BBC

• Benedicte Bjornland, head of the Police Security Service, said: “It’s not clear whether the 17-year-old young man intended to commit a terrorist attack.”
• The raised threat level will remain in force for two months.
• The explosive device was capable of causing only limited damage, police said.

CNN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRSnzjQ7kqw

CDC

All data are preliminary and may change as more reports are received.

Synopsis:

During week 13 (March 26-April 1, 2017), influenza activity decreased but remained elevated in the United States.

• Viral Surveillance: The most frequently identified influenza virus type reported by public health laboratories during week 13 was influenza B. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories decreased slightly.
• Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
• Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: Seven influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
• Influenza-associated Hospitalizations: A cumulative rate for the season of 57.2 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported.
• Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 2.9%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%. Six of ten regions reported ILI at or above their region-specific baseline levels. Nine states experienced high ILI activity; five states experienced moderate ILI activity; New York City and nine states experienced low ILI activity; Puerto Rico and 27 states experienced minimal ILI activity; and the District of Columbia had insufficient data.
• Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in 24 states was reported as widespread; Guam, Puerto Rico and 19 states reported regional activity; the District of Columbia and five states reported local activity; two states reported sporadic activity; and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported no activity.

BBC

“…..The other people killed on the bridge were Aysha Frade, 44, who worked at a London sixth-form college, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, from Utah, and retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, from south London.

Father-of-two PC Keith Palmer was fatally stabbed outside Parliament….”

NY Times

WHO

Depression: let’s talk

7 April 2017 – WHO is leading a one-year global campaign on depression. The highlight is World Health Day 2017, celebrated today. The goal of the campaign is that more people with depression, everywhere in the world, both seek and get help. Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. More than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015.

NY Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTTqx3Zy2rE

“….The Turkish statement said the sarin conclusion had been based on autopsies on three victims performed at Turkey’s Adana Forensic Medicine Institution with the participation of representatives from the World Health Organization and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a group based in The Hague that monitors compliance with the global treaty that bans such munitions…..”

BBC

Smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

www.thelancet.com   Published online April 5, 2017   http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30819-X

Findings:  Worldwide, the age-standardized prevalence of daily smoking was 25·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 24·2–25·7) for men and 5·4% (5·1–5·7) for women, representing 28·4% (25·8–31·1) and 34·4% (29·4–38·6) reductions, respectively, since 1990. A greater percentage of countries and territories achieved significant annualized rates of decline in smoking prevalence from 1990 to 2005 than in between 2005 and 2015; however, only four countries had significant annualized increases in smoking prevalence between 2005 and 2015 (Congo [Brazzaville] and Azerbaijan for men and Kuwait and Timor-Leste for women). In 2015, 11·5% of global deaths (6·4 million [95% UI 5·7–7·0 million]) were attributable to smoking worldwide, of which 52·2% took place in four countries (China, India, the USA, and Russia). Smoking was ranked among the five leading risk factors by DALYs in 109 countries and territories in 2015, rising from 88 geographies in 1990. In terms of birth cohorts, male smoking prevalence followed similar age patterns across levels of SDI, whereas much more heterogeneity was found in age patterns for female smokers by level of development. While smoking prevalence and risk-deleted DALY rates mostly decreased by sex and SDI quintile, population growth, population ageing, or a combination of both, drove rises in overall smoking attributable DALYs in low-SDI to middle-SDI geographies between 2005 and 2015.

WHO

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Qatar

On 21 March 2017 the national IHR focal point of Qatar reported one additional case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Details of the case

A 62-year-old living in Doha city, Qatar developed symptoms on 15 March 2017. The patient who has comorbidities was seen in a private clinic on 15 March 2017. He was admitted to hospital on 20 March 2017 and was tested positive for MERS-CoV using real-time PCR (upE and ORF1b and N). He is currently in stable condition and admitted to a negative pressure isolation room on a ward.

The patient did not travel outside of Qatar in the last seven months and has not reported a history of contact with camels or individuals with symptoms. An investigation of risk factors in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms is ongoing but has not identified the source of his infection.

To date, Qatar has reported 19 laboratory confirmed cases of MERS. The last case was reported in June 2016.

Disease Outbreak News published on 29 June 2016.
Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1936 laboratory confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV including at least 690 related deaths.

Public health response

The Department of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control in the Ministry of Public Health has immediately carried out case investigation and contact tracing activities. All 23 contacts and health care workers were tested negative for MERS-CoV. All contacts will be followed up until the end of the 14-day monitoring period.