People were afraid to eat pork because of the widespread of Swine Flu viruses which was originated in Mexico and kept on spreading like wild fire across the Unites States to Europe and now, landing in Asia.
It seemed that the viruses showed no sign of slowing down and the infected cases has reached a new high. People in the world including the World Health Organization called it the ‘Swine Flu” Viruses, deeply agitating the farmers in the United States whose pork was banned by many countries such as China, Dubai and Russia and others even though Government officials repeatedly reassured that swine flu viruses could not be transmitted to human body just by eating pork, providing that the pork was well-cooked. However, more and more people joined the ‘no pork” line. To regain the confidence of the public of eating pork, the swine flu virus was changed to influenza A (H1N1) by the World Health Organization.
As of May 3 2009, the type A has caused 19 deaths and 506 were confirmed human cases of infections in Mexico. As for the United States, 226 were laboratory confirmed human cases of infections, including 1 death.
As for the rest of the world, no death was reported yet and infected cases were Austria (1), Canada(85), Hong Kong(1), Costa Rica(1), Denmark(1), France(2), Germany(8), Ireland(1), Israel(3), Italy(1), Netherlands(1), New Zealand(4), Republic of Korea(1), Spain(40), Switzerland(1) and the United Kingdom(15).
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Medicines for the Swine Influenza (H1N1)
Unfortunately, there are no vaccines which can contain the swine flu virus that killed many in Mexico and sickened at least 2,000 people in the rest of the world. As the swine flu viruses can change quickly and can go through a form of mutation rapidly, medical professionals are working in light speed to develop a vaccine that can stop the circulation of the virus strain.
As for the medicines which can provide treatment of the swine influenza (H1N1), sources from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the swine flu viruses in the United States are sensitive to inhibitors of influenza neuraminidase (oseltamivir and zanamivir). Oseltamivir is actually the brand entitled “Tamiflu” and Zanamivir is “Relenza”.
As for the medicines which can provide treatment of the swine influenza (H1N1), sources from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the swine flu viruses in the United States are sensitive to inhibitors of influenza neuraminidase (oseltamivir and zanamivir). Oseltamivir is actually the brand entitled “Tamiflu” and Zanamivir is “Relenza”.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Meaning of the Pandemic Alert Issued by the World Health Organization (WHO)
You have probably heard a lot about the term “phase” of the pandemic alert issued by the World Health Organization lately. But, do you know the actual meaning of it and the definition associated with each phase? Perhaps you may have asked questions such as
l The actual number of phases in the pandemic influenza warning
l The meaning of each phase in the pandemic influenza warning
As defined by the World Health Organization, there are 6 phases following by “Post Peak” and “Post Pandemic” respectively.
Generally speaking, phases 1 to 3 indicate that the pandemic is predominantly animal infections and there are few human infections.
Up one level is Phase 4 indicating that the situation has become worsen, sustaining that the virus can transmit from human to human causing community level outbreaks.
Phases 5 to 6 indicate that there will be widespread of the virus with multiple human infections. Phase 6 indicates that the situation is very serious and a world-wide pandemic is under way. On the other hand, a strong signal of a pandemic is imminent when the warning of phase 5 is issued.
Post-peak period means that although there appears to be a decrease of pandemic activities, there is a possibility of recurrent events and a second wave may be coming.
In Post-pandemic period, the influenza disease becomes seasonal and the virus will return at a specific season. Surveillance of the virus is of utmost important.
l The actual number of phases in the pandemic influenza warning
l The meaning of each phase in the pandemic influenza warning
As defined by the World Health Organization, there are 6 phases following by “Post Peak” and “Post Pandemic” respectively.
Generally speaking, phases 1 to 3 indicate that the pandemic is predominantly animal infections and there are few human infections.
Up one level is Phase 4 indicating that the situation has become worsen, sustaining that the virus can transmit from human to human causing community level outbreaks.
Phases 5 to 6 indicate that there will be widespread of the virus with multiple human infections. Phase 6 indicates that the situation is very serious and a world-wide pandemic is under way. On the other hand, a strong signal of a pandemic is imminent when the warning of phase 5 is issued.
Post-peak period means that although there appears to be a decrease of pandemic activities, there is a possibility of recurrent events and a second wave may be coming.
In Post-pandemic period, the influenza disease becomes seasonal and the virus will return at a specific season. Surveillance of the virus is of utmost important.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Escalation of the Swine Influenza Pandemic
The continuation of the spreading of the swine flu in the United States following by the first case of death of a 2-year old boy who had recently visited Mexico prompting President Barack Obama to call the outbreak of swine flu a “serious situation” which required the “utmost precautions”.
In view of the development, an urgent meeting was held again by the World Health Organization in Geneva to discuss the seriousness of the current situation. After evaluating the data and latest development around the world, Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General has raised the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to 5, indicating that every country in the world should remain high alert and detect any unusual cases of influenza-like illness and pneumonia immediately as the H1N1 virus could have the capacity to spread through each country quickly in addition to possessing the ability to mutate rapidly.
