tagged w/ Swine Flu
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WASHINGTON -- President Obama went golfing and the Department of Health and Human Services is short a secretary, so other U.S. officials took the controls Sunday as the Obama administration ramps up efforts to find and isolate U.S. cases of swine flu.
During a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that HHS will issue a public health emergency warning that will free up resources to address the outbreak that has hit 20 Americans in five states.
Richard Besser, acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the agency is prepared to move millions of doses of the U.S. anti-virus stockpile to areas of early and potential outbreaks.
Besser said the flu's spread is in its early stages and the current situation is "extremely unpredictable." He said the government will provide "daily" updates on the number of confirmed cases and provide advice and intervene at the local level as conditions warrant.
"As we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader spectrum of disease," Besser said. "We're going to see more severe disease in this country."
Meanwhile, as Napolitano, Besser, presidential homeland security adviser John Brennan and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs addressed reporters, Obama golfed with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Trade Representative Ron Kirk.WASHINGTON -- President Obama went golfing and the Department of Health and Human... more
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Swine Flu: U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency
CDC Has Reports of at Least 20 People in the U.S. Sickened by Swine Flu
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
April 26, 2009 -- The U.S. government today declared the swine flu outbreak a public health emergency. Swine flu has sickened at least 20 people in the U.S., by the CDC's latest count.
"We are declaring today a public health emergency," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said today at a White House news briefing. That declaration is "standard operating procedure," Napolitano said. "It is similar to what we do when we see a hurricane approaching a site. The hurricane might not actually hit but allows you to take a number of preparatory steps. We really don't know ultimately what the size or seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."
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Swine Flu: U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency
CDC Has Reports of at Least 20... more
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American health officials on Sunday declared a public
health emergency over increasing cases of swine flu, saying that they had confirmed 20 cases of the disease in the United States and expected to see more as investigators fan out to track down the path of the outbreak.
Although officials said most of the cases have been mild and urged Americans not to panic, the emergency declaration frees government resources to be used toward diagnosing or preventing additional cases, and releases money for more antiviral drugs.
“We are seeing more cases of swine flu,” said Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control, in a news conference in Washington. “We expect to see more cases of swine flu. As we continue to look for cases, I expect we’re going to find them.” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, speaking at the same news conference called the emergency declaration “standard operating procedure,” and said it should be considered a “declaration of emergency preparedness.”
“Really that’s what we’re doing right now,” she said. “We’re preparing in an environment where we really don’t know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this outbreak is going to be.”
End of Excerpt
Source: The New York Times OnlineAmerican health officials on Sunday declared a public
health emergency over... more
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed cases of swine flu in eight students at a New York preparatory school, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday.
The students have had only mild symptoms and none have been hospitalized, he said. Some of the students have already recovered.
More than 100 students were absent from school due to flu-like symptoms last week. New York health officials tested samples for eight students Saturday and determined the students were probably suffering from swine flu, and the CDC confirmed the diagnosis on Sunday, Bloomberg said.
The announcement brings the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States to 20. Bloomberg and New York Health Commissioner Tom Frieden said there is no sign of a citywide outbreak of the flu, and no sign of a potential outbreak of swine flu at other schools.
Some students at the school spent spring break in Mexico, Bloomberg said, but authorities have not determined whether any of the students with a confirmed case of swine flu was in Mexico. Someone who traveled to Mexico may not have had any flu symptoms but passed on the flu to someone else, he noted.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed cases of swine flu in... more
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** Related: US Declares Public Health Emergency http://current.com/items/89996973_u-s-declares-public-health-emergency-cdc-and-homeland-announce.htm
** Related: Q/A from CDC on Swine Flu http://current.com/items/89999263_what-you-need-to-know-about-swine-flue-good-information-from-cdc.htm
** Related: Daily AP update of all cases both US and Global. Great summary. http://current.com/items/89999535_developments-on-swine-flu-worldwide-summay-as-of-4-26-16-45-et.htm
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Governments around the world rushed on Sunday to check the spread of a new type of swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected around a dozen in the United States.
Mexicans huddled inside their homes while U.S. hospitals tracked patients with flu symptoms and other countries imposed health checks at airports as the World Health Organization warned the virus had the potential to become a pandemic.
The epidemic has snowballed into a monster headache for Mexico, already grappling with a violent drug war and economic slowdown, and has quickly become one of the biggest global health scares in years.
Mexico's tourism and retail sectors could be badly hit by the crisis and a new pandemic would deal a major blow to a world economy already knocked into its worst recession in decades by the crisis in financial markets.
In New Zealand, 10 pupils from an Auckland school party that had just returned from Mexico were being treated for influenza symptoms in what health authorities said was a likely case of swine flu, although they added none were seriously ill.
