tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28764352179669031032012-02-16T10:03:44.535+01:00Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-20406277382621074782010-02-23T21:43:00.000+01:002010-02-23T21:43:00.427+01:00

The Minister of Health, Professor Ferruccio Fazio, said yesterday that the Ministry has began to count the number of the unused vaccines in the Regions. This is the first step for the withdrawal of the vaccines. He said also that if the WHO doesn't declare  the phase 5 of the pandemic (we are in phase 6), the pandemic alarm can't be ended. He concluded that the final assessment of the pandemic

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-49940106801325698412010-02-07T19:16:00.000+01:002010-02-07T19:16:14.156+01:00

The influenza virus is spreading again in Italy. There have been 111,000 cases in the last week, a bit more than in the previous week (97,000). It looks like it's not the A(H1N1) virus but a different one. A newspaper of Genoa, the local edition of La Repubblica, has said that in Liguria region the cases increased by 30% in the last week (Osservatorio Epidemiologico Regionale data).

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-62025814905300054282010-02-05T11:01:00.001+01:002010-02-05T11:08:07.564+01:00

The swine flu vaccine is really unpopular in Italy. According to the Ministry of Health, at the end of January just 851,549 people were vaccinated. Most of them had one single dose, while 47,013 people got two doses. The Ministry has an huge surplus of vaccine, that nobody knows how to use. As a matter of fact, only a small amount of the 1,047,421 available doses has been given. The data of the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-20689391857233226792010-02-01T15:57:00.000+01:002010-02-01T15:57:40.039+01:00

Last Friday the '1500' swine flu telephone number has been discontinued. The Ministry of Health has said that in the last weeks it received very few calls, as the pandemic eased off. On the third week there have been recorded 96,000 new cases of flu, a bit more than on the previous week (82,000). The strain of the virus is unknown, it could be the A(H1N1) or another one. Meanwhile, the swine flu

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-27060713366536785422010-01-26T14:48:00.000+01:002010-01-26T14:48:42.586+01:00

Maybe MF59 adjuvated vaccine, like the Focetria vaccine by Novartis, used in Italy against the swine flu, could protect people from more types of virus. In a paper published by Science Translational Medicine, researchers from FDA, Novartis and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said that the MF59 adjuvant can make the trick. They said that they can boost the efficacy of the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-58855497993913668422010-01-21T12:09:00.001+01:002010-01-21T12:14:17.995+01:00

Sergio Dompè, the president of the association of pharmaceutical industry (Farmindustria), hopes that Novartis and the Italian government will reach a new agreement to change their contract and to convert the swine flu vaccine supply in something else. Instead of buying other doses, the government will buy other products. Dompè said that, considering the actual need, it's understandable to find

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-51944222778930778922010-01-20T23:04:00.000+01:002010-01-20T23:04:06.839+01:00

Altreconomia, an Italian magazine, has published on-line the “secret agreement” between the Italian government and the pharmaceutical company Novartis to buy 24 million doses of the swine flu vaccine. The article said that the agreement was too partial to Novartis, because the company was liable only for damages caused by defects of production, it was made no responsible for any delay in the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-58125191101386242442010-01-15T23:25:00.000+01:002010-01-15T23:25:54.251+01:00

Yesterday the website of La Repubblica said that the “second wave” of the swine flu epidemic could be looming, because in the last week the flu cases increased from 75,00 to 78,000 (data of the Ministry of Health). The national incidence has slightly increased from 1.23‰ to 1.30‰. But it isn't clear if the involved virus is still the H1N1 virus or the seasonal one. There are also some people in

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-20364909620302251582010-01-13T23:16:00.000+01:002010-01-13T23:16:02.551+01:00

Today the Minister of Health, Professor Ferruccio Fazio, was asked in Parliament what to do with the unused doses of the swine flu vaccine. He was also questioned about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine itself, and about the costs of the campaign. Professor Fazio admitted that “the vaccine was available only when the first wave of the epidemic has begun”, and that the flu was, “thankfully”,

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-800905117802939432010-01-10T22:33:00.001+01:002010-01-10T22:36:58.114+01:00

Today, for the first time after many weeks, some on-line news media have published the story of another swine flu victim, a 32-years-old woman who died in Pisa (Tuscany). She was admitted in the local hospital on December 23, after been hit by the H1N1 virus. The Ansa press agency report also the deaths of other 3 people since the start of the year: a 59-years-old man in Perugia (Umbria), a 56-

