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標題: Swine Flu [打印本頁]

作者: Sakura 時間: 2009-4-26 10:57 標題: Swine Flu

本帖最後由 Sakura 於 2009-4-26 10:58 編輯

Global alarm as killer swine flu spreads

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — World health officials Sunday stepped up the battle against a new swine flu, blamed for dozens of deaths in Mexico, as the US declared a public emergency amid signs the disease was spreading.

The United States will screen visitors arriving in the US from infected areas, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, as 20 cases were confirmed in five states.

Suspected cases were also being investigated in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and four new infections were confirmed in Canada.

Authorities in Mexico, where the new multi-strain swine flu was first detected, confirmed 20 people have died and warned the death toll could be as high as 81. Five people were said to have died in the capital in the past 24 hours.

"As we look for cases of swine flu, we are seeing more cases of swine flu. We expect to see more cases of swine flu," Richard Besser, the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control, told a White House press conference.

Besser said there were eight confirmed cases in New York City, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.

US President Barack Obama is monitoring the swine flu outbreak closely and has ordered a "very active, aggressive, and coordinated response," said White House homeland security advisor John Brennan.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials warned Sunday the new strain, apparently born when human and avian flu viruses infected pigs and became mixed, could further mutate.

"Yes, it's quite possible for this virus to evolve," Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general for health, security and the environment, told journalists in Geneva.

"When viruses evolve, clearly they can become more dangerous to people."

The WHO has already recommended that all nations "intensify surveillance for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia."

Thousands of people have begun wearing blue face masks to ward off infection in Mexico where 1,324 people are being treated for flu symptoms.

Two city zoos on Sunday joined schools, museums, theaters and music festivals which have closed down, and authorities sought to shut down bars and nightclubs.

Church officials took the unusual step of canceling Sunday services in this mainly Catholic country, after President Felipe Calderon gave his government extraordinary powers to tackle the outbreak.

"He's fine. He is just fine," she said without elaborating.

Asian health officials also went on alert as the flu strain appeared to have spread to New Zealand.

Governments across the region, which has in recent years been at the forefront of the SARS and bird flu epidemics, stepped up checks at airports and urged the public to be on guard for symptoms of the new flu.

Ten New Zealand students who recently traveled to Mexico are "likely" to have contracted swine fever, Health Minister Tony Ryall said Sunday -- the first suspected cases in the region of more than three billion people.

The European Commission said it was on alert Sunday for swine flu, although there have not been any confirmed cases in Europe.

France on Sunday reported four suspected cases of swine flu among travellers returning from Mexico while six suspected cases were also reported in Spain.

In the first suspected swine flu case in the Middle East, a 26-year-old Israeli man has been hospitalized in Netanya on returning from Mexico, hospital officials told AFP.

Russia Sunday banned meat imports from Mexico, several US states and nine Latin American nations, a spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. Although US officials said it is impossible to catch the flu from eating meat.

According to the WHO, pigs have already been factors in the appearance of two previously unknown diseases that gave rise to pandemics in the last century.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ihl5AkWDdPApbgTRRSV5JzqASVcA

My frds and I were gonna go to the states today...~
But after the news, none of us are going~
Should be careful guys~

作者: tiffiant 時間: 2009-4-26 11:46

really scary one

作者: kaimui22 時間: 2009-4-26 14:39

1# Sakura

Not just the states too..
2 cases in BC and 4 in Nova Scotia..

scary!

作者: simplistic 時間: 2009-4-26 15:50

It'll likely be a global outbreak.
At least it's treatable, the twenty infected in the US recovered and didn't die.

作者: tiffiant 時間: 2009-4-26 15:55

what if this happen in china
i bet more people got affected

hope americans and mexicans control this outbreak

作者: peter236 時間: 2009-4-26 16:27

what if this happen in china
i bet more people got affected

hope americans and mexicans control this outbreak
tiffiant 發表於 2009-4-26 16:55

If it's in China, they will just bash the Chinese for spreading it.

作者: tiffiant 時間: 2009-4-26 17:25

If it's in China, they will just bash the Chinese for spreading it.
peter236 發表於 2009-4-26 16:27

oh yah, don't know when gonna recovery
maybe few years?

ai....we human have so many viruses..........ai.....

作者: its_visa 時間: 2009-4-26 18:28

so...shud we start wearing masks now?hmmm

作者: tiffiant 時間: 2009-4-26 18:45

welll, depends on you guys
if the place is crowd, you should consider it

作者: Sakura 時間: 2009-4-26 23:58

Well they've closed public buildings alreadi and the schools~
So hopefully it won't spread that much..

