The First Story that I reccomend to read is the Latest in Huffington post that explains MORE about the Connection between the HOG Farms in Mexico, that are US owned and their connection to this Outbreak. This story also explains that Scientists are looking at a similiar Hog strain outbreak of 1998. ( I will continue to call it Swine Flu here, as it is scientifically presenting as virus that is related to Hog Waste Practices. I will not call it what the Hog Industry wants it called.) Do read the article as it brings up that there may indeed be more of an American Connection, and more is posted in the Comments- including whole interviews with Virologists about WHY it is "Swine Flu".
"In an interview with Science Magazine, the CDC's chief virologist, Ruben Donis' essentially confirmed the reading of the current swine flu strain made by New Scientist: that it evolved from a strain that cropped up in U.S. hog farms in 1998."
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This WSJ story connect the Germ Dots and explains the actual sleuthing that went on and is ongoing tracking this Virus. Really well done.
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In the US 300 schools have closed due to symptomatic children, and to protect other children until results come in.There is an actual lag in getting test results, as the swabs are sent to the State and then sent to the CDC labs in Georgia. Schools are taking a precautionary stance, if they have children that have substantial symptoms and are listed as probable by their Doctor, then schools are closing for up to 5-7 days.In many cases this is involving school nurses making weighty decisions, and school districts that have limited nurses are actually closing more schools. Many parents are wrestling with decisions about sending their children to school, or keep them home.
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This LA Times article tells how hospitals all over are stressed with overflow due to the Swine Flu, sadly I think that many people sitting in a ER Waiting room is creating more of a mess. In the UK they have people phone their doctor, self quarentine and the tamiflu is phone prescribed and shipped via courier to their homes, this makes more sense. In other places Seperate facilities and entrances are set up for the Flu Patients.
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Harvard shut down it's medical and dental school this week,
after a resident came down with swine flu.
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Finally we have some Some Real Numbers out of Mexico. 300 Confirmed Cases ( last weekend they were saying over 1000, so this is different.
But we still don't know anything about the Cases, age, gender etc.
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More about Swine Flu across the DC region and the Whitehouse Aide to Secretary Chu that did acquire the illness.
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More schools in California close due to Swine Illness.
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On a local level I did find numerous stories of local pharmacies running out of tamiflu and relenza, I am not sure about how it is distributed, but this is something to watch.
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In Texas an entire district was closed due to flu and the schools sanitized. yet the True numbers in Fort Worth of illness remain undetermined.
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MORE OF THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
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BBC has more about the World Reaction and response and cases.
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Across the Globe Middle East is still taking drastic measures in Egypt, by culling pig herds.
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For people abroad Sky News has set up a fairly complete Travel Advice Page for those wondering how to protect themselves.
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The Guardian has great article about lessons from the 1918 Spanish Flu could be a good teaching tool.
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On another front some people are researching the questions about Hog Farming and the Hygiene practices, Border Explorer has a thought provoking post on it. And Nature Network has more about this current outbreak that is worth reading.
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3:30PM LA Times has article about how School Closures might help decrease the spread.
8 comments:
Quickly an update due to alot of new info on the web- I moved this post over at 3:30PM....
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CDC information::::
Arizona 4
California 13
Colorado 2
Delaware 4
Illinois 3
Indiana 3
Kansas 2
Kentucky 1
Massachusetts 2
Michigan 2
Minnesota 1
Nebraska 1
Nevada 1
New Jersey 5
New York 50
Ohio 1
South Carolina 16
Texas 28 and 1 death of mexican toddler
Virginia 2
TOTAL COUNTS 141 cases 1 death
( I wish these numbers had ages, and how many incidence....)
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400,000 doses of antiviral have been sent to Mexico.
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at 3 Pm Governor Christ of Florida announced their first 2 cases- Both children.
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300 schools remain closed today across US.
3:45 Pm::: this Ohio Update is interesting read the CHANGE about HOW long the children are infectious::::: 7-10 days...is what CDC is saying...
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ELYRIA -- The Elyria City Schools have announced that Ely Elementary will remain closed until May 11 as a precaution after a student there was diagnosed with the H1N1 influenza virus, formerly referred to as the swine flu.
The boy remains the only confirmed case of the H1N1 flu in Ohio. He has been recovering at home after taking antiviral medications.
According to the school district, the decision to keep the school closed an additional week was based on a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says it has determined that children can remain infectious with the virus for 7 to 10 days instead of the initial assessment of 7 days.
As a result, the CDC said its recommendation to schools is to remain closed 14 days after a confirmed case in students.
© 2009 WKYC-TV
thank you manny.....( had added it a couple of days ago on another post- but I will add to this post today too....)
6PM Update::::
more...NBC eve news:::
201 in 23 States....confirmed.
Manny - I will add you over to the Blogroll of my Swine Flu blog- if that is okay with you check it out- okay?
You make an interesting point about the pig/agri biz people insisting on calling it 2009 H1N1.
Work started to call it Swine flu in the first few days-- I had so many memos & e mails, I finally created a "Swine" folder!
Thanks for posting updates.... maybe the WHO site has better updates than CDC????
Or what is NBC's source???
I have NO idea what is NBC's source ???
I don't know...I dug and dug...I have some good info coming up tomorrow- from a Hopkins Doc and also from the Lancet People....
