News Reports for June 21, 2009

Russian flu

Russian flu might provide immunity to swine flu [Title is link.]
June 20, 5:09 PM

Infectious disease specialist, Dr. Leonard Mermel, suggested that older adults might have partial immunity to swine flu. A strain of H1N1 flu similar virus, dubbed "Russian flu", spread across the United States in the late 1970s. It is possible that exposure to Russian flu could provide immunity against swine flu.

Russian flu circulated internationally between 1946 and 1957. It spread rapidly across the former Soviet Union, primarily affected students aged 14-20 and young military personnel. Pre-school children were affected in a subsequent wave. However, the epidemic affected far fewer individuals over age 30, and mortality was low in that group.

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by: InKy @ Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 23:22:25 PM CDT

A bit more (similar but more straight forward)

...The more recent Russian flu was a 1977-1978 flu epidemic caused by strain Influenza A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1). It infected mostly children and young adults under 23 because a similar strain was prevalent in 1947-57, causing most adults to have substantial immunity. Some have called it a flu pandemic but because it only affected the young it is not considered a true pandemic. The virus was included in the 1978-1979 influenza vaccine.[9][10][11][12]..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:27:39 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Buffalo middle schooler dies

Buffalo middle-schooler dies of swine flu [Title is link.]

Associated Press - June 20, 2009 10:15 PM ET

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Buffalo school officials say a middle-schooler has died of swine flu, and a union leader says a second pupil is hospitalized in critical condition.

Schools Superintendent Dr. James A. Williams released a statement of sympathy Saturday, but officials would not say more about the Harvey Austin School student who died.

City teachers union president Philip Rumore had said a 15-year-old boy attending Harvey Austin was gravely ill with swine flu. Rumore says a young girl attending the Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School is in critical condition with the virus.

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by: InKy @ Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 23:26:41 PM CDT

Canada Map above lists a death in Saskatchewan...

...but it should be Alberta

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

http://albertatalks.ca/2009/05...

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by: blackkitty @ Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 23:34:29 PM CDT

Here is the wikipedia breakdown...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2...

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by: blackkitty @ Sat Jun 20, 2009 at 23:35:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

source for map

this is the source for the map

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ale...

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by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:24:46 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

more correctly..

the source of the data - not the map

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by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:31:47 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

transposed

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by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:24:16 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

and posted... n/t

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:36:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Chile reports fifth swine flu death

http://www.zeenews.com/news540...

Santiago, June 21: An 18-year-old male has become the fifth person to die in Chile from the swine flu virus, local health authorities said.

The teenager was identified as Nelson Maldonado, from the southern city of Puerto Montt, 915 kilometres south of the capital Santiago.

Eugenia Schnake, a local health official, said Maldonado had a number of underlying health conditions related to morbid obesity, including respiratory problems.

Chile, in the midst of the southern hemisphere's winter flu season, has been hard it by the A(H1N1) pandemic, reporting 4,315 cases of the virus.

[more]

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 00:58:50 AM CDT

What's with Chile??

Does anyone have any idea why Chile is so hard hit?? It seems to be so far ahead of the infection curve that it dwarfs every other area! Could this be due to much more testing? Or are that many people so much sicker with the flu that the same level of testing reveals over 4,000 cases?? It's very concerning - are there any other news reports to indicate what it's doing in the country?
Thanks to all the newshounds!!

Keep the information coming!

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by: Cathy M @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:17:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Temperature?

A spike of cold reaches up from the Antartic along the Andes.

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:27:04 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Low temperature, low humidity, higher elevation

I'm wondering if that's also why we're seeing a higher rate of deaths in Utah as well.

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by: AlohaOR @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 11:42:40 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Utah

depends on the denominator.  Don't know if they are having more cases.  The ILI surveillance chart http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/... from CDC is not fine-grained enough to tell whether there's a localized larger outbreak.


All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 11:54:58 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

They have a very high number of people of aboriginal decent. So do

Peru, Bolivia, and Equator.  Genetically, they are very similar to those who live in Canada's First Nations.  In Mexico, the genetic variation is greater with about 30% European genes and 10% African.

In Argentina, the population in the East is mainly European while in the west it is primarily aboriginal.

Brazil has big regional differences in genetics.  

GW

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by: The Doctor @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:42:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Chile also has a very southern latitude

Some people think there's a connection between people's Vit.D status, and their ability to fight of influenza.   I.e. the higher your Vit D the fewer symptoms you will show, less sick you will be if you get the flu.

The higher your latitude in eaitehr direction, the  less Vit D you will make from sun exposure, as the rays of the sun aren't as strong the closer you get to either pole.

Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil are the most southern regions of S. America.

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

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by: Average Concerned Mom @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 22:43:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

ACM, this is correct however you have not consider the effect of altitude.

The atmosphere is thinner at higher altitudes and most of the aboriginal peoples of Chile and Peru live in the mountains. For instant, Cuzco, Peru is 12,000 ft above sea level and the people who live there get considerably more sunlight exposure than those living at lower altitudes.

However, as a vitamin D devotee, I agree that people deficient of vitamin D may well be at much higher risk for both infection and cancer than those who are not.

GW

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by: The Doctor @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 20:57:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fiji reports first confirmed case of influenza A/H1N1

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

SUVA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific island nation of Fiji has recorded its first case of influenza A/H1N1, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

   A 36-year-old male Fiji resident, who recently returned home from Australia, showed symptoms of cough and fever. He was tested and it was confirmed on Saturday that he tested positive of A/H1N1virus, said Health Ministry officials.

[more]

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 01:02:36 AM CDT

A pandemic's dry run [editorial]

http://www.boston.com/bostongl...