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-88661428350919524182010-01-09T20:20:00.000+01:002010-01-09T20:20:36.295+01:00

Yesterday the ANSA press agency, by l'Unità newspaper, covered a story about the mistrust of the flu vaccine. According to the poll conducted by Key-Stone, the 97% of Italians refuse to get the vaccine against the swine flu. The 25% refuse all kinds of vaccines, the 24 only the swine flu vaccine, while the 21% were advised by their doctors to not get the shot. More then half of the interviewed (

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-26846928340146777292009-12-28T23:24:00.000+01:002009-12-28T23:24:00.208+01:00

Today Il Giornale di Sicilia, a newspaper of Palermo, wrote that the swine flu epidemic might hit again Italy, and that a further peak might occur in the next months. Apparently, the newspaper was quoting CDC Director Thomas Frieden. Meanwhile, the Bmj, a scientific journal, published an article on December 7th, with the title “Fall in swine flu cases may not signal an end of the epidemic, warns

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-38013527118359296922009-12-25T10:24:00.000+01:002009-12-25T10:24:42.408+01:00

Many Italian news media don't cover the swine flu any more. Yesterday the Ansa press agency reported about the 10th death in Veneto, a man 56 years old, already ill by cancer, who died near Verona after 20 days in a hospital. And this is the only bit of news about the swine flu.

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-49373942277708083972009-12-25T07:14:00.000+01:002009-12-25T07:14:25.795+01:00

Yesterday the Italian Institute of Health updated its weekly report about the swine flu in the country. The swine flu incidence (as the number of new cases in a week out 1,000 people) is abating and now it has dropped to an incidence of 1.79‰ (or 0.179%). The incidence is moderately high only in the island of Sardinia, where it is still 7.68‰. All the regions are past the peak. Meanwhile, there

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-61676905468805613902009-12-18T17:02:00.000+01:002009-12-18T17:02:39.847+01:00

Yesterday the Ministry of Health said that the swine flu has killed 163 people. In Campania the regional authority has recorded 45 deaths, in Puglia 25, in Lombardia e Calabria 12 each. In the South of Italy the fatal cases are 90, more than half of the national cases. Maybe there's a different kind of recording or updating the data, but it's really strange such a large number. Until now the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-74233909601456240252009-12-17T20:06:00.000+01:002009-12-17T20:06:09.698+01:00

Today the only piece of news about the swine flu is the WHO press conference in Geneva. Italian news media have covereved the talk of Dr Keiji Fukuda, Special Adviser to the Director-General on Pandemic Influenza. "Now we are about 8 months into the pandemic and one of the common questions coming to us is, that is the pandemic over, is it time to call it, and really the answer is, that it is

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-87417025074237511922009-12-16T10:42:00.000+01:002009-12-16T10:42:55.826+01:00

"And if the virus were only a cold?" wrote La Repubblica some days ago. The article by Angelo Aquaro explains that the mortality of the swine flu has been by far inferior to the expected (0.018%, less than the seasonal flu), there's been a decrease of the hospitalized cases in the United States and Europe (except France) in the days of the expected peak, many controversies on the vaccines (in

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-35326806331909977192009-12-15T20:51:00.001+01:002009-12-15T20:53:50.199+01:00

Today Professor Ferrucio Fazio has been appointed to the newly created role of Minister of Health. He has received strong  support by his party's MPs, but also by  medical associations and business unions. In the last months he managed to prepare for the pandemic of swine flu, and many people owe that to him. Things are going quite well,  especially in North Italy. In the southern regions, in

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-21262059731986490422009-12-15T10:23:00.000+01:002009-12-15T10:23:17.974+01:00

Italy have done well against the swine flu, and the country is ready to research a new universal vaccine against all the flu viruses. Yesterday the Deputy Minister of Health Ferruccio Fazio talked about the pandemic in Italy. Fazio said also that one of the goals of the Istituto Superiore della Sanità is the universal vaccine, active against all the influenza viruses. The target of the research

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-25714169844851925012009-12-14T21:02:00.000+01:002009-12-14T21:02:39.571+01:00

