CLG_Flu_Oddities

WHO says flu is unstoppable

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:47:03 -0400

The World Health Organization head, Margaret Chan, has addressed a meeting in Mexico to say that the spread of the H1N1 swine flu virus worldwide is now unstoppable. As the summit opened, the UK alone projected more than 100,000 new cases of H1N1 a day by the end of the summer.

Britain braces for 100,000 swine flu cases a day

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:47:02 -0400

Britain faces a projected 100,000 new swine flu cases a day by the end of August and must revamp its flu strategy to cope, the nation's health minister said Thursday. Britain has officially reported 7,447 swine flu cases and three deaths, but officials acknowledge the real number of cases is far higher, since many with the virus have not been tested.

Swine flu cases reach over 77,000 worldwide: WHO

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 23:39:36 -0400

About 77,201 people worldwide have caught swine flu, with 332 having died from it, latest statistics posted on Wednesday by the World Health Organisation show. The data indicates that 6308 new A(H1N1) cases were reported, including 21 deaths, since the last bulletin on Monday. The largest increase in caseload was reported by the United Kingdom, with 2288 new infections including two deaths, bringing its total to 6538 infections including three deaths.

WHO working on formulas to model swine flu spread

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 23:39:35 -0400

The World Health Organization said Wednesday it is working to mathematically model the spread of swine flu in an attempt to better understand how the outbreak developed from a handful of cases to a global epidemic in less than two months. WHO brought together over 20 independent experts beginning Wednesday for the three-day meeting in Geneva. The meeting comes as it becomes clearer that actual case numbers may be far higher than the agency's tally of officially diagnosed infections.

Did leak from a laboratory cause swine flu pandemic?

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 03:24:00 -0400

Same strain of influenza was released 'by accident' three decades ago --It has swept across the world killing at least 300 people and infecting thousands more. Yet the swine flu pandemic might not have happened had it not been for the 'accidental' release of the same strain of influenza virus from a research laboratory in the late 1970s, according to a new study. Scientists investigating the genetic make-up of flu viruses have concluded there is a high probability that the H1N1 strain of influenza "A" behind the current pandemic might never have been re-introduced into the human population were it not for an accidental leak from a laboratory working on the same strain in 1977.

Pandemic planning: Protect police forces from being hurt in civil disturbances

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:17:11 -0400

The same cast of characters behind 'mass fatality management planning' for the flu pandemic developed a 'business plan for the Iraqi military market.' By Lori Price The same 'people' (and I use that term very loosely) panning the International Swine Flu Conference -- New-Fields -- also brought us... wait for it... Iraq oil and gas summits and the 2nd Iraq Security & Defense Summit. Corporate, government, and media players are meeting (after they cough up thousands of dollars in fees) to discuss and manage the inevitable flu pandemic... The architects of the flu kit and caboodle -- the same corpora-terrorists who profited from the Bush/Obama Iraq and Af/Pak wars -- are poised to make a(nother) killing.

New H1N1 flu not going away: U.S. health agency

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:17:39 -0400

More than 1 million people in the United States may have been infected with the new H1N1 swine flu, U.S. health officials said on Friday, and infections continue to rise. The new H1N1 influenza virus that has triggered a global pandemic is infecting people in the United States well beyond the normal period for influenza season, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing.

500K New Yorkers May Have Swine Flu Virus

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:17:39 -0400

As many as 500,000 New Yorkers may have been infected with the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu, federal officials said yesterday, far more than initially estimated by the city's Department of Health. The new data is based on a community survey that found 6.9 percent of New Yorkers experienced a flu-like illness during a three-week period in May when the illness was at its most active. "About half a million New Yorkers may have been infected," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.

WHO chief: flu pandemic appears to be happening

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:42 -0400

The head of the World Health Organization says the swine flu outbreak appears to have reached pandemic proportions. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says "on the surface of it" she believes a pandemic has been reached.

Swine flu: mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin quarantined in China

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:41 -0400

The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, is under quarantine in a hotel in Shanghai after a passenger on his flight to China fell ill with suspected swine flu. Mr Nagin and his wife, Seletha, left New Orleans on Friday on a ten-day trip to China and Australia to drum up business for the city. They were advised by Shanghai city officials on Sunday that they would have to enter a quarantine.

WHO keeps level 5 flu alert, urges no travel limits

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:40 -0400

The World Health Organisation kept its pandemic flu alert at phase 5 on a six-level scale on Friday and repeated a call for countries not to restrict travel because of the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Phase 6 means a full pandemic is in progress and phase 5, the current level, means one is imminent.

Sarkozy's Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:39 -0400

According to a report in the May 30 edition of the French newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, the Sarkozy government has authorized spending of an estimated 1 billion Euros to buy vaccines allegedly to combat or protect against H1N1 Swine Flu virus. By F. William Engdahl The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and even defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu increases the trend towards the militarization of public health and use of needless population panic to advance the agenda.

CDC Vaccine Advisor Pockets $29 Million Promoting Vaccines

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:38 -0400

Dr. Paul Offit of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) received at least $29 million from his share of royalties for Merck's Rotateq vaccine after using his position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that childhood vaccination with the vaccine became compulsory. According to a report on the Web site "Age of Autism," a review of CHOP's royalties schedules reveals that Offit likely received between $29 million and $55 million for his work developing the Rotateq vaccine for rotavirus, which causes diarrhea in infants.

As swine flu wanes, U.S. preparing for second wave

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:38 -0400

The outbreak of the new H1N1 flu virus has begun to wane with the start of summer in North America, and U.S. health officials said on Thursday they are looking to lessons learned as they prepare for its return in the autumn. There are now 11,468 probable and confirmed cases of the new H1N1 swine flu in the United States, Dr Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers and Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing.

Australia swine flu count soars near 900: official

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:37 -0400

Australia's swine flu tally rocketed by more than a third on Thursday to nearly 900 as officials scrambled to contain the rapidly spreading virus. The latest official figures revealed 876 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) influenza in the world's fourth most affected country -- up from 633 a day earlier and single figures just a fortnight ago. Other Australian states ordered children returning from flu hotspot Victoria to be quarantined, earning the wrath of Melbourne officials.

Further jump in swine flu cases

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:37 -0400

Scotland has 31 new confirmed cases of swine flu, bringing the total number to 119, the Scottish Government has said. None of the new cases are travel-related, and 21 are in the NHS Highland area, which covers Dunoon.

Four swine flu sufferers in Glasgow area treated in intensive care

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:36 -0400

Four people suffering from swine flu are being treated in intensive care wards in hospitals in and around Glasgow tonight. The four -- all aged under 50 -- are the only cases in Britain to require intensive care treatment for the H1N1 virus, and are among 88 confirmed cases of swine flu in Scotland. A total of 303 cases have been diagnosed in England, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales.

Swine flu: home quarantine urged in SA

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:35 -0400

Health authorities are recommending home quarantine for South Australian children who have visited Melbourne because of a high prevalence of swine flu there. A person visiting SA from Western Australia has also been diagnosed with swine flu, becoming the eighth case in South Australia. They are to stay in isolation in SA for a week.

Saudi Arabia confirms first H1N1 flu case

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:35 -0400

Saudi Arabia has confirmed its first case of the H1N1 flu virus in a Filipina nurse, the kingdom's health minister said on Wednesday. The woman arrived on Friday on board a Gulf Air flight from the Philippines and showed first symptoms on Monday, Abdullah al-Rabeeah told Saudi news channel al-Ekhbariya, adding that she was being held in quarantine in a hospital in the capital Riyadh.

2 More Deaths in City Linked to Swine Flu

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:34 -0400

Two more deaths linked to swine flu -- both of adults in their early to mid-40s -- were reported by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Wednesday, bringing the total H1N1-related fatalities in the city to seven.

Already Hurting, Mets Face a Swine Flu Scare

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:34 -0400

As if the Mets did not have enough injuries and illnesses to worry about, they confronted a swine flu scare Tuesday when a member of their traveling party was isolated after coming down with an unidentified strain of flu. An associate producer for SportsNet New York, who started having symptoms after arriving here Sunday night, was treated and tested at a hospital, but the Mets had not received confirmation as to what type of flu the strain was.

