web 2.0
Showing posts with label Swine Flu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swine Flu. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Swine Flu

Swine Flu





SWINEFLU UPDATE
 
This article is intended only for informative & educational purposes. It is not intended to replace the advice of your G.P or a specialist.

On the 29th April 2009 we sent an email to some of our clients with email addresses. In that email, we discussed what the swine flu is all about and discouraged them to rush to have an anti-viral jab against the swine flu. Please read on to find out why we are not in favour of the anti-viral jabs. On the 27h May, we sent a mail shot to all our existing clients. This article is an update with certain modifications.

What is the Swine Flu?

It is a respiratory disease affecting pigs that is caused by Type A influenza.
Most outbreaks occur during late Fall and winter months similar to those influenza outbreaks in humans. The current strain A(H1N1) is a new variation of an H1N1 virus which causes seasonal flu outbreaks in humans. Swine flu viruses that cause diseases in pigs rarely affect humans. But sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred and there are documented cases of human to human spread of swine flu. On Wednesday 29th April, 09, the World health organization raised its pandemic alert level to five on its six level threat scale. By raising the level to five, it means that there are reasons to believe that the virus is capable of human to human transmission. Not long after that, the level was raised to Level 6.

But Level six, will not necessarily mean that there is a World wide crisis with scores of people dying! All that a pandemic mean is that a new infectious disease spreading throughout the World. So far the Swine Flu has claimed the lives of 332 people (as of July 1st, 2009). Of these 116 were from Mexico. It is relevant and appropriate to note that the greater majority, if not all those who died already had major health complications! As a result of the increased alert level, a fast track swine flu vaccine was promptly ordered and will be ready as early as July 2009.

Many health Organisations are probably celebrating the arrival of the new vaccine. But there is no reason why you should join in the celebrations. As a matter of fact, you should have more reasons to fear the new vaccine than the actual swine flu itself.

With the fast track program, there is virtually no time to have sufficient clinical trials to ensure the safety of the new vaccine nor as we submit, sufficient time to properly identify what is the appropriate vaccine! In consequence, our children and those in the health service may be the first line of guinea pigs to receive the vaccine.

On 4th July, 2009, The Daily Mail in England reported that the Swine Flu can kill up to 40 people a day in the U.K and predicts that millions will be affected by the end of August.

The common symptoms of the swine flu may include some or all of the following:

Fever
Coughing
Running nose and or sore throat
Joint aches
Severe ache
Vomiting and or diarrhoea
Lethargy
Lack of appetite.

As can be seen, the symptoms often resemble that of either a common cold or a flu.

The pandemic flu panic has a very strong impact on the people in Mexico, America and also part of Asia such as Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, people rush to their pharmacies to stock up tamiflu and other anti-viral drugs. The declarations of public emergency only go to help the pharmaceutical companies in the pandemic flu business.. Behind the scene, many governments and health officials are preparing the way for future quarantine and mass vaccinations that have been approved by the FDA regulations.
A public health emergency has become the pretext to rush to market experimental drugs and vaccines that are not subject to product liability in the American Civil courts!

The following is appropriate considerations:

There are more people dying from the regular flu than the swine flu. At least 13,000 people die each year from the regular flu in the U.S. alone. Those who died from the swine flu already have some sort of health complications.

The last swine flu threat happened in 1976; it resulted in massive swine flu vaccine. But within a few months there were claims totalling $1.3 billion from victims who had suffered with some form of paralysis from the flu vaccine. Several hundred people developed crippling the Guillian-Barre Syndrome after their injections.

The Swine Flu jabs when ready no will Tamiflu give a cure against the Swine Flu; it only shorten the recovery time by a day or so. If that is the case, why take the risk of having a jab when there are more appropriate alternatives that do not bring about unnecessarily risks?

For a very long time, I have become very sceptical of the media and also certain researches conducted by so called professors and so called scientists. Many of these researches are sponsored by the drug industry and are therefore very biased!

We urge you not to rush into having an anti-viral jab without being fully informed and after having completed your own research. The internet offers a wealth of information. Before you rush into having an anti-viral jab, consider that there are more natural ways to stay healthy. These include washing your hands frequently, drinking plenty of pure water, getting enough exercises, rest and sunshine, lowering stress and above all, consider the importance of certain supplements. We shall delve into this after we have finished with our discussion of the swine flu.