"The Imaginary Virus. Swine flu milder than the seasonal one and almost nobody got the vaccine shot": this was the headline of Il Foglio newspaper on December 3. "As expected, the 'A' is a second class flu" wrote il Giornale after a week. In these days there are a few of editorials about the swine flu. The outbreak has already peaked, the emergency rooms are no longer crowded by scared people,

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-50418621804033380192009-12-11T18:25:00.001+01:002009-12-14T18:42:10.484+01:00

Sardinia has been the last region in Italy to record an high incidence of the swine flu. But in the past week the number of cases recorded in the island has decreased to 2.033%. The total incidence in Italy has dropped to 0.373%. According to InfluNet, the H1N1 virus has spread more than the other seasonal flu viruses, apart from the 2004/05 virus. Meanwhile, the Deputy Health Ministr Ferruccio

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-34866631976381232022009-12-10T19:25:00.000+01:002009-12-10T19:25:30.237+01:00

What happens in South Italy? Yesterday the Ministry of Health updated the swine flu report. The number of deaths has risen to 137. A total of 67 people have died in the regions of South Italy: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, and Puglia. The virus has killed 30 people in Campania, 18 in Puglia, and 13 in Calabria. So, the 55% of swine flu deaths has occurred in the south, where

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-23553482730189602712009-12-09T07:33:00.000+01:002009-12-09T07:33:04.844+01:00

Some days ago there has been an outbreak of swine flu in a pig farm in Italy. The animals have been infected at the end of November by the H1N1 virus at a farm in Nerviano, near Milano, Lombardia. According to the report of the Italian Ministry of Health (through OIE), "the breeding sows were sick with lack of appetite, weakness and fever. All sows recovered fully in few days". There were 375

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-81488313444950585512009-12-08T17:39:00.002+01:002009-12-08T17:45:41.081+01:00

The swine flu cases are decreasing in Italy. The national incidence has fallen to 0.664%. Only in two regions, in Sardinia and in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the pandemic is still at its peak. Meanwhile, the deaths have stopped to 114 (in Campania region 28), and to 410 the cases who needed respiratory aid. The government's ad is still aired on the State television to invite people to get the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-70263156100132609462009-12-02T08:19:00.000+01:002009-12-02T08:19:19.428+01:00

The swine flu has came to its maximum in Italy, but the deaths are still increasing. The Ministry of Health has said that the deaths are 101 (27 in the Campania region). It said also that 494,915 people has been vaccinated, out of 5,030,851 available doses. More than 131,000 health care workers have been vaccinated, more or less 13%. Italian mass media have covered about a two years old  child

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-35658077299698445782009-12-01T16:35:00.000+01:002009-12-01T16:35:07.504+01:00

The swine flu has hit the headlines again. Many mass media reported about the mutated virus that was found in one patient out of 100 tested in Italy. According to the Ministry, there was also a case of antiviral resistance to oseltamivir among 160 tested patients. Actually, Italian media haven't reported about antiviral drugs at all, and still now they don't seem interested in this issue. The

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-56958255219011335152009-11-27T18:00:00.001+01:002009-11-27T18:11:45.168+01:00

This year the swine flu is one of the main issues discussed at the SIMG meeting, in Florence, from November 26 to 28. "The swine flu has never been an health problem for Italy, just a challenge for the health care system" has said  Claudio Cricelli, President of the Societa' Italiana di Medicina Generale (SIMG). So it's official: too much fuss over nothing. Anyway, the vaccination campaign is

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-49619114555835107532009-11-26T16:03:00.000+01:002009-11-26T16:03:28.612+01:00

The swine flu in Italy  is past its peak. According to the Iss, the incidence has decreased to 1.138%. The Marche incidence data is still the highest in the country, but it's considered not significant of the real situation in the region. So, there have been some troubles collecting datas. Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Sardinia and Basilicata have also high incidence, while Campania and Lombardia

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-25485623993189322402009-11-25T18:58:00.000+01:002009-11-25T18:58:58.604+01:00

As the death toll soars to 85, the swine flu is still in the news. Today the Italian Deputy Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio has said that the vaccine is still effective, even though the virus has mutated. According to Fazio, it's likely that the flu pandemic has already peaked in Italy, infecting only some milions of people. Nevertheless, it's crucial that people in the high risk group get the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-35726331372369783682009-11-24T10:01:00.000+01:002009-11-24T10:01:58.835+01:00