WHO getting closer to declaring A/H1N1 pandemic, says official

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:33 -0400

As the A/H1N1 flu virus spreads further around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) is getting closer to declaring a full pandemic, a senior official of the UN agency said on Tuesday. "Globally we believe that we are at phase 5, but we are getting closer to phase 6," said WHO Assistant Director-general Dr. Keiji Fukuda, referring to the WHO's six-phase pandemic alert system.

A/H1N1 virus invades all U.S. states

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:32 -0400

All the 50 states in the United States reported cases of A/H1N1 flu on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 10,053, according to the latest figures released by the federal government. Until last week, Alaska, West Virginia and Wyoming were the last three states which had been free of the newly found virus, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that the state of Wyoming had conformed its first case, and reported Monday that the states of Alaska and West Virginia had finally been invaded by the A/H1N1 virus.

Mandatory Flu Vaccines for Health Care Personnel on Agenda for SHRPC Committee

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:32 -0400

A proposed regulation that would require annual influenza vaccines for all health care personnel in hospitals will be discussed at tomorrow’s Codes Committee of the State Hospital Review and Planning Council (SHRPC). The rule would also apply to employees of diagnostic and treatment centers, certified home health agencies, long-term home health care programs, acquired immune deficiency syndrome home care programs, licensed home care services agencies, and hospices. A separate proposal that would require mandatory flu vaccines for personnel working in nursing homes is currently under consideration in the State Legislature.

3,000 under swine flu quarantine Down Under

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:31 -0400

The number of H1N1 cases in Australia is climbing quickly. Three thousand people are in quarantine, after a big increase in cases in the last 24 hours. In the state of New South Wales, twelve hundred people are in quarantine.

Le plan secret contre la grippe A --

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:31 -0400

'Le vaccin obligatoire' Anticipant un probable retour du virus a l'automne, le gouvernement va debourser pres d'un milliard d'euros pour acheter des vaccins. Objectif: immuniser tous les Français. Les autorites annonceront a l'automne si elles choisissent de rendre le vaccin obligatoire. "Nous serons prets a operer dans un laps de temps tres court", explique-t-on au ministere de la Sante. La France prepare un plan de bataille sans precedent pour cet automne, avec, a la cle, une campagne de vaccination obligatoire pour tous les Français de plus de 3 mois. Selon nos informations, l'Etat veut passer commande de 100 millions de doses de vaccin contre la grippe A a trois laboratoires (GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi et Novartis). [Translation: France is considering a secret plan to make the pharma-terrorists' deadly flu vaccines mandatory.]

Swine flu infects US official in France for Obama trip

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:26 -0400

An American official sent to France to help prepare President Barack Obama's visit to D-Day landing beaches next week has been hospitalised for swine flu but is doing well, officials said on Friday. "Eleven people who were in close contact with her were given preventive treatment last night and confined to their hotel rooms for 24 hours," said Christian Leyrit, the state representative in the northern Normandy region.

Cruise travellers to be kept away from public

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:25 -0400

Passengers leaving the P&O ship Pacific Dawn, which docks in Brisbane this morning, will be kept away from the public amid concerns swine flu may have spread on the ship. Extensive health precautions are being taken on the luxury cruise liner after three crew members tested positive to the H1N1 strain of the flu virus.

Swine flu cases pass 15,000 mark

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:24 -0400

Figures announced by the World Health Organisation show that swine flu has infected more than 15,000 people in 53 countries since it was first detected in Mexico in April. The latest countries to report cases of the H1N1 virus include Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary and Slovakia in Europe, and Venezuela and Paraguay in South America.

Global swine flu deaths top 100

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:40 -0400

The global swine flu death toll marched past 100 on Wednesday with one new fatality reported in the United States and four more in Mexico, the two countries where the first outbreaks were reported. Prior to the latest North American deaths, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had reported the global toll at 95, with 13,398 people in 48 countries infected with the A(H1N1) virus since it was first uncovered last month.

