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Apr 27, 2009 03:55 PM | 6
With the number of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases double the 20 it was yesterday, the government says that it is closely monitoring the swine flu outbreak and is preparing for further spread.
"This is obviously the cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it's not a cause for alarm," President Obama said today at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
In the U.S., 40 cases have been confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in five different states: New York, California, Texas, Ohio and Kansas. All individuals have recovered, including the one that was hospitalized, Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, said in a press conference today. Twenty of the cases have stemmed from a New York City preparatory school. Although that's more than twice the number originally reported, the additional cases were a result of further testing rather than continued spread of the flu, Besser noted. The CDC is distributing kits to test for swine flu in affected states, and as testing ramps up, Besser said, "I expect we will see other cases across the country."
New cases are being reported in Canada and across the Atlantic, according to a report by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. As of April 26, six confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada and one in Israel had been reported. An informal map of cases worldwide is being collected by a biomedical researcher in Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, the European Union has issued a travel warning to citizens, urging them to avoid nonessential travel to the U.S. or Mexico, reports The New York Times. The CDC will be distributing information cards at U.S. ports of entry to inform travelers about the flu's symptoms and precautions that should be taken to avoid it. Later today, the CDC will also issue a travel advisory recommending that all nonessential travel to Mexico be avoided.
"This is a serious event, and we're taking it seriously," Besser said. "This situation is evolving very quickly," he said, and a clear picture of how the disease is spreading may not be available for another week or two.
Although a vaccine for the flu strain, which is similar to those responsible for the 1918 and 1957 outbreaks, is likely months away, biotechnology companies are anxious to get to work, notes FierceBiotech, a biotech industry newsletter. The CDC is discussing whether to include strains of this flu in next year's flu vaccines.
By dubbing the outbreak a public health emergency yesterday, the government authorized states to release 25 percent of their antiviral drugs from the Strategic National Stockpile, which means that 11 million courses of the drugs are en route to the affected states, said Besser.
Although the drugs could help treat those infected with the virus, Besser noted that, "there's no single action that will control an outbreak… It starts with personal responsibility, but it doesn't end there." He recommended that people take standard precautions such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home from work and school if feeling ill.
At the speech to the NSA, Obama concluded, "If there was ever a day that reminded us of our shared stake in science and research, it is today."
For more on swine flu and other influenza outbreaks, see our In-Depth Report.
Image courtesy of Laurel Fan via Flickr
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6 Comments
Add CommentSwine flu 1976, one (1) mortality over 500 paralyzed from vaccine.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGlobal security site calls those 500 "several. " 35,000 die each year of type A flu in the USA. How is this different other than the reporting? Normal mortality for flu is 1%. The 1918 flu death rate was 2% world wide. The vaccines are not preventing the infection and if too rapidly developed as in 1976, do more harm than good. Hong Kong flu 1968 killed 35,000 in the USA, Russian Flu of 1978.
Why is WHO talking pandemic with the minor amount of cases? Why is this called swine flu when it is a mixture of avian, human and swine? It is a type A flu virus that most people recover from relatively quickly.
Is the DHS that anxious to test out their plans?
I quote the article: Although the drugs COULD help treat those infected with the virus, Besser noted that, "there's no single action that will control an outbreak& It starts with personal responsibility, but it doesn't end there."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere is another quote (complements of Mark Sircus of the International Medical Veritas Association IMVA) from Dr. Eleanor McBean who lived through the 1918 influenza epidemic and testified, "As far as I could find out, the flu hit only the vaccinated. Those who had refused the shots escaped the flu. My family had refused all the vaccinations so we remained well all the time. There was seven times more disease among the vaccinated soldiers than among the unvaccinated civilians, and the diseases were those they had been vaccinated against."
Tamiflu is not a cure (like most drugs it does not cure but only treats symptoms with dangerous consequences) and can have dangerous psychiatric side effects resulting in suicide or serious injury or death while trying to flee or escape an imaginary danger. It offers false hope and is a cash cow for drug companies. I put all vaccines in the same category.
Personal things you can do. First of all stay well hydrated by drinking lots of pure water. According to Mark Sircus http://www.naturalallopathic.com our most potent natural weapons against any virus, microbe, fungi, yeast, etc. including influenza are: Transdermally(via the skin) applied Magnesium Chloride (ancientminerals.com has the purest form), Iodine (Nascent Iodine, Lugol's, 7% solution or the stuff off the shelf), and Sodium Bicarbonate. The skin is the largest organ of the body and absorbs what it needs. I recommend Mark's books to understand how these inexpensive minerals are so powerful and important to maintaining health.
In addition, Jim Humble discovered the secret of turning Stabilized Oxygen (usually sold in stores as a 3.5% solution of Sodium Chlorite, NaClO2) into the most potent pathogen killers known to man, Chlorine Dioxide, ClO2. It destroys all harmful viruses, microbes, fungi, and yeast in the body while leaving helpful organisms alone. He starts with 15 drops of a 28% solution of Sodium Chlorite (MMS) to which he adds 1/2 teaspoon of either fresh lemon or lime juice, or vinnegar (5% acid content). Wait 3 minutes. This creates about 3 milligrams of Chlorine Dioxide when 4 ounces of pure apple juice is added (or just use water). You drink this and it continues to generate chlorine dioxide for the next 12 hours in the body. It oxidizes any pathogen it contacts.
