Friday night Pandemic Watch - Swine Flu coming to you?

[stickdog99]

Sad news...


Swine flu kills first victim in U.S.

The CDC says a 23-month-old child in Texas has died. 'My heart goes out to the family,' acting director says.
By Mark Silva
4:46 AM PDT, April 29, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- The swine flu outbreak has claimed its first victim in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A 23-month-old child in Texas.

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, confirmed the fatality in an appearance this morning on NBC's "Today" show.

With 64 confirmed cases of the disease nationwide according to the agency's latest accounting – including 45 in New York City – the agency says it's too soon to say how fast the flu is spreading.

Health authorities had anticipated the first U.S. death after the disease was suspected in the deaths of more than 150 people in Mexico, where the outbreak is believed to have begun. Yet the death of the toddler in Texas is tragic, Besser said.

"As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family,'' Besser said.

The flu case in Texas was one of six that had been confirmed in the U.S. in addition to 10 in California, 2 in Kansas and one in Ohio, according to the CDC's accounting Tuesday. In addition, other reports of illnesses from Chicago to New York have raised the possibility that the number of cases will continue to climb.

http://www.latimes.com/la-sci-flu-death ... 6691.story

Please, won't someone save us with an untested vaccine and/or expensive unproven antiviral medication!!!

[Biglog]

http://www.fas.org/resource/10062005170217.pdf

[whipstitch]

Misoverestimated?

Only 7 swine flu deaths, not 152, says WHO

[chiggerbit]

This is wonderful. The liberals get dirty Smithfield and the conservatives get dirty Mexicans.

I don't know--are you seeing any of the major tv stations or papers mentioning Smithfield? I didn't tune in at the beginning, but I didn't even hear Olberman talking about Smithfield. The main ones who are talking about the company are mostly bloggers who had already been familiar with local Mexican issues or with South Carolina's workers issues with Smithfield. Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention, or maybe the majors are avoiding the hot (corporate) potato.

[chiggerbit]

Oops, forgot to add that I AM seeing references to the blaming of Mexicans for the epidemic.

[American Dream]

The BBC is reporting on factory farms as a possible source of the Swine Flu:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8024464.stm

[chiggerbit]

OK, now I see that they're actually trying to de-link the name of the flu variant from "swine" in people's minds, are now calling it "H1N1". Just saw Barabara Walters discussing it, but no mention whatsoever of Smithfield or it's possible connection with the origin of this flu. It's like there's a blackout about any mention of Smithfield.

It's really interesting watching the spin begin.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch ... nis-5.html

Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper




April 29, 2009 8:25 AM

In the Oval Office last night as Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in, President Obama said, "we wanted to swear her in right away because we've got a significant public health challenge that requires her immediate attention, and that is the H1N1 flu outbreak."

"H1N1"?

Well, yes. That's the virus subtype the world is dealing with here.

Huh? Not "swine flu"?

On Sunday, the White House held a "press briefing on swine influenza."

On Monday, in his remarks before the National Academy of Sciences, President Obama used the unscientific name, referring to the virus as "swine flu."

What changed?

As has been noted by others, China, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates have all banned meat and pork products from some parts of the US, according to the office of US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

The World Health Organization reiterated that one cannot contract the virus by eating pork, and pointed out that no pig had been found yet with this particular virus.

Representatives of certain agricultural industries made their displeasure known to the Obama administration, especially Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who said during a briefing on Tuesday that "there are a lot of hardworking families whose livelihood depends on us conveying this message of safety...and we want to reinforce the fact that we're doing everything we possibly can to make sure that our hog industry is sound and safe and to make sure that consumers in this country and around the world know that American products are safe."

"This really isn't swine flu. It's H1N1 virus," Vilsack said. "We want to say to consumers here and abroad that there is no risk to you, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that there is any link between consuming pork, prepared pork products, and the H1N1 virus."

Added Kirk, "We want to say to consumers here and abroad that there is no risk to you, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that there is any link between consuming pork, prepared pork products, and the H1N1 virus." Kirk said that "we want to make sure that a handful of our trading partners don't take advantage of this legitimate concern over public health and engage in behavior that could also damage the world's economy."

Meanwhile, over at the Centers for Disease Control, the cdc.gov/swineflu page is up and running.

[chiggerbit]

"

we want to make sure that a handful of our trading partners don't take advantage of this legitimate concern over public health and engage in behavior that could also damage the world's economy."

WTF? The only way this sentence makes sense to me is if pork (or I suppose beef) producers in other countries try to take advantage of pork producers here in the USS by capitalizing on this event. But that is such a suspicious sentence.

[LilyPatToo]

Finally found an article that gives a bit more information on the swine flu outbreak in 1976, when I got it from an improperly prepared vaccine. But it's in Time Magazine, so who knows how much "spin" it contains: How to Deal with Swine Flu: Heeding the Mistakes of 1976

Basd on that information, I guess I should be glad I didn't end up with Guillain-Barré Jeez. But they don't say anything about whether people like me who survived it back then still have immunity...?

Did Fort Dix have a bio-war lab in 1976? This says the flu surfaced there and killed a 19 year old soldier.

