Swine Flu Baffles Health Experts

60 Dead, 1,000 Sickened In Mexico; Eight Cases Seen In U.S.; World Health Officials Fear Global Pandemic

(CBS/AP)  Mexican authorities said 60 people may have died from a swine flu virus there, and world health officials worry it could unleash a global flu epidemic.

Mexico City closed schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across the metropolis Friday in hopes of containing the outbreak that has sickened more than 1,000.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. It's a frightening new strain that combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans.

The World Health Organization was looking closely at the 60 deaths - most of them in or near Mexico's capital. It wasn't yet clear what flu they died from, but spokesman Thomas Abraham said "We are very, very concerned."

"We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human," he said. "It's all hands on deck at the moment."

WHO raised its internal alert system Friday, preparing to divert more money and personnel to dealing with the outbreak.

U.S. health officials are watching this outbreak closely. More than 600,000 people cross the U.S.-Mexico border-each day and the eight recent cases in the U.S. have been concentrated in two border states - two near San Antonio, Tex. and six near San Diego Calif, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

"Our concern has grown since yesterday in light of what we have learned since then," Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the CDC said Friday.

Normal swine flu transmission is through contact with pigs. U.S. researchers want to know how the American patients, who have all recovered from the disease, got it when none is believed to have had any contact with pigs, Hughes reports.

"This begins to look like a new influenza strain which could cause a lot of mischief around the world," Dr. William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine told Hughes.

Health officials are also concerned that they have discovered the new strain that has killed so many in Mexico is in fact the same strain that sickened people here in the United States.

Still, the outbreak is no cause for panic, said CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, noting that the CDC and WHO have effectively responded to it and that the swine flu seen in recent days is treatable with common - and plentiful - flu medications.

President Felipe Calderon cancelled a trip and met with his Cabinet to coordinate Mexico's response. The government has 500,000 flu vaccines and planned to administer them to health workers, the highest risk group.

There are no vaccines available for the general public in Mexico, and authorities urged people to avoid hospitals unless they had a medical emergency, since hospitals are centers of infection.

Some Mexican residents have started wearing blue surgical masks for extra protection, reports CBS News correspondent Adrienne Bard. The federal health minister has warned people not to go near anyone with a respiratory infection and to avoid kissing - traditional Mexican greeting.

Authorities at Mexico City's international airport were questioning passengers to try to prevent anybody with possible influenza from boarding airplanes and spreading the disease.

But the CDC said Americans need not avoid traveling to Mexico, as long as they take the usual precautions, such as frequent handwashing.

Mexico's Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, said only 16 of the deaths have been confirmed as the new swine flu strain, and that government laboratories were testing samples from 44 other people who died. At least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, the health department said.

"We certainly have 60 deaths that we can't be sure are from the same virus, but it is probable," Cordova said, adding that samples were sent to the CDC to look for matches with the virus that infected seven people in Texas and California.

Cordova called it a "new, different strain ... that originally came from pigs."

Epidemiologists are particularly concerned because the only people killed so far were normally less-vulnerable young people and adults. It's possible that more vulnerable populations - infants and the aged - had been vaccinated against other strains, and that those vaccines may be providing some protection.

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said "at this point, we do not have any confirmations of swine influenza in Mexico" of the kind that sickened seven California and Texas residents. All seven recovered from symptoms that were like those of the regular flu, mostly involving fever, cough and sore throat, though some of the seven also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.

Scientists have long been concerned that a new flu virus could launch a pandemic, a worldwide spread of a killer disease. A new virus could evolve when different flu viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.

The most notorious flu pandemic is thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19. Two other, less deadly flu pandemics struck in 1957 and 1968.

Nobody can predict when pandemics will happen. Scientists had been concerned about swine flu in 1976, for example, and some 40 million Americans were vaccinated. No flu pandemic ever appeared, but thousands of vaccinated people filed claims saying they'd suffered a paralyzing condition andother side effects from the shots.

In recent years, scientists have been particularly concerned about birds. There have been deaths from bird flu, mostly in Asia, but the virus has so far been unable to spread from person to person easily enough to touch off a pandemic.

[anthrosurgey]

Wow there's a lot of paranoid people commenting.

Just relax everybody. People are talking like there's a 100% chance you'll die if you get the virus, which it's not. More like ~5% (if that). More people will die of doctor error, or from correctly taken prescription medication in a year than of this virus.

And once you have it once and get over it, you won't have to worry about it again...till another new virus kills a few people and gets everybody in a frenzy again. I'm sorry if I sound offensive, because I'm not trying to be. My sympathies for those who have lost loved ones from this virus. I just hope everybody takes a second to chill and let their imaginations calm down.

[swapnakaj]

O God ! What a terrible outbreak ? Please help us.

[swapnakaj]

O God ! What a terrible outbreak ? Please help us.

[voxpopulus]

"Average human intelligence has been declining for 200 years" And the internet posts many people make are the best proof of that I know.

[voxpopulus]

Stop your college kids going to Mexico to get falling down drunk and various forms of VD before you get so hysterical about immigrants.

[homespunlady]

So, which college kid concocted this in his/her "garage lab" outfitted with equipment they bought at government auction or off Craig's list before "vacationing" where his buddies avoided???

I was really concerned when I was reading an article bragging about how those "PRIVATE" garage DNA labs were cropping up and they were renting out the use of them to "experimenters" a couple of months back.
Like it was a GOOD thing that just about anyone could "play with" genetic material easier than setting up a Meth lab...stupid fools even gave info on how to set one up and encouraged it.

There were nonstop warnings to NOT go to Mexico for "Spring Break" because the drug cartels were knocking off so many people. (what a "coincidence")

Sounds like some kid decided to put a stop to the "drug war" problem by causing a bigger problem.

The likelihood that such a concoction of BIRD, PIG, Human and other vastly unrelated components could just magically combine WITHOUT "help" is about as likely as it is to have "flying pigs" which come to think of it - it MUST have been "flying pigs" that were the "incubators of that virus! Source solved!!

Yep, think they should name it the "FLYING PIG FLU" - describes the UNRELATED parts completely....Now if I could just get a peek at those sick "FLYING PIGS"!

[dsnj1-2009]

Stop panicking-so far there have been 0 deaths in the US, this is a flu-AND there is a cure see following reported from ABC:

The CDC says two flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem effective against the new strain. Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, said the company is prepared to immediately deploy a stockpile of the drug if requested.
Both drugs must be taken early, within a few days of the onset of symptoms, to be most effective.
Cordoba said Mexico has enough Tamiflu to treat 1 million people, but the medicine will be strictly controlled and handed out only by doctors.

[cxa4466]

HOMELAND SECURITY ( WHAT A JOKE) SHOULD HAVE DEEMED


THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION BECAUSE THAT


IS WHAT IT WAS/

SWINE FLU IN MEXICO, WE WILL ALL GET IT, THERE IS NO BORDER CONTROL,

THAT IS ANOTHER JOKE.


REPUBLICANS, THE FINAL JOKE, THEY HAVE TURNED AMERICA INTO A

THIRD WORLD NATION
Posted by thomaso188 at 10:03 AM : Apr 24, 2009


Hello? [echo]

Did I miss something or did NAFTA/Globalism and the tearing down of our borders start with Clinton in 1992?

Amazing how Democrats love to rewrite history to their convenience.

[drivelphobe]

If swine flu pandemic is what it takes to close our borders to Mexico, then so be it. Obviously the will of the people means nothing, and neither does decimation of our language , culture and order of law. A fortuitous natural event may be the catalysts that saves the United States but at a horrible cost. Well, the politicians had their chance but were more interested in votes. If you want to survive, stay away from emergency rooms, Mexican restaurants and public transportation. Wash your hands and stay clear of suspected carriers. Good luck.

[jetranger7]

READ THIS - get the Movie "OUTBREAK" with Dustin Hoffman, Donald Sutherland and Rene Russo,, this Movie is exactly what this is about-- please people get this movie I urge you to watch the movie,,, "OUTBREAK" ,,,, GET PREPARED BE PREPARED !!!!!!!!!!!

[rushlimpdrug]

20 million in one city. Wow.

Can the catholic church encourage them to multiply more?

Perhaps we can make the city 50 or 100 million.

That would really make God happy.

Go forth and multiply.

[wtcmedic911]

PUT THE TROOPS ON THE BORDER!!!!! WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO MAKE THESE IDIOTS WE ELECTED ENFORCE OUR OWN LAWS.. OUR COUNTRY IS IN SHAMBLES.. OUR SECURITY,DRUGS, SCHOOLS,PRISONS,HOSPITALS,DISEASE,CRIME ETC ETC ETC VERY SOON OUR COUNTRY WILL BE AS BAD AS CALIFORNIA.......CALIF HAS DONE THIS TO THEMSELVES, NO SYMPATHY---REPUBS AND DEMS THAT SUPPORT ILLEGALS- I WISH THE FLU ON THEM.. MINE THE BORDER N SET UP MACHINE GUN POSTS.. NUMBER ONE JOB OF GOVERNMENT IS TO PROTECT US.. NOT BEING DONE---THE OPPOSITE IS THE TRUTH. GOD HELP OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
Posted by NOS2001 at 5:57 AM : Apr 25, 2009
+ report abuse + permalink


Postings like this is why Obama and the dems are in total control. dial it down a few notches and maybe people would consider rep. again. mining the border? machine guns? dude its a great idea but will repell vs. attract.

[patriot2381]

Average human intelligence has been declining for 200 years. It seems we can no longer make intelligent decisions for the group.

[NOS2001]

PUT THE TROOPS ON THE BORDER!!!!! WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO MAKE THESE IDIOTS WE ELECTED ENFORCE OUR OWN LAWS.. OUR COUNTRY IS IN SHAMBLES.. OUR SECURITY,DRUGS, SCHOOLS,PRISONS,HOSPITALS,DISEASE,CRIME ETC ETC ETC VERY SOON OUR COUNTRY WILL BE AS BAD AS CALIFORNIA.......CALIF HAS DONE THIS TO THEMSELVES, NO SYMPATHY---REPUBS AND DEMS THAT SUPPORT ILLEGALS- I WISH THE FLU ON THEM.. MINE THE BORDER N SET UP MACHINE GUN POSTS.. NUMBER ONE JOB OF GOVERNMENT IS TO PROTECT US.. NOT BEING DONE---THE OPPOSITE IS THE TRUTH. GOD HELP OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

[longtree-2009]

so what do we do? no exchange of body fluids with anyone? stop eating pork? stop all travel into the USA from anyone having landed in Mexico or vacationed there? what?

[SteelersWinAgain]

Yep. Swine flu. Initiated by Rush Limbaugh. Perpetrated by illegals crossing the border.

[searingtruth]

Fellow citizens, we need not cower in fear of natures disease and arbitrary catastrophe .

We can instead work towards and accomplish its defeat.

But only if most of us work together, and value our common goals over our uncommon beliefs.
ST


"Yes indeed, I have a new plan, for all of you. A plan of hope. A plan of adventure. A plan of such extraordinary magnitude as to take the breath, and challenge the senses, of all who would consider it. A plan to bind our common people in hope, and finally free our conscience for noble purpose.

I propose that in the next three decades we at last end the scourge of human disease upon this earth, and begin the inevitable adventure of humanity's migration beyond it.

We shall at last unlock the fundamental secrets of our biology so we may conquer any illness or defect at will, and we shall free ourselves from the bonds of our native home so we may evade global calamities, and begin the expansion of our species beyond this world.

No longer shall our survival be dependent upon the random and dispassionate forces of nature. No longer shall we quiver in anguish as we helplessly watch those we love suffer and die in agony from an endless list of human disease and dysfunction. No longer shall our globe be divided in constant turmoil and conflict while the hammer of fate hangs precariously balanced over all we know and love.

We shall at last take control of our future, our fate, and ourselves.
No other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will require more genius, dedication, compassion, and sacrifice.

And no other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will be more vital to the continued existence of our species."
SearingTruth, A Future of the Brave, 2004, excerpt from A Grand Challenge

A Future of the Brave

[slownewsday05]

surprise I am not budhist.....I am universalist humanitarian by definition.....smile
Posted by Elysiumwarrior

My favorite warrior-poet - brave of you to share the intent of your heart. I will study your views, my friend. I imagine they are close to mine, and that any big differences would be due to their labels, rather than reality... And the buddhist comment - it is always more accurate to describe what you are not than what you are - very wise.

[cattiej]

If there is any doubt about the spread of a virus, all you have to do is look at the American Indian. When the white man came from Europe they brought with them virus that the American Indian had never exposed to before. The Europeans brought with them measles, mumps, chicken pox, veneral disease, etc. What happened to the American Indians when exposed to these & other diseases ?. By the thousands, they got sick and died.

[aheadace]

We get this swine flu from Republicans and old Rush is the one who started it.