Washington, D.C., (PAHO) — The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that the 2009 H1N1 pandemic has effectively ended, and the world has moved into a “post-pandemic” phase characterized by traditional seasonal patterns of influenza.

“The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course,” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said in a telephone news conference. “During the pandemic, H1N1 crowded out other influenza viruses to become the dominant circulating virus. This is no longer the case.”

The announcement came following a meeting earlier today of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations (IHR), which consists of leading experts on influenza who provide advice to WHO based on the latest epidemiological and virological data.

Dr. Chan said the committee’s advice to declare an end to the pandemic was based on the global situation but also took into account significant influenza activity in several countries. Among the key factors considered were:

Influenza outbreaks worldwide have returned to levels of intensity that are characteristic of normal influenza seasons.

H1N1 is no longer the dominant influenza virus but is part of a mix of circulating viruses.

Large numbers of people now have some immunity to the H1N1 virus as a result of infection, exposure, or vaccination campaigns.

Dr. Chan cautioned, however, that ongoing vigilance is needed to ensure that the virus does not unexpectedly reemerge as a threat. “We expect the virus to continue to circulate for some years to come.”

Dr. Mirta Roses, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), joined Dr. Chan in emphasizing the need for continued vigilance, especially on the part of PAHO/WHO member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Influenza viruses are highly unpredictable. We need to keep up surveillance and reporting to ensure that we are not taken by surprise as a result of any such change,” said Dr. Roses.

During the past 16 months, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic virus reached every WHO region and affected all but a handful of the world’s countries. Officially, the virus has caused approximately 18,500 deaths. That figure, however, is based only on laboratory-confirmed cases. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s leading influenza expert, described the number as a “minimum” and said it may take several years to develop more accurate death toll numbers based on traditional methods of estimating influenza deaths.

In the Americas, more than 8,500 laboratory-confirmed deaths due to H1N1 have been reported (as of early August) to PAHO. Outbreaks in Latin America and the Caribbean peaked in April–August 2009 and, in a number of countries, stretched the capacity of national health systems to handle the large number of cases. Among the hardest hit countries were Mexico and the countries of the Southern Cone.

Dr. Roses noted that the H1N1 virus continues to circulate at low levels, along with other influenza viruses, in Latin America and the Caribbean and that it could still cause outbreaks that could have significant effects on local communities.

Moreover, the H1N1 virus could change—through antigenic drift—in ways that make people’s current immunity less protective. In addition, countries that were less affected during the pandemic could see more severe disease from H1N1 in a future season.

For these reasons, PAHO is urging health authorities in its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to:

•    Maintain surveillance of influenza virus, influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory illness, and monitor and investigate unusual events, such as clusters of severe respiratory illness or death.

•    Report to PAHO/WHO changes such as sustained transmission of antiviral-resistant H1N1 virus, human cases of infection with any influenza virus not known to be circulating in human populations, or significant changes in the epidemiological or genetic characteristics of H1N1 or other influenza viruses.

•    Continue to vaccinate against the H1N1 virus, using monovalent (single virus) H1N1 vaccine or trivalent seasonal vaccine (which now contains H1N1), depending on availability. This is particularly important for high-risk groups, including pregnant women.

•    Continue to provide appropriate care for people suspected of illness from influenza, including treatment with anti-viral medicines for groups at increased risk of severe illness.

Dr. Roses also said that PAHO member countries should review their national pandemic preparedness plans and make improvements to those plans based on experience gained during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

“We believe our work with member countries on preparing for a pandemic was a valuable investment in building capacity for surveillance and reporting and in strengthening health systems in general. But there is still much work to be done in both of these areas to ensure that our countries are better prepared for the next health emergency, whatever that might be.”

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. It works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of the people of the Americas and serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

The number of girls aged 11 and 12 who have been prescribed the contraceptive pill has risen five-fold in a decade, according to new figures.

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent

More than 1,000 girls aged 11 and 12 have been prescribed the pill by their GPs, while a further 200 girls between 11 and 13 have been given long-term injections and implanted contraceptive devices.

The figures come from the General Practice research database, which collects prescribing information from 500 GPs practices covering a sample of four million people.

The majority of such prescriptions are usually issued to girls without the consent of their parents. Doctors may prescribe the pill to such girls, even though the age of consent is 16.

The database also shows that at least 58,000 15-year-olds were on the pill last year, compared with 23,000 in 1999.

Trevor Stamners, a member of the British Medical Association’s expert panel on sexual health, said the figures demonstrated that the UK was “facilitating the sexualisation of young people at an ever younger age”.

He said he feared the situation would worsen, following proposals to introduce sex education for children as young as five.

Dr Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said doctors would only prescribe the pill to such young girls if they thought it was the best way forward.

“Every doctor would have a proper conversation with the girl,” he said.

Dozens of teenage girls have had three abortions or more
Dozens of teenage girls have had three abortions or more, according to figures that campaigners say paint a profoundly depressing picture of modern Britain.

Scandal of the girls as young as 12 having abortions every year
Abortions are being carried out on dozens of girls aged 12 and 13, according to official figures.

5,000 school girls ‘put in hospital by alcohol’
More than 5,000 school girls in England under the age of 16 needed hospital treatment last year as a result of alcohol abuse, new figures show.

Knife murders increase in 10 force areas targeted by £7million crackdown on knife crime
Knife murders have increased in 10 hotspots which were targeted by a £7million crackdown on knife crime, figures show.

