Sharp increase in swine flu deaths in France

2010-04-16T08:51:44Z

PARIS (Reuters) - The number of deaths in mainland France from the H1N1 swine flu virus jumped in the last week, according to official data Thursday.

The toll rose to 68 deaths as of November 22, with 22 new deaths last week. Six of the 68 victims had no underlying health problems, the country's health monitoring institute said. Health minister

Christmas kissing: On the cheek to avoid swine flu

2010-04-16T08:56:41Z

No wandering hands: Etiquette adviser says mistletoe kiss on cheek not lips to avoid swine flu

Britain's authority on etiquette says it's more hygienic to exchange kisses on the cheek than to shake hands — so the swine flu pandemic should not make people afraid of kissing under the mistletoe this holiday season.

But Debrett's warns people to observe proper etiquette by kissing others on the cheek in...

Swine flu cases in England drop

2010-04-16T09:06:59Z

British officials say swine flu cases in England dropped slightly last week, with about 53,000 new cases.

In a statement Tuesday, experts guess there were about 64,000 new cases the week before. The numbers are only estimates and have a wide margin of error.

Britain also announced Thursday it would start offering the swine flu vaccine to healthy children under five, besides those already being vaccinated, mainly peop...

Officials: Infant is first Swiss swine flu death

2010-04-16T09:04:23Z

Safety officials in the northwest Swiss canton (state) of Basel-Landschaft say an infant has become the country's first fatality from swine flu.

Local daily Basler Zeitung reported Wednesday on its Web site that the 5-month-old child died several days ago.

It quoted the top cantonal health official, Dominik Schorr<...

Common cold may hold off swine flu

2010-10-22T14:51:01Z

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Swine flu cases in England down by 25%

2010-04-16T09:12:35Z

British officials say that swine flu cases in England dropped by nearly 25 percent in the last week.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Health Protection Agency estimated there were about 64,000 new cases last week, compared with about 84,000 cases the week before. The numbers are only a guess since they are based on indicators like how many people call their doctors with flu-like symptoms or call t...

Netherlands reports first drug-resistant swine flu case

2010-04-16T09:24:33Z

The Netherlands reported its first case of drug-resistant swine flu on Wednesday, but said this was "no reason for panic".

"A patient with serious flu symptoms has turned out to be infected with an H1N1 virus that is resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir" commonly known as Tamiflu, the Paris St Germain have undergone tests for swine flu, football officials said on Saturday casting doubts over Sunday's league game at Marseille.

Winger Ludovic Guily and defender Mamadou Sakho have been been unwell with fly symptoms for the last two days and they were tested on F...

Swine flu spreads in Europe as global toll nears 5,000

2010-04-16T09:40:56Z

Swine flu is spreading faster and claiming new fatalities in Europe, health officials said Friday, as the global death toll from the virus rose to nearly 5,000 victims.

Since the A(H1N1) virus was uncovered in April, there have been over 4,735 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation as of a week ago, the WHO said.

Most of the fatal cases -- 3,...

Visiting students brought swine flu to Kenya: study

2010-04-16T09:41:45Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Travelers from Britain, including medical and public health students, brought the new pandemic swine flu to Kenya in the space of a few weeks, researchers reported on Thursday.

Researchers testing out the East African country's new influenza surveillance system said the arrival of the new H1N1 ...

Official: UK has 18,000 new cases of swine flu

2010-04-16T09:55:29Z

The U.K.'s chief medical officer says there have been 18,000 new cases of swine flu in England over the last week as the country experiences the second wave of swine flu.

Liam Donaldson said Thursday the rate of infection is much lower than had been feared. British health officials no longer test every person suspected to have swine flu, but estimates are that 18,...

Germany announces first swine flu death

2010-04-16T09:55:49Z

Germany on Thursday announced its first confirmed swine flu-related death after a female patient suffered complications from the A(H1N1) virus.

Authorities said tests showed the 36-year-old woman had died due to her infection with the virus in late September while a five-year-old who died this earlier week may have been the country's second victim of the disease.

"The H1N1 virus is responsible for the death of the 36-year-old pati...

Third swine flu vaccine nears EU approval

2010-04-16T10:01:32Z

European regulators, fighting the threat of a second wave of deadly swine flu, on Friday paved the way for a third pandemic vaccine to be approved for use across the European Union.

The London-based European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recommended that the Scotland almost doubled to 13,800, according to the Healt...

Swine flu cases up 50 percent in England

2010-04-16T10:02:37Z

British health officials estimate swine flu cases have increased by about 50 percent in England since last week, with about 14,000 new cases.

