Swine Flu news and updates thread

There are some people who have all the symptoms and were told by their doctor that they probably have the novel flu. After the doc made appropriate phone calls was told "just treat the symptoms" and he did not send a sample to be tested. The TWO labs in the world testing for this are a little overwhelmed right now and are not accepting all probable cases to be tested.

Our numbers are undoubtedly much higher than are being reported.

Here's a Re-Post from the other day with the full? text of the article?

From FluTracker Comment Section

Influenza A/H1N1 virus has become more aggressive

"MEXICO CITY, May 15.

Influenza A/H1N1 virus mutated. As the radio «Mayak", said Director of the National Center for disease control in Mexico. According to officials, the changed virus can lead to new outbreaks of influenza, and more aggressive than the current one.

Similar cases have been registered in the United States and Canada. Now scientists have conducted a series of bioispytany. They will get a complete gene sequence of the virus and thereby confirm or refute these assumptions are dangerous.

Earlier, the Minister of Health of Mexico stated that the mutation of influenza virus is much more serious the AIDS virus..."

Use Google Translator to read in english...

www.rosbalt.ru...

Pure stupidity:

Mom swap: Pig suckles baby tigers at zoo
www.msnbc.msn.com...

Tigers and Pigs Swap Roles at Sri Racha Tiger Zoo
www.thaizer.com...

Why is it stupid:

Probable tiger-to-tiger transmission of avian influenza H5N1.

"During the second outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 in Thailand, probable horizontal transmission among tigers was demonstrated in the tiger zoo. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of those viruses showed no differences from the first isolate obtained in January 2004. This finding has implications for influenza virus epidemiology and pathogenicity in mammals."

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

(PDF) www.cdc.gov.tw...

www.recombinomics.com...

www.recombinomics.com...

I mean, good grief! Are they just begging for it or what?

[edit on 5/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

I have been visiting ATS for a long time, but new to posting... and I just wanted to 'peak in' to say "many, many thanks" to all of you who dedicate so much time to providing all the information you do.

I first heard about H1N1 from this forum, loooong before I saw anything on MSM. Had this been much more deadly from kick off... well, let's just say the extra warning time can really make a difference for many people. You guys are awesome!

CDC swine flu report is ‘gross underestimate’
Published: May 16, 2009
Updated 7 hours ago
www.swineflunews.org...

The Center for Disease Control’s official report of 4,714 cases of confirmed or probable swine flu could be underestimating the impact of the disease by around 45,000 cases, according to the deputy director of the CDC’s influenza division.

In a press conference yesterday, Dr. Daniel Jernigan took note of the difficulty in estimating how many Americans are infected with either seasonal or novel influenza(like swine flu) at any given time. “With the amount of activity we are seeing now, it is a little hard to know what that means in terms of making an estimate of the total number of people with flu out in the community.” However, when asked how many actual cases of influenza might currently exist nationwide, Jernigan acknowledged that the CDC numbers represented a gross underestimate. He told journalists, “if I had to make an estimate, I would say…probably upwards of maybe 100,000.”

Although up to 30 million Americans come down with seasonal influenza annually (7-10 percent), more than two dozen states are reporting unusually high levels of flu-like illness at a time of year when the respiratory disease usually disappears, health officials reported yesterday.

According to the CDC’s weekly H1N1 flu update, “about half of all influenza viruses being detected are novel H1N1 viruses.” The rise in both types of influenza implies that swine flu has a significant role in the spread of seasonal flu, as well. If Jernigan’s estimate of 100,000 cases of influenza is accurate, there could be more than 50,000 cases of swine flu in the U.S. “We would be expecting to see the season to be slowing down or almost completely stopped. We know the outbreak is not localized but is spreading and appears to be expanding throughout the United States. This is an ongoing public health threat,” Jernigan declared.

More at Link...

The important thing is to learn what we can from this. Those who've lost a loved one in this outbreak have my deepest sympathy. I can't imagine how they feel watching people laugh off the virus and buy into the propagated myth that only feeble persons with mortal diseases of some kind are at risk.