A pandemic's dry run
June 21, 2009

ALTHOUGH Massachusetts recorded its first swine-flu death this month, the effect of the disease has not been as dire as many feared. As a result, public health officials have been able to view the health system's response to the pandemic as a test case for an even more dangerous outbreak of flu. Among the lessons learned is the need for better coordination between the public-health sector and the private suppliers of the tools needed to contend with flu: face masks, swabs, and antiviral medicines such as Tamiflu.

Doctors, clinics, and hospitals need better, up-to-date information about the availability of commercial medicine stockpiles.

[more]

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 01:08:54 AM CDT

for in the trenches

this editorial hits the nail on the head.

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:20:40 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Glad to see someone else say "dry run"

Tess,

 H1N1 is not only a dry run for Fall '09 and H5N1, bird flu, but any large scale disaster.

 There is a post saying "If the pandemic modle of 5% CFR is CAT-1 pandemic than 2.5% CFR is a CAT-5. Using this scale the current 63% CFR of Bird flu is a CAT-126 event way beyond a CAT-5. With collatoral deaths and shut down in services a CAT-180 event is easy to see. That would turn our thinking around I hope" - Kobie

 On the bright side there are limiting factors preventing a CAT - 200 event. In the past 2.7 million years nothing has ever wipped us off the face of the earth. Well there was the neaderthals. There is still some debate as to their being wipped out or bread into modern human. Long story.

 The point is that while there are limits as to how bad it could be its still could be far worse than "official projections." After six years of work how could a "dry run" still be in the planning and practice stage???

Kobie
"Happy Fathers Day"

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by: Kobie @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:41:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Total disconnect here, between comments and PH director's self-congratulation.

...One positive sign in this spring's swine-flu outbreak, according to state Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach, was effective communication, both with the public in many different languages, and through a series of teleconferences with clinicians, local health officials, and school officials....

Only 6 comments, authorities were crying wolf, WHO was dying to use the term "pandemic" etc.

http://www.boston.com/bostongl...

Looks like there's more public education needed.

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:42:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Comments at Site of Origin Discouraging

If you read the comments to this editorial at its home site, you get a taste for the almost intentional misunderstanding, willful ignorance and rampant paranoia that form at least one significant sub-current within the general public.  

The attitudes of the general public may not be as extreme or blithely dismissive, but the denial runs very deep and will be a significant barrier to effective action if a more severe wave appears in the coming months (or years.)  

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

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by: Into The Woods @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:15:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think we need to face the fact that we are not going to get the general public to change.

It doesn't matter if the CDC or WHO or POTUS or Parliment or whoever were to announce that a deadly pandemic was imminent and everyone should prep to SIP, there will still be a large segment who will say it's BS, just an attempt to sell masks, medicine, get funding, etc etc etc.

I hope this kind of attitude is only prevalent in the United States, but it seems to be the new "cool"...to deny and disparage and distrust every bit of bad news or warnings. Perhaps we have become inured by too many B class disaster movies, perhaps we are just lazy, or perhaps underlying it all we are too afraid to really move, knowing we have lost that survival edge a long long time ago.

But I for one have no hope whatsoever of "wising up" enough of my fellow Americans to make a difference in the spread and consequences of the next wave, should it return in a more deadly fashion.  All I can do is hope they don't come after my preps when they finally get off the couch and realize this isn't a made for TV movie.

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:45:58 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Rapture, 2012 and Godzilla

I am thinking your right on the survival instinct (lost to the lazy instinct a LONG time ago).

I think there is another aspect - fatalism.

There is no small number of religious types in the US and outside who are rooting for the second coming.

There are no small number of new age'rs who are overwhelmed by the 2012 terran deadline - nothing short of total earth anhiliation.

And those B Movies may have set some on the road to fatalistic rubbernecking for the next big disaster.

After 8 years of the previous administration (FAIL of galactic proportions), climate change, peak oil (peak american dream), financial collapse...

not only are people expecting the other shoe to drop, they wont be surprised when there is a whole torrential rainstorm of shoes dropping.

I think our intellects, due to this oversaturation, are experiencing a lack of something we in the peak oil / Transition community talk about all the time - resilience.

Without the ability to absorb and to meet the challenge versus ignoring it, many people just ignore/reject the info outright.

There is so much inertia to that - I am not surprised that this is the consensus response.

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by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:55:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Brilliant, and right on, Nika! n/t

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:24:40 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

also, transitioners take it slow, nika - or don't they?

so many worldchangers around, so little real sense of urgency

peakoilers etc - where are they now?

saying this is due to big pharms and pharma

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

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by: lugon @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:09:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

speed

I dont know about the speed aspect.

Transitioning peakniks (peak oilers) have a lot of their tables, its not about stock piling so much as building resilience (strong permaculture ethic runs through it).

Transition is about relocalizing government and food systems - we take a multigenerational view of it, if thats what you mean by slow?

Peak Oilers are where the rest of society is, slogging along, prepping by their own time line. Many peakniks are transitioners, others are probably re-emerging from their boltholes from last summer's price shock in time for the next run up.  Many peakniks thought that understanding peak oil was the hard part or learning how to grow their own food was the hard part - its perhaps harder to understand this all as part of a whole much longer "emergency".

The flu pandemic has always been there as an added layer.  Its good practice for SIP, some might be doing that now, some will wait for a more virulent wave.  Transition activities might well be hampered because congregating will be a no-no.

Does that answer any of those questions?

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by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:27:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

"multigenerational" looks slow enough, yes ;-)

Which doesn't mean it's bad, of course.

It's just that we need to be alive if we want to work for the next generation ;-)

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

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by: lugon @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 08:01:06 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

indeed :-)

There is a middle way, seeing it is half the battle.

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by: nika @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 19:02:40 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

transition talk

To plan for an emergency or not?

Good discussion at http://transitionculture.org/2... between author Richard Heinberg and Rob Hopkins about an escalation of the present economic situation and the general state of world unrest and the implications for Transition Towns. Richard Heinberg feels that Peak Oil, whilst still very much with us, has now become irrelevant and the rapid collapse of the world's economy and social structure is far more urgent.