The anti-viral jab may or may not help!

So what if I am personally infected with the Swine flu? Will I rush to get an anti-viral jab? The answer is clearly No!. I will get plenty of rest, drink lots of pure water and most importantly ensure that I take all the supplements that I described in this article. The sauna and the steam room in a gym provide much relief than the anti-viral jab. Needless to say, if you catch the Swine Flu, it is our advice that unless you have a sauna at home you should stay at home and not pass it on.

You would remember the SARS outbreak 5 – 6 years ago. Because the illness was caused by a virus, there was no definitive treatment. Worldwide, there were more than 2700 cases but only about a hundred deaths. Those who died were already in poor health or had another unrelated serious illness of some sort!

Likewise, consider that this is the hay fever season. Many of the hay fever syndrome usually occurred during late Spring or early Summer. Many “cold” and “flu” cases are easily suspected to be Swine Flu; again the Media capitalises on it and had it blown out of proportion.

Most people will not know this! All H1N1 flu’s are descendants of the 1918 pandemic flu strain! The reason why the flu shot may or may not work from year to year is due to mutations. Mutations means changes over time. In view of mutations, there is no vaccine currently available for this current hydrid flu strain. Not too long ago, scientists found that the 1918 flu pandemic that killed more than 50 million people worldwide in a matter of 18 months was not due to the flu itself! Instead they discovered that the cause of the deaths was due to strep infections. People with influenza often get what is known as a “super infection” with an accompanying bacterial agent. In 1918, it appears to have been Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Even our own National Health Service (NHS) Website made only very modest claim about the efficacy for Tamiflu and Relenza saying that they can relieve some of the symptoms of the swine flu and reduce the time of your illness by about a day and reduce the potential for complications.

Consider that Mexico is heavily polluted at this time of year with heavy pollution and that its standard of hygiene is amongst some of the lowest in the World. What this mean is that in order for the bird flu or the swine flu to turn into a human pandemic, it has to find an environment similar to Mexico City that favours both deadly virulence and ease of transmission. Likewise, crowded chicken farms, slaughterhouse and congested markets of Eastern Asia similar to that of the GuangDong Province in Southern China 6 years ago provided the impetus for the SARS disease!

As such therefore, with an excellent health care system such as in the U.K, we doubt if this strain will kill 40 people a day in the U.K! You would remember the bird flu scare not too long ago. Despite warnings that it could kill millions of people, only 257 people died over a period of 5 years. Surely, in itself, this does not constitute an emergency deserving much attention, let alone fear.

Bear in mind that the greater majority of the reported have very mild symptoms. Those infected are usually those with other accompanying health issues. During late Spring and early Summer, the hay fever season is on and there are allergies of all sorts. There are many suspected cases with similar symptoms and can easily be passed off as the Swine Flu.

Worldwide, each dose of Tamiflu costs about £70. The profits can be astronomical if 100 million people world wide received the jab! No wonder the stock index shows the soaring price of the drug industry.

Very honestly, I will ask of you to be more concerned with irritable bowel syndrome, gastro-intestinal diseases, heart problems, cancer & diabetics than the swine flu pandemic. Gastro intestinal diseases such as crohn’s and ulcerative colitis can contribute to a much higher incidence of bowel cancer! Heart problems & cancer cause more deaths.

As stated in the New York Times, flu experts have no idea whether the present flu shot will offer much protection against this exotic mutant (swine flu) and it will take many months for the drug companies to develop a new drug that could be effective against this brand new mutant!

Therefore, to get a shot now would not only offer you no protection but could potentially lead to more harm. Most anti-viral drugs are likely to be loaded with mercury as a preservative in most flu vaccines!

Many of you have a regular flu shot for the seasonal flu just before the beginning of the Winter season. Here again, I will ask of you to do your research to find out how effective this may be.
To sum up, we have very strong reservation against most forms of anti-viral jabs.

USE OF CERTAIN SUPPLEMENTS TO ENHANCE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

We may have the common cold but we have not caught the flu for many years now. This is because we are always on supplements and enzymes. We are also enjoying very good health! As such therefore, we are not afraid of the Swine Flu. We would not deliberately try to catch it and even if we did catch it, we know that there is nothing to fear. Below is a list of supplements that we would recommend that you take if you are to enhance your immune system. If you got the flu, it will definitely shorten the time of recovery and will definitely minimises the discomfort and pain with it.

1. Vitamin D3. This is a sunshine vitamin. Most people lack sunshine and do not have sufficient exposure to the sun. Optimising your Vitamin D levels is a very good strategy. But you cannot afford to over-dose on vitamin D. I would recommend that you start with a dosage of 4,000 IU to “jump start” your body for a week and then stick with 2,000 I.U daily. But if you are already down with a flu (not just the common cold), you can take at least 20,000 IU for about 4 days before gradually reducing the dosage to about 2,000 IU daily. Take those that are distributed either by Nutri or Lambert or if you need any, do not hesitate to give us a call.

2. A good Probiotic. This is absolutely essential as probiotic cleanses the gut and eliminates bad bacteria inside the gut. It can also help with irritable bowel syndrome. 80% of our immune system lies with our gastro-intestinal tract and it will help therefore to maintain a healthy gastro intestinal function. For therapeutic purpose, do not follow the instructions on the label but take a dosage that is at least 6 times above the recommend dosage.

3. Turmeric: Most flu patients have pain in the neck, shoulders and back. A high dosage of turmeric will help to reduce the inflammatory process and the pain.

4. Super Garlic: Take higher dosage for a therapeutic purpose. Garlic works like a broad spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus and protozoa in the body. But unlike antibiotic, no resistance can be built up so it is extremely safe to take.

5. A good brand of fish oil such as Eskimo 3. Fish oil balances the ratio between your saturated and unsaturated fat and lubricates your tissues and cells. It is to us, a multi-purpose type of supplement. Again, take a dosage that is at least 3 – 4 times above the prescribed dosage as recommended for therapeutic purpose.

If there is a financial constraint, we would recommend that you just take Vitamin D3 and probiotic and fish oil.

Minimise the intake of sugar and processed food and drink lots of pure water. Have regular exercise, even just a brisk 20 minute walk. The above recommended supplements and avoiding sugar and anti-viral jabs will be your recipe not just to combat the swine flu but will help you to maintain good health all year round.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Swine Infuenza




What is Swine Influenza(H1N1):

Swine influenza is common in pigs in the mid western United States, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe, UK, Sweden, and Italy, Kenya, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and othe Asia. It’s thought that novel influenza A swine flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the fever, coughing, headache and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus.
Swine influenza (swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) refers to the influenza caused by those strains of influenza virus that are usually infect pigs and called swine influenza virus (SIV).

Transmission of swine influenza from pigs to humans is not common. People who's work with pigs, specially people with intense exposures, are at risk of catching swine flu. There will be more cases, more hospitalization and more deaths associated with this new virus. These strains of swine flu can pass from human to human. In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.

The 2009 flu outbreak in humans that is widely known as "swine flu" This strain of influenza virus is unique. These new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that was produced by re assortment from one strain of human influenza virus, one strain of avian influenza virus, and two separate strains of swine influenza. because it is a combination of genes from swine, bird, and human influenza viruses. The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organization for Animal Health that this strain has not been isolated in pigs. Infected individuals report flu-like symptoms of fever, aches and pains, sore throats, coughing, and trouble breathing. It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.



influenza A(H1N1):
H1N1 is a new influenza (flu) virus first seen in the United States in April 2009. It is called "novel" H1N1 because the virus has never been identified before and is new. Novel H1N1 was initially called "swine flu" by health officials because many of the genes are similar to some flu viruses that pigs in North America can get. However, further study showed that this new virus contains genes from flu viruses that circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia as well as genes from birds and humans. Scientists call this a "quadruple re assortant" influenza virus.

Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, also known as A(H1N1), is a subtype of influenza virus A and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans, including the strain(s) responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic which killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Less virulent H1N1 strains still exist in the wild today, worldwide, causing a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a large fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused roughly half of all flu infections in 2006. Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs and in birds.

In March and April 2009, hundreds of laboratory-confirmed infections and a number of deaths were caused by an outbreak of a new strain of H1N1.
.



What exactly is swine flu?
Swine influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease that emanates from pigs. Pigs are unique because these animals accommodate influenza virus from two other major hosts: humans and birds. Swine flu is a type A influenza virus.
Type A influenza viruses are sub-typed according to 1) their respective Hemagglutinin (H), which is a surface protein that allows the virus to attach to host cells and 2) a viral surface associated neuraminidase (N), which allows the virus to enter the host cell. All influenza A subtypes have been identified from birds. The current swine flu is type A subtype H1N1.



How bad is this strain?
This strain is unique for several reasons. First, as previously mentioned, the combination of avian and human influenza gene sequences is worrisome because of the possible species jumping of the avian virus to that of humans. Second, the H is sufficiently different from the current vaccine strain H such that humans will have little or no protection. Third, unlike the H5N1 bird influenza virus, this current swine influenza virus is effectively passed from human to human and has made its debut well in advanced of the typical influenza season typically kills 36,000 people in the United States. However, it is still too early to tell the full extent of the current viral infection.



How is the virus transmitted ?
Influenza spreads primarily through aerosolization (coughing and sneezing) and direct contact by touching contaminated surfaces. Although the virus requires a living cell to survive/thrive, influenza virus has been shown to persist on surfaces like tabletops for up to 24 hours. The virus is not transmitted by eating cooked pork products.


How can we kill the virus?
Like many viruses, influenza is very heat sensitive. Furthermore, influenza is an envelope virus, which means the genetic material (RNA) is contained within a membrane. Once the membrane is compromised, the viral RNA genome is subject to degradation and thus the virus cannot replicate/survive. There are a number of hand hygiene products that are available that disrupt viral membranes. Additionally, drugs such as Tamiflu (an inhibitor of the viral N) are very effective against the current circulating virus. The antiviral drug Amantadine (an inhibitor of the viral proton pump) has been shown to be ineffective against the current circulating swine influenza.


How can we prevent getting the virus?
Covering the nose and mouth with a surgical mask can be of some help but good hand hygiene, staying away from sick individuals and avoiding crowds will also help greatly.


How can we diagnose Swine Flu in human?
In human, Swine Flu is usually transmitted through the Respiratory Tract. Droplets of infected body fluids may carry flu when people cough or sneeze. Therefore, a respiratory specimen generally needs to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, especially children may shed virus for 10 days or longer. The collected specimen is then sent to the identified laboratories in the country for confirmation.



Who is at risk?
Typically, the very young and the very old tend to be at greatest risk, but for two very different reasons. In small children, the immune system is very alert and when activated in response to entities such as an influenza virus, literally goes into overdrive creating a cytokine storm. The result is extensive damage in the lungs akin to drowning in one's own fluids. In the elderly, the immune system is not as alert and does not go into an overdrive as it does with young hosts. Due to aging a compromised immune system gives rise to secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia.


What are the symptoms of Swine in Human?
It takes about 4 (four) days for the onset of symptoms when a person is infected. The symptoms are usually:-
1. Coughing and sneezing
2. Headache and Body ache
3. Fever and chills
4. Sometimes vomiting and diarrhea
Severe cases of Flu that leads to death are normally seen in very young and very old people whose immune systems are too weak to fight off the virus.



Can a vaccine be created ?
Creating a vaccine is no trivial issue. A vaccine can be created, but to make the number of doses needed to protect the entire community may take a minimum of 6-9 months with the participation of large pharmaceutical firms.

Now that the pandemic alert level is phase 5 imminent pandemic, what should I do?

Pandemic implies that the virus is widespread. It does not necessarily mean that the virus is extremely virulent. However, since the verdict is still out with regard to the current virus, the bottom line is:


  • Wash your hands frequently.
  • Stay away from those who are ill.
  • Avoid large crowds of people.
  • Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water
  • Use hand sanitizer regularly
  • Cough and sneeze in your arm or sleeve and refrain from any close contact with your colleagues if you suspect you may be sick
  • Get your annual flu shot
  • Keep doing what you normally do, but stay home if sick
  • Talk to a health professional if you experience flu-like symptoms: fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, body aches, fatigue and lack of appetite.
Thanks for visiting my blog.Now kindly thanks the publisher by clicking any (ads) available in the blog.You can use My Google Search Engine as your default search engine.Add Comments to my blog posts and share it via different social networks. Mention the flaws left in posts and let me able to better my blog. Moreover,You can suggest me some related links to my blog posts.Bookmark it,soon you will need it again.I will be personally thankful to you.