outbreak

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States' Flu Readiness Comes Up 10M Doses Short

Stockpiles of antiviral medication are 10 million doses short

(Newser) - Dozens of states have failed to stockpile enough medication to treat a full-blown flu outbreak, the Washington Post reports. The federal Strategic National Stockpile program has vast amounts of antiviral medication stashed in secret locations around the country, but records show that state governments have 10 million fewer dosages than...

Confirmed Swine Flu Cases Jump

WHO investigators find 257 confirmed cases in 11 countries

(Newser) - The number of confirmed swine flu cases worldwide jumped from 147 to 257 yesterday, according to the World Health Organization. Hundreds more suspected cases are still being investigated. The jump in confirmed cases is likely attributable to investigators working through their backlog of specimens rather than rapidly mounting incidents of...

Swine Flu Not So Tough: Scientists
Swine Flu Not So Tough: Scientists
Apr 30, 2009 8:09 AM CDT

Swine Flu Not So Tough: Scientists

Strain could be less lethal than seasonal flu, analysis shows

(Newser) - Scientists are gradually downgrading their worst-case scenarios for the swine flu outbreak, the Los Angeles Times report. The H1N1 strain initially appeared to have disturbing similarities to the 1918 flu virus, but researchers analyzing genetic data released this week say the strain is less lethal than feared—and may in...

Mexico Shuts Down to Stem Outbreak

Calderón orders citizens to stay home for 5 days

(Newser) - The Mexican president told citizens to stay home tomorrow through May 5 for a five-day partial shutdown of the country's economy to reduce the risk of spreading swine flu, Reuters reports. In his first televised address since the outbreak, Felipe Calderón said that "there is no safer place...

Obama: Consider Closing Flu-Case Schools

(Newser) - President Obama said today that US schools with confirmed cases of swine flu should consider closing. "This is obviously a serious situation," Obama said, that "we are closely and continuously monitoring." He said it is the recommendation of public-health officials that authorities at schools with confirmed...

Mexico Fears 1st Fatality Spread Flu Widely

Census-taker visited hundreds of homes before falling ill

(Newser) - Mexican authorities fear that the first person known to have died from swine flu may have been a modern-day Typhoid Mary, the Independent reports. The woman, a government census-taker whose door-to-door home visits in late March and early April put her in contact with some 300 people when the flu...

Child in Texas Is 1st US Swine Flu Death

Fatality is first outside Mexico since outbreak began

(Newser) - A 23-month-old child in Texas has become the first person in the US to die of swine flu, a government official said today. The death of the boy, who traveled from Mexico to seek medical treatment, is the first to take place outside Mexico, where the outbreak began, Reuters reports....

Feds: Expect US Deaths From Swine Flu

(Newser) - Swine flu continued its steady spread across the world, with federal officials warning to expect deaths in the US, the New York Times reports. The disease has been confirmed in seven countries and in five US states, but the only deaths—more than 150 so far—remain in Mexico. Five...

Israel's Stance on Swine Flu Isn't Kosher
Israel's Stance on Swine Flu Isn't Kosher
OPINION
Apr 28, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Israel's Stance on Swine Flu Isn't Kosher

Renaming disease 'Mexico flu' shows lack of seriousness

(Newser) - Israel has confirmed its first case of swine flu—but don't call it that, says the head of the country's health department. The minister, a member of one of the ultra-Orthodox parties in Benjamin Netanyahu's government, insisted yesterday that the infection should be referred to as "Mexico flu,"...

Officials Fear Flu Drug Resistance
Officials Fear Flu Drug Resistance
Apr 28, 2009 6:40 AM CDT

Officials Fear Flu Drug Resistance

Misuse of antivirals by panicked public could breed stronger strains of disease

(Newser) - Pharmacies are stocking up on Tamiflu and other anti-influenza drugs as fears grow of a swine flu outbreak, but health officials warn that the antivirals could do more harm than good if administered incorrectly. Taking the drugs in the wrong dose or for too short a time can lead to...

