Chinese Scientists Create A Highly Lethal And Infectious Influenza Virus

'Appalling Irresponsibility': Senior Scientists Attack Chinese Researchers For Creating New Strains Of Influenza Virus In Veterinary Laboratory -- The Independent

Experts warn of danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Senior scientists have criticised the “appalling irresponsibility” of researchers in China who have deliberately created new strains of influenza virus in a veterinary laboratory.

They warned there is a danger that the new viral strains created by mixing bird-flu virus with human influenza could escape from the laboratory to cause a global pandemic killing millions of people.

Lord May of Oxford, a former government chief scientist and past president of the Royal Society, denounced the study published today in the journal Science as doing nothing to further the understanding and prevention of flu pandemics.

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More News On Chinese Scientists Creating A Highly Lethal And Infectious Influenza Virus

Scientists Create Hybrid, Air-Transmissible Bird Flu Strains -- Popular Science
Chinese Scientists Create New Mutant Bird-Flu Virus -- Wired
Scientists create hybrid flu that can go airborne -- Nature
Chinese Scientists Create Mutant Bird Flu -- Epoch Times

My Comment: When I read stories like this one .... I sometimes wonder if man has a "death wish".

The Next Pandemic?

We're Not Prepared For China's Deadly Bird Flu -- Scott Gottlieb, Forbes

In Asia, more than 120 people have been sickened, and 23 are dead, from a potent strain of bird flu that has the frightening markings of a potential pandemic strain.

We have grappled with deadly pockets of potent flu outbreaks before. But this one has characteristics that make it different.

There’s a greater risk that this strain could acquire the ability to spread more easily from person to person. If it does, it could have devastating consequences.

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My Comment: Forget about Bird Flu .... this could be the next world health crisis.

How The Next Great Pandemic Will Be Spread

When Contagion Strikes, It's Honolulu You Should Avoid -- The Guardian

MIT researchers have analysed which airport hubs would be key to spreading a virulent disease, with some surprising results

When the next outbreak of Sars or Swine flu hits, New York's John F Kennedy airport and Los Angeles's airports will likely be the key spreaders of disease, according to a new study. But while the influence of these super-hubs may not come as much of a surprise, the third most outbreak-friendly airport in the states is far smaller, and far less obvious – Honolulu International.

In a paper published Monday in the journal PLoS One, a team of researchers from MIT outlined a new computer model that predicts how the 40 largest American airports may contribute to the diffusion of contagious disease within the first few days of a potential epidemic.

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My Comment: Scary stuff when you think of the worst case scenario.

H1N1 Death Toll May Be 15 Times Higher Than Previously Reported

An Algerian doctor prepares a vaccine dose against the H1N1 flu in 2009 in a hospital in Algiers. CNN

Swine Flu Outbreak 15 Times Deadlier Than Thought, Study Finds -- MSNBC/MyHealthNewsDaily

The number of people who died of swine flu during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic may be about 15 times higher than originally calculated, according to a new study.

Researchers now estimate that 284,500 people worldwide died of infection from the H1N1 virus, commonly called the swine flu, between April 2009 and August 2010. At the time, 18,500 deaths had been laboratory-confirmed as being due to swine flu, according to the study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was expected that the original number would be revised upward, the researchers said.

In estimating the true number of deaths, the researchers gave a range of 151,700 to 575,400.

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More News On Reports That The Swine Flu Outbreak Was 15 Times Deadlier Than Thought

2009 swine flu outbreak was 15 times deadlier: study -- Reuters
Swine Flu Deaths May Have Been 15 Times Higher Than Reported -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Global H1N1 death toll may be 15 times higher than previously reported -- CNN
Swine flu likely claimed quarter of a million lives: study -- AFP
Swine flu pandemic killed 15 times more than thought -- New Scientist
H1N1 Swine Flu May Have Killed 15 Times More Than First Said -- ABC News
Swine flu death toll could be as high as 600,000, say experts -- Scotsman

Why Bird Flu Research Is Dangerous

Image: The H5N1 virus could mutate to a deadlier form and spread to humans

Bird Flu 'Could Mutate To Cause Deadly Human Pandemic' -- BBC

The H5N1 bird flu virus could change into a form able to spread rapidly between humans, scientists have warned.

Researchers have identified five genetic changes that could allow the virus to start a deadly pandemic.

