* 3 H1N1 cases found with potentially significant mutation * Two cases found among first fatalities in Norway * Says disease’s mutation could cause more serious illness * WHO says mutated virus sensitive to antivirals, vaccines OSLO, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Norwegian health authorities said on Friday they have discovered a potentially significant mutation in the H1N1 influenza strain that could be responsible for causing the severest symptoms among those infected. Read More…

The figure is about three times higher than earlier estimates but only because the CDC is getting a better fix on the size of the H1N1 pandemic. The death toll includes about 540 children. By Thomas H. Maugh II At least 22 million Americans have contracted pandemic H1N1 influenza since the outbreak began in April and 3,900 have died, including about 540 children, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is about three times the number of deaths that the agency has been reporting, but the previous figures were based on laboratory-confirmed cases, while...

A few days after two members of an Ames, Iowa, family came down with the flu, they noticed their 13-year-old cat wasn’t feeling too well either. The cat has since become the first documented case of a feline with the new H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu. The unusual case has riveted pet owners and health officials. Companion animals have been known to contract flu from other species — canine influenza (H3N8) originated in horses, and cats contract avian influenza (H5N1) from eating birds. But this appears to be the first time a cat has contracted influenza from a human. Two pet ferrets,...

Pandemic H1N1 influenza is now in virtually every country in the world, and health officials are bracing for an upsurge in cases as winter sets in, World Health Organization officials said this morning. “At WHO, we remain concerned about the pattern we are seeing, particularly because a sizable number of people do develop serious complications and death,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, a special advisor to the WHO director-general on pandemic influenza, said at a news conference. “We anticipate seeing continued or increased activity during the winter period in the Northern Hemisphere. This...

When Swine Flu Is Bad, It’s Really Bad, Data Confirm By Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MD Nov. 3, 2009 – H1N1 swine flu isn’t always severe, but when it’s bad, it’s really bad. Patients hospitalized with pandemic flu have an 11% fatality rate, data from California suggest. The pandemic flu bug is far more likely to strike younger people. But when people aged 50 and older get hospitalized with H1N1 swine flu, their case-fatality rate is the highest of any group: 18% to 20%. The findings come from an analysis of data collected from California...

And vaccine production delays mean fewer shots will be available by month’s end By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) — Eleven more U.S. children died from H1N1 swine flu during the past week, a federal health official said Friday, adding that the disease is now so widespread it has surpassed epidemic proportions. Adding to the seriousness of the situation, manufacturing problems have delayed production of the H1N1 vaccine. Instead of reaching a goal of 40 million doses by the end of October, fewer than 30 million doses will be available, Dr. Anne Schuchat,...

Fake Tamiflu is one of many bogus products being sold over the Internet that claim to prevent, treat or diagnose swine flu, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency has issued warnings about fraudulent claims to the Web marketers of more than 140 products, ranging from sprays or devices that supposedly sterilize surfaces or the air to dietary supplements touted for strengthening the immune system, the Associated Press reported. Shortly after swine flu emerged last spring, about 10 bogus products a day were appearing online, according to Alyson Saben, the head of the FDA swine flu...

By Karin Zeitvogel (AFP) WASHINGTON — Swine flu has infected “many millions” and killed over 1,000 people in the United States — around a fifth of the world’s total — since the outbreak began six months ago, a top health official said Friday. “We have seen, since the beginning of the pandemic in April and May, more than 1,000 deaths from pandemic influenza and more than 20,000 hospitalizations in this country,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chief Thomas Frieden told reporters. “We have had, up until now, many millions of cases...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government this week warned against the online marketing of unlicensed health remedies claiming to protect against H1N1 swine flu infection, including fake “Tamiflu” pills from India. The Food and Drug Administration reported on Thursday that it had purchased and analyzed several products represented on the Internet as Tamiflu, Roche Holding AG’s brand name version of the antiviral drug oseltamivir. One order, which arrived in an unmarked envelope from India, consisted of unlabeled white pills that contained talc and the common pain reliever...

By DENISE GRADY Three pigs at the Minnesota State Fair tested positive in late August for H1N1, the flu virus that is causing the current pandemic, the Agriculture Department reported Friday. The department said the test results were preliminary and would not be confirmed for a few days. But if the results are confirmed, the pigs will be the first in this country found to harbor the virus. Infected pigs have been found in eight other countries. The virus does not seem to make pigs very sick. Of 103 pigs tested at the Minnesota fair, in St Paul, only three were found to be carrying the virus, and...