Is This The Long Awaited Pandemic?

[Bruce Clemens]

From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124061694466055035.html

APRIL 24, 2009, 7:52 P.M. ET Scientists Fear People Spread New Swine Flu



By GAUTAM NAIK

Scientists are baffled and deeply worried by the latest outbreak of swine flu for two reasons: It appears to combine bird, swine and human viruses in a way that hasn't been seen before, and it is spreading from person to person.
Although swine flu has been known to sporadically infect people, it has usually occurred in rare cases in which the virus jumps from swine to humans who are directly exposed to the animals, such as pig farmers. The virus that has surfaced in Mexico -- and apparently California and Texas -- is known as A/H1N1, a strain that hasn't been previously detected in pigs or humans.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, there have been some documented cases of a person-to-person jump. In 1988, for example, an apparent swine-flu infection in the U.S. was transmitted from a patient to health-care workers who were in close contact with the person.
However, neither of the two California children diagnosed with the illness this spring had close contact with pigs. This, the CDC said, "increases the possibility that human-to-human transmission of this new influenza has occurred."
Not all pandemics are lethal, and it is far from clear whether the current swine flu infecting people could be the beginnings of a global outbreak. However, the World Health Organization is worried enough that it has alerted an expert panel that can recommend whether to raise the alert level for a global pandemic...


I have been waiting for this "pandemic" for years. I think it's the next thing in line as the NWO ratchets up the takeover of your life and mine.

Global warming, global terrorism, global economic meltdown, global pandemic...could I have picked a worse time to be a freedom loving (mine and yours both) individual? So the terror continues...may the Government save us.

[Bruce Clemens]

Just saw this here:
[URL="http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/schwarzenegger-readies-state-flu-spread-2673798"]http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/schwarzenegger-readies-state-flu-spread-2673798
[/URL]


California has made a "rigorous and thorough" response to a new strain of flu that has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and infected eight in the United States, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday.
California, home to six of the US cases, was coordinating with federal and international health experts on its plan, which includes surveillance of patients with flu-like illness,Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
Other steps the state has taken include requesting extra flu experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and expanding lab testing and veterinary activities, he said.
California has also activated its Joint Emergency Operations Center with the Department of Public Health and been in communication with officials in Mexico.


OK. So now if you are a Californian and have flu-like symptoms, you are going to be surveilled by the government.


Any thoughts as to where this strain came from?

[Bruce Clemens]

Mexico City launches massive vaccination campaign against swine flu


www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-24 23:06:06 Print
MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of Mexico City is launching a massive vaccination campaign throughout the city
The Mexican government confirmed on Friday the outbreak of the swine flu, and warned people to avoid crowds.
"It's a virus which mutated from pigs and transmitted to some human," Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told Televisa television.
Health officials are now investigating the possible deaths and infections caused by the virus. Virus samples have been sent to laboratories in Canada for testing, they said.
The government also decided to close all schools in Mexico City and the center of the country to avoid spreading of the virus.
The World Health Organization, which has identified swine influenza as a potential source of a human flu pandemic, has also activated its global epidemic operations center. against swine flu, which has possibly killed 45 people and infected 943 nationwide.

OK...I'm no expert, but I recall seeing information that every year flu vaccine is a hit-and-miss proposition. The CDC and other flu "experts" monitor the strains that develop (primarily in China) early in the season, and produce vaccine that is targeted for that strain. If they are right, their vaccine works. But often the strain mutates before getting to the Western world, and they are caught short with stockpiles of vaccine that aren't effective. If this is the case (please chime in, medical experts.) how can Mexico actually have an effective vaccine for a flu strain that has only been seen for a few days?

Update:
Here's some information addressing the question I raised above.
(from http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/04/24/s...nd-mexico/)

Can the swine flu be treated with antiviral drugs?
Like some garden-variety flu, this swine flu is resistant to two drugs known as amantadine and rimantadine. Earlier this week, the CDC reported that the swine flu was being tested for susceptibility to Tamiflu and Relenza, two newer drugs.
Does the flu vaccine protect against the swine flu?
The CDC reported earlier this week that the seasonal flu vaccine “might not” provide protection against the flu. The agency says it has created a “seed vaccine” specifically tailored to this swine flu. That could be used to manufacture a targeted vaccine if officials deem it necessary to do so.

