The party of oink

The Onion gets it:

Obama's Declaration Of Swine Flu Emergency Prompts Pro-Swine-Flu Republican Response

Wash your hands!

This doc says it better:



h/t to Steve Bates in comments.

Will we be destroyed by a pandemic?

Safety concerns over the H1N1 flu shots. Poor little ferrets were tested with the shots first. (They survived.)

Mike Goldman in comments shared a YouTube that discusses the fears over the shots.

CDC's website on H1N1.

More on the H1N1 by Flu.gov.

I haven't yet made up my mind, but there are plenty of fears to deal with on both sides of the argument.

Cover your cough, please.

The Google tracking of the flu, scary map and graph. And the usual common sense instructions:

Fight influenza

CDC urges you to take these steps to protect yourself and others from the flu:

1. Get vaccinated against flu.
2. Wash hands often, cover your cough.
3. Take antiviral drugs if your doctor recommends them.

This flu season could be worse than prior years. A new flu virus called 2009 H1N1 is spreading worldwide. Take these 3 steps to protect against the new flu, too.

Clearly getting prepared for a pandemic is vital

But why must they poison us while doing so? (my bold):

OLYMPIA - State health officials are taking steps to ensure Washington residents at highest risk for H1N1 (swine flu) infection have broad access to the new vaccine when its available. Secretary of Health Mary Selecky is temporarily suspending Washingtons limit on the amount of mercury (thimerosal) allowed in H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine given to pregnant women and children under three.

Its vital to be sure everyone in a high risk group has the choice to be vaccinated when swine flu vaccine becomes available, said Secretary Selecky. Mercury-free H1N1 vaccine may not always be in stock, and we want to be sure there are no barriers to protecting people.

The six-month suspension is effective through March 23, 2010 and applies only to H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines now being developed. As a precaution, Washington state law limits the amount of mercury that can be in vaccines for pregnant women and children under three. The secretary of health can suspend the law when theres a shortage of vaccine or during a disease outbreak both criteria apply to the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine. Supplies of mercury-free vaccine will be limited, which may stop people in these groups who want the vaccine from getting it.

H1N1 vaccination is voluntary. Pregnant women and children under three are at the top of the list to get the vaccine because theyre at high risk for serious complications from swine flu.

h/t to Mike in comments.

The Center For Disease Control:

2009 H1N1 Vaccination Recommendations

With the new H1N1 virus continuing to cause illness, hospitalizations and deaths in the US during the normally flu-free summer months and some uncertainty about what the upcoming flu season might bring, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has taken an important step in preparations for a voluntary 2009 H1N1 vaccination effort to counter a possibly severe upcoming flu season.

The CDC tracks the H1N1 flu and offers tips on how to take care of an ill family member.

Remember why the CDC is acting like this:

The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish Flu) was an influenza pandemic that spread to nearly every part of the world. It was caused by an unusually virulent and deadly influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus.[1] Most of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. The flu pandemic has also been implicated in the sudden outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s.[2]

The pandemic lasted from March 1918 to June 1920,[3] spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide.[4][5][6][7][8] An estimated 500 million people, one third of the world's population (approximately 1.6 billion at the time), became infected.[5]

Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) which explains its unusually severe nature and the concentrated age profile of its victims. The strong immune systems of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults caused fewer deaths.[9]

Britian has a swine flu epidemic

Yesterday there were more than 7,400 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK. If the number of cases continues to grow at the current pace, the UK could have 100,000 new cases every day by the end of August.

So far, most swine flu patients have suffered only mild symptoms. However, they are still be urged to stay away from GP surgeries or hospitals if they suspect they have the flu.

[snip]

Under the Government's pandemic action plan, there are three levels of alert for a serious flu outbreak. Earlier this week the Health Secretary announced the UK would now enter the third, most serious, phase.

The first stage is Containment, which Britain entered when the first cases, a honeymoon couple, were confirmed in Scotland on April 27.

The priority is to stop the disease spreading as much as possible. Everyone with suspected swine flu has their diagnosis confirmed by a lab report, and is given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. All recent contacts of infected people are traced and also given Tamiflu. Schools are closed if teachers or pupils contract the disease.

The second stage is Outbreak Management, which the country entered on June 25.

Action against swine flu was stepped up in three 'hot spot' areas - London, Glasgow and the West Midlands - where it was no longer possible to contain its spread.

In the hot spots, suspected cases were no longer sent for lab testing, with GPs doing the diagnosis, and people with swine flu got Tamiflu, but contacts did not as a matter of course. Schools in the hotspots were no longer automatically closed.

