Post by Paddy by Grace on Apr 28, 2009 19:58:35 GMT -7
Swine Flu Extends Reach, Sickens Hundreds in New York
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aiUTjQxkoGZM&refer=asia
April 29 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said hundreds of students in his city are sick with suspected cases of swine flu, an indication the disease may be taking root in countries outside Mexico.
President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in new funding to brace for an outbreak, according to a White House spokesman. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency to help the most populous U.S. state prepare. New York, one of six states with 65 confirmed cases, has 45.
The virus toll has been highest in Mexico, where more than 150 may have died from the malady, though only 26 cases have been confirmed through tests. Many cases in the U.S. were confirmed with samples taken routinely from patients with respiratory infections before the outbreak was known, and more may be coming, said Tim Uyeki, a disease tracker at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s flu division.
“The way these confirmed cases are coming to light initially is that these people are seeking medical care,” Uyeki said in an interview on April 27. “If we look at most influenza seasons, most people don’t get treated.”
Seven countries have confirmed swine flu, including the U.K., Israel, Canada, New Zealand and Spain, laying the seeds for a possible global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, said it’s watching New York to see whether the virus has become rooted in a second country, a finding that would boost the level of the pandemic alert system.
Hospitalization, Deaths
The U.S. can expect hospitalizations and deaths, and businesses and schools should plan for a pandemic, Richard Besser, acting head of the Atlanta-based CDC, said yesterday.
The swine flu outbreak in Mexico City prompted the local government yesterday to order all 35,000 restaurants shut, punishing businesses in the capital that generates 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
New York, America’s largest city, has about 45 confirmed cases, most originating at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, Bloomberg told reporters yesterday. At P.S. 177, a public school for autistic children, 82 students have called in sick, he said. Six students are being tested at Ascension school in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the mayor said. Most family and staff suspected of having the flu haven’t been tested, Bloomberg said.
Other Neighborhoods
Two other people, a woman in Brooklyn and a boy in the Bronx, were hospitalized with suspected cases associated with travel to Mexico, Bloomberg said. Five patients with confirmed swine flu cases have been hospitalized in the U.S., Besser said.
WHO raised its global pandemic alert this week, saying the disease is no longer containable and health authorities need to prepare for outbreaks. It’s the first time the warning has been raised to a level 4 since the six-step system was adopted in 2005. It had been at level 3 since 2007, when it was elevated for an outbreak of avian flu.
A pandemic, rated 6 on WHO’s alert system, is an unexpected outbreak of a new contagious disease that spreads from person to person across borders. In such cases, almost no one has natural immunity.
Better Coordination
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama requested more money yesterday to help build stockpiles of anti- viral drugs, work on vaccines and coordinate the U.S. response with other governments.
The money is meant “to ensure we have the resources available” at federal, state and local levels to deal with any wider spread of the virus, Gibbs said.
The biggest concern is whether the virus is establishing itself outside Mexico, Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s assistant director- general for health security and environment, said on a conference call yesterday with reporters.
WHO is tracking the speed and ferocity of the New York- based transmissions with U.S. and state health officials to determine how the flu may spread in the future, Fukuda said.
“There is definitely the possibility that this virus can establish that kind of community-wide outbreak capacity in multiple countries,” Fukuda said. “It’s a very serious possibility, but it’s still too early to say that it’s inevitable.”
California Emergency
In California, Schwarzenegger yesterday declared the emergency to help the U.S. state with 37 million people prepare for an outbreak. Health officials said in a conference call yesterday they had confirmed an 11th case, though the added instance wasn’t reflected in the CDC data. The state also has seven more “probable” cases, said Bonnie Sorensen, chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Health.
Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to use whatever government personnel, equipment and facilities needed to help the health department. He also authorized the agency, along with the state’s Emergency Medical Services Authority, to enter contracts with private companies without competitive bids.
“While there is no need for alarm, it is the governor’s top priority to limit the swine flu’s spread as quickly and effectively as possible,” Schwarzenegger’s press secretary Aaron McLear said in a statement.
More than 152 people have died in Mexico with suspected swine flu, and the number of worldwide cases confirmed by laboratory tests reached 79, officials said. Japan suspended visa-free entry for Mexican nationals, while Asian countries, including Singapore and South Korea, are screening air passengers. The WHO isn’t recommending travel restrictions.
Bars Closed
The Mexican government requested that bars, movie theaters and churches close in Mexico City. It also extended its school closure to May 6 and may shut down more activities.
“We’re in a pre-pandemic phase and it’s going to be hard to know until we’re much further along what this is going to progress to,” Besser said yesterday in an interview. “Given the case in Mexico, where we’re seeing much more severe disease, I would expect we’re going to find hospitalized individuals and, unfortunately, I expect we will see deaths in this country.”
Scientists are trying to determine why swine flu, a respiratory disease caused by a type-A influenza virus, has been more severe in Mexico.