Out Transition Town group are discussing how to rapidly build local capacity to get some resilience.

A couple of projects are kicking off locally this week - landshare - see http://landshare.channel4.com/ for more info about the idea - and a food co-op - bulk buying then selling to members at cost price.

David

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by: dawood @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:48:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Very simple

Most people are very good at lying to themselves.  The lie goes like this:

Everything will be OK, and if not, well there's nothing I can do about it.

A so they go about their daily lives...

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by: Okieman @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:26:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not "there's nothing I can do about it", but

The govuhment will protect and save me. I have nothing to fear.

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by: Bronco Bill @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 22:32:42 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Spot On!

The FAA has stated that one of the major causes of Air crashes is simply giving up trying to get the aircraft down in one piece.

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by: Walrus @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 17:39:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

What do you expect from a public that has been subjected to an intense anti-pandemic

campaign since mid-May.  

Many were frighted then relieved to hear that the pandemic was mild and nothing to worry about.  When someone writes a thoughtful editorial discussing these issues more frankly, it reminds them of the fear they felt and they get angry.

This is why the propaganda communication provided since mid-May was and still is since it is continuing so damaging.  It will make getting the public on board in the fall all the more difficult.

GW

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by: The Doctor @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:49:27 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Swine flu roundup - June 19, 2009

http://blogs.nature.com/news/t...

The 2009 pandemic flu continues to spread in many parts of the United States and elsewhere in the Northern hemisphere. Some had figured it might go away, as the normal flu season has ended, and not return until the autumn when seasonal flu activity typically picks up. In hard hit places such as New York almost a tenth of the population are showing influenza like symptoms.

In the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season is getting underway, South Africa yesterday reported its first case, following recent cases in Egypt and Morocco. Africa has not reported anything like the same extent of spread asother parts of the South (such as Australia and countries in South America) - but that is likely down to lack of surveillance.

Clinical researchers have been slow to respond to the 2009 flu pandemic, lament researchers writing in today's Lancet. "Public health officials, virologists, epidemiologists, and policy makers have done well in responding to a rapidly emerging and complex problem. By contrast, the clinical research community's response has been delayed and modest, " writes Jeremy Farrar, a researcher in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and colleagues from Vietnam, the US and Mexico.

They deplore the "lack of information" on the pathogenesis and clinical aspects of those with severe illness, and argue that trials and other clinical research are urgently needed to better understand the disease, and learn of necessary tweaks to treatment regimes. What research is being done isn't being published fast enough...

[snip]

Nonsensical numbers

The World Health Organization's last formal update on 17 June of lab confirmed cases reported by member states stood at around 40,000 lab confirmed cases and 167 deaths. With a pandemic underway, and extensive spread in the population in many countries such case numbers are now fairly meaningless though, as lab confirmed case numbers are but the tip of the iceberg . The US has around 18,000 lab confirmed cases, for example, but CDC expects the real figure is in the hundreds of thousands; CDC has stopped counting cases, and switched to population surveillance of influenza-like illness and other measures. At this early stage in the pandemic, estimates of the case fatality rates are also subject to many caveats.

[more]

IMHO this is an interesting blog with many links to other articles and some explanations.

 



"History never looks like history when you are living through it." ~John W. Gardner

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by: tess @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 01:26:42 AM CDT

UK - Swine flu 'could infect up to half the population'

http://www.independent.co.uk/l...

Primary care trusts are to set up anti-viral drug distribution centres and swine flu testing clinics amid fears that the infection could spread out of control.

The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, wrote to health authorities last week urging hospitals to test all patients who show signs of flu-like symptoms. He wrote: "Transmission from person to person in this country is increasingly common. There is evidence that sporadic cases are arising with no apparent link either to cases elsewhere in the UK or to travel abroad."

The letter followed an earlier warning from Sir Liam that millions of Britons could fall victim to swine flu in the coming months. Government officials admitted last night that illness rates from the virus could reach 50 per cent.

[snip]

Meanwhile, calls to NHS hotlines have almost doubled in the past week. Latest figures from NHS Direct reveal that 2,356 calls about swine flu were made on Thursday 18 June, up from 1,280 a week earlier.

Under a new scheme that began in June, hundreds of people calling NHS Direct about swine flu have been sent swab kits to return for testing.

Economic toll: Pandemic to cost Britain £42bn

£42bn losses are predicted to hit Britain as a result of a three per cent fall in gross domestic product (GDP) due to the swine flu pandemic, according to a new report from the Oxford Economics think tank, due to be released tomorrow. Researchers claim that swine flu could threaten already fragile businesses and put further strains on financial markets in what could become a "vicious cycle that postpones the recovery".

Deflation is a "significant risk" as a result of the pandemic's impact on the economy - putting back economic recovery by two years, says the report. The predictions are based on a 30 per cent infection rate, should a pandemic begin in October and last for six months.

A $2.5 trillion cut in global GDP is a possibility - with a flu outbreak in the autumn hitting the world economy just as it starts to recover from the credit crunch.

Comment This seems to be a change in policy from the Flu Line plan. They may have concluded that if GPs can't diagnose flu in a face to face meeting, a person on a phone line has no chance.

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 05:10:29 AM CDT

If I were TPTB I would be putting major resources into keeping communication networks up during the next wave.

If we hope to keep business and commerce going, people getting info on home care, ordering medicines etc, then the most important facility to keep up and running is our internet services, our telephone and our TVs. I hope sufficient thought, planning and money has gone into that.

People isolated without information or contact become fearful and desperate pretty fast.  

Always have a plan B.

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by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:51:40 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Town official says stock up

[Nice to see this. It should be happening everywhere. The title below is a link to the full text of the article. Hat tip Monotreme at PFI.]