Since they are no longer counting individual cases, the numbers released Thursday by the Health Protection Agency are only a rough guess. Swine flu cases have steadily risen in the Northern Hemisphere since schools reopened last month and temperatures dropped.

...

UK drug giant GSK to start shipping flu vaccine

2010-04-16T10:04:09Z

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline will next week begin shipping its swine flu vaccine Pandemrix across Europe, the group announced on Wednesday following approval by regulators.

"Following the (European) Commission's approval we expect to commence shipments of Pandemrix to European governments from next week," said Jean Stephenne, President of GlaxoSmithKline Biological...

Swine flu vaccines get approval

2010-04-16T10:08:25Z

European regulators recommended on Friday that two new vaccines to fight a swine flu pandemic be granted a marketing licence across Europe amid growing fears of a deadly second wave of the virus.

"The European Medicines Agency has recommended to the European Commission that two vaccines ag...

Swine flu vaccines win approval

2010-04-16T10:08:20Z

European regulators recommended on Friday that two new vaccines to fight a swine flu pandemic be granted a marketing licence across Europe amid growing fears of a deadly second wave of the virus.

"The European Medicines Agency has recommended to the European Commission that two vaccines ag...

Prison probes 'swine flu gel intoxication'

2010-04-16T10:08:34Z

An investigation was under way in a jail after an inmate appeared to have got drunk on anti-bacterial gel used to combat the spread of swine flu, a prison spokesman said on Friday.

The hand gel, which contains alcohol, was made available to prisoners at The Verne prison in Dorset, on the same day the incident took place.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "On 21 September, a prisoner... showed signs of intoxication, the cause of which...

Swine flu cases double in UK

2010-04-16T10:09:27Z

The country's number of new swine flu cases almost doubled in a week in the second weekly increase following a summer lull, official date released Thursday showed.

At least 66 schools in England have recorded outbreaks of the A(H1N1) virus since children returned to school at the start of September, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Experts have warned of a second wave of flu as the...

Portugal records first swine flu death: health minister

2010-04-16T10:10:08Z

A 41-year-old Portuguese man who lives in France died Wednesday in Portugal after contracting swine flu, becoming the nation's first fatality from the A(H1N1) virus, Health Minister Ana Jorge said.

The man, who suffered from kidney trouble and was on holiday in Portugal, died at a hospital in the northern city of Oporto, she told reporters.

What's best for badly damaged lungs?

2010-10-26T21:36:30Z

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US orders more lots more swine flu vaccine

2010-04-16T10:12:28Z

US orders more doses of swine flu vaccine doses, bringing eventual total to 251 million doses

U.S. health officials have ordered more swine flu vaccine — bringing the nation's eventual total to 251 million doses.

The government on Monday ordered an extra 27.3 million doses from Sanofi Pasteur of France, which produces flu shots at its Swiftwater, Pa....

Sanofi to deliver swine flu vaccine in October

2010-04-16T10:13:03Z

Sanofi-Aventis CEO says US deliveries of swine flu vaccine to begin in October

Sanofi-Aventis SA will begin delivering the first doses of its new swine flu vaccine in the United States by mid-October, the head of France's largest pharmaceutical company said Monday.

In an interview with French ...

Swine flu and a new age of social greetings

2010-10-26T21:36:30Z

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Swine flu sculpture unveiled in Britain

2010-06-26T05:33:50Z

A British museum has acquired an unusual new sculpture -- of the virus which causes swine flu, it said Friday.

The Wellcome Collection in London will display the glass sculpture by Luke Jerram from September 25 until October 18.

The work offers "a point of departure to explore the impact such viruses have had on populations and to find out more about the globa...

US, Europe offer swine flu vaccine to nations in need

2010-06-25T20:38:19Z

The United States, France and Britain are among nine countries that pledged Thursday to make 10 percent of their swine flu vaccine supply available to other nations that may need it.

In recognition of the global nature of the pandemic, the United States is taking this action along with Britain, notably among children returning to school after the summer break, according to official figures released Thursday.

An estimated 5,000 new cases were reported in England last week, the first rise since July in Britain -- the worst-hit country in Europe by the A(H1N1) virus.

"The rates of flu-like illness and rela...

Swine flu rising again in Britain

2010-04-16T10:16:46Z

The number of new swine flu cases is rising again in Britain, notably among children returning to school after the summer break, according to official figures released Thursday.

An estimated 5,000 new cases were reported in England last week, the first rise since July in Britain -- the worst hit country in Europe by the A(H1N1) virus.

