Swine Flu Still On The Rampage In Japan

Japan has reported 178 swine flu infections on Tuesday and closed more than 4,043 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus, officials said. With the reported figure, Japan is now in the number 4 slot globally in terms of infections count.

The impromptu school break has caused karaoke clubs fill up with students and their friends as schools remain shut.

In Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, firms with infected staff told workers to stay home.

The biggest threat, experts warned is when the infections get to other regions including the capital Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the world's most populous urban area and the heart of the Japanese economy.

Swine Flu Causes 1,000 Learning Institutions To Closed In Japan

The latest WHO report released on Saturday 16, indicate that the global figure of swine flu (H1N1) infections has risen by nearly 1,000 over a 24 hour period,
bringing the global number of infections to 8,451 and 72 dead.

Meanwhile, Japan confirmed 78 flu infection cases on Sunday 17. The newly infected are mostly students and their family members in Osaka and Hyogo.

A World Health Organization expert said community-level transmission may have begun in Japan, which could lead the WHO to raise its new flu pandemic alert to the highest level of 6 from the current 5.

Railway, supermarket and convenience store employees in Hyogo, Osaka and Kyoto started wearing masks in line with instructions from their companies. In the affected areas, medical masks were sold out at a number of shops.

On Saturday, the government shifted its new flu action program from ‘‘a period of overseas outbreak’’ to ‘‘an early period of domestic outbreak’’ and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting during rush hours.

Over 1,000 schools and kindergartens in Osaka and Hyogo will close down to contain the spread.

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New H1N1 Cases Causes 3 Schools 5 Days Closure In New York

Five new cases of the H1N1 virus in New York City schools has forced two intermediate schools and one primary school in Queens area to close for a week to slow transmission, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference on Thursday evening. The three schools have a combined student population of 4000.


Photo credit:China Daily


In one school, four students and the assistant principal have the virus and are critically ill, whereas fifty students at that school have been sent home with flu-like symptoms since May 6.

The primary school reported 29 students suffering from flu-like symptoms. The other intermediate school had 241 students absent with illness on Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Thursday night 7,412 (4,298 in US & 244 in New York only) cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed worldwide and 63 deaths attributed to the virus have been confirmed worldwide.

The WHO estimates that up to 2 billion people could be infected with the virus if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic lasting two years.

Meanwhile, experts are studying the possibility of the less lethal, highly contagious swine flu mixing with the highly lethal less contagious H5N1 bird flu to form a new bug that is both highly contagious and lethal and can spread around the world.

Swine Flu Still on The Rampage

image credit: c n n

Expert from the Imperial College London have warned that a third of the world's population could be infected with swine flu virus if the virus continues to spread at the current rate. The study based on Mexico’s case is published in the Journal Science.

Professor Neil Ferguson who is leading the research told the BBC Radio 4 that the H1N1 virus is about as dangerous as the virus behind a 1957 pandemic that killed 2 million people worldwide. He suggested that the vaccine need to be ready before the cold (flu) season sets in since the spread of the virus is expected to increase when autumn sets in.

Statistics indicate Mexico is the worst affected country, followed by the US and then Canada. Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe now with 57 confirmed cases. The number of laboratory-confirmed swine flu cases has reached 5,251 (US-2,532, Mexico-1,626) in some 30 countries around the world, with 61(US-3, Mexico-48) having died from the disease, the World Health Organization has confirmed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is no longer possible to contain the deadly swine flu virus first found in Mexico.

Countries are employing different measures to curb the spread of the virus such as circulating information pamphlets on disease, use of hand gloves, distributing emergency masks, stocking anti-viral drugs, installing thermal scanners in entry ports, screening of suspect visitors, issuing media reports, enquiries via questionnaires, travel advisories on citizens, quarantines of suspects and the infected, necessary institution closures, import bans on pig products, discouraging social kissing, setting up telephone advisory centers, advice on use of tissues while sneezing, regular hand washing advice, pandemic committee and task forces set up, public concert bans, football matches cancellation, banning of flights to affected regions.

According to the NHS, we all need to always carry tissues, use clean tissues to cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, bin the tissues after one use and washing of hands with soap and hot water or a sanitiser gel often.

Stay safe.

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.

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.