11 April 2002 - England.
Outbreak of influenza in a religious community [No longer available.]
"An outbreak of influenza A has been reported from a religious community
in the south of England. Approximately 120 individuals of all ages, both male
and female, have been affected so far in the outbreak from a population of 350.
All individuals in the community are reported to have received influenza
vaccination in autumn 2001. The date for the majority of cases was between
9 and 20 March 2002, although sporadic cases continue to be reported. Cases
have generally presented with 'flu-like illness consisting of fever, cough, headache
and malaise. No cases have needed hospital admission. Approximately 20
individuals have been treated therapeutically with zanamivir in line with current
Government recommendations.
Investigations have been carried out by the local communicable disease control team and microbiology laboratories. Specimens have been submitted to the National Influenza Laboratory at the Enteric, Respiratory, and Neurological Virus Laboratory (ERNVL): influenza A subtype H3N2 has been confirmed in 16 out of 18 cases from which specimens have been examined. Further investigation of the outbreak is currently underway." Source: CDR Weekly - PHLS.
11 April 2002 - Europe.
"No new cases of influenza A(H1N2) were reported to EISS in week 14/2002."
Source:
EISS Weekly Electronic Bulletin -
Week 14, 2002.
13 April 2002 - United States -Virginia.
Contagious Illness at College Diagnosed. - [No longer available.] -
Severe and highly contagious stomach flu, racks 120 students at women's college in
Lynchburg., VA. Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps and
dehydration. Origin unknown. Source: Washington Post - Was: A4164-2002April12
(See the 9 January 2002 - China entry.)
[Note: These symptoms appear to be identical to those experienced by several people,
adults and children, in the Columbus Mississippi area in April 2001. Those symptoms
were coincident with the passing through of a dust storm from China.
See Global Developments: Spring Summer 2001
and
The Pacific Dust Express.]
Another trans-Pacific dust storm was bearing down on the U.S. west coast about two weeks prior to the Lynchburg stomach flu outbreak. (See the 28 -30 March entries above.)
18 April 2002 - United States - Minnesota.
St. Cloud: Flu Outbreak Strikes Junior High - [No longer available.]
Late-season outbreak "of the more serious Influenza B" leads to high absenteeism.
Source: Yahoo! News - Was: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/4000/20020418/lo/1166755_1.html
24 April 2002 - Worldwide
Influenza B viruses currently circulating worldwide can be divided into two antigenically
distinct lineages: B/Yamagata/16/88 and B/Victoria/2/87. B/Yamagata viruses have
circulated widely since 1990, and the B component of the current influenza vaccine
belongs to this lineage. Since 1991, B/Victoria viruses have not been identified outside
of Asia. However, since March 2001, B/Victoria lineage viruses have been identified in
many countries, including the United States. Of the 96 U.S. influenza B viruses
characterized antigenically this season, 53 were of the B/Yamagata lineage, and 43 were
of the B/Victoria lineage. Source:CDC MMWR 2002;51:276-279 (Reprinted in the Journal
of the American Medical Association
JAMA April 24, 2002 -- Volume 287, No. 16, page 2068. - [No longer available.]
Was: http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n16/fpdf/jwr0424.pdf
24 April 2002 - United States - Alaska.
Flu-like symptoms hit Anchorage schools - [No longer available.]. A recent high rate of school
absenteeism has lead to the speculation that flu might be mounting a late season attack on
Anchorage. No flu confirmation yet by state epidemiologists. Source: MSNBC, Anchorage,
AK. - Google news search.
Was: http://www.msnbc.com/local/ktuu/m175530.asp
25 April 2002 - Greece.
Greece Reports New Cases of Possible Killer Bug - [No longer available.] -
A mystery virus has been blamed for several deaths. Schools in Athens shut down temporarily.
Doctors are still trying to identify the strain of virus, which is thought to belong to the enterovirus
group. Source: Reuters.com - Health News Coverage. (JAVA intensive site!)
Was: http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=healthnews&storyID=882321
- - -
The following two paragraphs and histograms were placed in this file on 26 April 2002 and modified on 29 April 2002.
It has widely been stated that the new A(H1N2) virus subtype appears to have arisen by reassortment of the two human viruses A(H1N1) and A(H3N2). With that possibility in mind, the following (edited to fit your printer and to equalize vertical scales for both seasons) histograms from the United States CDC are provided. The graphs show that during the 2000-2001 flu season there was a substantial amount of A(H1N1) isolates found but extremely little A(H3N2). In 2001-2002 the situation was reversed -- very little A(H1N1) but a lot of A(H3N2).
Three questions arise. Where and when were there sufficient quantities of the two subtypes intermingling, in order for the reassortment process to take place? Were there multiple reassortment sites around the globe? Is there any evidence of migration from the various points of origin of the new subtype? (These may be the wrong questions.)
