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"Pandemic Sweeps the Globe"
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As everyone knows by now, the world is in the grip of a swine flu pandemic.
The good news is that so far this virus has proven to be relatively mild. Most people who contract it report normal flu symptoms...fever, cough, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatique, diarrhea and vomiting. After a few days of bed rest they're generally up and about once again.
The bad news is that in some cases these symptoms can be much, much more severe, leading to pneumonia and respiratory failure.
And the scary thing is that if you come down with the symptoms there's no telling ahead of time which group you're going to be in.
Virologists have been telling us that throughout history there has been a serious killer influenza pandemic each century.
The last real bad one was 91 years ago. While we don't know whether the current H1N1 pandemic is the next big one, we do know we're about due.
Four years ago everyone thought the next big one would be the bird flu. But in 4 years the bird flu has only killed about 300 people. In 4 months the swine flu has killed 10 times that number.
Still...it's not that serious. Is it? After all, the seasonal flu kills several hundred thousand people every year.
At this point in time nobody really knows how dangerous this virus is. To have a killer pandemic like the one in 1918 you need a virus that's easily transmissible from person to person and you need it to be of a virulent nature.
So far we only have the first condition. But the flu virus is always changing. And the fear is that eventually it may mutate into a highly virulent form, and that combined with its ease of transmission, will result in a pandemic that could result in the loss of hundreds of millions of lives.
As the pandemic continues to escalate, Professor Albert Osterhaus, an adviser to the World Health Organisation (WHO), expressed his fears that swine flu may develop into a far deadlier strain.
"In a doomsday scenario, we could have a severe pandemic, similar to the Spanish flu, and that could arise out of a mutation of the virus," he said.
"Spanish flu also started as a relatively mild strain, comparable to the seasonal flu virus. Then, after half a year, there was a major peak and tens of millions of people died worldwide."
Both viruses seem to target largely healthy adults and children, he added.
"We cannot predict what's going to happen, or how likely or unlikely it is that we will have this scenario, but I think the precautionary principle is important and we should be prepared for the worst, even if there's only a small chance of it happening. We cannot rule out a repeat of a pandemic on the scale of the Spanish flu."
Our purpose with this website is to provide you with the information you need in order to make a balanced, reasonable approach to the issue and to help you to take the steps you'll need to give yourselves the protection and peace of mind that will allow you to carry on with your everyday activities without undue concern for what might or might not happen.
When you sign up for our free newsletter we'll keep you informed on a regular basis on the latest developments. If you'd like to be pro-active and help inform others we have a brochure that you can pass along. If your employer doesn't yet have a business continuity plan in place, we have one that you can download at no charge.
How Mild is the Swine Flu?
Reports on the severity of the swine flu are often qualified by the observation that it's really a pretty mild strain, and certainly nothing to panic over.
We agree, there's no need to panic. Especially if you've been preparing for the worst. But is this really a mild flu?
Here's how one victim described her ordeal:
"I've got swine flu, and I've never felt so ill in my life, not even when I was hospitalised with viral meningitis a few years ago. Swine flu has been pretty similar to that, and nothing like having a normal cold. On Friday, when the virus hit, my partner came home to find me shivering, sweating, coughing and unable to stand any light whatsoever. My hands went numb and it later transpired that my meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) were inflamed.
So began the mildly Kafkaesque process of trying to figure out how to obtain medical help. "Do not go into your GP surgery, or to a hospital," said the NHS swine flu Q&A, which provided a link to a symptom checker, which said to call 999. What, so I could be driven to a hospital, but couldn't go inside it?
We did go to hospital, where they were terribly nice but made me wear a face mask - it turns out you can't actually breathe through them.* Once they'd ruled out meningitis, I got a prescription for Tamiflu and a cocktail of painkillers, but when my partner tried to get it fulfilled, he discovered it's not so easy to find a chemist with Tamiflu in stock, even in London, and it can't be on the same prescription as any other drugs. "You can have the Tamiflu or the painkillers," they told him. "Choose one." Back to the hospital that we were never supposed to have visited in the first place, then.
 Wearing a facemask reduces the risk of catching the flu
by as much as 80% according to new study.
Order yours now by going HERE.
(*Generally this is true. However the Alpha Pro Techs, that we offer on our website, are the easiest N95 rated masks to breathe through that we've been able to find.)
