cnn breaking news

[sartracker]

I had a Swine Flu Vaccination in 1976 or 77 after a small outbreak. It was a different strain but apparently they either had a vaccine ready or made one pretty quickly. The best place to monitor for news is the source, CDC, WHO but not the media. They're ok for a quick report but best to check everything you hear from the source. :)

[bhopal21]

Actually many people have died in Mexico and today a child in Texas dieI'm not sure if you were talking exclusively LA or not...just FYI

 

One minute ago from CNN

 

"

The WHO and national governments have confirmed 148 cases of swine flu in 11 countries. Most of those are in the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 91 cases.

 

The figures include seven deaths in Mexico and one in the United States. "

 

As opposed to 150,000 deaths in the first four months of this year from the regular flu.

 

Let's keep things in perspective please.

 

Mike:rolleyes:

[bhopal21]

I had a Swine Flu Vaccination in 1976 or 77 after a small outbreak. It was a different strain but apparently they either had a vaccine ready or made one pretty quickly. The best place to monitor for news is the source, CDC, WHO but not the media. They're ok for a quick report but best to check everything you hear from the source. :)

 

Could not agree more!

 

Thanks

 

Mike:)

[BalconyGal]

One minute ago from CNN

 

"

The WHO and national governments have confirmed 148 cases of swine flu in 11 countries. Most of those are in the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 91 cases.

 

The figures include seven deaths in Mexico and one in the United States. "

 

As opposed to 150,000 deaths in the first four months of this year from the regular flu.

 

Let's keep things in perspective please.

 

Mike:rolleyes:

 

Thanks Mike! perspective being kept!

[herownsociety]

The article I read about the WHO raising the alert to Level 5 also said that the outbreak in Mexico City is now better contained and the mayor is thinking of reopening schools, etc. They alerts are only based on numbers.

[rdsqrl]

I had to laugh at the title of the this thread: EVERYTHING is breaking news on CNN. "The Secretary of Defense gets a hangnail: BREAKING NEWS!!!"

[robsaw]

HUH???? Don't ALL flus come from animals? Mostly chickens....thats why the vaccines are made from chicken eggs.....I think anyway..LOL

 

If you consider humans to be animals, yup. The issue is when a non-human flu virus (from pigs, chickens, etc) mutates into a strain able to infect humans, where we have no natural immunity. The vaccines are cultured in eggs, but it isn't because the virus is related to an avian flu.

 

19 cases confirmed in Canada. Almost all the cases involve individuals with direct contact to Mexico or close contact with recent visitors to Mexico.

 

Some quotes from Canadian health authorities:

- "...advised people not to start wearing masks in public, with the exception of patients in hospitals and clinics who are displaying flu symptoms and health-care workers. Our research shows that wearing masks actually does very little to reduce the spread of infection in the general population, and that improper use may actually increase your risk of getting ill."

- "The WHO moving to Phase 5 is less important to Canadians than what local officials report about potential person-to-person transmission in the community."

- "The flu affects millions of Canadians each year, resulting in 20,000 admissions to hospital, on average, and 4,000 deaths. Normally, fewer than 0.1 per cent of people with influenza die, if they have no underlying medical conditions."

 

Some other developments:

- Air Canada, Westjet and Air Transat have suspended flights to Mexico (except AC to Mexico City).

- Canada is one of few countries in the world that has a contract with a private drug manufacture (GlaxoSmithKline) to produce enough flu vaccine for all Canadians. However, supply could initially be scarce, since it could take up to six months to produce a vaccine, so the plan calls for health-care workers and those at high risk to receive the vaccine first.

[Nancyquilts]

However, supply could initially be scarce, since it could take up to six months to produce a vaccine, so the plan calls for health-care workers and those at high risk to receive the vaccine first.

I certainly agree that the health care professionals should get the vaccine first - I seem to recall that at one time in the USA the first recipients were to be government employees - seems backward to me. :(

[ceilidh1]

This whole thing brings back memories of the SARS outbreak not so long ago....