Swine Flu World-Wide Concern

As the WHO raise the swine flu outbreak alert level from phase 4 to 5, setting the stage for increased efforts by appropriate agencies, industries and communities to combat the infection, more emphasis now needs to be placed on mandatory testing at air and sea ports, with a reverse emphasis so as to concentrate on ports of departure from swine flu high risk regions rather than concentrating on the ports of arrival. This calls for mutual corporation between countries. It also calls for necessary assistance especially where a high risk country lacks the resources to conduct effective screening on the persons using their ports as an exit point. Such a move will reduce the risk to non-infected travelers since closeness and possible contact may not be avoided especially when traveling by air. This closeness necessitated by our mode of traveling is conducive to the transmission of any flu.

Besides, it is frightening to imagine what would happen if the outbreak gets to hit some populations where the number of inhabitants per doctor is about 50,000:1, countries like Angola, Mozambique, Congo, Namibia and Zambia, or even 33,500:1 as in Sudan, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ethiopia and Niger. The shortage of personnel and equipment in the mentioned regions would lead to serious losses.

According to WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, the virus "must be taken seriously because of its ability to spread to every country in the world," so lets join hands and bring and end to this pandemic because we can.

iPhones for Bill Gates kids-finally?

Rumors have been circulating about Microsoft secret iphone project dubbed “iPhone Pink”. Similar rumors have in the past been denied by sources from within the organization. Well who wouldn’t? Every business, just like every institution including our very families treasure our own secrets, and these secrets are what make us what we are as business organizations or families. As long as they join and play by the rules, they are welcome.

The beauty about these rumors is that the consumer of iPhones gadgets will benefit either way. If the rumored project becomes reality, competition will switch to top gear, and a price war will ensue to the advantage of the consumers. Quality will be enhanced and we should expect loads of added features, more storage capacity, enhanced input methods, higher performance speeds, higher mega-pixels, better resolutions, better sound, longer lasting battery life, smaller dimensions & weight, enhanced GPS facilities, more smart sensors & accelerometers, enhanced keyboards for more languages & functions and better mobile phones. Either way, this rumor will keep the players in the industry on alert in terms of innovation and the pricing of future releases.

The biggest gains will go to Bill & Melinda Gates three kids, they will get to experience iphones for the first time. In a past interview with Vogue, Melinda Gates mentioned that, the Gates' kids can play Xbox and run any Microsoft supported programmes as they want, but they couldn’t have iPods or iPhones.

To Microsoft; bring it on, but this time please play fair.

Eliminate Swine Flu in pigpens

Statistics show that H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses, which were first reported in 1930 are rampant among swine populations world-over. Over 50% of pigs tested in the US, and 25% of pigs tested worldwide have shown antibody evidence of infection with the flu. This calls for necessary legislation to be put in place and to be enforced to tackle the disease from the origin; the pigs pen. 

Moreover since vaccines for H3N2 virus in pigs are available, the legislation should enforce the vaccination and monitor it strictly before cases are reported in humans. 

History has it that it is easier to deal with any outbreak, as long as it has not affected human beings. Unlike animals, it is not practical to curtail human mobility, thus once humans are infected, any outbreak assumes a new level of complexity in terms of geographical spread. This could be the reason why cases of the swine flu have been reported in North America, South America, New Zealand and France amongst other countries.