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

Wal-Mart weighs role in U.S. H1N1 vaccination plans

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is discussing with U.S. health officials the possibility of putting vaccination sites at some of its stores for an H1N1 swine flu inoculation campaign this fall, a company official said on Thursday.

Federal officials met with Wal-Mart executives on Wednesday in Arkansas to discuss the issue, Dr. John Agwunobi, president of health and wellness for Wal-Mart U.S., told public health leaders at a conference in Orlando.

"We are in discussions with CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and others in local and state departments to see what role we might play," Agwunobi said. "It might be we are a site. It may be help with logistics and with supply chain."

Agwunobi said 140 million people walk through the doors of its 4,000 U.S. stores each week.
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2 more Hawaii swine flu deaths recorded

((AP) — HONOLULU - Hawaii health officials say two more people who tested positive for swine flu have died, bringing the state's total deaths to six.

Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo says both patients had underlying health conditions that contributed to their deaths. Their ages and genders have not been released.

Officials say all of the deaths involved patients with other health problems. Four of them were from Oahu, including the most recent deaths, and two of them were from the Big Island.
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Swine flu victim first health worker to die

The 39-year-old woman who died of swine flu in Wellington Hospital this week was a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital, officials have confirmed.

The woman understood to have been a nurse in the children's ward is believed to be the first health worker to die from the virus in New Zealand.

Her death from a rare complication on Monday, after 11 days in intensive care, is the 13th to be officially recorded.

The coroner is investigating another 20 suspected deaths from the virus.

The woman had suffered a miscarriage within the previous two months. Pregnancy is a known risk factor for viral complications. However, it is not known whether she had the virus at the time she miscarried.

Hutt Valley District Health Board chief operating officer Jill Lane confirmed the woman had been a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital.

Hayward Woman Dies from Swine Flu a Month After Giving Birth to her Fourth Child

HAYWARD (KRON) -- The Alameda County Coroner's office is investigating the death of a Hayward woman who apparently died from the H1N1 Swine Flu virus shortly after giving birth to a child.

Investigators tell KRON 4 News Nicole Savoy died on July 12th in Hayward of respiratory failure caused by pneumonia which was in turn caused by the swine flu.

Authorities say Savoy gave birth in June to her fourth child.

The announcement of Savoy's death comes just a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered pregnant women to go to the front of the line for swine flu vaccinations.

Hong Kong reports new H3N2 flu variant

Hong Kong - Hong Kong has found a new variant of the H3N2 seasonal influenza virus, the spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Wednesday, urging high-risk groups to get influenza vaccinations.

The new variant is direct descendent of the Brisbane strain which has been the prevalent circulating strain of H3N2 in the past year in Hong Kong, CHP Controller Dr Thomas Tsang said.

However, it has some genetic changes distinguishing it from the old Brisbane strain.

Overseas health authorities, including those in Canada, Britain and Australia, have also found the new variant.

There is no evidence showing that the H3 variant circulating in Hong Kong is more severe and resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

"No flu vaccine with the variant virus component has been manufactured in the world," Tsang said.

Although vaccines provided for the northern hemisphere may not be a direct match for the new variant, CHP still urge them to get flu jabs before the arrival of the peak of seasonal flu, especially for the high-risk groups of elderly and children.

Tsang said the vaccines may give some protection against the virus.

The vaccines will be widely available in Hong Kong in a month, according Tsang.

Tsang said they will be "monitoring this virus very closely in Hong Kong to see if there is any abnormal pattern during the summer peak and beyond".

H3N2 accounts for 43% of flu viruses circulating in Hong Kong while H1N1 accounts for 49%, CHP said.

H3N2, first detected in Hong Kong, caused roughly 34,000 deaths in the United States during the 1968-69 season. H3N2 viruses still circulate today and those over the age of 65 were most likely to die.
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Clark County swine flu death toll rises to 5

Back in June I reported that the swine flu death toll in Clark County had risen to 3 deaths and since then that number has risen yet again to 5 deaths. With the passing of two people this week the death doll rose.


A 35-year-old woman, who according to the health district had no under lying medical condition which would have contributed to her death, is one of the victims. The other victim is a 73-year-old man, who was dealing with other medical conditions as well.
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Lebanon records first H1N1 death

A Lebanese man suffering from a serious illness died from the H1N1 swine flu strain on Thursday, Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh told Reuters.

The 30-year-old victim had been receiving treatment for leukemia when he contracted the virus, possibly from relatives who had just travelled from Australia to Lebanon, the minister said. Lebanon has recorded more than 100 cases of H1N1. .

Belgium records first swine flu death

Brussels - Belgium recorded on Thursday its first death linked to swine flu when a young woman from the Antwerp region died, the government influenza commission said in a statement.

"The interministerial influenza commission was informed on Thursday morning of the death of a young resident of the province of Antwerp due to the effects of the A(H1N1) virus," it said.