Writing in the journal Science, they say it would be theoretically possible for these changes to occur in nature.

A US agency has tried unsuccessfully to ban publication of parts of the research fearing it could be used by terrorists to create a bioweapon.

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My Comment: This info should make any potential bio-terrorist happy .... they now have the blue print to cause a pandemic.

The Pentagon Takes On Swine Flu

Going Viral: The Pentagon Takes On A New Enemy: Swine Flu. -- The New Yorker

ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF SCIENCE about the Pentagon’s reaction to the swine flu virus. On Tuesday night, April 28, 2009, Darrell Galloway, a senior official at the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency, watched a news report from Mexico City about a new strain of influenza known as swine flu that was spreading fast. That night, Galloway, a microbiologist, resolved to do something about it. He was authorized by the military to work on a specific set of threatening diseases that were considered potential weapons in war or in terrorism, including anthrax, smallpox, plague, and the Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers. Influenza was outside his focus, but the next morning, Galloway summoned his staff and announced that they were to begin work immediately on creating a new antiviral drug to combat swine flu.

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My Comment: Unfortunately, only a portion of this article is available to read (the balance is behind a subscriber wall). But what is available to read is fascinating, and it gives a good insight into how the Obama administration is concerned about pandemics and/or the use of biological agents by terrorists.

On the personal note, this is an important story for me because last month (a day after Christmas) I developed cold chills and a shivering that I could not stop. The following day I was experiencing a full blown attack of the flu. It is only now .... a month later .... that I am starting to recover and feel better. During this time I was diagnosed with a version of the swine flu, and it has wrecked me. I lost 30 lbs (from 210 to 180) in 3 weeks, and I still feel terribly weak at times. I now understand why in the past .... when we had flu pandemics .... tens of millions died .... including the very healthy.

I must also confess that even though I was very ill .... I still have no idea on how I was able to keep this blog updated during this time. I can only guess that because I love doing this blog, it gave me the energy to keep it up even though there was many a time that I just wanted to shut down everything and sleep for a week.

What have I also learned from this experience. Hmmmm .... I have never been as sick as I have been in the past month .... and trust me .... what I will forever now carry is the realization that influenza and all the other agents that can cause disease and illness should never be underestimated. The Obama administration's focus on how to make the system respond better to future pandemics is something that I wholeheartedly support .... because I now know from personal experience it can be very costly if ignored.

Update: I take a flu shot every year, but because I was in California last month I decided to delay my shot until I got back home in Montreal. Alas .... after getting back .... that is when I got the flu. My advice .... take your flu shot .... it will help you more than what you can think.

National Swine Flu Emergency Declared In The U.S.

Obama Declares Swine Flu A National Emergency -- Yahoo News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has declared 2009 H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, the White House said on Saturday.

The declaration will make it easier for U.S. medical facilities to handle a surge in flu patients by allowing the waiver of some requirements of Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health insurance programs as needed, the White House said in a statement.

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More News On The Declaration of A National Swine Flu Emergency

Obama declares swine flu a national emergency -- Yahoo News/AP
Obama Declares H1N1 Flu 'National Emergency' -- FOX News
Barack Obama: Swine flu a national emergency -- Politico
President Obama declares H1N1 flu a national emergency -- Washington Post
Obama declares swine flu emergency -- AFP
US swine flu 'national emergency' -- BBC
Obama declares national emergency for H1N1 virus -- CNN
Obama Declares Swine Flu A National Emergency -- NPR

No timetable yet for H1N1 vaccines on bases in Europe -- Stars And Stripes
H1N1 vaccine to arrive in November -- Army.mil

Will Swine Flu Cause Global Anarchy?

Photo: AFP

Swine Flu 'Could Kill Millions Unless Rich Nations Give £900m' -- The Guardian

UN report says pandemic may result in anarchy unless western world pays for antiviral drugs and vaccines.

The swine flu pandemic could kill millions and cause anarchy in the world's poorest nations unless £900m can be raised from rich countries to pay for vaccines and antiviral medicines, says a UN report leaked to the Observer.

The disclosure will provoke concerns that health officials will not be able to stem the growth of the worldwide H1N1 pandemic in developing countries. If the virus takes hold in the poorest nations, millions could die and the economies of fragile countries could be destroyed.