Flu prompts warning to stock up on food
Published: Sunday, June 21, 2009

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE
Correspondent

KINGSTON - People should have a three-week supply of food on hand in the case the current swine flu pandemic worsens, the leader of a town supervisors' group said last week, and he warned that 40 percent of the workforce could be kept away from their jobs this fall if the outbreak lasts that long.

John Valk Jr., the supervisor of the town of Shawangunk and the president of the Ulster County Supervisors Association, said a worsening pandemic of the H1N1 influenza strain means "our workforce would be slower. Deliveries to stores would slow down, and that is the point of stocking up on 21 days' worth of supplies. ... As things (get) backlogged, you'd have the things you need at the house."

Greene County Public Health Director Marie Ostoyich has also advised readiness in the event the flu outbreak becomes more serious. She said briefings from state officials have emphasized that residents be prepared for the disruption of both municipal and commercial services.

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by: InKy @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 05:58:42 AM CDT

Well 3 weeks! Down right progressive.

GW

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by: The Doctor @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:51:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Okieman Europe map added

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:23:33 AM CDT

latest canada map from nika

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 07:36:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ouch! n/t

In a matter like this pandemic, do the U.S. government and/or MSM ever intentionally deceive us?  

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by: ssal @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 08:12:49 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Um, Dem

The Europe map isn't showing up.  Just thought I'd mention it.

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by: Okieman @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 08:17:46 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

It works foe me n/t

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 08:34:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

i don't see the map for Europe, either

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

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by: lugon @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 08:43:19 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I can't see it at the top of the news diary but I can see it when I follow the link. n/t

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 08:53:53 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I suspect when the links are updated

the new additions are lost.

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:00:04 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

re-added maps n/t

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:03:48 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks n/t

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by: Okieman @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:29:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

UK - Update on confirmed swine flu cases 21 June 2009

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPA...

245 further patients under investigation in England have today been confirmed through laboratory testing with swine flu. Together with the 17 laboratory confirmed cases in Scotland reported yesterday (June 20 2009) by the Scottish Government this brings the total number of laboratory confirmed UK cases identified since April 2009 to 2,506.

1481 clinically presumed cases on top of these numbers.

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:21:56 AM CDT

To put the UK numbers into perspective

Seasonal flu rates

Baseline activity = 30 cases per 100,000 = 18,000

Peak winter activity = 70 cases per 100,000 = 42,000

Epidemic level = 400 cases per 100,000 = 240,000

The UK is now up to 3000 cases a week (including the clinically presumed cases).

There are likely to be swine flu cases missed but under normal circumstances most people do not seek medical help for flu. So we're still not yet out of baseline activity.

How close to winter flu rates are those of swine flu in the US?

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:46:21 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

best answer is the graph

hospitalizations:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/...

ILI:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/...

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by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:04:54 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thankyou :-) n/t

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:14:40 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Swine flu can turn more lethal in winter: Scientists

NEW DELHI, India: As the influenza A (H1N1) virus spreads across the globe, scientists in India are worried over the possibility of the second wave of the pandemic being more virulent. "There is much more to this virus than we understand, and nobody knows how lethal it could be in future. Presently, the hot summer is at our rescue. During the rainy and winter season the virus is likely to spread in a big way," senior epidemiologist Narendra Arora told IANS.

In India, so far 50 people have tested positive for swine flu, including five human-to-human transfer cases. Arora, executive director of the Indian Clinical Epidemiology Network (IndiaCLEN), said surveillance is important to halt the mass spread of the virus and the country needs to prepare a database of the flu-affected people. "Every season 10 percent of the population is affected with common flu, and if the number in the coming season rises to 25-30 percent then we need to worry. We have to have a database of the people affected with swine flu in the country to check any unusual break," said Arora. Continued: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edi...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:35:44 AM CDT

South China primary school reports 30 A/H1N1 flu cases

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

Thirty pupils have been confirmed as A/H1N1 flu cases in a primary school in south China's Guangdong Province, local authorities said Sunday.

   Twenty-four students in Shipai Township Central Primary School in Dongguan City fell ill on Thursday and Friday. They were confirmed as A/H1N1 flu cases Sunday, according to the provincial health department.

   Previously, another six pupil from the same class developed fever, cough and a sore throat Wednesday. They were confirmed as A/H1N1 flu cases Friday.

   The local authorities decided to close the school for a week after the first case was reported.

cont.

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by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:58:15 AM CDT

Thailand reports 53 new swine flu cases

"Forty-three new swine flu cases were reported Suday by the Public Health Ministry, a drop of almost half from the daily average last week.

Dr Somchai Chakrabhand, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said he believes preventive measures in schools were working to contain the spread of the disease, as new infections among students have dropped..."

http://www.nationmultimedia.co...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

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by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:33:22 AM CDT

HK confirms 65 new cases of Influenza A/H1N1

" ..total number of Influenza A/H1N1 cases to320 in the special administrative region of China.

   The new cases involved 32 males and 33 females aged between 7 and 57 years old, said the department, adding that 4 secondary schools had been advised to suspend classes for 14 days in relation to students who were confirmed to have been infected with the virus.

   As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, a total of 164 confirmed cases have been discharged from public hospitals upon recovery, the remaining cases in hospital have been stable."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...  

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

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by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:35:24 AM CDT

A/H1N1 flu cases rise to 50 in Malaysia, first school closed

"Malaysia reported eight new confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of the cases to 50 in the country.

   Malaysian Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Saturday that the latest eight cases included two pupils in a primary school here called Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (SRJK) Cina Jalan Davidson..."

..."Liow said that 2,100 students, teachers and staff from the school had been required to remain at home and avoid mixing with the public.

   The other six confirmed cases announced on the day were imported..."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:37:48 AM CDT

UK - Westminster 'should foot flu bill'

Westminster should foot the £100 million bill for vaccinating everyone in Scotland against swine flu, the Scottish Government said.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said offering vaccination to all was in line with policy across the UK.

