Illness Raises Alarm Among U.S. Officials
By Rob Stein and David BrownWashington Post Staff Writers Saturday, April 25, 2009
An unusual strain of swine flu has been dete
cted among victims of a large outbreak of a severe respiratory illness in Mexico, prompting global health officials, fearful of a potential flu pandemic, to scramble yesterday to try to contain the virus.At least 1,004 people have been sickened and at least 68 have died, primarily in the sprawling capital of Mexico City, triggering officials to close all schools and universities, museums and libraries and to begin screening air travelers for symptoms before they leave the country.
Officials warned millions of residents to stay home, avoid public places and take other protective measures, such as resisting greeting people with handshakes or kisses. Drugstores reported being inundated with customers seeking face masks, and some subway riders were spotted wearing rubber gloves.
"We are very worried," Angelica Padilla, 38, a mother of a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, said in a telephone interview from Mexico City. "This is bad."
The outbreak heightened alarm among health officials in the United States, where at least eight cases of swine flu have been detected along the U.S.-Mexican border, and elsewhere.
"It's alarming and very concerning," said Sari Setiogi, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization in Geneva, which began an investigation of the cause and scope of the outbreak.
President Obama has been briefed about the illness, spokesman Reid Cherlin said, adding: "The White House is taking the situation seriously and monitoring for any new developments."
The illness appeared to be primarily striking young, healthy adults, a highly unusual pattern that conjured images of the devastating 1918 flu pandemic.
Officials stressed that there were no signs that anything of that scale had begun, but Setiogi said, "This is another reason we are highly concerned," noting that it is the very old and the very young who are usually most vulnerable to common seasonal flu.
The Spanish flu, which circled the world in 1918 and 1919 and killed at least 50 million people, was of the same general subtype, H1N1, as the virus in California and Mexico.
In 1976, a strain of swine flu caused illness in 13 soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey, killing one. Fearing a pandemic, the federal government began a mass immunization campaign, but it was halted when the virus did not spread and some vaccine recipients developed a rare neurological disorder.
The WHO dispatched a team yesterday from its Washington office to Mexico City to assist authorities, ratcheted up efforts to detect the virus elsewhere and was mobilizing to take other steps if necessary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042404075.html
Asia's first swine flu case sparks emergency in Hong Kong
Hong Kong - Asia's first case of swine flu was Friday confirmed in Hong Kong, sparking an emergency alert over the virus in the densely-populated former British colony. The male patient is a visitor from Mexico (the worst-hit country in the swine flu outbreak) who flew to Hong Kong from Shanghai Thursday and was staying at a hotel in the city's Wan Chai district.
The patient was taken to hospital and later transferred to an isolation ward at Princess Margaret Hospital where he was in a stable condition Friday evening, Chief Executive Tsang said at a press briefing.
The hotel where the patient was staying, the Metropark, was Friday quarantined with all guests barred from leaving. Guests told government-run radio station RTHK the hotel was "completely cordoned off."
Health workers in protective clothing and face masks were seen walking in and out of a cordon set up around the hotel with police guarding all entrances.
Efforts were meanwhile being made to trace passengers who travelled to Hong Kong with the man from Shanghai on a China Eastern flight to the city on Thursday to test them for symptoms.
Tsang announced the case after a meeting of top government officials was convened in response to news of the patient, who was confirmed as having swine flu at 8 pm (1200 GMT) Friday.
The Hong Kong leader appealed to the public not to panic and said everything would be done to prevent the virus from spreading in the high-rise city of 7 million.
"I would urge Hong Kong citizens not to panic," Tsang said. "School classes, public exhibitions and economic activities can all proceed as usual.
He said Hong Kong's rapid response was aimed at stopping the virus spreading. "I would rather take a stricter approach than miss the opportunity to contain the virus before it spreads," Tsang said.
Hong Kong has raised its swine flu alert level from "serious" to "emergency" in response to the confirmation of the case. Full details of the heightened measures were due to be announced later.
Health Secretary York Chow appealed to the public to help find fellow airplane passengers and the taxi driver who took the Mexican to his hotel to contact officials so they could "look after them and give the relevant medicine."
Two holidays camps in rural areas of Hong Kong had been prepared to act as isolation units for people suspected to have contracted swine flu, Chow said.
News of the case came after Tsang warned earlier this week that Hong Kong was at a greater risk of a swine flu outbreak because it is one of the world's most densely populated cities.
Before Hong Kong's announcement of its case, the World Health Organization said Friday that 331 human cases of swine flu have been reported in 11 countries. Ten cases have been fatal - nine in Mexico and one in the United States.
