Official: US flu victims may be infecting others

[L. Coyote]

Source: Associated Press

Official: US flu victims may be infecting others
By ANDREW O. SELSKY, Associated Press Writer Andrew O. Selsky, Associated Press Writer – 16 mins ago

MEXICO CITY – The swine flu epidemic crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, as world health officials said they suspect American patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the U.S.

Most people confirmed with the new swine flu were infected in Mexico, where the number of deaths blamed on the virus has surpassed 150.

But confirmation that people have been infecting others in locations outside Mexico would indicate that the disease was spreading beyond travelers returning from Mexico, World Health Organization spokesman Gregory Hartl told reporters on Tuesday in Geneva.

Hartl said the source of some infections in the United States, Canada and Britain was unclear.

..............

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_he_me/med_swine_flu

[mike_c]

1. well for pete's sake, it's an infectious virus....

What do folks think is the source of most infections, if not other infected people? Or is this another example of U.S. exceptionalism, i.e. "We don't infect. Period." :rofl:

[saigon68]

2. No Shit

[L. Coyote]

3. The Point is: "the disease was spreading beyond travelers returning from Mexico"

This is an alert, obviously, that indicates the stage of transmissions. New cases are not all travelers returning from areas with outbreaks.

[saigon68]

28. Got it

[phantom power]

4. That is why WHO raised the "pandemic level" to 4 yesterday.

Sustained human to human transmission.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

It's as if the damn things going viral... Oh, wait...

Seriously, isn't this to be expected though? Viruses spread via host to host contact. :shrug:

[redstatelefty]

6. The point is human to human contagion

Some viruses that affect humans are generally not passed from person to person. Bird flu, for example, apparently rarely if ever affected anyone who didn't have contact with bird droppings from infected birds. As i understand it, the fact that cases are occurring in the US among people who haven't been to Mexico is significant because it indicates the virus is spreading directly from person to person.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. Not the point at all. It was already known to be human to human. nt

[John Q. Citizen]

19. I disagree. I think it is the point. Not all flu virus are equally transmitible. Some

are extremely infectious, and others require close and sustained contact to transmit.

As you say, (above) viruses move form host to host. HIV is a virus. It's transmission is difficult, in many ways.

Some flu, you might or might not catch it sitting next to an infected person. Some strains, 60 0r 70% of the people on an airplane might catch.

So the fact that it's a virus, and that it's a flu virus, isn't the point. The point is that there has been sustainable human to human transmission away from the point of initial contact.

Now that may not mean anything to you, yet it does mean something to epidemiologists. It's why they raised the pandemic possibility level to 4 today.

[L. Coyote]

8. We welcome another voice of reason to DU!

[liberal N proud]

5. Really!

Since the most infections stages of these plagues is before you feel the symptoms.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. What few have comented on

with respect to the swine flu is that 1 in 6 Americans lack meaningful access to health care. If they have the swine flu they probably won't know it. Most will not seek out care unless they are quite ill. And for many of them staying at home to heal (and avoid further spread of the virus) will not be an option lest they lose their meager jobs.

Perhaps our health care system is finally going to gets its collective ass kicked and have its massive failures made more evident. And perhaps the ignorant and complacent among us are finally going to realize that they too can be directly impacted by somebody else's lack of meanginful health care. One can hope.

[FarCenter]

10. NYC Ernst and Young employee contracted it from a family member who had been to Mexico

E&Y closed operations on the floor where the employee worked. This was either on Bloomberg or CNBC.

[L. Coyote]

11. Specter to chair swine flu hearing

http://blogs.mcall.com/penn_ave/2009/04/specter-to-chair-swine-flu-hearing.html

If you had fears about the spreading Swine Flu virus, you can rest easy now.

Fauci Congress is on the case. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa will chair an emergency hearing on the virus today at 1 p.m.

Scheduled to testify:

*

Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, MD,Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
* Anthony Fauci, MD, Director, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Pictured at above right.)

*

Paul Jarris, MD, Executive Director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Specter sounded a dissonant and not terribly encouraging note yesterday when he told the Associated Press that despite having plenty of time to prepare, he did not think the nation was ready to respond to an major epidemic that "has the potential to be very, very devastating."

Hmm. Maybe he'll reiterate those concerns today. If you're real junkie, you can catch the hearing live on CSPAN3 at noon: LIVE STREAM. http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN3_wm.aspx

[RalphieD]

17. Don't trust Specter

He is a Republican who only now switched parties!

[McCamy Taylor]

12. My whole family has flu and we haven't been outside Dallas-Fort Worth area.

And we all had flu shots. Tamiflu helps a bunch, btw. but you have to take it early. (No, I do not own any stock in any drug companies)

[Divine Discontent]

13. Glad you're all getting better! My Mom & her husband are both sick in OH with some kinda cold or

flu, that started after they were at a produce market. They rarely go out otherwise. Hopefully it's just a common cold. I got so upset at a guy yesterday who was very slovenly, and worked for the "mouse" here in FL, and he sneezed all over a rack of clothes and didn't cover his mouth/nose at all. I told a coworker and they sprayed the rack. People! I tell ya...

[FedUpWithIt All]

15. My family is also dealing with a bad cold/flu here in Ohio.

Which general area of Ohio are they?

A lot of kids at my daughter's school have been ill.

[Divine Discontent]

21. center somewhat. eom

[FedUpWithIt All]

22. Thanks for replying. We are northeast.

It is an odd time of year for seasonal flu.

It is not fun. x(

[Divine Discontent]

24. yeah, and having this outbreak occur, and anyone getting sick

having to be concerned if they got a variant of the swine flu that could be much worse than what others in the US are getting, is so sad. Praying no one dies in the US from this, as it seems to focus on healthy people, which is weird. But apparently, the strain that came up from Mexico isn't the same one that kills hundreds there, or perhaps they just had no health care to save them? ya know...

[FedUpWithIt All]

25. I am pretty sure it is not around here.

My ex took my sick daughter to the Dr. today though. She is early stage and pretty mild.

This bug we have just gets worse by the day. First day...just like a cold Second day..low fever, muscle ache and headache. Third day and i now have chest pressure and developing cough. x(

I hope your family is/will be feeling better.

Hopefully the swine flu will simply fizzle out without too much casualty.

[ananda]

14. Oh my God! I'm so shocked and surprised!

People are infecting people with .. gasp ..
an infectious contagious disease!

What IS the world coming to??!!

Oh rapture.. it must be the end times.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[aquart]

18. Grow. Up.

[callous taoboy]

20. The cousin of a student I just had lunch with

has it. She was in Mexico recently. The student I had lunch with assured me that she has not been in contact with her cousin, but it has me nervous. I'm in Texas.

[spinbaby]

23. There was a suspected case in Orlando today

A Mexican vacationing at Disney World. Talk about potential for infecting others.

[Divine Discontent]

27. ok, the day I decide to go the Magic Kingdom..... nice.

I hope I didn't come in contact with him/her. And sadly, people with colds typically don't give a CRAP about others around them. This guy in a private area for cast members sneezed all over a bunch of items and just walked away, didn't cover his mouth or nothing. A lady went and got lysol and sprayed. People are so lazy and gross - I blame B*sh! Why? - having him for a president for 8 years made too many think they didn't have to do anything to get to the top! LOL

[uppityperson]

26. Human swine flu confirmed in Indiana (no link to Mexico)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3852865&mesg_id=3852865

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. Allergy season is in full swing here on the East Coast...

It wouldn't surprise me if there are a lot of folks who are misinterpreting their initial flu symptoms as pollen-related.