Flu's 'Ground Zero' May Be Mexican 5-Year-Old

4-year-old boy survived flu in village near huge pig farm

(Newser) - Mexican authorities have tracked the first known case of a mutant strain of swine flu to a boy in a village near a huge pig farm, the Guardian reports. Edgar Hernandez, 4, survived the outbreak of illness in the eastern Mexico village of La Gloria in February, but two babies...

Twitter Amplifies Swine Flu Fear
 Twitter Amplifies 
 Swine Flu Fear 
OPINION
Apr 27, 2009 2:55 PM CDT

Twitter Amplifies Swine Flu Fear

(Newser) - Twitter and other social networks are creating a swine-flu panic out of a molehill with their instantaneous updates, Robert X. Cringely writes for InfoWorld. The quick flow of less-than-dependable information means “people with head colds decide they're really dying from a porcine-borne bug and flood emergency rooms.” And...

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat
 USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat 
Apr 27, 2009 1:17 PM CDT

USDA Says Pork Is Safe to Eat

(Newser) - Fear of swine flu is a good reason to wash your hands, but not to take pork off the menu. Federal health officials say the virus that has triggered fears of a flu pandemic is not transmitted by food, and that all food-borne germs are killed when pork is cooked...

US Swine Flu Cases Hit 40; Mexican Death Toll 149

(Newser) - The US is now confirming 40 cases of swine flu, while the death toll in Mexico is thought to have risen to 149, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of more than a thousand suspected cases in Mexico, only 26 have been confirmed, along with six in Canada and one in...

Swine Flu Sends Travel Stocks Falling
 Swine Flu Sends 
 Travel Stocks Falling 
MARKETS
Apr 27, 2009 6:39 AM CDT

Swine Flu Sends Travel Stocks Falling

Airlines decline while drugmakers advance; Mexican peso tumbles

(Newser) - Stocks declined worldwide today, with travel companies leading losses as investors gave their first reaction to the outbreak of swine flu. Airlines took a pummeling—Lufthansa fell more than 12%, British Airways 8.7%—and tour operators like Carnival also suffered sharp drops. But pharmaceutical companies did well: drugmaker Roche,...

Obama Lacks Health Team as Swine Flu Spreads
Obama Lacks Health Team
as Swine Flu Spreads
analysis
Apr 27, 2009 1:53 AM CDT

Obama Lacks Health Team as Swine Flu Spreads

Terrorism pros handle health crisis

(Newser) - With key health posts in the Obama administration still vacant, the swine flu outbreak is being handled by a counter-terrorism specialist and a former governor, Politico reports. The administration still lacks a surgeon general and chiefs for the Food and Drug Administraion and Centers for Disease Control, and needs to...

With 20 Sick, US Declares Swine Flu Emergency

Napolitano stresses declaration is 'standard operating procedure'

(Newser) - The White House declared today a public health emergency to fight the spread of swine flu, the New York Times reports. With 20 confirmed infections in the US, the declaration frees up money and resources for diagnosis, prevention, and antiviral medication. “We’re preparing in an environment where we...

8 NYC Students Have Swine Flu, CDC Says

Bloomberg confirms suspicions, awaits tests on more students

(Newser) - The CDC has confirmed that eight New York City schoolchildren were infected with swine flu, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today, stressing that the cases were mild and many are recovering. The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more students are infected. Some students at St....

Shut Mexican Border: US Lawmaker

Massa says swine flu necessitates 'immediate' closure

(Newser) - A Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee has called for the US-Mexico border to be closed as the number of swine flu cases continues to mount, reports the Hill. Eric Massa of New York said that swine flu is "a serious threat to the health of the...

Swine Flu Spreads as Far as New Zealand

10 students infected with mild strain after returning from Mexico

(Newser) - Ten students from New Zealand who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza, and the country's health minister said the cases are "likely" to be swine flu. The students were quarantined after returning to New Zealand yesterday, and one student had to be hospitalized. The minister added...

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