(CNN) -- A Singapore man undergoing treatment for cancer was detained for four hours by U.S. immigration officials after the drug he was taking caused his fingerprints to disappear.
Foreign visitors undergo mandatory fingerprint screening when they enter the United States.
Now, the unidentified man's oncologist is asking patients taking the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor's note when they travel to the United States.
The oncologist, Eng-Huat Tan of the National Cancer Center in Singapore, described the encounter in a letter published in the current issue of the cancer journal Annals of Oncology.
The 62-year-old cancer patient, identified as Mr. S, eventually was allowed to enter the United States and visit relatives after officials determined he did not pose a security threat.
According to the oncologist, the patient had neck and head cancer that had spread. He responded well to chemotherapy.
To prevent a recurrence, doctors placed him on capecitabine, marketed in the United States as Xeloda.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Finding a 'center' in a weight loss journey
By Elizabeth Landau
CNN
(CNN) -- Giyen Kim recently posted a picture of scrumptious-looking jalapeno corn muffins, along with the recipe, on her blog. But after baking them, Kim didn't even take a bite.
The past six weeks have been "a roller coaster" for Giyen Kim of Seattle, Washington.
The people who did eat the muffins at the potluck dinner told Kim they loved them, but she restrained herself because she's trying to lose weight.
"I tried a little bit of the batter, but I've been trying to stay away from wheat," she said.
Kim, 35, is one of several iReporters who have been sending in updates on the changes they want to make in 2009. Kim's goals were to lose weight and jump-start her career as a writer. Share your story with iReport.com
Right now, she says in her latest video update, she's trying to find her "center," and adjust from there.
"I've found that it's extremely difficult to lose weight the slow way, which is gradually and without making a lot of extreme dietary changes," she said in the video. "So, now I'm trying to change these long-term habits and eat more healthfully for the rest of my life. And, wow, I'm having a tough time."
At the beginning of the year, Kim, of Seattle, Washington, weighed in at about 190, and wanted to return to her pre-pregnancy weight of 120. She succeeded in losing 10 pounds in February, and initially felt more motivated to keep up with her weight loss.
CNN
(CNN) -- Giyen Kim recently posted a picture of scrumptious-looking jalapeno corn muffins, along with the recipe, on her blog. But after baking them, Kim didn't even take a bite.
The past six weeks have been "a roller coaster" for Giyen Kim of Seattle, Washington.
The people who did eat the muffins at the potluck dinner told Kim they loved them, but she restrained herself because she's trying to lose weight.
"I tried a little bit of the batter, but I've been trying to stay away from wheat," she said.
Kim, 35, is one of several iReporters who have been sending in updates on the changes they want to make in 2009. Kim's goals were to lose weight and jump-start her career as a writer. Share your story with iReport.com
Right now, she says in her latest video update, she's trying to find her "center," and adjust from there.
"I've found that it's extremely difficult to lose weight the slow way, which is gradually and without making a lot of extreme dietary changes," she said in the video. "So, now I'm trying to change these long-term habits and eat more healthfully for the rest of my life. And, wow, I'm having a tough time."
At the beginning of the year, Kim, of Seattle, Washington, weighed in at about 190, and wanted to return to her pre-pregnancy weight of 120. She succeeded in losing 10 pounds in February, and initially felt more motivated to keep up with her weight loss.
Monday, May 18, 2009
New York principal's death linked to flu virus, hospital says
NEW YORK (CNN) -- An assistant principal of a New York middle school who was hospitalized with the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, died Sunday from flu complications, hospital and state officials said.
New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden reports a rising tide of flu in the city.
1 of 2 It's the sixth death in the United States that health authorities have linked to the virus.
"It is with great sadness tonight that we learn that New York has lost one of its residents to an illness related to H1N1," New York Gov. David Paterson said.
Mitchell Wiener, 55, assistant principal at Intermediate School 238 in Queens, died at 6:17 p.m. Sunday, said Andrew Rubin, a spokesman at Flushing Hospital.
"We believe he had complications of the swine flu," Rubin told CNN Radio, adding that once Wiener was admitted to the hospital, he was listed in critical condition. However, he wouldn't say whether Wiener had any pre-existing medical conditions.
Last week, when city and state officials announced that four students were infected and that a school official in Queens was "critically ill" with the virus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not name the official but described the staffer as an assistant principal who "may have had other health problems."
New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden reports a rising tide of flu in the city.
