete because of the methods use to identify cases. For this reason, the Department of Health has taken the decision not to break these figures down on a regional or sub-regional level as they would be difficult to interpret.

"Any death is a great loss to family members and friends – and our priority has to be to give them the support they need at a difficult time and protect their right to confidentiality."

But Barbara Allen from health watchdog the Patients Council said: "All information of this kind should be made public."

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Praemonitus, Praemunitus..Forewarned is Forearmed.

Phil Smith spent 26 days in intensive care at Wythenshawe Hospital

A swine flu victim from Greater Manchester who was given hours to live is urging people to get the flu jab.

Before his illness, Phil Smith from Sale was a fit and active person but ended up in intensive care for almost four weeks over Christmas.

At one point, his partner Vicky Culshaw was told by doctors that he was unlikely to make it through the night.

Phil is now urging everyone, whether they're at risk or not, to see their GP about getting the swine flu vaccine.

'Thumbs-up'

When Phil Smith, was sent to Wythenshawe Hospital for a chest x-ray in early December, he wasn't too worried.

"I had a cough, nothing more," he said. "I didn't feel like I had anything seriously wrong.

A course of antibiotics had failed to make a difference, but the 49-year-old salesman who's known to his friends as Smudger, didn't think he was at risk.

"I remember giving Vicky the thumbs-up as they wheeled me off to x-ray," he recalled. "I honestly thought I'd be out in about an hour."

What followed was a Christmas that Phil and his family will never forget.

Phil was immediately admitted with pneumonia. Then, when his condition started to deteriorate, he was sent to the intensive care unit.

It was then that doctors revealed that he'd tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu virus.

'Horrrendous'

Vicky was shocked that her fiancé - a fit, active and relatively young individual - had been hit so hard by the disease.

"He wasn't at risk," she said.

"Smudge played rugby for years and he runs and cycles a lot. He had no underlying health problems.



The doctors told me they didn't think he'd make it through the night. It was horrendous.

Vicky Culshaw, Phil's fiancée
"What I know now is that you don't have to be in a risk group. This year's swine flu affects anybody."

As Vicky balanced her time at Phil's bedside with looking after her two young children, she was given the worst possible news.

It was touch and go at times," she said. "Then one night, the doctors told me they didn't think he'd make it through the night.

"It was absolutely horrendous."

Eventually, on the Thursday before Christmas, Phil started to show signs of improvement and was taken off oxygen.

In total, he was in hospital for 31 days, four days on a ward and 26 days in intensive care - three weeks of that on life support.

'Lucky'

Today, Phil is back home and full of praise for the doctors and nurses at Wythenshawe who treated him.

"I'm having trouble walking and my chest is very weak but I'm on the road to recovery now," he said.

"I'm a very, very lucky man," he added. "The intensive care team I had at Wythenshawe were amazing - they never gave up."

"If I could run the London marathon to raise money for the ICU, I would."

But he's also anxious that other people who have a chest infection should get themselves tested for swine flu.

"If anyone has had a cough and it's not shifting, then go and see your GP to get tested," he said.

"Or if you don't want this horrible disease, then pay the £10 or whatever it is to get the flu jab.

"For the cost of a night out, it's got to be worth it."

The number of deaths this winter from flu verified by the Health Protection Agency currently is 50, with 45 of these due to swine flu.

The majority were under 65: eight cases between 5-14, 33 cases aged between 15-64 and four cases aged 64 and above.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/ ... 357955.stm

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Up to 12 January 2011, 112 fatal cases from across the UK have been reported to the HPA and confirmed to
be associated with influenza infection. Ninety-five of these cases were associated with H1N1 (2009)
infection, five with influenza B infection and 12 as yet untyped influenza infection. The deaths have been
mainly in younger adults and children. Among the 101 cases with information on age: six (6%) have been
less than 5 years; nine (9%) from 5 to 14 years; 70 (69%) from 15 to 64 years and 16 (16%) older than 64
years.
Sixty-three of 81 fatal cases with available information (78%)
were in one of the CMO-defined clinical risk groups for
vaccination. The leading reported clinical risk factors for those
with information were underlying neurological disease
(n=14/37; 38%) and respiratory disease including asthma
(n=17/42; 40%). Of cases with available information on
immunisation history, 40 of 47 (85%) cases had not received
2010/11 trivalent influenza vaccine this season. Thirty-three of
35 cases with available information had not received
monovalent pandemic influenza vaccination last season.
In week 51, an estimated 11,484 all-cause deaths were
registered in England and Wales (source: Office for National
Statistics). This is increased from 10,880 in week 50 and
remains above the upper limit of expected levels for this time
of year (figure 9). Potential factors for this excess include
recent cold weather and circulating respiratory viruses.

Only 3 or 33 had underlying conditions

http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAwebFile/HP ... 4739353955

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Twenty-seven people died in Greater Manchester’s hospitals after contracting swine flu this winter, we can reveal today.

New figures show the number of fatalities in the region was more than double the death toll previously released.

In January, bosses at NHS North West banned Greater Manchester health trusts from providing information on deaths from flu – including the H1N1 virus. They said the data may have been incomplete and therefore difficult to interpret – so they only wanted national figures released.

MPs and patient groups criticised health bosses for a lack of transparency.

Previously, we reported the number of deaths of people diagnosed with swine flu in Greater Manchester was at least 12.

But the new figures, obtained by the M.E.N. using Freedom Of Information laws, reveal the total number to have died in the region’s hospitals between November 2010 and February 2011 was actually 27

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... -as-feared

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