coming to SG... SARS 2 = SWINE FLU OUT BREAK !!!!!

[McDollar]

FT COW BOON WAN STILL ACTING BLUR? KEPT SO QUIET? UN World Health Org already acting on it!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2ZlYXJhbmdlcmFuZA--

Fear, anger and fatalism over swine flu in Mexico
AP


Swine Flu Hits Texas Play Video ABC News – Swine Flu Hits Texas

* Swine Flu Slideshow:Swine Flu
* Fatal swine flu breaks out in Mexico. Play Video Video:Fatal swine flu breaks out in Mexico. Reuters
* Health officials on alert for swine flu Play Video Video:Health officials on alert for swine flu AP

A quarantine officer monitors travelers from Mexico City with a thermographic AP – A quarantine officer monitors travelers from Mexico City with a thermographic device at an arrival gate …
By ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer Alexandra Olson, Associated Press Writer – 12 mins ago

MEXICO CITY – The schools and museums are closed. Sold-out games between Mexico's most popular soccer teams are being played in empty stadiums. Health workers are ordering sickly passengers off subways and buses. And while bars and nightclubs filled up as usual, even some teenagers were dancing with surgical masks on.

Across this overcrowded capital of 20 million people, Mexicans are reacting with fatalism and confusion, anger and mounting fear at the idea that their city may be ground zero for a global epidemic of a new kind of flu — a strange mix of human, pig and bird viruses that has epidemiologists deeply concerned.

Tests show 20 people in Mexico have died of the new swine flu strain, and that 48 other deaths were probably due to the same strain. The caseload of those sickened has grown to 1,004 nationwide, Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said.

The same virus also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths north of the border, puzzling experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Scientists have warned for years about the potential for a pandemic from viruses that mix genetic material from humans and animals. This outbreak is particularly worrisome because deaths have happened in at least four different regions of Mexico, and because the victims have not been vulnerable infants and elderly.

The most notorious flu pandemic, thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19, also first struck otherwise healthy young adults.

Authorities in the capital responded Friday with a sweeping shutdown of public places and events, urging people to stay home if they feel sick and to avoid shaking hands or kissing people on the cheeks.

Mexicans quickly got the message — and wanted to make sure their family members did, too.

Cristina Ceron, a 55-year-old waitress, called her daughter as soon as she got off work. "Please keep your mouth covered. And don't you eat street food," she pleaded through a white surgical mask.

In front of a Hospital Obregon in Mexico City's middle-class Roma district, a tired Dr. Roberto Ortiz, 59, leaned against a parked ambulance and sipped a coffee early Saturday on a break amid what he said was an unusually busy shift.

"The people are scared," Ortiz said. "A person gets some flu symptoms or a child gets a fever and they think it is this swine flu and rush to the hospital."

He said none of the cases so far at the hospital had turned out to be swine flu.

President Felipe Calderon said his government only discovered the nature of the virus late Thursday, with the help of international laboratories. "We are doing everything necessary," he said in a brief statement.

But the government had said for days that its growing flu caseload was nothing unusual, so the sudden turnaround, along with a flurry of warnings from disease experts, left many angry and confused.

"Why did it break out, where did it break out? What's the magnitude of the problem?" said pizzeria owner David Vasquez, who was taking his family out to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" at a movie theater despite the urging of health officials that city residents stay home Friday night.

It was his son's 10th birthday, and he couldn't bear to cancel their outing. Vasquez said he would keep the family home the rest of the weekend.

The outbreak even hit Mexico's beloved national pastime — two sold-out football matches Sunday — Pumas vs. Chivas and America vs. Tecos — will be played in empty stadiums to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health workers also staffed the international airport and bus and subway stations, handing out masks and trying to steer away anyone who appeared sick. Many commuters wore masks, but there weren't enough to go around. One woman leaving a station nervously pulled her sweater over her face as her companion laughed and rolled his eyes.

A nearby pharmacy put up signs reading "We don't have masks" in black magic marker after selling out all 150 in stock.

Scientists have long been concerned that a new killer flu could evolve when different viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.

The World Health Organization convened an emergency expert panel to consider whether to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency — a step that could lead to travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures. The agency's Director-General Margaret Chan arrived in Geneva on Saturday for the meeting.

The CDC and Canadian health officials were studying samples sent from Mexico, and some governments around Latin America said they would monitor passengers arriving on flights from Mexico.

But it may be too late to contain the outbreak, given how widespread the known cases are. If the confirmed deaths are the first signs of a pandemic, then cases are probably incubating around the world by now, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, a pandemic flu expert at the University of Minnesota.