The commission said the woman noticed symptoms of the illness on the weekend of July 18-19.

Doctors were not initially worried by her condition but she subsequently contracted double pneumonia.

"Despite intensive care administered by the medical team at the hospital, the patient sadly died this morning," it said.
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Three more swine flu deaths in Mass.

A Norfolk County 20-year-old and two other state residents have died from the swine flu, bringing the virus' death toll in Massachusetts to ten, the Department of Public Health says.

The latest round of fatalities includes a 53-year-old Essex County resident and a 21-year-old Hampden County resident. The department says all three patients had underlying medical conditions that made them more susceptible to swine flu, or H1N1, but that it can't release more details for privacy reasons.

Previous H1N1 deaths occurred in Middlesex County, Worcester and Boston. While seasonal flu kills 36,000 Americans each year, summer deaths are rare. The department recommends covering coughs, washing hands and staying from work and school
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Man treated for swine flu dies of leg infection

A Christchurch man died from a leg infection after being sent home with Tamiflu by doctors at a swine flu drop-in centre.

Minh Que Tran, 44, died of septicaemia cellulitis in his right leg within minutes of arriving at Christchurch Hospital on Wednesday of last week.

His family is angry he was not diagnosed and sent to hospital when it became apparent something else was wrong.

Mr Tran had become ill about four days earlier, but believing it to be the flu, sought treatment at a central city swine flu drop-in centre.

He went to the centre three times in the days leading up to his death.

However, each time was sent home - even after he complained of agonising pain in his right leg on the morning of his death, his family says.

Virology results have since confirmed Mr Tran did not have swine flu.

Mr Tran escaped the Vietnam War as a youth and later moved to New Zealand as a refugee.

Just three weeks before his death, Mr Tran had undergone a full health examination with his GP that found him to be fit and healthy.
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swine_flu_conference.pdf

Concurrent Breakout Session #1
Mass Fatality Management Planning

Develop and maintain plans, procedures, programs, and systems
Develop and implement training and exercise programs
Direct fatality management tactical operations
Activate fatality management operations
Conduct morgue operationsManage ante-mortem data
Conduct final disposition

Concurrent Breakout Session #6
First Responders: Fire Department

Protect fire department first responders from falling ill & from being hurt in civil disturbances
Continue to respond to routine fire outbreaks while responding to pandemic-related calls
Effectively transition into All-Hazards Incident Management Responders
Effectively undertake mass vaccinations
Enforce quarantines

Concurrent Breakout Session #9
Hospital and Emergency Medical Services

Prioritize the use of antivirals for the essential workforce
Anticipate interruptions in food, fuel and essentials supplychains & establish stockpiles
Plan for reduced response capacity due to mechanical failure & lack of personnel
Maintain continuous operations during a pandemic
Plan for 30-40 percent drop in labor force
Protect the emergency operations center

Just some things that caught my eye on this swine flu conference that is coming up.

Mass Fatality Management Planning

Enforce quarantines

Plan for 30-40 percent drop in labor force "Hospital and Emergency Medical "

Protect the emergency operations center

Sounds like there having a conference on preparing for war rather than swine flu.

[edit on 30-7-2009 by JBA2848]

Genetic Changes in Pandemic H1N1 in Brazil Raise Concerns

The family Laguna had eight other cases of swine flu confirmed: mother, father, younger brother, three cousins, grandmother and an aunt of the girl. .

The above translation describes pandemic H1N1 infections in family members of the first confirmed H1N1 fatality in the Sao Paulo metropolitan region. The 11 year old girl, from Osasco (see map) died on June 30 and H1N1 was isolated from her blood on July 3. The HA sequence of the isolate, A/Sao Paulo/43812/2009, was released at Genbank and has three newly acquired polymorphisms. One polymorphism encodes for V252M (H3 numbering) and the nucleotide change is found in a limited number of sequences, including those from the 1918 pandemic. Other human H1N1 sequences include 2006 isolates from Peru and H1N1 isolates in circulation prior to the 1957 H2N2 pandemic. These human isolates have V252I. However, V252M is found in the 2001 swine isolate from Hong Kong, A/swine/Hong Kong/NS1659/2001 (see list here).

The second change also is non-synonymous (Q296H), and is found in multiple 2009 pandemic sequences identified worldwide (see list here), including an earlier isolate from Sao Paulo, A/Sao Paulo/2233/2009.

The third change is synonymous and also found in 2009 pandemic sequences (see list here), which are distinct from the isolates sharing the second polymorphisms. However, the synonymous polymorphism is also in the Hong Kong swine isolate providing additional evidence for acquisition via recombination.