作者: myversa 時間: 2009-4-27 07:43

豬流感殺到卑詩確認2宗全加國6宗
2009年4月27日

http://www.mingpaovan.com/htm/News/20090427/vaa1h.htm

【明報專訊】全球關注的豬流感確定已進入卑詩，卑詩疾病控制中心(CDC)昨日證實，低陸平原出現2宗感染個案，患者僅有輕微的徵狀，不需入院。不過卑詩疾病控制中心認為這只是「剛剛開始」，該中心已經進入高度戒備狀態，準備處理可能爆發更多的感染個案。

官方周日證實﹐豬流感已入侵加拿大﹐全國確認6宗豬流感病例﹐斯高沙省有4宗﹑卑詩省兩宗﹐6宗病例都與墨西哥旅遊有關。衛生當局警告說﹐儘管目前的豬流感病例全屬輕微病症﹐但人們不可掉以輕心﹐日後可能爆發更嚴重的病症﹐甚至死亡病例。衛生部長呼籲民眾採取預防措施﹐避免人傳人病例。

聯邦官員說﹐他們開始跟藥商討開發新疫苗的可能。

安省首席衛生官威廉斯醫生(Dr. David Williams)報告﹐目前省內沒有確認豬流感病例。醫療機構已接獲衛生通告﹐要特別留意嚴重呼吸系統疾病、患者有沒有到過墨西哥。

目前加拿大確認的6宗病例﹐病人都與墨西哥旅行有關。6個病人的情況不太嚴重﹐他們不用住院治療。

聯邦衛生部長阿盧卡克(Leona Aglukkaq)周日說﹐她與各省衛生廳長保持聯繫﹐並命令公眾衛生局(Public Health Agency of Canada)﹐向邊境、檢疫和其他官員發出警告。

衛生部要求機場海關人員提高戒備﹐小心查看有沒有人出現流感症狀﹐機場人員已特別要求兩名乘客﹐接受身體檢查。

阿盧卡克呼籲公眾採取「重要而簡單的預防措施」﹐包括經常洗手﹐咳嗽和打噴嚏時掩住口鼻。如果身體不適﹐應留在家中﹐避免接觸他人。

聯邦外交部長康農(Lawrence Cannon)說﹐內閣已設立行動委員會﹐密切監控豬流感形勢。外交部在網站上發放資料﹐報告墨西哥衛生情況﹐但沒要求國民停止到墨西哥出行。

斯高沙4個學生證實感染豬流感﹐病症輕微。斯高沙省溫莎(Windsor)的金－埃奇希爾學校(King's -Edgehill School)校長西格拉姆說﹕「在過去幾日生病的學生﹐全部康復得很好﹐或已經完全康復。」衛生局人員周日說﹐一些學生感到疲乏、肌肉痛和咳嗽﹐但與一般人患流感症狀沒有不同。

斯高沙省首席衛生官斯特朗醫生(Dr. Robert Strang)說﹐4人是「非常輕微」的豬流感病例。

加拿大的豬流感病例不及墨西哥嚴重﹐但衛生部說﹐這不等於病毒對加拿大沒有威脅。墨西哥共有1,614 宗疑似和確認病例﹐其中103人死亡。

官員也說﹐他們擔心現有治療方法不足以抵禦病毒侵襲﹐已開始與製藥公司討論生產新疫苗。

加拿大首席醫務官巴特勒－瓊斯(David Butler-Jones)說﹐國內確認的首批患者﹐可能病症輕微﹐但千萬不能自滿﹐「那不等於我們不會出現嚴重甚至死亡病例」。

聯邦政府設立電話熱線和網址﹐為民眾提供豬流感消息。熱線電話﹕1-800-454-8302 ﹔網址﹕www.fightflu.ca ﹑www.voyage.ca ﹑www.phac.gc.ca。

另外，菲律賓北部一省的地方政府官員，指當地豬隻疑似爆發豬流感，近日大批豬隻死亡，但中央政府否認有疫情。巴西傳媒報道，聖保羅一名男子從墨西哥返國後出現流感徵狀，現時正在醫院接受隔離。

作者: Nam 時間: 2009-4-27 09:37

ai... I'm going on cruise in two weeks... and the cruise will stop by cozumel, Mexico....
which make me worry a lot...

I will just stayed on the boat that day...

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 09:55

If it's in China, they will just bash the Chinese for spreading it.
peter236 發表於 2009-4-26 16:27

You're quite correct. Because if it were to happen in China, Grandfather will try to put a lid on it for as long as possible. You would never hear about it the moment it breaks out like they did down in Mexico. And then when the news is finally to big to cover up or even contain, the mainland news agency would grossly under-report the number of cases and more importantly, the number of deaths.

Don't even bother trying to argue with me about this because this was exactly what happened with the avian flu (and to a lesser extent, during SARS as well).

-Lik

作者: peter236 時間: 2009-4-27 10:59

You're quite correct. Because if it were to happen in China, Grandfather will try to put a lid on it for as long as possible. You would never hear about it the moment it breaks out like they did down ...
Lik 發表於 2009-4-27 10:55

If they delayed the reporting, then they should be bashed. But for SARS, it was a totally new disease that no one even knew about as the WHO thought it was just a seasonal flu. So it was not totally fair to bash them for this.

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 11:42

本帖最後由 Lik 於 2009-4-27 11:45 編輯

If they delayed the reporting, then they should be bashed. But for SARS, it was a totally new disease that no one even knew about as the WHO thought it was just a seasonal flu. So it was not totally fair to bash them for this.peter236 發表於 2009-4-27 10:59

Don't try to defend the Chinese government's handling of SARS. It was only a mere 6 years ago, and I know (just as everyone else) how the government tried to cover it up until it grew to epic proportions, when the Chinese government finally gave into international pressure and became more forthcoming in revealing details of the disease.