On top of losing someone they are watching the entire system lie about it and coming to the realization that no one cares and no one is going to make it right. What a way to have your entire world flipped upside down . . .

It really seems like they want people to be caught unaware in the future. We can all guess as to why that might be the case. Part of choosing to fight these people means being informed and prepared. Maybe there won't be any escape from the deadlier version of this to come but making the effort is putting up a fight. Personally, I feel like I owe at least that much to my loved ones.

On to the data . . .

I'm trying to keep up with the lessons being learned on the inside from this one. Even though there is a real and intense effort to prevent the researchers and professionals in the medical community from gaining knowledge the back end channels of communication are being used to share data and compare / debate theory.

Based on the actions I see the governmental groups taking I no longer have any doubt there is a plan in place to unleash bio weapons on the population. They're just working too damn hard to create incompetence and hide the educational aspects. To me it looks like someone is running a test right now and they want to make sure the results only flow in one direction.

Based on what they've seen, the research community estimates we have 4 months from initial release or outbreak until we reach a certain saturation point of a virus spreading. We lost 2 months lead time in Mexico, the virus had already crossed into the US by the time people noticed we had a problem but they could have done a lot more to contain the propagation.

The tracking sources are being shut down and the feeds taken off the official websites despite the virus reaching a high point in activity. We're going to need to maintain our own warning system, a fact I don't like in any way. We're also going to remain dependent on the inside sources for information, unfortunately.

Logic would seem to dictate that after watching the failures of the system in this outbreak the establishment of more monitoring stations and warning networks would be a priority. The well intentioned people are saying the right things but I don't see any real world efforts in the form of plans or money. We don't have much time. We should be setting up one hour testing facilities in hospitals, clinics and Drs offices in every state and nation possible. Without detection and rapid intervention, the second phase mutation of even this current virus could show up on the radar only when the emergency rooms start to overflow and by then we're much too late.

Do what you can to prepare now and if you can reach out to establish points of contact then do so. Passing on the information somewhere like this is also critical. I plan to continue doing what I can.

[edit on 17-5-2009 by ecoparity]

I also find this disconcerting...this apathy toward it...

I made some suggestions to a few people I talk with, to increase their vigilance and establish some "unconventional" communication links, but, without much success...

I fear the only thing to fear, besides the NAU Flu, is denial itself...to the point of chaos in the near future...

I've been putting the final touches on my course of action and procured my masks and packed my BOB...

I hope not to have to use them...

[edit on 5/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

I have some "good" news to pass on but there's a pretty big caveat to it. So please read closely:

I have contacts in a wide variety of disciplines and since this whole thing began there's been a lot of back room debate which I've spared the thread. Most of the disagreements have been minor, nothing which affected the direction of events as predicted but now and then I find myself in between two very credible sources who completely disagree with each other.

In that spirit, one set of researchers have proposed something which might be good news but it's completely opposed to the "conventional wisdom".

The subject is the coming "second wave" mutation which everyone assumes will be as deadly as the 1918 virus was. I've even passed on warnings to prepare for a much worse pandemic in the fall if not a little sooner.

The opinion of this group is that we will not see a second mutation, period. We will no doubt see new outbreaks and history shows they will be more and more deadly but these folks think this virus, the pig / NA / swine flu is as deadly as it's going to get.

The theory is that these second wave mutations take place in isolated branches of the outbreak. It gets very complicated in a hurry but I think that's probably good enough for our purposes. The assertion is that because our modern World is so connected and these connections take place so quickly that the virus will not form isolated branches of the size needed to form a second wave mutation.

Keep in mind, this is radical theory being used to explain changes in the way viruses are seen to spread now vs. 50 years ago and longer. Right now it's just an academic theory and not proven fact.

