|
14 February 2002 - United States.
"On February 6, 2002, WHO and the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) in
the United Kingdom reported the recent identification of a new influenza virus
strain, influenza A(H1N2), isolated from humans in England, Israel, and
Egypt. In addition to the viruses reported by PHLS, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified influenza A(H1N2) viruses from patient
specimens collected during July, September, and December 2001 in
Texas, Nevada, and Wisconsin, respectively." Source: CDC - National
Center for Infectious Diseases - Influenza Summary Update
Week ending February 9, 2002-Week 6.
___
Special note. Added on 29 May 2004.
The Texas, USA H1N2 specimen collected in July 2001 (14 Feb entry above) was preceded by
an isolation in India on 30 May 2001. In a CDC report(1), on H1N2, researchers reported:
"Among the H1N2 viruses we identified, the earliest isolate was A/India/66139/2001
(30 May 2001), which suggests that the reassortment event may have occurred in
South Asia in early 2001 or earlier."
The 30 May India isolation falls, date-wise, right at the end of the author's lookout window
of 30-60 days following the March 30th Venus inferior conjunction. See the non-prediction
prediction in the opening paragraphs of Global Developments: Spring-Summer
2001.
In a later publication(1a) on study above, the researchers reported, "Our data indicate that recent
H1N2 viruses are unusually homogeneous antigenically and genetically, compared with circulating H1N1
viruses ... which indicates that the currently circulating H1N2 viruses may have been derived from a single
reassortment event. [The author has seen no study regarding the rapid global distribution of H1N2. -
Added 4 April 2005]
20 February 2002 - U.S.A. Cincinnati Ohio
Flu Scarce, but winter 'bugs' thrive In the past week, surges of patients have
prompted local hospitals to go "on diversion" 55 times. ... During one three-hour
stretch Monday afternoon, five hospitals were diverting patients at the same time:
Bethesda North, Clermont Mercy, Christ, University and Mercy Franciscan-Western
Hills. ...Instead of influenza, many Tristate residents have been coughing and sneezing
their way through a variety of common viruses and bacterial infections that can
result in anything from strep throat to pneumonia. In the vast majority of cases,
doctors treat the symptoms without testing to pin down the exact bugs involved.
(Used with permission.)
Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer - Online edition
22 February 2002 - World Health Organization
Influenza activity, October 2001-February 2002 - Influenza A(H1N2) - From November to
January, influenza A(H1N2) viruses were isolated from outbreaks or sporadic cases in Egypt,
Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, Czech Republic, Iceland,
Mexico and Paraguay reported evidence of influenza A without identifying the subtype.
Source: [PDF]
WHO Weekly epidemiological record - 22 February 2002. 77th year, No. 8, 2002, 77, 57-68
23 Feb -7 Mar 2002 - United States (Date uncertain.)
Flu Epidemic Sweeping Through DC School - Students suffering flu-like symptoms with
pains as well as nausea and vomiting. Source: ABC 7 WJLA-TV - Posted on
FluWatch.com
Flu News.
8 March 2002 - Global.
PDF
Influenza A(H1N2) viruses (update) "Between September 2001 and February 2002 reassortant influenza A(H1N2) viruses have been isolated from outbreaks or sporadic cases in Canada, Egypt,
France, India, Israel, Latvia, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the
United States." Source: Weekly Epidemiological Record - 2002, 77, 77-80 - World Health
Organization
20 March 2002 (Wednesday) - Colorado USA
180 students miss school on Tuesday in Castle Rock. - Missing students are victims of diarrhea,
sore throats and vomiting. "More than 240 students, or a quarter of the student population,
missed class on Monday." The school averages 50 absences per day in the winter.
According to the executive director of Tri-County Health Department, which serves Douglas County,
just South of Denver, "All the kids have different symptoms, which tells us that they contracted
different things." Other Douglas County schools, along with other metro-area school districts showed
no noticeable increases in absences. Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
(LNAU) - World News - Search term: influenza.