“In terms of defining a pandemic, there is no requirement that it cause severe disease,” said Arnold Monto, a scientist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “It doesn’t have to be killing millions. The virus may be bad in terms of the likelihood of getting infected, but not necessarily in terms of severity.”
Worst Case
The World Bank, in a worst-case scenario published in October, said a flu pandemic that’s similar in scope to the 1918 outbreak known as the Spanish flu could kill 71 million people worldwide and push the economy into a “major global recession” costing more than $3 trillion.
WHO’s raised level indicates health officials need to prepare for a pandemic, though it isn’t inevitable, Fukuda said.
Production of influenza vaccine for seasonal outbreaks, which U.S. health officials have said is ineffective against the new flu, should continue, Fukuda said. The WHO is working with companies to prepare for a swine-flu vaccine, and would help produce it if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, he said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed emergency authorizations April 27 that will permit the CDC to use an unapproved lab test for swine flu and more dosing options than currently recommended for influenza treatments Tamiflu, sold by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, and Relenza, from London-based GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Antiviral Stockpiles
There are enough stockpiles of Tamiflu to meet current demand, said Roche spokesman Terence Hurley. Roche has the capacity to manufacture, over one year, enough courses of treatment for 400 million people, Hurley said by telephone.
Glaxo has increased production of its antiviral Relenza and is in contact with the WHO and CDC, said a Glaxo spokeswoman, Sarah Alspach.
U.S. officials recommended that nonessential travel to Mexico be avoided and the European Union told travelers to avoid outbreak areas.
Governments in Asia heightened their alert for the spread of the virus. Japan advised its own citizens to defer trips to the Latin American nation.
South Korea raised its national disaster level to yellow from blue, the lowest on its scale, after it found one suspected case of swine flu, the health ministry said yesterday.
Airport Screening
Cambodia is installing thermal scanners at its two international airports to identify passengers who show symptoms of swine flu, joining Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea among nations screening air travelers.
Swine flu results in symptoms similar to those of seasonal influenza, such as fever, lethargy and cough, and may also cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Swine-flu viruses aren’t transmitted by food, and eating properly handled and cooked pork is safe, according to the CDC. There’s no evidence the disease is spread by exposure to “pork or pigs,” WHO’s Fukuda said.
Indonesia said April 27 it will destroy all imported pork and swine products and fumigate agricultural goods bought from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as a precaution.
China, the world’s top pork consumer, banned imports of swine products from Mexico and parts of the U.S. The Philippines also barred pork product imports from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
If the world is facing a pandemic, “this is a nice, gentle pandemic,” said John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine in London. “Virulence seems low.”
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aiUTjQxkoGZM&refer=asia
April 29 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said hundreds of students in his city are sick with suspected cases of swine flu, an indication the disease may be taking root in countries outside Mexico.
President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in new funding to brace for an outbreak, according to a White House spokesman. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency to help the most populous U.S. state prepare. New York, one of six states with 65 confirmed cases, has 45.
The virus toll has been highest in Mexico, where more than 150 may have died from the malady, though only 26 cases have been confirmed through tests. Many cases in the U.S. were confirmed with samples taken routinely from patients with respiratory infections before the outbreak was known, and more may be coming, said Tim Uyeki, a disease tracker at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s flu division.
“The way these confirmed cases are coming to light initially is that these people are seeking medical care,” Uyeki said in an interview on April 27. “If we look at most influenza seasons, most people don’t get treated.”
Seven countries have confirmed swine flu, including the U.K., Israel, Canada, New Zealand and Spain, laying the seeds for a possible global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. The WHO, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, said it’s watching New York to see whether the virus has become rooted in a second country, a finding that would boost the level of the pandemic alert system.
Hospitalization, Deaths
The U.S. can expect hospitalizations and deaths, and businesses and schools should plan for a pandemic, Richard Besser, acting head of the Atlanta-based CDC, said yesterday.
The swine flu outbreak in Mexico City prompted the local government yesterday to order all 35,000 restaurants shut, punishing businesses in the capital that generates 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
New York, America’s largest city, has about 45 confirmed cases, most originating at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, Bloomberg told reporters yesterday. At P.S. 177, a public school for autistic children, 82 students have called in sick, he said. Six students are being tested at Ascension school in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the mayor said. Most family and staff suspected of having the flu haven’t been tested, Bloomberg said.
Other Neighborhoods
Two other people, a woman in Brooklyn and a boy in the Bronx, were hospitalized with suspected cases associated with travel to Mexico, Bloomberg said. Five patients with confirmed swine flu cases have been hospitalized in the U.S., Besser said.
WHO raised its global pandemic alert this week, saying the disease is no longer containable and health authorities need to prepare for outbreaks. It’s the first time the warning has been raised to a level 4 since the six-step system was adopted in 2005. It had been at level 3 since 2007, when it was elevated for an outbreak of avian flu.
A pandemic, rated 6 on WHO’s alert system, is an unexpected outbreak of a new contagious disease that spreads from person to person across borders. In such cases, almost no one has natural immunity.
