Title: Fatal new flu strain threatens Mexico, U.S.
Liddo-kun - April 25, 2009 06:16 PM (GMT)
Fatal new flu strain threatens Mexico, U.S.
| QUOTE |
Most of the dead were aged between 25 and 45, a worrying sign linked to pandemics, as seasonal flu tends to be more deadly among the elderly and the very young.
"We realize the seriousness of this problem," Mexican President Felipe Calderon told health officials on Friday.
More cases could come to light as patients are tested in California, said Dr. Gil Chavez, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health and the state's chief epidemiologist. "The more we look the more we are likely to find," he said.
In New York City, health officials were investigating what had sickened scores of students who fell ill with flu-like symptoms in a Queens high school on Thursday and Friday. The symptoms were reported as mild and a city health official said he could not speculate about whether flu was responsible.
Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of flu from spreading, health experts warn, but common sense measures can help people protect themselves. Number one is hand-washing.
"Cover your cough or your sneeze, wash your hands frequently," advised Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Mexico, soldiers handed out surgical masks and officials warned people to avoid close physical contact and sharing food.
As far away as Hong Kong -- the epicenter of the 2003 SARS epidemic and especially vigilant to any threat of infectious disease -- the government's Center for Health Protection said it was closely monitoring investigations in the United States and would analyze flu samples in the territory.
Cordova said Mexico had 1 million doses of antiviral medicine, easily enough to treat the cases reported so far. Roche AG's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza are both recommended to treat flu and have been shown to work against viral samples taken from eight Americans infected.
The last flu pandemic was in 1968 when "Hong Kong" flu killed about a million people globally.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Lynn in Geneva and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong, editing by Anthony Boadle) |
Source:
Reuters__________________________________________________________
Based on the description of what's happening, I suddenly remembered the movie about the Ebola virus (nice to watch but scary in reality).
Hopefully a vaccine can be made as quickly as possible before the virus spreads to other countries.
~ChAoS~ - April 25, 2009 08:42 PM (GMT)
i think they just want to make us scared...it's the same as alsways i think...
so i'm not scared i know it will go away :rolleyes:
Chiibi Milfie - April 26, 2009 04:26 AM (GMT)
Oh this is just PERFECT. D:
..........good thing I wash my hands a LOT..... :D
hikari - April 26, 2009 07:52 AM (GMT)
I just be more careful to do activities in my life. I always wash my hands after do something, so I don't have to worry too much about that. ^ ^;
Hope they can make vaccine quickly.
Liddo-kun - April 27, 2009 11:14 AM (GMT)
Yami - April 27, 2009 07:53 PM (GMT)
And here in Argentina we're still dealing with this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue Liddo-kun - April 28, 2009 12:58 AM (GMT)
Some updates on the flu:
Based on this world map of suspected swine flue cases, the problem seems to be more widespread than previously thought.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Other_World_...s/10308104.html| QUOTE |
Mexico: 26 confirmed cases (Mexico puts suspected deaths at 149)
United States: 40 confirmed cases
Canada: 6 confirmed cases
Spain: 1 confirmed case
UK: Scotland says tests confirm 2 cases
Israel, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea: Suspected cases being tested |
It's spread enough for the WHO to toss up another level now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8021827.stm Lukav - April 28, 2009 11:00 AM (GMT)
I've found the New Welcome Sign for Mexico...
Lushati - April 28, 2009 06:47 PM (GMT)
damn, that flu...they don't stop to talk about that in France. -u-
Shatoyarn - April 28, 2009 10:46 PM (GMT)
it mostly mexico thay don't have the hospital to help and not as clean.
somthing maybe of a pig..(last time the mad cow)
mostly you want to worry about it if you live in mexico....
@lukav lol someone said that same thing at school saying it remind them of resident evil
as for canada well someone must of went to mexico.....>.>
lot of rumor going around. saying what might caused this to spread. a pig?
Liddo-kun - April 29, 2009 12:21 AM (GMT)
@Lushati
It's probably because 2 people in France who have just come back from Mexico are suspected to already have the virus. And the media is trying to make a big story out of it. Anyway, it's not really on a very dangerous level yet. So far only people from Mexico have died and none from other countries.
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/23675 Lushati - April 29, 2009 05:59 PM (GMT)
Liddo:yes,I know that.Also Mexican native people who lives in France are angry
because French medias calls that illness "Mexican Flu" :P .
Shatoyarn - April 29, 2009 08:53 PM (GMT)
ok so now there is a little joke XD
Liddo-kun - April 30, 2009 02:29 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Lushati @ Apr 29 2009, 05:59 PM) |
Liddo:yes,I know that.Also Mexican native people who lives in France are angry
because French medias calls that illness "Mexican Flu" :P . |
Well, the mexicans on another forum are angry because some people are saying that people on Mexico died because they lack proper hygiene and Mexico is full of garbage. No mexicans here on the forum so we can say what we want. :tongue:
Anyway, it seems there are drugs ready to help stop the disease if it spreads to other countries.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/2009...EALTH/904250311| QUOTE |
Both drug makers confirmed that the swine flu strain is sensitive to their drugs.
Both Relenza and Tamiflu have to be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective. |
Shatoyarn - April 30, 2009 08:27 PM (GMT)
thay close down one school near me but that because only one kid was sick. and this school has over 3000 student..it one of big high school were i live
thay said they're reopening it tomorrow
my school perfectly fine.
Liddo-kun - May 1, 2009 06:18 PM (GMT)
Here's some news about suggestions on a new name for the flu.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25407403-23109,00.html| QUOTE |
| Brazilian pork producers have asked the WHO to change the name to "North American flu" or even "Mexican flu" in order to avoid potentially huge losses for farmers and the meat processing industry as frightened consumers desert their produce. |
~ChAoS~ - November 14, 2009 12:03 PM (GMT)
i think they just overdo it with the swineflu as ever :rolleyes: and i don't care about the name either....
it's like the swine flu is like a plane accident...and the normal flu is a car accident :rolleyes:
