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**majousseh** · 04-26-2009

U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency in Response to Swine Flu

SUNDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency Sunday in response to the swine flu outbreak, as the number of confirmed cases nationwide rose to 20. All 20 U.S. patients -- eight in New York, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio -- have recovered, Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the news conference.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, believed to be the source of the outbreak, authorities continued to take dramatic steps over the weekend -- including suspending public gatherings -- to try to contain the swine flu outbreak that officials say has killed as many as 86 people, and sickened more than 1,400 others in that country.
In the United States, eight more cases of swine flu, all involving school students, were confirmed Sunday by New York City health officials, bringing the national total to 20.
And Canadian officials on Sunday reported four "very mild" cases of swine flu at a school in Nova Scotia. All four students were recovering, the AP reported.
Although all the reported cases in the United States have so far been mild, there are bound to be more severe cases.
The viruses found in the United States are resistant to two antiviral medications -- amantadine and rimantadine -- but are susceptible to the antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).
steps were already being taken to devise a vaccine against this strain of swine flu, although the process takes time. But it takes months to produce a vaccine.
In response to the developments in North America, countries around the world planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers as global health officials tried Sunday to come up with uniform ways to battle the outbreak. Nations from New Zealand to France reported new suspected cases and some warned citizens against travel to North America, the AP said.
In Mexico, the government has ordered schools closed and all public events have been suspended for the time being, including more than 500 concerts and other gatherings in the city of 20 million residents. Even churches stood empty Sunday, the AP said.
While Mexico's flu season is usually over by now, health officials noticed a sizeable uptick in flu cases in recent weeks. According to a report published in The New York Times on Friday, World Health Organization experts said that most deaths among Mexican patients with swine flu have involved healthy young adults.
That could be worrisome, experts say. Seasonal flus usually strike hardest at infants and the elderly, but pandemic flus -- such as the 1918-19 Spanish flu, which killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide -- often strike young, healthy people, the newspaper reported.
Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza. Swine flu does not normally infect humans. However, human infections do occur, usually after exposure to pigs. Symptoms resemble those of the regular flu, including sore throat, coughing and fever.

04-26-2009	#2
majousseh Vcoderz Team Last Online: 04-15-2018 Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 652 Thanks: 768 Thanked 983 Times in 468 Posts Groans: 14 Groaned at 4 Times in 4 Posts	U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency in Response to Swine Flu SUNDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency Sunday in response to the swine flu outbreak, as the number of confirmed cases nationwide rose to 20. All 20 U.S. patients -- eight in New York, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio -- have recovered, Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the news conference. Meanwhile, in Mexico, believed to be the source of the outbreak, authorities continued to take dramatic steps over the weekend -- including suspending public gatherings -- to try to contain the swine flu outbreak that officials say has killed as many as 86 people, and sickened more than 1,400 others in that country. In the United States, eight more cases of swine flu, all involving school students, were confirmed Sunday by New York City health officials, bringing the national total to 20. And Canadian officials on Sunday reported four "very mild" cases of swine flu at a school in Nova Scotia. All four students were recovering, the AP reported. Although all the reported cases in the United States have so far been mild, there are bound to be more severe cases. The viruses found in the United States are resistant to two antiviral medications -- amantadine and rimantadine -- but are susceptible to the antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). steps were already being taken to devise a vaccine against this strain of swine flu, although the process takes time. But it takes months to produce a vaccine. In response to the developments in North America, countries around the world planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers as global health officials tried Sunday to come up with uniform ways to battle the outbreak. Nations from New Zealand to France reported new suspected cases and some warned citizens against travel to North America, the AP said. In Mexico, the government has ordered schools closed and all public events have been suspended for the time being, including more than 500 concerts and other gatherings in the city of 20 million residents. Even churches stood empty Sunday, the AP said. While Mexico's flu season is usually over by now, health officials noticed a sizeable uptick in flu cases in recent weeks. According to a report published in The New York Times on Friday, World Health Organization experts said that most deaths among Mexican patients with swine flu have involved healthy young adults. That could be worrisome, experts say. Seasonal flus usually strike hardest at infants and the elderly, but pandemic flus -- such as the 1918-19 Spanish flu, which killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide -- often strike young, healthy people, the newspaper reported. Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza. Swine flu does not normally infect humans. However, human infections do occur, usually after exposure to pigs. Symptoms resemble those of the regular flu, including sore throat, coughing and fever.