H1N1 flu infects 13,000 people in 46 countries - WHO

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:38 -0400

The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that nearly 13,000 people have been confirmed infected with the new H1N1 flu strain but the number of countries affected is stable at 46. In its latest tally, the United Nations agency said its labs have confirmed 12,954 infections with the newly discovered strain that has killed 92 people.

Anger over breach in swine flu quarantine

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:39 -0400

Eight more Melburnians have been diagnosed with swine flu overnight, taking the state's total to 32. Premier John Brumby provided the update this morning as the Federal Government announced stricter health controls would be introduced at Australian ports amid concerns that dozens of people with flu-like symptoms were allowed to leave a cruise ship and travel across the country.

Swine flu scare: cruise ship quarantined

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:39 -0400

Authorities have quarantined another cruise ship in Sydney because of swine flu concerns, disrupting the travel plans of around 2,000 people. A spokeswoman for P and O cruises says the Health Department is awaiting swine test results on two passengers, who returned on the cruise ship from the South Pacific this morning.

Swine Flu Is Spreading Wider Than Official Data Show

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:37 -0400

Swine flu is spreading more widely than official figures indicate, with outbreaks in Europe and Asia showing it’s gained a foothold in at least three regions. One in 20 cases is being officially reported in the U.S., meaning more than 100,000 people have probably been infected nationwide with the new H1N1 flu strain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UK swine flu toll is really 30,000, says leading scientist

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:38 -0400

True extent of the outbreak is claimed to be 300 times worse than government agency admits. Thirty thousand people in Britain are likely to have been already infected by swine flu, one of the country's leading authorities has told The Independent on Sunday. This would mean that the virus is 300 times more widespread than the Health Protection Agency (HPA) admits. The startling estimate by top virologist Professor John Oxford comes as leading scientists are warning that the agency's announcements on the spread of the disease are "meaningless" and hiding its true extent.

Parents asked to place children in swine-flu quarantine

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:36 -0400

Parents returning from overseas will be stopped at the airport and told of the quarantine advice. Parents of children returning from five countries heavily hit by swine flu will be asked to place their children in quarantine for a week, Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said today. The affected countries are the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Panama. Mr Andrews said the State Government had taken the step under advice from national health experts.

Queens woman becomes second confirmed swine flu death in NYC

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:36 -0400

The city's health department would only describe the victim as a Queens woman in her 50s who had an underlying health condition. She died sometime over the past few days and tested positive for H1N1 virus, officials said.

U.S. Navy to conduct human clinical trials of H1N1 flu vaccine

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:34 -0400

Vical Inc. entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), a biomedical research organization within the U.S. Navy. Vical Incorporated announced today that in the two weeks since launching its program to develop a vaccine against H1N1 influenza (swine flu), the company has completed development of a prototype H1 vaccine, produced an initial supply of research-grade material, and initiated immunogenicity testing in animals. Assuming a successful outcome of this testing and a commitment for program-specific external funding, the company is ready to advance directly to large-scale cGMP manufacturing of vaccine for human clinical trials to be conducted by the U.S. Navy.

18 US soldiers confirmed with swine flu in Kuwait

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:35 -0400

Eighteen US soldiers have tested positive for swine flu at an American military base in Kuwait and all have now left the Gulf emirate, a Kuwaiti health official said. The health ministry announced on Saturday that swine flu cases had been detected among US soldiers who were transiting through Kuwait. Undersecretary of Health Ibrahim al-Abdulhadi told the official KUNA news agency the soldiers were immediately isolated at the US base in Arifjan, 70 kilometres (about 40 miles) south of the capital.

U.S. soldiers are Kuwait's first cases of H1N1 flu

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:31 -0400

U.S. soldiers have been confirmed as the first cases in Kuwait with the new H1N1 flu, the state news agency KUNA said on Saturday quoting a government official. The virus was detected in an unspecified number of soldiers on their way through Kuwait. Kuwait is a logistics base for the U.S. army in support of its troops in Iraq.

