Swine Flu Pandemic

[Monseratto]

Bad year to be in the pork business...

DoH raises alert on swine flu
No pork imports from US, Mexico

MANILA, Philippines—“Beso-beso”—or social kissing in Filipino—is a no-no these days, if you want to stay healthy.

That’s the advice Sunday of the Department of Health (DoH) amid the emergence of a new and deadly strain of swine flu in Mexico that has prompted authorities in Europe and Asia to put in place surveillance and preventive measures.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap also ordered a ban on pork imports from the United States and Mexico as a precaution.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center, said he expected the swine flu virus to spread faster than the deadly SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, that struck China in early 2003, swept several dozen countries and left nearly 800 people dead.

“Right now, there is still no case of swine flu in the country,” Tayag told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). Asked how lethal the virus is, he said, “There are those who recover and there are some who unfortunately don’t.”

He said swine flu is transmitted through droplet infection and physical contact.

“You don’t get swine flu from eating pork. We still don’t have a case here in the country, but once we have that, we should refrain from shaking hands, bussing cheeks and hugging,” Tayag said.

He also called on people to cover their mouths and noses when sneezing and to wash their hands, especially after shaking hands with other people.

“It’s OK if you’re healthy. But would you always ask someone if he or she has a cold or cough before bussing him or her on the cheeks. The best way would be to stop,” Tayag said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...t-on-swine-flu

[Monseratto]

Obama's swine flu scare after shaking hands with archaeologist who died 24 hours later

A man who shook Barack Obama's hand in Mexico died the next day from symptoms similar to those of swine flu.
The White House insisted the President's health was not in any danger, but he was said to be taking the threat of an epidemic 'very seriously'.
The President's health advisers were already concerned about his visit south of the border after learning the contagious virus first struck in Mexico City on April 13 - three days before Mr Obama flew in to meet government officials.
Their alarm grew after learning that Felipe Solis, an archaeologist who received Mr Obama at a city museum, had died from pneumonia.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl....html?ITO=1490

[Monseratto]

Swine flu fears prompt quarantine plans, pork bans




GENEVA – Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu Sunday as global health officials considered whether to raise the global pandemic alert level.

Nations from New Zealand to Spain also reported suspected cases, and some warned citizens against travel to North America while others planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers.

The six Canadian cases in Nova Scotia and British Columbia all had links to people who had traveled to Mexico, and all are the same swine flu strain.

The six people have recovered, said Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer.

But "these are probably not the last cases we'll see in Canada," he said.

The news follows the World Health Organization's decision Saturday to declare the outbreak first detected in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern."

A senior World Health Organization official said the agency's emergency committee will meet for a second time Tuesday to examine the spread of the virus before deciding whether to increase the alert for a possible pandemic, or global epidemic.

The same strain of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus has been detected in several locations in Mexico and the United States, and it appears to be spreading directly from human to human, said Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general in charge of health security.

Mexico's health minister says the disease has killed up to 86 people and likely sickened up to 1,400 since April 13. U.S. officials say the virus has been found in New York, California, Texas, Kansas and Ohio, but no fatalities have been reported.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090426/...SVMYnSNthvaA8F

[shadow]

wala yan! kung SARS nga hinde tayo apektuhan eh....

[chua_riwap]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl....html?ITO=1490

Obama's swine flu scare after shaking hands with archaeologist who died 24 hours later

Sayang, sana na-beso-beso at nakamayan din nya si GMA..........

Anyways, here are some facts from the US CDC about how swine flu spreads in humans:

* Swine flu viruses typically sicken pigs, not humans. Most cases occur when people come in contact with infected pigs or contaminated objects moving from people to pigs.

* Pigs can catch human and avian or bird flu. When flu viruses from different species infect pigs, they can mix inside the pig and new, mixed viruses can emerge.

* Pigs can pass mutated viruses back to humans and they can be passed from human to human. Transmission among humans is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu -- by touching something with flu viruses and then touching their mouth or nose, and through coughing or sneezing.

* Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to those of seasonal influenza -- sudden fever, coughing, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. This new strain also appears to cause more diarrhea and vomiting than normal flu.

* Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu although the CDC is formulating one. The seasonal influenza vaccine may help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses, like the one circulating now.

* People cannot catch swine flu from eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

[yebo]

tamaan sana yung baboy sa malacanang.

