Mysterious U.S. Swine Flu Probe Widens as Mexico Finds Swine Flu *updated*

The virus appears to have hit aboriginal communities harder. In Manitoba, the infection rate among aboriginals is 135 per 100,000, according to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. That compares to about 20 per 100,000 for the Canadian population as a whole.

AFN candidate Perry Bellegarde from Saskatchewan noted yesterday that if the federal government doesn't work to get medical resources much more quickly to these communities, “there's going to be an epidemic right across the North.www.theglobeandmail.com...

California reports 24 more deaths, 707 new cases of A/H1N1 flu

news.xinhuanet.com...

The department said that 24 more deaths have been reported in the past week, a 77-percent jump from the previous record of 31, and 707 new cases have emerged, representing a 29-percent increase from the previous total of 2,461 released a week ago by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Polk County man dies of swine flu

A 31-year-old man died of H1N1 swine flu Thursday evening, the Polk County Health Department confirms.

Polk County has had 72 confirmed cases. Health officials do not believe the cases are related.

"At this point, in terms of a public health concern because of a cluster, which means cases that are related to each other, we have not seen any of that yet," said Dr. Celeste Philip, acting medical director.

This is the second confirmed death in the Tampa Bay area in 24 hours. On Thursday, Sarasota County health officials said a 22-year-old, otherwise-healthy man died from the disease. Doctors are awaiting test results on a 47-year-old man who died at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in the past few days.

Florida has 2,188 confirmed swine flu cases, and health officials say the number will rise.
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Swine flu takes fourth North Carolina victim

The swine flu has claimed another life in North Carolina. One week ago, a 38 year old pregnant woman was hospitalized at Wilson Medical Center. She tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

She was rushed to Wake Med in Raleigh where she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. But Thursday the new mother of two died at Wake Med.

Health officials declined to comment on this latest case, but they said the virus can be difficult to treat if there are other health concerns.

This case marks the fourth H1N1 death in our state.
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Second swine flu death in Sarasota

Sarasota, Florida - The Sarasota County Health Department has now confirmed a second H1N1 (swine) flu-related death.

According to the health department, a 47-year-old man has died.

This is the second flu-related death announced in as many days in Sarasota. On Thursday, health officials said a 22-year-old man had died from the illness.

A 31-year-old man has also died from the flu in Polk County.

www.cdc.gov...

Alabama 477 cases 0 deaths
Alaska 218 cases 0 deaths
Arizona 762 cases 11 deaths
Arkansas 47 cases 0 deaths
California 3161 cases 52 deaths
Colorado 155 cases 0 deaths
Connecticut 1581 cases 7 deaths
Delaware 364 cases 0 deaths
Florida 2188 cases 12 deaths
Georgia 174 cases 1 death
Hawaii 722 cases 1 death
Idaho 143 cases 0 deaths
Illinois 3357 cases 15 deaths
Indiana 282 cases 1 death
Iowa 165 cases 0 deaths
Kansas 186 cases 0 deaths
Kentucky 143 cases 0 deaths
Louisiana 232 cases 0 deaths
Maine 133 cases 0 deaths
Maryland 732 cases 3 deaths
Massachusetts 1343 cases 5 deaths
Michigan 515 cases 8 deaths
Minnesota 660 cases 3 deaths
Mississippi 219 cases 0 deaths
Missouri 70 cases 1 death
Montana 94 cases 0 deaths
Nebraska 264 cases 1 death
Nevada 406 cases 0 deaths
New Hampshire 247 cases 0 deaths
New Jersey 1350 cases 14 deaths
New Mexico 232 cases 0 deaths
New York 2670 cases 57 deaths
North Carolina 395 cases 4 deaths
North Dakota 61 cases 0 deaths
Ohio 161 cases 1 death
Oklahoma 176 cases 1 death
Oregon 465 cases 5 deaths
Pennsylvania 1914 cases 8 deaths
Rhode Island 188 cases 2 deaths
South Carolina 244 cases 0 deaths
South Dakota 39 cases 0 deaths
Tennessee 247 cases 1 death
Texas 4975 cases 24 deaths
Utah 966 cases 14 deaths
Vermont 59 cases 0 deaths
Virginia 319 cases 2 deaths
Washington 636 cases 4 deaths
Washington, D.C. 45 cases 0 deaths
West Virginia 227 cases 0 deaths
Wisconsin 6031 cases 5 deaths
Wyoming 106 cases 0 deaths
Territories
American Samoa 8 cases 0 deaths
Guam 1 case 0 deaths
Puerto Rico 18 cases 0 deaths
Virgin Islands 44 cases 0 deaths
TOTAL (55)* 40,617 cases 263 deaths