Arguing that the bill should be met at UK level, she said: "The UK holds contingency funding for contingencies.

"If a flu pandemic is not a contingency, most people would struggle to think what is."

Seventeen new laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu were announced on Saturday, taking the total number in Scotland to 566.

More at Source http://www.google.com/hostedne...

---

by: Kobie @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:42:36 AM CDT

Greece confirms two New Cases(H1N1)

"Two new cases of the A/H1N1 flu have been confirmed in Greece. The cases concern a 70-year-old man who had just returned from the US and another 27-years-old American national, who also returned from the United States. Ministry of Health appeared reassuring stressing that all cases are under total control and that National Health sector is in alert. Confirmed cases in Greece rise to 41, 17 of whom and fully cured. Other patients are still being treated..."

http://news.ert.gr/en/23896-dy...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:44:37 AM CDT

NY: State Officials: Prepare for City & Business Service Disruptions

Hat tip to AppleBlossom on Flu Trackers

Flu prompts warning to stock up on food

Published: Sunday, June 21, 2009
By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE

KINGSTON - People should have a three-week supply of food on hand in the case the current swine flu pandemic worsens, the leader of a town supervisors' group said last week, and he warned that 40 percent of the workforce could be kept away from their jobs this fall if the outbreak lasts that long.

Source http://tinyurl.com/na4z9q

---

by: Kobie @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:45:05 AM CDT

Oops InKy posted this one already! Darn. Sorry. KObie n/t

---

by: Kobie @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:45:49 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

technically county officials

I read through the article and looks like it is county not state officials talking about stocking up.

(I wish it were state officials but I don't think so.)


GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

---

by: Average Concerned Mom @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 11:23:36 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Egypt confirms five new cases of swine flu

"...the five cases bring the total number of Egyptian cases of the virus to 39, Abdel-Rahman Shahin said.

Among the five cases were three Egyptian children who returned to Cairo with their families two days ago: a 6-year-old Egyptian girl arriving from the United States, a 9-year-old Egyptian-Canadian boy, and his 7-year-old sister.

All the cases were hospitalized for treatment, Shahin told Egypt's official Middle East News Agency..."

http://www.earthtimes.org/arti...  

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:47:02 AM CDT

Sanofi donates 100 million H1N1 vaccines to WHO

As the U.K. government projects that as many as 50 percent of its population may be infected by the H1N1 flu, Sanofi announces a donation of 100 million vaccinations to the World Health Organization.

Sanofi Aventis announced a donation of 100 million vaccinations to the World Health Organization this week, mobilizing in the face of the H1N1 influenza's march across the globe.

Source http://www.digitaljournal.com/...

---

by: Kobie @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:49:12 AM CDT

*THIS* was a shocker for me today.

Sure makes the other big Pharms look like look like what they are - ready to cash in on the suffering of a century.

100 Mill may be a drop in the bucket global population wise, but it's more than 0.

---

by: Quartzman @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:24:42 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

better than nothing

but notice they didn't say when this would happen.  These companies all already have prior contracts with countries that would not allow them to sell/give to anyone until those contracts are fulfilled.  

I bet that it will be the last 10% of whatever they can make in one year.  Which means they won't be available till the pandemic is over.


All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

---

by: SusanC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:27:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

With three new cases, India's swine flu tally at 59

..."Of these, 32 have been discharged after recovery and the remaining are stable, the health ministry said.

The new cases reported include a 29-year-old man and his 25-year-old wife from Chennai and a 15-year old boy from the capital, said a health ministry statement.

The couple travelled to Chennai from North Carolina, US, June 13 via Delhi transiting at New Jersey and Mumbai. They reported at the identified health facility the next day. The teenager arrived in Delhi from New York June 17 and admitted himself at an identified facility two days later..."

http://www.thaindian.com/newsp...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 10:52:16 AM CDT

Here is a weird article

H1N1 flu (Swine flu) linked to French fries sold in fast food restaurants

Russian researchers have made a link between the H1N1 flu and the French fries that are sold in our fast food restaurants.
snip
According to the report, the protease enzyme (the enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins) of the potatoes in question has been altered to make them more hardy and less vulnerable to the Potato virus X, a dangerous plant disease that can cause devastating losses of potato crops. This genetic change causes an "explosive" replication of the H1N1 influenza virus."
snip
In addition, the countries that are reporting large numbers of H1N1 cases are those countries that grow these genetically modified potatoes: the US, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and Chile, a country that grows large quantities of potatoes for the US.  Large countries that do not allow planting of genetically modified potatoes, such as Russia, China, and India, report few H1N1 case, 3, 318, and 16, respectively.  
more
http://www.examiner.com/x-672-...

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 11:52:08 AM CDT

excuse my skepticism, but french fries may one more vulnerable

to worse Swine flu because obesity is an increased risk.  The other ... well hmmmmmmmm

---

by: mollyd @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 12:21:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The whole article is trash

The UK doesn't grow any GM crops commercially, let alone potatoes so even if you don't do know anything about viruses the author should have checked basic facts.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 12:27:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

multifactorial

Ok, there are several levels that have to be teased apart here.

I followed links and didnt come across any actual scientific paper (and the examiner site is not really a news site as much as a self-submitting aggregator from what I can tell)

The link for the "research" goes to a very questionable site - confusing and could not find any science.

The science - well, just the basic logic here.

What exactly did they test? did GMO potato plants replicate H1N1? An extract of leaves? extract of tubers? what were the conditions?

How is any of this homologous to the product that we eat after it has been processed for french fry delivery?

I doubt even prions make it through high temp frying let alone membrane bound virions. If they are suggesting that the fries retain some virus promoting agent, would love to know what that is, sounds really fishy.