Two or three weeks ago the Ministry of Health has launched a new television advertising campaign. The main character is Topo Gigio, the puppet that already featured the first ad against the swine flu. This time Topo Gigio gives a piece of advice about vaccination. It explains who should get the swine flu shot, and who the seasonal one. The result is a bit confusing. Maybe the subject is too

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-6982162143862877772009-11-20T20:00:00.002+01:002009-11-20T20:16:05.207+01:00

At least 68 flu-related deaths have been recorded by Italian Health Ministry, a high number in this time of year. Campania's health authority has reported 25 fatal cases, and it's the hardest hit region. The hospitalized cases have climbed to 489, while 241 people needed intensive care. Italian newspapers report today about a mutated version of the influenza virus, found in three patients in

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-38742078588420850112009-11-19T15:45:00.001+01:002009-11-19T19:20:04.885+01:00

Maybe the swine flu in Italy has reached its peak. Today InfluNet, the Italian surveillance network, has released updated datas for week 46, from November 9 to November 15. The incidence is 1.253%, a bit more than last week (1.227%). In the island of Sardinia  there's still one of the lowest incidences of flu cases (0.69%). The highest rate is again in Marche region (4.197%), followed by

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-92187894011936725912009-11-18T19:55:00.000+01:002009-11-18T19:55:16.315+01:00

Today the main piece of news is about Poland that is "calm and unvaccinated." Italian online media are really interested in this story: Despite a serious outbreak of swine flu in neighboring Ukraine, the Polish government played it cool last week. Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz announced that she was not planning to stock up on swine-flu vaccine until it had been properly tested. "The A/

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-73309575765553888932009-11-18T13:42:00.000+01:002009-11-18T13:42:49.250+01:00

The New England Journal of Medicine has just published two papers about swine flu in USa, Australia and New Zealand. They discuss if specific groups of people were more involved and more likely to be hospitalized. The results say that people "with underlying medical conditions", were young, of minoritu groups have an increased risk. There isn't any study in Italy yet, but according to the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-20465981154817559072009-11-17T19:20:00.002+01:002009-11-18T10:33:57.371+01:00

A month ago the Minister of Health launched an advertising campaign about the swine flu. The television ad features the room of "Topo Gigio", a beloved character of very old children series. Topo Gigio explains what to do against the flu: 1. wash your hands well and often with water and soap. 2. cover your nose and mouth with tissues when you cough and sneeze, then throw the tissue away 3. if you

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-50144434015491097812009-11-15T21:40:00.000+01:002009-11-15T21:40:23.904+01:00

According to the Ministry of Health, the fatal cases of swine flu are 53. Fifty people were in the risk group.Very few people have been vaccinated, only 150,000 people out of 3,000,000 avalaible doses. The websites of many newspapers aren't covering the pandemic in the front page any more, apart from ilmattino.it, newspaper of Campania region, where occured 23 deaths. Meanwhile, the flu articles

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-71496564775501470872009-11-13T18:36:00.001+01:002009-11-13T18:43:57.508+01:00

In Italy people are arguing about the safety of the vaccination against the swine flu. This is the biggest debate, not the efficiency of the heath care system or the supply of antiviral drugs. Today the Italian news websites cover the unconfirmed death of a man in Germany after the vaccination. The Deputy Health Ministry Ferruccio Fazio keep reassuring that the vaccine is safe. He also announced

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-67016757277255942652009-11-12T20:37:00.006+01:002009-11-12T21:59:32.707+01:00

The Italian consumers organization Codacons has asked the Ministry of Health to prove the safety of the flu vaccine, the Focetria vaccine made by Novartis. Codacons doubts that  a producer can make and test a flu vaccine in four months. Another point is the use of the MF59C.1 adjuvant, containing squalene. In Italy Codacons is a well known union, but in such a scientific matter it's a bit

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-3922838680654480462009-11-12T20:31:00.002+01:002009-11-13T18:40:01.044+01:00

The A(H1N1) virus is spreading in Italy at top speed. The InfluNet, the Italian surveillance network, has released the report updated to week 45 (November 2-8). The incidence has risen to 1.227% of population. In the island of Sardinia  there's the lowest incidence of flu cases (0.148%). The highest rate is in Marche region (2.86%), followed by Emilia Romagna (1,8), Lazio (1,7), Abruzzo (1,6),