Teacher with H1N1 dies

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) A 42-year-old public school teacher stricken with Influenza A (H1N1) died Wednesday in Muntinlupa City, bringing the number of H1N1-related deaths in the country to four, the Muntinlupa city health office reported Friday.

Dr. Edilinda Patac, Muntinlupa city health officer, said the female teacher had been confined at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa City because of vomiting, diarrhea and high-fever. She later tested positive for the H1N1 virus at the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine.

Citing the report of the hospital, Patac said the teacher died due to pneumonia at 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday but it was reported to the city health office only on Thursday night.

The city health office suspected that the main cause of the death was H1N1 since the diagnosed brain tumor of the patient in 2005 had already been cured.
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H1N1 Claims Another Clark County Resident

The Southern Nevada Health District is announcing the third Clark County resident death from the H1N1 virus.

The 47-year-old man had underlying medical conditions and died this morning.
There are three other H1N1 confirmed patients who remain hospitalized with severe illness.

The health district says there are 145 confirmed H1N1 cases in Clark County and they expected, as with the seasonal flu, there will be more deaths attributed to this virus.

H1N 1 flu outbreak prompts U.S. to issue alert for Argentina

Authorities in Argentina have announced initiatives to prevent the H1N1 influenza virus from spreading, but the outbreak has spurred a travel alert from the State Department. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising at-risk U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Argentina and other infected areas. Read the State Department's travel alert for Argentina. TravelPulse (07/16)

H1N1: Pregnant woman, kidney patient in ICU

A 22-year-old pregnant woman and a 45-year-old kidney transplant patient are the two latest patients to be warded in the intensive care unit after being infected with the H1N1 virus.

The transplant patient, a woman with multiple co-mobidities including diabetes and hypertension, was in critical condition at the Singapore General Hospital, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. She had been taking immunosuppressants due to her kidney transplant in 2006.

After two days of vomiting and diarrhoea, she was admitted on July 4 and transferred to the ICU on July 12 when her condition worsened.

Laboratory tests confirmed she had H1N1.

The younger woman, who is 24 weeks pregnant with no underlying medical conditions, was admitted to KK Women's and Children's Hospital on July 13, when she developed pneumonia. She had tested positive for H1N1 at a private hospital. The next day, she was transferred to the ICU for closer monitoring as her oxygen requirement increased, said MOH.

There are currently 50 H1N1 patients in hospital. The 51-year-old patient who was reported to be in intensive care last Friday, is still in ICU but in stable condition, said MOH. ALICIA WONG
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Should H1N1 be feared, or those that claim to have the answers?

Kathleen Sebelius, current Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Obama Administration, recently wrote a letter to a number of newspapers across this land (to include our very own Zephyr in Galesburg, Illinois). Her letter warned all Americans that we need to be prepared for the oncoming H1N1 flu that the government and media have been hyping. She states that a vaccine will be available around mid-October but that this will not be soon enough to stop the virulent disease from possibly wreaking havoc on the United States. Make no mistake that I also believe that this lab engineered virus will have a devastating effect on this planet. I simply don´t agree that the very ones that have created this virus should be the ones that we turn to for help.

