Flu season is mild, but gearing up

The flu virus is thought to thrive in cold weather, so it’s no surprise that during this unseasonably warm winter, we’ve had an equally mild flu season. Doctor visits for the flu have been below average this winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But don’t think you’re in the free and clear.

Typically, flu season peaks in February or March, so it still has time to ramp up—meaning you still have time to get a flu shot—the kingpin of prevention—if you haven’t already.

“While activity has been relatively quiet, we would expect it to pick up as we move into February,” said Tom Skinner, a spokesperson for the CDC.

Flu season doesn’t end with the start of spring either. It can continue well into May, he added.

Because of the unpredictability of the flu, there is still a risk that it will become more widespread.

“You would think at this point we would have a better idea of what makes for mild or bad flu seasons,” said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “But we don't."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/02/0 ... z1ljAhYSEE



N.J. hospital treats 5 for H1N1 flu


N.J. hospital treats 5 for H1N1 flu

NEW CITY — Hackensack University Medical Center in Bergen County, N.J., has treated five patients for confirmed cases of the H1N1 form of influenza, officials said. There have been no cases of that form of influenza in New York, the state Department of Health said. Statewide in New York, there have been 315 confirmed cases of the H3 form of the flu. Flu outbreaks generally peak in January and February, but the disease has been reported as late as May. The flu vaccine is still widely available.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20120208/N ... funds-more



Alabama among flu states


As the winter-that-hasn’t continues, the flu has been scarce.

But the seasonal infectious disease is beginning to pick up.

In the most recent national survey, Alabama and 12 other states had local-level influenza activity for the week ended Jan. 28, meaning flu outbreaks had appeared within a certain region of the state. That was up from eight states the week before, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An additional six states had regional activity, meaning flu outbreaks had happened in multiple regions of a state. This was up from four states the week before.

http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2012/0 ... lu-states/


Health confirms 25 cases of H1N1 Influenza in Tamaulipas


As for details of deaths, there has been only one death from this condition, in the southern state were attended to another patient who died of H1N1 influenza, however, was from Veracruz state, so the death of this is addition to the registration in that neighboring state.

En este sentido afirma “la situación se encuentra controlada”, por lo que descarta rotundamente emitir una alerta. In this sense, says "the situation is under control", so roundly dismisses issue an alert.

Treviño García Manzo refiere que para evitar se desate un problema de salud por esta enfermedad, el virus de la influenza AH1N1 se ha contemplado ya dentro de las variantes de la influenza para brindarle la atención debida, lo que permite a las autoridades de salud mantener se alertas ante cualquier síntoma que indique la presencia del mismo. Manzo Garcia Trevino reports that in order to avert a health problem unleashed by the disease, the H1N1 influenza virus has been contemplated and within the variants of influenza to provide adequate care, allowing health officials to keep it alert to any symptoms that indicate the presence.

“Ya está incorporado este virus, a los virus de influenza estacional, sin embargo tenemos el cuidado de atender y estar al pendiente de esta, porque la secretaria de salud federal así pide que actuemos”. "It is already incorporated this virus, the virus seasonal influenza, however we care to attend and be aware of this, because the federal health secretary and asked to act."

De igual manera expuso que en todo el estado se atienden alrededor de 15 mil personas por semana a consecuencias de padecimientos respiratorios, a los cuales se les aplican los exámenes correspondiente para descarta la presencia de influenza AH1N1. Similarly stated that throughout the state are served around 15 000 people a week in consequence of respiratory conditions, to which they apply appropriate tests to rule out the presence of H1N1 influenza.

http://translate.google.com/translate?s ... lipas.html



Bird flu outbreak threatens Vietnam


Bird flu has so far killed two people this year in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta's Soc Trang and Kien Giang Provinces.

The Health Ministry warned of a possible large-scale outbreak of bird flu if the three affected provinces could not keep the disease under control while unfavourable weather conditions, transport and slaughtering of poultry posed a high risk.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development urged localities to immediately vaccinate poultry, increase supervision and tighten management of farms, businesses, markets and slaughtering houses.

Minister Cao Duc Phat on Monday ordered cities and provinces across the country to take urgent measures to prevent a resurgence of bird flu.