Better Coordination
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama requested more money yesterday to help build stockpiles of anti- viral drugs, work on vaccines and coordinate the U.S. response with other governments.
The money is meant “to ensure we have the resources available” at federal, state and local levels to deal with any wider spread of the virus, Gibbs said.
The biggest concern is whether the virus is establishing itself outside Mexico, Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s assistant director- general for health security and environment, said on a conference call yesterday with reporters.
WHO is tracking the speed and ferocity of the New York- based transmissions with U.S. and state health officials to determine how the flu may spread in the future, Fukuda said.
“There is definitely the possibility that this virus can establish that kind of community-wide outbreak capacity in multiple countries,” Fukuda said. “It’s a very serious possibility, but it’s still too early to say that it’s inevitable.”
California Emergency
In California, Schwarzenegger yesterday declared the emergency to help the U.S. state with 37 million people prepare for an outbreak. Health officials said in a conference call yesterday they had confirmed an 11th case, though the added instance wasn’t reflected in the CDC data. The state also has seven more “probable” cases, said Bonnie Sorensen, chief deputy director of the California Department of Public Health.
Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to use whatever government personnel, equipment and facilities needed to help the health department. He also authorized the agency, along with the state’s Emergency Medical Services Authority, to enter contracts with private companies without competitive bids.
“While there is no need for alarm, it is the governor’s top priority to limit the swine flu’s spread as quickly and effectively as possible,” Schwarzenegger’s press secretary Aaron McLear said in a statement.
More than 152 people have died in Mexico with suspected swine flu, and the number of worldwide cases confirmed by laboratory tests reached 79, officials said. Japan suspended visa-free entry for Mexican nationals, while Asian countries, including Singapore and South Korea, are screening air passengers. The WHO isn’t recommending travel restrictions.
Bars Closed
The Mexican government requested that bars, movie theaters and churches close in Mexico City. It also extended its school closure to May 6 and may shut down more activities.
“We’re in a pre-pandemic phase and it’s going to be hard to know until we’re much further along what this is going to progress to,” Besser said yesterday in an interview. “Given the case in Mexico, where we’re seeing much more severe disease, I would expect we’re going to find hospitalized individuals and, unfortunately, I expect we will see deaths in this country.”
Scientists are trying to determine why swine flu, a respiratory disease caused by a type-A influenza virus, has been more severe in Mexico.
“In terms of defining a pandemic, there is no requirement that it cause severe disease,” said Arnold Monto, a scientist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “It doesn’t have to be killing millions. The virus may be bad in terms of the likelihood of getting infected, but not necessarily in terms of severity.”
Worst Case
The World Bank, in a worst-case scenario published in October, said a flu pandemic that’s similar in scope to the 1918 outbreak known as the Spanish flu could kill 71 million people worldwide and push the economy into a “major global recession” costing more than $3 trillion.
WHO’s raised level indicates health officials need to prepare for a pandemic, though it isn’t inevitable, Fukuda said.
Production of influenza vaccine for seasonal outbreaks, which U.S. health officials have said is ineffective against the new flu, should continue, Fukuda said. The WHO is working with companies to prepare for a swine-flu vaccine, and would help produce it if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, he said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed emergency authorizations April 27 that will permit the CDC to use an unapproved lab test for swine flu and more dosing options than currently recommended for influenza treatments Tamiflu, sold by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG, and Relenza, from London-based GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Antiviral Stockpiles
There are enough stockpiles of Tamiflu to meet current demand, said Roche spokesman Terence Hurley. Roche has the capacity to manufacture, over one year, enough courses of treatment for 400 million people, Hurley said by telephone.
Glaxo has increased production of its antiviral Relenza and is in contact with the WHO and CDC, said a Glaxo spokeswoman, Sarah Alspach.
U.S. officials recommended that nonessential travel to Mexico be avoided and the European Union told travelers to avoid outbreak areas.
Governments in Asia heightened their alert for the spread of the virus. Japan advised its own citizens to defer trips to the Latin American nation.
South Korea raised its national disaster level to yellow from blue, the lowest on its scale, after it found one suspected case of swine flu, the health ministry said yesterday.
Airport Screening
Cambodia is installing thermal scanners at its two international airports to identify passengers who show symptoms of swine flu, joining Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea among nations screening air travelers.
Swine flu results in symptoms similar to those of seasonal influenza, such as fever, lethargy and cough, and may also cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Swine-flu viruses aren’t transmitted by food, and eating properly handled and cooked pork is safe, according to the CDC. There’s no evidence the disease is spread by exposure to “pork or pigs,” WHO’s Fukuda said.
Indonesia said April 27 it will destroy all imported pork and swine products and fumigate agricultural goods bought from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as a precaution.
China, the world’s top pork consumer, banned imports of swine products from Mexico and parts of the U.S. The Philippines also barred pork product imports from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
If the world is facing a pandemic, “this is a nice, gentle pandemic,” said John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine in London. “Virulence seems low.”