Possible Pandemic: "Swine Flu"

[MikeD]

This seems like it's getting over-reported, but it seems like there's been someone human to human transmission.  The suspected death count in Mexico is getting larger. 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/26/swine.flu/index.html

WHO and CDC seem to be taking this very seriously (then again I'd rather they overreact then under react). This does seem to have a slightly bigger chance of turning into a pandemic then Bird Flu did.  Does anyone's squadron have a pandemic plan?

[maverik]

in all seriousness what's a pandemic plan? Like going to meetings in full HAZMAT gear?

[Eeyore]

Duct tape and saran wrap... check.

[heliodoc]

Debatable if CAP has a plan....

More like CAP members listening to State Depts of Health, State Emergency Management, etc and worksite procedures to cover this

So CAP members need to pay attention what is already out there in press or direct from the med community

BUT expect a newsflash from NHQ CAP anyday, now!!

[maverik]

anyone know the state dpartment/cdc website to cover where this and how fast it is spreading?

[Smithsonia]

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

The CDC does not appear to be updating this website in quick order. Likely most of the Web staff is out with the flu... or maybe gone for the weekend.

[maverik]

haha guess what I have been sick with flu like symptoms and have been tested for regular flu,mono,and strept and the tests came back negative this just made my day better! Gotta call the doc now, wow.

[Spike]

There is nothing to worry about now.  How can anything bad happen in The United States?

Haven't we been dumping billions into medical preparations for possible pandemics since Kennedy.........oh that's right, our Government for the past 40+ years have been giving billions to other countries to stop aids and malaria.

One thing that is apparent.....the first reporting of this new influenza strain came from Mexico.  Perhaps they were experimenting with things they should not have been experimenting with and it got away from them.

Heck, 10 cases into the Mexican outbreak and the Mayor of Mexico City closes most of the city down.......does he know something we don't know??

Lets hope this is only a scare.......and we devote some resources into preparing for the real outbreak that happens about once every 100 years. 

 

[RiverAux]

I'm not sure what role, if any, CAP might be able to fill in response to a large-scale disease outbreak.  More than likely we would be hit pretty hard given that youths and senior citizens are generally more easily knocked out by diseases and we're full of both. 

[wuzafuzz]

I'm not sure what role, if any, CAP might be able to fill in response to a large-scale disease outbreak.  More than likely we would be hit pretty hard given that youths and senior citizens are generally more easily knocked out by diseases and we're full of both.

I KNEW we were full of something   

Seriously though, I've read this bugger is actually sparing folks over 40, on average.  No idea why, and I can't remember where I read it.

[Gunner C]

Last I saw on adults (a few minutes ago) was that the upper limit for problems appears to be 50 at present.  Stay tuned.  DHS secretary has declared a national health emergency.  While this isn't as ominous as it sounds, there's definitly a threat to public health.

[chiles]

I'm not sure what role, if any, CAP might be able to fill in response to a large-scale disease outbreak.  More than likely we would be hit pretty hard given that youths and senior citizens are generally more easily knocked out by diseases and we're full of both.

Influenzas are the great equalizer. They affect 20-45 year olds. The Spanish Flu of 1918 and the Pan Flu of 1968 bear this out.

This particular issue is a concern because it's a novel version of H5N1. There isn't a vaccine available for it and it can take upwards of 6 months to mass produce one. The disease went through a process of antigenic shift. The surface antigen changed to become more easily transmissible between swine and humans. There has been one case of human to human spread. Pandemic response plans focus on the distribution of anti-retrovirals (assuming they are effective) to those who are ill or in contact of those who are ill. Also, ill people will be isolated (standard) and those in contact will be quarantined. This includes those coming in through air and sea ports.

CAP could help with a pan flu response in a couple of ways. First, we can do coastal and border patrols to assist in detecting people crossing them if we seal them. Secondly, mass quarantine doesn't work very well in a pandemic since there will be a major reduction in the work force and properly manning such a quarantine requires a large amount of medical, security, and support staff. So, social distancing is the key. However, this assumes that some of the responsibility of taking supplies to residents is assumed by the government. So, CAP personnel might be helpful in delivering food to the public (in the leaving a milk bottle on the porch way).

[Stonewall]

Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Website

Swine Flu

What is Swine Influenza?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.

How many swine flu viruses are there?
Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

Swine Flu in Humans

Can humans catch swine flu?
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

How common is swine flu infection in humans?
In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu?
In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.

In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?
To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.
What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans?
There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.

What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there?
Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).

Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses?
No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.

