Mexico shuts schools around capital in flu scare

Mexico shuts schools around capital in flu scare
April 24th, 2009 in Breaking News
Mexico shuts schools around capital in flu scare | Reuters.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090424/i/r671993400.jpg?x=213&y=156&xc=1&yc=1&wc=410&hc=300&q=85&sig=qdR6ujj.8Iu7gqu5d4UnfA--

Reuters – Women wear masks as they walk past a closed school in Mexico City April 24, 2009. A deadly strain of …

MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Reuters) - Mexico canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding area on Friday after influenza killed more than 20 people in recent weeks.

The World Health Organization said it was concerned over what it called 800 “influenza-like” cases in Mexico, and also about a confirmed outbreak of swine flu in the United States.

U.S. health authorities were unsure whether the outbreak of a new kind of swine flu in California and Texas, which have borders with Mexico, was related to the unusually late and severe flu season in that country.
Source: Mexico shuts schools around capital in flu scare | Reuters

Related articles:

Mexico City cancels all public events for 10 days


April 25th, 2009 in Breaking News

MEXICO CITY – Mexico City is suspending all public events for 10 days as officials try to contain an outbreak of a deadly new swine flu.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard says the city has enough medicine to treat those infected, but the city’s focus is on containing the spread of the strain.

City Health Secretary Armando Ahued says 10 new possible cases of infection have been discovered.

Officials say some 1,004 people have been infected nationwide. Tests show 20 people have died of the swine flu, and 48 other deaths were probably due to the same strain.

The H1N1 virus is a mix of human, pig and bird viruses that has epidemiologists around the world deeply concerned.

The World Health Organization says the outbreak has “pandemic potential.”

Source:
Mexico fights swine flu with 'pandemic potential' - Yahoo! News

Related articles
April 26th, 2009 in Breaking News, Martial Law
Mexican President declares equivalent of martial law giving him powers to order quarantines

Mexico’s Calderon Declares Emergency Amid Swine Flu Outbreak - Bloomberg.com.

April 25 (Bloomberg) — Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared an emergency in his country’s swine flu outbreak, giving him powers to order quarantines and suspend public events.

Authorities have canceled school at all levels in Mexico City and the state of Mexico until further notice, and the government has shut most public and government activities in the area. The emergency decree, published today in the state gazette, gives the president authority to take more action.

“The federal government under my charge will not hesitate a moment to take all, all the measures necessary to respond with efficiency and opportunity to this respiratory epidemic,” Calderon said today during a speech to inaugurate a hospital in the southern state of Oaxaca.

At least 20 deaths in Mexico from the disease are confirmed, Health Minister Jose Cordova said yesterday. The strain is a variant of H1N1 swine influenza that has also sickened at least eight people in California and Texas. As many as 68 deaths may be attributed to the virus in Mexico, and about 1,000 people in the Mexico City area are showing symptoms of the illness, Cordoba said.

Source: FREE PRESS INTERNATIONAL - Closer To The Truth

Wow this is some scary stuff ricklbert. no telling how bad it really is yet. it seems to be spreading already. this News report say's 10 students in New Zealand have tested positive for it.

Avian/Swine Flu Update: 10 New Zealand Students Test Positive For H1N1 Swine Flu

April 27th, 2009 in Breaking News

Swine flu: Mexico City becomes strange zombie city as residents hide behind doors

Swine flu: Mexico City becomes ’strange zombie city’ as residents hide behind doors - Telegraph.

The normally bustling streets of Mexico City were virtually empty yesterday, with millions preferring to stay in their houses rather than risk contagion from the killer swine flu.

A mixture of fear, suspicion and frustration set in across the country as the death toll from swine flu rose and the government took an increasingly tough position to stop it spreading.

Many of those who did venture out wore the blue face masks that were being handed out by soldiers at check points along the main avenues.

“It’s like we’re in a strange zombie movie or something,” said Gerardo Garcia, a 23 year old student, hurriedly stocking up with groceries.

“You don’t know who could be carrying this plague so it is best to just keep behind closed doors as much as possible.”