This Sao Paulo isolate is the most recent isolate from Brazil, and may represent a change associated with the dramatic rise in fatalities in the region. Almost all of the fatalities in Brazil are in the southern region, and a high rate of fatalities has also been reported for adjacent locations in Argentina (see map). This concentration of fatal cases in southern Brazil and the Buenos Aires / Santa Fe region in Argentina and locations to the north, raise concerns that the fatalities may be linked to genetic changes in the pandemic virus circulating in the area. The present of the novel polymorphism, V252M, increases those concerns.

Recent reports from Argentina indicated there were 8 amino acid changes in recent isolates, presumably spread across all eight gene segments. The relationship of these changes to the newly acquired polymorphism in the Sao Paulo isolate would be of interest.

Release of recent sequences from isolates in Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay, and Paraguay would be useful.
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Is this the first sign of H1N1 changing to become more deadly.

Two new deaths of A/H1N1 flu reported in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Honduran health authorities on Thursday reported two new deaths of A/H1N1 influenza, raising the total death toll to four in the country.

"Today we received a notification from the general direction office about two patients who died of A/H1N1 flu," Victor Borjas, an epidemiologist working for the health ministry, told local media.

The victims were a one-year-old female infant and a 39-year-old male, both from Cortes Province in the north of the country.

The country reported its first confirmed case on May 21, a nine-year-old girl from San Pedro Sula, the capital of Cortes.

Since the A/H1N1 flu outbreak in Mexico, Honduras has launched a national anti-pandemic plan and tightened up border quarantine control.

Mexico reports four new A/H1N1 flu deaths

MEXICO CITY, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Mexican health authorities confirmed four new A/H1N1 flu deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 146 in the country.

The country has reported a total of 16,442 infected cases so far. About 50 percent of the cases were found in five states -- Chiapas, Yucatan, Veracruz, Jalisco and Tabasco -- and Mexico City.

The number of confirmed cases in Chiapas, the worst-hit state, rose to 2,835 Thursday, followed by Yucatan with 2,440 infections. Mexico City, where the disease was first detected in April, reported 2,199 cases with 33 newly-found ones.

The ministry called on citizens with flu-like symptoms such as a sudden fever, cough and headaches to see a doctor immediately.

The Americas is the worst-hit region by the disease with 87,965 infections including 707 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Washington State, USA Swedish Medical Center: 50 positions available for Injection Nurse

That is just one hospital. I would say they are planning on a mass vaccination event.

This is a video of a CDC announcment from July 29th, 2009.
Here the CDC official lists the persons they put at the front of the line for the "novel" H1N1 flu vaccination.

No mention of mandatory vaccines yet from the CDC.

Former Kansas State Trooper: Plan for Vaccine Bracelets at Roadblocks

Have you been made aware of the massive roadblock plans to stop all travelers for a vaccine bracelet

I have hundreds of police officers at all levels and military men placing their careers on the line with information that confirms every shred of the worst case scenario. You have been warned thousands of times, and yet you dismiss me and many others out of hand as nut-jobs, because we went out to the twig part of the branch to bring you information that freedom loving true remnant patriots must have.

www.infowars.com...

H1N1 Pandemic: Pentagon Planning Deployment of Troops in Support of Nationwide Vaccination

Militarization of Public Health in the Case of Emergency is Now Official!

The decision points towards the militarization of civilian instituions, including law enforcement and public health. The Pentagon is already planning on the number of troops to be deployed in the case of a pandemic. A nationwide vaccination program is already planned for the Fall. The pharmaceutical industry is slated to deliver 160 million vaccine doses by the Fall, enough doses to vaccinate more than half of America's population.

It is worth noting that this involvement of the military is not being decided by the President, but by the Secretary of Defense, which suggests that the Pentagon is, in a key issue of of national interest, overriding the President and Commander in Chief. The US Congress has not been consulted on this issue...... these "regional teams" have already been established under USNORTHCOM, which has been involved in preparedness training and planning in the case of a flu pandemic

www.globalresearch.ca...

Saudi: swine flu deaths in kingdom rise to 4

(AP) — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia says two more people have died of swine flu in the kingdom, raising the deaths so far to four.

Health official Khaled al-Merghalani says the two new victims died on Friday. He didn't reveal their nationalities.

Saudi's earlier swine flu deaths were a 30-year-old Saudi man and a 28-year-old Indonesian woman. Both died earlier this week
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Swine flu claims NorCal nurse, 2 new moms

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Health officials say a Sacramento-area cancer nurse's death is the first among California health care workers related to swine flu.
Mercy San Juan Medical Center spokesman Bryan Gardner says officials at the Carmichael hospital do not know if 51-year-old Karen Ann Hays contracted the virus on the job. She died July 17.

In the San Francisco Bay area, two new mothers died from the virus, also known as H1N1, shortly after giving birth.

A 33-year-old Marin County woman was hospitalized with flu symptoms and gave birth nearly two months early. She died June 30.

The Alameda County coroner's office said this week that 33-year-old Nicole Savoy of Hayward died July 12 of pneumonia due to the virus. She had given birth June 15.