LilyPat

[Cosmic Cowbell]

What changed?

Should swine flu go by another name?

Should swine flu be dubbed the H1N1 virus so as not to offend Jewish and Muslim sensitivities surrounding pork? Or should Jews and Muslims feel vindicated that the public now sees why they might avoid the other white meat?

U.S. government officials have suggested a name change because it's impossible to get the flu from eating pork products. Meanwhile, an Israeli health official has called for a name change, saying the reference to pigs offends Jewish and Muslim sensitivities. Both Jews and Muslims forbid consumption of pork products.

Israel's deputy health minister Yakov Litzman also suggested the disease be called Mexican flu, the epicenter of the outbreak where the disease has killed 150 people. Israel confirmed on Tuesday that two nationals had contracted swine flu on a recent trip to Mexico. On Wednesday, a 23-month-old child became the first American fatality.

Swine flu is a highly contagious respiratory disease normally found in pigs and is often transmitted through contact with the oinkers. The World Health Organization says properly handled and cooked pork products are still safe to eat because the virus dies at 160 degrees.

The suggestion to call it Mexican flu prompted complaints from Mexico's ambassador Frederico Salas and the Israeli envoy to Mexico Yosef Livneeye. The suggestion that swine flu might offend Jewish or Muslim sensitivities prompted eye rolls from both Jewish and Muslim leaders in Chicago.

Rabbi Moshe Kushner, executive director of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, said the statement was irrelevant. “The only thing that’s relevant is that they should find a cure,” he said.

Rasheed Ahmed, executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, said the same. He said unless someone called him “swine flu” as an insult, the name didn’t bother him a bit.

“I don’t think it’s an issue,” Ahmed said. “People are dying. People are going hungry.”

Junaid Afeef, executive director of the Council for Islamic Organizations for Greater Chicago, said the name of the disease does not bother him “one iota.” He said the first thing that came to his mind was the number of deaths in Mexico compared to a more developed nation like the U.S. and the injustice of that economic disparity.

“Of all the concerns, the name is the least of them,” he said. “Safeguarding those in need who are most vulnerable” is more important.

What do you think? Is it kosher to call out the swine or should we find a more culturally sensitive name that doesn’t invite more anxiety?

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/rel ... e-flu.html

[Percival]

I am surprised so many otherwise intelligent people are falling for this BS. This is another attempt to get the population living in fear so they are more easily controlled and manipulated and as a bonus big pharm will make a killing selling some drug that will make it alll better, like Rummy's company did a few years ago selling everyone anthrax anitibiotics.

[Nordic]

Sad news...


Swine flu kills first victim in U.S.

The kid who died was Mexican. You know, Mexican DNA. Like the others who have died.

I can't help but think this is one of those designer viruses they talked about that targets a certain racial demographic of the population.

We know they have them. We know they are willing to unleash military-grade designer bioweapons upon the population, because they already DID.

We know they don't like Mexicans.

Just putting 2 and 2 together.

[Percival]

What gets me is that there isnt one single case in ARIZONA. I live in Arizona and this would certainly be ground zero for any pandemic coming out of Mexico, yet no cases here but several cases in New Zeland and other strange places thousands of miles away.

[Cosmic Cowbell]

I am surprised so many otherwise intelligent people are falling for this BS. This is another attempt to get the population living in fear so they are more easily controlled and manipulated and as a bonus big pharm will make a killing selling some drug that will make it alll better, like Rummy's company did a few years ago selling everyone anthrax anitibiotics.

How so? A vaccine is at least six months to a year away and Tamiflu/Relenza are only effective as the symptoms occur. They are not preventative (see: Vaccine). I may be wrong but I don't believe there's really a "killing" to be made here, monetarily. A vaccine, if and when developed for this particular strain will probably be made available at low or no cost due to the public safety implications and there are already millions if not billions of courses of Tamiflu/Relenza in existence and purchased.

Besides, "Big Pharma" -already- makes a killing - monetarily speaking. As far as the need to invent a reason to "live in fear", Nature does a pretty good job of that by itself - historically speaking.

Just sayin'...

[seemslikeadream]

THE NAFTA FLU



http://www.narconews.com/Issue57/article3512.html

How The NAFTA Flu Exploded


Smithfield Farms Fled US Environmental Laws to Open a Gigantic Pig Farm in Mexico, and All We Got Was this Lousy Swine Flu

US and Mexico authorities claim that neither knew about the “swine flu” outbreak until April 24. But after hundreds of residents of a town in Veracruz, Mexico, came down with its symptoms, the story had already hit the Mexican national press by April 5. The daily La Jornada reported:

Clouds of flies emanate from the rusty lagoons where the Carroll Ranches business tosses the fecal wastes of its pig farms, and the open-air contamination is already generating an epidemic of respiratory infections in the town of La Gloria, in the Perote Valley, according to Town Administrator Bertha Crisóstomo López.

The town has 3,000 inhabitants, hundreds of whom reported severe flu symptoms in March.

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reporting from Mexico, has identified a La Gloria child who contracted the first case of identified “swine flu” in February as “patient zero,” five-year-old Edgar Hernández, now a survivor of the disease.