A mutation of the H5N1 virus has been discovered in the northern region and existing vaccines do not offer protection against the mutant strain, Hoang Van Nam, head of the Animal Health Department, warned.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=27483

bird flu suspect treated at Flamboyant room Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) Bandung died Tuesday at about 16:35.



These initials SA victims died after being treated since Monday afternoon yesterday. Earlier on Sunday night the victim treated at Mercy Hospital of Kartika.



"Patients come to the awful conditions," said Dr. Primal Sudjana, a spokeswoman for the medical team RSHS Bandung Special Diseases. The patient experienced respiratory failure, liver failure as well as handled the team.



Suspicion that the SA team of physicians exposed to the H5N1 virus seen from pneumonia patients progress rapidly. "In the photo the more inflammatory 1,2,3 buruk.Kecurigaan us from there," he said. The team physician has to take swabs for examination of victims of Research and Development (Balitbang) Ministry of Health of Indonesia in Jakarta.



Families of victims according to the previous week with her son to the clinic for treatment because of common cold. "Her son was healed, but the patient's back pain, inflamed lungs," said Primal.



According to Juju Komarudin, victims of elder siblings, Kampung Residents Mengger Girang, Regol, London was experiencing symptoms of shortness of breath and chills.



The 37-year-old man suspected of contact with domestic poultry neighbors. "The issue of contact with poultry, the family is not clear. What is certain at the back of the house there are victims who maintain entog," says Primal.



Related to the possibility of these birds pass the virus is also not yet certain. Bandung city health department team is deployed to the scene found no poultry deaths in the area.



SA is the first victim who died of suspected bird flu in West Java in 2012 ini.Korban direct-buried family party today. (parachute)


http://www.bisnis.com/articles/flu-buru ... -meninggal

Gas prices could leap by up to 20 cents a litre


When Canadians head out on road trips this spring and summer, they can expect gas prices to take a bigger bite out of their wallets. But energy experts on this side of the border are divided over whether these hikes will be as high as U.S. motorists are bracing for.

Media reports Monday out of the U.S. were suggesting gas prices could rise in some areas this spring by up to 60 cents per gallon (roughly equal to 15 cents per litre). But Calgary-based petroleum industry analyst Michael Ervin sees nothing to suggest hikes of that magnitude in Canada.

Instead, he's predicting "modest" increases of about five to 10 cents per litre — "much much less than what we had become accustomed to seeing prior to the slump in the North American and global economy."

Every year, gas prices tend to rise when warmer weather and school vacations lure more people onto the highways and energy experts are expecting the same pricing habits this spring and summer.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2 ... rices.html

Greek leaders' austerity meeting postponed again


Greece's coalition leaders have once again postponed a crucial meeting on new cutbacks, despite intense international pressure for Athens to bite the austerity bullet if it wants to avoid bankruptcy.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' office said the meeting was now expected to be held on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman said Papademos would be meeting senior debt inspectors from Greece's bailout creditors — its representatives of the other countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund — late Tuesday, instead of the three leaders of his coalition backers.

The EU and the IMF insist Greece must pass further harsh austerity measures, including private sector salary cuts and civil service sackings, if it is to secure a second €130 billion ($171 billion) bailout to avoid a disastrous default next month and a potential exit from the eurozone.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2 ... rkets.html


Greeks seek elusive bailout deal, EU tempers fray


Greek parties will try again on Wednesday to agree a reform deal in return for a new international rescue to avoid a chaotic default, after delays prompted some EU leaders to warn that the euro zone can live without Athens.

One deadline after another has come and gone. Leaders of the three parties in the coalition of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos postponed on Tuesday what had been billed as a crunch meeting because of missing paperwork, according to one official.

Papademos - a technocrat parachuted in last November to secure the new 130 billion euro ($172 billion) rescue from the IMF and European Union - is trying to persuade the party leaders to accept austerity and reform measures which are likely to prove unpopular with an already angry Greek electorate.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/greeks-seek-el ... 19822.html


Greek Premier Seeks Bailout Consensus Amid Political Quarrels


Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos is set to negotiate with leaders of the political parties supporting his caretaker government after Athens missed another deadline to secure a second aid package.

Papademos will see the chiefs in Athens today after delaying the meeting for a second time in as many days while Greek officials and international creditors haggle over the terms. Late last night, he held an unscheduled meeting with the so-called troika, comprising the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to put the final touches on terms required for a 130 billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue package.

