Healthy Me - At Home and Away: swine flu

Showing posts with label swine flu. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Flu outbreak could have started in US

Transmission electron micrograph of influenza ...

WASHINGTON — A United States health official on Saturday did not rule out the possibility that the Influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak may have originated in California.

“As we do our investigations here in the US, we may find that there were cases earlier,” said US Centers for Disease Control and Protection spokesman Scott Bryan.

Several cases of infection were reported in California before the outbreak in Mexico, the epicentre of the flu outbreak.

The number of confirmed H1N1 cases in the US stands at 197, including one death.

The first case discovered in California was a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County, which borders Mexico, who became ill on March 30 — before the outbreak in Mexico, reported The Wall Street Journal.

In a second case, a nine-year-old girl from a nearby California county was treated for a cough and a high fever on March 28.

On April 17, tests confirmed that the girl did indeed have the new virus strain, reported the Journal. The children, who had not travelled to Mexico or come into contact with pigs, have since recovered.

The potentially deadly virus is a hybrid drawn from strains found in pigs, birds and humans. AFP

From TODAY, World – Monday, 04-May-2009

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Singapore slaps flu quarantine order with fine, jail - Yahoo! Singapore News

Singapore slaps flu quarantine order with fine, jail - Yahoo! Singapore News

Above is the latest news on Singapore's move to combat the swine flu pandemic, err, swine flu disease, with all high and mighty hopes that it will never become a pandemic, at least, in Singapore...

So again, be aware, be alert, do your part, and keep away from catching the swine flu!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Blame ‘me first’ mentality for bad hygiene

btw:
ON SPITTING AND LITTERING

JILL ALPHONSO

THERE'S no better time to address social responsibility than now.

It's a big topic for the year, what with the economic crisis brought on by the neglect of bankers the world over, and with countries calling for more environmental awareness and action for everyone's sake.

And, now, the Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic is becoming a real and present danger.

But despite calls from our Government for people to be more diligent, to stay home if necessary and to take proper precautions when it comes to hygiene, I'm just not seeing it on the streets.

Just yesterday, I witnessed a young guy outside a coffee shop spitting into a drain just a few feet away from diners.

And call it bad fortune, but on more than one occasion over the past few days, I've seen people coughing in public areas without covering their mouths.

One man in another eatery I was in let fly with a God-almighty sneeze, with nary a tissue in sight. You can imagine where the by-products of that sneeze landed. Nowhere near me, thank goodness.

These are not new problems. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that incidents like these date back to Singapore's "Stone Age". Any "uncle" will gladly sneeze in your face any day, free of charge – you don't even have to ask.

Every week, I find dirty, balled-up tissues in cabs, stuffed into various nooks and crannies, forcing me to whip out a wet wipe to perform a ritual cleansing after accidentally encountering one of these discarded little "treasures".

And often have I seen people spit – after a good, long throat-clearing session – straight into trash cans, with all the expertise of a seasoned blow-dart professional.

Even without a potential flu outbreak, these acts would, more likely than not, cause others to fall ill. And let's face the facts: these days, it's getting clearer that, in the near future, such bad habits could potentially cost lives.

The root of the problem lies in the simple fact that Singaporeans remain tragically unaware of the impact they have on others.

I won't go so far as to say that we are a selfish lot in all areas, but there is a "me first" mentality that can, frankly, impair our judgment.

Ah, you might say, some people might not know any better.

I'm sorry, but I don't find that an acceptable excuse with World Health Organization warnings on pandemics flying about.

Plus, we've already experienced the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003, which infected 328 people in Singapore and killed 33.
You'd have thought we'd have learnt a thing or two from that little scare.

If there is anything to take away from that outbreak, it is that we all can play a part.

Back then, containment meant that people worked from home or simply had to stay home from work. Some were also quarantined in hospitals.

To my knowledge, many took such actions gladly. There was a call for stronger hygiene measures from everyone as well, which – according to reports – many followed.

Social responsibility means that everyone is accountable. That means you and me.

This goes for every issue, from playing one's part in being aware of measures to contain the flu pandemic, to recycling and saving energy for the betterment of the planet.

Let's start acting as if these things matter because they do – whether we like it or not.

In the long run, if every one of us adopts a more socially responsible attitude, we'd be able to build a better society – hopefully sans spitting.

myp@sph.com.sg

From myPaper, My News, Home – Tuesday, 05-May-2009

Developments on swine flu worldwide

By The Associated Press AP - 2 hours 53 minutes ago

Key developments on swine flu outbreaks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and government officials:

_Deaths: 25 confirmed in Mexico and one confirmed in U.S., a toddler from Mexico who died in Texas.