In New York City, health officials say about 75 students at a Queens high school have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms and testing is under way to rule out that is the same strain of swine flu found in Mexico. Results could take several days.

No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.

A "seed stock" genetically matched to the new swine flu virus has been created by the CDC, said Dr. Richard Besser, the agency's acting director. If the government decides vaccine production is necessary, manufacturers would need that stock to get started. Actually producing the vaccines could take months.

The CDC says two flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested. Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.

Cordova said Mexico has enough Tamiflu to treat 1 million people — only one in 20 people in greater Mexico City alone — and that the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

This swine flu and regular flu can have similar symptoms — mostly fever, cough and sore throat, though some of the U.S. victims who recovered also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.

At Mexico's National Institute of Respiratory Illnesses, Adrian Anda waited to hear whether his 15-year-old daughter had the frightening new disease. She had been suffering a cough and fever for a week.

"If they say that it is, then we'll suffer. Until then, we don't want to think about it," he said.

Jose Donasiano Rosales, 69, said Saturday he got nervous while riding the subway to work and ended up getting off one stop early.

"I felt I couldn't be there for even one more station," he said while setting up a rack he uses to sell newspapers on a central Mexico City thoroughfare. "We're in danger of contagion. ... I'm worried."

But the previous night, teenagers with spiky hair and tight jeans packed nightclubs in the capital's Zona Rosa neighborhood.

"I guess I am a little afraid," Leroy Villaluna said with an embarrassed laugh, slipping a blue surgical mask on and off. "And also, my mom was worried and told me that if I had to go out I should at least cover my mouth."

___

Associated Press Writers Traci Carl, Mark Stevenson, Carlos Rodriguez, David Koop and Peter Orsi in Mexico City; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta; Malcolm Ritter in New York; and Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.

 

[McDollar]

WAF is million$$$ COW & PAP ministers doing? Loong leh? Teo leh? Wong leh? LKY leh? ZZZZ Koon right?! huh?

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html

Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR)
Country activities | Outbreak news | Resources | Media centre
WHO > Programmes and projects > Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR) > Disease Outbreak News
Main content
printable version
Influenza-like illness in the United States and Mexico

24 April 2009 -- The United States Government has reported seven confirmed human cases of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in the USA (five in California and two in Texas) and nine suspect cases. All seven confirmed cases had mild Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), with only one requiring brief hospitalization. No deaths have been reported.

The Government of Mexico has reported three separate events. In the Federal District of Mexico, surveillance began picking up cases of ILI starting 18 March. The number of cases has risen steadily through April and as of 23 April there are now more than 854 cases of pneumonia from the capital. Of those, 59 have died. In San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, 24 cases of ILI, with three deaths, have been reported. And from Mexicali, near the border with the United States, four cases of ILI, with no deaths, have been reported.

Of the Mexican cases, 18 have been laboratory confirmed in Canada as Swine Influenza A/H1N1, while 12 of those are genetically identical to the Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses from California.

The majority of these cases have occurred in otherwise healthy young adults. Influenza normally affects the very young and the very old, but these age groups have not been heavily affected in Mexico.

Because there are human cases associated with an animal influenza virus, and because of the geographical spread of multiple community outbreaks, plus the somewhat unusual age groups affected, these events are of high concern.

The Swine Influenza A/H1N1 viruses characterized in this outbreak have not been previously detected in pigs or humans. The viruses so far characterized have been sensitive to oseltamivir, but resistant to both amantadine and rimantadine.

The World Health Organization has been in constant contact with the health authorities in the United States, Mexico and Canada in order to better understand the risk which these ILI events pose. WHO (and PAHO) is sending missions of experts to Mexico to work with health authorities there. It is helping its Member States to increase field epidemiology activities, laboratory diagnosis and clinical management. Moreover, WHO's partners in the Global Alert and Response Network have been alerted and are ready to assist as requested by the Member States.

WHO acknowledges the United States and Mexico for their proactive reporting and their collaboration with WHO and will continue to work with Member States to further characterize the outbreak.
For more information, please contact:

Thomas Abraham
Communications in English
Mobile: +41 79 516 3136
E-mail: [email protected]

Fadela Chaib
Communications in English and French
Mobile: +41 79 475 5556
E-mail: [email protected]

Sari Segoti
Communications in English and Bahasa
Mobile: +41 79 701 9467
E-mail: [email protected]

Gregory Hartl
Communications in English, French, German and Spanish
Mobile: +41 79 203 6715
E-mail: [email protected]

Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
Communications in English, Thai and Hindi
Mobile: +41 79 647 8395
E-mail: [email protected]

 

[tun_dr_m]

BAN ALL HUMAN & BABI FROM NORTH AMERICA NOW PAP!

