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Post by jeffolie on Apr 24, 2009 16:54:27 GMT -6
CDC says too late to contain U.S. flu outbreak WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday it was too late to contain the swine flu outbreak in the United States. CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing it was likely too late to try to contain the outbreak, by vaccinating, treating or isolating people. "There are things that we see that suggest that containment is not very likely," he said. He said the U.S. cases and Mexican cases are likely the same virus. "So far the genetic elements that we have looked at are the same." But Besser said it was unclear why the virus was causing so many deaths in deaths in Mexico and such mild disease in the United States. www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/24443479.htm
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 24, 2009 16:56:21 GMT -6
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A strain of flu never seen before has killed as many as 61 people in Mexico and has spread into the United States, where eight people have been infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday. Mexico's government said at least 16 people have died of the disease in central Mexico and that it may also have been responsible for 45 other deaths. The World Health Organization said tests showed the virus in 12 of the Mexican patients had the same genetic structure as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in eight people in California and Texas. Because there is clearly human-to-human spread of the new virus, raising fears of a major outbreak, Mexico's government canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas. "Our concern has grown as of yesterday," U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing. It first looked mostly like a swine virus but closer analysis showed it is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the CDC. "We do not have enough information to fully assess the health threat posed by this new swine flu virus," Besser said. Humans can occasionally catch swine flu from pigs but rarely have they been known to pass it on to other people. The WHO said it was ready to use rapid containment measures if needed, including antivirals, and that both the United States and Mexico are well equipped to handle the outbreak. Both the WHO and the CDC said there was no need to alter travel arrangements in Mexico or the United States. CLOSE TO 1,000 SUSPECTED CASES IN MEXICOwww.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53N22820090424?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Apr 24, 2009 20:51:57 GMT -6
The WHO said it was ready to use rapid containment measures if needed, including antivirals[, and that both the United States and Mexico are well equipped to handle the outbreak. Really? I hope the WHO will share this information with us American doctors, because most of us aren't aware of any overly effective antiviral for swine flu in humans, since it's rarely seen here. Maybe the "experts" at the WHO could let US doctors in on their secret--on which new(?) antiviral it is that will treat swine flu. What a bunch of globalist Corporatist horse manure! They should immediately stop ALL travel between the US and Mexico until they know more. No one has any idea how many people in Mexico are infected--only how many have died so far.
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Post by graybeard on Apr 25, 2009 0:01:10 GMT -6
It's curious that it contains all three strains: human, avian and swine; almost like it was created in a lab.
GB
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Apr 25, 2009 2:32:19 GMT -6
It's curious that it contains all three strains: human, avian and swine; almost like it was created in a lab. GB Good point. I hadn't thought of that.
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2009 12:41:00 GMT -6
The BIOWAR is here and now.
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2009 13:53:40 GMT -6
Below are estimates of economic costs of such a disaster: * The World Bank estimated in 2008 that a flu pandemic could cost $3 trillion and result in a nearly 5 percent drop in world gross domestic product. The World Bank has estimated that more than 70 million people could die worldwide in a severe pandemic. * Australian independent think-tank Lowy Institute for International Policy estimated in 2006 that in the worst-case scenario, a flu pandemic could wipe $4.4 trillion off global economic output. * Two reports in the United States in 2005 estimated that a flu pandemic could cause a serious recession of the U.S. economy, with immediate costs of between $500 billion and $675 billion. One report, from the Congressional Budget Office, said hospitals would have difficulty controlling infection and might become sources for spreading the illness. A second report by New Jersey-based WBB Securities LLC predicted a one-year economic loss of $488 billion and a permanent economic loss of $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy. * SARS in 2003 disrupted travel, trade and the workplace and cost the Asia Pacific region $40 billion. It lasted for six months, killing 775 of the 8,000 people it infected in 25 countries. www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53O0WO20090425
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 26, 2009 10:16:50 GMT -6
I hear there is a retrenchment in sales of pork (swine).
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 26, 2009 11:08:00 GMT -6
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Apr 26, 2009 12:08:39 GMT -6
I want to remind everyone that Influenza ("flu") is caused by a virus, not bacteria.
This has major medical treatment implications.
Bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics, viruses are not.
To be effective, antibiotics need only disrupt 1 of the life processes of a bacterium to be effective. (Typical of these process are cell-wall synthesis, protein synthesis, energy synthesis, and replication.)
Antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins (e.g., Keflex, Ceclor, etc.) inhibit cell wall synthesis in bacteria (though only in bacteria that haven't developed resistance to that specific antibiotic).
Tetracycline, doxycycline, macrolides (e.g., erythromycin, Zithromax, etc.) work by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis. They are highly selective for the protein synthesis apparatus in bacteria. (the ribosome).
"Floxins" (e.g. Cipro) inhibit DNA/RNA synthesis selectively in bacteria, thus blocking replication of the bacteria.
Viruses share none of these "life-processes". By themselves, viruses don't produce cell walls, synthesize protein, replicate, or produce energy. A lump of viruses laying on a kitchen counter by itself--outside of a host--has no life-processes. In fact, it's not "alive" at all. And if it isn't alive to begin with, it can't be killed. It would be like trying to kill a rock. A rock can't be killed because it's not alive in the 1st place.
Viruses are nothing but specialized strands of genetic material (DNA or RNA). They only "come-to-life" when they invade human cells (or other host cells) and take over the life processes of the host cell. They're kind of like living-cell pirates. And these pirates integrate themselves into the cell, such that they can only be "killed" when the host cell dies.
The point here is that viruses are much more difficult to treat. They can't be killed per se, because they aren't alive to begin with.
The only treatments available are drugs that inhibit viral replication specifically within the host cell. This is very difficult to do, as the viral DNA/RNA has inserted itself into the host cells DNA/RNA, and is using mostly the host cell's replication apparatus.
There are drugs that inhibit specific viral replication--such as those for AIDS. But viruses mutate frequently, and eventually develop resistance to a specific antiviral.
There are no "general" antiviral drugs that work on most viruses, unlike some penicillin-type antibiotics (like Augmentin) or floxins (Cipro) which are effective on a majority of bacteria.
In fact, it is unusual for an antiviral to be effective on more than just 1 virus. And it's unheard of for an antiviral to remain effective on the same virus for years at a time.
Thus, a viral flu pandemic will be difficult to treat--due to the basic nature of viruses, and their inherent resistance to treatment.
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 26, 2009 12:17:16 GMT -6
At least this flu does not appear to be weaponized against anti flu vaccines.
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Post by judes on Apr 26, 2009 18:57:40 GMT -6
Wow, thanks ULC for that enlightening information. I knew antibiotics didn't work on viruses but I never really understood the differences in viruses and bacterial infections, and you just educated me. Thanks for that. But I must confess I have always wondered if rocks really were alive, and it was just that we didn't really know how to identify with that type of life form. : )
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Post by graybeard on Apr 27, 2009 10:13:09 GMT -6
This is from www.NaturalNews.com : "... I am not a medical specialist in the area of infectious disease, but I have studied microbiology, genetics and a considerable amount of material on pandemics. What seems suspicious to me is the hybrid origin of the viral fragments found in H1N1 influenza. According to reports in the mainstream media (which has no reason to lie about this particular detail), this strain of influenza contains viral code fragments from: • Human influenza • Bird Flu from North America • Swine flu from Europe • Swine flu from Asia This is rather astonishing to realize, because for this to have been a natural combination of viral fragments, it means an infected bird from North America would have had to infect pigs in Europe, then be re-infected by those some pigs with an unlikely cross-species mutation that allowed the bird to carry it again, then that bird would have had to fly to Asia and infected pigs there, and those Asian pigs then mutated the virus once again (while preserving the European swine and bird flu elements) to become human transmittable, and then a human would have had to catch that virus from the Asian pigs -- in Mexico! -- and spread it to others. (This isn't the only explanation of how it could have happened, but it is one scenario that gives you an idea of the complexity of such a thing happening)..." --------- Just reporting; not recommending.. GB
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 27, 2009 12:11:08 GMT -6
Follow the money.
Who benefits?
Big Phrama
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Post by judes on Apr 27, 2009 17:26:24 GMT -6
Follow the money. Who benefits? Big Phrama My thoughts exactly!
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