WHILE Americans were in church or sleeping in on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a declaration of a national public health emergency because of reports of swine flu cases in five states, including Kansas. The cases in the United States seem to be connected to the outbreak that has killed more than 100 people in Mexico.
The emergency declaration does not mean that battalions of health workers in full hazmat gear with be sweeping through affected communities and shipping people off to quarantine camps. As Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a news conference Sunday, it is really more of a declaration of national emergency preparedness — a necessary step to allow the federal government to make prudent preparations for a possible wide outbreak of the disease.
Those steps include release by the federal government of 12.5 million doses of anti-viral drugs, which can be used to reduce the severity of the disease in people already infected.
The United States is not the only nation worried about the swine flu outbreak. Cases have also been reported in Canada. Suspected cases are reported in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Spain. The World Health Organization plans to make a decision Tuesday on whether to increase the international pandemic alert level.
As of Sunday afternoon, only 20 cases of the disease had been confirmed in the United States, most of them classified as mild. The two cases in Kansas were a couple in Dickinson County. The husband had recently been on a business trip to Mexico.
The Centers for Disease Control says people who have flu-like symptoms — fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing — should see their doctors. The CDC says some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
There is no vaccine for this disease. The best way to prevent its spread is to exercise good sense — stay home if you feel sick, call your doctor, cover coughs and sneezes with tissues and throw the tissues away and wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol cleanser.
Oh, and you can’t catch swine flu by eating pork — at least if it is fully cooked.
For the latest information about swine flu, go to the CDC’s Web site, www.cdc.gov.
And don’t panic.
drvrbowz (anonymous) says...
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April 28, 2009 at 12:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Something I've not heard mentioned is washing your nose out with saline solution. They've proven that washing out your nose a couple times a day helps prevent infection. If you keep your hands clean, you can still breath in virus particles if someone has coughed or sneezed in your area. It's scary how long they can float in the air. Over 20 minutes, if I remember right. I use Simply Saline since it's pressurized and will not contaminate the whole bottle with back wash.If nothing else, it will help your nasal allergies.
April 28, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
So simply put. Do the stuff they used to teach in 4th grade health class or that parents are supposed to teach us to do shortly after potty training. It really sounds like another SARS panic. Apparently, the cure for SARS was chicken noodle soup, 7up and rest. 27 cases in the US and 0 deaths. Swine flu is apparently something that is very treatable disease...in America.
The CDC does an excellent job for us. They are the tip of the spear when it comes to detecting infectious agents, containing the spread and treating the affected population. When bio terrorism was identified as a threat after 9/11, the CDC set up strategic stockpiles of vaccines, created treatment pathways for various biological and chemical agents and established detection and containment methodologies.
The questions is how many more third world and Chinese airborne viruses can we handle? Hopefully the answer is "all of them".
April 28, 2009 at 1:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cowboy (anonymous) says...
That is what happen's when you let illegals in the usa.
April 28, 2009 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
Cowboy has a valid point that can't simply be dismissed by the sweeping generalizations of some of our less cordial posters on this thread. The influx of illegal aliens from third world countries has been spotlighted as the primary reason tuberculosis, whooping cough and other communicable diseases have resurfaced in the US after once being managed into relative extinction here. The fact is that most third world countries simply don't have the public health mechanisms modern countries do. If we know someone is here or is born here we take steps to encourage proper immunizations for them.
Crack tries to make Cowboy out to be ignorant because he suggests people coming into the country illegally contributes negatively to the US health status visa vie communicable diseases. Why do you think Americans get immunizations and take preventive rounds of antibiotics with them when they leave the country for vacation or business?
Tell me Crack. Would you care to go to any of the litany of third world countries out there and have a drink of water from the tap? If you say yes you are again as ignorant as your writing indicates or you just like diarrhea a whole lot.
April 28, 2009 at 9:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
You can't simply dismiss his point as the rant of an ignorant "redneck" though. The current outbreak of swine flu is still being assessed and unfortunately the first death was reported today. So you may be right or wrong in the case of swine flu. You can't argue with the spectrum of communicable diseases making a come back in the US primarily due to illegal immigrants. LEGAL immigrants must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residency green cards. Illegal aliens just cross the border medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies a variety of communicable diseases.
According to a Association of American Physicians and Surgeons study:
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. Leprosy now is endemic to northeastern states because illegal aliens and other immigrants brought leprosy from India, Brazil, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Dengue fever is exceptionally rare in America, though common in Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Mexico. Recently, according to the report, there was a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Webb County, Texas, which borders Mexico. Though dengue is usually not a fatal disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever routinely kills.
Polio was eradicated from America, but now reappears in illegal immigrants as do intestinal parasites.
Malaria was obliterated, but now is re-emerging in Texas.
Epidemiology is a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population. It is also the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen. If you are trying to turn this clearly medical issue into an argument for open borders then I am afraid you don't have a leg to stand on.
April 29, 2009 at 10:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Points well taken with very good support I might add. However, it would be important to add that this is not the time to begin blaming illegal aliens for the swine flu. Yes, it seems to have developed in Mexico, an established fact so far. But it entered the United States via Americans who had been visiting Mexico and brought the virus back with them. The only exception I can see so far is the small child in Texas who died this morning. He or she was visiting from Mexico and sought care here.