I am curious how far and wide this meme will propagate.

note: I grow a lot of my own food, raise our own chickens, have a herd of dairy goats - we go off the grid for a lot of our food (peak oil prepper here) so I am in no way supportive of Big Food or Big Ag.  Its just that this article doesnt pass my biologist laugh test. (no apsersions for you mojo!)

---

by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 12:27:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

OMGosh Nika LOL

I only posted it because it was so totally off the wall. I almost titled it with a Monty Python, "And now for something completely different..."
It is probably the oddest article I have come across in years of news searching..    

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson

---

by: mojo @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 17:11:57 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

LOL got it

:-) was having a break and I guess I was sorta verbose!

---

by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 17:57:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Like Nika, I wended my way back to the original news article

It started with what may be a scientific basis here

According to these reports, the protease enzyme genetically modified in the potatoes being sold through Western fast food restaurants as French Fries to protect against Potato virus X causes an "explosive" replication of the H1N1 influenza virus by increasing the acidic conditions of the endosome and causing the hemagglutinin protein  to rapidly fuse the viral envelope with the vacuole's membrane, then causing the M2 ion channel to allow protons to move through the viral envelope and acidify the core of the virus, which causes the core to dissemble and release the H1N1's  RNA and core proteins into the hosts cells.
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/...

Now this sounds like they may have actually done a study, but most definitely "in vitro" as there is no way they could have "seen" this happen in a living organism. This means they were using cell cultures and the like and probably treating them with this genetically modified protease enzyme and seeing the described results.

However the extrapolation from that point becomes ludicrous. For example this take:

This proposed link between the H1N1virus and French fries would explain why a vast number of cases of H1N1 are common to the young. A US News and World Report states that "Of the 5,000 confirmed and more than 100,000 probable cases of swine flu, the average age of infected people is 15; two thirds are younger than 18." The youngest are, by far, the largest consumers of fast food.
http://www.examiner.com/x-672-...

This completely ignores a few very important facts: One is, submitting potatoes to boiling hot oil would denature any such enzyme they contained, rendering it ineffective. Did they test that?? So would the stomach acids and enzymes in digestive tract of the person who consumed the fried potatoes, I'm pretty sure. Since the A/H1N1 is primarily a disease of the upper respiratory tract, it's pretty hard to make a connection between a denatured enzyme in the potatoes in the digestive tract and viral infection and growth in the respiratory tract, IMO.

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:17:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

While this theory is certainly a stretch of the imagination

viruses do in fact, thrive in hot springs, including hot pools with the same acidity of gastric acid. Just saying.

https://inlportal.inl.gov/port...

---

by: phytosleuth @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 23:08:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

While some viruses may, does this particular one?

Actually I hadn't heard of any viruses able to do that, certainly there are some specialized bacteria that can = thermophiles, they do actually thrive at near boiling temperatures. Just as there are some that survive in the subzero temperatures under antarctic ice. But these are adapted for such exteme conditions, whereas if you put other bacteria in these conditions they would die. Point being, just becuz it's true for one doesn't make it true for all.  Just sayin'

Always have a plan B.

---

by: maryinhawaii @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 22:22:11 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

25th Finnish Swine Flu Case Confirmed

"The latest H1N1 patient is a young man from Oulu who recently returned from a trip to the United States.

The latest case was confirmed Sunday. Four new cases were reported on Thursday, and three were reported on Friday.

All of the diagnosed victims in Finland have recently come from other countries, especially among travellers returning from the United States. In Finland, quarantine measures have been successful, and there have been no confirmed cases of the disease spreading from travellers to the general population..."

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:06:13 PM CDT

No spreading of H1N1 to the general population in Finland?

How on earth are they going to detect such a sprea when the officials do not test for such a spread? They do not test mild cases at all. They do not test, if there's no several hours of contact with lab confirmed H1N1 case who was in an endemic country during last seven days. They do not security test.

Life is a narrow bridge. Most important is to have no fear. Have no fear at all.

---

by: Thinlina @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:04:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I couldn't agree more Thinlina

I think it's much the same with many countries. When you read the news stories it's pretty obvious that many new cases are detected by screening at airports and alot of the other testing is close contacts of confirmed travellers.

Same thing here, no testing for mild cases, you will only be tested if you are sick enough to be admitted to hospital for treatment.

You only find what you look for.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 18:45:11 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good to see you back Thinlina

Nothing like a good pandemic to gather friends around the campfire.

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

---

by: Oremus @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 01:58:36 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Swine flu here a long time

http://www.news.com.au/heralds...

SWINE flu was running rampant through Melbourne's northern suburbs before it was even revealed as a major threat in Mexico, Victoria's health officials and top investigators now believe.

Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory director Dr Mike Catton said it was likely an overseas traveller brought swine flu to Victoria before the Mexican outbreak gained international attention in late April.

But because the strain was less severe than first feared, infected Melburnians did not associate their mild symptoms with the Mexican outbreak and never presented for testing - unknowingly spreading the disease through the community unabated.

When the first case was detected here on May 20, Dr Catton said the "amplifier effect" began, where people suffering minor symptoms came forward for testing who may otherwise not have even bothered seeing a doctor.

Dr Catton said one of the reasons Victoria had such a high incidence of the virus was its early importation to Melbourne before international recognition of the Mexican outbreak, and subsequent low-level transmission in the northern suburbs for some time before the first case was diagnosed.

Snip

---

by: magdelaine @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:15:50 PM CDT

No, no. Not so fast Australia.

We Americans are not about to let you steal our fame, our glory and the recognition we are receiving from every country in the world!! We have been enjoying being the place where every foriegner has contracted this new flu and we have even sent each person back home with it so that none of the countries would feel slighted.

So Australia, don't you dare try to say it was grandly circulating there long before it was circulating all across America.

FYI, we are seriously thinking about marching on Washington and demanding that the name, "The Star Spangled Banner All American Flu" be offically adopted!

