23-Month Old Becomes 1st U.S. Swine Flu Death

[rockin'robin]

The first U.S. death from swine flu has been confirmed -- a 23-month-old child in Texas -- amid increasing global anxiety over a health menace that authorities around the world are struggling to contain.

The flu death was confirmed Wednesday by Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an interview with CNN, he gave no other details about the child.

Germany, which confirmed three cases Wednesday, is the latest country affected.
The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies -- and that decision hasn't been made yet -- it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.

"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, health authorities are preparing for the worst. "I fully expect we will see deaths from this infection," said Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.

"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.

Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."

Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States rose to 66 in six states, with 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one each in Indiana and Ohio, but cities and states suspected more. In New York, the city's health commissioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases.

New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Britain, Canada and now Germany have also reported cases.

But only in Mexico so far are there confirmed deaths, and scientists remain baffled as to why.

The WHO argues against closing borders to stem the spread, and the U.S. -- although checking arriving travelers for the ill who may need care -- agrees it's too late for that tactic.

"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas. We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That's not the case here," Besser told a telephone briefing of Nevada-based health providers and reporters. "The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible."

23-Month-Old Becomes 1st US Swine Flu Death - Health News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

[Dixie]

25 views and no responses? Guys, this could get much worse before its all over with. In my area I'm taking extra precautions due to the high Mexican population that frequently goes back and forth between here and Mexico, and I also have a friend of mine who recently went on vacation in Mexico at Conzumel and he's gotten sick. With my job as a cashier and sharing LOTS of germs with everybody, I'm washing my hands to the point that they are becoming dry.

 

[Jiro]

25 views and no responses? Guys, this could get much worse before its all over with. In my area I'm taking extra precautions due to the high Mexican population that frequently goes back and forth between here and Mexico, and I also have a friend of mine who recently went on vacation in Mexico at Conzumel and he's gotten sick. With my job as a cashier and sharing LOTS of germs with everybody, I'm washing my hands to the point that they are becoming dry.

wear rubber gloves

 

[Babyblue]

Heard about it this A.M. They are expecting more deaths, in the U.S. in results.

Dixie I am with you! I also live in an area where a lot of Mexican immigrants work. Our local area have been discussing that it should not be so bad now. But when Orange season comes back in the Fall. Is when we will have to be concern. Since this illness can not be contain. It will eventually spread.

 

[jillio]

Heard about it this A.M. They are expecting more deaths, in the U.S. in results.

Dixie I am with you! I also live in an area where a lot of Mexican immigrants work. Our local area have been discussing that it should not be so bad now. But when Orange season comes back in the Fall. Is when we will have to be concern. Since this illness can not be contain. It will eventually spread.

Yep, there appears to be just as much danger of contracting it from people who live in the U.S. and are already sick as from someone crossing the border now. The identified cases just keep spreading.

 

[Babyblue]

Yep, there appears to be just as much danger of contracting it from people who live in the U.S. and are already sick as from someone crossing the border now. The identified cases just keep spreading.

Thing is I was reading some info my mother Emailed me from the Health Dept, and CDC. You can spread it even before you start showing symptoms, and up to 7 days after you are better.

 

[Dixie]

Thats what I mean, I'm taking every stinking precaution I can, now as for rubber gloves, I'm thinking my boss wouldn't allow it as it might frighten the customers at the checkout. Although there are no confirmed cases in AR, still the fact that someone's wearing latex gloves at the register might do more harm than good. But however if there is reports of a confirmed case in AR, then I would suggest wearing latex gloves at the register whilst handling money and products that may carry the virus. Particularly the raw meat products.

 

[Babyblue]

Thats what I mean, I'm taking every stinking precaution I can, now as for rubber gloves, I'm thinking my boss wouldn't allow it as it might frighten the customers at the checkout. Although there are no confirmed cases in AR, still the fact that someone's wearing latex gloves at the register might do more harm than good. But however if there is reports of a confirmed case in AR, then I would suggest wearing latex gloves at the register whilst handling money and products that may carry the virus. Particularly the raw meat products.

You know what? That is a good question. I wonder if money, does help spread the virus. Due to Germs on the cash, being pass from hand to hand to hand. Being a large Dept store, Large cash flow.

 

[Jiro]

Thats what I mean, I'm taking every stinking precaution I can, now as for rubber gloves, I'm thinking my boss wouldn't allow it as it might frighten the customers at the checkout. Although there are no confirmed cases in AR, still the fact that someone's wearing latex gloves at the register might do more harm than good. But however if there is reports of a confirmed case in AR, then I would suggest wearing latex gloves at the register whilst handling money and products that may carry the virus. Particularly the raw meat products.

I don't imagine your employer would have problem with you wearing gloves. Many places that deal with $$$ do wear gloves like post office, toll place, grocery, etc.

 

[SoS]

25 views and no responses? Guys, this could get much worse before its all over with.

If u read Drew Curtis' book, u would understand why some people ignore the "breaking news."