"The rates of flu-like illness and rela...

Swine flu cases soar as schools return

2010-10-22T07:56:48Z

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Spanish security firm detects 'swine flu' computer virus

2010-04-16T10:23:03Z

Cyber criminals are taking advantage of swine flu fears with e-mails promising news on the illness which then infect computers with a virus, a Spanish computer security firm warned Friday.

The e-mails invite recipients to open a document with information claiming the H1N1 flu virus was developed by pharmaceutical firms seeking to make huge profits from the outbreak, Pandasecurity said in a statement.

But if the document is opened, a virus is installed on the person's computer...

France seeks to confirm flu epidemic

2010-04-16T10:25:36Z

The estimated number of flu cases -- including swine flu -- in France has reached epidemic proportions, according to preliminary data released Wednesday.

"Last week the number of visits to doctors for flu in mainland France was estimated at 52,300, which is to say 83 cases per 100,000 inhabitants," said the Natio...

China approves one-dose homegrown swine flu vaccine

2010-06-12T14:51:01Z

China on Thursday granted approval to its first home-grown swine flu vaccine, which producer Sinovac says is effective after only one dose, as the country braces for a feared winter outbreak.

The decision could boost the global fight against A(H1N1) influenza, as most experts had assumed that two doses of vaccine per person would be needed to provide adequate protection.

"The Sinovac (A)H1N1 vaccine is officially approved," the head o...

Britain, France get first batches of swine flu vaccine

2010-10-13T14:35:24Z

Britain and France have received their first batches of swine flu vaccine, officials said Thursday, as governments began to arm themselves against a second wave of the pandemic in the northern winter.

The World Health Organization has been warning governments for months to brace for a resurgence of ...

Swine flu death toll rises to 65

2010-04-16T10:37:41Z

The number of deaths of people with swine flu has risen to 65, but the rate of infection is still dropping, official figures released on Thursday showed.

Britain, the country hardest hit in Europe by the A(H1N1) virus pandemic, expects a second wave of infections as the northern hemisphere winter approaches.

Fifty-seven people with swine flu have died in England, six in

Half of health workers reject swine flu shot

2010-04-16T10:39:06Z

About half of Hong Kong's health workers would refuse the swine flu vaccine, new research says, a trend that experts say would likely apply worldwide.

In a study that polled 2,255 Hong Kong health workers this year, researchers found even during the height of global swine flu panic in May, less than half were willing to get vaccinated.

Most said they would pass on the swine flu shot, which is not yet available, because they we...

Stade Francais players contract H1N1 virus - club

2010-04-16T10:40:20Z

Three Stade Francais players have been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, the French rugby union club announced Monday.

Stade did not reveal the identities of the players, saying only that two of the players were internationals.

All three players have been advised to stay at home for five to seven days.

"After suffering flu-like symptoms for 24 hours three players from the club have (been confirmed as...

New Caledonia: 2 more swine flu deaths

2010-04-16T10:40:43Z

Two people in New Caledonia without any known complicating factors have died from swine flu, the government of the French South Pacific territory said Monday.

The deaths of a 30-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman bring to five the number of patients who have succumbed to the A-H1N1 virus on New Caledonia, the statement said.

Both had been hospitalized since mi...

WHO: Save Tamiflu for the young, old and pregnant

2010-04-16T10:43:06Z

WHO: Healthy people who get swine flu don't need Tamiflu; drug for young, old, pregnant

The World Health Organization said Friday that Tamiflu should only be given to particularly vulnerable people — a warning to countries like Britain where the swine flu drug is being handed out...

Swine flu cases still on way down

2010-10-22T07:55:28Z

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Glaxo starts testing its swine flu vaccine

2010-04-16T10:50:26Z

Glaxo starts testing its swine flu vaccine; early results expected in September

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Friday it has started testing its swine flu vaccine in humans.

Glaxo said it plans to conduct 16 clinical trials of its swine flu vaccine in more than 9,000 people in Europe and N...

Glance-PRESS DIGEST - British business - Aug 14

2010-10-22T07:43:54Z

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France ready to close all schools in flu pandemic

2010-04-16T10:52:39Z

France's minister of education is ready to close all of the country's schools in the event of a major swine flu outbreak, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"In case of a complete pandemic we are ready to close all of the schools in France," Luc Chatel was quoted as saying by Le Figaro, a

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said there were 30,000 new cases of swine flu in England over the past seven days, compared to 110,000 cases in the previous week, and the majority of infections continued to be "mild"....

