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Swine Flu May Have Infected Every Second Schoolchild in U.S., Study Finds

by on February 22, 2010

By Jason Gale Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — Swine flu may have infected at least 63 million people in the U.S. last year, according to a study in Pittsburgh, where almost every second schoolchild probably caught the pandemic virus. Blood tests on Pittsburgh residents found 45 percent of people aged 10 to 19 years had antibodies against the new H1N1 flu strain . About 22 percent of people across all groups developed immunity to the virus by early December and a quarter of those born in the 1920s may have already had protective antibodies before the pandemic resulting from prior flu infection, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found. The findings, reported online yesterday in the Public Library of Science , suggest a fresh wave of swine flu infections isn’t likely unless the virus mutates or people become more susceptible to infection. A World Health Organization advisory panel is holding a teleconference tomorrow to discuss whether the first influenza pandemic in 41 years has peaked. “With current estimates of seroprevalence and continued increases in population due to vaccination, a significant change in viral antigens or a change in population immunity would be required for further disease spread,” Ted Ross, associate professor of microbiology at the university, and colleagues wrote. “We cannot rule out the possibility that geographical pockets of limited immunity may be present in which a third wave may yet occur.” Symptom-Free Cases At least 15,921 people have died from swine flu as the fast-moving pandemic spread to 212 countries and territories since its discovery in North America in April, the WHO said in a Feb. 19 statement . The global tally underestimates the actual number as many deaths are never tested or recognized as influenza related, the Geneva-based agency said. In yesterday’s study, researchers looked for infection- fighting antibodies against the 2009 pandemic flu strain in 846 anonymous blood samples collected in November and early December from people in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County ages 1 month to 90 years. The tests identified people who caught the virus, including those who didn’t develop a fever, cough or other flu-like symptoms. The researchers compared the results against tests on blood samples collected in 2008, of which 6 percent contained antibodies that protected against swine flu, probably as a result of infection from a related influenza strain. Children and adolescents in the 10- to 19-year age group had the highest prevalence of swine flu antibodies, while 29 percent of blood samples from children younger than 9 years tested positive. Residents in the 70- to 79-year age group had the lowest prevalence rate of 5 percent. When the researchers extrapolated their findings across the county’s 1.2 million residents, they found swine flu antibodies in 21.5 percent of people, including more than 70,000 school-age children. “Extrapolating these results further to the entire US population, we estimate that 63 million persons became infected in 2009,” the authors wrote. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net

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Swine Flu May Have Infected Every Second Schoolchild in U.S., Study Finds

Swine Flu May Have Infected Every Second Schoolchild in U.S., Study Finds

by on February 22, 2010

By Jason Gale Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — Swine flu may have infected at least 63 million people in the U.S. last year, according to a study in Pittsburgh, where almost every second schoolchild probably caught the pandemic virus. Blood tests on Pittsburgh residents found 45 percent of people aged 10 to 19 years had antibodies against the new H1N1 flu strain . About 22 percent of people across all groups developed immunity to the virus by early December and a quarter of those born in the 1920s may have already had protective antibodies before the pandemic resulting from prior flu infection, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found. The findings, reported online yesterday in the Public Library of Science , suggest a fresh wave of swine flu infections isn’t likely unless the virus mutates or people become more susceptible to infection. A World Health Organization advisory panel is holding a teleconference tomorrow to discuss whether the first influenza pandemic in 41 years has peaked. “With current estimates of seroprevalence and continued increases in population due to vaccination, a significant change in viral antigens or a change in population immunity would be required for further disease spread,” Ted Ross, associate professor of microbiology at the university, and colleagues wrote. “We cannot rule out the possibility that geographical pockets of limited immunity may be present in which a third wave may yet occur.” Symptom-Free Cases At least 15,921 people have died from swine flu as the fast-moving pandemic spread to 212 countries and territories since its discovery in North America in April, the WHO said in a Feb. 19 statement . The global tally underestimates the actual number as many deaths are never tested or recognized as influenza related, the Geneva-based agency said. In yesterday’s study, researchers looked for infection- fighting antibodies against the 2009 pandemic flu strain in 846 anonymous blood samples collected in November and early December from people in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County ages 1 month to 90 years. The tests identified people who caught the virus, including those who didn’t develop a fever, cough or other flu-like symptoms. The researchers compared the results against tests on blood samples collected in 2008, of which 6 percent contained antibodies that protected against swine flu, probably as a result of infection from a related influenza strain. Children and adolescents in the 10- to 19-year age group had the highest prevalence of swine flu antibodies, while 29 percent of blood samples from children younger than 9 years tested positive. Residents in the 70- to 79-year age group had the lowest prevalence rate of 5 percent. When the researchers extrapolated their findings across the county’s 1.2 million residents, they found swine flu antibodies in 21.5 percent of people, including more than 70,000 school-age children. “Extrapolating these results further to the entire US population, we estimate that 63 million persons became infected in 2009,” the authors wrote. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net