Ironically, the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in Hong Kong in 2003 was a man from China who stayed at another hotel in the city.
A total of 299 people died and about 1,800 were infected with the SARS virus in the city of 7 million, and the virus spread from Hong Kong around the world. Many of those cases were subsequently traced back to the hotel visitor from China.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/266961,asias-first-swine-flu-case-sparks-emergency-in-hong-kong.html
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Spain confirms first swine flu case in Europe
By Judith Crosbie and Tim King
27.04.2009 / 13:55 CET
EU member state experts to meet in Brussels this afternoon to discuss the EU's response.
Spain's Health Minister Trinidad Jiménez today confirmed the first case in Europe of a strain of deadly swine flu, as an emergency meeting of EU health ministers was called for Thursday (30 April).Officials from the member states are meeting experts from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) this afternoon in Brussels to discuss the EU's response and to prepare for the ministerial meeting.The officials will prepare three documents: one on the definition of a case, one on advice to travellers and a third on appropriate counter-measures, such as the preparations of vaccines and anti-virals and perhaps checks on travellers.The confirmed case is of man who had recently been in Mexico as part of his university studies. He is from the town of Almansa in the Castilla-La Mancha region, according to the regional health authority which said he had reported to a clinic on Saturday complaining of fever and respiratory problems. Another 20 people are under observation.Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner for health, said that personally she would advise against “non-essential travel” to the areas in the centre of the outbreak. The disease has already killed more than 100 people in Mexico and cases have been reported in the US and Canada.Robert Madelin, the European Commission's director-general for health and consumer protection, said the outbreak was “a moving target” and the global response would be co-ordinated by the World Health Organisation. He stressed the importance of a united EU response and warned that unilateral measures taken by individual states risked inflicting economic and personal damage without helping contain the disease.Madelin said there was no threat to the food-chain or animal health. He said there was no human-to-pig transmission of the virus and pigs were not carriers.“This is a novel virus, it would be unfair to pigs to call it swine flu. It is part human flu strain, part avian flu strain and part pig flu strain.”He said the Commission was already, through its enterprise department, in touch with the pharmaceutical companies and the European Medicines Agency, about the preparation of anti-virals and vaccines.A Commission official said that the speed with which a vaccine could be produced would depend on developing an agreed strain that the experts believed would be effective. But even when that was done, production would take “several months to half a year”
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/04/spain-confirms-first-swine-flu-case-in-europe/64715.aspx
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Temperature-testing device for swine flu being installed at Thai airports
BANGKOK, April 27 (TNA) - Thailand's international airports will increase their surveillance to quarantine arriving passengers from Mexico and the United States, where a new strain of deadly swine flu virus has been detected, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH).
Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai, Disease Control Department Director-General Somchai Chakrabhand, representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and experts from MOPH-US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened on Monday to monitor and lay out measures controlling and preventing the outbreak of the swine flu strain of A/H1N1.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the relevant authorities are evaluating the situation and will propose preventive approaches to the Cabinet on Tuesday.
Initially, the health ministry has ordered quarantine station at every international airport, including Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, to install thermo scanners--a device to test the temperatures of passengers arriving from Mexico and southern US, according to Mr. Witthaya.
He said health card detailing the outbreak of swine flu will be distributed to both departing and arriving passengers.
The measures are launched after WHO declared the strain flu outbreak in Mexico and the US a “public health emergency of international concern” on Sunday.
The swine flu killed at least 103 Mexicans, while sickening more than 1,600 since April 13. During the past two weeks the virus has also been detected in California and Texas, and 10 New Zealand students were reported to have the swine flu after returning from Mexico.
Following the news of the outbreak, the Thai health ministry advised Thais to avoid travel to Mexico and the southern US. An emergency centre have been set up to monitor the outbreak and give information regarding the swine flu to the Thai citizen.
The Livestock Department also informed the animal immigration across the nation, especially those at Suvarnabhumi Airport and ports to delay imports of swine from Mexico and the US.
The Thai public health minister added that Thailand is closely monitoring the situation.
WHO’s emergency committee will meet on Monday to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert phase which will be followed by the issuance of specific recommendations to countries on how to halt the disease.
Meanwhile, veterinarian Rungroj Thanawongnuvej, an expert on swine flu virus from Chulalongkorn University, asserted that the virus has not been detected in Thailand.
Dr. Rungroj said that the virus is originated from pigs but is being spread through human-to-human transmission.