1 of 2 It's the sixth death in the United States that health authorities have linked to the virus.
"It is with great sadness tonight that we learn that New York has lost one of its residents to an illness related to H1N1," New York Gov. David Paterson said.
Mitchell Wiener, 55, assistant principal at Intermediate School 238 in Queens, died at 6:17 p.m. Sunday, said Andrew Rubin, a spokesman at Flushing Hospital.
"We believe he had complications of the swine flu," Rubin told CNN Radio, adding that once Wiener was admitted to the hospital, he was listed in critical condition. However, he wouldn't say whether Wiener had any pre-existing medical conditions.
Last week, when city and state officials announced that four students were infected and that a school official in Queens was "critically ill" with the virus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not name the official but described the staffer as an assistant principal who "may have had other health problems."
Monday, May 4, 2009
Swine flu cases rise worldwide as Mexico lowers its alert level
GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- The number of confirmed cases of swine flu jumped to 1,025 on Monday, comprising 20 countries, the World Health Organization said.
The death toll climbed as well as Mexico's health minister announced that a 26th person in the country was confirmed to have died from the H1N1 virus, also called swine flu.
There has been one confirmed death outside Mexico, a Mexican toddler who was in the United States visiting relatives.
The WHO said there were no immediate plans to raise its alert to the highest level, Phase 6. That designation would mean "that we are seeing continued spread of the virus to countries outside of one region," WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda said at a news conference.
"If you are seeing community outbreaks occur in multiple regions of the world, it really tells us if the virus has established itself and that we can expect to see disease in most countries in the world."
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 286 confirmed cases across 36 states, 60 more cases than the day before.
The numbers are expected to increase. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for public health, said Sunday, "We believe we're just on the upswing here."
The death toll climbed as well as Mexico's health minister announced that a 26th person in the country was confirmed to have died from the H1N1 virus, also called swine flu.
There has been one confirmed death outside Mexico, a Mexican toddler who was in the United States visiting relatives.
The WHO said there were no immediate plans to raise its alert to the highest level, Phase 6. That designation would mean "that we are seeing continued spread of the virus to countries outside of one region," WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda said at a news conference.
"If you are seeing community outbreaks occur in multiple regions of the world, it really tells us if the virus has established itself and that we can expect to see disease in most countries in the world."
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 286 confirmed cases across 36 states, 60 more cases than the day before.
The numbers are expected to increase. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim deputy director for public health, said Sunday, "We believe we're just on the upswing here."
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
WHO says no sign flu outbreak slowing
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Mexican toddler in Texas has died of the new swine flu virus, the first confirmed death outside Mexico, as the World Health Organization said the outbreak showed clear signs of spreading around the world.
Nearly a week after the threat first emerged in Mexico, Spain reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, underscoring the threat of person-to-person transmission.
"It is clear that the virus is spreading and we don't see evidence of it slowing down at this point," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting assistant director-general, told a news briefing.
With Germany and Austria reporting cases, bringing the number of affected countries to 9, Fukuda said the WHO was moving loser to raising its pandemic alert to phase five, the second highest level possible.
U.S. officials said that a 22-month-old boy had died in Texas -- the first confirmed U.S. swine flu death -- but they added that he was on a family visit from Mexico, where up to 159 flu fatalities have been recorded.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country now had 91 confirmed cases in 10 states from New York to California.
"We're going to find more cases. We're going to find more severe cases and I expect that we'll continue to see additional deaths," Besser said.
President Barack Obama, who on Tuesday asked for $1.5 billion in emergency funding to fight the disease, said the death showed it was time to take "utmost precautions" against the virus.
Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday even as data showed the U.S. economy shrank at a steeper pace than expected and traders looked beyond flu fears for hopeful signs that the recession may be abating.
Financial markets are keeping an eye on the spread of the virus, but so far the economic impact has largely been confined to the tourism and pharmaceutical industries.
Unless a significant number of deaths start to be reported from a number of countries, raising the possibility of an even slower recovery from recession, analysts predict the impact on stock, bond and currency prices is likely to be limited.
TOURISM HIT
France said it would seek a European Union ban on Thursday on flights to Mexico. Argentina and Cuba have already stopped flights from Mexico.
The EU, the United States and Canada have advised against non-essential travel to the popular tourist destination, as nearly all the cases so far, in Canada, New Zealand, Israel and Spain, have been linked to travel from Mexico.