WAKE UP!
:oIo::oIo:

 

[tun_dr_m]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_Flu

Swine influenza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Swine Flu)


Swine influenza (Swine flu) refers to influenza cases that are caused by Orthomyxoviruses endemic to populations of pigs. The viruses are referred to as Swine influenza viruses (SIV). The distinction is not based on phylogeny. SIV strains isolated to date have been classified either as Influenzavirus C or one of the various subtypes of the genus Influenzavirus A.[1]

Swine flu, unlike bird flu, is able to pass from human to human contact.[2]

Influenza A virus subtypes H1N1, H1N2, H3N1 and H3N2 are all known to cause SIV infections.[3][4] Also recently H2N3.[5]

"In swine, 3 influenza A virus subtypes (H1N1, H3N2, and H1N2) are circulating throughout the world. In the United States, the classic H1N1 subtype was exclusively prevalent among swine populations before 1998; however, since late August 1998, H3N2 subtypes have been isolated from pigs. Most H3N2 virus isolates are triple reassortants, containing genes from human (HA, NA, and PB1), swine (NS, NP, and M), and avian (PB2 and PA) lineages. [...] Present vaccination strategies for SIV control and prevention in swine farms typically include the use of 1 of several bivalent SIV vaccines commercially available in the United States. Of the 97 recent H3N2 isolates examined, only 41 isolates had strong serologic cross-reactions with antiserum to 3 commercial SIV vaccines. Since the protective ability of influenza vaccines depends primarily on the closeness of the match between the vaccine virus and the epidemic virus, the presence of nonreactive H3N2 SIV variants suggests that current commercial vaccines might not effectively protect pigs from infection with a majority of H3N2 viruses."[6][7]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 H5N1
* 2 Veterinary swine flu vaccine
* 3 History
o 3.1 1918 epidemic
o 3.2 1976 U.S. outbreak
o 3.3 2007 Philippine outbreak
o 3.4 2009 Mexico and U.S. outbreak
o 3.5 Prevention and Education
* 4 See also
* 5 Sources
* 6 Further reading

[edit] H5N1
Pigs can harbor influenza viruses adapted to humans and others that are adapted to birds, allowing the viruses to exchange genes and create a pandemic strain.

Avian influenza virus H3N2 is endemic in pigs in China and has been detected in pigs in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains. Health experts say pigs can carry human influenza viruses, which can combine (i.e. exchange homologous genome sub-units by genetic reassortment) with H5N1, passing genes and mutating into a form which can pass easily among humans. H3N2 evolved from H2N2 by antigenic shift and caused the Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968 and 1969 that killed up to 750,000 humans. The dominant strain of annual flu in humans in January 2006 is H3N2. Measured resistance to the standard antiviral drugs amantadine and rimantadine in H3N2 in humans has increased to 91% in 2005. A combination of these two subtypes of the species known as the avian influenza virus in a country like China is a worst case scenario. In August 2004, researchers in China found H5N1 in pigs.[8]

In 2005 it was discovered that H5N1 "could be infecting up to half of the pig population in some areas of Indonesia, but without causing symptoms [...] Chairul Nidom, a virologist at Airlangga University's tropical disease center in Surabaya, Java, [Indonesia] was conducting independent research earlier this year. He tested the blood of 10 apparently healthy pigs housed near poultry farms in western Java where avian flu had broken out, Nature reported. Five of the pig samples contained the H5N1 virus. The Indonesian government has since found similar results in the same region, Nature reported. Additional tests of 150 pigs outside the area were negative."[9]

[edit] Veterinary swine flu vaccine

Swine influenza has become a greater problem in recent decades. Evolution of the virus has resulted in inconsistent responses to traditional vaccines. Standard commercial swine flu vaccines are effective in controlling the problem when the virus strains match enough to have significant cross-protection and custom (autogenous) vaccines made from the specific viruses isolated are created and used in the more difficult cases.[10] SIV vaccine manufacture Novartis paints this picture: "A strain of swine influenza virus (SIV) called H3N2, first identified in the US in 1998, has brought exasperating production losses to swine producers. Abortion storms are a common sign. Sows go off feed for two or three days and run a fever up to 106°F. Mortality in a naïve herd can run as high as 15%."[11]