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


Greek Recession

The troika argues that lower wage costs and pension cuts are among reforms necessary to boost competitiveness in the country. Those opposed say the cuts would deepen the country’s recession, now in its fifth year.

Antonis Samaras, the head of the second-biggest party, New Democracy, has indicated he will oppose measures that will deepen the country’s downturn. George Karatzaferis, the head of Laos, one of the three supporting Papademos, said he would seek assurances that the measures would lead the country out of the crisis.

Guarantees from Greek leaders such as Samaras, who is ahead in opinion polls, are key to securing the funds. International lenders want assurances that whoever wins the next election will stick to pledges made now to receive financing.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... layed.html

Nokia to cut 4,000 jobs in Finland, Mexico, Hungary as it shifts assembly to Asia



Nokia Corp. says it will slash 4,000 jobs in Finland, Mexico and Hungary in a further move to cut costs as it struggles against stiff competition in the smartphone market.

The layoffs are part of more than 7,000 global layoffs the Finnish company announced last year.

Nokia said Wednesday that it is increasingly moving cellphone assembly from Europe to Asia where the majority of component suppliers are based.

The layoffs are expected to completed by the end of 2012.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/nokia-cut-4-00 ... 03160.html

Mountain rescue team gets stuck in snow while returning an elderly woman from hospital to her village


A mountain rescue team was left stranded on Tuesday (February 7) in the village of Glavina Donja near Imotski in southern Croatia while trying to evacuate an elderly woman from her snowbound village.
The rescuers, who worked on helping villagers cope with days of unprecedented amounts of snowfall in the area, got stuck due to strong winds which buried a previously cleared road in one metre of snow in a matter of hours.

"We simply got stuck with our vehicle. There was strong wind carrying snow, and despite us having an all-terrain vehicle with four wheel drive, we didn't make it through and were eventually forced to save ourselves," Stipe Buselic of the Mountain Rescue Service said.

The rescuers were transporting an elderly woman back to her home in a remote village after they had earlier taken her to a local hospital to receive medical treatment. After their vehicle got stranded, the rescuers sought shelter at a nearby villagers' house.


http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/s ... _category2



Cold wave cause temperature slumps in N China


Households across north of China spent their coldest Lantern Festival on record, when cold waves caused temperatures to dip to 40 degrees Celsius below zero.

This year saw the festival fall on February 6, on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, officially bringing an end to the New Year celebrations.

As customs dictate, on this day people visited temples, where the festival is traditionally held, at night carrying paper lanterns. Upon arriving, they proceed to playing games including solving riddles on lanterns.

Starting on Sunday night, however, heavy snows hit Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for a non-stop three-hour period. It left a build-up of snow peaking nearly 15 centimeters on roads and pedestrian walks.

Meanwhile, 200 kilometers east of Urumqi, temperatures in Kuitun City dropped below sub-zero 20 degree Celsius.

Elsewhere blizzards have affected parts of Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province.

To deal with blocked roads and ease local traffic disruptions, local traffic authorities organized urgent snow-clearing operations. In addition, relief supplies including food and water, have been dispatched to the needy.


The cold wave has spread across to Hulunuir City, Inner Mongolia where sub-zero 40 degree Celsius temperature has continued on for more than 10 days.

Extreme conditions have impacted on water supplies, causing 20 underground water pipe systems to sustain severe cracks.


http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/s ... _category2

Israel embassies preparing for Iran strike?


Diplomats stationed in Israel request gas masks, prepare contingency plans in case of missile attacks; envoys fear that thousands of dual-citizenship Israelis will seek evacuation



Preparing for Iran strike? Foreign embassies in Israel have recently started to formulate contingency plans to evacuate their citizens from the Jewish State in case of a missile attack on Israel.




Senior officials in Jerusalem said that several diplomatic missions have shown great interest in preparing for various emergency situations, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

In the framework of the preparations for possible fallout in case of an Israeli strike on Iran, foreign diplomats stationed in Israel requested that the Foreign Ministry equip them and their family members with gas masks.



Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has provided foreign embassies in Israel with a list of public bomb shelters across the country, as well as an instructional pamphlet in English produced by the IDF Home Front Command.



