Big Fat Story
Mexico may be stabilizing, but suspected cases rising rapidly around the globe.
The World Health Organization upgraded its alert level to phase five—its second-highest level—as the number of suspected cases of swine-flu around the globe ballooned to include 32 countries. This is the first time the W.H.O. has upgraded the pandemic threat to such a high degree. More than anything, the upgrade is meant to further raise awareness and spur nations to ready whatever resources they have to combat a possible—perhaps even probable—pandemic. Nevertheless, there were early signs that Mexico's "aggressive public health campaign" against the virus was beginning to yield results. The number of cases seems to be stabilizing in the country, which has been hit the hardest by swine-flu, with as many 2,498 sickened. And the latest twist that highlights just how global a threat the bug is? Mexican authorities have said that they have identified eight of the earliest cases of swine-flu, and that one of them is a Bangladeshi immigrant who may have brought the virus from his home country or Pakistan.
Hard to believe, but the swine flu story only gained momentum a week ago, as the outbreak in Mexico spread and tourists returning from the country became a concern. Now, a mere six days since medical authorities actually bestowed the name "swine-flu virus" on the illness, it has affected 32 countries, with nine of those nations having confirmed cases. According to most reports, Africa is the only continent (excluding Antarctica) to have no suspected cases of the virus. From Peru to South Korea, Malaysia to Norway, cases are springing up. Australia has passed tough quarantine measures as it awaits results on tests of 91 people. In Costa Rica and Mexico, authorities have strongly advised its citizens to forgo the typical kiss on the cheek greeting, as it facilitates the spread of the virus.
The name swine flu has caused panic among pig farmers and companies selling pork products, as nervous consumers consider avoiding all things porcine. The truth, however, is that one does not contract swine flu from anything pork-related, but actually from his or her fellow man. Apparently, Russia, China, Ecuador, and at least seven other countries did not realize this when they banned all pork imports from the U.S. Rumors concerning domestic outbreaks have spread like wildfire in states such as Florida and Michigan, though neither had confirmed cases. Though the stock of producers of standard flu medication is soaring, those pills sitting in the medicine cabinet for a case of seasonal flu have no affect on the swine-flu virus. And for goodness sake, don't believe any spam emails that land in your inbox that spread panic regarding the outbreak.
Swine Flu: The Threat Grows
The World Health Organization upgraded its pandemic threat alert level to stage 5, and the WHO chief, in upgrading the threat level, now says that, "all of humanity... is under threat." Just how bad are things? The Daily Beast runs down six of the burning issues surrounding the outbreak.
Mexico is suffering the worst, but the U.S. just had its first fatality.
Patient Zero, a 5-year-old from Veracruz named Edgar Hernandez, will forever be remembered as the boy whose "coughs were heard round the world," as The New York Times put it. Hernandez's hometown, which is situated near a large pig farm, highlights the inadequate response by the Mexican government in the early stages of the outbreak, as officials concede that the first cases in the area began March 9. Now, thousands of locals have caught the bug. Elsewhere, in the state of Oaxaca, the swine-flu virus claimed its first fatality on April 13, raising alarms internationally. One detail of the victim is particularly chilling: the 39-year-old woman was a census-taker, who likely came into contact with numerous people. All told, 159 people have died from swine flu in Mexico. Across the border in Texas, Obama sent his "thoughts and prayers" to the family of the Mexican boy who brought their ailing two-year-old to the U.S. while visiting family in Brownsville. As the child became gravely ill, the family checked him into the hospital, where he died this past Monday. The boy is the first to die of the virus on American soil.
The swine flu, with RNA from avian-, swine-, and human-flu viruses, as well as different strains from North America and Eurasia, has caught the scientific community somewhat off-guard. Speaking to Science Daily, a leading virologist, Dr. X. J. Meng, said the outbreak underscores the need for the government to allocate more funds to research on animal-borne pathogens, or as Dr. Meng called them, "zoonotic disease viruses." The doctor, who is on the faculty of Virginia Tech's College of Veterinary Medicine, is not alone in recognizing the need for further research into viruses that use animals as incubators. Kennedy Shortridge, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, theorized in the wake of the avian-flu crisis that pigs might serve as "mixing vessels" for new combinations of influenza. The patchwork nature of the virus makes it quite a challenge to understand, and also raises the concern that its unstable nature makes it predisposed to "reassort with other viruses encountered in a human or animal host."
For weeks, the Senate Republican minority delayed the confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius as HHS secretary because she was pro-choice—even after swine flu was declared a public-health emergency. But this isn’t the first time the GOP has kept resources out of the nation’s health services. When Wisconsin Sen. David Obey attempted to fold $900 million for pandemic preparation into the emergency stimulus bill—much of which would go to the CDC—congressional Republicans laughed in his face. Obey and other key Democrats argued that if a pandemic were to hit during a recession, the results would be catastrophic for the economy, but Karl Rove and other important congressional Republicans dismissed the idea. Pandemic preparation, they said, had nothing to do with the economy. Maine Sen. Susan Collins flaunted the fact that while she supported tax cuts, Dems wanted to waste money on pandemic preparedness. And the GOP won: Obey only got $50 million for the HHS into the stimulus plan. But because of the finger-pointing, neither party won in the end. Writes Matthew Yglesias: “There’s not, at the end of the day, a Democratic or a Republican way to respond to flu outbreak.”
Martyz42
The Confederate right wing, religious, rich & powerful thinking republicans (All of them except the two woman from Maine) have nothing going for them except more lies, more trickle down tax policy, more nothing for the middle class so the only thing they can do now is to lie & mislead the so really stupid mass's of the American people who vote as well as the vast majority of Americans that don't vote.Here in a country that talks up freedom we have a country where the majority of it's people don't vote & really sadly the vast majority have no clue of what is really going on in Washington DC & have no clue of reality. (Does Sarah Palin make my point)
Aussie
How can I write or be the blog writer for Dailey Beast?
Aasi Tahir Siddique
aasi@siddique.us
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n--Y--monet767viggster
Science Daily is a press release dump site, not a news outlet.
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n--Y--monet767Thank you.
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