Re: Are you prepared for the coming Swine Flu pandemic?

Hi, Steve Barwick here, for www.TheSilverEdge.com...

 

The latest news on the Swine Flu outbreak is astonishing, to say the least.  (See the three news articles I’ve reprinted from reputable sources, below this email.)

 

First, according to Bloomberg.com, New York’s top online news reporting agency, the flu outbreak coincided with President Obama’s visit to Mexico last week.  

 

In fact, Obama was officially greeted upon his arrival in Mexico by an official who died of flu symptoms the very next day.  Here is what Bloomberg.com is saying:

 

Obama’s Visit

 

The first case was seen in Mexico on April 13. The outbreak coincided with the President Barak Obama’s trip to Mexico City on April 16. Obama was received at Mexico’s anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archeologist who died the following day from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported. The newspaper didn’t confirm if Solis had swine flu or not.

 

The Mexican government is distributing breathing masks to curtail the disease’s spread. There is no vaccine against the new strain of swine flu, health authorities said.

 

If that’s not enough, experts now agree that the swine flu is now “likely widespread and impossible to contain at this point” (see first news article below).

 

What’s more, the World Health Organization has declared the flu a "public health emergency of international concern"  (see second news article below).

 

And finally, Mexican President Felipe Calderone has declared the flu outbreak to be a “national emergency,” giving him powers to close borders, suspend air and vehicle travel, order quarantines and suspend public events.  Museums, theaters and other venues where large crowds would usually gather are already being closed throughout Mexico City (see third news article below).

 

Will the U.S. be far behind?  We don’t know.  Maybe this will blow over by early next week or maybe we’ll see it mushroom into a full-blown global pandemic. There is simply no way to tell.

 

What we do know is that eight of the students exhibiting flu-like symptoms in New York City yesterday have now tested “probable” for the swine flu, which means the outbreaks in California and Texas over the last two days have now jumped all of the way to New York.  What’s more, two more cases have been found in Kansas, which means it is spreading throughout America’s heartland.  

 

And the news is now reporting that 68 people have now died from this strange flu in Mexico, which means eight more people have died since I wrote last night’s email to you.  

 

Health authorities say there is no vaccination for this unusual, mutant hybrid strain of flu, which is part pig virus, part bird virus and part human virus.  And flu drugs like Tamiflu are unlikely to work

 

Former U.S. Army Major General Albert Stubblebine and his wife, Dr. Rima E. Laibow, MD, Medical Director of the Natural Solutions Foundation, are claiming this hybrid virus could only have been made in a laboratory.  They stated last night in a flash alert to members of the Natural Solutions Foundation that stocking up on colloidal silver is the smartest choice for those who do not have the ability to get on a plane and leave the country, before the U.S. government declares an emergency like Mexico, and locks down the borders and begins city-by-city quarantines.  

 

While we are very skeptical of anyone inducing panic, we do believe it is abundantly prudent to follow the old Boy Scout’s motto, “Be Prepared.”  Old sayings like “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” have survived the centuries because they are fundamental truths.  

 

If you have ever considered getting a colloidal silver generator, so you don’t have to worry about mass public panic that will surely deplete health food store shelves of this powerful, broad-spectrum antiviral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent during a crisis, then this is the time to do so.  We consider the events of the past few days to be a huge advance warning for those with foresight and understanding.  And warnings like this generally come around only once.  After that there are only two kinds of people; those who heeded the warning, and those who failed to.

 

Owning a new Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver generator from The Silver Edge puts the means of colloidal silver production into your hands.  You can make all of the safe, powerful, high-quality colloidal silver you need, at any time you need, quickly and easily (it’s as easy as making a pot of coffee), for about 36 cents a quart, compared to health food store prices of up to $30 for a tiny, four-ounce bottle.    

 

If you want the peace of mind of knowing that you’ll be able to help your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and others in the event of a national or global health crisis, then owning a Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator is the smartest move you can make right now.

 

I won’t say any more on this subject today.  A word to the wise is sufficient.   

 

Regards,

Steve Barwick

www.TheSilverEdge.com

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

New swine flu likely widespread, impossible to contain, experts say

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25472826.htm

 

25 Apr 2009 21:06:44 GMT

 

Source: Reuters

 

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

 

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - A new and unusual strain of swine flu is likely widespread and impossible to contain at this point, experts agree.

 

The H1N1 strain has killed at least 20 people and possibly 48 more in Mexico and has been confirmed in at least eight people in the United States, all of whom had mild illness.

 

Probable cases also were found at a school in the New York City borough of Queens and experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they fully expect to find more cases. Here is why:

 

* This new strain of influenza has shown it can spread easily from person to person.

 

* It has been found in several places and among people who had no known contact. This suggests there is an unseen chain of infection and that the virus has been spreading quietly.