The WHO said there was no plan now to call an emergency committee meeting to raise the pandemic alert level, which could take place if it were confirmed that infected people in at least two countries were spreading the disease to other people in a sustained way.
The WHO's Fukuda, who earlier said the outbreak may end up as a "very mild pandemic", said the report of the Spanish case involving a person who had not been to Mexico suggests the virus is spreading more easily among people.
"There are cases which are occurring in people who have not traveled," Fukuda told a news briefing. "What we are looking for overall is whether we see many kinds of those infections occurring that suggest transmission is occurring independent of travel."
Spain's El Mundo newspaper said the Spanish patient had recent contact with someone who had visited Mexico.
H1N1 swine flu poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu re-emerged in 2003, killing 257 people of 421 infected in 15 countries. In 1968 a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally, and a 1957 pandemic killed about 2 million.
The new strain contains genetic material from avian, swine and human viruses and appears to have evolved the ability to pass easily from one person to another.
It cannot be caught from eating pork products but Egypt ordered all its pigs to be slaughtered and some countries, led by Russia and China, have banned U.S. pork imports.
The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday it had not been told officially of any such bans, and the EU and Japan said they would not follow suit.
In the United States, where pork producers have voiced outrage over the trade bans, officials began referring to the outbreak as the 2009 H1N1 flu.
Obama's newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held her first news conference on Wednesday seeking again to reassure the public
"We are determined to fight this outbreak and do everything we can to protect the health of every American," she said.
SCHOOLS, PYRAMIDS CLOSED
The outbreak has deeply affected life in Mexico and ravaged tourism, a key earner. Mexico City was unusually quiet, with schools closed. Many parents took their children in to work.
All Mayan and Aztec pyramid ruins, dotted through central and southern Mexico, were closed until further notice.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said more than 1,300 people were in hospitals, some of them seriously ill, out of a total of about 2,500 suspected cases.
"In the last few days there has been a decline (in cases)," he said. "The death figures have remained more or less stable."
Seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people in a normal year, including healthy children in rich countries.
Health agencies advise frequent hand-washing and covering sneezes and coughs to help stop the spread. Experts generally agree that face masks, especially the surgical masks seen on the streets of Mexico City, offer little protection.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, Doina Chiacu and Will Dunham in Washington, Jason Lange, Catherine Bremer Alistair Bell and Helen Popper in Mexico City, Eric Burroughs and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Writing by Andrew Quinn, editing by Anthony Boadle)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Mexican toddler in Texas has died of the new swine flu virus, the first confirmed death outside Mexico, as the World Health Organization said the outbreak showed clear signs of spreading around the world.
Nearly a week after the threat first emerged in Mexico, Spain reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, underscoring the threat of person-to-person transmission.
"It is clear that the virus is spreading and we don't see evidence of it slowing down at this point," Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting assistant director-general, told a news briefing.
With Germany and Austria reporting cases, bringing the number of affected countries to 9, Fukuda said the WHO was moving loser to raising its pandemic alert to phase five, the second highest level possible.
U.S. officials said that a 22-month-old boy had died in Texas -- the first confirmed U.S. swine flu death -- but they added that he was on a family visit from Mexico, where up to 159 flu fatalities have been recorded.
Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country now had 91 confirmed cases in 10 states from New York to California.
"We're going to find more cases. We're going to find more severe cases and I expect that we'll continue to see additional deaths," Besser said.
President Barack Obama, who on Tuesday asked for $1.5 billion in emergency funding to fight the disease, said the death showed it was time to take "utmost precautions" against the virus.
Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday even as data showed the U.S. economy shrank at a steeper pace than expected and traders looked beyond flu fears for hopeful signs that the recession may be abating.
Financial markets are keeping an eye on the spread of the virus, but so far the economic impact has largely been confined to the tourism and pharmaceutical industries.
Unless a significant number of deaths start to be reported from a number of countries, raising the possibility of an even slower recovery from recession, analysts predict the impact on stock, bond and currency prices is likely to be limited.
TOURISM HIT
France said it would seek a European Union ban on Thursday on flights to Mexico. Argentina and Cuba have already stopped flights from Mexico.
The EU, the United States and Canada have advised against non-essential travel to the popular tourist destination, as nearly all the cases so far, in Canada, New Zealand, Israel and Spain, have been linked to travel from Mexico.
