Swine Flu Is Deadly Mix Of Never-Before-Seen Viruses - Possible Rumsfeld Connection - Page 3

ProfessorMurder · 05-01-2009, 05:56 PM

Investigating the Flu
After Betty Ann Bowser updates the latest CDC efforts to track the flu's spread, Margaret Warner talks to experts about the scientific side of researching the virus

Online NewsHour: Recent Programs | PBS

Dr. Micheal Shaw--(3:31)
Reproter- "What about reprots today that it has never been seen in swine?"

Dr. Shaw - "This pirticular combination of gene in the virus has
Never been seen anywhere, in any animal, and in any people than before this outbreak.

"Then how can it be called Swine Flu"

"If you look at it's genes it can be traced back to an 1930's strain that came from a pig.
But the fact is that it has only been found in humans."

[They later go on to discuss how it could boomerang back in the winter after a 'world tour' ala 1918 Flu]

DdC · 05-01-2009, 07:54 PM

Combatting Swine Flu with Cannabis

Swine Flu Rumsfeld & Cannabinoids

Stockpickr: Cannabis Science, Inc.

ProfessorMurder · 05-02-2009, 06:35 AM

Can Swine Flu Be Blamed on Industrial Farming?: Scientific American Podcast

Amidst the hubbub surrounding the current pandemic threat from swine flu,
an epidemiological mystery has been unfolding. Authorities have designated
Edgar Hernandez, a 5-year-old from La Gloria in the Mexican state of
Veracruz as "Patient Zero" – at least he is the earliest case they have found
so far. Virologists have determined that the mutating flu is a combination of
several older flu strains, commonly associated with pigs. And La Gloria is
home to nearly a million pigs on a nearby factory farm.

Nevertheless, this H1N1 strain has not yet been found in the pigs near La
Gloria, nor is it clear how it would have jumped from the factory farm to little Edgar.

But what is clear thanks to the hard work of virologists is that this particular
strain of flu got its genetic start on U.S. hog farms back in the 1990s. That's
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. How the virus jumped from
pigs to humans may have nothing to do with factory farms, but confined
animal feeding operations helped to breed the disease.

—David Biello

In California, Cases Suggest Border Origin - WSJ.com

By NICHOLAS CASEY
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Doctors tracking swine flu in this state are
investigating a new theory: What if it didn't originate in Mexico but instead
had been floating around the border region for months?

Growing evidence in California suggests that early flu cases had no apparent
origin in Mexico. Many of the early California victims -- including the first two
cases -- say they hadn't traveled to Mexico and had no contact with pigs.
Some may have fallen ill before the first Mexicans did.

But the outbreak in California may have a separate origin. "This virus has
been circulating around in the population for some time," said Gilberto
Chavez, an epidemiologist with the California Department of Public Health. Its
similar symptoms to a standard flu, he said, meant that "any cases that
might have been around were probably seen, treated and diagnosed as regular flu."

Michael Shaw, associate director for laboratory science for the influenza
division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the flu
theoretically could have appeared first in California, but he cautioned against
drawing any conclusions since the strain also exhibited genetic
characteristics traceable to Eurasia.

The first case discovered in California was a 10-year-old boy in San Diego
County, who fell ill with a fever March 30.

Tests revealed the flu virus didn't match any typical human flu subtype. The
CDC received samples April 14 and determined the cause to be the now well-
known A/H1N1 influenza.

By the time state and federal epidemiologists reached the family, the boy had
recovered.

The second case was a 9-year-old girl in neighboring Imperial County who
was treated for a cough and a 104-degree fever March 28; her cousin had
fallen ill three days earlier. On April 1, the girl's brother fell ill, too. "We found
absolutely no contact with swine," said Paula Kriner, an epidemiologist with
the county health department. Tests confirmed on April 17 that the girl had
the new strain.

State health officials raised the possibility that the California strain is
different from the one in Mexico. But Mark Horton, the state's lead
epidemiologist, said, "We're still confidently calling it the swine flu."

Ego Tripping · 05-04-2009, 08:24 AM

OMG HYSTERIAZZZ!111

*fizzle fizzle*

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30471035/

Quote:

While authorities guardedly admit the epidemic isn’t as dangerous as first feared, they’re quick to point out that we’re not out of the woods yet. NBC’s Rehema Ellis reports.

Nevermind....