( yeah- I too have files- and the other whole blog- but I got emails- people were confused- so I just will put the update on both blogs now....that's okay- I don't want to confuse anyone....)
there were kids home from school here today....waving across the street to each other- not allowed to play with each other- and the one little girl had a cough....it was so sad...
Late Late Friday Night:::
( I forgot to post this before I went to bed at 3am...):::
"More Than 400 Schools Closed, 140 US Flu Cases
Flu Vaccine Promised
ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: 3:44 am EDT May 1, 2009
UPDATED: 10:11 pm EDT May 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama voiced hope Friday that the swine flu virus will run its course "like ordinary flus" as officials reported more than two dozen new cases and scores more schools shut down.
The government issued new guidance for schools with confirmed cases, saying they should close for at least 14 days because children can be contagious for seven to 10 days from when they get sick. That means parents can expect to have children at home for longer than previously thought.
The Education Department said that more than 400 schools had closed, affecting about 245,000 children in 18 states. That was about 100 more schools reported closed than reported on Thursday.
Major U.S. airlines, meanwhile, announced plans to curtail flights into flu-ravaged Mexico.
"I'm optimistic that we're going to be able to manage this effectively," Obama told reporters as he received an update from his Cabinet on the federal response to the health emergency. At the same time, he emphasized that the federal government is preparing as if the worst is still to come so that it won't be caught flat-footed.
Obama's fresh take on the flu scare -- more intense in neighboring Mexico than in the United States but also present in some measure around the globe -- came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the virus has been confirmed in eight more U.S. states and seems to be spreading.
Confirmed cases have risen from 109 Thursday to 141 Friday, the CDC said, with the flu now reported in 19 states, up from 11. Separately, a few states reported slightly higher numbers, and the District of Columbia announced its first two probable cases. The U.S. death toll remained at one -- the Mexican toddler who visited Texas with his family and died there.
The most recent onset of illness was Tuesday, CDC said, indicating a continuing spread, though no faster than the rate of the regular winter flu.
"We think the cases do continue to occur," said CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat. But CDC also said the new swine flu virus lacks genes that made the 1918 pandemic strain so deadly.
Obama said it wasn't clear whether the flu would be more severe than others before it, and he said the swine flu is a cause for special concern because it is a new strain and people have not developed an immunity to it.
Government agencies are preparing in case the flu comes back in a more virulent form during the traditional flu season, the president said, talking of an overarching effort to help schools and businesses while also responding to pleas for help from other countries.
While emphasizing at a press conference that the closures to date represent a tiny fraction of the almost 100,000 schools in the country, Education Secretary Arne Duncan instructed teachers, parents and students to be prepared if their school does close.
To teachers, Duncan said: "Think about reworking upcoming lesson plans so students can do their schoolwork at home if necessary."
To parents: "Learn about what they're learning at school. Keep them on task."
And to students: "Don't fall behind your peers at other schools that are still in session. Keep working hard."
Many travelers have become increasingly concerned about going to Mexico, though authorities there said new cases were leveling off.
The Mexico City mayor said Friday that no new flu deaths were reported overnight for the first time since the emergency was declared a week ago. Mexico has confirmed more than 300 swine flu cases and has 16 confirmed deaths, although reports have indicated that roughly 120 may have died from it.
U.S. travelers have been advised to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico. Continental Airlines Inc., the biggest U.S. carrier to Mexico, said Friday it would halve the number of seats it sells to fly there. Delta Air Lines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines also announced plans for reduced flights to Mexico, while smaller carriers were following suit.
Mormon church officials canceled church services in Mexico City until further notice and said they were delaying sending new missionaries to that country.
The energy secretary aide who apparently got sick helping arrange Obama's recent trip to Mexico told The Associated Press when reached at his office Friday that he was feeling better.
The aide, Marc Griswold, a former Secret Service agent who was doing advance work for Energy Secretary Steven Chu, declined to elaborate beyond comments in The Washington Post.
"We're not the Typhoid Mary family, for goodness sake," he told the Post in a story published Friday. "We've been told that we're not contagious. We're already past the seven-day mark for that."
The White House has said Griswold did not fly on Air Force One and never posed a risk to the president.
Though most U.S. cases have been relatively mild and have not required a doctor's visit, U.S. precautions include shipping millions of doses of anti-flu drugs to states in case they're needed, replenishing the U.S. strategic stockpile with millions more treatment courses, and shipping 400,000 treatment courses to Mexico.
The CDC added the following states to its list of those with confirmed cases: New Jersey with five cases, Delaware with four, Illinois with three, Colorado and Virginia with two, and Minnesota, Nebraska and Kentucky each with one.
CDC previously had confirmed cases in New York, Texas, California, South Carolina, Kansas, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada.
Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard, Eileen Sullivan and Joan Lowy in Washington and Ben Nuckols in Baltimore contributed to this report.
Health and Human Services Department swine flu site:
www.pandemicflu.gov
Saturday ....May2, 2009
Arizona 4
California 24
Colorado 2
Connecticut 1
Delaware 4
Florida 2
Illinois 3
Indiana 3
Kansas 2
Kentucky* 1
Massachusetts 8
Michigan 2
Minnesota 1
Missouri 1
Nevada 1
New Jersey 7
New York 50
Ohio 1
South Carolina 13
Texas 28/death..1
Virginia 2
TOTAL (21) 160 cases 1 death
International Human Cases of Swine Flu
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