The World Health Organization declared the flu a "public health event of international concern." WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan urged greater worldwide surveillance for any unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness.** Related: US Declares Public Health Emergency... more
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Introduction:-- A new strain of swine flu that has killed as many as 81 and sickened more than 1,324 in Mexico has spread to the United States and is raising fears of a possible pandemic. Learn more about the disease and why it is causing concern among health officials.
What is it: -- Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs first isolated in swine in 1930, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness is caused by four different type A influenza strains that can cause outbreaks in pigs, though subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 seem to be more common. The death rate among pigs is low, with most infections occurring in the late fall and winter. Symptoms of infected pigs include fever, depression, coughing (barking), sneezing, difficulty breathing, red or inflamed eyes, lack of appetite and discharge from the nose or eyes.
How do people get infected: -- Human infection happens intermittently, with most cases occurring when patients have direct contact with pigs. But cases of an infected person transmitting the swine flu to others have also been documented, says the CDC. (A 1988 outbreak in pigs in Wisconsin led to multiple human infections, and there was evidence that a patient transmitted the virus to health care workers.) Human-to-human infections do occur similar to the way the human seasonal flu virus is transmitted — through coughing, sneezing and coming in contact with a person or object with the virus.
People cannot become infected by eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit kills the virus as well as other bacteria, notes the CDC.
What are the symptoms: -- Symptoms are similar to those of the regular human influenza virus: fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some who have been infected with the swine flu also reported having a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
How is it diagnosed: -- A respiratory specimen must be collected within the first four to five days of illness, when the infected person is most likely to be shedding the virus. However, some patients (such as children), may shed the virus for 10 days or longer, according to the CDC. Specimens must be sent to the CDC for laboratory testing in order to identify swine flu.
How is it treated: -- Four antiviral drugs are licensed to treat the disease in the U.S.: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. Most of the viruses are susceptible to all four, but the CDC currently recommends oseltamivir or zanamivir to treat and prevent swine flu infections. The antivirals should be taken as soon as possible symptoms appear.
Tamiflu, the generic name for oseltamivir, appears to be effective against the new strain when taken early, says the CDC. There is currently no human vaccine for swine flu, but the flu vaccine may provide some protection against the H3N2 strain, though not the H1N1 strain.Introduction:-- A new strain of swine flu that has killed as many as 81 and sickened... more
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's health minister said Sunday 10 students who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza. He said the cases are "likely" to be swine flu.
Tony Ryall said none of the patients was seriously ill and they seemed to be recovering. He added that there was "no guarantee" the students had swine flu, but that health officials were taking precautions.
At least 81 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the virus a public health emergency of "pandemic potential."
The virus is usually contracted through direct contact with pigs, though some limited cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported. Health officials have sought to reassure people that it is safe to eat pork that is properly handled because the virus dies when cooked at temperatures of 160 F/70 C or higher.
The 10 New Zealand students who returned positive results were among 13 quarantined and tested for the virus after a school trip to Mexico. In all 25 students and teachers arrived in the northern city of Auckland on Saturday on a flight from Los Angeles. One student had to be hospitalized, said Auckland Regional Public Health Services director Dr. Julia Peters.
"Ten students have tested positive for Influenza A, and these results will now be sent to the World Health Organization laboratory in Melbourne to ascertain whether it is the H1N1 swine influenza."WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's health minister said Sunday 10 students... more
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MEXICO CITY - A new strain of swine flu has this metropolis of 20 million people increasingly fearful as suspected flu deaths grow, and world health officials warn that Mexico City could be at the epicenter of a global epidemic.
Everything from concerts to sports matches and church services were canceled Sunday to keep people from congregating and spreading the virus in large crowds.
President Felipe Calderon assumed new powers to isolate people infected with a deadly swine flu strain that Mexico's health minister says has killed up to 81 people and likely sickened 1,324 since April 13. Mexican soldiers and health workers patrolled airports and bus stations, looking for people showing symptoms, which include a fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.
Markets and restaurants were nearly empty. And throngs of Mexicans — some with just a fever — rushed to hospitals.
Mexico appears to have lost valuable days or weeks in detecting the new flu strain, a combination of pig, bird and human viruses that humans may have no natural immunity to. Health officials have found cases in 16 Mexican states. Two dozen new suspected cases were reported in the capital on Saturday alone.
Eleven cases of swine flu were confirmed in California, Texas and Kansas, with more suspected in New York City.MEXICO CITY - A new strain of swine flu has this metropolis of 20 million people... more
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Swine Flu Outbreak -- Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?