_Confirmed sickened worldwide, 1,033: 590 in Mexico; 245 in U.S.; 101 in Canada; 44 in Spain; 18 in Britain; eight in Germany; six in New Zealand; four in Israel and France; two in El Salvador and Italy; one each in Austria, Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Korea and Switzerland.

_U.S. confirmed cases from CDC or states: New York, 63; Texas, 43; California, 29; Arizona, 18; South Carolina, 15; Delaware, 10; Louisiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts, seven; Colorado, four; Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and Wisconsin, three; Connecticut, Kansas and Michigan, two; and one each in Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Idaho and Utah.

_More U.S. school closings announced, including all 24 schools in a district west of Detroit after a high school student came down with an apparent case of the illness.

_The New Mexico Activities Association's board of directors suspended all athletic and activity programs for all member schools until further notice.

_Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about a third of confirmed U.S. cases are people who had been to Mexico and likely picked up the infection there.

_Hong Kong, where severe acute respiratory syndrome killed 299 in 2003, ordered weeklong quarantine of downtown hotel where a Mexican tourist was confirmed to have the illness, trapping 350 guests and employees inside.

_Mexican government announces it will charter a plane to bring its citizens home from China after 70 Mexican nationals traveling in China were quarantined there.

_Mexican officials will decide Monday whether to allow schools and businesses to reopen on Wednesday.

_World Health Organization said slaughtering pigs unnecessary because virus is being spread through humans, and it says a swine herd in Canada likely was infected by a farmworker who returned from Mexico.

_U.S. Meat Export Federation, which represents pork and beef interests abroad, estimates that U.S. pork exports have dropped about 10 percent since the swine flu scare started.

_Visitation at all California prisons has been suspended after an ill inmate at Centinela State Prison in Imperial County is being tested for swine flu.

___
On the Net:
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu

___

From Yahoo! News; source article is here.

Swine flu could return 'with a vengeance': WHO

AFP – Tuesday, May 5

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - – The head of the World Health Organisation warned on Monday that swine flu could return with a vengeance despite Mexico's President Felipe Calderon insisting his country has contained the epidemic.

WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a newspaper interview that a second wave of the virus "would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the 21st century", puncturing optimism emanating from the epicentre of the outbreak.

The diplomatic damage from the epidemic also reverberated with China denying it had discriminated against Mexican nationals after dozens were placed under quarantine over the weekend despite showing no signs of the flu.

Twenty-five people have died from swine flu, according to the WHO which estimates there are nearly 900 cases in 20 countries . All but one of the deaths have been in Mexico.

Calderon said Mexico had managed "to contain the epidemic" and was now "in a position to overcome" the A(H1N1) virus.

His health minister, Jose Angel Cordova, told a news conference the epidemic peaked between April 23 and 28 and was "in its phase of decline".

But Chan said the end of the flu season in the northern hemisphere meant that while any initial outbreak could be milder, a second wave could be more lethal, reflecting a pattern first seen with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed up to 50 million people worldwide.

"We hope the virus fizzles out, because if it doesn't we are heading for a big outbreak," Chan told the Financial Times, adding that it could re-emerge in the months ahead "with a vengeance".

"I'm not predicting the pandemic will blow up, but if I miss it and we don't prepare, I fail. I'd rather over-prepare than not prepare."

The UN agency last week raised its alert level to five, indicating that a global pandemic is imminent.

More countries are confirming cases every day with Italy and Colombia becoming the latest to join the list, while France announced two new confirmed cases.

Japan on Monday tripled the number of quarantine officers at Tokyo's Narita airport to try to detect cases at the start of a key holiday week.
And in the United States, the only other country to have recorded a death from the virus, officials said that more than half the 50 states had now confirmed cases.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius echoed Chan's warning that the real test would come when the winter influenza season hits in a few months.

"One of the things that we know is that even if this current situation seems to be lessening, if we are cautiously optimistic, we really don't know what's going to happen when real flu season hits (together) with H1N1 virus," she told CBS television.

In China, the centre of the 2003 SARS outbreak, authorities have been accused of discriminating against Mexican nationals in its bid to stop the disease in its tracks.

Although no cases of swine flu have been reported on the Chinese mainland, one Mexican who stayed in a hotel in Hong Kong has tested positive.

A Mexican embassy official said there were nearly 70 of his compatriots had been quarantined across China including in Beijing, Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou even though they had demonstrated no flu symptoms.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement: "The relevant measures are not directed at Mexican citizens and are not discriminatory."

Myrna Elisa Berlanga, 31, a Mexican tourist who arrived in China on Saturday, questioned why she was being quarantined since no one on her flight from the United States had the virus.

"Right now we are tired of being confined, not knowing what will happen with us," she told AFP by phone from the hotel near Beijing's airport where she and nine other Mexicans are being isolated.

From Yahoo! News; source article is here.