Diplomatic officials deployed in Israel are particularly concerned about the possibility of a missile offensive on the Jewish State that would prompt thousands of Israeli citizens with foreign passports to seek evacuation from country.



A senior European diplomat said that in such case, the European Union does not have the means to undertake a massive evacuation operation within a short period of time.




Meanwhile, the Home Front Command is preparing to launch a two-day drill in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday. IDF forces, firefighters, police officers and Magen David Adom emergency services will be taking part in the exercise.



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 99,00.html


Iran Anxiety No Match for Central Banker Cash


Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Syria’s bloody crackdown and Greece’s potential default are leaving markets unfazed as central bankers take unprecedented steps to prevent the global economy from crumbling.

The VIX, a measure of equity volatility known as the “fear index,” fell to 17.1 on Feb. 3, the lowest level since July, according to the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch MOVE index, which measures swings in bond prices, closed at 72.3 on Feb. 6, about the least since July 2007. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s index of implied volatility on currencies dropped to 10.2 on Jan. 23, its lowest since March.

While geo-political risks have risen, investors are taking their cue from policy makers from Washington to Frankfurt to Beijing who are driving down interest rates and flooding the world with cash to prop up their economies. The balance sheets of the world’s six biggest central banks have more than doubled since 2006 to $13.2 trillion, according to Chicago-based Bianco Research LLC.

“Investors are numb and sedated,” Jeffrey Sherman, a commodities money manager who helps oversee $25 billion for DoubleLine Capital LP in Los Angeles, said in a Feb. 7 telephone interview. “Money sloshing around the system leads to lower volatility.”

Market Returns

Investors have responded by driving equities to their best start in 18 years, pushing government bond yields to record lows and sending commodities prices soaring.


more at link

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... -cash.html

The £1,000 church wedding: Cost of big day soars by a third (... and funerals could rocket by 50%)

and the bottom line is


Such a fee increase seems to me hard to justify in times of financial austerity and even harder to justify in poor inner-city parishes, ‘he said.
‘The Church of England ought not to be seen to be making a big increase at this time and ought not to be making it difficult for the poor to access these services at a time when a simple ceremony can be had at a register office for around £100.’
He warned that the Church of England could not rely on the power of vicars to waive fees in cases of hardship.
‘That places the clergy in the invidious position of attempting to means test parishioners and people do talk. The poor don’t want to be patronised by fees being waived, they want their church to be affordable to them.
'It would be a crying shame if poor people end up being married in register offices because the Church of England has priced them out of their parish church.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1lmQzWM56

Pensioners 'passed like parcels' by care agencies

Elderly people are “passed like parcels” around a chaotic care system that is struggling to cope with funding cuts, a committee of MPs warns.


Up to 1.20 million frail and vulnerable patients are seeing their quality of life diminished because of a "salami slicing" of services and a failure to integrate health and social care, a report by the Commons health committee says.


Unless the Government takes dramatic action to overhaul the system, there will be "serious consequences for standards", the committee warns.


Thousands of elderly people are forced to sell their homes or use savings to pay care bills every year, while sons and daughters of the frail often have to quit their jobs to look after their parents.


The MPs back proposals for care costs to be capped. Andrew Dilnot, an economist, recommended in an official review last year that no one should pay more than £35,000 during their lifetime. But the report warns that reforms will fail unless the system is radically overhauled to end an "artificial distinction" between health and social care dating back 80 years.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/elder ... ncies.html

Girls, 13, given contraceptive implants at school

Girls as young as 13 have been fitted with contraceptive implants at school without their parents knowing.


The procedure was carried out in Southampton, Hants, as part of a government initiative to drive down teenage pregnancies.


As many as nine secondary schools in the city are thought to have been involved.


But it has caused a backlash from parents who weren't aware that their daughters had been fitted with the 4cm device, which sits under the skin.


It is currently unknown exactly how many youngsters have taken part in the scheme.


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

"Parents send their children to school to receive a good education, not to be undermined by health workers who give their children contraceptives behind their backs.

"Health authorities should be looking for ways of discouraging young people from engaging in sexual activity in the first place.

"The last thing they should be doing is fuelling the flames of promiscuity and the sexual health crisis with schemes that treat parents, the law and basic moral principles with contempt."

One mother, whose 13-year-old daughter was given the implant, has called the scheme "morally wrong".