Officials from the CDC and USDA will soon arrive in Mexico to help investigate the deadly new influenza virus that managed to jump from pigs to people in a previously unseen mutated form that can readily spread among humans.
One of the first things they will want to look at are the hundreds of industrial-scale hog facilities that have sprung up around Mexico in recent years, and the thousands of people employed inside the crowded, pathogen-filled confinement buildings and processing plants.
Industry calls these massive compounds "confined animal feeding operations," or CAFOs (KAY-fohs), though most people know them simply as "factory farms." You have seen them before while flying: Long white buildings lined up in tightly packed rows of three, four or more. Within each confinement, thousands of pigs are restricted to indoor pens and grain-fed for market, while breeding sows are kept in small metal crates where they spend most of their lives pregnant or nursing piglets.
In the last several years, U.S. hog conglomerates have opened giant swine CAFOs south of the border, including dozens around Mexico City in the neighboring states of Mexico and Puebla. Smithfield Foods also reportedly operates a huge swine facility in the State of Veracruz, where the current outbreak may have originated. Many of these CAFOs raise tens of thousands of pigs at a time. Cheaper labor costs and a desire to enter the Latin American market are drawing more industrialized agriculture to Mexico all the time, wiping out smaller, traditional farms, which now account for only a small portion of swine production in Mexico.
"Classic" swine flu virus (not the novel, mutated form in the news) is considered endemic in southern Mexico, while the region around the capital is classified as an "eradication area" - meaning the disease is present, and efforts are underway to control it. For some reason, vaccination of pigs against swine flu is prohibited in this area, and growers rely instead on depopulation and restriction of animal movement when outbreaks occur.
U.S. and Mexican epidemiologists and veterinarians will surely want to take swine samples from Mexican CAFOs and examine them for the newly discovered influenza strain (No one knows exactly how long it has been in circulation). And though it is too early to know if this new virus mutated and incubated on Mexican hog CAFOs, the industrialized facilities unquestionably belong on the list of suspects.
Pigs are nature's notorious "mixing bowls" for inter-species infections, and many swine flu viruses have long contained human influenza genetic components. Then, in the late 1990's - when industrialized swine production really took off in North America - scientists were alarmed to find that avian influenza genetic material was also mixed into the continent's viral soup (see below). Fortunately, it was not the dreaded and lethal H5N1 strain, which most people know of as "bird flu."
So where did this new, virulent and highly infectious influenza emerge from? According to Mexico's Health Minister, Jose Angel Cordova, the virus "mutated from pigs, and then at some point was transmitted to humans." It sure sounds like something happened on some farm, somewhere.
For years, leading scientists around the world have worried that large-scale, indoor swine "factories" would become breeding grounds for new pathogens that could more easily infect humans and then spread out rapidly in the general population - threatening to become a global pandemic.
[More at Link]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/swine-flu-outbreak----nat_b_191408.htmlSwine Flu Outbreak -- Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?
Officials... more
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The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico continues to have repercussions across the world. Suspected cased are cropping up all the time from people who have recently been to Mexico where 70 are dead so far and over 1000 people are sick. The risk of transmission of the virus is so severe that the Mexican government is urging people to stay at home, shutting all schools, public spaces and all public gatherings such as football matches are cancelled. People are walking the streets of the densely populated capital Mexico City wearing face masks to protect themselves.
The US government has said there is little it can do to prevent the virus spreading across the United States and there have already been cases initially in the Southern US in Texas and Southern California as well as Kansas. There have been 2 unconfirmed cases in Scotland as well from people returning from holidays in Mexico. The US shares a porous land border with Mexico that is very difficult to police and is one of the main entry points into the country. There are also now 10 suspected cases as far as the eastern seaboard as students in a New York school are suspected of having the virus. This new swine flu is a combination of a virus from pigs, humans and birds.
The United Nations has already said that swine flu has the potential to become a major global pandemic. So far New Zealand has 10 students who they suspect have the virus after returning from Mexico via Los Angeles and Israel has a suspected case too. Governments across the Asia-Pacific region are stepping up surveillance and preparing to launch disaster plans.
The European Union has yet to have a confirmed case of the disease although a BA flight crew member was taken to hospital after stepping off a flight at London Heathrow from Mexico City on Saturday the 23rd April. Public health officials later announced that the man had not tested positive for swine flu but was going to remain in hospital.The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico continues to have repercussions across the world.... more
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The World Health Organization says it suspects swine flu has killed 60 people and infected 800 others in Mexico.
A WHO spokeswoman said the majority of the cases were in the capital, Mexico City, and a small number in central areas of the country.
Seven non-fatal cases of a new form of swine flu have also been confirmed in the southern United States.