ROTFLMAO

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:13:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

LOL Mexico may have mixed the flu

but it took the US to put the pan into pandemic? LOL.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:24:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

We Are Going To Patent The Kangaroo Flu.

We are going to patent it and make billions out of vaccines!

---

by: Walrus @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 17:43:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well there you go! LOL

That is perfect!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

---

by: Carol@SC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 19:12:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well if it's yours

there are families of the deceased that have a bone to pick with you.

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

---

by: Oremus @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 02:00:09 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yipes!! Poor turn of a phrase n/t

To calm the wife buy cases of chocolate, to calm the husband buy cases of booze, and to calm the children...... heck the booze and chocolate should work.

---

by: Oremus @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 02:01:04 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Avoid potential second-wave crisis by planning for H1N1 now

http://www.google.com/hostedne...

The pandemic that hit like a cyclone but mellowed to a cool breeze could still take the world by storm.

That's why it's crucial, in the relatively present calm, to soak up lessons from the on-going swine flu situation, say speakers at a disaster management conference taking place in Toronto this week.

"There's a belief we missed the bullet, which is a little unnerving," said Regina Phelps, founder of San Francisco-based consulting company Emergency Management and Safety Solutions.

"That says to me people are thinking 'Gee, we're done, we missed it, we lucked out, it wasn't bad and life is going to continue on as it is.' Which could be a huge mistake."

If seasonal flu strikes this fall as expected, there's also potential for a more vicious second wave of illness and deaths related to the new H1N1 virus. It's something everyone should prepare for, Phelps said.

"We're in a situation that is evolving and that is highly fluid and if anyone tells you they know what is going to happen they're totally fooling themselves, because no one actually does."

Dr. Allison McGeer, a Toronto-based flu expert, agrees that more planning is necessary.

"I'm really happy to see all the work that's been done has paid off, but we're still a long way from what would have been an ideal response," she said.

cont.

Comment Worth reading the rest.

---

by: UK - Bird @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 13:39:20 PM CDT

I love McGeer! n/t

---

by: Vanderjuice @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:38:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Mutation fear as swine flu spreads

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/s...

Fears are growing that swine flu which has killed 180 people worldwide will become resistant to antiviral drugs after confirmation that winter flu strains here are no longer susceptible to Tamiflu.

[SNIP]

Swine flu currently responds to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. But Environmental Science and Research virologist Sue Huang, head of the World Health Organisation national influenza centre in Upper Hutt, said scientists feared it could mutate with a Tamiflu-resistant strain. All 18 seasonal influenza type A strains tested so far this year have been Tamiflu-resistant.

[SNIP]

---

by: steven_in_nz @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:11:16 PM CDT

Korea: H1N1 cases exceed 100

..."According to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, 115 people have contracted the virus in Korea, with 10 additional cases found yesterday.

Along with five separate cases - including four Americans and one Korean traveling from the United States - another five people were infected with the disease after having been in close contact with confirmed patients.

Two females are believed to have fall sick after being infected through a company colleague, who was found to have the virus on Saturday.

Three people were also confirmed to be infected with the disease through their friend, a 19-year-old Korean student who recently returned from the United States and tested positive for the virus on June 18.

All of them were place in a state-run isolation hospital for treatment and observation..."

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/N...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:17:53 PM CDT

new nika maps fopr 6-21

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/upl...

---

by: DemFromCT @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:20:36 PM CDT

Wisconsin testing finds mostly youth ill from H1N1 flu

"State health officials say the death of a 12-year-old Wausau area girl -- the fourth person to die of H1N1 flu in Wisconsin -- continues a pattern of the virus sickening more youths than adults.

Seth Boffeli of the Department of Health and Family Services says of the nearly 3,500 confirmed or probable H1N1 flu cases, 74 percent are people under the age of 19..."

http://www.wkbt.com/Global/sto...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:28:38 PM CDT

exposure in the 70's

notice in the article about looking at those who were exposed in the 70's.

Has anyone noticed any protection from the old (Ford era) swine shots?

Be Prepared

---

by: DennisC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:34:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

tracking

I have the scars to show that I got a smallpox vacc, I have the skin reactivity to show that I was vacc'd against TB, I got the usual Colombian and US 1960s and 1970s childhood vaccs and diseases (I got chicken pox and mumps).. I got all sorts of shots when I was working on pediatric bone marrow...

but I would be hard pressed to tell you much about any of that.. how are we supposed to track down if we got one of the 1970s swine shots?

Was it regionally distributed? Was exposure regional? Do we even have enough data to know?

Geeez, my immunoexposure is like walking up to a buffet with a blindfold on - you will scoop something up but there is no telling what!

---

by: nika @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:48:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Colombia reports second swine flu death in Bogota

"Colombian health officials are reporting the country's second swine flu death, bringing the number of confirmed local cases of the virus to 68.

National Health Institute director Juan Gonzalo Lopez says a 28-year-old Bogota man saw doctors on June 18, a day after first feeling symptoms.

Lopez says the man's condition quickly worsened, and he died on Friday at a hospital. Heath officials are now observing his family members..."

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 14:35:02 PM CDT

Small farms take hit from swine flu

Feed costs, flu putting small hog farms in peril [Blue title is link.]

Updated 12:32 p.m. ET, Sun., June 21, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa - Marty Malecek got a business degree intending to take over the Minnesota hog farm that his father started nearly 20 years ago. Instead, they are selling their 1,700 hogs and auctioning off land after it became clear that they could no longer cover their costs.

It was a combination of blows: rising feed costs as the production of ethanol increased competition for corn and soybeans. High energy costs. A drop in demand as the recession meant people were eating less meat. The resulting oversupply that kept prices low. And then, swine flu.

"We wanted to be a family farm and keep on producing hogs," said Malecek, 33. "We were holding out hope until two or three weeks ago."