Level 4 of 6, 6 is pandemic levels...ricklbert
Source:
Swine flu: Mexico City becomes 'strange zombie city' as residents hide behind doors - Telegraph

Related articles:

US military monitoring flu outbreak - has secret contingency plans?

US military ‘monitoring’ flu outbreak.
April 27th, 2009 in Breaking News
The US Defense Department said on Monday it was closely following the outbreak of swine flu but had no immediate plans to release anti-viral drugs from its stockpiles.

“The US military is monitoring the situation closely,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

Asked if the military would begin distributing anti-viral medicine such as Tamiflu and Relenza from its stockpiles, Whitman said: “I know of no plans to do so that at this point.”

He said the Pentagon’s priority was to protect the health of military personnel and had contingency plans in place to address such an emergency.

The Defense Department was “monitoring the health of the force to make sure we’re taking the necessary precautions to be able to preserve the fighting force,” he said.

Also the UK and Spain now reporting swine flew as well...ricklbert
Source: US military 'monitoring' flu outbreak

April 28th, 2009 in Breaking News

Public health officials may institute draconian measures to combat swine flu

How to Deal with Swine Flu: Heeding the Mistakes of 1976 - TIME.

In February 1976, an outbreak of swine flu struck Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey, killing a 19-year-old private and infecting hundreds of soldiers. Concerned that the U.S. was on the verge of a devastating epidemic, President Gerald Ford ordered a nationwide vaccination program at a cost of $135 million (some $500 million in today’s money). Within weeks, reports surfaced of people developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralyzing nerve disease that can be caused by the vaccine. By April, more than 30 people had died of the condition. Facing protests, federal officials abruptly canceled the program on Dec. 16. The epidemic failed to materialize.

Medical historians and epidemiologists say there are many differences between the relatively benign 1976 outbreak and the current strain of swine flu that is spreading across the globe. But they also say the decisions made in the wake of the ‘76 outbreak — and the public’s response to them — provide a cautionary tale for public health officials, who may soon have to consider whether to institute draconian measures to combat the disease.



Also:

April 28th, 2009 in Breaking News
Mexican authorities accused of initial cover up over swine flu

Mexican authorities accused of initial cover up over swine flu - Telegraph.

The Mexican authorities have been accused by their own medical staff of initially trying to cover up the scale of the swine flu.

Dr Antonio Chavez, a specialist in respiratory diseases at the Mexico National Institute of Health, said there was panic as medical staff in Mexico City struggled to deal with the problem.

Another doctor claimed that in the early stages, staff were asked not to place the reason for dying on the death certificates.

April 28th, 2009 in Breaking News

Mandatory mass dosing to deal with a widespread swine flu outbreak?

The Associated Press: FDA approves emergency rules for antiviral drugs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency guidance that allows certain antiviral drugs to be used in a broader range of the population in case mass dosing is needed to deal with a widespread swine flu outbreak.

The agency originally approved the use of the antiviral drug Tamiflu for the prevention and treatment of influenza in adults and children age 1 and older. Another antiviral drug, Relenza, was originally approved to treat people 7 and older and to help prevent flu in those 5 and older.

Late Monday, the FDA said it issued emergency guidance to allow Tamiflu to treat and prevent flu in children under 1 and to provide doses other than originally approved in children over 1. The drugs may be distributed to larger segments of the population without complying with the approved label requirements, the FDA said.

The agency also authorized a swine flu diagnostic test for testing samples from people with certain flu infections — those whose virus subtypes cannot be identified by currently available tests.

FOX NEWS VIDEO: Loss Of Civil Liberties, Martial Law & Swine Flu

VIDEO - Loss Of Civil Liberties, Martial Law & Swine Flu.
April 30th, 2009 in Breaking News, Martial Law


Swine Flue moved up from four to level five of six,six being Pandemic level, this has been implemented although very few deaths have occurred in the world the is clearly a way to force people to take the Flue vaccine to set us up for the real pandemic coming soon from this new vaccine being implimented what ever you do DO NOT TAKE THIS VACCINE .......ricklbert

YouTube - Loss Of Civil Liberties, Martial Law & Swine Flu