Of course, there were heroes such as 鍾南山, who had the guts to challenge the Central authorities and spoke out about the truth and the disease.

This is why we need transparency and freedom of the press, both of which are sorely lacking in China, but is present in Mexico, which is a relatively poor country.

-Lik

作者: peter236 時間: 2009-4-27 12:05

Don't try to defend the Chinese government's handling of SARS. It was only a mere 6 years ago, and I know (just as everyone else) how the government tried to cover it up until it grew to epic proport ...
Lik 發表於 2009-4-27 12:42

You can't read properly as usual. We are not trying to defend the Chinese government at all. They should be bashed for how they handled SARS. But it was a new disease that no on knew about back them. After SARS, the whole world has become a lot more alert to new diseases and therefore the prompt reaction.

作者: chunsh 時間: 2009-4-27 12:41

u guys are just very awesome (its kinda weird to use awesome but I dont know what other words I can use haha)
how come the swine flu in mexico and canada can lead to SARS in China

作者: zuesel 時間: 2009-4-27 12:52

I am going to HK in 2 wks. should i be worried too? Any other known food or disceases around asia right now?

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 14:00

I am going to HK in 2 wks. should i be worried too? Any other known food or disceases around asia right now?
zuesel 發表於 2009-4-27 12:52

IIRC, China/HK and many other countries in SE Asia has quite a few cases for Hep A and B. I'd recommend getting a vaccine against those, but if you are going in 2 weeks, there might not be enough time. (Not sure if you need to get a 2nd booster shot after the initial one.)

Check with your doctor la.

-Lik

作者: daimo 時間: 2009-4-27 14:24

18# zuesel

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/index-eng.php

作者: ACC-HE 時間: 2009-4-27 14:26

本帖最後由 ACC-HE 於 2009-4-27 15:27 編輯

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作者: ACC-HE 時間: 2009-4-27 14:50

Why so worried, when...

Can we treat swine flu in humans?

Yes. Most of the infections have been treated successfully, though there have been deaths in Mexico. In most cases, patients with this swine flu have recovered on their own. In those who have had to be hospitalized, this virus has been treated with antiviral medications.

The virus appears to be resistant to amantadine and rimantadine but has been susceptible to zanamivir and oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Articl ... 20090424?hub=Health

Isn't it less dangerous than SARS?

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 15:13

Isn't it less dangerous than SARS?
ACC-HE 發表於 2009-4-27 14:50

I don't remember what the death rates for SARS and H5N1 avian flu were (40 - 50% seems to ring in my head, but I don't know for sure), and while the current death rates for this swine flu seems to hover around 10% or so, the most worrying trait about it is its capability to transmit from person to person. The last bout of avian flu only had a very small number of cases involving human-to-human transmission, so it was at least easier to contain.

When you have human-to-human transmission, the low-ish death rate can still result in a lot of deaths. And of course, a LOT of people are gonna get sick as well. I hate to be political when it comes to health-related issues, but a flu pandemic, even if it only makes people sick, is gonna make the current recession even slower to recover.

-Lik

作者: cinderelly 時間: 2009-4-27 15:51

it's scary now that it's hard to tell whether you've caught the regular flu or the swine flu.. given that a lot of ppl are actually sick from the spring flu...
we're thinking if we should wear masks cuz we work in the retail sector =\

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 16:33

Oddly enough, the swine flu has only been fatal in Mexico. In all other instances, including the 40+ cases in the States, the symptoms of those who have been infected have all been pretty mild. In fact, most don't even require hospitalization and the swine flu virus wouldn't have been discovered if (US) authorities weren't actively looking for them.

Nobody knows why that's the case, but I'd say we don't need to be overly concerned at this point.

-Lik

作者: Lik 時間: 2009-4-27 17:35

Oh, great... the WHO warning just went from phase 3 to phase 4, so they are practically treating this as a pandemic now...

-Lik

作者: Sakura 時間: 2009-4-27 19:10

We should be concern and careful in any case even tho it looks fine rite now....
If it's fatal in Mexico, it could be fatal anywhere.
U can never predict a virus, esp. a new one~
So just be cautious~

作者: Sakura 時間: 2009-4-27 19:22

I just thot this is kind of funi how ppl can make everything an issue...

http://www.google.com/hostednews ... CPkXkHrXwwD97QROAG0

Israeli official: Swine flu name offensive
13 hours ago

JERUSALEM (AP) — The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identifed first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it "Mexican" and worry such a label would be stigmatizing.

Two Israelis who recently visited Mexico have been hospitalized with symptoms of the flu. Health authorities have not yet confirmed whether they actually have the virus.

The current strain of swine flu is thought to have originated in Mexico where more than 100 people have been killed by the disease so far.

Laboratories in the U.S. and Canada have confirmed that of the samples tested so far, the swine flu virus in Mexico and U.S. appear to be the same.

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