Studies of the current outbreak have shown that H1N1 is now the dominant flu virus in most parts of the world. Whilst causing mild dis... ]]> Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=51 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=51 Scientists are to study how contagious the swine flu virus is and whether closing schools would help to halt the spread of illness.

One of the studies beginning this week will estimate how long people are contagious for and what the safe distance from infected patients may be to avoid tr... ]]> Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=50 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=50 The variation in the numbers of confirmed cases  of H1N1 globally appears to depend on whether the countries are in the North or South hemisphere, with the temperate countries of the Southern hemisphere currently in their winter season. All countries except those in Sub Saharan Africa have r... ]]> Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=49 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=49 There are considerable variations in the numbers of confirmed cases of swine flu globally with widespread activity in some countries whilst others report localised or regional peaks in numbers.

There are, however, indications of decreasing numbers in some countries including the UK, USA, ... ]]> Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=48 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=48 Although the pandemic continues, there is no evidence that the virus is mutating into a more dangerous form and there have been only six reported cases of resistance to the anti-viral Tamiflu (ECDC report) which is still the chosen treatment for confirmed cases.

The National Flu Service w... ]]> Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=47 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=47 The H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic continues, although there are now large variations in the numbers of cases being reported around the world, as is to be expected in this stage of an outbreak.

Some countries have been experiencing significant numbers of new cases whilst others appear to have ... ]]> Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=46 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=46 The H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic continues, with new cases reported in all currently affected countries as well as countries previously unaffected.

The WHO have declared new cases in 30 new counties in the past week and there have been further deaths  worldwide, however the majority of ... ]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=45 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=45 H1N1 Update

Monday 27th July 2009

The H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic continues, with new cases reported in all currently affected countries and several new.

The WHO have stated that the numbers of deaths continue to rise worldwide, however many of the cases have ... ]]> Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=44 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=44 The number of H1N1 cases globally is now difficult to determine as the virus has spread widely and formal testing has been abandoned in favour of clinical diagnoses in many jurisdictions. However, it appears from ECDC reports that the number of newly diagnosed cases has increased threefold and ho... ]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=40 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=40 Current Situation:

The global impact of the Phase 6 Pandemic continues to grow with new cases being declared on a daily basis. The numbers of confirmed cases have now passed the 100,000 mark and the expectation is that this number will continue to rise at an increasing rate throughout the... ]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=39 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=39 As expected in a Phase 6 Pandemic Period, the numbers of cases being reported worldwide continues to grow and has nearly doubled in the past week with confirmed cases world wide heading for 100,000. Up until relatively recently government health agen¬cies around the world have sought to limit the... ]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=38 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=38 With the recent declaration of Pandemic Phase 6 by the World Health Organization and the gradual change in the approach to the spread of H1N1 worldwide we will again change the nature of these updates to try and provide more relevant information for our clients.

Up until now we have inclu... ]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=37 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=37 Current situation:

112 countries have now been affected and there have been reported deaths from the virus in 13 countries, Mexico, United States, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic ,United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia and The Philippines.

105 countries have now been affected and there have been reported deaths from the virus in 12 countries, Mexico, United States, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia and the Philippines.

In the U... ]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=35 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=35 Current Situation:

In the past 24 hours 788 new cases of H1N1 were confirmed worldwide. Two countries, Ethiopia and Algeria have confirmed their first cases.

In the UK 262 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours.

The HPA has confirmed the number of laboratory confirm... ]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=34 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=34 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=33 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=33 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=32 http://www.first-assist.com/healthalert/showhealthalert.aspx?ID=32 Current situation: