• Joe Biden,  Swine Flu

    After his Swine Flu Warning, VP Joe Biden Returns Home on the Train

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    Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

    Vice President Joe Biden probably did not want to go home on the train, after his gaffe swine flu warning but he did anyway.

    One day after saying he wouldn’t travel in tight quarters because of the swine flu scare, Vice President Joe Biden rode a train Friday from Washington to Delaware.

    Known for speaking freely, Biden told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he had urged family members to avoid airplanes and subways for fear of contracting the H1N1 flu virus.

    “I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now,” Biden said.

    The comments infuriated the travel industry and triggered several revisions from the Obama administration, whose official advice is less severe.

    Slow Joe took one for the team – whether he liked it or not.


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  • Barack Obama,  Swine Flu

    White House Issues Advisory After Obama Mexico Trip

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    It has taken a while.

    The White House is issuing a health advisory to anyone who traveled on President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico, after a member of the U.S. delegation came down with flu-like symptoms – and tests on that staffers’ family showed they are probably infected with the swine flu.

    After saying just last week that no one who traveled to Mexico City for the president’s visit contracted the flu, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced that a lead advance person for Energy Secretary Steven Chu came down with flu-like symptoms after the trip and appears to have spread the flu to three members of his family.

    Tests on the individual came back negative – probably because too much time elapsed after he got back – but tests on his family showed they have the influenza virus. A test for the swine flu strain – known as H1N1 – showed they are probable for that.

    The individual, of Maryland, traveled to Mexico City on April 13, began to feel ill on April 16, and as of today is back to work, Gibbs said. Gibbs declined to name the man, but said he did not come within six feet of President Obama, although he was present at a dinner Obama attended.

    The man flew back to Washington on a commercial United Airlines flight that landed at Dulles airport.

    And, there you go –  why public health advisories and precautions are always prudent.

    You don’t play around with the influenza virus or other contagions. Look at what has happened to Mexico City.

    Stay tuned……


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  • Joe Biden,  Swine Flu

    Video: VP Joe Biden – Avoid Subways and Airplanes Due to Swine Flu

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    Slow Joe Plagiarizing Biden lets the cat out of the bag regarding swine or H1N1 flu.

    Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not recommend taking any commercial flight or riding in a subway car “at this point” because swine flu virus can spread “in confined places.”

    ““I would not be, at this point – if they had another way of transportation – suggesting they ride the subway,” Biden said on NBC’s “Today” show.

    That contradicted more restrained advice from President Barack Obama and the federal government, and could hurt tourism during a recession.

    The administration said a clarifying statement is forthcoming.

    Good ol’ Joe.

    Out of the mouth of babes………comes the truth – not Obama Administration spin.

    Flap bets there is a clarifying statement as the airlines and hotel industry start to crash.

    Here is the video:


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  • Swine Flu

    United Nations Secretary General: Swine Flu May Cause Global Pandemic

  • Swine Flu

    40 Swine Flu Cases in the United States – Obama Says “Not a Cause for Alarm”

    Custom agents are now finally checking people coming into the United States by land and air.

    President Barack Obama said Monday the threat of spreading swine flu infections was a concern but “not a cause for alarm,” while customs agents began checking people coming into the United States by land and air. The World Health Organization said there were 40 confirmed cases in the U.S. but no deaths.

    Countries across the globe increased their vigilance amid increasing worries about a worldwide pandemic, Obama told a gathering of scientists that his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services “has declared a public health emergency as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively.”

    But, not a cause for alarm.

    Right.

    Related Links:


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  • Swine Flu

    Thermal Scanners Used to Screen for Swine Flu as Countries Race to Contain the Disease

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    There is NO panic but countries are rushing to contain the Swine Flu outbreak.

    Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine. Other governments were increasing their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas or banning them outright.

    Many nations issued travel warnings for Mexico.

    Australia said airlines would have to identify passengers who may be infected, who would then be assessed by quarantine officers and sent for medical treatment if necessary.

    “Before flights will be able to land here in Australia, pilots will have to ascertain whether anyone on board has flu-like symptoms,” Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.

    Tests were also under way on people with flu-like symptoms in Israel, France and Spain.

    In the United States, at least 11 cases of swine flu have been confirmed. Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. David Butler-Jones said six cases had been confirmed there, and all had links to people who had traveled to Mexico.

    In Singapore, the health ministry said it began using thermal scanners Sunday at Changi International Airport to check passengers arriving from the United States. Travelers with high temperatures would be given a thorough medical examination, it said.

    Thermal scanners and upgraded checks for flu-like symptoms were also being put in place at main airports in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

    Hong Kong and Taiwan said visitors returning from flu-affected areas with fevers would be quarantined.

    China said anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms within two weeks of arrival had to report to authorities.

    A Russian health agency said passengers from North America running a fever would be quarantined until the cause is determined.

    Many measures recalled those taken across Asia during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, epidemic and used more recently to monitor bird flu.

    And, now Fox News is reporting that the United States State Department is FINALLY discouraging American travelers to Mexico.

    Compared to the rest of the world, the United States seems to be slow to react to the outbreak.

    Stay tuned……


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  • Medicine,  Swine Flu

    Mexico and the United States on the Verge of a Swine Flu Pandemic


    +++++Update+++++

    Question & Answer Swine Flu in the United States and Mexico

    Further information: CDC’s swine flu page and the initial report published earlier this week.

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    You know, Flap had Influenza A over Christmas and ended up in the hospital for over 4 days.

    This swine flu epidemic is serious business. And, there is NO vaccine yet available.

    A strain of flu never seen before has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and has also appeared in the United States, where eight people were infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday.

    Mexico’s government said at least 20 people have died of the disease in central Mexico and that it may also have been responsible for 40 other deaths.

    Mexico reported more than 1,000 suspected cases and four possible cases were also seen in Mexicali, right on the border with California.

    The World Health Organization said tests showed the virus from 12 of the Mexican patients was the same genetically as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in eight people in California and Texas.

    “Our concern has grown as of yesterday,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing.

    Global health officials were not ready to declare a pandemic — a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease such as flu. “So far there has not been any change in the pandemic threat level,” Besser said.

    But the human-to-human spread of the new virus raised fears of a major outbreak and Mexico’s government canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas. All large public events like concerts were suspended in Mexico City.

    Close analysis showed the disease is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the CDC.

    Most of the Mexican dead were aged between 25 and 45, a Mexican health official said, in a worrying sign. Seasonal flu can be more deadly among the very young and the very old but a hallmark of pandemics is that they affect healthy young adults.

    Mexico has enough antiviral drugs to combat the outbreak for the moment, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said.

    The WHO said the virus appears to be susceptible to Roche AG’s flu drug Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, but not to older flu drugs such as amantadine.

    The last “FLU” pandemic was in 1968 when the “HONG KONG FLU” killed around a million people around the world.

    The “SWINE FLU” is an Influenza “A” Virus and is designated H1N1. It has DNA from birds, pigs and human viruses.

    The Centers for Disease Control is working on a vaccine.

    Related Links:

    Stay tuned…….


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