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My comment: I am not a medical specialist ....but I am somewhat skeptical that this will happen. the reason why I say this is that the health specialists that I do know are concerned .... but far from this level of panic.

The Real Worst-Case Scenario for Swine Flu 2.0

iStockPhoto

From Esquire:

Could a new wave of the H1N1 virus become as radioactive for Obama as Katrina was for Bush? Or could the threat of tens of thousands of children dying help him pass his health-care package? An in-depth assessment of the risks to moms and politicians across the country.

The more and more I talk to people around Washington these days — fellow security guys, policy consultants, health-care experts, parents — the more I realize that the next wave of the H1N1 virus ("swine flu," if you must) is going to be a bigger deal than even the mask-wearing paranoiacs at the county fair will let on. And the more I pour over the new H1N1 report released to the White House from President Obama's seriously legitimate science-and-technology advisory council, its worst-case scenario seems even more frightening than the one from Stanley McChrystal that landed on his desk yesterday.

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My Comment: Flu pandemics, disease .... this has been with us since the beginning of time. Not far from where I live is a mass grave of victims from 1850-1852 who succumbed to typhoid, yellow fever, and (God knows what else) when these epidemics ran through the city of Montreal during those times.

Is H1N1 the next big killer? .... all of my medical friends say no .... but who knows. But if it becomes the big one, more people are going to die from that than all of the wars that the U.S. has fought throughout its history .... combined.

Military Planning For Possible H1N1 Outbreak

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials.

The proposal is awaiting final approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The officials would not be identified because the proposal from U.S. Northern Command's Gen. Victor Renuart has not been approved by the secretary.

The plan calls for military task forces to work in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There is no final decision on how the military effort would be manned, but one source said it would likely include personnel from all branches of the military.

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My Comment: This where it gets tricky .... the use of the U.S. military on U.S. soil has certain legal and constitutional limitations. How the administrations plans to get around this is something that I we should be interested to know.

WHO Set To Declare Pandemic

From The Australian:

THE World Health Organisation is poised to declare a global swine flu pandemic, despite suggestions by scientists that the H1N1 virus may be no more dangerous than the average seasonal flu and confidence in Mexico that the outbreak is easing.

The virus has spread to an 18th country, Colombia, which reported its first confirmed case, while the number of confirmed cases in Spain doubled to 40.

But Mexico was increasingly optimistic yesterday that the H1N1 flu epidemic was coming under control, after officials said stabilising fatality figures suggested the virus was not as lethal as first feared.

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My Comment: It appears that its "potency" as a deadly agent has been exaggerated. But these things have a thing of coming back .... so concern and due diligence is appropriate.

Deadlier Strain Would Overwhelm Health Systems

Photo: Doctors at work Wednesday in the Navy Hospital in Mexico City -- the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak. Image from CNN

From Wall Street Journal:

Governments around the globe have moved swiftly and aggressively against the fast-spreading A/H1N1 flu virus. But should it evolve into an especially deadly strain, the consequences will likely overwhelm even the most advanced health systems in the U.S. and other Western countries.

By one important measure -- stockpiles of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu -- the U.K. is among the countries best prepared to cope with the emerging pandemic. It has enough of the medicine on hand to treat 33 million people, or 54% of its population. France is also a leader, with drugs also to treat 54% of its people, as well as one billion surgical masks in its stockpile. Austria, with antivirals for 40%, and Japan, at 28%, are close behind.

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My Comment: If one wants economic, political, and national security chaos .... a flu pandemic will certainly fulfill these goals. Serious pandemics in the past have always brought about the seeds that inevitable led to war and conflict. Can the same thing happen in the 21rst century .... I hope that I will never find out.

Military Prepared For Swine Flu Pandemic; Waiting For Possible Tasking

A doctor wearing full body protective gear stand in the Naval hospital as patients, wearing face masks stand in line to be treated, are reflected in a window in Mexico City, Tuesday, April 28, 2009. World health officials raised a global alert to an unprecedented level as the swine flu was blamed for more deaths in Mexico and the epidemic crossed new borders, with the first cases confirmed Tuesday in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

From Examiner.com:

U.S. Northern Command, which has primary responsibility for the homeland security mission, developed a communications plan (COMPLAN) for responding to a pandemic in December 2007. Elements of the directive were rehearsed four months later, according to Mike Kucharek, a command spokesman.

