H1N1 Flu Pandemic Danger Is Over ... For Now

Image Credit: US Army, Ft. Bliss

H1N1 Flu Pandemic Danger Is Over ... For Now

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the intensity of outbreaks has been reduced and H1N1 virus is no longer as dominant as it once was. The end of the H1N1 influenza pandemic is now in sight. Fear of H1N1 has now receded to the point that the WHO is expecting to declare the pandemic over in the next week or so.

We, at MAXINE, however, believe that after seeing how the Obama Administration responded to the BP oil rig failure in the Gulf of Mexico ... keep the filtration breathing masks that you bought and make sure to get you flu shots early ... and often!

Image Credit: World Health Organization

This excerpted and edited from the Globe and Mail (Canada) -

WHO to declare H1N1 pandemic over
By Joe Friesen - From Monday's Globe and Mail Published on Sunday, Aug. 08, 2010 11:17AM EDT Last updated on Sunday, Aug. 08, 2010 9:48PM EDT

For a few weeks last autumn, fear of pandemic influenza stalked the land. Death seemed to lurk around every corner. A sneeze in public could draw a reproachful glance, and every handshake sent the anxious fumbling for their hand sanitizer. Gradually, the panic subsided, to be replaced by confusion over all the fuss made by governments and public-health agencies.
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Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, said the panel of experts that advises the WHO is feeling increasingly confident H1N1, which has killed more than 18,000 people around the world, has taken on the characteristics of a typical seasonal flu.

“All in all, people feel that the overall picture looks like we are ready to declare post-pandemic globally very soon,” Dr. Chan said.

Every pandemic eventually becomes a seasonal flu strain. This fall, when flu season arrives again, H1N1 will still be one of the major variants floating around, but the population has shown sufficient resistance to it that there have been very few new deaths or flu activity in Canada since February, according to Dr. Perry Kendall, British Columbia’s provincial health officer.
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“We were planning with [avian flu] and 1918 in mind, and that meant you had to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible. The lesson learned from this is that unless we get some radical new technologies we’re not going to get an influenza vaccine within the first six months. That means for the first wave of the virus, there’s going to be no vaccine to protect people.” [Kendall]
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The pandemic’s end will be declared as it takes its second tour of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. So far there has been evidence the intensity of outbreaks has been reduced and the virus is no longer as dominant as it once was.
Reference Here>>

Best takeaway? ... "The lesson learned from this is that unless we get some radical new technologies we’re not going to get an influenza vaccine within the first six months" ... make sure to get you flu shots early, and often, and stock up on the breathing masks now before people start dropping.

Image Credit: US Army, Ft. Bliss

Any combination of these symptoms should be enough of a concern to seek medical advice. Fever above 100.5 F - Cough - Sore Throat - Headache - Nausea - Vomiting.

Recommended actions to prevent spread of H1N1 infection:

-Hand washing with soap and warm water. Cold water is not as effective for killing germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

-Use a tissue to cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, or cough or sneeze into your elbow/sleeve rather than your hand.

-Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

-Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

-Those with flu-like symptoms should stay home from work, school and social gatherings.

The Real Survivor Fiji – Physical Disease Follows Political Disease

Bacteria, contamination, and a general breakdown of the attention to detail just may be the reason for outbreaks of illness and death on Fiji ... or maybe it is just a coincidence.

There is a reason that most all successful governments throughout the world are NOT military. The military may be good as a deterrent of outside forces taking over a government and a Nation State, but the military is almost never any good at caring for the people they were formed to protect. Quite frankly, it requires a different skill set.

Fiji suffers as a selfish (as opposed to serving) military governs.

Excerpts from The Sydney Morning Herald -

Three dead, scores ill in Fiji disease outbreak
Fairfax Digital - April 19, 2007 - 11:16AM

Three people have died and scores have become ill in outbreaks of typhoid and leptospirosis in Fiji

Acting director of Public Health in Fiji, Dr Josaia Samuela, said one person had died and 77 people had been confirmed with typhoid since the beginning of the year, most in recent weeks.

There has also been reports of two deaths and 22 confirmed cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease.

Samuela said no tourists had been reported ill with typhoid or leptospirosis, and the outbreaks appeared confined to rural areas where visitors were unlikely to go.

Samuela said a 32-year-old school teacher had died over the Easter weekend and several students had come down with typhoid, probably after a carrier contaminated food at a feast.

"There was probably a gathering, a feast, where food and water is shared. It was all of a sudden, when a group of people fell ill," Samuela said.

He said leptospirosis was normally transferred to people from dogs and rodents.
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Australia yesterday expanded its warnings about travel to post-coup Fiji to cover outbreaks of typhoid and mumps.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says its overall message remains: "Exercise a high degree of caution when travelling in Fiji due to the volatile political and security situation following the military coup of December 5.

"The security situation remains uncertain and reactions to the coup could lead to violent clashes."

But the advisory now also adds: "An outbreak of typhoid has been reported in Fiji, affecting the areas around Natewa Bay and Buca Bay on Fiji's northern island of Vanua Levu.
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Samuela said it was possible Cyclone Cliff, which tore through Vanua Levu on April 4 and affected water supplies, had worsened the situation.

He said carriers of typhoid were people who had completely recovered from the illness, but could spread infection for the rest of their lives if their urine or faeces contaminated food.
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Samuela said people in Fiji were not vaccinated against mumps because of the cost of the inoculations, but there had been no jump in reported cases.

Symptoms of typhoid varied, but were often confused with influenza and could include a very high fever, headache, loss of appetite, weakness or a cough, he said.

Symptoms of leptospirosis can include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, jaundice, red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhoea or a rash.
Reference Here>>

So the person who is responsible for keeping track of the health and safety of the people who live and visit the island nation "feels people in Fiji were not vaccinated against mumps because of the cost of the inoculations".

We at MAXINE have this question - So just when does an occupying military have to take responsibility for its actions when the nation it is occupying is its own?