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-41840155581007298152009-11-11T17:57:00.000+01:002009-11-11T17:57:46.114+01:00

Yesterday the Italian Association of General Doctors (FIMMG) has asked its associated to help the vaccination campaign. FIMMH also invited its members to be vaccinated. “We invite every member to be active in order to facilitate the vaccination of the people in risk group and to get yourself vaccinated against the swine flu” wrote the national secretary of the FIMMG, Giacomo Milillo, in a letter

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-90785043314275732942009-11-11T06:30:00.000+01:002009-11-11T06:30:10.465+01:00

According to the Italian Minister of Health the fatal cases of the swine flu are 34 (0.0043%), people in intensive care 108 (0.013%). There are no official data about the age of the victims, but Ansa press agency reports that a large part of the fatal cases are young (maybe 90%). In the past days the Deputy Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio kept repeating that seasonal flu causes each year 8,000

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-41154936475201763382009-11-09T14:37:00.000+01:002009-11-09T14:37:07.109+01:00

Two fatal cases of swine flu have been confirmed today, in Umbria and in Campania. The death toll is now 34. The Deputy Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio has asked newspapers "to not rise useless alarms", while insisting that people in the risk group should get the vaccines, which "are safe and are used around the world." There are large differences in the vaccine distribution to population in

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-43953769292513752042009-11-07T18:31:00.001+01:002009-11-07T18:35:50.971+01:00

People are worried about the swine flu and its complications. They don't trust health authorities and don't believe the vaccine is safe. According to a poll of La Repubblica, 57% of people are very or quite worried about the new virus. The majority, 54%, expect to become ill. A lot of people, 60%, will consult the family doctor in case of fever, while a quarter (25%) will rush to the hospital and

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-22306407622072403412009-11-06T15:41:00.000+01:002009-11-06T15:41:13.387+01:00

Maybe there aren't new tidings, maybe the pandemic has become boring, but today the flu issue hasn't been the first one in the newscasts. The death toll is still rising, up to 25 fatal cases in yesterday's official report. Vatican Radio has blamed on media for what happened in Italy. “There has been too much alarm for the flu. And this is good only for pharmaceutical firms that produce the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-47009610847999879682009-11-05T13:23:00.000+01:002009-11-05T13:23:19.727+01:00

The flu virus is now spreading fast in Italy. The Italian Health Ministry has released data about week 44 from October 26 to November 1 (updated to 5 pm). The flu incidence has risen to 8.96‰ and it's already higher than the peaks in the seasonal epidemies from 2005/06 to 2008/09. In Campania the regional incidence is 14.66‰, in Lombardia it is 13.48‰, more than 11.5‰ also in Emilia-Romagna,

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-50644243151441633722009-11-04T10:20:00.000+01:002009-11-04T10:20:20.113+01:00

It's becoming clear that many troubles caused by the pandemic in Italy are actually old problems of the national primary care service. For example, many local doctors don't know what to do, as Corriere della Sera has reported. They haven't been informed very well, but this lack of communication and technical updates from health authorities is often true for other illness. Another problem is that

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-42759015676246618732009-11-03T18:56:00.001+01:002009-11-03T18:58:31.059+01:00

Another fatal case of swine flu occurred in Italy. A 37 years old musician died in Salerno, a city south of Naples. Italian newspapers keep track of the death toll, now 18, even though yesterday the Deputy Minister of Health Ferruccio Fazio asked the media to suspend it. Professor Fazio explained that this flu is milder then the seasonal one and that there is no need to worry. However, the

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-35828648380697266522009-11-03T17:24:00.002+01:002009-11-03T17:45:30.113+01:00

Can the vaccination program against swine flu be on time? According to a recent study, it can be expected “an autumn/winter wave in the Northern hemisphere strikingly earlier than expected”. In Italy the peak time of the pandemic will occur from 17 October to 23 November. “The analysis shows the potential for an early epidemic peak occurring in October/November in the Northern hemisphere, likely

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-23897618634181935122009-11-02T16:05:00.000+01:002009-11-02T16:05:20.859+01:00

