U.S. Declares Public Health Emer.: Swine Flu

[rockin'robin]

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.

Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild -- and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.

"As we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader spectrum of disease," predicted Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to see more severe disease in this country."

At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.

Top among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that, Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.

Napolitano called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure -- one was declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."

"Really that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this
outbreak is going to be."

US Declares Public Health Emergency For Swine Flu - Health News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

[Bottesini]

1918 was an avian flu I think.

I wonder if this really will be another pandemic?

 

[Chevy57]

The first confirmed case of swine flu in Ohio has been found in a 9-year-old kid. His school will be closed all week. He traveled to Mexico during spring break. He spent time at a farm, a fair, a couple of different cities and in Mexico City.
Swine flu diagnosed in Elyria - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

 

[ASLGAL]

The mutated strains of flu are very frightening.

I read an article that stated Americans are going to be at a disadvantage because we are so over medicated and tolerant of stronger antibiotics.

I think that is true, Doctors are very quick to prescribe pills for every ailment.

 

[AlleyCat]

I was under the delusion that I'm far north enough (Minnesota) that we don't have to worry about that here. But if Ohio has it, then my hopes of it not traveling here are unrealistic. I can only hope that I am in better health than many others and that I could fight off any flu.

 

[Babyblue]

Gotta stay healthy, and take care of yourself. A flu like this is very hard to contain. So many people are in and out of Mexico to America, and other Countries.

Just hope for the best and glad to see that the CDC and others are getting prepared for it. With the Tami flu medications, etc

 

[dogmom]

My husband was saying something about this before he left for work. Are symptoms similar/same to "regular" flu?

I agree that drug-resistance is a problem....doctors prescribing <over-prescribing generally>antibiotics for viral infections and people having lowered immunity in general due to the high ingestion of "fast"/processed food, lack of exercise.

 

[Bottesini]

My husband was saying something about this before he left for work. Are symptoms similar/same to "regular" flu?

I agree that drug-resistance is a problem....doctors prescribing <over-prescribing generally>antibiotics for viral infections and people having lowered immunity in general due to the high ingestion of "fast"/processed food, lack of exercise.

Yes the same. Except these crossovers like from 1918 liquify your internal organs so the prognosis is a little different.

 

[Jiro]

 

[Bottesini]

Love in the time of Cholera

 

[Jiro]

Love in the time of Cholera

the old saying continues to be true... love can conquer everything

 

[netrox]

Dear, this particular flu only kills HEALTHY adults, not the young or the old! That is why it's troubling.

During the Spanish Flu of 1918, it killed virtually ALL healthy adults, while the old and the young were safe.

Why? The flu strain causes a healthy immune system to produce a cytokine storm which can be extremely lethal. It is caused by producing way too MUCH immune system. Too much immune system can inflame and shut down organs, eventually killing you. Since the young and the old don't have a "healthy immune system" and cannot produce enough cytokines, they're relatively spared.

So, when you say "just be healthy!" that's NOT the case with this swine flu! To be healthy is asking for death!

 

[Lissa]

This flu is worrying me, i wish it was all over now and the flu'll go away

 

[Foxrac]

This flu is worrying me, i wish it was all over now and the flu'll go away

then don't travel to our country (US) and Mexico for now.

 

[Lissa]

There is already 3 suspected cases in the UK and one in a town not far from me

 

[dogmom]

oh....hmmmm. and yup I found Q &A under "Lifestyle, Fitness..." etc.

for answer, Bott-

 

[Byrdie714]

Oink Oink!

 

[Jiro]

achooink. 'cuse me.

 

[Babyblue]

"I once had a bird, her name was Enza!"
"I opened the window, and in flew Enza!"

Nursery Rhyme song that was sung during the outbreak in 1918-1919.

 

[Reba]

VP Biden didn't help matters when this happened:

Biden: Stay Off Subways During Swine Flu

By XANA O'NEILL

Updated 3:28 PM EDT, Thu, Apr 30, 2009

AP

Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered.

Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered as the swine flu outbreak spread to 16 states. His remarks quickly caused a stir, drawing a rebuke from New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and later leading the White House to apologize.

The uproar began when Biden appeared on NBC's "Today" show and said he would advise against riding the subway or taking commercial flights and implied schools should be shuttered amid confirmation of the first swine-flu relation death in the U.S.

"I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said when Matt Lauer asked whether he would advise family members to use public transportation.

"I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. "

The vice president also implied that schools should be closed as the threat of swine flu increases.

"If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft or a closed container or closed car or closed classroom it's a different thing."

About two hours after the interview, Biden's office issued a statement attempting to clarify the vice president's remarks.

"The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving all Americans: That they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week," Biden's spokeswoman, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs apologized for Biden's remarks, saying the vice president misspoke.

Earlier, Mayor Bloomberg, who often rides the subway in New York, said riding the mass transit poses no additional risks in the city with the greatest number of confirmed swine flu cases.

"The bottom line is I feel perfectly safe on the subway," the mayor said today.

"I took the subway here. I take the subway every day," Bloomberg said. "I think what's clear is the flu does not seem to be taking over the city so there's no evidence that taking the subway ... would increase dramatically the probability."

"Today" show co-host Meredith Vieira and NBC's Chuck Todd discussed Biden's statement after he made the remarks, wondering if the vice president really had intended to caution the American public to stay off public transportation and airplanes. They noted his comments seemed to contradict public statements by other high-ranked White House officials.

The White House is concerned the vice president's remarks create a panic that causes people to avoid public transportation, Todd later reported.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith didn't comment directly on Biden's interview but told the Associated Press that advising people not to fly is "fear mongering."

"To suggest that people not fly at this stage of things is a broad brush stroke bordering on fear mongering," Smith said. "The facts of the situation at this stage anyway certainly don't support that...."


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Biden: Stay Off Subways During Swine Flu Panic | NBC New York