 

[Babyblue]

Swine flu in 10 states; Mexican tot dies in Texas

The Associated Press

Published: April 29, 2009

Updated: 02:03 pm



WASHINGTON - Virulent swine flu spread to at least 10 U.S. states from coast to coast Wednesday and swept deeper into Europe, extending its global reach as President Barack Obama mourned the first U.S. death, a Mexican toddler who had traveled with his family to Texas.

Total American cases surged to nearly 100, and Obama said wider school closings might be necessary.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak is moving closer to becoming a full-scale pandemic.

Keiji Fukuda, the organization's top flu expert, told reporters in Geneva that the latest developments are moving the agency closer to raising its pandemic alert to phase 5, indicating widespread human-to-human transmission. That's just one step below level 6, a full-fledged pandemic.

In Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was questioned closely by senators about whether the United States should close its border with Mexico, where the outbreak apparently began and the casualties have been the greatest. She repeated the administration's position that questioning of people at borders and ports of entry was sufficient for now and said closing borders "has not been merited by the facts."

Richard Besser, the acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control, said in Atlanta that there are confirmed cases now in 10 states, with 51 in New York, 14 in California and 16 in Texas. Two cases have been confirmed in Kansas, Massachusetts and Michigan, while a single cases have been reported in Arizona, Indiana, Nevada and Ohio.

State officials in Maine said laboratory tests had confirmed three cases in that state, although those had not yet been included in the CDC count.

In a possible outbreak north of the Mexican border, the commandant of the Marine Corps said a Marine in southern California might have the illness and 39 Marines were being confined on their California base until tests come back.

Marine General James Conway told a Pentagon briefing an initial test indicated the sick Marine — who was not identified — might have swine flu but his illness did not appear life-threatening.

Obama said he wanted to extend "my thoughts and prayers" to the family of a nearly 2-year-old Mexican boy who died in Houston, the first confirmed fatality in the United States among more than five dozen infections.

Health officials in Texas said the child had traveled with his family from Mexico to Brownsville on April 4 and had been sick for five days before being hospitalized there. He then was brought to Houston, where he died Monday night.

Texas called off all public high school athletic and academic competitions at least until May 11 due to the outbreak.

"This is obviously a serious situation," and "we are closely and continuously monitoring" it, Obama said of the spreading illness.

Those sentiments were echoed by the Senate's top Republican. "This is a very worrisome situation and we're all following it very closely," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "We stand ready to closely work with the administration to protect the American people as this situation unfolds."

Meanwhile, Egypt's government ordered the slaughter of all pigs in the country as a precaution, though no swine flu cases have been reported there. Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork, but farmers raise some 300,000 to 350,000 pigs for the Christian minority.

The disease is not spread by eating pork, and farmers were to be allowed to sell the meat from the slaughtered animals.

In fact, officials appeared to go out of their way Wednesday to not call the strain "swine flu." Obama called the bug the "H1N1 virus."

"The disease is not a food-borne illness," Rear Adm. Anne Schuchat, CDC's interim science and public health deputy direct, told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

She said the strain is particularly worrisome because "it's a virus that hasn't been around before. The general population doesn't have immunity from it."

People have various levels of protection against other more common types of flu because they are exposed to it over time, and that protection accumulates. She suggested that some older people might have more resistance to this particular strain than younger people because its traits might resemble outbreaks of decades ago.

Germany became the latest country to report swine flu infections. It reported four cases on Wednesday.

New Zealand's total rose to 14. Britain had earlier reported five cases, Spain four. There were 13 cases in Canada, two in Israel and one in Austria.

Obama said it is the recommendation of public health officials that authorities at schools with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu "should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible."

He was underscoring advice that the CDC provided earlier to cities and states, and that some schools — most prominently in New York City — already have followed.

"If the situation becomes more serious and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporarily shut down, figuring out and planning what their child care situation would be," Obama advised.

He advised people to take their own precautions: washing hands, staying home if they are sick and keeping sick kids home.

Obama said the federal government is "prepared to do whatever is necessary to control the impact of this virus." He noted his request for $1.5 billion in emergency funding to ensure adequate supplies of vaccines.

The CDC for days has said people with flulike symptoms should stay home — but now also is stressing that other family members should consider staying home or at least limiting how much they go out until they're sure they didn't catch it.

Besser, the acting CDC director, called it "an abundance of caution," but stressed that it's voluntary and that the government hasn't urged an actual quarantine, which isn't really effective with flu.

 

[PowerON]

File:H1N1 map.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Babyblue]

Thinking about cooking some Pork Chops tonight!

 

[PowerON]

Thinking about cooking some Pork Chops tonight!

Already had for lunch at chinese buffet.

 

[Bottesini]

Wow! This is almost too depressing to contemplate.

 

[Jiro]

Did u find that on Fark.com? :P

no. got it from my friend.

 

[rockin'robin]

Thinking about cooking some Pork Chops tonight!

