Pandemic News/Awareness.

Nurses General Nursing

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I had to close the other panflu thread as it was way too long, and becoming unreadable. I am starting this one with info on the agenda of this meeting tomorrow in Congress. I am linking to Flutrackers because all of the info is right there and easily readable from this post: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=61735&postcount=1

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Taiwan and Thailand working on their own vaccines:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/01/taiwan-and-thailand-working-on-their.html

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White Washing with the Flu - Effect Measure:

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2007/01/whitewashing_with_the_flu.php#more

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Vietnam, now it's 18 provinces where H5N1 has been detected:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2007/06/vietnam_h5n1_hi.html

A death confirmed in Vietnam:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2007/06/bird_flu_kills_.html

This essay was written prior to the info above. This Vietnamese festival

is going to bring a lot of people and a lot of potentially infected poultry together:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/06/vietnam-worries-over-tet-doan-ngo.html

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Hong Kong

In this densely populated place, they keep finding wild birds dead, positive

for H5N1. Usually, I don't post about it, but now, not surprisingly, they are

finding it in a live food market:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/06/random-check-reveals-h5n1-at-hong-kong.html

Vietnam

Stepping up containment efforts, in an attempt to stop further spread, with five recent cases and one death, they are in trouble and they know it. Their efforts

are critically important to the rest of the world, and they need all the support

necessary to contain this disease.

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/06/vietnam-steps-up-containment-efforts.html

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Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa bordering Ghana in the west, Benin in the east and Burkina Faso in the north. In the south, it has a short Gulf of Guinea coast, on which the capital Lomé is located.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=86459&postcount=5

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/06170701/H5N1_Togo.html

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Indigo.......Thank you so much for continuing to provide us with links and information. I have referred many of my friends to this thread, as you explain things much better than I have been able to!

I have a couple of questions. First........I wonder a few things about your personal beliefs, plans and current situation. (If you don't mind giving us some insight into the preparations of someone who is well informed) Do you currently work in a hospital / direct care setting? Have you found a way to educate your city or state and how effective has that been? How would you personally determine it was time to remove your (hypothetical) children from public school? What kinds of personal preparations have you made for youself and your (hypothetical) family?..........food/water/masks/meds/alternative meds etc/ammunition (just kidding.....kinda) Also....would you have a "pet" bird ....and when would you determine that was too big of a risk?

Scientifically.......the most disturbing part of this issue to me is the possible effects on school-aged kids / teenagers. The cytokine (sp?) storm concerns me..........and I wonder if you could explain it a bit more and especially why, in light if it being an inflammatory response, the use of steroids is not recommended. It seems it would decrease inflammation and inhibit the immune response that is too extreme. Do you have any more information on that?

Finally......what are the alternative-med type people recommending? (Immune enhancers / anti-virals / anti-inflammatories /anything?)

Again...........thanks for the ongoing education you are giving all of us!

LG (aka.......Spacey)

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Indigo.......Thank you so much for continuing to provide us with links and information. I have referred many of my friends to this thread, as you explain things much better than I have been able to!

I have a couple of questions. First........I wonder a few things about your personal beliefs, plans and current situation. (If you don't mind giving us some insight into the preparations of someone who is well informed) Do you currently work in a hospital / direct care setting? Have you found a way to educate your city or state and how effective has that been? How would you personally determine it was time to remove your (hypothetical) children from public school? What kinds of personal preparations have you made for youself and your (hypothetical) family?..........food/water/masks/meds/alternative meds etc/ammunition (just kidding.....kinda) Also....would you have a "pet" bird ....and when would you determine that was too big of a risk?

Scientifically.......the most disturbing part of this issue to me is the possible effects on school-aged kids / teenagers. The cytokine (sp?) storm concerns me..........and I wonder if you could explain it a bit more and especially why, in light if it being an inflammatory response, the use of steroids is not recommended. It seems it would decrease inflammation and inhibit the immune response that is too extreme. Do you have any more information on that?

Finally......what are the alternative-med type people recommending? (Immune enhancers / anti-virals / anti-inflammatories /anything?)

Again...........thanks for the ongoing education you are giving all of us!

LG (aka.......Spacey)

Spacey, I will address some of what you want to know or point you to where you can get the info, but I am out of time and energy tonite. I will get back to you. There are links to most of the flu forums in these threads. They all address various tx modalities, home care of the sick etc. Many, many people have contributed their considerable expertise and time to make the information freely available to all.

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What kinds of personal preparations have you made for youself and your (hypothetical) family?..........food/water/masks/meds/alternative meds etc/ammunition (just kidding.....kinda) Also....would you have a "pet" bird ....and when would you determine that was too big of a risk?

It is easier for me to answer your questions, in small increments as this week is a very busy one for me.

My personal preparations are for 3 month of food and water storage, and whatever else I think that my family will need.

Pets, should remain indoors as much as possible. If wild birds are infected, you do not want your pet cat carrying one home. A pet bird is indoors and not a risk in my opinion.

There is much useful information at this link to help you start preparing your family for an all hazards approach.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/index.php

More later...

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To continue Spacey,

"I wonder a few things about your personal beliefs, plans and current situation. (If you don't mind giving us some insight into the preparations of someone who is well informed) Do you currently work in a hospital / direct care setting? Have you found a way to educate your city or state and how effective has that been? How would you personally determine it was time to remove your (hypothetical) children from public school? "

I currently work in direct care in LTC in another state via agency. I find that none of these privately owned businesses, because that is what they are, are prepared in any way for most emergencies let alone pandemic influenza. They have inadequate PPE, and little of it, no knowledge of the problem or the logistics involved. There is a state wide plan for LTC to prepare for pandemic influenza, but none are following it. I will not be working in that setting should a pandemic occur. I am willing to help if adequate PPE is provided most probably in a setting such as a gymnasium or armory. I recognize that the standard of care will of necessity be lowered.

I have had some conversations with the head of the Bioterrorism Unit, and the Dept of Health. They seem to be most interested in an all hazards approach. These plans are somewhat amorphous and leave much to the imagination.

Removing children from school will be different in every state. I believe that most parents will act to take their kids out if they even suspect that there is any risk whether the school board wants to close the school or not.

My personal belief about the risk of a pandemic? I know that one will occur because these are naturally occurring events . They always happen. When it happens, if it is severe, many will die, mostly young people. We will not be able to prevent this. We could get lucky, and have a less severe pandemic, but who wants to gamble?

I believe it is our responsibility to prepare our families and our communities. No is going to take care of us in that kind of national emergency. We have to take care of ourselves.

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From Effect Measure, reprinted with permission of the authors.

The Editors of Effect Measure are senior public health scientists and practitioners. Paul Revere was a member of the first local Board of Health in the United States (Boston, 1799). The Editors sign their posts "Revere" to recognize the public service of a professional forerunner better known for other things.

Africa, flu and a meeting in three years

Category: Bird flu

Posted on: June 20, 2007 6:53 AM, by revere

Many people have the impression the bird flu menace has receded. Much of this is based on its lack of media visibility. I don't blame the media. There is a lot happening in the world, editors get bird flu fatigue just as the rest of us do, and there doesn't seem to be a lot to say that hasn't been said before. Whichy of course is the problem. Things haven't changed.

Consider Africa:

Some African nations are experiencing a rapid spread of the H5N1 virus in poultry while a lack of equipped public health labs, customs surrounding chickens and poor surveillance hamper pandemic plans, a conference on the flu heard yesterday in Toronto.

In just over a year, Avian flu or the H5N1 virus, arrived in Africa and spread to nine countries, three of which now have human cases, said Dr. Stella Chungong, a medical officer with the World Health Organization Influenza Programme.

In Nigeria, the H5N1 virus first infected poultry about a year ago and has now spread to 22 out of 36 states.

There has been one human death from H5N1 in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria. In all of Africa, it's believed 38 people have become sick with the virus in the last year, according to Chungong, but it's unclear whether that's an accurate number because surveillance is poor. (Tanya Talaga, The Toronto Star)

That's just a bit of the news from the Options for the Control of Influenza VI Conference where 1500 flu-obsessed scientists are meeting in Toronto. This meeting happens every three years.

With luck, there will be another one in three years. With luck. Three years is a long time for a virus that can make millions of copies of itself on the scale of hours.

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Czech Republic:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/06/czech-turkey-farm-suspected-of-bird-flu.html

Prague- A bird flu virus has emerged in a poultry flock for the first time in the Czech republic, the State Veterinary Administration said.

The virus was confirmed in a turkey flock in Usti nad Orlice, east Bohemia, this afternoon. Part of the flock of 6,000 birds have died. The results of control checks that are expected on Thursday will confirm what type of virus has appeared.

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Ghana, 6/19/07:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2007/06/ghana_hit_by_th.html

About 1100 birds have been destroyed following the discovery of another case of the Bird flu disease at the border town of Aflao near Lome.

Officials of the Veterinary Service Department detected the virus after a poultry farmer in a community at Aflao took his sick birds to the Veterinary laboratory here in Accra to be tested. The birds reportedly started dying since last Wednesday but did not show any signs of the disease.

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Something to think about, maybe H5N1 is not the virus we should be most concerned about:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/06/toronto-conference-h7n2-is-threat.html

"When you have to hospitalize someone for respiratory illness in the U.K., where hospital beds are hard to allocate, then the person has a serious illness," said Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam, a senior lecturer at Public Health Laboratory Services in London.

"In this outbreak, we had four people who tested positive for H7 influenza strain, and three of them were hospitalized," he told United Press International. "One person was a candidate for intensive care before he finally came around.

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A 28 year old woman died of avian flu in Vietnam today. She was the second death in two weeks:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=86974&postcount=2

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