swine Flu outbreak

[jeepsr4ever]

[rollen dean montoya]

2 more cases reported and confirmed in ventura

[73hornut]

Pandemic? Only 8 confirmed deaths. So, who do you believe?
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_30_a/en/index.html
Influenza A(H1N1) - update 6

30 April 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 17:00 GMT, 30 April 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 257 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

The United States Government has reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Mexico has reported 97 confirmed human cases of infection, including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (19), Germany (3), Israel (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (3), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (.

[rollen dean montoya]

the marine and the ventura cases were confirmed. my 19 y.o.
daughter has a friend that works out at 29 palm and was tested
because he works there but he had no contact with the marine
who is sick. the ventura cases caused 7 schools to be closed and students tested. hope it doesn't get her to my work or we are screwed big time. that would idle alot of people if it does.

[Mudrat]

It's a flu, it's gunna spread, people are gunna die!! How many die each year of the (old) flu viruses?
CDC say's (dated Jan 8th, BEFORE the pigs flew and the administration was brought in):
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released data indicating that the estimated number of people who die from influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) per year in the United States is substantially higher than previous estimates. The data are published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Using new and improved statistical models, CDC scientists estimate that an average of 36,000 people (up from 20,000 in previous estimates) die from influenza-related complications each year in the United States. In addition, about 11,000 people die per year from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a virus that causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections primarily in young children and older adults. The study demonstrates that most deaths caused by RSV occur in the elderly.


But then I'm a cynic.
“We’ve known for sometime that influenza and RSV have a profound impact on public health,” said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. “However, these data indicate that the magnitude of the problem is larger than we once thought.”"

It's a 'manufactured' pandemic threat. The flu virus, in one form or another, have been around for centuries. Watch the movie or read the book "Wag the Dog". A story how the president uses a manufactured "war" to occupy press time, taking the publics mind off a personal scandle. In this case I think the press is using this to take the publics mind off what Osama is doing to the US-not the economy, but our freedoms.

[Mudrat]

Yup, "Our" governmrnt ... and I fly "A LOT"

"The Sky Is Falling: Chicken Little and the One Little Pig
Maybe we should call it the "Jose Cuervo flu"…

On an AirTran flight on Tuesday from Cancun, Mexico, to Baltimore, two passengers became sick with nausea and fever.
The flight crew alerted the response personnel on the ground about a possible swine flu outbreak. And when the plane landed at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) airport, fire and rescue responders were waiting. The two men were evacuated, while the rest of the passengers were quarantined inside the plane for nearly an hour.
The passengers were held "out of an abundance of caution," according to a story on NBC's web site. The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene raced to the airport to examine the men. It was eventually determined they had none of the symptoms of respiratory distress and were released when they refused treatment.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters told reporters: "Turns out these men had too much to drink."

It's getting ridiculous, folks.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent almost daily on this swine flu hunt. The headlines and pictures would have you think the world is coming to an end. Talking heads on every TV are giving their "expert" opinion on this thing. My god, even the vice president was spouting nonsense on the Today show, telling the audience to stay out of airplanes and subways. What a waste.
And now, government officials want us to call swine flu by its numerical designation – H1N1... Why? To keep average folks like you and me afraid. "H1N1" sounds technical and mysterious, almost spooky. Then they can get more money for their government-sponsored posts so they can keep their jobs."

Again, watch or read, "Wag the Dog" ...

[Mudrat]

From an email ...

Just in case you want to hear what a doctor in Texas has to say.


Friends, this is from an ER doctor( Marc Gitterle) in New Braunfels.

It is more comprehensive than other things I've seen.

Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:55:31 -0500
Subject: Flu Update from Dr. Gitterle

After I returned from a public health meeting yesterday with community leaders and school officials in Comal County, Heather suggested I send an update to everyone, because what we are hearing privately from the CDC and Health Department is so different from what you are hearing in the media. Some of you know some or maybe all of this, but I will just list what facts I know.

- The virus is infectious for about 2 days prior to symptom onset

- Virus sheds more than 7 days after symptom onset (possibly as long as 9 days) (this is unusual)

- Since it is such a novel (new) virus, there is no "herd immunity," so the "attack rate" is very high. This is the percentage of people who come down with a virus if exposed. Almost everyone who is exposed to this virus will become infected, though not all will be symptomatc. That is much higher than seasonal flu, which averages 10-15%. The "clinical attack rate" may be around 40-50%. This is the number of people who show symptoms. This is a huge number. It is hard to convey the seriousness of this.

- The virulence (deadliness) of this virus is as bad here as in Mexico, and there are folks on ventilators here in the US, right now. This has not been in the media, but a 23 month old near here is fighting for his life, and a pregnant woman just south of San Antonio is fighting for her life. In Mexico, these folks might have died already, but here in the US, folks are getting Tamiflu or Relenza quickly, and we have ready access to ventilators. What this means is that within a couple of weeks, regional hospitals will likely become overwhelmed.

- Some of the kids with positive cases in Comal County had more than 70 contacts before diagnosis.

- There are 10-25 times more actual cases (not "possible" cases -- actual) than what is being reported in the media. The way they fudge on reporting this is that it takes 3 days to get the confirmatory nod from the CDC on a given viral culture, but based on epidemiological grounds, we know that there are more than 10 cases for each "confirmed" case right now.

- During the night, we crossed the threshold for the definition of a WHO, Phase 6 global pandemic. This has not happened in any of our lifetimes so far. We are in uncharted territory.

- I expect President Obama will declare an emergency sometime in the next 72-96 hours. This may not happen, but if it doesn't, I will be surprised. When this happens, all public gathering will be cancelled for 10 days.

- I suggest all of us avoid public gatherings. Outdoor activities are not as likely to lead to infection. It is contained areas and close contact that are the biggest risk.

- Tamiflu is running out. There is a national stockpile, but it will have to be carefully managed, as it is not enough to treat the likely number of infections when this is full-blown. I don't think there is a big supply of Relenza, but I do not know those numbers. If I had to choose, I would take Relenza, as I think it gets more drug to the affected tissue than Tamiflu.

- You should avoid going to the ER if you think you have been exposed or are symptomatic. ER's south of here are becoming overwhelmed -- and I mean that -- already. It is coming in waves, but the waves are getting bigger.

- It appears that this flu produces a distinctive "hoarseness" in many victims. The symptoms, in general, match other flu's; namely, sore throat, body aches, headache, cough, and fever. Some have all these symptoms, while others may have only one or two.

- N-Acetyl-Cysteine -- a nutritional supplement available at the health food store or Wimberley Pharmacy, has been shown to prevent or lessen the severity of influenza. I suggest 1200mg, twice a day for adults, and 600mg twice a day in kids over 12. It would be hard to get kids under 12 to take it, but you could try opening the capsules and putting it on yogurt. For 40 pounds and up, 300-600 mg twice a day, for less than 40 pounds, half that.

- Oscillococinum, a homeopathic remedy, has been vindicated as quite effective in a large clinical trial in Europe, with an H1N1 variant. You can buy this at Hill Country Natural Foods, or the Wimberley Pharmacy.

I will try to keep everyone posted if I have any new information. Meanwhile, don't be afraid just avoid infection. The fewer people infected the easier it will be for our public officials to manage it.

Marc