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Swine Flu May Have Infected Every Second Schoolchild in U.S., Study Finds

Gene for Speed Makes Breeding Top Racehorses a Safer Bet, Scientists Say

January 22, 2010

By Jason Gale Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — A speed gene in horses is enabling thoroughbred owners to sort would-be sprinters from plodders from just a teaspoonful of the galloper’s blood. Scientists at University College Dublin matched the genetic code of 179 race winners with performance on the track to identify variants of the muscle mass-regulating myostatin gene that predict a horse’s optimum racing distance. The research , published Jan. 20 in the Public Library of Science Journal PLoS ONE, is the first known characterization of a gene contributing to a specific athletic trait in thoroughbreds, the authors said. Commercialization of the test may alter the course of a multibillion-dollar industry whose breeding practices have remained little changed for centuries. “Breeders currently rely on combining successful bloodlines together, hoping that the resulting foal will contain that winning combination of genes,” said Emmeline Hill , 36, a geneticist at the university and the study’s lead author. “Whether those winning genes have or have not been inherited could only be surmised by observing the racing and breeding success of a horse over an extended period of years.” The research was funded by Science Foundation Ireland, according to the study. $1,400 Test For 1,000 euros ($1,400), owners may submit a 5 milliliter sample of their horse’s blood to Hill’s Equinome lab to test whether the animal has inherited a specific myostatin mutation conferring speed for short-distance races, staying power for middle distances or stamina for longer events over 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles), she said yesterday in a telephone interview. Equinome was co-founded in 2009 by Hill and Jim Bolger, an Irish racehorse trainer and breeder, to commercialize the gene test and pursue research on horse performance genetics. The company plans to begin offering the test at the end of January, according to a university statement. The test results, returned in about three weeks, also will help breeders make better-informed decisions on which mares to mate with which stallions, and tell whether a foal has a genetic predilection for early maturity, advantageous for racing as a 2- year-old, she said. “It takes out a lot of the guesswork and minimizes the risk of any future investment you may have for that horse,” Hill said. “This is a test for what your horse will be good at, not how good he will be.” Horse Genome Project Hill’s research follows the completion three years ago of the Horse Genome Project in which more than 100 scientists in 20 countries collaborated to define the DNA sequence of the domestic horse. The knowledge is enabling scientists to better understand the genetic aspects of equine physiology and disease. In humans, more than 200 genes have been associated with athletic performance traits, Hill said. Scientists expected many genes would contribute to overall performance in horses, so it was unusual that a single gene, myostatin, was so influential, she said. Hill and colleagues found that horses with the myostatin gene combination designated as C/C are better suited to fast, short races; those with the C/T variation tend to compete better over middle distances; and T/T animals have more stamina. C/C and C/T were more successful 2-year-old racehorses, earning an average of 5.5 times more prize money than T/T horses, the authors said. For bettors, the genetic information isn’t likely to yield any advantage anytime soon. “This information is for owners only,” Hill said. “If anyone wants to reveal the genetic type of their horse, then that’s at their discretion.” To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net .

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Machu Picchu, Connecticut Highway on World Monuments Fund 2010 Watch List

October 6, 2009

By Patrick Cole Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — The ancient Peruvian city of Machu Picchu, Jerusalem’s Cathedral of St. James and the Al-Hadba Minaret in Mosul, Iraq, are among 93 sites around the world at risk of deteriorating, the World Monuments Fund announced today. The fund’s 2010 World Monuments Watch ranges among 47 countries in noting structures that need to be preserved. Others listed this year include the scenic Merritt Parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, the wooden Machiya Townhouses in Kyoto, Japan, dating back to the 1600s, and the desert castles of Ancient Khorezm in Uzbekistan. “The 2010 Watch make it clear that cultural-heritage efforts in the 21st century must recognize the critical importance of sustainable stewardship,” fund President Bonnie Burnham said in a statement. “We must work closely with local partners to create viable and appropriate opportunities to advance this.” The New York-based nonprofit, founded in 1965, has worked to preserve more than 500 architectural and cultural sites in more than 90 countries, from Route 66 in the U.S. to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Three years ago, the fund placed the nation of Iraq on its list. “The sites on the 2010 Watch list make a dramatic case for the need to bring together a variety of sectors — economic, environmental, heritage-preservation and social — when we are making plans that will affect us all,” Burnham said. The fund listed nine sites in the U.S., including Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in New Orleans, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Miami’s Marine Stadium , damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the Atlanta-Fulton Central Public Library in Atlanta. Subway Threat Antoni Gaudi’s Temple Expiatori of the Sagrada Familia , a cathedral in Barcelona, made the list because a new underground train line through the city “will run precariously close” to its foundation, the fund said. The Suq Al-Qaysariya in Bahrain, one of the few remaining structures of its kind, made the list because it “may be razed in favor of a modern, upscale mall.” (The 2010 World Monuments Fund’s Watch list of 93 at-risk sites can be found at http://www.wmf.org ) To contact the writer on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at pcole3@bloomberg.net .

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