The third stage, which the whole country has now entered, is called Treatment.

GPs will be given the discretion to hold back Tamiflu to those with minor symptoms - and in a few weeks it may be rationed to at-risk groups. Vaccines will begin to be delivered once the first batches arrive in August.

And the weirdest thing... this flu could have been caused by a leak from a lab. Really nice.

It's WTF Wednesday!

Oh boy...

A sharp increase in swine flu cases in Australia may mean the infection has become a pandemic, the World Health Organization says.

For that to happen, officials would have to verify that the disease had become established outside North America, where the crisis began.

[snip]

"We are getting close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation," he said.

But Dr Fukuda urged calm. "It does not mean that the severity of the situation has increased or that people are getting seriously sick at higher numbers or higher rates than before," he said.

[snip]

Following the major outbreaks in North America the flu alert is currently at phase five of a six-level scale.

The virus has infected more than 26,500 people in 73 countries, the WHO said on Tuesday.

I don't think the island of Palau (explanation here) has enough room:

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Years after President George W. Bush declared major combat operations were over in Iraq, the Multi-National Force (MNF-I) continues to hold thousands of prisoners. According to the U.S. Defense Department the 89th Military Police Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas is in charge of three prisons holding a total of 11,057 detainees in Coalition custody.

No, no, no! Anti-bacterial soap doesn't mean you GIVE people bacteria:

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use hand sanitizers made by a Utah chemical company.

Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory Inc. of Roy, Utah has voluntarily recalled some of its skin sanitizers and skin protectants marketed under different brand names because of high levels of disease-causing bacteria found in the product during a recent inspection by the FDA.

Um...

KIller Flashlight Requires Goggles And Protective Clothing.

It's our fault gas prices are going up. We weren't spending enough...

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts gas prices to average $2.21 this summer--$1.60 less than last year. Crude oil is projected to be $53 a barrel, down from the average $100 a barrel in 2008. However, since the beginning of May, gas prices have been creeping up with the largest increase last week when prices rose 16 cents from the week prior to $2.24.

Due to the economy, petroleum demand has been weak and that has kept prices low and has forced refineries to cut their inventory. But new signs are showing that we are nearing the end of the recession and consumer confidence is growing. Low gas prices generated a rebound in demand during February and March. A Reuters/University of Michigan survey found that consumer confidence rose in May above economists’ expectations. So, we are at a time where demand is increasing while oil supply is low.

One way to deal with teen pregnacy?....

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the remains of nearly three dozen people sacrificed some 600 years ago by the Incan civilisation.

[snip]

"Most of the remains belong to young women, around 15 years of age. One of them appears to have been pregnant because in her abdomen, the collarbone of a fetus, probably around 4 months, was found," Mr Webster said of the latest find, made over the past year and a half.

And what do his/her kids call him/her?

A US man who was born a woman before undergoing gender realignment surgery has given birth to a second child

We should be absolutely freaked out about this. Serial killers start this way: 20 cat deaths leave Fla. communities worried.

Wash your hands.

MEXICO CITY – Mexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.

The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said at least 57 have died in the outbreak, although it wasn't yet clear if this larger number of deaths was due to swine flu.

"We are very, very concerned," said Thomas Abraham, a spokesman for the agency. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human." If international spread is confirmed, that meets WHO's criteria for raising the pandemic alert level, he added.

Abraham said WHO on Friday raised their internal alert system, allowing them to divert more money and personnel to dealing with the outbreak. "It's all hands on deck at the moment." Abraham said.

Mexico's Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, said only 16 of the deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by the new strain, through testing at the government's laboratories. Samples from 44 other people who died were still being tested. The health department put the total number of people sickened at around 943 nationwide.

Cordova said samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine whether it's the same virus infecting seven people in Texas and California. As of now, tests show the flu is a "new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs."

"We certainly have 60 deaths that we can't be sure are from the same virus, but it is probable," Cordova told MVS radio in Mexico City.

Cordova described a chilling new strain that had killed only people among the normally less-vulnerable young and mid-adult age range. One possibility is that the most vulnerable segments of the population — infants and the aged — had been vaccinated against other strains, and that those vaccines may be providing some protection.

But Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said "at this point, we do not have any confirmations of swine influenza in Mexico" of the kind that sickened seven California and Texas residents.

All seven U.S. victims recovered from a strain of the flu that combines pig, bird and human viruses in a way that researchers have not seen before.