[Magda Hassan]

It is only a matter of time before there is an influenza outbreak whether by design or naturally occurring circumstances. What is known is that Donald Rumsfeld and others will be making a packet as they have shares in the pharmaceutical compnay, Gilead, that makes Tamiflu which is said to be the most effective drug against this strain. Though its rate of effectiveness is still quite low actually. IIRC

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/tamiflu.asp

[Peter Lemkin]

Before I saw this thread, I just started another one with the story below. As an environmental scientist I can confirm this is very worrying and even if these two incidents [strange the timing of two different at the same time] peter-out it is something to really worry about! Unlike 1913 we move around more all over the globe and there are 3x as many people crowded onto the planet. 10-25% of the global population could easily die in a pandemic of this type - maybe more. If and when it is a bioweapon you can be sure those that manufactured it and their friends will all have the antidote and the rest will not. This one is very suspicious, as it has DNA portions from pigs, birds and humans all together. It could happen naturally, but the odds are slim.

Whether a natural event or an antropogenic [bioweapon] one, this is something very dangerous to watch for now and in the future. If a pandemic of one of these two spread, it could easily kill 10-25% of the world's population within a few months.


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.

It might already be too late to contain the outbreak, a prominent U.S. pandemic flu expert said late Friday.

Given how quickly flu can spread around the globe, if these are the first signs of a pandemic, then there are probably cases incubating around the world already, said Dr. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota.

In Mexico City, "literally hundreds and thousands of travelers come in and out every day," Osterholm said. "You'd have to believe there's been more unrecognized transmission that's occurred."

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.

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.

The geographical spread of the outbreaks also concerned the WHO — while 13 of the 20 deaths were in Mexico City, the rest were spread across Mexico — four in central San Luis Potosi, two up near the U.S. border in Baja California, and one in southern Oaxaca state.

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.

Cordoba said Mexico has enough Tamiflu to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

Mexico's government had maintained until late Thursday that there was nothing unusual about the flu cases, although this year's flu season had been worse and longer than past years.

The sudden turnaround by public health officials angered many Mexicans.

"They could have stopped it in time," said Araceli Cruz, 24, a university student who emerged from the subway wearing a surgical mask. "Now they've let it spread to other people."

The city was handing out free surgical masks to passengers on buses and the subway system, which carries 5 million people each day. Government workers were ordered to wear the masks, and authorities urged residents to stay home from work if they felt ill.

Closing schools across Mexico's capital of 20 million kept 6.1 million students home, as well as thousands of university students. All state and city-run cultural activities were suspended, including libraries, state-run theaters, and at least 14 museums. Private athletic clubs closed down and soccer leagues were considering canceling weekend games.

The closures were the first citywide shutdown of public gathering places since millions died in the devastating 1985 earthquake.

Mexico's response brought to mind other major outbreaks, such as when SARS hit Asia. At its peak in 2003, Beijing shuttered schools, cinemas and restaurants, and thousands of people were quarantined at home.

In March 2008, Hong Kong ordered more than a half-million students to stay home for two weeks because of a flu outbreak. It was the first such closure in Hong Kong since the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

"It's great they are taking precautions," said Lillian Molina, a teacher at the Montessori's World preschool in Mexico City, who scrubbed down empty classrooms with Clorox, soap and Lysol between fielding calls from worried parents.

U.S. health officials said the outbreak is not yet a reason for alarm in the United States. The five people sickened in California and three in Texas have all recovered.

It's unclear how the eight, who became ill between late March and mid-April, contracted the virus because none were in contact with pigs, which is how people usually catch swine flu. And only a few were in contact with each other.

CDC officials described the virus as having a unique combination of gene segments not seen before in people or pigs. The bug contains human virus, avian virus from North America and pig viruses from North America, Europe and Asia. It may be completely new, or it may have been around for a while and was only detected now through improved testing and surveillance, CDC officials said.

The most notorious flu pandemic is thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19. Two other, less deadly flu pandemics struck in 1957 and 1968.

[Magda Hassan]

This one is very suspicious, as it has DNA portions from pigs, birds and humans all together. It could happen naturally, but the odds are slim.

This is what I find quite incredible too. What are the chances of this happening in real life? It's up there with the Crisman - Bannister encounters in queerness.

[Peter Lemkin]

This one is very suspicious, as it has DNA portions from pigs, birds and humans all together. It could happen naturally, but the odds are slim.