Alcohol deaths rise by 40 per cent
Alcohol-related deaths have risen by 40 per cent in 10 years, new figures show.

Hundreds of women risk health by ‘fertility tourism’
Hundreds of older women every month could be putting their health at risk by travelling abroad for fertility treatment they cannot get in Britain, a new study suggests.

You may have heard this before! Pay attention.

When a thief forces you to take money from the ATM, do not argue or resist. You might not know what he or she might do to you.
What you should do is to punch your PIN in the reverse mode.

i.e. If your PIN # is 1254, you punch 4521.The moment you punch in the reverse mode, the money will come out, but will be stuck into the machine half way out and it will alert the Police (security) without the notice of the thief. Every ATM has it; it is specially made to signify danger and help. Not everyone is aware of this.

Forward this to all your loved ones, friends and those you care about.

Check with your bank (Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montserrat, Ltd.) and see if your bank has that security feature.

Verified with BNS. Spread the word.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 cars sold worldwide — including luxury Lexus sedans — have potentially faulty engines, the latest quality lapse to hit the automaker following massive global recalls of top-selling models.

Japan’s top-selling daily Yomiuri said in its evening edition that Toyota will inform the transport ministry of a recall on Monday. The paper cited no sources.

Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said the company was evaluating measures to deal with the problem of defective engines that can stall while the vehicle is moving. He would not confirm a recall was being considered.

The automaker has been working to patch up its reputation after recalling more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of unintended acceleration and other defects.

Of the 270,000 vehicles with engine problems, some 180,000 were sold overseas and the rest in Japan. They include the popular Crown and seven models of luxury Lexus sedans.

Toyota said it has received around 200 complaints in Japan over faulty engines. Some drivers told Toyota that the engines made a strange noise.

Homma said there have been no reports of accidents linked to the faulty engines.

The automaker’s shares dropped 2.3 percent to close at 3,010 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.

U.S. authorities recently slapped Toyota with a record $16.4 million fine for acting too slowly to recall vehicles with defects. Toyota dealers have repaired millions of vehicles, but the automaker still faces more than 200 lawsuits tied to accidents, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and the drop in the company’s stock.

In the aftermath of the recalls, Congress is considering an upgrade to auto safety laws to toughen potential penalties against automakers, give the U.S. government more powers to demand a recall and push car companies to meet new safety standards.

Source: Associated Press

Iranian scientists say they have developed a way of using a simple blood test to predict accurately when women will reach menopause, offering the chance for women to plan for family and career far in advance.

The test, which measures levels of a hormone produced by cells in the ovaries, was able to predict the age at which women reached menopause to within an average of four months, according to data to be presented at the conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome on Monday.

“The results … could enable us to make a more realistic assessment of women’s reproductive status many years before they reach menopause,” said Ramezani Tehrani of the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, who led the study.

Experts commenting on the work agreed it was promising, but said its findings would need to be confirmed in larger trials.

“The possibility of an accurate predictor for menopause is very exciting. People have been looking for something like this for years,” said Dagan Wells of the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oxford University.

The average age for menopause is 51, with ovulation in most women ending sometime between age 40 and 60. But it can happen earlier or later, making it difficult for women who want to develop a career before having babies to know how long to wait.

Tehrani’s team took blood samples from 266 women aged between 20 and 49 who were also taking part in another study called the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, which started in 1998.

They then measured concentrations of a hormone called the anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) that is produced by cells in women’s ovaries. AMH controls the development of follicles in the ovaries from which eggs develop, and the scientists suspected it might be useful for judging ovarian function.

The researchers took two more blood samples at three yearly intervals and also collected information on the women’s socioeconomic background and reproductive history.
“We developed a statistical model for estimating the age at menopause from a single measurement of AMH concentration,” Tehrani explained in a report on the study. “Using this model, we estimated mean average ages at menopause for women at different time points in their reproductive life span.”

Tehrani said the results showed “a good level of agreement” between predicted and actual age at menopause for the 63 women in the group who reached menopause during the study.
The average difference between the predicted age and the women’s actual age at menopause was a third of a year, and the maximum margin of error was three to four years.

Wells said Tehrani’s team appeared to have hit upon a “fairly accurate algorithm” for predicting menopause, but said it would be important to see if the method could also help predict the time when fertility effectively ends.

“A woman may cease monthly ovulation and experience menopause at 50, but she will probably have been effectively infertile for several years prior to this,” he said. “It will be important to let patients know that fertility will have declined greatly in the years preceding the final ovulation.”

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — The most astonishing and controversial moment of the World Cup left England’s players and fans incensed after a perfectly legal goal was disallowed in its round-of-16 clash with Germany. Frank Lampard’s chip in the 38th minute struck against the crossbar of the Germany goal and bounced down more than a foot over the line. However, Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistants incorrectly ruled that the goal should not count, as the England side held their heads in disbelief.

The incident spawned unavoidable comparisons with one of the most contentious moments in World Cup history. During the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany, England’s Geoff Hurst was awarded a goal when the ball struck the bar and landed on the line.

Germans have never forgotten that decision in the intervening 44 years, but revenge finally arrived at Free State Stadium.

With England trailing 2-1, Lampard’s strike should have completed a remarkable first-half comeback after Germany had taken a two-goal lead in the early stages.

England head coach Fabio Capello already was celebrating before being told by his support staff about the officials’ incredible short-sightedness.

The no-goal call will only increase pressure on governing body FIFA to introduce video replays, something it has so far steadfastly resisted.

Source: Yahoo! Sports