Meanwhile the virus continues to sweep the globe, supplanting the regular seasonal flu in the Southern Hemisphere and claiming more lives with each passing day.
Initially we were told that the very young and the very old were most susceptible.
Then we found out that it was targeting those in their prime.
Then we were told it was only killing those with underlying medical conditions.
Today we're finding more and more victims who were otherwise healthy, such as 6 year old Chloe Buckley from West London who complained of flu-like symptoms on Wednesday and died on Thursday.
This is disturbingly similar to the 1918 pandemic, when perfectly healthy individuals left for work in the morning and were dead by nightfall.
It has now been discovered that In contrast with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu viruses, the H1N1virus exhibits an ability to infect cells deep in the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Seasonal viruses typically infect only cells in the upper respiratory system.
More Swine Flu Experiences
With nearly every country now reporting cases of the swine flu we're seeing a wide range of responses...most people experience relatively mild responses while others experience severe, life threatening symptoms, including death.
What should you expect if you come down with it? At this stage nobody knows, but the following accounts may provide a clue...
"My house-mate's boyfriend, Troy, woke me in the middle of the night on Sunday with what felt like last month's bad news: swine flu.
His girlfriend had contracted the newest strain of influenza.
Five of us share a house in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Paddington, and the travelling duo had returned from a three-week trip to the US on Saturday morning.
I'd seen them briefly before leaving for work and noticed then that the 20-year-old (who does not want to be named) had the sniffles, but I didn't think too much of it.
She and Troy had been tested at Brisbane International Airport.
She said she would stay in her room, but at that stage neither of them knew what was looming.
Once the flu was diagnosed, about 11:00pm on Sunday, it was on.
Queensland Health told me and fellow house-mates Jason and Tanya to head to the Princess Alexandra Hospital - the place most prepared for swine flu - for immediate testing.
We made our way in our pyjamas and were told to sit in the small "swine flu" room (decked out with hanging towels to cover the windows), armed with facemasks.
After about 45 minutes, a masked doctor came to query our symptoms.
He tested Tanya and I because we had sore throats, but Jason got to skip the intrusive nose and throat swabs.
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From there we waited a tense three-and-a-half hours for them to figure out what to do with us.
Every half an hour or so, the doctor would come in and tell us he was still "liaising with the public health guys".
We were all growing increasingly tired, hungry and snappy.
Swine flu spreading at 'unbelievable' rate: WHO
Sat Aug 29, 9:23 am ET
PARIS (AFP) – Swine flu spreads four times faster than other viruses and 40 percent of the fatalities are young adults in good health, the world's top health official warned in an interview appearing Saturday.
"This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard of speed," World Health Organisation Director General Margaret Chan told France's Le Monde daily in an interview.
"In six weeks it travels the same distance that other viruses take six months to cover," Chan said.
"Sixty percent of the deaths cover those who have underlying health problems," Chan said. "This means that 40 percent of the fatalities concern young adults -- in good health -- who die of a viral fever in five to seven days.
"This is the most worrying fact," she said, adding that "up to 30 percent of people in densely populated countries risked getting infected."
Chan's warning came a day after the WHO said the virus had overtaken others to become the most prevalent flu strain.
"Evidence from multiple outbreak sites demonstrates that the A(H1N1) pandemic virus has rapidly established itself and is now the dominant influenza strain in most parts of the world," the UN agency said in a statement.
"The pandemic will persist in the coming months as the virus continues to move through susceptible populations," it added.
Chan underlined that emergency and healthcare services in several countries had come under strain and stressed that resources allocated for cancer patients and those suffering from heart disease should not be diverted.
"One must not rob Peter to pay Paul," she said. "All governments must prepare for the worst."
She said the most important thing in the battle against the virus was "political leadership."
More than 2,180 people around the world have died from the virus since it emerged in April, according to the latest WHO figures.
Chan also said that it could be months before sufficient vaccine is available to combat the pandemic.
She put world production capacity at 900 million doses a year, for a global population of 6.8 billion people.
Even if this was an unprecedented effort, and authorities were speeding up procedures for getting vaccines to the market, there should be no question of compromises on their safety and effectiveness, Chan said.
Britain and France received their first batches of swine flu vaccine this week. Australia on Friday said a massive swine flu vaccination programme would start in October and Turkey hopes the first supplies of the vaccine will come by that time.
