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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They mentioned on news that there is a new scale out sort of like the way they rank hurricaines and earthquakes. This will rank severity of flu outbreaks. I hope to see a link here soon.

Here is a link to a pdf from the govt's panflu mitigation strategy, and it is very thorough. Page 9 begins to explain the ranking system for pandemic severity. The graphs are nicely done.

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/community_mitigation.pdf

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This is interesting. A survivor of H5N1 in China has donated his serum to be used to treat a woman in critical condition with the same disease.

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/china-using-human-serum-to-treat-h5n1.html

Apparently this has been tried before and was successful:

http://www.curevents.com/vb/showpost.php?p=631412&postcount=13

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Is a virus property? Who decides? When a pandemic occurs, the world needs the right vaccine for the strain of that particular virus causing the pandemic.

We do not know which strain it will be. Witholding viral isolates from a country where the disease is endemic becomes a very worrisome problem.

The public health folks at Effect Measure have made this suggestion about

producing vaccines for this emergency:

The best solution, as far as we can see, is to remove influenza vaccine entirely from "the market." We advocate a series of a dozen or so regional international vaccine institutes, financed by UN member states and having the technical and productive capacity to produce vaccine at cost for their region. At the moment we are stuck with the current market-based system and some temporary arrangements will have to be jury-rigged. But in the near term it should be possible to establish the kind of system we are talking about.

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Second Laotian victim suspect, has already died. Again, they say she has an H5 avian flu, but also say that they can not be sure it is H5N1. Humans have never contracted any other H5 influenza other than H5N1 so I think it is safe to say this is it.

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/laos-2nd-human-case-strongly-suspected.html

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/laos-2nd-victim-dies.html

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This is a very good and easily read essay about a news on line article that touches on the dilemna of how to protect the public from a dangerous disease yet keep the economy going for the good of all. Can this even be done?

Is is ethical? What do you think?

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/uk-pandemic-plans-pt-1.html

Here is part 2 on the same subject:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/uk-pandemic-plans-pt-ii.html

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Has any one ever seen this before from the selective service website?

Not for implementation in peacetime, yet designed for mobilization in an emergency if approved by the President and the Congress. It would not take much to change the wording a bit to fit a perceived need.

Something to think about. They wouldn't really do this, would they?

http://www.sss.gov/FSmedical.htm

(hat tip PIF/kr105)

MEDICAL DRAFT IN STANDBY MODE

[snip]

The Health Care Personnel Delivery System (HCPDS) is a standby plan developed for the Selective Service System at the request of Congress. If needed it would be used to draft health care personnel in a crisis. It is designed to be implemented in connection with a national mobilization in an emergency, and then only if Congress and the President approve the plan and pass and sign legislation to enact it. No portion of the plan is designed for implementation in peacetime. If implemented, HCPDS would:

Provide a fair and equitable draft of doctors, nurses, medical technicians and those with certain other health care skills if, in some future emergency, the military's existing medical capability proved insufficient and there is a shortage of volunteers.

[snip]

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Egypt, second child recovers from bird flu. It is interesting, and very welcome news. These last two kids were younger than school age, the age of the usual seasonal flu victims. They survived avian flu whereas teenagers, and young adults did not. Why is that?

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/egypt-second-child-recovers-from-bird.html

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Laos update, how not to get people to cooperate:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2007/03/doing_it_wrong_.html

Tibet, bird flu contained for now:

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2007/03/tibet_b2b_outbr.html

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Laos

I cried when I read this, I so wanted this young girl to make it,

but she did not. Her mother sent her to Thailand to give her the

best chance of survival. She was only 15 years old.

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/laos-15-year-old-girl-loses-battle-with.html

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=69815&postcount=11

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H5N1 and cats in Indonesia, a long overdue study will finally take place

assisted by veterinary scientists from Erasmus in the Netherlands:

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2007/03/h5n1_and_cats_once_again_1.php#more

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/fao-to-study-h5n1-infection-in-cats.html

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Roche Pharmaceuticals is distributing Tamiflu to its own employees.

Interesting marketing ploy or what?

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/roche-distributes-tamiflu-to-employees.html

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Laos, avian flu continues to spread:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/

Vietnam, residents of some Hanoi areas, ordered to wear masks if they leave their homes:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/vietnam-some-residents-ordered-to-wear.html

South Korea, suspected human case, and they are still battling outbreaks:

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/south-korea-7th-outbreak-in-4-months.html

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2007/03/korea-new-details-emerge-on-suspected.html

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