Asia-Pacific Daily Report
Fri, December 11, 2009

India

Japanese encephalitis death toll at 552 in eastern India
The number of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) infections continues to grow in India's eastern state of Uttar Pradesh. In particular, the eastern districts of the state have been significantly affected by the disease and the death toll has grown to 552, according to Med India's report on Saturday (December 5). Since January 2009, around 4,000 patients have been admitted in different hospitals across the state. On December 1, the Press Trust of India had reported the death toll from Uttar Pradesh at 545 among 3,088 patients admitted to various hospitals with JE or acute encephalitis syndrome. On December 4, seven new cases had been registered and admitted to BRD Medical College Hospital and to the other district hospitals of Gorakhpur and Basti divisions. Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain. JE kills approximately 15,000 people of the estimated 50,000 cases reported annually. Among the survivors, up to 75 percent suffer from disabilities, including paralysis and mental retardation. A mild infection may occur without apparent symptoms other than a fever and headache, but a more severe infection has symptoms of high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions and spastic paralysis.  
http://www.medindia.net/news/Death-Toll-from-Encephalitis-in-UP-Reaches-552-61839-1.htm

Other World News

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Meningitis outbreak kills over a dozen students in Democratic Republic of Congo
In the central Democratic Republic of Congo, an outbreak of meningitis has killed over a dozen students from the same school through the city of Kisangani, the UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported officials as saying on Monday (December 7). According to hospital officials and the UN radio service in Kisangani, 17 people, who were all students at the local Maikazo Technical Institute, died from the bacterial disease by Sunday (December 6). Minister of Health August Mopipi visited the city to assess what local leaders called an "epidemic," and said the strain was confirmed last week as meningococcal C. It was reported that the strain had affected at least 100 people throughout the port city on the Congo River. The government is in the process of distributing vaccinations, but warned that they can be "prohibitively expensive."  Mopipi added, "It's a source of hope that this deadly disease remains curable." Since the epidemic was declared, Kisangani mayor, Guy Shilton said they would attack the outbreak in "every way possible." Crisis meetings between hospitals, local government authorities and religious leaders had been coordinated, while an "emergency protocol" was established to provide the distribution of drugs. The fist nine student fatalities died at the end of November after being admitted into a local hospital. Following the 10th student fatality, the school was shut down by the state minister of education as a "preventative and temporary measure" to ensure a safe investigation, Minister Poudor Latigo noted. Additionally, although all fatalities related to the epidemic were reported at the school, Andre Kitenge, a press officer for the UN in the city, said that other parts of Kisangani had "prevalent" numbers cases, IRIN reported. Meningitis is common during the dry season and affects hundreds more people than the global average of three per 100,000. The city of Kisangani is one of the largest cities in the Congo and lies in the heart of Africa's "meningitis belt." The UN World Health Organization said that an affordable vaccine is in the making, but poor and densely populated areas, like Kisangani, are still vulnerable to numerous outbreaks. At the beginning of 2009, an outbreak of meningitis in the "belt" infected nearly 25,000 and caused 1,500 deaths.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87364

World

WHO's tuberculosis strategy helps cure 36 million in last 15 years
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) revealed on Tuesday (December 8) that an aggressive tuberculosis (TB) treatment method has cured some 36 million people over the last 15 years, and averted up to 8 million deaths. Cure rates have consistently increased ever since the WHO adopted the six-point strategy to curb the spread of TB. This strategy implements increased and sustained government financing, high-quality diagnosis, standardized and supervised treatment, an effective drug supply and management system and a system to monitor and evaluate progress. In the last year, the WHO highlighted that 2.3 million people were cured, which is the highest annual number ever for infectious patients. Another mark that was exceeded was the global target of an 85 percent cure rate that was established in 1991. According to the UN agency, some 87 percent of patients were globally treated for TB and cured. Although huge steps have been made, Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO's Stop TB department, said the current pace is still "far from sufficient to decisively target our goal of TB elimination." A new anti-TB strategy has been developed by the WHO to reduce the global TB burden by 2015 by ensuring all patients receive high-quality diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, at a lung conference in Cancun, Mexico last week, health experts appealed for more funding to produce better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for TB. On Tuesday, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria had US$279 million in new grants approved for India. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday (December 7) awarded US$90 million to study TB drugs at 20 cities in the US and around the world in the next 10 years. Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that affects the lungs, but can also harm the brain, kidneys or spine, and is one of the oldest known diseases. It is widely transmitted among the poor in developing regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa, India and China, according to Reuters.
http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_who-says-36-million-cured-of-tb-in-last-15-years_1321736

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H1N1 flu waning in the US, while winter flu appears
The UN World Health Organization's (WHO) latest update on Friday (December 11) stated over 208 countries and overseas territories or communities are reporting laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 9,596 casualties. The Americas region continues to have the most casualties with at least 6,131, the Asia-Pacific region reports 1,662, the European region tallied at least 1,242, while the Eastern Mediterranean Region had 452 and the African region recorded 109. The UN agency also noted that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea confirmed its first pandemic (H1N1) 2009 case, while Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and the United Arab Emirates newly reported their first H1N1 flu deaths. Because many countries have ceased to count individual cases, particularly of milder illness, the actual case count is likely to be significantly higher than any reported case count. WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of data. According to the latest WHO update, H1N1 flu activity has passed its peak in North America and in parts of western, northern and Eastern Europe, while flu activity steadily rises in parts of central and southeastern Europe, as well as in south and East Asia. Meanwhile, in western and central Asia, flu transmission is still active. The southern hemisphere has reported sporadic cases of the flu, but no sustained local transmission has been observed, the WHO said. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the H1N1 flu was now widespread in only 14 states last week, down from 25 states the week before. Health officials also observed that the winter flu was beginning to appear in the US, while the H1N1 flu had subsided. Eighty-five million doses of the H1N1 vaccine were available in the US, and CDC officials told the Associated Press (AP) that the shortage of the vaccine was easing. On Monday (December 7) the Obama administration released a new slate of television and radio ads to push Americans to get inoculated for the H1N1 flu, the AP reported. The ads, that are aired in English and Spanish, target children and their parents, young adults and those in high-risk groups, such as people with asthma. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was quoted by the AP as saying, "Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family against the H1N1 flu virus."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/07/AR2009120700957.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hjdCHrP82YTFser5vD6CzTK1az6wD9CH7NFG0
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_12_11a/en/index.html