Kucharek stressed that NORTHCOM has not been formally tasked to support the federal response to the flu outbreak. But he said that there is “significant” on-going coordination between staff officers at the command, and their counterparts at other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.

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My Comment: I am sure that the military has contingency plans for a biological attack. Since a pandemic would have many of the same attributes as a biological attack, these same protocols and procedures on how to respond to a biological crisis can also be used .... or so I hope.

Swine Flu Outbreak: No Evidence Of Bio-Terrorism

A thermal camera monitors the body temperature of passengers arriving from overseas against the possible infection of the swine flu at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 26, 2009. Asian health authorities were on alert Sunday, with some checking passengers and pork products from Mexico, as the World Health Organization declared the deadly swine flu outbreak a public health emergency of "pandemic potential." (AP Photo/Yonhap, Kim Hyun-tai)

Administration Declares Flu 'Emergency' -- The Politico

In an unusual Sunday briefing at the White House, administration officials said a “public health emergency” is being declared in the United States in order to mobilize maximum resources to combat fears of a global swine-flu pandemic.

The term "sounds more severe than it really is," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who called the measure "standard operating procedure," adding, “I wish we could call it a declaration of emergency preparedness.” The same measures, she said, were taken for the inauguration and in cases of flood and hurricane.

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My Comment: The key sentence is at the bottom of the story ....

John Brennan, White House homeland-security adviser, said there is “no evidence whatsoever” of bioterrorism.

But personally .... I think it is too early to make such a statement with that amount of certainty.

BREAKING!!!!! Public Health Emergency Declared In The U.S. -- News Updates For April 26, 2009

A woman leaves an immigration post wearing a mask as a preventive measure against infection from swine flu at Tijuana airport, northern Mexico. Mexicans took new precautions on Sunday amid fears that a new flu epidemic believed to have killed up to 81 people in the country could reach "pandemic" proportions and spread to the United States and worldwide. (AFP/David Maung)

US Declares Public Health Emergency For Swine Flu -- Yahoo News/AP

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is declaring a public health emergency to deal with the emerging new swine flu.

The precautionary step doesn't signal a greater threat to Americans. But it allows the federal and state governments easier access to flu tests and medications.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napilotano says roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu are being released from a federal stockpile so that states can get it if needed.

Read more ....

More News On The Swine flu Outbreak

Swine Flu: 'Public Health Emergency' -- ABC News
Public Health Emergency Declared for Swine Flu, Napolitano Says -- Bloomberg
U.S. declares public health emergency as swine flu spreads -- CNN
White House to detail govt response to swine flu -- AP
U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency in Wake of Swine Flu -- FOX News
U.S. declares swine flu public health emergency -- MSNBC
More Swine Flu Cases Confirmed In U.S. -- CBS News
Twenty swine flu cases confirmed in U.S. - officials -- Reuters
As Nations Try to Contain Flu, N.Y. Cases Are Confirmed -- New York Times
Americans told to wear masks as swine flu spreads round globe -- Times Online
World 'well-prepared' for virus -- BBC
Global alarm as killer swine flu spreads -- Yahoo News/AFP
5 new flu deaths in Mexico, 2 confirmed swine flu -- Yahoo news/AP
Swine flu empties Mexico City's churches, streets -- Yahoo News/AP
Global vigilance grows amid Mexico's swine flu outbreak -- CBC
Swine flu fears prompt quarantine plans, pork bans -- Washington Post
Killer pig flu threat to UK: Two people admitted to British hospital as virus which has killed 86 spreads worldwide -- The Daily Mail
Mexican swine flu deaths spark worldwide action -- The Guardian
UK on alert over swine flu threat -- The Independent
Swine flu: two admitted to hospital in Scotland as world braces for more cases -- The Telegraph
Swine flu fears prompt quarantine plans, pork bans -- Yahoo News/AP
Drug and vaccine makers on standby over swine flu -- Reuters
WHO's "war room" in high gear after flu outbreaks -- Reuters
Swine flu: WHO treads between alertness – and a scare -- Christian Science Monitor
Swine flu could mutate to 'more dangerous' strain: WHO -- Breitbart/AFP
Swine flu: what you need to know -- New Scientist
What is swine flu and how can humans catch it? -- CTV
FACTBOX - How countries are defending against swine flu -- Reuters