H1N1 flu outbreak in northern Chile kills 11

An AFP report hosted by Google :

" At least 11 people have been killed in an outbreak of H1N1 flu virus in northern Chile, where the rate of infection is more than six times higher than the rest of the country, according to authorities.

"The average across the country is 24 patients per 100,000 residents, but in Tarapaca, in the past week, the rate was 148 patients per 100,000 residents," Medical Association president Enrique Paris said on Thursday.

Citing fears of aggravating the outbreak, Paris recommended postponing or cancelling the upcoming Fiesta de la Tirana, a religious celebration planned for July 15-17 where 200,000 people are expected.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Jaime Manalich announced he will travel Friday to the region 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) north of Santiago near the border with Bolivia.

The minister also said some 115,000 vaccines will be sent to immunize the population, which numbers around 300,000."

Renewed cholera outbreaks in Haiti

Article from Google hosted AFP report, excerpt :

" PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haitian health officials on Wednesday said they have found new cases of cholera in rural areas of the country, but said the epidemic, which has killed thousands since last year, remains on the decline.

"Residual outbreaks" have appeared in the north, the central plateau, and the southeast, "but they do not constitute a spike in the disease," the country's public health general director Gabriel Timothe told AFP late Tuesday.

He said authorities were addressing the outbreaks in the various regions, and insisted "the trend is decreasing."

Haiti has suffered a devastating cholera epidemic since October, and authorities have reported 4,856 deaths since the onset of the disease, thought to have been eradicated from the country a century ago.

To mark six months of efforts to contain the epidemic, outgoing President Rene Preval received Haitian and international health experts, officials and aid workers on Tuesday to thank them for their work, and urged Haitians to continue safe hygiene guidelines."

Google Crisis Response

Most of us rely heavily on Google for searches, maps and etc. And today I bumped into this web page from Google and honestly I'm surprised but very happy to know people at Google has came out with this site which is indeed a great help. Instead of me explaining go to their site and see it for yourself :

Google Crisis Response : 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

It has real time updates, maps of the affected area, people finder and so on.