What I found most interesting is the report on CNN this morning from what has been determined to be ground zero in a small village in Mexico where they have found the very first victim, a 5-year-old boy who has since survived his illness. Here's the interesting point -- the village is right next to a huge Smithfield hog operation. Of course Smithfield is denying any involvement and says they always immunize their pigs. I'd like to see more of that investigated but they won't let reporters in. I wonder why. I believe the WHO needs to investigate that plant. That is an American connection.
April 29, 2009 at 4:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
I agree totally Create. The jury is out on swine flu because it hasn't been studied enough in it's current form. I would be skeptical too if Smithfield has a connection and won't open themselves up to an investigation. If you are doing what you are supposed to be doing then a little transparency shouldn't cause the doors to slam shut.
However, perhaps the lack of standards and regulation is precisely why they located their hog operation in Mexico in the first place? Just another view.
April 29, 2009 at 4:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
allintogether...
all in all you have a well thought out arguement...my problem with cowboys assertation is that it assumes disease always enters this country on a one way street....weather on the back of legal or illegal aliens.
But all available data known to me at present indicates the swine flu here came primarily on the two-way street of American citizens bringing it back in on their return. This doesn't mean that it doesn't enter on aliens legal or otherwise...but to assume that is the only way leaves a dangerous door open.
April 29, 2009 at 7:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Just a suggestion ! How about making it mandatory for anyone entering this country from a foreign country, whether they have only visited a foreign country or whether they are immigrating from a foreign country and make it mandatory that they be quarantined until given a clean bill of health !
I would think that a new strain of any infectious disease that could possibly enter the U.S. or any country and threaten that countries citizens would be just as much of a concern as ( smoking or SHS ), how about it crackinsack, is a possible epidemic or pandemic of a highly infectious disease such as swine flu, etc. and has been shown to be lethal a health concern or is it a necessary and beneficial thing and absolutely nothing to worry about ?
FYI,
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 1 hour, 58 minutes ago
Global health authorities warned Wednesday that swine flu was threatening to bloom into a pandemic, and the virus spread farther in Europe even as the outbreak appeared to stabilize at its epicenter. A toddler who succumbed in Texas became the first death outside Mexico.
New cases and deaths finally seemed to be leveling off in Mexico, where 160 people have been killed, after an aggressive public health campaign. But the World Health Organization said the global threat is nevertheless serious enough to ramp up efforts to produce a vaccine against the virus. The group raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level Wednesday, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent. It was the first time the WHO had declared a phase 5 outbreak.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan declared the phase 5 alert after consulting with flu experts from around the world. The decision could lead the global body to recommend additional measures to combat the outbreak, including for vaccine manufacturers to switch production from seasonal flu vaccines to a pandemic vaccine.
"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."
A phase 5 alert means there is sustained transmission among people in at least two countries. Once the virus shows effective transmission in two different regions of the world, a full pandemic outbreak — phase 6 — would be declared, meaning a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease.
April 29, 2009 at 10:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
allintogether (anonymous) says...
Biscuitboy,
Since you made the sensible argument that Crack could not, I will answer it. I am under the impression that cowboy was agreeing with my general question of how many third world and Chinese diseases our country could handle. I made a relatively safe assumption because he did not mention swine flu specifically. Irrespective of the mechanism of entry has always been my base of thought. I have no problem quarantining American citizens (myself included) on their way back from third world or at risk countries if the CDC demands it, but I am pretty sure the ACLU will find a way to socialize their (my) condition and let it spread to a horrific end. That seems to be the way we are headed. I care deeply about the greater good because disease is indiscriminate provided it has a healthy environment to thrive in.
April 30, 2009 at 12:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
To quarantine everyone entering the country from foreign lands would be a tremendous project requiring acres of space. Oh yeah, the ACLU would be flying around that like the monkeys in the Wizard of Oz.
Checking for fevers like they do in many Asian airports seems to be the best way since fever indicates inflammation of some sort. Those with fever would be quarantined. I can see that working.
Someone said on one of these threads that we worry too much since flu kills x amount of people every year anyway. Whoa! The problem with that argument is that we've never seen this particular strain of flu before. Ever. Ordinarily, many of us are naturally immune from years and years of built up exposures to the flu. However, this brand new strain is affecting young healthy people whose systems are ordinarily strong enough to withstand the throes of a bout of the flu. Traditionally, the only people who died from the flu were young children and older people. Not so with this one.
We are wise to be concerned and take precautions. I think I'll try out that nasal saline wash that madpoet mentioned. Sounds like it might help with allergies.
We are now learning that these germs can survive for over 30 hours on surfaces like ATM machines and money and keyboards and ...the list goes on. Yuck! Hand gel!!!
April 30, 2009 at 9:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksgram (anonymous) says...
Swine flu is caused by SHS, while drinking alcohol, sitting at tables, on the sidewalk, in front of bars & restaurant.
May 1, 2009 at 10:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )