Swine flu raises fear of pandemic - Adults and Children

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

One thing to remember is that the conditions in Mexico City are by and large substandard. It's the worlds most populous city last time I heard. There are crowded shanty towns and generally low sanitation standards by U.S. standards.

I'm only surprised that they don't have more problems.

Specializes in Operating Room.

I checked out the map this AM as well. Great resource. I had to laugh a little at an earlier comment about having a place way back in the woods. I do and I am still not safe. My son and his fiance are in cancun right now. They are looking for a place for a destination wedding. Luckily he is an EMT and she is a DR. They will know correct precautions to take, but what happens if they close the border? I told them not to go-I was worried about the drug cartel and their safety in Mexico. Never thought about Swine Flu and who would have? I think I will stock up on water, food, masks, gloves etc... Just in case this gets out of control. I have 6 immediate family members at high risk.:icon_roll Wash those hands and wear a mask! This could end up a pandemic-many other countries are now reporting confirmed cases.

I checked out the map this AM as well. Great resource. I had to laugh a little at an earlier comment about having a place way back in the woods. I do and I am still not safe. My son and his fiance are in cancun right now. They are looking for a place for a destination wedding. Luckily he is an EMT and she is a DR. They will know correct precautions to take, but what happens if they close the border? I told them not to go-I was worried about the drug cartel and their safety in Mexico. Never thought about Swine Flu and who would have? I think I will stock up on water, food, masks, gloves etc... Just in case this gets out of control. I have 6 immediate family members at high risk.:icon_roll Wash those hands and wear a mask! This could end up a pandemic-many other countries are now reporting confirmed cases.
On April 10th the WSJ ran an article discussing the dangers of spring break trips to Mexico. Little did we know how ironic the title of the article would be, "How dangerous is it to visit Mexico?"
Specializes in Operating Room.

I know. I guess age and wisdom don't count. We tried to warn our kids of the dangers and did they listen? Nope! More important to go party!!! Mom and Dad don't know nothing... Bet they are thinking differently right a b o u t now! Still I hope they are safe-worried mom of course.

Specializes in oncology, acute rehab.
I read an interesting article on cytokine storm and why young otherwise healthy people die from the flu.

http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2009/04/swine_flu_and_deaths_in_health.php

And here's another good one on cytokine storm with excellent links:

http://www.fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Science.PrimerCytokineStorm

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.
Zombies!!!!!

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Specializes in Too many to list.

Monday’s CDC Teleconference

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2009/04/mondays-cdc-teleconference.html

Clearly, the possibility of a second wave of infection in the fall when our regular flu season begins again, has the CDC worried. The virus could be quite different by then and possibly more virulent.

If I had travel plans for Mexico, I would reshedule.

Dr. Richard Besser, Acting Director of the CDC, indicated that the Swine Flu is acting like any ordinary flu, and that many contacts of those known to be infected are presenting with respiratory infections.

Presumably some of those will be Swine Flu, as well.

The State Department will issue a Travel advisory for Mexico later today, urging people not to go there unless they have urgent business.

The feeling is that the situation in Mexico is `fluid’ and they are doing this out of an abundance of caution.

By the same token, Dr. Besser stated that the EU Health Minister’s call for travel restrictions to the US is `premature’, given the small number of cases here and the mild symptoms reported.

The HHS is releasing roughly 11 million doses of antivirals to the states, or about 25% of the Federal stockpile. They will hold the remainder in reserve until they can determine the severity of this outbreak.

Regardless of what the WHO decides today or tomorrow about Global Pandemic Threat Levels (current at 3), the CDC will take an aggressive and forward leaning stance on this outbreak.

Individuals need to stay informed, practice good `flu hygiene’ (handwashing, staying home if sick, not kissing people in greeting, etc), and consider how they will handle events if they must work from home, or their children’s school is temporarily closed.

There is still much the CDC doesn’t know about this virus, and one of the big things they are trying to determine is why the death toll in Mexico from this virus appears so high.

While the CDC is preparing `seed stocks’ for a possible vaccine, no decision to manufacture one has been made. Current flu vaccines are not expected to be effective against this H1N1 strain.

The next week or so should provide more answers regarding the spread, and severity, of this virus.

Dr. Besser cautioned that, with the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s flu season, we could see a reduction in cases over the summer but that the virus could easily return in the fall.

Specializes in Operating Room.

I am trying to keep up with current news, like everyone else. FYI for anyone with family or friends in Mexico currently-I called my son and he knew nothing about this epidemic. All the T.V.'s and newspapers are in spanish. If you don't speak it or read it, you are unaware. I told him I would text him to keep him up-to date on news. My son is at a resort and they have not informed anyone from the USA of this virus. I think the ten sick kids in NY just came back from Mexico on spring break-which means more cases in the US in the next few weeks.

Specializes in student; help!.

It's a running joke around here about whether we have WD-40 or not. Probably 5 cans in the barn alone. But no lighters!

Specializes in Too many to list.

WHO: Phase IV

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2009/04/who-phase-iv.html

As expected, the WHO finally raised the Pandemic threat level to Phase 4. I will let this link explain what it means.

If the goal of this phase is containment, I think that the horse is already out of the barn. CDC said on Sunday that they could not contain it.

Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause "community-level outbreaks."

The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic.

Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted.

Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.

The goal of moving to level 4 is containment, or limiting the spread of the virus. Containment may not be possible, but there are ways to slow the spread, and that may involve travel advisories, distributing antiviral medications, and asking people to isolate themselves if sick.

that sc school is about an hour away. no results are in yet according to the local news. or the last aol news

i guess since hurricane season starts soon, i could stock up the emergency supplies in case things spread and get a bit worse and there is some reason to have to stay at homw, then i'll be ahead for the hurricane season. (i give all the canned goods away at christmas, so i'll always have fairly fresh).

I am not a health worker, but if I was, I would be taking this quite seriously.

In case you haven't notice a few hours ago the World Health Organization (WHO) just raised the Pandemic Level to Phase 4 which means there is sustained human to human transmission. Because this is a reassorted bird/human/swine virus (H1N1), there is no reason that once it coinfects an individual in southeast Asia with Bird Flu (H5N1) that it will not pick up the virulence of bird flu. To date, Bird Flu has a CFR of about 60%. Yes, 6 out of every 10 people that have contracted Bird Flu have died. If the transmissibility of this swine strain is grafted on the virulence of human H5N1 no one around the world will be joking or laughing.

To follow pandemic issues here, check out this thread: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/pandemic-awareness-preparation-361932-page15.html

To follow world wide tracking of the current virus and other emerging infectious diseases you can check out this link at:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1517

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