[edit] History

[edit] 1918 epidemic
Main article: Spanish Flu

In the spring of 1918, swine influenza mutated into a severe form in just a few months. Eighty percent of the victims became severely ill and died, while the rest suffered from mild symptoms. In the US, the first deaths were recorded among sailors in Boston in August 1918, and the epidemic quickly spread to all parts of the country. Between the autumn of 1918 and the spring of 1919, 548,452 people died of this flu in the US. In the UK, France and Germany, around 600,000 people died. Worldwide, the number of casualties was between 20 and 50 million, or maybe more. The puzzling fact is that the epidemic erupted almost simultaneously at distant locations, therefore it is likely that the virus was incubated in people with only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Other anomalous facts are that the disease attacked people in their twenties and thirties, thought to have strong immune systems, and most of the infections were lethal. At the military prison at Deer Island (Massachusetts) in Boston Harbor there was an attempt to develop a vaccine during the 1918 outbreak.[12]

[edit] 1976 U.S. outbreak

On February 5, 1976, an army recruit at Fort Dix said he felt tired and weak. He died the next day and four of his fellow soldiers were later hospitalized. Two weeks after his death, health officials announced that swine flu was the cause of death and that this strain of flu appeared to be closely related to the strain involved in the 1918 flu pandemic. Alarmed public-health officials decided that action must be taken to head off another major pandemic, and they urged that every person in the U.S. be vaccinated for the disease. President Gerald Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. The vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, but about 24% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled.[13]

There is "enough evidence to suggest that" about 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome resulting in death from severe pulmonary complications for 25 people was caused by an immunopathological reaction to the vaccine in some people.[13] Other influenza vaccines have not been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome.[14]

[edit] 2007 Philippine outbreak

On August 20, 2007, Department of Agriculture officers investigated the outbreak of swine flu in Nueva Ecija and Central Luzon, Philippines. The mortality rate is less than 10% for swine flu, if there are no complications like hog cholera. Earlier, or on July 27, 2007, the Philippine National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) raised a hog cholera "red alert" warning over Metro Manila and 5 regions of Luzon after the disease spread to backyard pig farms in Bulacan and Pampanga, even if these tested negative for the swine flu virus.[15][16]

[edit] 2009 Mexico and U.S. outbreak
This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Main article: 2009 Mexico and U.S. swine influenza outbreak

In March and April 2009, over 1,000 cases of unusually virulent flu in humans were detected in Mexico and the southwestern United States, causing more than 60 deaths.[17] Some of these have been confirmed by the World Health Organization to be a never-before-seen strain of H1N1.[18][19] The story of the outbreak was broadcast live first in Mexico on 2009-04-23 at around 11 pm. A new swine flu strain has been confirmed in 16 of the deaths and 44 others are being tested as of 24 April 2009.[20] The Mexican fatalities are mainly young adults, a hallmark of pandemic flu.[21]

Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that the American cases were found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses -- North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza A virus subtype H1N1, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe. For two cases a complete genome sequence had been obtained. She said that the virus was resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, but susceptible to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).[22][23][24] Preliminary genetic characterization found that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene was similar to that of swine flu viruses present in U.S. pigs since 1999, but the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M) genes resembled versions present in European swine flu isolates. Viruses with this genetic makeup had not previously been found to be circulating in humans or pigs, but there is no formal national surveillance system to determine what viruses are circulating in pigs in the U.S.[25] The seasonal influenza strain H1N1 vaccine is thought to be unlikely to provide protection.[26]

 

[popdod]

Must stop eating pork chop liao.

:(

 

[ahleebabasingaporethief]

Singapore FTs and the potential disease they may bring.

1) Indians - Drug resistant Tuberculosis

2) PRCs - SARs / bird flu

3) Filipinos - Ebola flesh eating virus (there was an outbreak there in 2009)

4) Indo-China FTs - bird flu

5) Malaysians - wolves in sheep clothings to steal jobs

 

[tun_dr_m]

Extra post deleted.

Oops my wifi or internet problem. Slow loading and I clicked few times, came out 3 posts. I whacked out this last one. Sorri hor. :p

 

[tun_dr_m]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_Flu

Swine influenza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Swine Flu)


Swine influenza (Swine flu) refers to influenza cases that are caused by Orthomyxoviruses endemic to populations of pigs. The viruses are referred to as Swine influenza viruses (SIV). The distinction is not based on phylogeny. SIV strains isolated to date have been classified either as Influenzavirus C or one of the various subtypes of the genus Influenzavirus A.[1]

Swine flu, unlike bird flu, is able to pass from human to human contact.[2]

Influenza A virus subtypes H1N1, H1N2, H3N1 and H3N2 are all known to cause SIV infections.[3][4] Also recently H2N3.[5]

