Info Swine Flu

Who Raised Influenza Pandemic Alert to Phase 6

ludwinarose — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:39:33 +0000

Influenza pandemic alert raised to phase 6
11 June 2009 — On the basis of available evidence and expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met. The Director-General of WHO has therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6. “The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic,” she said at a press conference today.

What is phase 6?

Updated 11 June 2009

What is phase 6?

Phase 6 is a pandemic, according to the WHO definition.

WHO pandemic phase descriptions [pdf 456kb]

Pandemic influenza preparedness and response

What about severity?

At this time, WHO considers the overall severity of the influenza pandemic to be moderate. This assessment is based on scientific evidence available to WHO, as well as input from its Member States on the pandemic’s impact on their health systems, and their social and economic functioning.

The moderate assessment reflects that:

Most people recover from infection without the need for hospitalization or medical care.
Overall, national levels of severe illness from influenza A(H1N1) appear similar to levels seen during local seasonal influenza periods, although high levels of disease have occurred in some local areas and institutions.
Overall, hospitals and health care systems in most countries have been able to cope with the numbers of people seeking care, although some facilities and systems have been stressed in some localities.

WHO is concerned about current patterns of serious cases and deaths that are occurring primarily among young persons, including the previously healthy and those with pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.

Large outbreaks of disease have not yet been reported in many countries, and the full clinical spectrum of disease is not yet known.

BBC News 11june, 2009

“It is the first time a flu pandemic has occurred since 1968, and is the first pandemic of any disease in the 21st century.

All governments have been told to mobilise their pandemic flu plans.

Experts say the virus is likely to infect one in every three people who are exposed to it. In comparison standard seasonal flu infects around one person in ten.

Nobody knows the full potential impact of a pandemic, but experts have warned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide.”

11 june – confirmed H1N1 Cases

ludwinarose — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:37:27 +0000

11 June 2009 — As of 14:00 GMT, 11 June 2009, 74 countries have officially reported 28,774 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 144 deaths.

WHO: “Closer to Pandemic Alert”

ludwinarose — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:11:41 +0000

Swine flu is still making headlines today as officials say a vaccine could become available as early as October.

The number of swine flu cases worldwide has reached 20,246 after the United States reported over 1,000 new infections. WHO says the virus has been confirmed in 66 countries, with Egypt and Nicaragua the latest to report one case each. The virus is responsible for 119 deaths, mostly in Mexico.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the swine flu virus has now reached all 50 states. Two more people died from the H1N1 flu in New York City, bringing the city’s toll to seven and U.S. deaths to 19.

WHO’s flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the spread of H1N1 flu in Australia, Britain, Chile, Japan and Spain has moved the world closer to the top pandemic alert. “We are at Phase 5 but are getting closer to Phase 6,” Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, told journalists during a telephone conference

H1N1 influenza, latest news

ludwinarose — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:52:29 +0000

There is little news to report on the H1N1 influenza front, but I want to check in with everyone at least once a week while the outbreak is still active. The number of cases in Massachusetts increased from last week’s 284 cases to 428 cases as of 11 a.m. on May 28. The number of countries involved around the world stands at 53 and the number of cases is more than 15,000 worldwide. School-age children still represent the greatest percentage of cases, but deaths and complications of the flu, like seasonal flu, have affected those with underlying chronic illness

Swine flu is still making headlines today as officials say a vaccine could become available as early as October.

Track Swine Flu on Google Map

ludwinarose — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:59:17 +0000

Let us be clear: swine flu aint some hot internet meme. It’s not a lolcat or a great flash game. It is a serious disease.

