3 May UPDATES
(CNSNews.com)Earliest Confirmed U.S. Swine Flu Case Was in California Border County Where 18% Are Non-Citizens

CDC: 56,000 Dead from Flu…in 2006

(CNSNews.com) – So far this year only one person–a baby visiting from Mexico–has died of swine flu in the United States, but more than 56,000 people died from the flu in the United States in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Continues here.

2 May UPDATES Flu’s True Severity Still Unknown

Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, said the situation is analogous to forecasting a hurricane when meteorologists know only that there is a high-low pressure gradient in the Atlantic. “Everyone in one week wants an answer as to what it will do. Anyone who gives you an answer right now, do not listen to them about anything else because you cannot trust them,” Osterholm said.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl noted yesterday that the public may misunderstand the word “pandemic.” The term refers to where an illness spreads, not its severity.

A major unknown is the swine flu virus’s “case-fatality rate” — the small fraction of infected people who die. For the 1918 influenza, it was 2 to 2.5 percent for the United States as a whole, but in military camps and on troop ships, the rate was a brutal 7 to 10 percent, and in some Inuit villages, it soared to 70 percent.

The other two flu pandemics of the 20th century, however, were far milder. The Asian influenza of 1957-58 had a fatality rate of 0.2-0.5, and the rate during the Hong Kong influenza of 1968-69 was even lower, about 0.1 percent, close to what it is for seasonal flu.

Entire article available HERE

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1 May UPDATES Possible swine flu ‘cluster’ at Harvard building

Survey: Fewer than half the U.S. states have enough flu treatment drug stockpiled
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30 April UPDATES - New Zealand swine flu suspects hits 104

Swine flu: From nowhere to pandemic Phase 5 in less than a month

CDC guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation
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GET PANDEMIC READY Tips for being prepared for flu emergency….this link available with loads of other information from the Flu Wiki.
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FoxNews - California Declares State of Emergency
Health commissioner says “many hundreds” of schoolchildren sick with suspected swine flu.

BREAKING

FIRST SWINE FLU DEATHS REPORTED IN LA? This story has now been reported as untrue.
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Track the Swine Flu around the world CLICK HERE
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Officials Say Flu Cannot Be Contained As Global Cases Rise

How to Deal with Swine Flu: Heeding the Mistakes of 1976

Swine Flu Spreads to Middle East

VISIT - PANDEMIC FLU INFORMATION FORUM and Flu Wiki Forum

UPDATE 27 APRIL 7:24 PM EDT

N.C. official: Swine flu cases suspected
Raleigh, N.C. — The state’s health director said Monday afternoon that there are suspected cases of swine flu in North Carolina, but declined to say how many cases or where they were located.

UPDATE 26 APRIL 2:46 PM EDT

New Zealand Quarantines 25 People Amid Swine Flu Alert

Sunday, April 26, 2009
FoxNews.com

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Twenty-five students and teachers in New Zealand, some with flu-like symptoms, were quarantined and tested for swine flu after returning from a trip to Mexico, officials said Sunday, as Asia stepped up surveillance for the deadly virus.

At least 81 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the virus a public health emergency of “pandemic potential.”

The group from New Zealand’s largest high school returned to the northern city of Auckland on Saturday on a flight from Los Angeles. Thirteen students and one teacher were unwell and one student had to be hospitalized, said Auckland Regional Public Health Services director Dr. Julia Peters.

Story continues here.

US declares public health emergency for swine flu

WASHINGTON – The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.

Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild — and U.S. health authorities can’t yet explain why.

The complete story here.

Please click the links below, PFI and fluwiki for some of the most comprehensive, detailed information on the Internet about flu preparation and information.

PFI -Pandemic Flu Information and Flu Wiki Forum

An “atypical” influenza has been reported in Mexico. A higher than normal number of people have died of influenza within the past few weeks. Health care workers have been advised to wear personal protective equipment. Samples have been sent to Canada for further characterization. At this time, it is not known whether the flu virus causing these deaths in Mexico represents a new flu subtype. No public health authorities have indicated that a pandemic has begun at this time.”

The CDC is working with the World Health Organization to keep track of any additional cases to determine whether and when a warning of a pandemic would be warranted. In preparation for such a scenario, the CDC has created a seed stock of a vaccine against the swine flu, which could be pushed into production should the number of cases jump significantly. The CDC did not specify what the threshold for vaccine production would be.