What everyone truly should be concerned about is not the H1N1 flu but the vaccine that is being created to combat this problem. History gives us an accurate estimate on what to expect from our government´s intervention. Upon reading the media stories of the dramatic estimates of those already infected (possibly a million by CDC statements) or those that are at risk of being affected in the future, we inevitably hear the statistics of the tragedy of the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, the horrible flu outbreak of the 50s or the swine flu epidemic of 1976. We also hear that the seemingly benign "seasonal" influenza virus kills over 30,000 each year in America. With these historic accounts and the numbers given, is there any wonder that many Americans are in panic mode?

Secretary Sebelius however, assures Americans that the government is doing everything it can to get the H1N1 Influenza vaccine onto the market as soon as possible, assuming that the experimental vaccine is determined to be "safe and effective". This is the disturbing part for me and others that have followed this "outbreak" from the very beginning and history. HHS and the rest of our government and medical establishment obviously believe that the seasonal flu vaccine that they are pushing like high end drug dealers is "safe and effective". The CDC issued a statement last year that stated that the 2008 / 2009 vaccine for the seasonal flu was found to be 90% ineffective yet in the very same statement, reassured every American that they should still take advantage of the vaccine! Doctors and health departments across this country, knowing that the vaccine was worthless, continued to push this vaccine as if it was soap particles instead of rock coc aine. Completely worthless, yet still making a dollar!

I have a couple of questions for Secretary Sebelius that I think all Americans should be asking.

1. If last year´s flu vaccine was 90% ineffective, yet the government continued to implore Americans to get vaccinated, why should we trust THIS vaccine?

2. Why have a number of researchers, doctors and alternative media demanded that the release of a manufactured bio weapon (flu virus) from Illinois based Baxter Pharmaceuticals in last year´s European seasonal flu vaccine be investigated, yet our government hasn´t lifted a finger?

3. If our government is going to ensure that the vaccine is "safe and effective" why are the vaccine manufacturers assured immunity from possible lawsuits?

4. Why is the government telling the citizens of this great nation that pregnant women and children will receive a "mercury free" vaccine (if possible), yet haven´t been told that the adjuvant being used in this vaccine is Squalene, a petroleum based poison that is believed to be responsible for Gulf War Syndrome and a number of debilitating auto immune diseases? Isn´t this disingenuous to say the least?

5. While this vaccine may be mercury free for some, why haven´t you addressed the problem of injecting aluminum, another known neurotoxin into our children and pregnant women?

6. For those of us that aren´t pregnant or children, why is mercury suddenly good for us? It is by the way, the second most toxic element known to man.
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I liked the points this article made and thought I would share it. Sorry for such a long quote.

Fla. Swine Flu Deaths Reach 16

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Florida's death toll from swine flu now stands at 16.

Health Department spokeswoman Susan Smith said Friday the three new fatalities include a 31-year-old male in Polk County, a 44-year-old male in Broward County and a 47 year-old man in Sarasota County.

Health officials wouldn't say how or when the men died.

Statewide, more than 2,100 have been sickened since the outbreak emerged.

Argentina declares alert as pigs found with swine flu

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentina issued a nationwide alert on Friday after pigs in the country were confirmed to have the swine flu virus, health authorities said.

"We have detected clinical cases of the A(H1N1) influenza in a pig farm in Buenos Aires province, they have been confirmed by laboratory tests," the national farm and food standards agency Senasa, said.

Thousands of people have contracted the virus in Argentina and 137 people in the country have died.

Senasa said the outbreak announced on Friday was the second time the disease had been found in pigs in Argentina -- the first case of infection in pigs was detected in June in the same Argentine province
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Fastest-Moving Flu Pandemic May Strike U.S. Early, CDC Says

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu has taken root across the globe faster than previous influenza pandemics, and its full force may strike the U.S. earlier than the typical flu season, health officials said.

Vaccine production is on schedule to combat the pandemic in October, and the difficulty some drug companies are facing with manufacturing is accounted for in the timetable, Anne Schuchat, director of the Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said today in a conference call.

The World Health Organization said yesterday that the H1N1 influenza was moving with “unprecedented speed.” The flu has spread more infections globally in less than six weeks than previous pandemics produced in more than six months, the Geneva- based agency said on its Web site. The virus has moved unpredictably, in a “popcorn pattern,” and communication among scientists has enabled a swift response to the disease, Schuchat said.

