Singapore Weekly Infectious Disease Bulletin 21 Jun - 27 Jun 2009

Thursday, 02 July 2009; Submitted By: Singapore Communication Focal Point (1), Singapore

This report from Minstry of Health, Singapore on weekly publication of statistics on local infectious disease situation. ...Read More

Indonesia announced the first two confirmed cases of Pandemic H1N1

Thursday, 25 June 2009; Submitted By: Indonesia Communication Focal Point (1), Indonesia

Indonesia announced the first two confirmed cases of Pandemic H1N1 2009 virus on 24 June 2009. These were cases imported from other countries. A number of activities have been undertaken in Indonesia to prepare for pandemic influenza and to enable a comprehensive response. After the initial detection of the H1N1 virus globally, and before the spread of the virus to Indonesia, the following measures were undertaken by the Ministry of Health to prepare the country for response: 1. Strengthening Port Health Office surveillance capacity. 2. Hospital Preparedness 3. Preparing health facilities and diagnosis capacity. 4. Preparing logistics and supplies, including medicine and personal protective equipment (PPE) 5. Strengthening influenza like illness (ILI) surveillance 6. Community communication, information and education activities Once Indonesia detected the two imported cases of Pandemic H1N1 2009, the Ministry of Health immediately implemented the following steps: 1. Strengthen the awareness of all health personnel and authorities. On 25 June 2009, the Minister of Health issued a Circular to ...Read More

Singapore Weekly Infectious Disease Bulletin 14 Jun - 20 Jun 2009

Tuesday, 23 June 2009; Submitted By: Singapore Communication Focal Point (1), Singapore

This report from Minstry of Health, Singapore on weekly publication of statistics on local infectious disease situation.   ...Read More

Singapore Weekly Infectious Disease Bulletin 7 Jun - 13 Jun 2009

Tuesday, 23 June 2009; Submitted By: Singapore Communication Focal Point (1), Singapore

This report from Minstry of Health, Singapore on weekly publication of statistics on local infectious disease situation.   ...Read More

Singapore Weekly Infectious Disease Bulletin 31 May - 6 Jun 2009

Tuesday, 23 June 2009; Submitted By: Singapore Communication Focal Point (1), Singapore

This report from Minstry of Health, Singapore on weekly publication of statistics on local infectious disease situation. ...Read More

WHO chief calls for fairness in global health policies

Tuesday, 16 June 2009; Submitted By: Administrator

UNITED NATIONS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan Monday urged senior government officials to place "fairness" at the core of decisions to protect the most vulnerable against major worldwide crises.     Global warming, hikes in fuel and food prices, the economic meltdown and now the A/H1N1 influenza pandemic hit hardest in developing countries, Chan told senior government officials and international experts attending the Secretary-General's Forum on Advancing Global Health.     There is growing recognition that "blind faith in economic growth and gain as the be-all, end-all, cure-for-all has been misplaced," Chan told the meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. "Fairness, I believe, is at the heart of our ambitions in global health," said Chan. A failure to put equality at the center of health-care policy decisions is "one reason why the world is in such a great big mess."     Characterizing globalization as a rising tide that lifts "the big boats, but swamps or sinks many smaller ones," Chan said that the financial ...Read More

WHO declares A/H1N1 pandemic, raising alert level to highest

Friday, 12 June 2009; Submitted By: Administrator

GENEVA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday raised its pandemic alert to the highest level of six, formally declaring that the widely spreading A/H1N1 influenza has developed into a global pandemic.     "On the basis of available evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. I have therefore decided to raise the level of pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, the world is now at the start of the 2009 pandemic," WHO Director-general Margaret Chan told a news briefing in Geneva.     Chan made the announcement following consultations with leading influenza experts around the world through a teleconference, and amid signs that community-level transmission of the new H1N1 flu virus has occurred in a number of countries outside of North America, including Australia, Chile, Britain, Spain and Japan.     Chan stressed, however, that governments and the public should have a right understanding of the word "pandemic," which mainly reflects the geographic spread of the virus, instead of the severity of the disease it has ...Read More

WHO 'very close' to declaring a pandemic

Wednesday, 10 June 2009; Submitted By: Administrator

Jun 9, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is getting "very close" to declaring that a novel H1N1 influenza pandemic has arrived, but the agency wants to spend more time preparing the world for that step so it won't cause panic, a WHO official said today. In view of the virus's spread in Australia, far from the epidemic epicenter in North America, "We are getting really very close to knowing that we're in a pandemic situation or declaring that we're in a pandemic situation," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment, said at a press briefing today. But before declaring a pandemic, the WHO wants to do more to reduce the risk of panic and overreactions such as trade embargoes, border closures, travel restrictions, and a flood of "worried well" people in hospital emergency departments, Fukuda said. "One of the things we're really focusing on right now is to help countries, help institutions, help the media really understand what are pandemics and provide as much information as possible so we reduce any adverse effects . . . and prevent misunderstanding that may lead to ...Read More