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Flashback: Political Lies and Media Disinformation regarding the Swine Flu Pandemic | Lessons of 1976: swine flu, fear, mass vaccinations, wasted millions | WHO distributes drug stockpile as swine flu cases rise | Swine Flu: In Mexico, an outbreak of police-state opportunism | Health officials confirm 6 cases of swine flu in Canada, ‘makings’ of pandemic | Illinois-based Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu outbreak in Mexico | ‘We have to assume’ swine flu is in Ontario, health official warns | Mexico cancels public events because of deadly flu outbreak | Canadians returning from Mexico urged to be on alert for flu-like symptoms | Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility | ‘Accidental’ Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible | Officials investigate how bird flu contaminated vaccines in Europe | Researchers unlock secrets of 1918 flu pandemic

CBC News
May 2, 2009

Medical experts and world leaders seems to be at odds as to the severity of the new H1N1 virus, with some experts saying it’s no worse than your average seasonal flu.

In Mexico, where swine flu is confirmed to have killed at least 16 people, the health secretary voiced optimism that the infection rate was levelling off. Of 219 relatives in contact with 86 suspected swine flu patients, just four have turned up as probable cases.

“Apparently, the rate of attack is not as wide as was thought,” said Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico’s health secretary.

Peter Palese, a flu expert at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical School, said he saw no reason to believe the virus was particularly lethal and said it was behaving more like a garden-variety flu that strikes every winter.

“There is no real reason to believe this is a more serious strain,” said Palese, adding that many adults probably have immune systems primed to handle the virus because it is so similar to another common flu strain.

Even in Canada, where there are 55 confirmed cases, the country’s chief public health officer found reason to be optimistic.

Dr. David Butler-Jones pointed to the extremely mild nature of the Canadian cases and the fact all the patients were recovering. However, he cautioned that the virus could yet mutate into a more severe form.

Officials at the World Health Organization are taking no chances in their response though.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, of the WHO, said it’s far too early to determine whether Mexico’s situation is stabilizing.

Fukuda said the possibilities of what the virus will do runs from fizzling out to causing a global outbreak of severe disease and death.

In the U.S., where hundreds of schools have been closed in several states, President Barack Obama said the government’s effort to fight the H1N1 flu strain was justified because the virus is so new and poorly understood.

In his weekly radio and internet address, Obama said the human-to-human transmission creates the potential for a pandemic and that’s why the U.S. was acting “quickly and aggressively.”

The president noted that the strain can be defeated by a course of antiviral treatment that’s already on hand.

Worldwide, there are now more than 600 confirmed cases in 15 countries.

Ottawa, for its part, is launching a website to spread its message about flu prevention.

FightFlu.ca has information about symptoms, travel warnings, and what you can do to trim the chances you’ll become infected. The government is also using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to get the message out.

Source | See also under Health: Political Lies and Media Disinformation regarding the Swine Flu Pandemic | Lessons of 1976: swine flu, fear, mass vaccinations, wasted millions | WHO distributes drug stockpile as swine flu cases rise | Swine Flu: In Mexico, an outbreak of police-state opportunism | Health officials confirm 6 cases of swine flu in Canada, ‘makings’ of pandemic | Illinois-based Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu outbreak in Mexico | ‘We have to assume’ swine flu is in Ontario, health official warns | Mexico cancels public events because of deadly flu outbreak | Will recession spark global food crisis? | Supreme Court rejects breast-implant case | Canadians returning from Mexico urged to be on alert for flu-like symptoms | Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility | Cut ties between Health Canada, drug companies, grieving MP urges | High-fructose sweeteners linked to obesity, diabetes | Psychologists Helped Guide CIA Interrogations | Microchip in a pill to monitor your meds | Mother who smacked son, 8, with hairbrush is forced to give him up to social services | Vioxx, Gardasil maker Merck and Co drew up doctor hit list | Students given suspension notices for not getting booster shots | Ottawa to test taps for cancer contaminants | Stun gun shock to head may cause seizures, doctors warn | Erasing traumatic memory possible, researchers say | Australians refused insurance because of poor genes | ‘Accidental’ Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible | Tests find Bisphenol A in majority of soft drinks | Against protocol, bus decapitation accused released from Ontario institution in 2005 | Details being withheld of listeria discussion held prior to outbreak | Scientists make HIV strain that can infect monkeys | Designer baby row over US clinic | Chair to have final say as residential schools commission jobs rewritten | Cornwall pedophile ring ‘fiction,’ church’s lawyer says | Officials investigate how bird flu contaminated vaccines in Europe | Vaccine Court: Autism Debate Continues | Alberta drug rehab centre abused us, former teen patients allege | Vaccines ‘not to blame for autism’, U.S. court rules | Hepatitis C sufferers haven’t received promised federal money | Electronic immunization records needed: Toronto health official | Ban stun gun use on young people, Ontario child advocate urges | Milk trial defence: Raw milk is safe and food choice a right | Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury | UK Hospitals will take meat off menus in bid to cut carbon | Raw milk crusader returns to court to fight charges | Health Canada silent on cellphone risks for kids | As in Canada, gender-bending chemicals in UK rivers grow more potent | U.S. again denies approval to expand use of Gardasil vaccine | Champix side effects prompt 818 complaints | Missed vaccinations lead to suspension threat | Did Pharma Giant with Gardasil HPV Patents Buy Nobel Prize? | Chemicals feminizing males, study suggests | Major report to reveal male gender under threat from pollutants | FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children | End water fluoridation, U of T dental professor says | CBC broadcasts “The Disappearing Male”, an expose of hormone-disrupting plastics | Experts set to revisit global cloning ban | Health Canada adds bisphenol A to list of toxic substances | Plastics ingredient linked to feminization in children | Tests find melamine in candies, milk, infant formula from China | Scientists Note Hormones in Water, Feminization of Fish Downstream of Montreal | New study raises concerns Bisphenol-A could be related to heart disease | Govt. Report: Fluoride in Water Supply Harms Thyroid Function | Frequent school lockdowns raise questions | Air freshener chemicals could impact fertility: study | Are we already dining on clones? | Bisphenol tied to lower brain function | Revealed: The serious health concerns about the cervical cancer jab | Radiation touted to protect meat | Chemical Industry Source of Hyped FDA Study ‘Exonerating’ Plastic Bottles | Vaccines Found to Cause Diabetes in Children | Pesticides, pollutants threaten Canadian tap water, researchers suggest | Cut children’s fluoride exposure, report to Health Canada urges | Kids and cellphone warning | Sludge biosolids decried as ‘toxic stew’, used as fertilizer | Cellphone use potentially risky for kids, teens: health agency | Home-grown veg ruined by toxic fertiliser | Ottawa knew breast implants harmful, case alleges | Naturopaths Fear Proposed Bill C-51 | The tiny, useful particle that could also be a health problem | Farmer Surveilled, Raided for Natural Milk Operation has Trial Delayed | Canada’s C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% Of Natural Health Products | Homeless people die after bird flu vaccine trial in Poland | Vaccine-linked polio hits Nigeria | Government knew of HIV risk from imported blood | Codex Alimentarius — An Emerging Threat

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