This is what I find quite incredible too. What are the chances of this happening in real life? It's up there with the Crisman - Bannister encounters in queerness.

Again, in the past pandemics have been caused naturally by new flu varieties which usually contained flu DNA from another species that was reproducable within humans. The chances, however of TWO together are very small indeed, but not impossible. If manufactured, there are two possibilities - intentional release and accidental release or manufacture. A good virulogical team should be able to figure out the most likely origins, but it would likely take a half-year's work, maybe less. If a covert operation such a team would be penetrated or otherwise messed with, very likely. In any case it would be well after any pandemic. Biowarfare aside, this is a real and present danger known about in the environmental health field and not well appreciated by the Public. Governments and the Media have generally not wanted to panic the population and/or are themselves not aware of the dangers. Industrial animal farms are part of the problem - there are many others. Our non-Natural ways of life, generally, are producing these freak viruses.

Definition of Avian influenza:

Avian influenza is flu infection in birds. The disease is of concern to humans, who have no immunity against it. The virus that causes this infection in birds can mutate (change) to easily infect humans. Such mutation can start a deadly worldwide epidemic.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Historically, avian influenza viruses infected pigs and mixed with pig influenza viruses. The viruses exchanged genetic information, which led to the formation of a new virus. This new virus could then infect humans and easily spread from person to person. Previous flu pandemics (worldwide epidemics) have started this way.

The first avian influenza virus to infect humans directly occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, during an avian flu epidemic on the island. This outbreak was linked to chickens and classified as avian influenza A (H5N1).

Since the Hong Kong outbreak, the bird flu virus has spread across Asia, and in October 2005 was discovered in poultry in Turkey and Romania. So far, hundreds of people have been infected by H5N1. Many people have died.

The wider the area over which the avian flu virus spreads, the greater the chances of a worldwide outbreak. There is tremendous concern that H5N1 poses an enormous pandemic threat.

Farmers and other people working with poultry, as well as travelers visiting affected countries, have a higher risk for getting the bird flu. Handling an infected bird can cause infection. People who eat raw or undercooked poultry meat are also at an increased risk for avian influenza. Highly infective avian flu viruses, such as H5N1, have been shown to survive in the environment for long periods of time, and infection may be spread simply by touching contaminated surfaces. Birds who recover from the flu can continue to shed the virus in their feces and saliva for as long as 10 days.

Health care workers and household contacts of patients with avian influenza may also be at an increased risk of the bird flu.
Reviewed last on: 11/9/2008
Linda Vorvick, MD, Family Physician, Seattle Site Coordinator, Lecturer, Pathophysiology, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
References

US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Approves First U.S. Vaccine for Humans Against the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1. Rockville, MD: National Press Office; April 17, 2007. Release P07-68

Levin S. Zoonoses. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 349.

Hayden FG. Influenza. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 387.

[Magda Hassan]

Then of course there is this little exercise in best practice management: http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/....php?t=940

[Magda Hassan]

So the terror continues...may the Government save us.

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help you"

[Jan Klimkowski]

This one is very suspicious, as it has DNA portions from pigs, birds and humans all together. It could happen naturally, but the odds are slim.

This is what I find quite incredible too. What are the chances of this happening in real life? It's up there with the Crisman - Bannister encounters in queerness.

Yup. This may have happened naturally. However it seems to have crossed two species barriers and caused a significant number of human deaths before the WHO, CDC etc have gone public.

Crisman & Banister were involved in deep black psyops & covert ops.

It is only a matter of time before there is an influenza outbreak whether by design or naturally occurring circumstances. What is known is that Donald Rumsfeld and others will be making a packet as they have shares in the pharmaceutical compnay, Gilead, that makes Tamiflu which is said to be the most effective drug against this strain. Though its rate of effectiveness is still quite low actually. IIRC

http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/tamiflu.asp

Precisely. Absolutely crucial context.

Dr Michael Osterholm, a public health expert at the University of Minnesota, said given how quickly flu can spread around the globe, if these are the first signs of a pandemic, then there are probably cases incubating in other parts of the world already.

"Literally hundreds and thousands of travellers come in and out of Mexico City every day," Dr Osterholm said. "You'd have to believe there's been more unrecognised transmission that's occurred."

There is no vaccine that specifically protects against swine flu, and it was unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.

However, 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. There have also been concerns that some forms of flu have been developing resistance to the drugs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...e-flu.html

FFS.

:thumpdown: