WHO distributes drug stockpile as swine flu cases rise

The World Health Organization said Thursday it has begun distributing a stockpile of antiviral drugs to a number of countries, as Mexico's top health official said the number of new cases of swine flu in the country is stabilizing.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's acting assistant director-general for health security and environment, told reporters the drugs would be distributed to countries 'in most need,' especially developing countries that are least prepared to contend with a potential pandemic.

CBS: WHO distributes drug stockpile as swine flu cases rise

I Went to Mexico and all I got was...

Someone is trying to make a quick buck on H1N1 on eBay with this T-shirt

Oh well, order one if you want one

CNN WHO confirming backlog of suspected H1N1 cases

GENEVA, Switzerland: The World Health Organization said Saturday that although it is still preparing for a pandemic, the rise of confirmed cases of swine flu to 658 was largely because of confirmation of suspected cases in Mexico.

'I would still propose that a pandemic is imminent because we're seeing the disease spread to other countries. We have not seen yet that sustained transmission outside one WHO region,' said Dr. Michael J. Ryan, the WHO's director of its global alert and response team.

'Pandemics are serious,' he said, but it is important to note they describe 'the geographic spread of the disease, not its severity.'

The WHO reported 658 confirmed cases of swine flu, also known as 2009 H1N1, in 16 countries

CNN.com/Health: WHO confirming backlog of suspected H1N1 cases

Reuters: S.Korea confirms first case of H1N1 flu

SEOUL, (Reuters) South Korea has confirmed its first case of the H1N1 flu, the Yonhap news agency said on Saturday, quoting a Health Ministry official.

The sufferer was a 51-year-old woman who returned from a trip to Mexico in mid-April. She had stayed in Mexico City for about a week. The woman was quarantined at an hospital when she was suspected of having the virus, but her symptoms were now almost gone, Yonhap said."

Reuters: S.Korea confirms first case of H1N1 flu

President Obama talks to the nation about H1N1

President Obama uses his weekly adress to the nation to discuss the government's response to the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. He urged that there is no need to panic but also explained that the federal government and American people nonetheless should take the necessary precautions.

Swinefighter - The Swine Flu Game

A silly little online game to fight your daily H1N1 stress.

Swinefighter - The Swine Flu Game - Beat the Virus!

BBC: Swine flu: mapping the outbreak

Nice Timeline and Outbreak map at the website of the BBC

BBC NEWS | Swine flu: mapping the outbreak

BBC NEWS | Health | Hospitals given pandemic flu plan

Hospital staff have been given detailed advice on how they should care for other patients during a flu pandemic.
The Royal College of Physicians, which represents over 20,000 doctors, brought forward its publication from June.
It warns hospitals are only likely to be able to meet around 25% of all demand at the height of a flu pandemic.

The RCP said the guidance was aimed to help hospital staff coordinate care for patients with conditions including 'during a difficult period.'

BBC NEWS | Health | Hospitals given pandemic flu plan

Want To Avoid Swine Flu? There’s An App For That Too.

Naturally, someone just had to make an iPhone app.
And the winner is IntuApps, which has Swine Flu Tracker, waiting for approval from Apple before it’s released into the App Store.
In it, you can see the current Threat Level for the disease, a map showing confirmed and suspected cases, a symptoms area to inform people, and an alert page for breaking news on Swine Flu.

TechCrunch: Want To Avoid Swine Flu? There’s An App For That Too

BREAKING: Denmark and China confirm swine flu cases

Denmark officially confirmed on Friday the first H1N1 virus infection diagnosis. The existence of the swine flu virus was made public by Else Smith, manager of the Health and Prevention Center, quoted by Reuters. The presence of the swine flu virus was also confirmed by authorities in Hong Kong, the carrier being a person who travelled to Mexico.

WHO: Influenza A/H1N1 - update 7

Official bulletin of the World Health Organisation

1 May 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 06:00 GMT, 1 May 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 331 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

The United States Government has reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Mexico has reported 156 confirmed human cases of infection, including nine deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (34), Germany (3), Israel (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (3), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (8).

The rest of the bulletin

Smithfield is listening! | Grist

Smithfield claims that they are awaiting the results of “additional” tests on the pigs at their Veracruz, Mexico, CAFO—the facility at the heart of speculation as the source of the current swine flu outbreak—to determine if any pigs are infected. And just in case you were wondering, Smithfield is fully aware of who’s “driving” the CAFO/swine flu meme, if their CEO is to be believed.
In a letter to employees, CEO C. Larry Pope wrote that the results of those independent laboratory tests will be available and made public in a few days.

Gris: Smithfield is listening!

Masks will be THE fashion item this spring

Here are some more fashionable masks, from Japan.



Pink Tentacle
(thank you, Adam Harms)

Narco News: How The NAFTA Flu Exploded

Al Giordano wrote a disturbing article in the Narco News Bulletin, the website that reports on the Drug War and Democracy from Latin America. After reading you'll understand why the American Pork Industry is so eager to change the name of The Flu away from Swine Flu

How “The NAFTA Flu” Exploded
Smithfield Farms Fled US Environmental Laws to Open a Gigantic Pig Farm in Mexico, and All We Got Was this Lousy Swine Flu

US and Mexico authorities claim that neither knew about the “swine flu” outbreak until April 24. But after hundreds of residents of a town in Veracruz, Mexico, came down with its symptoms, the story had already hit the Mexican national press by April 5. The daily La Jornada reported:

Clouds of flies emanate from the rusty lagoons where the Carroll Ranches business tosses the fecal wastes of its pig farms, and the open-air contamination is already generating an epidemic of respiratory infections in the town of La Gloria, in the Perote Valley, according to Town Administrator Bertha Crisóstomo López.

The town has 3,000 inhabitants, hundreds of whom reported severe flu symptoms in March.

read the rest of this eye-popping article here.

H1N1 Flu: FAQ for travelers

The H1N1 flu outbreak (formerly known as the swine flu) has many travelers and potential vacationers asking how the virus impacts them or their plans.

Below is a list of answers to frequently asked questions supplied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

H1N1 Flu: FAQ for travelers

Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms

In October 2005 the Pentagon ordered vaccination of all US military personnel worldwide against what it called Avian Flu, H5N1. Scare stories filled world media. Then, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced he had budgeted more than $1 billion to stockpile the vaccine, Oseltamivir sold under the name, Tamiflu. President Bush called on Congress to appropriate another $2 billion for Tamiflu stocks.

Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms

Fashionable Respitatory Masks

Fashionable respitatory masks



Found at Josh Spear, Trendspotting

Here is some more flu-fashion

And I bet you've seen this commercial by now.

U.S. has 109 confirmed swine flu cases: CDC | Health | Reuters

Reuters: U.S. officials said on Thursday the national total of confirmed H1N1 swine flu cases had risen to 109, but that the country had still only recorded one fatality in the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on its website that New York was lead the case tally with 50, while Texas reported 26 and California 14. South Carolina had confirmed 10 new cases, it said.

U.S. has 109 confirmed swine flu cases: CDC | Health | Reuters

Google Flu Trends | Mexico

Google has created experimental estimates of flu activity in Mexico using aggregated search data. Unlike Google Flu Trends for U.S., this data has not been validated against confirmed cases of flu. After conferring with US and Mexican health officials, Google decided to share these initial results to provide additional information on the evolving epidemic.

Google Flu Trends | Mexico

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco officials confirm first H1N1 case

photo Koen de Koning

"San Francisco has its first confirmed case of swine flu, a child who recently traveled to Mexico, the city's public health director announced today.

Dr. Mitchell Katz offered few details about the case but said the child is not in school. Mayor Gavin Newsom said the child is recovering."

San Francisco officials confirm first H1N1 case