The WHO said there was no plan now to call an emergency committee meeting to raise the pandemic alert level, which could take place if it were confirmed that infected people in at least two countries were spreading the disease to other people in a sustained way.
The WHO's Fukuda, who earlier said the outbreak may end up as a "very mild pandemic", said the report of the Spanish case involving a person who had not been to Mexico suggests the virus is spreading more easily among people.
"There are cases which are occurring in people who have not traveled," Fukuda told a news briefing. "What we are looking for overall is whether we see many kinds of those infections occurring that suggest transmission is occurring independent of travel."
Spain's El Mundo newspaper said the Spanish patient had recent contact with someone who had visited Mexico.
H1N1 swine flu poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu re-emerged in 2003, killing 257 people of 421 infected in 15 countries. In 1968 a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally, and a 1957 pandemic killed about 2 million.
The new strain contains genetic material from avian, swine and human viruses and appears to have evolved the ability to pass easily from one person to another.
It cannot be caught from eating pork products but Egypt ordered all its pigs to be slaughtered and some countries, led by Russia and China, have banned U.S. pork imports.
The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday it had not been told officially of any such bans, and the EU and Japan said they would not follow suit.
In the United States, where pork producers have voiced outrage over the trade bans, officials began referring to the outbreak as the 2009 H1N1 flu.
Obama's newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held her first news conference on Wednesday seeking again to reassure the public
"We are determined to fight this outbreak and do everything we can to protect the health of every American," she said.
SCHOOLS, PYRAMIDS CLOSED
The outbreak has deeply affected life in Mexico and ravaged tourism, a key earner. Mexico City was unusually quiet, with schools closed. Many parents took their children in to work.
All Mayan and Aztec pyramid ruins, dotted through central and southern Mexico, were closed until further notice.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said more than 1,300 people were in hospitals, some of them seriously ill, out of a total of about 2,500 suspected cases.
"In the last few days there has been a decline (in cases)," he said. "The death figures have remained more or less stable."
Seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people in a normal year, including healthy children in rich countries.
Health agencies advise frequent hand-washing and covering sneezes and coughs to help stop the spread. Experts generally agree that face masks, especially the surgical masks seen on the streets of Mexico City, offer little protection.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox, Doina Chiacu and Will Dunham in Washington, Jason Lange, Catherine Bremer Alistair Bell and Helen Popper in Mexico City, Eric Burroughs and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Writing by Andrew Quinn, editing by Anthony Boadle)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
FACTBOX-Defences against swine flu in Europe and Africa
28 Apr 2009 10:58:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
April 28 (Reuters) - Governments around Europe and Africa acted to stem a possible flu pandemic as the virus spread from Mexico to North America and Europe.
Here is a guide to some of the precautionary steps being taken around Europe and Africa:
* Star denotes new or updated entry:
EUROPE:
AUSTRIA -- Has stocks of antiviral drugs sufficient to treat 4 million people (half the population), and has secured production capacity for prophylactic vaccines for the entire population. It has also stockpiled 8 million protective masks.
* BRITAIN -- Advises nationals against non-vital travel to Mexico. It also said routine consular and all visa services at its embassy in Mexico City had been suspended. Has antiviral stockpiles to provide treatment for 50 percent of the population should they become ill.
-- Travel firm Thomson Holidays said it had decided to repatriate its customers from Mexico and to cancel flights bound for Cancun on Tuesday.
* BULGARIA -- Sofia airport boosted checks of passengers arriving from countries affected. Two thermal scanners have been installed at the airport. Customs officers are also checking the luggage of passengers arriving from Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Japan to ensure they are not importing pork products.
* CZECH REPUBLIC -- Circulated general information on the viral strain to hospitals, doctors and general practitioners. Has stocks of 2 million doses of Tamiflu, enough to treat one fifth of the population. At Prague Airport, information boards on swine flu have been put up and medical exams are available.
DENMARK -- A general pandemic plan is in place since bird flu scare. Denmark has stockpiled Tamiflu.
* FRANCE -- Is now strongly advising against travelling to Mexico. Has reinforced checks at airports, especially for people returning from Mexico. France has a stock of more than 30 million antiviral treatments, composed of 24 million doses of Tamiflu and 9 million doses of Relenza.
GERMANY -- Advises nationals against non-vital travel to Mexico.
GREECE -- Has "strategic stocks" of Tamiflu and other antivirus medicine.
ITALY - Pamphlets are being handed out to passengers at Rome's international airport although there are no restrictions on travel. Italy has 10 million doses of Zanamivir (Relenza) and 60,000 doses of Tamiflu as well as enough Tamiflu powder to make 30 million doses.
NORWAY -- A "pandemic committee" will be assembled this week. Authorities have stored flu medicine covering one-third of the 4.7 million population.
RUSSIA -- Health ministry recommends Russian citizens avoid trips to Mexico.
Aircraft personnel arriving from the Americas have been instructed to look out for passengers with flu-like symptoms. Planes, on which cases are suspected, should be taxied to special zones, and passengers and crews examined by medics.
-- Imposed curbs on meat imports from Mexico, a number of U.S. states and the Caribbean.
SPAIN -- Distributing leaflets to passengers arriving from Mexico, advising them to report to a health centre if they suffer symptoms. Spain has a stockpile of 10 million doses of Tamiflu. Flights to Mexico are being equipped with face masks and gloves.
UKRAINE -- Ban on imports of live pigs and pork meat from countries where cases of swine flu have been recorded. This applies to Mexico, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. All shipments received after April 21 will be subject to the ban.
AFRICA:
* EGYPT -- The authorities have increased medical staff at Cairo airport to check passengers arriving from Mexico and will monitor them during their stay.
* ZAMBIA -- Has formed an emergency task force to deal with a possible outbreak of swine flu.
Source: Reuters
April 28 (Reuters) - Governments around Europe and Africa acted to stem a possible flu pandemic as the virus spread from Mexico to North America and Europe.
Here is a guide to some of the precautionary steps being taken around Europe and Africa:
* Star denotes new or updated entry:
EUROPE:
AUSTRIA -- Has stocks of antiviral drugs sufficient to treat 4 million people (half the population), and has secured production capacity for prophylactic vaccines for the entire population. It has also stockpiled 8 million protective masks.
* BRITAIN -- Advises nationals against non-vital travel to Mexico. It also said routine consular and all visa services at its embassy in Mexico City had been suspended. Has antiviral stockpiles to provide treatment for 50 percent of the population should they become ill.
-- Travel firm Thomson Holidays said it had decided to repatriate its customers from Mexico and to cancel flights bound for Cancun on Tuesday.
* BULGARIA -- Sofia airport boosted checks of passengers arriving from countries affected. Two thermal scanners have been installed at the airport. Customs officers are also checking the luggage of passengers arriving from Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Japan to ensure they are not importing pork products.
* CZECH REPUBLIC -- Circulated general information on the viral strain to hospitals, doctors and general practitioners. Has stocks of 2 million doses of Tamiflu, enough to treat one fifth of the population. At Prague Airport, information boards on swine flu have been put up and medical exams are available.
DENMARK -- A general pandemic plan is in place since bird flu scare. Denmark has stockpiled Tamiflu.
* FRANCE -- Is now strongly advising against travelling to Mexico. Has reinforced checks at airports, especially for people returning from Mexico. France has a stock of more than 30 million antiviral treatments, composed of 24 million doses of Tamiflu and 9 million doses of Relenza.
GERMANY -- Advises nationals against non-vital travel to Mexico.
GREECE -- Has "strategic stocks" of Tamiflu and other antivirus medicine.
ITALY - Pamphlets are being handed out to passengers at Rome's international airport although there are no restrictions on travel. Italy has 10 million doses of Zanamivir (Relenza) and 60,000 doses of Tamiflu as well as enough Tamiflu powder to make 30 million doses.
NORWAY -- A "pandemic committee" will be assembled this week. Authorities have stored flu medicine covering one-third of the 4.7 million population.
RUSSIA -- Health ministry recommends Russian citizens avoid trips to Mexico.
Aircraft personnel arriving from the Americas have been instructed to look out for passengers with flu-like symptoms. Planes, on which cases are suspected, should be taxied to special zones, and passengers and crews examined by medics.
-- Imposed curbs on meat imports from Mexico, a number of U.S. states and the Caribbean.
SPAIN -- Distributing leaflets to passengers arriving from Mexico, advising them to report to a health centre if they suffer symptoms. Spain has a stockpile of 10 million doses of Tamiflu. Flights to Mexico are being equipped with face masks and gloves.
UKRAINE -- Ban on imports of live pigs and pork meat from countries where cases of swine flu have been recorded. This applies to Mexico, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. All shipments received after April 21 will be subject to the ban.