British officials: New swine flu cases decreasing

2010-04-16T10:57:45Z

British health officials say the number of new swine fu cases has decreased sharply in the past week.

The Health Protection Agency says there were an estimated 30,000 new cases in England in the past seven days, down from 110,000 the previous week.

Britain is Europe's hardest-hit country with sw...

Doctors voice fears over flu phoneline

2010-04-16T10:58:57Z

An overwhelming majority of doctors fear that infections and serious diseases could be missed because swine flu is being diagnosed over the phone, a poll showed Wednesday.

Nearly 90 percent of 251 general practitioners questioned by GP newspaper fear that conditions such as tonsilitis or bronchitis and potentially fatal illnesses such as meningitis may be overlooked.

The swine flu hotline was launched to reduce pressure on doctors because the Netherlands and Vietnam joined the growing list of countries with fatalities and deaths from the virus in Latin America soared.

Three new deaths each, not yet confirmed by the World Health Organization, were ...

Young man is 1st Dutch swine flu death

2010-04-16T11:00:01Z

The National Institute of Public Health says a teenager has died from swine flu, the first death from the disease recorded in the Netherlands.

The agency says the young man, 17, was suffering from an undisclosed "very serious" other disease when he caught H1N1.

The institute said Tuesday it would reveal no further details ...

Russia tells fans to avoid Wales over swine flu

2010-04-16T11:01:25Z

Russian football fans should stay away from the national team's World Cup qualifying tie with Wales in Cardiff next month due to the risk of contracting swine flu, the state health agency said Monday.

"This would be an extremely uneccessary and inappropriate undertaking at a time of a flu epidemic," the head of Britain, health officials said Thursday, estimating some 110,000 new cases last week, only 10 percent higher than the previous week.

The number of deaths in England was 27, just one up on the previous week's toll of 26, said the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in its weekly briefing on swine flu.

Swine Flu Facts: How It Is Spread & Prevention Tips!

2010-10-22T08:46:52Z

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Swine flu may have peaked in Britain

2010-04-16T11:05:03Z

British officials say the swine flu outbreak "may have plateaued" in the country, as the number of cases is no longer increasing rapidly.

Britain's Health Protection Agency has said there were 110,000 new swine flu cases last week. That is a 10 percent jump from the previous week, when officials guessed there were about 100,000 new cases.

London girl, 16, is critically ill with swine flu in Greece

2010-10-22T07:54:12Z

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London teen fights for life after catching swine flu on holiday

2010-10-22T07:54:14Z

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East London district on swine flu frontline

2010-04-16T11:07:42Z

Pharmacies in Tower Hamlets no longer stock Tamiflu: the east London borough has Britain's highest swine flu rate, and the drug is only available at a distribution centre whose address is kept secret.

Up to 400 people floc...

H1N1 flu spreads to remote corners of the world: WHO

2010-04-16T11:08:24Z

GENEVA (Reuters) - There may be no escape from H1N1 pandemic flu, which according to the latest World Health Organization figures has spread to the most remote parts of the planet including popular island getaways.

In a snapshot published on Monday, the WHO said more than 20 countries and overseas territories had had their first lab-con...

Are You Starting to Worry About Swine Flu? (There's H1N1 Hysteria Going on in England)

2010-10-24T09:22:41Z

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100,000 New Cases Swine Flu In England, Airports Monitored

2010-10-26T20:56:06Z

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Vaccine for swine flu may be unsafe warns WHO

2010-10-22T07:53:59Z

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Swine flu hotline open on Thursday

2010-10-22T07:53:59Z

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Europe fast-tracking swine flu vaccine

2010-04-16T11:08:59Z

In a drive to inoculate people against swine flu before winter, many European governments say they will fast-track the testing of a vaccine, arousing concern among some experts about safety and proper doses.

The European Medicines Agency, the EU's top drug regulatory body, is accelerating the approval process for swine flu vaccine, and countr...

City plans to use catacombs for swine flu victims

2010-04-16T11:09:36Z

A city council said Saturday it was considering using underground burial chambers, currently a tourist attraction, to store the corpses of swine flu victims if the pandemic worsens.

Exeter City Council said the empty 19th-century catacombs could become an emergency mortuary.

A council spokesman said the plan could be put into operation if the cemeteries and the crematorium could not keep up with funeral demands.

He said: "We have some empty catacombs in an old cemetery ...

160 Britons in swine flu quarantine in Asia, Egypt: ministry

2010-04-16T11:10:34Z

At least 160 Britons are in quarantine for swine flu in China, India, Singapore and Egypt, the Foreign Office in London said Friday.