A/H1N1 flu hits Spanish military base, 500 quarantined

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:34 -0400

More than 500 servicemen from the Hoyo de Manzanres Base near Madrid have been quarantined when 11 of them were found to be infected with the A/H1N1 flu virus, Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Fernandez de la Vega said on Friday. Sixty-one other servicemen are under observation, according to a report by the Spanish health ministry.

Three U.S. firms to make swine flu vaccine

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:33 -0400

The government has asked Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline to make the vaccine and is negotiating with MedImmune and CSL, an Australian company, The Washington Post reported Saturday. The order is part of a $1 billion investment in production and testing of vaccine 'against' the new strain of the H1N1 flu virus.

WHO warns of double influenza threat as south hemisphere enters winter

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:32 -0400

The spread of the influenza A/H1N1 virus may pick up in the Asia Pacific region with the onset of southern winter and the threat joined by the spread of seasonal influenza might take a heavy toll on countries' health system, a regional World Health Organization (WHO) expert warned Friday.

U.S. Asks Firms to Make H1N1 Flu Vaccine

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:32 -0400

The federal government has asked three drug companies to make enough ~~swine~~ [Fort Detrick] flu vaccine to immunize at least 20 million people in key positions in health care, national security and emergency services, officials said yesterday. The order, announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is part of a $1 billion investment in immediate production and testing of vaccine 'against' the newly emerged strain of the H1N1 flu virus. HHS has contracts with five companies to make pandemic vaccine. The department has activated the ones with Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. It is still negotiating with the two others, MedImmune and CSL, an Australian company. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009.]

WHO chief warns H1N1 swine flu likely to worsen

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:31 -0400

Chan says H1N1 could mutate in "unpredictable [!] ways" The world must be ready for H1N1 swine flu to become more severe and kill more people, World Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan said on Friday. The virus must be closely monitored in the southern hemisphere, as it could mix with ordinary seasonal influenza and change in unpredictable ways, Chan told the WHO annual congress in Geneva. An international team of researchers who analyzed all eight genes of the new virus confirmed its sneakiness, saying it was so different from its ancestral strains that it must have been ~~circulating undetected for years~~ [created in a USAMRIID lab].

Australia's swine flu alert level raised

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:29 -0400

Australia's swine flu alert level has been raised from delay to contain. The announcement by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon this afternoon comes after after the first case of human to human transmission was confirmed at a school in Epping, in Melbourne's north.

Memo tells Kan. juvenile jails to prepare for 10-day quarantine in case of swine flu outbreak

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:30 -0400

Authorities in charge of the youth inmates in Kansas have geared up for the possibility of a swine flu outbreak at juvenile correctional facilities. The Juvenile Justice Authority issued a memo Tuesday to all staff outlining plans to monitor the spread of swine flu and minimize exposure.

US swine flu deaths hit double-digits

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:02:29 -0400

Marcos Sanchez is the nation's 10th fatality associated with the newly discovered [created] virus that continues to spread across the globe. Swine flu has sickened more than 11,000 people in 41 countries and killed 85, according to the World Health Organization, whose figures often trail those of individual countries.

Utah and Arizona report swine flu-related deaths

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:50:24 -0400

Utah officials reported the state's first death associated with swine flu and Arizona recorded that state's third victim, pushing the national death toll to 10 people. David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said a 21-year-old man with swine flu died Wednesday morning at a Salt Lake City hospital.

US military 'posturing itself' to respond as pandemic alert is raised to 4

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:14 -0400

Military officials monitor swine flu --Defense Department officials are monitoring the swine flu situation closely, with their primary focus on protecting the military population, a senior Pentagon official said April 27. As officials with the Department of Health and Human Services lead the U.S. effort, the military is posturing itself to respond if required, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Pentagon Prepared for Flu Outbreak

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:13 -0400

In a worst-case scenario that the current flu crises threatens military operations, the Defense Department has already stockpiled enough vaccines to meet demand across the services, a Pentagon spokeswoman told Military.com April 27... It was only in January -- well before the Mexico outbreak -- that the commander of the Pacific Fleet noted his troops' preparations for a pandemic or epidemic of infectious flu. "The U.S. Pacific Fleet is part of a broader joint and combined effort to be prepared to deal with a pandemic flu outbreak," Adm. Robert F. Willard said on Jan. 28.