While 90 percent of severe and fatal cases occur in people aged above 65 in seasonal flu, most of those who die from swine flu are under the age of 50.
Click HERE to read entire article.
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We were dosed up on the anti-viral Tamiflu and told we were right to go - into quarantine for seven days.
Quarantine? The authorities agreed that we should all stay at Tanya's parents' house in Brisbane's south; Tanya's parents are on a three-month sojourn in Europe and their house is empty.
Since we went into quarantine, the three of us have been fielding numerous calls from authorities as well as from our two infected room-mates, who have been told to stay in the already-infected house.
We have been provided with supplies so that we are properly equipped to be cut off from the world (with Internet and TV, of course) for the next week.
Two more of our friends, who came to greet the infected duo on their return from the US, have just been ordered to our quarantine house, bringing the total number of possible infected people in the swine flu haven to five.
Any of us could have swine flu. And what are the chances now that we all have it?
Our initial swine flu test results are due back at 5:00pm today, but there are no guarantees. Because the virus has a two to three-day incubation period, a negative test today does not rule out a positive one later in the week.
Authorities have been helpful - they're dropping over food and more of the antiviral to us - but there's a distinct feeling that they're a little in the dark on how to handle what could potentially become an outbreak of swine flu in Queensland.
But for now, we're boarded up in this house (perfect for a TV series perhaps?) and are all dosed up on Tamiflu, hoping for the very best."
Another report...
"There is no reason why a flu blogger-epidemiologist-physician's family should be immune to flu in the community. And it appears my family is not. My daughter has had a cough for the last few days and Friday night was suddenly seized by nausea, vomiting and fever. Her HMO's urgent care directed her to the Emergency Room of the local hospital where a rapid flu test was positive. While waiting to be seen at the ER, her 10 month old, who had a croupy cough, also started vomiting and was warm to the touch. His (slightly) older brother (2 years) was also coughing. Her husband has a cough, too, and is overwhelmed by being the healthiest one in the family. Daughter says she feels awful with headache and muscle aches and pains the usual analgesics (including some opiates) don't seem to touch. She told me she was talking to a co-worker recently who asked her if she ever had the flu and she said she didn't know. Her friend then said, "If you had it, you'd know." She now says she understands what that means. So much for the "mild illness."
Meanwhile, for the last 3 days Mrs. R. and I have felt like we were rolled over by a truck, and Mrs. R. had a sore throat. Maybe our age is keeping us from worse effects from this one, or maybe we don't have flu. We'll probably never know.
So am I justified in thinking my daughter and family have swine flu? I think the answer is "yes." She had sudden onset of symptoms -- she had a cough but I'd seen her just hours before she got acutely ill with fever and vomiting and she had seemed fine -- all symptoms typically described with this virus. She had a positive test for flu antigen with a rapid test. And virologic surveillance is showing virtually all of laboratory confirmed influenza A in the CDC NREVSS surveillance system is swine flu.
Vomiting and fever have also swept through the grandchildren's day care center, although my daughter reports children were often back in school after a day or two. Since we know children shed virus longer than adults, the day care center was probably a flu incubator. This is a direct consequence of the inadequate child care and sick leave policies this country has. These are often considered social policies, but they have very direct public health consequences."
My husband and I attended a friend's Birthday party on June 1st, in Wickenburg, Az. At about 9:00 pm we were preparing to leave the party when I started feeling achy. We made it back to our house by about 9:45 pm, by then I had a fever and was aching so bad I couldn't lay still or get comfortable in bed. As soon as I walked in the house, I took two aspirin, two antibiotics and a shot of Nyquil. A while later my fever broke but returned shortly thereafter. I took two more aspirin and laid in bed until I finally fell asleep at about 3:30 am. When I woke up the following morning, I took another antibiotic just for precautionary measures. I was a little groggy but felt fine otherwise.
Two days later my husband came home with the same symptoms and went straight to bed. He took two aspirin for his fever but throughout the night I felt his head and he was burning up. I tried to get him to take some antibiotics and some Nyquil to help his symptoms but he said he had just taken two more aspirin and didn't want anything else. He came home sick on Wednesday, early evening, by Thursday afternoon he was so sick he couldn't get out of bed to eat or drink anything so I tried to give him some liquids in bed but he drank very little. Friday, I had to leave him in my Mother's care and she looked after him until Sunday evening.