"In swine, 3 influenza A virus subtypes (H1N1, H3N2, and H1N2) are circulating throughout the world. In the United States, the classic H1N1 subtype was exclusively prevalent among swine populations before 1998; however, since late August 1998, H3N2 subtypes have been isolated from pigs. Most H3N2 virus isolates are triple reassortants, containing genes from human (HA, NA, and PB1), swine (NS, NP, and M), and avian (PB2 and PA) lineages. [...] Present vaccination strategies for SIV control and prevention in swine farms typically include the use of 1 of several bivalent SIV vaccines commercially available in the United States. Of the 97 recent H3N2 isolates examined, only 41 isolates had strong serologic cross-reactions with antiserum to 3 commercial SIV vaccines. Since the protective ability of influenza vaccines depends primarily on the closeness of the match between the vaccine virus and the epidemic virus, the presence of nonreactive H3N2 SIV variants suggests that current commercial vaccines might not effectively protect pigs from infection with a majority of H3N2 viruses."[6][7]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 H5N1
* 2 Veterinary swine flu vaccine
* 3 History
o 3.1 1918 epidemic
o 3.2 1976 U.S. outbreak
o 3.3 2007 Philippine outbreak
o 3.4 2009 Mexico and U.S. outbreak
o 3.5 Prevention and Education
* 4 See also
* 5 Sources
* 6 Further reading

[edit] H5N1
Pigs can harbor influenza viruses adapted to humans and others that are adapted to birds, allowing the viruses to exchange genes and create a pandemic strain.

Avian influenza virus H3N2 is endemic in pigs in China and has been detected in pigs in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains. Health experts say pigs can carry human influenza viruses, which can combine (i.e. exchange homologous genome sub-units by genetic reassortment) with H5N1, passing genes and mutating into a form which can pass easily among humans. H3N2 evolved from H2N2 by antigenic shift and caused the Hong Kong Flu pandemic of 1968 and 1969 that killed up to 750,000 humans. The dominant strain of annual flu in humans in January 2006 is H3N2. Measured resistance to the standard antiviral drugs amantadine and rimantadine in H3N2 in humans has increased to 91% in 2005. A combination of these two subtypes of the species known as the avian influenza virus in a country like China is a worst case scenario. In August 2004, researchers in China found H5N1 in pigs.[8]

In 2005 it was discovered that H5N1 "could be infecting up to half of the pig population in some areas of Indonesia, but without causing symptoms [...] Chairul Nidom, a virologist at Airlangga University's tropical disease center in Surabaya, Java, [Indonesia] was conducting independent research earlier this year. He tested the blood of 10 apparently healthy pigs housed near poultry farms in western Java where avian flu had broken out, Nature reported. Five of the pig samples contained the H5N1 virus. The Indonesian government has since found similar results in the same region, Nature reported. Additional tests of 150 pigs outside the area were negative."[9]

[edit] Veterinary swine flu vaccine

Swine influenza has become a greater problem in recent decades. Evolution of the virus has resulted in inconsistent responses to traditional vaccines. Standard commercial swine flu vaccines are effective in controlling the problem when the virus strains match enough to have significant cross-protection and custom (autogenous) vaccines made from the specific viruses isolated are created and used in the more difficult cases.[10] SIV vaccine manufacture Novartis paints this picture: "A strain of swine influenza virus (SIV) called H3N2, first identified in the US in 1998, has brought exasperating production losses to swine producers. Abortion storms are a common sign. Sows go off feed for two or three days and run a fever up to 106°F. Mortality in a naïve herd can run as high as 15%."[11]

[edit] History

[edit] 1918 epidemic
Main article: Spanish Flu

In the spring of 1918, swine influenza mutated into a severe form in just a few months. Eighty percent of the victims became severely ill and died, while the rest suffered from mild symptoms. In the US, the first deaths were recorded among sailors in Boston in August 1918, and the epidemic quickly spread to all parts of the country. Between the autumn of 1918 and the spring of 1919, 548,452 people died of this flu in the US. In the UK, France and Germany, around 600,000 people died. Worldwide, the number of casualties was between 20 and 50 million, or maybe more. The puzzling fact is that the epidemic erupted almost simultaneously at distant locations, therefore it is likely that the virus was incubated in people with only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Other anomalous facts are that the disease attacked people in their twenties and thirties, thought to have strong immune systems, and most of the infections were lethal. At the military prison at Deer Island (Massachusetts) in Boston Harbor there was an attempt to develop a vaccine during the 1918 outbreak.[12]