The pain has been felt across the industry. While larger, more-diversified operations will likely survive, industry officials, producers and analysts say many small- and medium-sized farmers could be forced out of business. Most are family-run operations, meaning relatives could all be out of work. And it could mean roller-coaster prices at the store until supply and demand come back in line.

[Comments: Food prices up; food system resilience down. Pressures from several factors, including H1N1, are pushing food systems in precisely the wrong direction.]

---

by: InKy @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 15:59:09 PM CDT

Thinking further

The more energy-intensive, complex, and optimized an operation is, the more certain it will be unsustainable when inputs such as energy or labor are disrupted.  

---

by: InKy @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 17:09:37 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Vaccinate Canadians under 40 and natives first: experts

"Five-to-40-year-olds and Canada's aboriginal communities should be the first to get vaccinated against human swine flu, experts say as Canadian officials decide who gets priority for the flu shots.

Under Canada's official pandemic plan, the entire population would ultimately be immunized against the H1N1 swine flu.

But the vaccine will become available in batches, meaning the entire population can't be vaccinated at once. It might take four or five months to get all the vaccine we're going to get, during which time a second wave of swine flu may well be underway.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is working on a priority list, deciding where the first batches should go, and who should get the injections first. All provinces and territories would be expected to follow the national prioritization scheme.

Unlike normal seasonal flu, the H1N1 virus appears to be disproportionately infecting older children and young adults. So far the largest number of confirmed cases have occurred in people between the ages of five and 24.

"It doesn't mean they're all getting sick and need to be hospitalized, but they're getting significant illness," said Dr. Noni MacDonald, a leader in pediatric infectious diseases and a professor of pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax..."

more... http://www.edmontonjournal.com...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 18:55:18 PM CDT

Chicago couple with swine flu say 'I do'

http://www.breitbart.com/artic...

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) - The bride wore white-and a face mask. A Chicago couple married in surgical masks and latex gloves Sunday after learning less than 48 hours before that they both had swine flu. Ilana Jackson and Jeremy Fierstien went ahead with the ceremony after doctors assured them guests wouldn't be at serious risk.

But to be sure, the 26-year-olds kept a 10-foot distance from family and friends at all times, even walking around the gathering instead of down the aisle at a Highland Park synagogue.

Jackson says they'd joked about swine flu after both experienced vomiting, achy limbs and fever. But they never thought they really had it.

She says the circumstances were unfortunate but that they took it in stride.

BB --- Excuse me, but what don't people understand?!?

---

by: Bronco Bill @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 20:30:29 PM CDT

Ha! Those doctors must have been

talking to the Health Dept. in San Diego - they don't think the flu is highly contagious there either.

Hard to believe

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:18:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Heckuva honeymoon...! n/t

Keep the information coming!

---

by: Cathy M @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 23:08:04 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The wedding took place outdoors in the sunlight.

They stayed 10 feet from guests and didn't participate in dancing at their reception.  Their doctors assured them that their guests wouldn't be put at risk.  (But the bride's hairdresser did quit.)  The favors were small bottles of hand sanitizer.  In their favor, they were honest and didn't try to fake normalcy.  

http://www.breitbart.com/image...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

---

by: Jane @ Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 09:09:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Nicaragua Reports 23 New Cases Of A/H1N1 Flu

"The Nicaraguan Health authorities reported Sunday 23 new cases of the A/H1N1 influenza, raising the country's total infections to 216, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Nicaragua has not reported any deaths so far.

The Health Ministry said that among the 216 cases in the country, 143 have recovered after medical treatment, while the remaining are in stable condition..."

http://www.bernama.com/bernama...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:19:36 PM CDT

Fiji reports two confirmed cases of inflenza A/H1N1

..." The first case is a 36-year-old man in Nadi who was confirmed of having the virus on Saturday, while the second case, a 32-year-old man also in Nadi, was confirmed of having the virus on Sunday.

   The second patient was a friend of the first that contracted the A/H1N1 flu.

   Both patients came into contact with infected persons while in Australia recently..."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:21:24 PM CDT

New Zealand: Swine flu cases swell to more than 300

"New Zealand now has 303 cases of swine flu, with the majority of people experiencing relatively mild to moderate symptoms.

The number of confirmed cases is rising rapidly, up 45 from yesterday..."

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/ne...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

---

by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:41:04 PM CDT

Buffalo (NY): Mother of boy who died of Swine Flu warns parents

..."family members say Matthew Davis died Saturday night.

He was an eighth grader at Harvey Austin School, and was just 15-years old.

The boy's mother, Lucretia Belton, says he had pneumonia and MRSA as complications from the Swine Flu, and his kidneys failed.

She made this plea to other parents.

"This is no joke, this is really, really, really serious. Please get your kids, any kind of sign, get them there, don't wait until we get this far like my baby..."

http://www.whec.com/news/stori...

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little- Edmund Burke

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by: MaMa @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 21:43:56 PM CDT

Babies exposed to swine flu not showing signs of it

GREENSBORO - None of the 33 babies exposed to the H1N1 virus in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at The Women's Hospital of Greensboro shows signs of the swine flu, the Moses Cone Health System reported today .

The system's Web site said a fourth baby has been allowed to go home.

A respiratory therapist who unknowingly exposed the babies tested positive for the virus Thursday
...
http://www.news-record.com/con...

Be Prepared

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by: DennisC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 22:44:52 PM CDT

This is great news. n/t

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson

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by: History Lover @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 23:04:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to...

 
News Reports for June 22, 2009

Thank you!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 23:01:21 PM CDT

To everyone who was searching,

and posting today, my message to you tonight is GOOD JOB! I know there are fewer articles on the weekends and especially on Sundays but you came up with a lot of news to keep us all informed. Thank you and thanks for the great maps and comments too. All in all, a very good day on Fluwiki!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 23:22:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]