I had called two or three different clinics and asked if they could test him for Swine Flu, They said they couldn't test him for Swine Flu. When I called CDC, they said they were still testing for swine flu but they were so backed up it would be weeks before we would get a result.
How is a person supposed to get a prescription of Tamiflu to treat themselves within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms if local clinics don't have the means to test for swine flu?
My husband was sick with flu-like symptoms on Wednesday, he was deathly ill, in bed, no appetite, high fever that would break but then return less than 30 minutes later for 7 days.
I know he caught it from me. Our symptoms were identical only mine lasted for just a few short hours, it was extremely intense in the way it made you feel like you thought you were going to die. The temps in Arizona are so high at this time of year, its hard to function outdoors for any length of time. I seriously doubt this was a seasonal influenza. The effects it had on both of us were so dramatically different, I can't help but wonder if it was because of the fact I had taken all the meds we had available within the first hour of feeling the flu-like symptoms.
Even though we never were able to be tested for swine flu, I thought our experience was worthy of sharing. If it helps even one person from becoming ill and feeling as badly as my husband did for 7 days.....then to me its all worthwhile.
I'd like to thank you for keeping us updated on the current viruses and the way they are evolving throughout the world. The articles I have found and read don't seem to be as well researched or up to date as the information we receive from you. The fact that you take the time to find current and accurate information to share with the general public should be recognized but I'm sure you aren't given due credit. I for one am very, very grateful for all that you have done and continue to due to keep us informed on the latest health issues, not to mention the links to the many sources of remedies I have found in your newsletters.
A big thank you for taking ours and so many other's best interest to heart."
Jamie F.
"When news broke of the flue pandemic (April) I went to see my doctor. I took my 4 children 17, 15, 13 and 4 years, with me and asked for prescriptions of Tamiflu.
He phoned the local pharmacy and after a lengthy conversation, with the pharmacist doing most of the talking he hung up. He told me that he could not give me any scripts for Tamiflu.
I asked for flu shots of seasonal flu for the whole family and we had the needles that day.
At the end of June the 15 year old came down with a flu like virus. I isolated him in a separate room and called the doctor. I was told to call the hospital. I called the hospital and when I said that it was flu they pressed a button and I got a recorded message not to come to the hospital. I re-phoned the doctor who gave me the number of the government health center. I phoned them. They took my details asked me a few questions re: symptoms and told me there was no testing, no tamiflu (only if you had underlying health problems) and I should cope at home. Their overwhelming advice was not to put my child through a course of Tamiflu.
I re-phoned the doctor and made an appointment for me. I took my son up in the car but could not take him into the surgery. I asked the doctor for Tamiflu. He said that I did not deserve it !!! The doctor started to write out a script for Augmenton but I told him that I needed Tamiflu for my child and that I would pay for it.
I got the script.
I then went to the pharmacy who wanted to know what I needed it for, was it for travelling ? I told her that my son was sick. They told me that they only had a few Tamiflu and that I would have to order it and that by the time it arrived it would be useless as it had to be taken within 48 hours. This was told to me after they had telephoned another authority, which took about 30 minutes. I left my number and went home. They never called back. I then got on the phone and started phoning chemists. I found one that had Tamiflu but only one pack, they could not hold it. I jumped into the car and went straight there - 60 km. Luckily it was availabe. I arrived home 2 hours later to find the 15 year old passed out on the bathroom floor. He was very hot and pale. I dragged him into the shower and cooled him off, which woke him up. He was sick every where. His temp was 102 and he had to crawl back to bed.
He took the first dose of Tamiflu. The night was tense as he was very sick, high temp and needed the bathroom 3 times. By morning though he had his second dose and went to sleep. He slept for 6 hours. When he woke up he was much improved. His temp was lower 98 and he felt much better. He started drinking.
He was in his room for two weeks recovering. He had a dry cough. Luckily no one else in the family caught the virus - we wore masks. My husband had been away so I was coping by myself.
This experience has frightened me. I feel that we were cut off from help and medical attention. When I went back to the doctor to get a medical certificate for my son's school he put on it URTI. He would not put on Flu."
Have you had the Swine Flu?
If so, we'd like to hear about it. Please share your experience by emailing us at survive@telus.net.
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