[edit] 1976 U.S. outbreak

On February 5, 1976, an army recruit at Fort Dix said he felt tired and weak. He died the next day and four of his fellow soldiers were later hospitalized. Two weeks after his death, health officials announced that swine flu was the cause of death and that this strain of flu appeared to be closely related to the strain involved in the 1918 flu pandemic. Alarmed public-health officials decided that action must be taken to head off another major pandemic, and they urged that every person in the U.S. be vaccinated for the disease. President Gerald Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. The vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, but about 24% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled.[13]

There is "enough evidence to suggest that" about 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome resulting in death from severe pulmonary complications for 25 people was caused by an immunopathological reaction to the vaccine in some people.[13] Other influenza vaccines have not been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome.[14]

[edit] 2007 Philippine outbreak

On August 20, 2007, Department of Agriculture officers investigated the outbreak of swine flu in Nueva Ecija and Central Luzon, Philippines. The mortality rate is less than 10% for swine flu, if there are no complications like hog cholera. Earlier, or on July 27, 2007, the Philippine National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) raised a hog cholera "red alert" warning over Metro Manila and 5 regions of Luzon after the disease spread to backyard pig farms in Bulacan and Pampanga, even if these tested negative for the swine flu virus.[15][16]

[edit] 2009 Mexico and U.S. outbreak
This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Main article: 2009 Mexico and U.S. swine influenza outbreak

In March and April 2009, over 1,000 cases of unusually virulent flu in humans were detected in Mexico and the southwestern United States, causing more than 60 deaths.[17] Some of these have been confirmed by the World Health Organization to be a never-before-seen strain of H1N1.[18][19] The story of the outbreak was broadcast live first in Mexico on 2009-04-23 at around 11 pm. A new swine flu strain has been confirmed in 16 of the deaths and 44 others are being tested as of 24 April 2009.[20] The Mexican fatalities are mainly young adults, a hallmark of pandemic flu.[21]

Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that the American cases were found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses -- North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza A virus subtype H1N1, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe. For two cases a complete genome sequence had been obtained. She said that the virus was resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, but susceptible to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).[22][23][24] Preliminary genetic characterization found that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene was similar to that of swine flu viruses present in U.S. pigs since 1999, but the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M) genes resembled versions present in European swine flu isolates. Viruses with this genetic makeup had not previously been found to be circulating in humans or pigs, but there is no formal national surveillance system to determine what viruses are circulating in pigs in the U.S.[25] The seasonal influenza strain H1N1 vaccine is thought to be unlikely to provide protection.[26]

 

[singveld]

SARS was spread into singapore by one woman who went to hongkong shopping, when she press her hand lift button.


lucky for us, mexico is not a shopping haven for singapore gal.

 

[tonychat]

Another case of livestock breeding case of massive killing virus.

That is the karma of meat eating. Please turn vegetarian for the good karma of longer life.

Killing begets killing ... remember that.

 

[tun_dr_m]

Oops my wifi or internet problem. Slow loading and I clicked few times, came out 3 posts. I whacked out this last one. Sorri hor. :p

 

[SARS_orchard]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA21leGljb2NpdHljYQ--


Mexico City cancels all public events to fight flu
AP



Swine Flu Hits Texas Play Video ABC News – Swine Flu Hits Texas



Women wear surgical masks as they exit the subway in Mexico City, Saturday, AP – Women wear surgical masks as they exit the subway in Mexico City, Saturday, April 25, 2009. Mexico City …
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Mark Stevenson, Associated Press Writer – 23 mins ago

MEXICO CITY – A deadly new swine flu strain that has killed at least 20 people in Mexico City and sickened more than 1,000 has "pandemic potential," the World Health Organization chief said Saturday — but some fear it may be too late to contain the outbreak.

With 24 new suspected cases of the swine flu reported Saturday, Mexico City said schools would remain closed and all public events suspended until further notice — including more than 500 concerts, sporting events and other gatherings including the popular weekly bicycle rides on streets closed to traffic.

A hotline set up the previous day fielded 2,366 calls from frightened city residents who suspected they might have the disease. City Health Secretary Armando Ahued said 10 new possible cases of infection have been discovered in the metropolis of 20 million people.

Officials say more than 1,000 people have been infected nationwide. Tests show 20 people have died of the swine flu, and 48 other deaths were probably due to the same strain.

This virus is a mix of human, pig and bird strains that has epidemiologists around the world deeply concerned. The World Health Organization convened in Geneva Saturday to consider whether to declare an international public health emergency — a step that could lead to travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures.

The agency's director-general, Margaret Chan, said the outbreak involves "an animal strain of the H1N1 virus, and it has pandemic potential" — but it is too early to say whether a pandemic will actually occur.

The CDC and Canadian health officials were studying samples sent from Mexico, and some governments in Asia and Latin America began monitoring passengers arriving on flights from Mexico.