Experts will carry out tests to determine whether the viruses behind the outbreaks are linked.The World Health Organization says it suspects swine flu has killed 60 people and... more
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Government officials have declared a public health emergency in connection with the swine flu outbreak that has killed dozens in Mexico and sickened 20 in the U.S., said the nation’s director of Homeland Security said Sunday.
Janet Napolitano also said border patrol agents have been directed to begin passive surveillance of travelers from Mexico, with instructions to isolate anyone who appears actively ill with suspected influenza.
The number of cases confirmed in the United States by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now 20, including eight New York City high school students. Other cases are in Ohio, California, Texas and Kansas. Patients have ranged in age from 9 to over 50.
“As we look for swine flu, we are seeing more cases of swine flu and we expect to see more cases of swine flu," said Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC, during a White House press conference Sunday. "We view this more as a marathon."
Napolitano said the emergency declaration is a warning, not an actual imminent emergency, similar to preparing for a hurricane.
"I wish we could call it a declaration of emergency preparedness,” Napolitano said.
Besser noted that compared to cases in Mexico, “what we’re seeing in this country is mild disease,” nothing that the U.S. cases would not have been detected without increased surveillance.Government officials have declared a public health emergency in connection with the... more
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A new flu virus suspected of killing up to 60 people in Mexico has the potential to become a pandemic, the World Health Organization's chief says.A new flu virus suspected of killing up to 60 people in Mexico has the potential to... more
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MEXICO CITY - A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.
The worrisome new virus - which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before - also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.
"We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."
The outbreak caused alarm in Mexico, where more than 1,000 people have been sickened. Residents of the capital donned surgical masks and authorities ordered the most sweeping shutdown of public gathering places in a quarter century. President Felipe Calderon met with his Cabinet Friday to coordinate Mexico's response.
The WHO was convening an expert panel to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert level or issue travel advisories.
There is no vaccine
that specifically protects against swine flu, and it was unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer. A "seed stock" genetically matched to the new swine flu virus has been created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, said Dr. Richard Besser, the agency's acting director. If the government decides vaccine production is necessary, manufacturers would need that stock to get started.
Authorities in Mexico urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection. They also said Mexicans should refrain from customary greetings such as shaking hands or kissing cheeks. At Mexico City's international airport, passengers were questioned to try to prevent anyone with flu symptoms from boarding airplanes and spreading the disease.
Epidemiologists are particularly concerned because the only fatalities so far were in young people and adults. It's possible that more vulnerable populations - infants and the aged - had been vaccinated against other strains, providing some protection.
The eight U.S. victims recovered from symptoms that were like those of the regular flu, mostly fever, cough and sore throat, though some also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
U.S. health officials announced an outbreak notice to travelers, urging caution and frequent handwashing, but stopping short of telling Americans to avoid Mexico.
Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordoba said 68 people have died of flu and the new swine flu strain had been confirmed in 20 of those deaths. At least 1,004 people nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, he said.
Scientists have long been concerned that a new flu virus could launch a worldwide pandemic of a killer disease. A new virus could evolve when different flu viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.
Still, flu experts were concerned but not alarmed about the latest outbreak.
"We've seen swine influenza in humans over the past several years, and in most cases, it's come from direct pig contact. This seems to be different," said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert with the University of Michigan.
"I think we need to be careful and not apprehensive, but certainly paying attention to new developments as they proceed."
The CDC says two flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested.
Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.MEXICO CITY - A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people... more
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Mexico has had an outbreak of swine flu, suspected in the deaths of dozens of people and sickening perhaps thousands. In the United States, at least eight cases have been confirmed with the infection, all of them in California and Texas.
For more news video by Current TV visit http://current.com/Mexico has had an outbreak of swine flu, suspected in the deaths of dozens of people... more
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MEXICO CITY — Mexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.MEXICO CITY — Mexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million... more
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Public health authorities are investigating two highly unusual cases of a previously unknown strain of swine flu that was found in the San Diego area late last month.
The cases occurred almost simultaneously in children who had no contact with pigs or each other, a scenario that raised the possibility that the illnesses may be the sign of an emerging pandemic strain of influenza.
More than 50 scientists and epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are studying the strain, and dozens of public health investigators in Southern California are looking for more cases among the those who had contact with the children.
"While we have a low index of suspicion that this is a pandemic, we're being very careful in our investigation to rule out every possibility," said Lyn Finelli, an epidemiologist in the CDC's influenza division.
Neither of the children -- a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County and a 9-year-old girl in Imperial County, just to the east -- was seriously ill. The cases were detected because both children were treated at clinics that took nose or throat swabs looking for influenza and passed the samples on to health department labs when they could not identify the strains.Public health authorities are investigating two highly unusual cases of a previously... more
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