HAHA! I already took pork chops out of my freezer this AM for dinner....hmmmm...we're gonna go ahead and eat them...but I'm not gonna buy any more pork until they say it's safe!"snif snif"....gonna miss bacon and sausace and pork BBQ!....Those poor little "piggies" over in Egypt! News said they were slaughtering all pigs over there....

 

[Jiro]

Should We Panic?

No. Public-health officials say the swine flu that's killing people in Mexico probably won't hit the U.S. as hard.

Swine flu is nothing to sneeze at: the H1N1 strain of the virus wreaked serious havoc in Mexico, killing over 150 people so far. In the United States, however, only 50 people have been diagnosed as having swine influenza (as of April 28), and the majority of them apparently became ill during travels in Mexico. That's just one indication that the U.S. may emerge from this scare in better shape than it's southern neighbor. Consider:

1. We're No. 2. Mexican medical officials had to work backward—identifying the flu only after realizing several unusual deaths in different locations were related. Anyone who comes to an American emergency room with sniffles now will be regarded as a potential swine-flu carrier, which increases the chances of early diagnosis, treatment and containment. Across the country, hospital staff are meeting to discuss everything from how new patients will be tested to how many extra gloves and gowns they need to purchase. "Even if we got nothing more than a few more sporadic cases, it's been a great exercise for our whole hospital staff," says Dr. Thomas Tallman, chairman for emergency preparedness at the Cleveland Clinic. "If this illness goes further in America, we have a big advantage in that we had a heads-up, and we kind of saw it coming."

2. We're Always a Target. The antiterrorism training that resulted after 9/11 has made American hospitals better prepared to handle a pandemic. "The level of preparedness is unprecedented," says Dr. Gregory Gray, director of the center for emerging infectious diseases at the University of Iowa. "We've been drilling for this potential eventuality, not just for influenza but for other biological emergencies." The threat of avian flu over the past five years also gave hospitals specific emergency strategies for influenza epidemics.

3. We're Well Stocked. Mexico did what they could with what they had to keep this disease in check—but America can do a lot more. "We have many more resources: more hospitals, better critical care, more facilities for doctors and nurses, much better diagnostic capabilities," says Dr. David Weber, medical director of hospital epidemiology at the University of North Carolina Medical Center. "They've done an excellent job for a resource-limited country, but we have more resources." Those resources include large quantities of drugs that can treat the influenza virus, like Tamiflu and Relenza, at the ready, as well as antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections. (Almost half of those who died in the 1918 flu pandemic died of bacteria-caused pneumonia.)

4. We're Not as Sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made a specific plea not to read too much into the lack of severe illness, but if this trend continues, it may indicate something about the ability of Americans to fight off this illness. "If the illness presents differently in Mexico but the virus is the same, that points to the host being somehow different," says Dr. Richard Wenzel,chairman of the department of internal medicine at the Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Maybe Americans are more likely to have protective antibodies from other vaccines or from previous illnesses. Perhaps the high pollution levels in Mexico somehow make those living in the area more susceptible to illness. It's too soon to tell, but in the weeks to come, geographic and sociological factors may prove that Americans are less hospitable hosts.

5. We're Freaking Out.The World Health Organization raised the pandemic alert level to 4 on Monday afternoon (which means a significant risk of a pandemic developing). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public-health emergency. It might sound scary, but these measures are all designed to keep the disease in check. "This is in recognition that this is a serious event, and we're taking it seriously and acting aggressively," said CDC Acting Director Richard Besser. "But what it also does is it gives us additional authority. It allows us to move products and dispense drugs in a way that we couldn't before." And what about people worrying that a runny nose is a harbinger of doom? It means they're more likely to wash their hands, get some rest and to get tested and treated—all of which can keep swine flu (or other contagious disease) from spreading.

 

[Beowulf]

HAHA! I already took pork chops out of my freezer this AM for dinner....hmmmm...we're gonna go ahead and eat them...but I'm not gonna buy any more pork until they say it's safe!"snif snif"....gonna miss bacon and sausace and pork BBQ!....Those poor little "piggies" over in Egypt! News said they were slaughtering all pigs over there....

Eh? You cannot get swine flu from eating pork.

 

[Jiro]

Common flu far more deadly than swine flu in U.S.

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- The Florida Department of Health wants to put the swine flu (special report) scare into perspective. There are no confirmed cases of swine flu in Florida so far. However, thousands of people die each year from common strains of influenza.

According to the state health department web site, Florida averaged 2,477 deaths per year from the flu and pneunomia between 2005 and 2007. Pinellas County averaged 150 deaths per year in that time period. Hillsborough County averaged 86 deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates 36,000 people die annually in the United States from the flu. A disproportionately large number of Floridians are in the group. The flu is far more dangerous for the very young and very old. Florida has more deadly cases of the flu than most states because of its elderly population.

A state health department spokesman told ABC ActionNews.com this afternoon they received 50 samples of possible swine flu cases in Florida. None of them tested positive.