But it may be too late to contain the outbreak, given how widespread the known cases are. If the confirmed deaths are the first signs of a pandemic, then cases are probably incubating around the world by now, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, a pandemic flu expert at the University of Minnesota.

The same virus also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths north of the border, puzzling experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.

 

[makapaaa]

U donch try to use this as an excuse to frustrate my FT import plan hor! *chey*​

 

[SARS_orchard]

Pandemic risk cautioned by WHO?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2009-04/25/content_11257470.htm

世卫组织称新型猪流感病毒可能变成流行性病毒
2009年04月25日 23:24:23 　来源：新华网
【字号 大 中 小】　【留言】　【打印】　【关闭】

【Email推荐： 】

新华网日内瓦４月２５日电（记者杨伶）世界卫生组织２５日对在墨西哥至少造成２０人死亡和近千人患病的新型猪流感病毒表示“非常担心”，认为这种病毒明显带有转化成流行性病毒的潜在可能。

世卫组织总干事陈冯富珍在世卫组织日内瓦总部举行的电视新闻发布会上表示，这种已在人际间传播的猪流感病毒很明显
地存在演变成流行性病毒的可能，且形势的发展“不可预测”。她说，这种在人际间传播、名为Ａ／Ｈ１Ｎ１的新型病毒让人类面临一个“严峻的形势”，没有发现病例的国家必须提高警惕。

世卫组织一位发言人强调说，这种病毒是发生基因突变的一种新型病毒，最令人担忧的是它已在人际间传播。

世卫组织此前曾强调说，儿童和老人通常更容易遭到流感病毒的感染，但此次墨西哥发现的猪流感病毒感染者大多为年轻人，这需要引起高度关注。

目前，世卫组织已经启动了突发公共卫生事件控制中心。

 

[MM_DURAI]

Swine Flu? What a name for a virus! It sound like swearing and cursing people. SARS at least don't sound as bad.

When I first read about it I though it was just a joke.

The news is terrifying when a deadly airborne transmission virus can go human to human and between human and pigs.

Is there an effective vaccine?

What is our 1st World PAP Govt of million $ salaries doing about this? Huh?




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425...lYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA21leGljb2ZpZ2h0cw--


Mexico fights swine flu with 'pandemic potential'
AP

A man wears a surgical mask while riding the subway in Mexico City, Saturday, AP – A man wears a surgical mask while riding the subway in Mexico City, Saturday, April 25, 2009. Mexico …
By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Mark Stevenson, Associated Press Writer – 42 mins ago

MEXICO CITY – A deadly new swine flu strain that has killed at least 20 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico has "pandemic potential," the World Health Organization chief said Saturday, and it may be too late to contain the outbreak.

With 24 new suspected cases of the swine flu reported Saturday in Mexico City alone, schools were ordered closed and all public events suspended until further notice — including more than 500 concerts and other gatherings in the metropolis of 20 million.

A hot line fielded 2,366 calls in its first hours from frightened city residents who suspected they might have the disease. Soldiers and health workers handed out masks at subway stops, and hospitals dealt with crowds of people seeking help.

The World Health Organization's director-general, Margaret Chan, said the outbreak of the never-before-seen virus is a very serious situation and has "pandemic potential." But she said it is still too early to tell if it would become a pandemic.

"The situation is evolving quickly," Chan said in a telephone news conference in Geneva. "A new disease is by definition poorly understood."

This virus is a mix of human, pig and bird strains that prompted WHO to meet Saturday to consider declaring an international public health emergency — a step that could lead to travel advisories, trade restrictions and border closures.

But experts at the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control say the nature of this outbreak may make containment impossible. Already, more than 1,000 people have been infected in as many as 14 of Mexico's 32 states, according to daily newspaper El Universal. Tests show 20 people have died of the swine flu, and 48 other deaths were probably due to the same strain.

The CDC and Canadian health officials were studying samples sent from Mexico, and airports around the world were screening passengers from Mexico for symptoms of the new flu strain, saying they may quarantine passengers.

But CDC officials dismissed the idea of trying that in the United States, and some expert said it's too late to try to contain spread of the virus.

They noted there had been no direct contact between the cases in the San Diego and San Antonio areas, suggesting the virus had already spread from one geographic area through other undiagnosed people.

"Anything that would be about containing it right now would purely be a political move," said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota pandemic expert.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his government only discovered the nature of the virus late Thursday, with the help of international laboratories. "We are doing everything necessary," he said in a brief statement.

But the government had said for days that its growing flu caseload was nothing unusual, so the sudden turnaround angered many who wonder if Mexico missed an opportunity to contain the outbreak.