ludwinarose — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:50:33 +0000

London, May 27: Swine flu is apparently spreading fast, enveloping the whole globe under its wings. A fresh outbreak was reported yesterday in a primary school in Birmingham, where the flu has infected at least 44 pupils at once. The new swine flu virus is spreading rapidly around the United States and more than half of the states are reporting unusually high levels of flu-like illness at a time of year when the respiratory disease usually disappears, federal health officials said Friday. About half of the people with flu are testing positive for the new virus, indicating it is playing a significant role in the unusual pattern of disease, officials said. “We would be expecting to see the season to be slowing down or almost completely stopped,” said Daniel Jernigan, of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But what we’re seeing is there are some areas that actually have reports of the amounts of respiratory disease that are equivalent to peak influenza season. New cases were reported across the globe, as A(H1N1) cases worldwide soared to nearly 13,000. Mexico reported two more swine flu deaths on Tuesday, as World Health Organisation scientists asked if it had moved too quickly to declare the outbreak a pandemic. In Mexico, the death toll had risen to 85, and infected cases rose to 4,721 with scientists advancing through a backlog of samples. The virus has caused 92 deaths and infected 12,954 people in 46 countries since it was first uncovered last month, according to the WHO’s latest figures. With the continued spread of the disease, the WHO enlisted scientists to help clear up the criteria needed for declaring a pandemic, amid concern the health body’s response may have caused undue fear and disruption. “We are trying to see what kind of adjustments must be made to make sure that the definitions really meet the situation,” said World Health Organisation interim Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda. The move follows appeals by several countries for more caution before moving up a step from the current phase five alert to declaring a pandemic for the new A(H1N1) virus. In many parts of the world the outbreak has hit trade, and the economic losses are only now becoming clearer. On Tuesday, Mexican restaurant owners said around 6,500 eateries remained closed due to downturn during the swine flu epidemic, involving the loss of more than 55,000 jobs. The virus has continued its march. The Gulf kingdom of Bahrain reported its first confirmed case, the second state in the Gulf region hit by the disease. “The first case is a young Bahraini man of 21 who has returned from studying in New York,” health ministry spokesman Adel Abdullah said. Britain revealed an outbreak of 47 new cases nearly all of them linked to a school in the West Midlands of England, while Greece reported its second flu victim, a 21-year-old man. Other new cases surfaced on Tuesday in Asia with South Korea now having 27 people infected and Hong Kong reporting its 10th victim. More than 2,000 passengers on a cruise ship in Australia were asked to quarantine themselves for a week at home, when several passengers tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus. All passengers disembarked in Sydney and 14 cases of infection have now been recorded from the cruise ship, A US charter plane with five passengers and two crew turned back from a remote airport in eastern Russia after local medical officials said they suspected a case of swine flu on board, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday. “During a sanitary check in the cabin of the plane… doctors found one of the two crew members had an elevated temperature,” a spokesman for the local branch of Russia’s trade and sanitation watchdog told the agency. The plane’s pilot decided to turn around and fly back to the United States rather than submit to medical examinations locally. Tuesday’s WHO figures show the biggest growth in swine flu cases in the United States, with 212 more people infected, and one more death, bringing the US total to 6,764 and 12 deaths. In Latin America, the number of cases also rose, with El Salvador, Ecuador and Chile reporting new cases. The WHO’s Fukuda admitted it was quite possible the A(H1N1) influenza would continue to spread to other countries and would probably then be considered a pandemic. The UN health agency wants to look more closely at how and when it should declare a flu outbreak as a pandemic, a phase six alert. “But right now we’re clearly in the early times of the evolution of this virus and we’ll see where it goes,” he added.

Swine flu update – US death toll rises to 12

ludwinarose — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:28:52 +0000

May, 25

A resident of Chicago died today from the swine flu – the first death in Illinois and the 12th death in the nation.

New York: May, 24: Woman died from the swine flu.

The woman, who was in her 50s, had other health conditions, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said. No other information on her case was disclosed Sunday.

There were 280 confirmed cases of swine flu in the city and 94 hospitalizations as of Sunday

May, 22 Utah and Arizona report swine flu-related deaths

ludwinarose — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:48:37 +0000

Utah officials reported the state’s first death associated with swine flu and Arizona recorded that state’s third victim, pushing the national death toll to 10 people.
David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said a 21-year-old man with swine flu died Wednesday morning at a Salt Lake City hospital.
Sanchez checked into a suburban hospital Saturday, vomiting blood and burning with fever, Huitron told The Salt Lake Tribune. By Tuesday he was suffering from multiple organ failure.
Dr. David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said Marcos, the state’s first swine flu fatality, was overweight and had chronic medical conditions, including respiratory problems, that put him at risk.
Of Utah’s 122 confirmed swine flu cases, 86 percent are between the ages of 5 and 49.
David Sundwall, executive director of the state health department:”This has a harder impact on young people. We don’t know why”
In Arizona, officials said Wednesday a 13-year-old boy from Tucson also has died with swine flu. The teenager died Friday of complications from the flu. He had been hospitalized May 10.

Some tips

ludwinarose — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:29:25 +0000

Some tips:

1) cough with your left hand as most people are righthanded and will shake hands, touch doorknobs,etc. with their right hand

2) use hand sanitizer
Anticeptic Hand Sanitizers
3) true flu has a high fever that pairs with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite,etc. Drink enough water!

4) purchase a personal air purifier

5) eat lots of cayenne but save your echinachea for the initial onset of flu symptoms

6) beef up intake of vitamin C, olive leaf extract and oil of oregano
7) Place bamboo air purifiers in every room of your house
Bamboo air purifier:

AIR FRESHENER: Absorbs harmful pollutants from the air including allergens, bacteria and viruses.

DEODORIZATION: Absorbs odors from the interior of the vehicle.

RELAXATION: Releases negative ions that freshen the air and FAR infrared radiation that helps you relax, eases joint pain, and improves circulation.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING: Absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted from electronics and accessories in your vehicle.

HUMIDITY REGULATION: Absorbs excess moisture in the air, and then releases moisture when the air becomes too dry, helping to regulate overall humidity levels in the vehicle.

Swine Flu, news & info

Protection Gloves, Protection Masks

ludwinarose — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:55:40 +0000

Protection Masks, Protection Gloves