WHO confirms pandemic alert level raised to 4

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:12 -0400

The World Health Organisation raised its pandemic alert level on Monday to phase 4 over the deadly swine flu virus, indicating the infection can spread between humans to cause community-level outbreaks.

DHS: Americans should prepare for second flu pandemic, even if this one 'fizzles out'

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:11 -0400

[LOL! Not *too* blatant, are they?] Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says that the US should prepare for a new flu pandemic -- even if this one 'fizzles out.'

Swine flu confirmed in UK

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:19:28 -0400

The two people are being held in isolation at Monklands hospital in Airdrie --Two Scottish holidaymakers who returned from Mexico last Tuesday were confirmed tonight as having swine flu, while seven of their close family and friends are being treated with a flu vaccine after showing mild flu-like symptoms. The two people are being held in isolation at Monklands hospital in Airdrie where they are said to be recovering well, and responding well to treatment.

Sanofi Aventis Invests 100 Million Euros In New Facility In Mexico to Produce Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccine

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:11 -0400

Sanofi-Aventis, Blackwater of bugs 19 Mar 2009 Sanofi-aventis, announced the signing of an agreement with the Mexican authorities to build a 100 million euro facility to manufacture influenza vaccine in Mexico. The announcement was made during a ceremony attended by Felipe Calderon, [unelected] President of Mexico, and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, who was in Mexico City for a State visit. "By building this new facility, sanofi-aventis is proud to contribute to the strengthening of Mexico's health infrastructure and is eager to support Mexico's exemplary commitment to public health through influenza immunization and pandemic readiness", said Chris Viehbacher, Chief Executive Officer of sanofiaventis. [Now, that's what I call foresight!

Obama's host dies from 'flu-like symptoms'

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:10 -0400

The White House says that Barack Obama is "highly engaged" in monitoring the swine flu outbreak that has spread over the border from Mexico into the US – and well he might. For a while, the President's doctors feared that he may have come closer than almost anyone in the country to contracting the virus. According to alarming reports from Mexico City, Felipe Solis, a distinguished archaeologist who showed Mr Obama around the city's anthropology museum during his visit to Mexico earlier this month, died the next day from "flu-like symptoms".

Obama Admin. Releases Stockpile of Antiflu Virus Drug

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:09 -0400

The Pentagon has readied 7 million courses for military personnel. --The Obama administration was "all hands on deck" today in response to the quickly escalating swine flu outbreak, with the declaration of a public health emergency and the release of the national antiflu drug stockpile. The Obama administration has released 12.5 million of the nation's stockpile of 50 million courses of Tamiflu.

World 'counting down to pandemic'

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:08 -0400

A Chinese virologist who helped fight Sars and bird flu has warned of a possible swine flu pandemic that China and India would be ill-prepared to handle. "We are counting down to a pandemic," said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of Sars in 2003 to the civet cat.

Swine Flu Fears Prompt Global Quarantine Plans

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:08 -0400

Countries planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers as global health officials tried Sunday to come up with uniform ways to battle a deadly strain of swine flu.

'Israel must call new disease Mexico Flu, as swine unkosher'

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:46:07 -0400

Ultra-Orthodox Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman on Monday declared that Israel would call the new potentially deadly disease that has already struck two continents 'Mexico Flu,' rather than 'Swine Flu, as pigs are not kosher. "We will call it Mexico flu. We won't call it swine flu," Litzman told a news conference on Monday, assuring the Israeli public that authorities were prepared to handle any cases. [Israel should call it US Flu, for the sake of accuracy.]

Flu pandemic: British government's emergency plan

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:52:42 -0400

The government's pandemic flu contingency plan, dating from November 2007, warns that up to 750,000 Britons might die were a pandemic to strike with maximum force.