The bulk of those affected -- 138 -- are in China, where 61 British schoolchildren and teachers are in quarantine...

Swine-Flu Update: CDC Estimates, Older Victims & Risk Factors

2010-10-24T09:57:14Z

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Millions log on for swine flu help

2010-04-16T11:11:01Z

A new government website launched to help identify swine flu symptoms and order drugs crashed after it was swamped by over nine million people, it was reported Friday.

At least 30 deaths have so far been linked to swine flu here, 26 in England and four in Scotland, according to the latest update from the Department of Health.

The figure is unchanged on the previous week. A further 840 people are in hospital in England, includin...

UK swine flu cases jump as millions log on for help

2010-04-16T11:11:14Z

Around 100,000 new cases of swine flu were diagnosed in Britain in the last week, officials said Thursday, as millions rushed to consult a new website to identify symptoms and order drugs.

At least 30 deaths have so far been linked to swine flu here, 26 in England and four in Scotland, according to the latest update from the Department of Health.

The figure is unchanged...

Britain, France step up fight against swine flu

2010-04-16T11:11:21Z

Britain on Thursday rolled out new battle plans to cope with swine flu as cases soared and drugs giant Roche said it expected to sell another 900 million dollars's worth of an anti-viral drug by the end of the year.

A new swine flu hotline launched in Britain aimed to give people who believe they are infected with the A(H1N1) virus access to anti-viral drugs without seeing a doctor.

An estimated 100,000 cases have be...

Britain, major travel hub, hard hit by flu pandemic

2010-04-16T11:11:28Z

LONDON (Reuters) - The global H1N1 flu pandemic is hitting Britain harder than other European countries, mainly because Britain is a hub for international travel and communications, health experts said on Thursday.

Some 31 people have died in Britain from the virus, compared with only four in Spain and none in the re...

Govt reports 100,000 new swine flu cases in week

2010-04-16T11:11:34Z

An estimated 100,000 new cases of swine flu have been recorded over the last week in England, the Department of Health said Thursday.

Of those some 840 are in hospital, including 63 in intensive care, it said, giving the latest update of the virus.

Last week it estimated that 55,000 new cases had been reported in the previous week, adding that 29 people had died. There was no immediate update on the death toll, which has since reached at least 30.

Some British Anglicans alter communion ritual to thwart the spread of swine flu

Two Anglican dioceses in Britain are changing how they handle Communion in an attempt to reduce the spread of swine flu.

Church of England parishes in Blackburn, Paris after testing positive for swine flu, the regional prefecture said Wednesday.

"They are mostly young Spaniards, aged 15 to 18," said Henri Welschinger, an official at La Salle Saint-Nicolas Catholic school in Issy-les-Moulineaux, where the group were ...

64 students quarantined near Paris with swine flu

2010-04-16T11:12:22Z

Sixty-four foreign teenagers have been quarantined at summer schools in the Paris region after testing positive for swine flu, regional authorities said Wednesday.

"They are mostly young Spaniards, aged 15 to 18," said Henri Welschinger, an official at La Salle Saint-Nicolas Catholic school in Issy-les-Moulineaux, where 47 cases have been identified among a ...

Swine Flu: Shot In The Arm For Glaxo

2010-10-22T07:42:45Z

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Global health officials mull how to slow swine flu

2010-06-12T07:40:33Z

Some Muslim countries are advising pregnant women not to attend the hajj pilgrimage. China is quarantining any visitor suspected of having a fever, while priests in New Zealand have been banned from placing Communion wafers on worshippers' tongues.

It's all part of a global effort to slow the spread of swine flu until a vaccine is ready, although experts are divided on whether the measur...

Britain Tuition Tangle

2011-01-04T08:04:09Z

FILE - This is a Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010 file photo of Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as they react as their car is attacked by angry protesters in London. British police released a video Tuesday Jan. 4, 2011 of ...

Germany Partial Solar Eclipse

2011-01-05T08:02:05Z

A partial solar eclipse is pictured through clouds in Albershausen, southwestern Germany, on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/dapd, Daniel Kopatsch)

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Australia Flooding

2011-01-05T08:06:21Z

In this photo released by the Northern Territory Police, four German tourists rest on the roof of their vehicle as they wait for their rescue from the flooded Magela Creek, near Jabiru, Australia, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. Drenching rain that started before Christmas has flooded an area the size of France and Real Madrid's Kaka from Brazil runs with the ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, right, of Spain and his brother Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol of Spain tangles under the basket during the first half of their

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