A 26 year old pregnant woman has died at the Hospital Materno Infantil in Málaga as a result of swine flu, the eighth fatality in the province and the first involving pregnancy. The doctors decided to perform a cesarean section to try and save the baby but were unsuccessful. (Via Original Source)

The global number of swine flu deaths has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week, latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show.

At least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April.

Europe saw an 85% increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from at least 350 to at least 650.

Health officials say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients.

Five patients on a unit treating people with severe underlying health conditions at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff were infected.

Three appear to have acquired the infection in hospital.

They are thought to be the first confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission of a Tamiflu-resistant strain in the world.

An undiagnosed health condition is suspected. In Málaga, a pregnant nurse has contracted the virus after she was allegedly refused leave from her hospital

The regional health department has opened an investigation into the sudden death from the H1N1 virus of a young boy in Torrevieja last week. The analyses which detected the presence of the virus have, it’s understood, also shown up indications of an underlying health condition which could not be diagnosed owing to his young age. The boy was six years old. No information has been released on the nature of his medical condition.

Swine flu has killed at least 90 people in Spain, while press reports say fewer than 10 people have died in Greece. Athens has for weeks released no official figures on fatalities or on the number of cases.

Spain’s health ministry said the government has bought 37 million doses of the A(H1N1) flu vaccine and will start inoculating high-risk groups such as pregnant women, health workers and those with serious illnesses.

Two of the five victims last week did not have a previous medical condition

The health department in Cataluña released news on Saturday of two of the region’s latest victims of the H1N1 virus, neither of whom appear to have suffered an underlying health condition. The two girls, aged 4 and 13, both lived in the Barcelona metropolitan area and died last Thursday.

The vaccination programme for high-risk groups starts on Monday

The vaccination programme for the A flu virus starts in Spain next Monday, when 4 million doses of the vaccine will be available at public health centres. The Health Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, announced this Wednesday that the remaining doses – 6 million – which are needed to cover all high risk groups will be delivered over the course of next week.

Spain is anticipating that the swine flu epidemic will reach its peak in the country in late November before starting to decline, the government said Tuesday.

Health authorities believe “the peak of contagion” will be “in the last days of November,” Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez told reporters.

But she admitted that it was “difficult to predict” how the epidemic would develop.

In October, Spain announced it would begin swine flu vaccinations on 16 November, later than in many other European countries.

Vaccines for the H1N1 virus will be administered across the country from 16th November

The Health Minister has announced that vaccinations against the H1N1 virus will commence simultaneously across Spain on 16th November, once the vaccination programme for the normal seasonal flu has concluded.

THE Almeria Health Department has confirmed that a third person, a 47-year-old woman, is the third victim of the N1H1 flu in the province. The victim, from Laujar, died in the Hospital de Poniente and has been laid to rest in the local cemetery.

The patient’s family accuse the eight doctors who attended her of negligence in failing to test for the virus in time

The family of a 27 year old woman, D.G.S., who died at Málaga’s Hospital Civil at the end of last month have accused the eight doctors who attended her of negligence in failing to detect that she had contracted the swine flu virus. The separated mother of two had no underlying health condition and her family alleges in the complaint they have filed that her death was due to the late diagnosis and treatment of the A virus.

The European drugs regulator has given the go-ahead for one of the UK’s swine flu vaccines.

An expert committee agreed that Pandemrix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, can be used in adults and children over six months old and pregnant women.

The decision removes one of the last obstacles to getting the immunisation programme under way although licensing still needs to be formalised.
The UK has bought 60 million doses of the vaccine.

Chief medical officer for England Sir Liam Donaldson said the data suggested an upturn was on the way.

Experts have been predicting a second wave of swine flu will hit the UK in the winter months following a lull over the summer break.

Scotland has also seen a rise in the number of cases in the last week.

The age group selected is children between 6 months and 17 years old

The Health Minister has announced imminent clinical trials of the new A(H1N1) vaccine – developed by GlaxoSmithKline – on children between the ages of 6 months and 17 years. It’s understood the 400 volunteer children have already been selected across Spain’s autonomous communities.

Spain has recorded its 25th death from swine flu, officials said Sunday, as the World Health Organisation warned northern hemisphere nations may see a sharp increase in cases over the coming months.

Spain’s latest victim of the A(H1N1) virus was a 28-year-old woman who died Saturday from complications from the disease at a hospital in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, local health officials said.

Both patients were in groups considered to be at high risk

There were two more deaths in this weekend from Swine Flu complications, bringing numbers in Spain up to 25. It’s understood that both patients suffered a serious underlying health condition.

The swine flu outbreak will cost Spanish firms around EUR 1 billion due to worker absenteeism, according to a study released Monday by Adecco, the world’s biggest temporary staffing company.

“Taking into account the cost of work during the absence of an employee and the probable length of time of the absence, the approximate cost for companies will be around EUR 1 billion,” the study by the Swiss firm said.

The government is to up its reserves of the vaccine to cover 60% of the population

A meeting of the inter-regional health committee this Monday has decided on the groups of people at risk from the A(H1N1) virus who will receive the first vaccines. Health Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, had originally said that would include children up to the age of 14, but the 4-hour meeting agreed that children from the age of 6 months will only be vaccinated if they suffer a chronic health condition.

The Spanish government approved Friday a special credit line of EUR 333 million (USD 475 million) to finance vaccinations and other steps to prevent the spread of swine flu.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government would “spare no effort or economic resources” in preventative measures against the illness which has so far killed 20 people in Spain.

Spain said Thursday it planned to start swine flu vaccinations in late October or early November, as the country recorded its 20th death from the illness.

The vaccinations would start when the laboratories provide them, “which will happen simultaneously across Europe, expected in late October and early November,” said Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez.

In July, Jimenez announced plans to vaccinate up to 40 percent of Spain’s population of around 46 million people against swine flu.