Mr. Poatheed · 05-04-2009, 09:41 AM

I'm sorry, has everyone forgotten that this is the FLU? Isn't there a flu season every year!?

Sure, it may have new elements but in the end you get sick for awhile and have to take care of yourself for a change. The 5 year old identified as patient zero recovered from "eating ice cream", as he put it.

Stop freaking out about something that happens every year and listening to bat-shit crazy theories like these and get on with your life. And wash your hands.

Bambi · 05-04-2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maturin

The latest bug for the media to obsess over and scare everybody with. It's SARS for 2009. In a month nobody will care.

But even SARS was something to be at least concerned about. Granted, I think the mass hysteria was stupid but concern is still in order.

There is a case of the swine flu in Ft Lauderdale now. Only an hour away from Miami. D:

ProfessorMurder · 05-06-2009, 04:24 PM

Swine flu origins mysterious in 'genetic arms race' - CNN.com

(CNN) -- While investigators trudge through pig farms and remote villages
in Mexico, searching for clues about the new swine flu, answers about the
virus' origin may finally appear on a computer, based on genetic codes.

At the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University,
researchers are using public databases to trace the origins of the 2009 H1N1
virus. They've found that the closest relatives to the new virus are viruses
that were isolated from pigs in the United States in the past few years.

Their analysis, recently published in Eurosurveillance, suggests that the virus
has at least two swine ancestors, one of them related to a virus isolated in
North America in 1998.

Still, the relatives are distant, and it's premature to conclude that the virus
came from the United States based on this analysis, said Raul Rabadan,
study co-author and assistant professor at Columbia.

Although a 5-year-old boy in the small village of La Gloria, Mexico, is said to
be "patient zero," with the earliest confirmed case of 2009 H1N1, no one
knows exactly how he contracted the virus. Read more about the boy

Some say that tracking the origin of the virus isn't as important as finding
ecological weak points and bolstering surveillance.

"We may not be able to say precisely say, 'This pig farm spawned this virus'
and all that, but I think it's very important to face the facts about what
kinds of ecological settings are spawning danger," said Laurie Garrett, senior
fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

For influenza, the new ecological stress points mostly relate to industrial-
scale livestock and, in the case of avian flu, backyard chicken farming, she
said. In both of those cases, there are "economic lives at stake" in making
decisions such as killing certain animals, she said.

A 2008 Nature study co-written by Peter Daszak, president of Wildlife Trust,
an international organization of scientists, used computer modeling to find
that hot spots for emerging infectious diseases include China, Southeast
Asia, Mexico, parts of Brazil, Europe and the United States.

The study showed that socioeconomic, environmental and ecological factors
correlate with emerging infectious diseases and help identify "hot spots" for
where they crop up.

05-01-2009, 05:56 PM	#41 (permalink)
ProfessorMurder Jackal Ghoul Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Rio Grande Valley, Texas Posts: 1,270 Thanks: 31 Thanked 125 Times in 99 Posts	Investigating the Flu After Betty Ann Bowser updates the latest CDC efforts to track the flu's spread, Margaret Warner talks to experts about the scientific side of researching the virus Online NewsHour: Recent Programs \| PBS Dr. Micheal Shaw--(3:31) Reproter- "What about reprots today that it has never been seen in swine?" Dr. Shaw - "This pirticular combination of gene in the virus has Never been seen anywhere, in any animal, and in any people than before this outbreak. "Then how can it be called Swine Flu" "If you look at it's genes it can be traced back to an 1930's strain that came from a pig. But the fact is that it has only been found in humans." [They later go on to discuss how it could boomerang back in the winter after a 'world tour' ala 1918 Flu] __________________ "No contaban con mi astucia!"