The difference between bird flu and swine flu, Dr. Rungroj said, is that swine flu is less deadly, with a lower proportion of fatalities.
Bird flu virus affects all systems of human body, but for that of swine, it only affects the respiratory system. However patients can die if the respiratory system malfunctions.
A person with swine flu virus will demonstrate flu-like symptoms including fever, runny nose, coughing, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea, said Dr. Rungroj, who noted most Mexican victims who had the swine flu virus might have had low body immunity.
He said the American patients instead recovered from the illness due to the better hygiene and immediate treatment.
Dr. Rungroj however insisted that cooked pork will not transmit the virus to consumer. (TNA)
http://paidoo.net/read.php?id=71
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Asean meeting on 2009 Influenza kicks off in Bangkok
By Thai News Agency, The Nation
Asean meeting on Influenza A (H1N1) started in Bangkok Thursday to seek effective measures to fight the threat of the new virus amid tightened medical security
Thai Permanent Secretary for Public Health Prat Boonyawongvirot presided over the opening of the meeting which was attended by Asean senior health officials countries plus their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea.
Joint police and military teams were deployed at the meeting hote. to provide
security inside and outside the venue.
He said this meeting will boost confidence of foreign representatives, who will attend the next Asean meeting to be held in the Andaman Sea resort Island of Phuket in June.
The regional meeting is aimed to prevent the influenza outbreak in the region, which has a population of more than 500 million altogether.
It will also adjust disease control measures to be drafted as a regional cooperative framework, to be proposed to the public health ministers meeting on Friday for consideration.
The Asean+3 Health Ministers' special meeting has discussed the latest situation reports regarding the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak, with the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via a video teleconference.
Dr Anne Schuchat, a senior official of the CDC said through the teleconference that the spread of the H1N1 is not severe as the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 because influenza A (H1N1) can be contained.
She said human H1N1 infections are not likely to come from pigs directly and that no pigs in the US have been detected with Influenza A (H1N1) virus, the variety of the virus found in human cases.
Speaking to fears that the influenza A (H1N1) may mutate into more virulent forms, she said that currently, the H1N1 virus detected in the US and Mexico is the same form and there has been no mutation at the moment.
Thai Minister of Public Health Witthaya Kaewparadai met his Chinese counterpart Chen Zhu.
He said China sees regional cooperation as being important and he is prepared to transfer technology in producing vaccines to Asean countries and to supply the antiviral drug oseltamivir if a pandemic occurs.
Meanwhile, many businesses in Mexico have re-opened after a five-day shutdown caused by the swine flu outbreak that killed 44 people, including two in the US.
Poland and Sweden confirmed their first cases of swine flu, which has now reached 24 countries.
In Thailand, there have been no cases detected under the surveillance and screening measures from April 28 to May 7. There were 18 suspected cases, of which 13 were confirmed free of the H1N1 virus and five cases are awaiting lab test results.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30102192&keyword=swine+flu
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My reaction
- When there are the news that they found a new virus which cause the swine flu or Influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico and it can easily contract to other by bleeding, people all over the world got panic with this situation because nowadays people can go to other country fast and easily so spreadbility of this flu is quite rapidily and it's hard to be controled.
- The swine flu spread over the world rapidly so the WHO should do something to stop the spreadbility or control and manage it.
- Because of how easily you can get this virus the easiest way the protect and prevent yourself is to wearing the facemask although it can’t totally protect you from the virus which spread in the air but facemask can protect you from the direct spread such as the coughing and sneezing.
- Preventing the spread of the swine flu virus:
-Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
-Cover your nose and mouth when cough or sneeze and avoid touching all of them.
-If there is something wrong or lead to be swine flu symptoms, go to see doctor right away.
-If you know that this people have this virus avoid to stay nearby or get in touch with them. - Foreigners who come to Thailand or locals who come back from traveling can be sure that Thailand has good protection policy and safe from the swine flu. And the heath information that the airport requests you to work on it, need co-operation in answering the questionnaires to prevent the spreading of this virus. Besides, at the Suvarnabhumi Airport have the Thermal Scanner to scan people’s body heat or Thermal imagine camera to screen people who have higher body temperature.
Conclusion
Swine flu or Influenza A (H1N1) is not originated from the pigs as we call them but this virus can transmission from human-to-human from cough or sneeze and was first found in Mexico. This swine flu are now cover 23 countries and the number of deaths were reported to be 44 people.
The swine flu spread over the world rapidly, but we should not panic about the situation that happen, we have to know how to protect yourself from it because there is still not exist any vaccine to cure the swine flu for 100 percent.