It's hope, even if it's very little. I'm not here to play master of information so I'm passing it on without endorsement either way. Take it for what it's worth and let's see if it turns up in the media in the next week or so like some of the past data has been doing.

time to stock up on MMS. It will kill this bug. I got Dengue fever which is a virus carried by mosquitos and has the same symptoms as the flu. I was over it within 24 hrs. Friends and wife was hospitalized two weeks before. Had it for 10 days. This was before I found MMS. Sodium chloriite.

jimhumble.biz...

reply to post by ecoparity


Thanks but that sounds VERY unlikely. The medical community can't even stave off MRSA or understand why it's so resistant. I would put my faith in ANY academics saying this virus won't mutate into something worse. 100 years is a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. not much time when it comes to a viruses ability to mutate and adapt. Or kill itself off or whatever these people think is going to happen.

NEW FLU VARIANTS are being reported on television and in newspapers with dire warnings that we may face a global pandemic. These new strains could spread rapidly from country to country. Five years ago the SARS flu strain caused numerous deaths primarily in China. Later, in 2007 bird flu variants were tracked as they spread from country to country.

Now, as of April 13, 2009, Swine Flu cases were identified and reported in Mexico on April 13, 2009 and three days later in the US and England.

MMS (Miracle Mineral Solution) is a germicidal agent capable of attacking and killing evolving flu viruses. It operates without regard for the strain or variation that may evolve from time to time. This opinion is based on the chemistry and behavior of activated MMS when it is used according to the instructions below. Unlike antibiotics or vaccines, activated MMS (chlorine dioxide) is pathogen-cidal without regard to strains or evolving variants of Flu viruses - as has been known since 1950. Methods for using activated MMS as a universal flu deterrent will be described herein.

jimhumble.biz...

Japan confirms 13 more swine flu cases, total at 25
www.google.com...

KOBE, Japan (AFP) — Japan said that 13 more high school students had tested positive for swine flu, bringing the total number of cases here to 25 amid fears the virus has a foothold in the west of the country.

The latest confirmed flu sufferers are all students in Osaka prefecture or in the city of Kobe in neighbouring Hyogo prefecture, where eight students were already ill from the virus, a health ministry official told AFP.

"Now the number of cases of domestic infection has risen to 21," the official said.

"We've confirmed a total of nine new cases in Osaka prefecture, and four more cases in Kobe city."

Four other Japanese -- a school teacher and three students who flew to Tokyo from Canada via Detroit -- contracted the virus overseas earlier this month and have since recovered.

"We quickly need to collect information on the current infection," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, the top government spokesman.

"We are studying how to prevent the spread of infection," Kawamura told reporters, adding that the cabinet would hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the issue.

Prime Minister Taro Aso has called on the country to remain calm.

But Shigeru Omi, a former senior official at the World Health Organization who is now head of the government's special swine flu task force, warned: "We believe that the infection is beginning to spread in the region."

The WHO said Saturday it was closely monitoring the swine flu situation in Japan after officials shut down schools and cancelled public events in Kobe, where people with flu symptoms were seeking treatment at local hospitals.

"I had never dreamed that the new type flu outbreak would happen in my city," said Seiji Koga, a 62-year-old construction company worker. "Since we can't move away, we have to spend restless days for now."

About 100 more high school students in Osaka and seven people in Hyogo prefecture who had displayed suspicious symptoms were to be tested, officials said.

"So far we can't find clear records of contacts with students in Osaka and students in Kobe, and they have not travelled abroad recently," said one local official in Osaka.

The seven people in Hyogo -- a teacher, a university student and five high school students -- had recently had contact with one of the students in Kobe who tested positive, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Masato Tashiro, a Japanese virologist who serves on an WHO panel on the epidemic, told public broadcaster NHK: "I don't know specifics about the cases (in Japan) but judging from confirmed cases the infection is likely to be spreading to hundreds of people."

"There must be a number of people who slipped through border controls (at airports) as their symptoms were quite light, passing the virus to other people before they knew it," he said.

And also on the subject of Japan "Japan Swine Flu Quarantine Ends for Air Passengers" www.youtube.com...

Today Japanese authorities released 47 airline passengers who had been quarantined in a hotel for a week. They were held there after three travelers who arrived on the same plane tested positive for H1N1 swine flu.