She claimed the school had gone ahead without consulting their family doctor.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said the pupils had to simply fill out a questionnaire about their medical history.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healt ... chool.html

Honeybee die-off shouldn't sting


There's good news and bad news on the honeybee beat.

First the bad news. Bees are still mysteriously dying. Over the last five years roughly 30% of captive honeybees, which pollinate much of the food we eat, wind up dead at the end of each winter.


For whatever reason -- probably a combination of pesticides, parasites, disease and poor nutrition -- honeybees have been dying off at an alarming rate.

The exact cause is still not known.

Now for the good news. Beekeepers have been able to rejuvenate their hives each year so that by summer the population is back to previous levels.

There's another bit of good news, too. Agricultural yields are rising, which means that while rejuvenating beehives is costly, the cost isn't making its way to the supermarket.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/07/news/ec ... ?iid=HP_LN

Boil water emergency hits 40,000 in Prince Albert


A spokesman for the city said printed notices were being delivered to mailboxes in every home and apartment building, to ensure everyone in the city was aware of the boil-water order.

The city is blaming the contamination on equipment failure.

The city believes a faulty valve in the water treatment plant let some water that was not yet ready into the distribution system sometime late on Feb. 2.

Operators noticed something was amiss and started to investigate, leading them to discover the faulty valve.

That led to an initial boil water advisory on Friday and further testing of the water.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... 20207.html

‘Plan B’ to End Syria Violence Sought by U.S. After UN Resolution Failure


The U.S. and allies are seeking ways to increase pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad after Russian and Chinese vetoes blocked efforts at the United Nations Security Council to support a political transition.

“We’re going to have to take measures outside the UN to strengthen and deepen and broaden the international community pressure on Assad,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said yesterday.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will work with allies to create an international support group for Assad’s opposition and to tighten sanctions against Syria, Nuland said. Other steps include pushing Syria’s trade partners to drop business with the regime and halt weapons shipments in particular, she said. Further action at the UN is also on the table, according to UN diplomats who weren’t authorized to comment publicly.

“There will be a ‘Plan B,’” Aaron David Miller of the Wilson Center, a Washington policy group, said in a telephone interview. “The question is whether it will work and how effective the strategy will be.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... o-act.html


US searches for strategy to halt Syria violence

The United States appears to be out of answers on what to do with Syria.

The Obama administration says it is not considering invading Syria or arming its rebels to remove President Bashar Assad from power. Diplomatic efforts at the U.N. have collapsed. A new, much-touted option of humanitarian assistance for Syria's beleaguered population is a longshot -- and would only bandage over the violence instead of stopping it.

For now, Washington is relying primarily on what it has been doing for the past 11 months in a so-far unsuccessful bid to force Assad's government to end its bloody offensive on opponents: sanctions targeting the Syrian regime and isolating it from the world economy.

more at link


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/08 ... z1lmhHIAZK

Gulf states pulling ambassadors from Syria

KUWAIT CITY -- The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council says it is pulling its ambassadors from Syria because of President Bashar Assad's refusal to accept Arab attempts to end the country's bloodshed.

Tuesday's statement from the GCC says the withdrawal of the envoys will begin immediately. It comes as many European nations also withdraw their ambassadors.

On Monday, the U.S. pulled its embassy staff from Damascus.

The GCC statement was carried by the official news agency in Kuwait, one of the GCC states. The others are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It also says the countries are asking Syria to recall its ambassadors.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/07 ... z1lmhhncYI

'Iran renaming ships to circumvent sanctions'


Using a series of legal loopholes, Iran has renamed over a dozen cargo ships in the past year as it seeks to circumvent sanctions on arms transfers and the supply of nuclear-related equipment, according to a new study released Monday.

The report was published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and included an analysis of reported incidents of illicit arms and drug transfers in recent years.



According to the report, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) has renamed a total of 90 out of its 123 ships since 2008. The company also reflagged a significant percentage of its fleet, which dropped off the list of the top 100 fleets in the world last April. It previously was ranked as the 23rdlargest container line in the world.

Israel has captured a number of Iranian arms ships transferring weaponry to terrorists groups in the region in recent years. Last week, The Jerusalem Post reported on efforts by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz to recruit EU countries to help counter Iranian smuggling throughout the region.

http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News ... ?id=255781