AFRICA:
* EGYPT -- The authorities have increased medical staff at Cairo airport to check passengers arriving from Mexico and will monitor them during their stay.
* ZAMBIA -- Has formed an emergency task force to deal with a possible outbreak of swine flu.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Swine flu: What it is, how to fight it
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
It's a common respiratory ailment in pigs, but this strain appears to bea subtype never before seen in pigs or humans. Here are answers to questions you may have about swine flu.
Q: What is swine flu?
A: It's a common respiratory disease in pigs that doesn't usually spread to people. When pigs catch this flu, many get quite sick, and 1% to 4% die, according to the World Health Organization. In the past, people have sometimes caught swine flu if they worked directly with pigs.
Q: How is this swine flu virus different?
A: This strain appears to be a subtype not seen before in humans or pigs, with genetic material from pigs, bird and humans, according to WHO. Unlike most cases of swine flu, this one can spread from person to person, said Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a White House press conference Sunday. One of the confirmed cases in the USA caught swine flu from a spouse, who had been to Mexico.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | White House | Minnesota | Mexico | North Dakota | World Health Organization | Elizabeth | Janet Napolitano | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Q: Were pigs the carriers of this virus?
A: It's closer to say that pigs were the mixing bowl for this virus. Birds can't pass bird flu to people. But pigs are uniquely susceptible to getting flu viruses that infect birds. Experts have long worried that a pig would catch a bird strain of the flu and then the virus would mutate inside the pig to a form that could also infect other mammals. That may be what happened in this case. Pigs can also be infected with more than one influenza virus at a time, allowing the viruses to share genes, called "genetic reassortment," creating new and potentially much more virulent viruses.
Q: Can you catch swine flu from eating pork?
A: No, according to WHO. Pigs coming in to slaughter facilities are monitored for flu symptoms, and those that are ill are not allowed to enter the food supply. Cooking also kills the virus. People who work with pigs, however, can catch the virus. The Department of Agriculture is conducting tests to confirm that the food supply is safe, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Q: Is there a vaccine against swine flu?
A: No, but government scientists could try to create one, according to the CDC. "We've identified the virus," Besser said. "Should we decide to manufacture a vaccine, we can work toward that goal very quickly." CDC scientists don't know if this year's flu vaccine offers any protection.
Q: What about antivirals? Can they prevent swine flu?
A: This strain of swine flu does appear sensitive to the antiviral drugs Relenza and Tamiflu, but not to amantadine, or Symmetrel, and rimantadine, or Flumadine, Besser said. With normal seasonal flus, if taken within the first 48 hours after symptoms appear, antivirals can help people recover a day or two sooner. Doctors sometimes prescribe antivirals to household members of people with the flu to prevent them from getting sick.
Q: What are the symptoms?
A: The most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, lack of appetite and coughing, although some people also develop a runny nose, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Q: What should you do if you have these symptoms?
A: Stay home from work or school, to avoid spreading your illness to other people, Besser said. Don't get on an airplane. People should call their doctors to ask about the best treatment, but should not simply show up at a clinic or hospital that is unprepared for their arrival.
Q: How can people protect themselves?
A: As always, people should wash their hands frequently, Besser said. In the past, the CDC has said there isn't conclusive evidence to support using face masks. Surgical masks are designed to prevent the wearer from spreading germs, but may also catch large respiratory droplets if someone sneezes nearby. In a 2007 statement, the CDC said these masks could be worn if someone needs to go to a crowded place, such as a grocery store, for a short time. N95 respirator masks filter out 95% of particles to prevent the wearer from breathing them in. These must be fitted properly around the nose to create a seal, so they can make breathing difficult.
Q: What does it mean for the government to declare a public health emergency?
A: While the declaration "sounds more severe than it is," Napolitano said Sunday, it will free up funds and allow health officials to use medications and tests that aren't normally used. The government also issued a public health declaration during recent floods in North Dakota and Minnesota, she said, and noted that the government often issues such declarations when hurricanes are approaching. The federal government is also releasing 25% of the 50 million doses of antiviral medications in the nation's Strategic National Stockpile, Napolitano said. The Department of Defense is also making 7 million doses available.
Q: Why has the virus been so much deadlier in Mexico, where 1,300 have become ill and more than 80 people have died, than in the USA?
A: "What we've seen in this country is not anywhere near the severity of what we're seeing in Mexico," Besser said. Doctors don't yet know why cases have been milder in the USA, where only person has been hospitalized, although 20 cases have been confirmed, Besser said.