The three flu victims were a teacher and two teenage students from a high school in Osaka who returned from Canada via Detroit on May 8. They tested positive immediately after their landing at Japan's Narita International Airport. The 47 detained passengers, most of them fellow students, were traveling with or had sat near the three who tested positive. Japanese health officials said on Friday that none of the 47 showed signs of H1N1 flu symptoms. A U.S. citizen who lives in Japan and was quarantined with the students spoke to journalists, but did not want to appear full face on camera. She arrived with many other passengers on a North West flight after visiting her son in the United States. [Connie Shimizu, Quarantined]: "We were fed well so, yeah, they did what they could. Lonely, but I have family and friends in Japan so I could talk to them on the phone and North West (airline) gave us some money for telephone calls so I was able to talk, but it's, it's lonely in there and it's a long time." Japan has been checking passengers arriving on flights from the United States, Mexico and Canada. Health officials have been advising the public to gargle, wash their hands frequently and consider wearing face masks, which are popular in Japan anyway for cold and hay fever sufferers. Latest figures from the World Health Organization show that 7,520 people in 34 countries have been infected with the strain.

In such an over populated island you can't help but wonder if they will get hit hard .However the Japaneses people have always been very good at wearing masks for everyday colds and are infact famous for it ,so that custom should help them if it starts to spread further.

[edit on 17-5-2009 by tarifa37]

reply to post by ecoparity


Could it be that the two ''camps' pf thought are split between thinking this is a natural and man made sickness??

My home doc. had told me he is certain that this is the strongest this will get when i asked him..and that was early in week 1..But having know the doc. for close to 7 years i can read him that he beleives its a natural virus..

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy
reply to post by ecoparity

 

Thanks but that sounds VERY unlikely.

I wouldn't agree with it being very unlikely or I wouldn't have posted it.

Viruses which form pandemics are very, very rare. We get one every 40 years or so that stands out.

We have new variants of the flu break out all the time and kill anywhere from a few to a hundred or so. The number of those that reached epidemic status? Near zero.

There are certain dynamics in pandemic virus evolution which require time and the infection of a certain percentage of the population. The key to this theory, as unlikely as you might find it does have a solid basis.

Add to that the specific make up of this virus and the way it is mutating. One of the main reasons they identified it as man made has to do with the rate of mutation leading to the bug burning itself out faster than it can infect new hosts. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here in order to save it for a future post explaining the case for man made vs. natural.

Lastly,
The researchers are not the best target for our frustration, distrust, and so on. The people in the chain with credibility issues are the politicians and administrators.

MRSA is a bacteria, by the way. Antibiotic resistance is a completely different subject.

[edit on 17-5-2009 by ecoparity]

[edit on 17-5-2009 by ecoparity]

WHO Data - ACTUAL - As of 06:00 GMT, 17 May 2009

Date - Confirmed - Deaths - (Countries) - Mortality%

27/04 - 73 - 7 - (4) - 9.59%
28/04 - 105 - 7 - (7) - 6.67%
29/04 - 148 - 8 - (9) - 5.41%
30/04 - 257 - 8 - (11) - 3.11%
01/05 - 367 - 10 - (13) - 2.72%
02/05 - 658 - 17 - (16) - 2.58%
03/05 - 898 - 20 - (18) - 2.23%
04/05 - 1085 - 26 - (21) - 2.40%
05/05 - 1490 - 30 - (21) - 2.01%
06/05 - 1893 - 31 - (23) - 1.64%
07/05 - 2371 - 44 - (24) - 1.86%
08/05 - 2500 - 44 - (25) - 1.76%
09/05 - 3440 - 48 - (29) - 1.40%
10/05 - 4379 - 49 - (29) - 1.12%
11/05 - 4694 - 53 - (30) - 1.13%
12/05 - 5251 - 61 - (30) - 1.16%
13/05 - 5728 - 61 - (33) - 1.06%
14/05 - 6497 - 65 - (33) - 1.00%
15/05 - 7520 - 65 - (34) - 0.86%
16/05 - 8451 - 72 - (36) - 0.85%
17/05 - 8480 - 72 - (39) - 0.85%


