Category: Plagues and Pandemics

Letter Re: Avoiding Influenza When Traveling Overseas

James, My work forces me to travel frequently – 80 to 90% of the time. And it’s not to fun places like Miami or Rio but rather third world locales (just coming back from a swing through the ‘stans – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan — where I have a large telecommunications project). As such I get exposed to every imaginable sort of illness. I finally found a doctor I could work with when he started to ask where I had been lately rather than what the symptoms were. As such I have a larger than normal medical kit …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

CDC Eyes 600 Million Doses of Swine Flu Shots “Health officials said that a swine flu vaccination campaign could be only a few months away, and that as many as 60 million doses could be ready by September.” [JWR Adds: With the current rapid rate of mutation, one can only wonder about the efficacy of this “rush job” vaccine.] Oregon’s Second Swine Flu Death “The child was younger than 5 year old [and] had ‘no known underlying medical conditions and a two-day history of fever,’ and was not hospitalized, officials said.” Drug-Resistant Swine Flu Seen in Danish Patient The BBC …


Letter Re: Transcript From a Colorado Flu Pandemic Meeting

Sir, The June 25, 2009 InfraGard meeting was on the pending pandemic. The speakers were Robin K. Koons, Ph.D., epidemiologist for the Colorado Emergency Preparedness and the Director of FEMA for the State of Colorado. This InfraGard meeting was non-restricted, so these notes may be shared: [begin transcript] It is anticipated that 30% of the working population, 42 million people, will become ill. 70% of the working population, 150 million people, will not get ill, and will have to run the country. In 1918 out of the 30% that became ill, 2% died. Infrastructure may not meet human needs. Supply …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Swine Flu Multi-Shot Vaccine May Overwhelm States “Two injections will be required three weeks apart for swine flu, also known as H1N1, and a third will be needed for seasonal flu, health officials said at a meeting today at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta. Children younger than 9 years old will need four shots, the CDC said. … People older than age 50 are getting swine flu at far lower rates than younger people, evidence they may have some immunity from prior exposures to a similar virus, and will only need one shot, the CDC …






Influenza Pandemic Update:

Next Question in Swine Flu: Who Gets Vaccinated? Swine Flu Epidemic Escalating in Middle East Fatal Swine Flu Cluster In Buffalo, NY “The above comments describe two students of magnet schools in Buffalo, NY that are a mile apart. Both students were on life support yesterday, and the middle school student (15) died after life support was withdrawn. The elementary school student (9F) remains on life support. The clustering of two critically ill students raises concerns about the emergence of a more lethal strain of Pandemic H1N1. … The 2009 Pandemic is tracking with the 1918 Pandemic, which produce mild …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

E627K Acquisition In Swine H1N1 Raises Pandemic Concerns “The acquisition of E627K creates concern that the virus will evolve into a more lethal agent that will be associated with an increased case fatality rate in previously healthy young adults, as was seen in the 1918 Pandemic.” The first death from swine flu in Australia Old People May Be Immune to Swine Flu


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Chem-Bio Daily (hosted by Anser.org) reports: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts have rejected a report that a new strain of the novel H1N1 influenza virus has been identified in a Brazilian patient.” (Thanks to NH for the tip.) Clouded, Suspicious Baxter to Make Swine Flu Vaccine Virus Mix-Up By Lab Could Have Resulted in Pandemic Swine Flu Cases Spring Up in Middle East Bird Flu Virus Can Survive For Two Years in Birds’ Carcasses [JWR Adds an Important Safety Tip: Do not eat two-year old bird carcasses!] Kids May Get Swine Flu Shots First


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Three-Month-Old Dies of Swine Flu in Argentina Swine Flu Vax Poses Serious Threat to Your Health New Flu Strain Has Mutated, Become More Infectious Brazil Finds New Strain of Swine Flu Seven More Swine Flu Deaths in NYC “City health officials estimate 253,000 people had the swine flu in Queens and Brooklyn alone during May.” House OKs $7.7 Billion to Respond to Flu Pandemic




Influenza Pandemic Update:

Don’t Worry, It’s Just a Pandemic Just redefining it so there is no panic. Symptoms of Swine Flu and What to Do Delayed Pandemic Phase 6 Designation Raises Pandemic Concerns “The parallels between the 2009 pandemic and the 1918 pandemic are striking; Both began as a mild infection in the spring and targeted previously healthy young adults. In the fall of 1918, the virus was much more deadly, leading to the death of 20-50 million people, most of which were previously healthy young adults….the two-month delay in the pandemic [phase] 6 declaration may prove to be quite hazardous to the …