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24th april 2013
Tell me Press release - 24th april 2013
The cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus reported in China cannot be called a pandemic. Up to now, there are no signs of human-to-human transmission, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Nevertheless, there is a pandemic which is actually ongoing; we could call it web pandemic 2.0. And is something that does not come without risks.
TellMe Decalogue
The TellMe experts produced a decalogue to sum up the guidelines for an effective communication in case of pandemic.
VIDEO
TELL ME: The Project
International Project, approved by the European Commission, that aims to develop new models for improved risk communication during infectious disease crises. In the video Consortium's members explain what are the purposes and the main issues of the project.
NEWS
Id card of the new avian flu virus
The genetic heritage of the new H7N9 influenza virus is 100% of bird origin; to this day April 16, 2013, this virus has caused 60 influenza cases and made 13 victims, at least according to official data provided by Chinese authorities. Spreading from the eastern regions around Shanghai, it has already reached Beijing. The in-depth genetic analysis of the first three cases, all of them fatal, described in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that all these viruses' genes, never reported before, are of avian origin.
New flu virus is being watched closely by the social network
From the East comes not only the threat of a Korean nuclear attack but also worrying news from China of a new avian flu epidemic, provoked by a virus which had never before affected mankind, called H7N9. But exactly ten years after the SARS emergency, which brought on thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths throughout the world (amongst which the Italian medic Carlo Urbani, the first to have discovered the corona virus which is responsible for this flu), new technology is forcing authorities to radically change the way in which the situation is managed, obligating them to be more transparent.
Influenza, an update on the 2010-11 season from ECDC
The 2010–11 influenza season in Europe was the first after the 2009 pandemic and thus raised the interest of the epidemiologists, due to the possibility to draw some indication of the characteristics of the new seasonal influenza. Data from the ECDC’s Annual Epidemiological Report shown that the 2010–11 influenza season started around the 50th week of 2010 and lasted for a median of 10 weeks, with a geographical progression from west to east (see Table 1). Only one out of 28 countries – Luxembourg – reported very high intensity, compared to the nine of the previous pandemic year.
Annual Epidemiological Report from ECDC
The sixth edition of the Annual Epidemiological Report has been released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This report provides a surveillance overview about more than 50 infectious diseases in 27 Member Countries and 3 countries from the European Economic Area (Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway).
Avian flu cases in China
Seven cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the China Health and Family Planning Commission. The first three cases – two from Shanghai and one from Anhui province – were notified on 31 March 2013, after being laboratory confirmed two days before by China CDC. Two of them died, while the third is in critical condition. Four other cases from Jiangsu province have been reported on 3 April 2013, with no links between them. They are all in critical conditions and their close contacts, more than 160 persons, are being closely monitored.
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