More information is available at www.cdc.gov.
It's a common respiratory ailment in pigs, but this strain appears to bea subtype never before seen in pigs or humans. Here are answers to questions you may have about swine flu.
Q: What is swine flu?
A: It's a common respiratory disease in pigs that doesn't usually spread to people. When pigs catch this flu, many get quite sick, and 1% to 4% die, according to the World Health Organization. In the past, people have sometimes caught swine flu if they worked directly with pigs.
Q: How is this swine flu virus different?
A: This strain appears to be a subtype not seen before in humans or pigs, with genetic material from pigs, bird and humans, according to WHO. Unlike most cases of swine flu, this one can spread from person to person, said Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a White House press conference Sunday. One of the confirmed cases in the USA caught swine flu from a spouse, who had been to Mexico.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | White House | Minnesota | Mexico | North Dakota | World Health Organization | Elizabeth | Janet Napolitano | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Q: Were pigs the carriers of this virus?
A: It's closer to say that pigs were the mixing bowl for this virus. Birds can't pass bird flu to people. But pigs are uniquely susceptible to getting flu viruses that infect birds. Experts have long worried that a pig would catch a bird strain of the flu and then the virus would mutate inside the pig to a form that could also infect other mammals. That may be what happened in this case. Pigs can also be infected with more than one influenza virus at a time, allowing the viruses to share genes, called "genetic reassortment," creating new and potentially much more virulent viruses.
Q: Can you catch swine flu from eating pork?
A: No, according to WHO. Pigs coming in to slaughter facilities are monitored for flu symptoms, and those that are ill are not allowed to enter the food supply. Cooking also kills the virus. People who work with pigs, however, can catch the virus. The Department of Agriculture is conducting tests to confirm that the food supply is safe, said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Q: Is there a vaccine against swine flu?
A: No, but government scientists could try to create one, according to the CDC. "We've identified the virus," Besser said. "Should we decide to manufacture a vaccine, we can work toward that goal very quickly." CDC scientists don't know if this year's flu vaccine offers any protection.
Q: What about antivirals? Can they prevent swine flu?
A: This strain of swine flu does appear sensitive to the antiviral drugs Relenza and Tamiflu, but not to amantadine, or Symmetrel, and rimantadine, or Flumadine, Besser said. With normal seasonal flus, if taken within the first 48 hours after symptoms appear, antivirals can help people recover a day or two sooner. Doctors sometimes prescribe antivirals to household members of people with the flu to prevent them from getting sick.
Q: What are the symptoms?
A: The most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, lack of appetite and coughing, although some people also develop a runny nose, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea, according to the CDC.
Q: What should you do if you have these symptoms?
A: Stay home from work or school, to avoid spreading your illness to other people, Besser said. Don't get on an airplane. People should call their doctors to ask about the best treatment, but should not simply show up at a clinic or hospital that is unprepared for their arrival.
Q: How can people protect themselves?
A: As always, people should wash their hands frequently, Besser said. In the past, the CDC has said there isn't conclusive evidence to support using face masks. Surgical masks are designed to prevent the wearer from spreading germs, but may also catch large respiratory droplets if someone sneezes nearby. In a 2007 statement, the CDC said these masks could be worn if someone needs to go to a crowded place, such as a grocery store, for a short time. N95 respirator masks filter out 95% of particles to prevent the wearer from breathing them in. These must be fitted properly around the nose to create a seal, so they can make breathing difficult.
Q: What does it mean for the government to declare a public health emergency?
A: While the declaration "sounds more severe than it is," Napolitano said Sunday, it will free up funds and allow health officials to use medications and tests that aren't normally used. The government also issued a public health declaration during recent floods in North Dakota and Minnesota, she said, and noted that the government often issues such declarations when hurricanes are approaching. The federal government is also releasing 25% of the 50 million doses of antiviral medications in the nation's Strategic National Stockpile, Napolitano said. The Department of Defense is also making 7 million doses available.
Q: Why has the virus been so much deadlier in Mexico, where 1,300 have become ill and more than 80 people have died, than in the USA?
A: "What we've seen in this country is not anywhere near the severity of what we're seeing in Mexico," Besser said. Doctors don't yet know why cases have been milder in the USA, where only person has been hospitalized, although 20 cases have been confirmed, Besser said.
More information is available at www.cdc.gov.
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