Drug companies prepare for swine flu epidemic

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:59:10 -0400

Pharmaceutical stocks are expected to rise on Monday morning, after Roche and GlaxoSmithKline said they may need to supply millions of vaccine doses to help protect against the swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico. --Vaccines from Roche, which sells Tamiflu, and GSK, maker of Relenza, have been shown to work against viral samples of the new disease. The drugs were also used to help protect against outbreaks of bird flu in Asia, providing windfall profits for the companies. Roche confirmed it already has a stockpile of 3m packs of Tamiflu ready for use by the World Health Organisation (WHO). [Well, knock me over with a feather!! Instead of facing trial and execution for war crimes, Donald Rumsfeld is going to make a killing - maybe even greater than Rudy Giuliani/'Lucky Larry' killings from the 9/11 terror attacks. See: Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu --Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing 31 Oct 2005 The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.]

Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:12 -0400

CLG: By Lori Price. The OMFG moment of the century. Illinois-based Baxter working on vaccine to 'stop' swine flu outbreak in Mexico. But, looky here! Baxter admits sending live avian flu viruses to subcontractor --People familiar with biosecurity rules are dismayed by evidence that human H3N2 and avian H5N1 viruses somehow co-mingled [!] in the Orth-Donau facility. 27 Feb 2009 Is Baxter International taking a page from the Blackwater playbook? Just as Blackwater/Xe keep on killing to justify their multi-billion dollar contracts to provide 'security' in Iraq and Afghanistan, Baxter International is poised to make *billions* to vaccinate people against their pandemic.

Flu Kills The Torture Memos

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:55:55 -0400

By Lori Price In a 'Holy convenience, Batman!' moment, a 'unique' flu virus (one likely concocted in US Army labs) overtakes media coverage of revelations that the highest levels of the US government instructed the CIA (and private contractors) to torture terror suspects.

Scientists said the virus combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before. "We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human," he said. "It's all hands on deck at the moment."

Guess where the first swine flu outbreak occurred? That's right, Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1976. Thirteen soldiers died, leading the US government to force a questionable vaccine on the population -- backed by a legal liability escape clause mandated by and for the pharma-terrorists. Next, people started dying not from the flu -- but from the *vaccine.*
Every major media outlet has reported the fact that US/UK bioterrorists have been manipulating the avian flu virus in university and Army labs. This new flu strain, one that 'no one has ever seen,' contains avian flu. Now, how does *that* happen?

CLG has been covering flu 'oddities' for eight years. See: Flu 'Oddities' and Flu 'Oddities' News Archives. [See compendium of key flu articles here.]

U.S. denies producing biological weapons from bird flu samples

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:17 -0400

Media: U.S. denies Indonesia's allegation on bird flu virus. The United States has flatly denied allegations it was producing biological weapons from bird flu samples sent by Indonesia to the World Health Organization, the English daily The Jakarta Post reported Monday. Michael H. Anderson, counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia, [has issued the denial]. However, Indonesian senior biodefense researcher Isro Samihardjo said the U.S. could use bird flu virus samples from Indonesia to develop weapons at the Los Alamos Laboratory. Isro was speaking at a meeting about Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari's newly released book here Saturday. In her book "It's Time for the World to Change, Divine Hands behind Bird Flu," Siti writes of her suspicions about a conspiracy between the U.S. and the WHO.

Experts identify genes for bird flu replication

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:17 -0400

Scientists have identified around 100 genes that the H5N1 bird flu virus needs in a host in order to replicate, and this finding may help in the hunt for ways to block foment its proliferation.

Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:16 -0400

Missing vials of a potentially dangerous virus have prompted an Army investigation into the disappearance from a lab in Maryland. The Army's Criminal Investigation Command agents have been visiting Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to investigate the disappearance of the vials. The vials contained samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis... In 97 percent of cases, humans with the virus suffer flu-like symptoms, but it can be deadly in about 1 out of 100 cases, according to Caree Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Scientists isolate genes that made 1918 flu lethal

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:13 -0400

By mixing and matching a contemporary flu virus with the "Spanish flu" -- a virus that killed between 20 and 50 million people 90 years ago in history's most devastating outbreak of infectious disease -- researchers have identified a set of three genes that helped underpin the extraordinary virulence of the 1918 virus. Writing today (Dec. 29) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison virologists Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Tokiko Watanabe identifies genes that gave the 1918 virus the capacity to reproduce in lung tissue, a hallmark of the pathogen that claimed more lives than all the battles of World War I combined.