“We’re taking this virus very seriously, and I think it’s very important for the public to be thinking ahead,” Schuchat said today. “We do expect there to be an increase this fall. Influenza is unpredictable, and we don’t know the extent of the challenges that we’re going to face in the weeks and months ahead.”

How Flu Damages Lung Tissue

A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Southern Research Institute. Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.

In severe cases of flu, fluid accumulates in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and preventing oxygen from reaching the blood stream. The researchers report that M2, a protein in the flu virus, damages a protein responsible for clearing fluid from the lungs by increasing the amount of oxidants, or free radicals, within the cells. Oxidants are necessary for proper cell function, but can become toxic if uncontrolled.

"Under normal conditions, oxidants play an important role, as they destroy pathogens in cells. But our findings suggest that lowering the number of oxidants, or preventing their increase, would prevent damage to the lungs resulting from the M2 protein," said Sadis Matalon, Ph.D., vice chairman for research and professor of anesthesiology at UAB and principal investigator of the study.
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Buncombe County Veteran Dies Of H1N1 Flu

A 60-year-old patient has died of H1N1 flu, according to the Buncombe County Health Center. The patient was being treated at the Charles George VA Medical Center and passed away on July 12. Officials say the patient had serious underlying chronic medical illnesses making it complicated to conclusively state that H1N1 flu was the case of death. Other relevant tests are still pending, which will help the VA Infectious Disease Physician make a determination. Tests conducted at the North Carolina State Lab of Public Health confirmed the H1N1 virus on July 16.

Symptoms of H1N1 Novel flu are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include: fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. Most cases of the virus have been mild, although some individuals seem to be at higher risk of complications including young children, women who are pregnant and those with chronic medical conditions.
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4th swine flu-related death in Nevada reported

LAS VEGAS—Health officials are reporting another death in Nevada related to the swine flu.
The Southern Nevada Health District says a 47-year-old man with underlying medical conditions died Friday morning in Clark County. The health district did not release any additional information.

The death appears to be the fourth in Nevada related to swine flu.

Earlier this month health officials reported the swine flu-related death of a 51-year-old man.

In late June, a 33-year-old Clark County man infected with the swine flu virus died. Also last month, health officials reported the death a 70-year-old woman—a New York state resident—who was infected with swine flu.

There are 145 confirmed cases of the virus in Clark County. Three of those are hospitalized with severe illness.

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Four more U.S. states report first death of A/H1N1 flu

HOUSTON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Four more U.S. states as well as U.S. territory Puerto Rico have reported their first death of the A/H1N1 flu in the past week, according to the latest statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday.

On its website, the CDC reported there have been 40,617 confirmed and probable cases of the H1N1 flu in all the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territory Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, with 263 deaths in 28 states.

The latest CDC statistics show that the states of Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska and Tennessee had their first deaths of the H1N1virus in the past week.

Placer County woman dies after swine flu infection

AUBURN, Calif. — A middle-aged Placer County woman became the first Placer resident to die while infected with the new H1N1 flu virus, formerly known as the swine flu.

According to a Placer County press release, she died July 5 in a hospital outside the county, and she had significant health problems prior to contracting the virus.
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swine flu Kills Brick resident

OCEAN COUNTY - The Ocean County Health Department was notified that a person who had received a laboratory-confirmed result for the H1N1 virus last week died on July 10.

H1N1 is better known as swine flu.

As with most cases of deaths by swine flu, the Brick Township resident had significant, underlying medical conditions.

There are also three additional laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 in Ocean County, bringing the county's total to 47. Two adults, one from Berkeley and one from Manchester, and a young child from Lakewood, are all recovering at home.

"At this time, the majority of municipalities have been affected by at least one confirmed case of H1N1, stated Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little, liaison to the Ocean County Health Department. "The Health Department has increased its surveillance of influenza-like illness and is working closely with area hospitals and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services."

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