"Why did it break out, where did it break out? What's the magnitude of the problem?" pizzeria owner David Vasquez said while taking his family to a movie Friday night, despite warnings to stay out of theaters.

Across Mexico's capital, residents reacted with fatalism and confusion, anger and mounting fear at the idea that their city may be ground zero for a global epidemic.

Authorities urged people to stay home if they feel sick and to avoid shaking hands or kissing people on the cheeks.

Outside Hospital Obregon in the capital's middle-class Roma district, a tired Dr. Roberto Ortiz, 59, leaned against an ambulance and sipped coffee Saturday on a break from an unusually busy shift.

"The people are scared," Ortiz said. "A person gets some flu symptoms or a child gets a fever and they think it is this swine flu and rush to the hospital."

He said none of the cases so far at the hospital had turned out to be swine flu.

Jose Donasiano Rosales, 69, got nervous on the subway and decided to get out one stop early.

"I felt I couldn't be there for even one more station," Donasiano said as he set up a rack to sell newspapers on a busy thoroughfare. "We're in danger of contagion. ... I'm worried."

The same virus also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths north of the border, puzzling experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This swine flu and regular flu can have similar symptoms — mostly fever, cough and sore throat, though some of the U.S. victims who recovered also experienced vomiting and diarrhea. No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.

A "seed stock" genetically matched to the new swine flu virus has been created by the CDC, said Dr. Richard Besser, the agency's acting director. If the government decides vaccine production is necessary, manufacturers would need that stock to get started.

The CDC says two flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested. Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.

Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said the country has enough Tamiflu to treat 1 million people — only one in 20 people in greater Mexico City alone — and that the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

Scientists have warned for years about the potential for a pandemic from viruses that mix genetic material from humans and animals. Another reason to worry about this virus is that the dead so far don't include vulnerable infants and elderly. The Spanish flu pandemic, thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19, also first struck otherwise healthy young adults.

At Mexico's National Institute of Respiratory Illnesses, Adrian Anda waited to hear whether his 15-year-old daughter had the frightening new disease. She had been suffering a cough and fever for a week.

"If they say that it is, then we'll suffer. Until then, we don't want to think about it," he said.

___

Associated Press Writers David Koop and Peter Orsi in Mexico City; Frank Jordans in Geneva; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta; Malcolm Ritter in New York; and Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.

 

[dysentry]

Mexicans appear more civilized than Sinkies, at least they wear masks in public.

 

[tun_dr_m]

Mexicans appear more civilized than Sinkies, at least they wear masks in public.

I think it is just the reporters / photographers picking on those masked people for their camera targets, because that will make the RIGHT kind of news pictures they needed, you know? - More Story-Telling news photos..

See my point?

Without the masks in peoples' faces it does not illustrate the story which the media need to report. The masks just help very much to illustrate the situation at the scenes.

 

[dysentry]

in Mexico City soldiers hand out masks in public, over here they are sold for profiteering.

 

[ahbengsong]

in Mexico City soldiers hand out masks in public, over here they are sold for profiteering.

i bet the pap are now hoping the swine flu dont go to sinkee shore ... then when its over .. they will claim credit for it.. if it does hit sinkee shore ... they will say its the peasants fault ...

what to expect from a despotic regime disguised as a democracy ??... lies, lies and lies .... ok .. its half-truth, half-truth and half-truth ...

 

[tun_dr_m]

WWW.WHO.INT director statement: PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY - SWINE FLU OUT BREAK !!!!!

WAF is PAP GOVT DOING?

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/h1n1_20090425/en/index.html

Swine influenza

Related link

Swine influenza

Current WHO phase of pandemic alert

International Health Regulations (IHR)

In response to cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), reported in Mexico and the United States of America, the Director-General convened a meeting of the Emergency Committee to assess the situation and advise her on appropriate responses.

The establishment of the Committee, which is composed of international experts in a variety of disciplines, is in compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005).

The first meeting of the Emergency Committee was held on Saturday 25 April 2009.

After reviewing available data on the current situation, Committee members identified a number of gaps in knowledge about the clinical features, epidemiology, and virology of reported cases and the appropriate responses.

The Committee advised that answers to several specific questions were needed to facilitate its work.

The Committee nevertheless agreed that the current situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

Based on this advice, the Director-General has determined that the current events constitute a public health emergency of international concern, under the Regulations.

Concerning public health measures, in line with the Regulations the Director-General is recommending, on the advice of the Committee, that all countries intensify surveillance for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia.

The Committee further agreed that more information is needed before a decision could be made concerning the appropriateness of the current phase 3.