An increase of 29 (0.3%) of confirmed cases since yesterday
An increase of 0 (0.0%) deaths since yesterday

An average 28.4% increase of confirmed cases each day
An average 13.5% increase of deaths each day

WHO - Influenza A(H1N1) - update 31

17 May 2009 -- As of 06:00 GMT, 17 May 2009, 39 countries have officially reported 8480 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 2895 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 66 deaths. The United States has reported 4714 laboratory confirmed human cases, including four deaths. Canada has reported 496 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Costa Rica has reported nine laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Argentina (1), Australia (1), Austria (1), Belgium (4), Brazil (8), China (5), Colombia (11), Cuba (3), Denmark (1), Ecuador (1), El Salvador (4), Finland (2), France (14), Germany (14), Guatemala (3), India (1), Ireland (1), Israel (7), Italy (9), Japan (7), Malaysia (2), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (9), Norway (2), Panama (54), Peru (1), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (3), Spain (103), Sweden (3), Switzerland (1), Thailand (2), Turkey (1), and the United Kingdom (82).

WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Individuals who are ill should delay travel plans and returning travelers who fall ill should seek appropriate medical care. These recommendations are prudent measures which can limit the spread of many communicable diseases, including influenza.

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO web site on a regular basis.

Source

Update On Swine Influenza, Wales
www.medicalnewstoday.com...

H1N1 cases in Japan jumped from 28 to 40 confirmed cases in less than an hour! #H1N1 #globalpandemic1 minute ago from TweetDeck

Edit to remove update 31...got beat!

[edit on 5/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by antmar


so are countries not reporting new cases? because there is no doubt that there is a hell of a lot more cases than 8500. Every day has increased by about 500 to 700 and now today its about 20? BS.

Originally posted by Hx3_1963
Edit to remove update 31...got beat!

yesssssss!

Originally posted by jonny2410
reply to post by antmar

 

so are countries not reporting new cases? because there is no doubt that there is a hell of a lot more cases than 8500. Every day has increased by about 500 to 700 and now today its about 20? BS.

Probably because its a sunday, well, thats what i'm guessing anyhow...

ECDC
ecdc.europa.eu...
5/17/2009 12:00:00 AM

ECDC situation report on outbreak of influenza A(H1N1)
Within the last 24 hours, 7 new confirmed cases were reported in the EU and EFTA countries, reaching a total of 249 confirmed cases reported from 16 countries. The table of figures and the maps will be updated regularly. The ECDC report gives an update of confirmed cases as of today, 17 May, 8:00 hours CEST

UthaiTomita: Japan has 44 confirmed cases of the new influenza A(H1N1) across 2 prefectures, Kobe and Osaka. Already outbreak! 7 minutes ago from web

jlandkev: 570 schools closed in the area...will mine be next??? (cause of the H1N1 thing in Kobe) 9 minutes ago from web

Osaka, Japan: 12 confirmed cases. Source: China News Date: 17 May 2009, 01:00 GMT1 minute ago from twitterfeed

[edit on 5/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by Hx3_1963

ECDC
ecdc.europa.eu...
5/17/2009 12:00:00 AM

ECDC situation report on outbreak of influenza A(H1N1)
Within the last 24 hours, 7 new confirmed cases were reported in the EU and EFTA countries, reaching a total of 249 confirmed cases reported from 16 countries. The table of figures and the maps will be updated regularly. The ECDC report gives an update of confirmed cases as of today, 17 May, 8:00 hours CEST

UthaiTomita: Japan has 44 confirmed cases of the new influenza A(H1N1) across 2 prefectures, Kobe and Osaka. Already outbreak! 7 minutes ago from web

jlandkev: 570 schools closed in the area...will mine be next??? (cause of the H1N1 thing in Kobe) 9 minutes ago from web

Osaka, Japan: 12 confirmed cases. Source: China News Date: 17 May 2009, 01:00 GMT1 minute ago from twitterfeed

[edit on 5/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

570 schools is a bit extreme!