Are you serious. I work in a pharmacy and am very well aware of the outcomes of Tamiflu and psychiatric problems is not one of the major side effects of that particular antiviral. Maybe nausea and dizziness but definitly not going crazy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecondly, you are probably the same type of person who drinks green tea instead of actually working out. Don't get me wrong old ancient chinese stuff works occasionally but most of the time I am more happy using drugs that I know have solid scientific evidence that they work.
In regards to the people who think that this is not a serious problem, they are seriously mistaken. This can turn into something huge and when the CDCs worried, I'm worried too. Don't underestimate nature because nature always wins. By the way I do think that there are two different forms of the virus, one that has drastically affected the mexican region and another that has affected the united states. I also think that the evolution of the one in the u.s.a. is at its infancy.
i am sorry but i think that everyone is like totally out of it. they are like not looking completely at the whole situation. This is fucking serious, so obama needs to wake the fuck up and realize that this country is indeed catching and spreading the disease to other people in various states. There is no way in hell that every case that has been reported in the united states, is linked to someone else that has the swine flu. I have no respect for the Obama administration, infact i think that i dislike them more than i diskliked the Bush administation. At least they would have done something to help the country out with this devastating out break of the swine virus. What needs to happen before the obama administration will do something to help stop the spread. DO hundreds, thousands or millions of people have to die, before he will realize that this is very much indeed serious and is very good cause for alarm. People are becoming ill, all around the world, not just mexico and canada.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am sorry but i say that the obama administration should start doing more than they are. Instead of sitting around, waiting to see if the damn virus will spread, they should be up and actively trying to find away to stop the spreading, or at least contain it. People all over the country are freaking out and worried that either themselves, or someone they love, will contract the virus and end up dying. It is very scary and to be honest with you i am worried that something is going to happen to someone i love, or myself.... i am beyond angry with the govermnet of the united states, and will continue to remain that way until stubborn ass people get up and offer a helping hand.
I understand that obama is new to office and that he feels he has a lot of pressure, but to be quiet honest with you, he is focusing on things that are not nearly as important as someones life. Such things would include, money, trades, apologizing to terrorist nations, ect ect. We need money to survive but i am pretty damn sure, that EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN, would forget all the money in the world, if it meant saving their lives and the lives of people they love, and potentially the world as a whole. Things need to be done, and in order for them to happen, people need to make a stand.... i am only 17 years old, and i going to make a stand, because i should not have to witness the people around me (or myself) becoming sick, because they US goverment, even though they had the chance, refuses to help because they thought less important things were more important than lives!!!!!!
RE: Tamiflu. This is a quote from www.tamiflu.com/sideeffects/aspx
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"People with the flu, particularly children and adolescents, may be at an increased risk of self injury and confusion shortly after taking TAMIFLU and should be closely monitored for signs of unusal behavior. A healthcare professional should be contacted immediately if the patient taking TAMIFLU shows any signs of unusual behavior."
The company was required to put out this warning because the "increased risk of self injury and confusion....and....signs of unusual behavior" include suicides, and injuries from trying to flee or escape an imaginary danger.
Here is another quote. "Tamiflu is recognized as causing psychological disturbance, and therefore the apparent suicidal behavior of these two teenagers has been linked to taking Tamiflu," analysts at Morgan Stanley Equity Research said in a statement.
I don't buy into the fear tactics of WHO or the CDC and sensationalized by the media. The FDA, pharmaceutical companies, doctors and those that prescribe and dispense their products, and other health organizations worldwide are complicit in a HEALTH SCAM of epic proportions. They create unnecessary fear and panic, put forth products that do more harm than good, boost their profits, block natural and "alternative" solutions that really work, block or control information or what may be said about such products, and solidify their absolute domination and control of anything having to do with health.
We would not be so vulnerable if our immune systems were not so compromised by substances such as mercury, chlorine, flourine, bromine, herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, food additives such as MSG and aspartame, food dyes, preservatives, etc. etc. Most people are seriously deficient in magnesium chloride which alone accounts for many of the so-called diseases of today including diabetes, heart disease and stroke and many others. When the body is toxic is uses fat cells to encapsulate the toxin which is perhaps the major cause of obesity. Calcium cannot be utilized by the body unless there is sufficient magnesium, lack of it causes the body to extract calcium from bones. They are also deficient in idodine. Magnesium chloride and iodine are essential building blocks of many systems and processes in the body. Chlorine, flourine and bromine block the availability of iodine to the body.
There is not enough room to go on. Visit http://www.naturalallopathic.com to begin your journey to true health.
Has anyone been tracking the spread of swine flu on this website http://www.swine-flu-tracker.com/? It seems every time I check it the swine flu spreads.
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