[Douglas County Colorado was placed on the "no-activity" status by
FluWatch.com back on 20 February 2002.]
22 March 2002 - Canada.
"Of the six A(H1) isolates identified antigenically, five were characterized by genetic
analysis to be a new influenza A(H1N2) strain. The H1N2 strains were identified
from specimens taken since December 2001 from patients in Alberta (1)
Saskatchewan (2) and Manitoba (2)." Source: Week 10 issue of Canada's 2002
FluWatch.
For a news story possibly related to H1N2 in Alberta, see the 2 July 2001 entry on the
Global Developments: Spring-Summer 2001, Part II page.
23 March 2002 - Europe.
"Up until the 21st of March 2002 (3:45pm), the EISS database had 5,820 laboratory-confirmed
reports of influenza. ... A total of 44 cases of influenza A(H1N2) were reported to EISS:
30 (all sentinel) in England, 9 (all sentinel) in Ireland, 4 in France
(3 sentinel and 1 non-sentinel) and 1 in Romania (sentinel). This means that only
3.1% of the subtyped influenza A reports in the EISS database were cases of influenza A(H1N2).
Source: EISS Weekly Electronic Bulletin - Select Week 11, 2002.
Top
28 March 2002- Alaska
Asian Dust Reaches Alaska SeaWiFS view of Alaska and the Bering Sea, collected on March 28,
2002, shows snow and ice cover... Also visible are brownish patches near the center and lower right
of this scene that appears to be dust from Asia. Image courtesy the
SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight
Center, and ORBIMAGE.
28 March 2002 - United States - San Francisco
Bay skies to come alive with the dust of China/Gobi Desert... San Francisco Chronicle - 28 March 2002.
[Thanks to Michael Caprio, of Starkville Mississippi.]
28 March 2002 - California
Late-Season Flu Bug Strikes: An unexpected outbreak of Type B influenza has hit many of
county's elementary, middle school students in the last two weeks. Symptoms include: body aches,
headaches, fever (up to 104 F), dizziness, sore throats, coughing, extreme fatigue, upset stomachs
(including diarrhea). Lasts three to four days instead of the usual seven. "Like the rolling virus."
The problem which started around March 15th, seems to be concentrated in Southern
California. - Source: Los Angeles Times - (LNAU) - World News - Search term: influenza.
30 March 2002 - United States - West Coast
U.S. landfall of big Asian dust storm a washout - Intense dust storm passing over Korea and Japan
was greatly diluted by the time it reached the U.S. West coast. Source:
USA TODAY - Weather
[Even though the dust storm seems to have visibly fizzled out, there was a peculiar peak in U.S.
influenza activity which started a few days before what was left of the dust reached the West coast.
(See the flu activity seasonal summaries graphic below, which follows the 2 May Wisconsin entry.) There
might be a connection between the dust storm and the 15 March Southern California "late-season
flu bug" (28 March entry) and the 19 March Colorado problems (20 March entry) . If so,
then there may have been some, biologicial hitchhikers riding the front bumper, so to
speak, of the dust storm.] (This note was installed on 28 July 2002.)
1 April 2001 - Scotland - Glasgow
Three patients in a Glasgow hospital died in a salmonella outbreak this winter and 300 other
patients were victims of the so-called winter vomiting bug or gastric flu.
A hygiene breach has been blamed. Source: The Herald (Glasgow).
(LNAU) - World News - Search term: influenza.
4 April 2002 - U.S.A. - Virginia
Flu Spurs Virginia to Wipe out Whole Flocks - First major outbreak of avian influenza to hit
Shenandoah valley in two decades. Outbreak started two weeks ago.[Which would have been
around 22 March] Farmers and veterinarians mystified. Source: Washington Post April 4,
2002; Page B1, Section: Metro.
9 April 2002 - Australia - Melbourne
Two recent unseasonal outbreaks of influenza A have occurred involving highly
vaccinated residents in aged-care facilities in Melbourne Australia. Outbreaks were
diagnosed as influenza A(H3N2).
Statistics
|