Other two fatal cases of swine flu occurred in Naples, Corriere del Mezzogiorno reports. A 42 years old, overweight woman died today at Cotugno Hospital, while a 72 years old woman, with respiratory disease died yesterday at Cardarelli Hospital. So the death toll in Naples has risen to 8. Italian newspapers are reporting all the deaths caused by the H1N1 virus, and maybe this can be alarming for

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-51412902640041266792009-11-01T09:24:00.000+01:002009-11-01T10:24:57.829+01:00

Today Italian media report about a child  who died in Naples on Friday after has been infected by A(H1N1) influenza virus. The child, a 11-years old girl, was cardiopathic. According to Il Mattino newspaper, it's the first child victim of the pandemic. Anxiety is now spreading fast among population in Naples, while a lot of people in the high-risk list can't still get the shot of the vaccine.

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-11795821623100953012009-11-01T00:21:00.001+01:002009-11-01T00:24:13.492+01:00

The vaccination campaign against H1N1 virus has started. In some places it's just at the beginning, while in others it has already moved on the second stage. In Liguria the newspaper Il Secolo XIX explains that next Monday in Genoa doctors and other health workers will be vaccinated. Lombardia region is already at phase two of the process, so they will call pregnant women and people under 65

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-3844701568208130382009-10-30T19:42:00.001+01:002009-11-19T19:21:55.702+01:00

Today Ferruccio Fazio, Health Deputy Minister, has announced that it has been created a network to tackle the severe cases of the flu. The government and the Regional governments have located 14 centers to give treatment to these patients because not all the Regions have the specialized units (Agi press agency). According to Ansa press agency Professor Fazio also explained that the case-fatality

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-39629805523080156562009-10-30T14:30:00.006+01:002009-10-30T14:52:48.921+01:00

In Italy there're many differences in vaccine distribution at local level. Regional governments organize the health care services, so they are free to choose their organization. Adnkronos press agency has collected information about the vaccine campaign, about who will give the vaccine shot to people. Mb stands for “medico di base”, the family doctor. Asl is the local health center. Some Regions

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-83505402298497726712009-10-30T12:41:00.004+01:002009-10-30T13:16:00.494+01:00

Today the Italian Ministry of Labour and Health has launched a web site, www.fermailvirus.it. The service is aimed at the general public, mainly at parents. There's a special section for pregnant women and other paregraphs for small children. Instead, there's no mention of another group at risk, people with chronic lung disease (I wonder why). And no information for doctors and nurses (they have

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-19297914190545265902009-10-30T08:24:00.005+01:002009-10-30T15:05:05.471+01:00

According to the Iss data, the incidence in the 43th week of the year is 3,88 ‰ among all the people who got visited by doctors, and 13,02‰ among the 5-14 years old. The Iss released on October 28th also the local data, updated. In Campania (Naples and other cities) there is the highest incidence, but also in Lombardia (Milan) and Tuscany there are a lot of cases. Yesterday the Deputy Minister of

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-48122589186205083952009-10-29T23:29:00.005+01:002009-10-30T00:52:31.533+01:00

The H1N1 virus is spreading in Italy and it's more difficult to keep track of what is going on. Three fatal cases in North Italy: an old woman afflicted by pneumonia in Milan, a young man afflicted by TB in Ferrara, another woman in Rimini. A woman died in Rome and three men in Naples, a 64 years old doctor, a 50 years old afflicted by obesity, a 73 years old doctor already afflicted by pulmonary

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-57059437983068557952009-10-28T10:54:00.000+01:002009-10-28T11:48:14.531+01:00

More details about the patient who died yesterday in Naples after being infected by H1N1 flu virus. He was a doctor, affected by anaemia, obesity and cardiac disease. On Monday he was admitted at Cotugno Hospital because of pneumonia. According the local newspaper Il Mattino, he didn't got vaccination because the regional health units have run out of the doses, primarily used for health care

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2876435217966903103.post-87435460224881297762009-10-27T21:55:00.004+01:002009-10-27T23:24:16.560+01:00

Today at the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome there was a meeting, the WHO Global Forum on Mass Gatherings. According to Adnkronos press agency, Hande Harmanci, of the WHO Global Influenza Programme, has said that there's a lot of confusion about the flu vaccine. "There is a lot of confusion in the world on the pandemic vaccines" said Dr. Harmanci "for this reason one should remember that they

Claudia Grisantinoreply@blogger.com0