As of April 30, 2009, the effect of swine flu has been mild in the United States while comparing with the situation in Mexico, where swine flu had killed more than 150 people and sickening over 2,000. There were 91 cases of laboratory confirmed cases, 1 in Arizona, 14 in California, 1 in Indiana, 2 in Kansas, 2 in Massachusetts, 2 in Michigan, 1 in Nevada, 51 in New York, 1 in Ohio and 16 in Texas including 1 death. As the swine flu virus is relatively new and many people do not have immunity to the virus, medical professionals expect that the H1N1 virus will continue to spread with more cases of deaths in the coming weeks.
In view of the development, an urgent meeting was held again by the World Health Organization in Geneva to discuss the seriousness of the current situation. After evaluating the data and latest development around the world, Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General has raised the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to 5, indicating that every country in the world should remain high alert and detect any unusual cases of influenza-like illness and pneumonia immediately as the H1N1 virus could have the capacity to spread through each country quickly in addition to possessing the ability to mutate rapidly.
As of April 30, 2009, the effect of swine flu has been mild in the United States while comparing with the situation in Mexico, where swine flu had killed more than 150 people and sickening over 2,000. There were 91 cases of laboratory confirmed cases, 1 in Arizona, 14 in California, 1 in Indiana, 2 in Kansas, 2 in Massachusetts, 2 in Michigan, 1 in Nevada, 51 in New York, 1 in Ohio and 16 in Texas including 1 death. As the swine flu virus is relatively new and many people do not have immunity to the virus, medical professionals expect that the H1N1 virus will continue to spread with more cases of deaths in the coming weeks.
How can we stay away from the Swine Flu Virus?
Although swine influenza is highly contagious, there are certain procedures that you can take to keep yourselves away from the virus. At this time, it is best for everyone to go trough a little trouble to ensure the safety of others. For example, it is advised that you should
cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and wash your hands with soap thoroughly after to avoid the spreading of the germs.
· wash your hands frequently with soap or alcohol-based hands cleaners, especially after you share common equipment and touch public facilities.
· avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, especially after you touch any public facilities including elevator buttons and public rest rooms facilities. As the major way for spreading influenza is through aerosol and body fluid including even tears, you should wear a mask if you are sick and develop with upper respiratory symptoms. If you are sick with fever, you are advised to stay home and stay away from the crowd and also consul a doctor immediately.
cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and wash your hands with soap thoroughly after to avoid the spreading of the germs.
· wash your hands frequently with soap or alcohol-based hands cleaners, especially after you share common equipment and touch public facilities.
· avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, especially after you touch any public facilities including elevator buttons and public rest rooms facilities. As the major way for spreading influenza is through aerosol and body fluid including even tears, you should wear a mask if you are sick and develop with upper respiratory symptoms. If you are sick with fever, you are advised to stay home and stay away from the crowd and also consul a doctor immediately.
What is Swine Influenza?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a highly contagious respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza. The swine influenza virus (SIV) is very common in pigs and can cause outbreaks of influenza during the cool seasons usually in fall and winter. However, SIV is not common in humans. On the other hand, if people work in a place where they need to have a close contact with swine, they are at a high risk to get infected if the virus carries a strain which can infect human. Furthermore, the SIV can mutate into a different form which can transmit from human to human. The outbreak of swine flu in 2009 was an exact situation which was the mutation of the swine flu virus and the result could be multiple human infections. Also, evidence indicated that swine flu virus could be transmitted from the patients to health care workers who had close contact with them.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swine Flu is Spreading
The Swine Flu virus seems to have no sign of stopping and is spreading across the Atlantic to Europe and moving onwards. Asia is expected to get hit by swine flu soon. The latest statistics indicated that 64 laboratory cases have been confirmed swine flu in the United States with no deaths, 26 confirmed cases of infection including 7 deaths in Mexico, 6 in Canada, 3 in New Zealand, 2 in United Kingdom, 2 in Israel and 2 in Spain and all with no deaths..
New York, where was a hard hit area by swine flu had 45 laboratory confirmed cases alone according to the latest figure of Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The bad news was that the outbreak of (H1N1) in New York might have spread from one school to another in New York City, probably bringing the infected number up even more.
Although the disease is related to pig, officials from the World Health Organization advised that there is no risk of infection from the virus from consumption of well-cooked pork. People should stay calm and not to be over react to the current situation. Also, medical professionals advised that people should not take Tamiflu unnecessarily and use it only under the prescription of a doctor.
New York, where was a hard hit area by swine flu had 45 laboratory confirmed cases alone according to the latest figure of Centers for disease Control and Prevention in the United States. The bad news was that the outbreak of (H1N1) in New York might have spread from one school to another in New York City, probably bringing the infected number up even more.
Although the disease is related to pig, officials from the World Health Organization advised that there is no risk of infection from the virus from consumption of well-cooked pork. People should stay calm and not to be over react to the current situation. Also, medical professionals advised that people should not take Tamiflu unnecessarily and use it only under the prescription of a doctor.
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