05-02-2009, 06:35 AM	#43 (permalink)
ProfessorMurder Jackal Ghoul Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Rio Grande Valley, Texas Posts: 1,270 Thanks: 31 Thanked 125 Times in 99 Posts	Can Swine Flu Be Blamed on Industrial Farming?: Scientific American Podcast Amidst the hubbub surrounding the current pandemic threat from swine flu, an epidemiological mystery has been unfolding. Authorities have designated Edgar Hernandez, a 5-year-old from La Gloria in the Mexican state of Veracruz as "Patient Zero" – at least he is the earliest case they have found so far. Virologists have determined that the mutating flu is a combination of several older flu strains, commonly associated with pigs. And La Gloria is home to nearly a million pigs on a nearby factory farm. Nevertheless, this H1N1 strain has not yet been found in the pigs near La Gloria, nor is it clear how it would have jumped from the factory farm to little Edgar. But what is clear thanks to the hard work of virologists is that this particular strain of flu got its genetic start on U.S. hog farms back in the 1990s. That's according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. How the virus jumped from pigs to humans may have nothing to do with factory farms, but confined animal feeding operations helped to breed the disease. —David Biello In California, Cases Suggest Border Origin - WSJ.com By NICHOLAS CASEY SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Doctors tracking swine flu in this state are investigating a new theory: What if it didn't originate in Mexico but instead had been floating around the border region for months? Growing evidence in California suggests that early flu cases had no apparent origin in Mexico. Many of the early California victims -- including the first two cases -- say they hadn't traveled to Mexico and had no contact with pigs. Some may have fallen ill before the first Mexicans did. But the outbreak in California may have a separate origin. "This virus has been circulating around in the population for some time," said Gilberto Chavez, an epidemiologist with the California Department of Public Health. Its similar symptoms to a standard flu, he said, meant that "any cases that might have been around were probably seen, treated and diagnosed as regular flu." Michael Shaw, associate director for laboratory science for the influenza division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the flu theoretically could have appeared first in California, but he cautioned against drawing any conclusions since the strain also exhibited genetic characteristics traceable to Eurasia. The first case discovered in California was a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County, who fell ill with a fever March 30. Tests revealed the flu virus didn't match any typical human flu subtype. The CDC received samples April 14 and determined the cause to be the now well- known A/H1N1 influenza. By the time state and federal epidemiologists reached the family, the boy had recovered. The second case was a 9-year-old girl in neighboring Imperial County who was treated for a cough and a 104-degree fever March 28; her cousin had fallen ill three days earlier. On April 1, the girl's brother fell ill, too. "We found absolutely no contact with swine," said Paula Kriner, an epidemiologist with the county health department. Tests confirmed on April 17 that the girl had the new strain. State health officials raised the possibility that the California strain is different from the one in Mexico. But Mark Horton, the state's lead epidemiologist, said, "We're still confidently calling it the swine flu." __________________ "No contaban con mi astucia!" Last edited by ProfessorMurder; 05-02-2009 at 06:38 AM.

05-06-2009, 04:24 PM	#47 (permalink)
ProfessorMurder Jackal Ghoul Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Rio Grande Valley, Texas Posts: 1,270 Thanks: 31 Thanked 125 Times in 99 Posts	Not so much the Fear but the ScapeGoating Swine flu origins mysterious in 'genetic arms race' - CNN.com (CNN) -- While investigators trudge through pig farms and remote villages in Mexico, searching for clues about the new swine flu, answers about the virus' origin may finally appear on a computer, based on genetic codes. At the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University, researchers are using public databases to trace the origins of the 2009 H1N1 virus. They've found that the closest relatives to the new virus are viruses that were isolated from pigs in the United States in the past few years. Their analysis, recently published in Eurosurveillance, suggests that the virus has at least two swine ancestors, one of them related to a virus isolated in North America in 1998. Still, the relatives are distant, and it's premature to conclude that the virus came from the United States based on this analysis, said Raul Rabadan, study co-author and assistant professor at Columbia. Although a 5-year-old boy in the small village of La Gloria, Mexico, is said to be "patient zero," with the earliest confirmed case of 2009 H1N1, no one knows exactly how he contracted the virus. Read more about the boy Some say that tracking the origin of the virus isn't as important as finding ecological weak points and bolstering surveillance. "We may not be able to say precisely say, 'This pig farm spawned this virus' and all that, but I think it's very important to face the facts about what kinds of ecological settings are spawning danger," said Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. For influenza, the new ecological stress points mostly relate to industrial- scale livestock and, in the case of avian flu, backyard chicken farming, she said. In both of those cases, there are "economic lives at stake" in making decisions such as killing certain animals, she said. A 2008 Nature study co-written by Peter Daszak, president of Wildlife Trust, an international organization of scientists, used computer modeling to find that hot spots for emerging infectious diseases include China, Southeast Asia, Mexico, parts of Brazil, Europe and the United States. The study showed that socioeconomic, environmental and ecological factors correlate with emerging infectious diseases and help identify "hot spots" for where they crop up. __________________ "No contaban con mi astucia!"

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05-01-2009, 07:54 PM	#42 (permalink)
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