July 25, 2003

Influenza: Canada
Season to date (25 August 2002 - 12 July 2003), Health Canada has received 57,648 reports of laboratory tests for influenza, including 2,047 (3.6 %) influenza A detections and 1,462 (2.5 %) influenza B detections. The National Microbiology Laboratory has antigenically characterized 529 influenza viruses to date: A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2)-like (61), A(H1N2) (263), A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like (81), and B/Hong Kong/330/01-like (122). To date this season, there have been 46 reported outbreaks of laboratory-confirmed influenza in long term care facilities. The most recent outbreak was in a long term care facility in Vancouver during weeks 24 through 26, and confirmed as influenza A in week 27.
Source: FluWatch, 29 June to 12 July 2003 (Weeks 27 and 28), The Viral Respiratory Diseases Section, Immunization and Respiratory Infections Division, Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis Infection: Los Angeles County
In Los Angeles County, the Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Program documented 32,670 cases of chlamydia in 2001, most cases (74%) were female. Women 20-24 years old had the highest rates, followed by adolescents 15-19 years old. Re-infection rates in women with CT range from 13-73% and often result from failure to treat male sexual partners. Patient delivered partner therapy (PDT) was proposed to improve treatment of partners. Patients are given extra medication to deliver to their partners, without requiring examination. Based on early PDT studies and increasing CT prevalence in California, legislation was implemented in September 2000 which allows physicians to prescribe antibiotic therapy without examining the sex partners of persons with laboratory confirmed CT infections. In order to help clarify some of these issues surrounding PDT implementation, the STD Program is conducting a year-long study that will evaluate the acceptance of PDT from both a provider and patient perspective. One of the main objectives of the study will be to determine the acceptance rate of PDT in two different clinic populations and by different demographic and risk variables identified through a series of patient, partner and provider surveys. Assessments will include: attitudes about PDT, perceived barriers to successful implementation, numbers of identified partners who complete therapy and demographic and risk variables of patients and partners who successfully receive PDT. The study will also conduct three-month follow-up testing of patients to assess CT re-infection rates in both the PDT acceptance and PDT refusal groups.
Source: The Public's Health, Vol 3, Number 5, June 2003, Department of Health Services, County of Los Angeles

Harm Reduction for Injecting Drug Users: United Kingdom
In July 2003 changes were introduced in the British Parliament to allow doctors, drug treatment workers, and pharmacists to supply a wider range of injecting related equipment to injecting drug users. Previously it had only been legal to provide needles and syringes to injecting drug users. From the 1 August 2003 swabs, ampoules of sterile water, utensils for the preparation of a controlled drug (spoons, bowls, cups, dishes), citric acid, and filters can also be provided to drug users. The aim of this legislative change is to encourage and support the adoption of more hygienic injecting practices among those drug users who continue to inject. This public health measure should therefore lead to improvements in the provision of harm reduction for injecting drug users, particularly through the further development of needle exchange programs. The recent increase in transmission of hepatitis C among injecting drug users, and the ongoing occurrence of other infections such hepatitis A, botulism and more recently methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in this population emphasizes the benefits and significance of this change.
Source: CDR Weekly, 17 July 2003, Health Protection Agency, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, United Kingdom

The details given are for information only and may be very provisional. Where incidents are considered of national importance and are ongoing, the initial report will be updated as new information becomes available.