[RiverAux]

CAP could help with a pan flu response in a couple of ways. First, we can do coastal and border patrols to assist in detecting people crossing them if we seal them.

I don't think looking for illegals is going to play a big part in any response to something like this considering they are but a tiny fraction of those coming into the US.  Maybe if we imposed draconian restrictions on normal visits into the US to prevent this from coming here, then maybe worrying about illegal entry would make sense.  But as long as someone with a disease can hop on a plane and fly into the US without any sort of health evaluation, then it doesn't make any sense. 

By the way, I don't have a problem with CAP doing border-type work, I just don't think that in this particular situation it would be all that useful. 

[Smithsonia]

When pigs fly - we will have swine flew - for sure.

[chiles]

CAP could help with a pan flu response in a couple of ways. First, we can do coastal and border patrols to assist in detecting people crossing them if we seal them.

I don't think looking for illegals is going to play a big part in any response to something like this considering they are but a tiny fraction of those coming into the US.  Maybe if we imposed draconian restrictions on normal visits into the US to prevent this from coming here, then maybe worrying about illegal entry would make sense.  But as long as someone with a disease can hop on a plane and fly into the US without any sort of health evaluation, then it doesn't make any sense. 

By the way, I don't have a problem with CAP doing border-type work, I just don't think that in this particular situation it would be all that useful.

Actually, closing the borders is on the table. If they decide to do it, then the threat really won't come from those people legally traveling into and out of the US. The concern will be those who get over by shady means. Not to mention the fact that tracking them is nearly impossible. A large amount of the illegal immigrant population will not seek medical care, even in the face of death. Further, they live in close quarters with other immigrants and not in the cleanest of conditions.

However, there threat largely remains in the more traditional manners of transportation. But, if CAP were to want to support a pan flu response, this would be one of the areas we can help. The good news is that antiretrovirals have been effective (which is not often the case and the drugs can make a patient sicker than the disease) and all the patients in the United States have fully recovered. But a major disaster is always one small antigenic drift away.

Teach your people how to protect themselves and others. Cough etiquette and hand washing are major areas of education. Not going into work sick and seeking medical attention when the illness won't go away is also important.

[JayT]

Haven't we been dumping billions into medical preparations for possible pandemics since Kennedy.........oh that's right, our Government for the past 40+ years have been giving billions to other countries to stop aids and malaria.

Because stopping hundreds of thousands, or millions of people from dying in area's who can't afford to protect themselves, or too uneducated to protect themselves, isn't a worth cause at all.

[chiles]

There is nothing to worry about now.  How can anything bad happen in The United States?

Haven't we been dumping billions into medical preparations for possible pandemics since Kennedy.........oh that's right, our Government for the past 40+ years have been giving billions to other countries to stop aids and malaria.

One thing that is apparent.....the first reporting of this new influenza strain came from Mexico.  Perhaps they were experimenting with things they should not have been experimenting with and it got away from them.

Heck, 10 cases into the Mexican outbreak and the Mayor of Mexico City closes most of the city down.......does he know something we don't know??

Lets hope this is only a scare.......and we devote some resources into preparing for the real outbreak that happens about once every 100 years. 

Medical supplies work well for certain strains or substrain of a virus. Our stockpile of immunizations doesn't exist. There are other things in play. We need to make sure that antiretrovials are effective, which seems to be the case.  Then we need to make sure everyone knows NOT to expect any FEMA support when it's a raging pandemic. The reason is that FEMA won't have the personnel to help themselves, let alone us. Just food for though.

[JayT]

There is nothing to worry about now.  How can anything bad happen in The United States?

Haven't we been dumping billions into medical preparations for possible pandemics since Kennedy.........oh that's right, our Government for the past 40+ years have been giving billions to other countries to stop aids and malaria.

One thing that is apparent.....the first reporting of this new influenza strain came from Mexico.  Perhaps they were experimenting with things they should not have been experimenting with and it got away from them.

Heck, 10 cases into the Mexican outbreak and the Mayor of Mexico City closes most of the city down.......does he know something we don't know??

Lets hope this is only a scare.......and we devote some resources into preparing for the real outbreak that happens about once every 100 years. 

Medical supplies work well for certain strains or substrain of a virus. Our stockpile of immunizations doesn't exist. There are other things in play. We need to make sure that antiretrovials are effective, which seems to be the case.  Then we need to make sure everyone knows NOT to expect any FEMA support when it's a raging pandemic. The reason is that FEMA won't have the personnel to help themselves, let alone us. Just food for though.

You know, for a nurse, you should know better then to post something so inflammatory. That's just fear mongering.

[chiles]

Which part do you take exception too?