[uls]

the virus has already jumped from birds to pigs to humans (it has mutated na)

those who died are 20 - 40 yrs of age (very healthy) unlike normal flu which children and old people are more succeptible to coz of weak immune function

that's what makes this new flu virus deadly

[shadow]

the virus has already jumped from birds to pigs to humans (it has mutated na)

those who died are 20 - 40 yrs of age (very healthy) unlike normal flu which children and old people are more succeptible to coz of weak immune function

that's what makes this new flu virus deadly

ayan ka nanaman ULS, tinatakot mo nanaman yun mga tao eh....

[chua_riwap]

tamaan sana yung baboy sa malacanang.

Matibay yang Kumag na yan. Ilan beses nang na-St. Luke's yan, buhay pa rin hanggang ngayon..........

[beereo]

How can the world we live in today have that kind of deadly virus when, in fact, we are advanced enough to prevent diseases such as this? I believe that some lunatic scientist or company executive is behind this pandemic. Probably, he or she invented this virus in order to increase their sales of antibiotics.

[XTO]

kung ano ano kasi sinasaksak sa mga hogs and poultry para mas mapabilis ang paglaki nila, kaya puro chemical na lahat yang mga yan. iba talaga ang mga organic tulad nung araw

Uuyy! 50 congressmen are flying to MGM Vegas for the Pacquiao-Hatton.... since mostly mga mexicans ang mga manonood dun - when you're about to sneeze please look for our congressmen

[tidus1203]

Ok what I might say is controversial but I think this flu or PANDEMIC as the media like to hype it is overblown. There have been what? 150++ deaths from this virus and all of them from Mexico. Sure 150++ death is not to laugh about but when when you get the regular flu influenza killing 500,000 a year then it just shows how overblown this flu is from the media. They just like to sensationalize things...

[uls]

the news about the flu is spreading much faster than the flu

[ab_initio]

How can the world we live in today have that kind of deadly virus when, in fact, we are advanced enough to prevent diseases such as this? I believe that some lunatic scientist or company executive is behind this pandemic. Probably, he or she invented this virus in order to increase their sales of antibiotics.

+1. same here. greed makes a person mad.

[uls]

the virus was invented?

far out

viruses mutate

that's what viruses do

that's what viruses are good at

we live with viruses

our bodies try to adapt to viruses, viruses try to adapt to our bodies

[boybi]

the virus was invented?

far out

viruses mutate

that's what viruses do

that's what viruses are good at

we live with viruses

our bodies try to adapt to viruses, viruses try to adapt to our bodies

Baka kakapanood lang ng Mission Impossible

[ab_initio]

the virus was invented?

far out

why not? the very essence for WHO to declare a contagion to be pandemic includes, among others, that the disease must be new. invention suggests that it must be novel, new...

the present contagion is considered pandemic by WHO coz it has the characteristic of novelty, therefore, to some extent it's an invention.

[uls]

why not? The very essence for who to declare a contagion to be pandemic includes, among others, that the disease must be new. Invention suggests that it must be novel, new...

The present contagion is considered pandemic by who coz it has the characteristic of novelty, therefore, to some extent it's an invention.

semantics semantics

[ab_initio]

the virus was invented?

far out

viruses mutate

that's what viruses do

that's what viruses are good at

we live with viruses

our bodies try to adapt to viruses, viruses try to adapt to our bodies

Baka kakapanood lang ng Mission Impossible

there's a great possibility...

of course, it's given that viruses mutate...it's also possible that humans intervene in the process to make the new virus more virulent. when you leave them mutate on their own without the intervention of mad scientists, the damage won't be that deadly when at the first instance it's preventable or curable.

what we see in movies could also be true, although i am not a fan of fiction themed movies, because i can also create a better legal fiction... for some others genocide could just be a piece of fictional documentary...but hey, it's real.

[uls]

ab i

when you leave them mutate on their own without the intervention of mad scientists, the damage won't be that deadly when at the first instance it's preventable or curable.

you don't need a mad scientist to create a deadlier strain of a virus or bacteria

all you need is natural selection

like drug resistant TB

patients with active TB who do not take the entire course of TB drugs turn their bodies into factories of XDR TB

the drugs they take are able to wipe out the less resistant/more dominant strains but do not enitirely wipe out the more resistant/less dominant strains

the more resistant/less dominant strains now multiply and become the dominant strain

then the TB patient infects others with that strain

that's how XDR TB developed

no mad scientist needed