Killer flu recreated in the lab

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 00:31:43 -0400

UK Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice. Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.

Venture capital firm set to reap rewards on swine flu

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:15 -0400

The swine flu outbreak is likely to benefit one of the most prolific and successful venture capital firms in the United States: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Thomson Reuters Private Equity Week reported on Friday. Shares of the two public companies in the firm's portfolio of eight Pandemic and Bio Defense companies -- BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Novavax -- jumped Friday on news that the swine flu killed a reported 60 people in Mexico and has infected people in the United States. The World Health Organization said the [unique] virus appears to be susceptible to Roche's flu drug Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, but not to older flu drugs such as amantadine.

Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:14 -0400

Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world. Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.

Briton quarantined as killer flu spreads

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:53:45 -0400

A British Airways cabin crew member was taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms yesterday afternoon after falling ill on a flight from Mexico City to Heathrow. The Health Protection Agency said it was keeping a close eye on the situation.

New Zealand quarantines 25 amid swine flu alert

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:16:24 -0400

Twenty-five students and teachers in New Zealand, some with flu-like symptoms, were quarantined and tested for swine flu after returning from a trip to Mexico, officials said Sunday, as Asia stepped up surveillance for the deadly virus.

Minister: 10 NZ students likely have swine flu

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:23:14 -0400

New Zealand said Sunday that 10 students "likely" have swine flu after a school trip to Mexico, as governments across Asia began quarantining those with symptoms of the deadly virus and some issued travel warnings for Mexico.

Mexico Takes Powers to Isolate Cases of Swine Flu

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:54:13 -0400

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said Saturday that it had sent a team of experts to Mexico to assist with the investigation cover-up of the outbreak. --This sprawling capital was on edge Saturday as... President [sic] Felipe Calderón published an order that would give his government emergency powers to address a deadly flu outbreak, including isolating those who have contracted the virus, inspecting the homes of affected people and ordering the cancellation of public events. The newspaper Reforma reported that President Obama, who recently visited Mexico, was escorted around Mexico City’s national anthropology museum on April 16 by Felipe Solis, an archaeologist who died the next day from flu-like symptoms.

Mexico declares national emergency amid outbreak

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:47:20 -0400

President [sic] Felipe Calderon declared a national emergency Saturday, authorizing federal officials to quarantine the sick, shut down public events and businesses, and take other measures to contain the virus’ spread. Many in this crowded capital of 20 million are holing up or fleeing town as Mexico braces for what the World Health Organization warns could explode into a deadly global flu epidemic.

Mexico May Isolate Patients With Deadly Swine Flu Strain

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:56:24 -0400

The decree published Saturday says Mr. Calderon has the authority to invoke the new powers whenever the situation warrants. President [Bush troll] Felipe Calderon published an order Saturday that would give his government extraordinary powers to address a deadly flu epidemic, including isolating those affected by the rare virus, inspecting their homes and ordering the closure of any public events that might result in more infection... Because of the situation, the World Health Organization planned to consider raising the world pandemic flu alert to 4 from 3. Such a high level of alert -- meaning that sustained human-to-human transmission of a new virus has been detected -- has not been reached in recent years, even with the H5N1 avian flu circulating in Asia and Egypt.

Pandemic fear as killer flu spreads

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:56:50 -0400

A deadly strain of flu that combines elements of swine, avian and human viruses could spread around the world after emerging simultaneously in Mexico and the United States, experts warned yesterday. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organisation, said the disease had "pandemic potential"... Up to 68 people have died from pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, where 1,004 suspected cases have been reported. Tests have so far confirmed that 20 of the deaths were caused by a hitherto unknown swine flu.

Flu 'Oddities'

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 00:34:20 -0400

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