 

* This can happen because respiratory illnesses are very common and doctors rarely test patients for flu. People could have had the swine virus and never known it.

 

* At least in the United States, it has so far only been found in people who had mild illness, another factor that would have allowed it to spread undetected.

 

* World Health Organization director Dr. Margaret Chan has said the new strain of H1N1 has the potential to become a pandemic strain because it does spread easily and does cause serious disease.

 

* CDC experts note that while it is possible to contain an outbreak of disease that is in one limited area, once it is reported in widespread locations, the spread is impossible to control. (For full coverage of the flu outbreak, click on [nFLU]) (Editing by Xavier Briand)

 

 

 

 

WHO declares international concern over swine flu

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425/ap_on_re_eu/un_un_mexico_swine_flu

 

2 hrs 6 mins ago

 

GENEVA – The World Health Organization warned countries around the world Saturday to be on alert for any unusual flu outbreaks after a unique new swine flu virus was implicated in possibly dozens of human deaths in North America.

 

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the outbreak in Mexico and the United States constituted a "public health emergency of international concern."

 

The decision means countries around the world will be asked to step up reporting and surveillance of the disease, which she said had "pandemic potential" because it is an animal virus strain infecting people. But the agency cannot at this stage say "whether or not it will indeed cause a pandemic," she added.

 

Chan made the decision to declare public health emergency of international concern after consulting with influenza experts from around the world. The emergency committee was called together Saturday for the first time since it was created in 2007.

 

In theory, WHO could now recommend travel advisories, trade restrictions or border closures, none of which would be binding. So far it has refrained from doing so.

 

The agency also held off raising its pandemic alert level, citing the need for more information.

 

Earlier, Chan told reporters that "it would be prudent for health officials within countries to be alert to outbreaks of influenza-like illness or pneumonia, especially if these occur in months outside the usual peak influenza season."

 

"Another important signal is excess cases of severe or fatal flu-like illness in groups other than young children and the elderly, who are usually at highest risk during normal seasonal flu," she said.

 

Several Latin American and Asian countries have already started surveillance or screening at airports and other points of entry.

 

At least 62 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like illness in Mexico, WHO says. Some of those who died are confirmed to have a unique flu type that is a combination of bird, pig and human viruses. The virus is genetically identical to one found in California.

 

U.S. authorities said eight people were infected with swine flu in California and Texas, and all recovered.

 

So far, no other countries have reported suspicious cases, according to WHO.

 

But the French government said suspected cases are likely to occur in the coming days because of global air travel. A French government crisis group began operating Saturday. The government has already closed the French school in Mexico City and provided French citizens there with detailed instructions on precautions.

 

Chilean authorities ordered a sanitary alert that included airport screening of passengers arriving from Mexico. No cases of the disease have been reported so far in the country, Deputy Health Minister Jeanette Vega said, but those showing symptoms will be sent to a hospital for tests.

 

In Peru, authorities will monitor travelers arriving from Mexico and the U.S. and people with flu-like symptoms will be evaluated by health teams, Peru's Health Ministry said.

 

Brazil will "intensify its health surveillance in all points of entry into the country," the Health Ministry's National Health Surveillance Agency said in a statement. Measures will also be put in place to inspect cargo and luggage, and to clean and disinfect aircraft and ships at ports of entry.

 

Some Asian nations enforced checks Saturday on passengers from Mexico.

 

Japan's biggest international airport stepped up health surveillance, while the Philippines said it may quarantine passengers with fevers who have been to Mexico. Health authorities in Thailand and Hong Kong said they were closely monitoring the situation.

 

Asia has fresh memories of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which hit countries across the region and severely crippled global air travel.

 

Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries have also seen a number of human deaths from H5N1 bird flu, the virus that researchers have until now fingered as the most likely cause of a future pandemic.

 

The Dutch government's Institute for Public Health and Environment has advised any traveler who returned from Mexico since April 17 and develops a fever over 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit (38.5 Celsius) within four days of arriving in the Netherlands to stay at home.

 

The Polish Foreign Ministry has issued a statement that recommends that Poles postpone any travel plans to regions where the outbreak has occurred until it is totally contained.

 

The Stockholm-based European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said earlier Saturday it shared the concerns about the swine flu cases and stood ready to lend support in any way possible.

 

___

 

Associated Press Writer Maria Cheng in London, and AP writers around the world contributed to this report.

 

 

 

Mexico’s Calderon Declares Emergency, Right to Quarantine, Amid Swine Flu Outbreak

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEsNownABJ6Q&refe...

 

By Thomas Black

 

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared an emergency in his country’s swine flu outbreak, giving him powers to order quarantines and suspend public events.

 

Authorities have canceled school at all levels in Mexico City and the state of Mexico until further notice, and the government has shut most public and government activities in the area. The emergency decree, published today in the state gazette, gives the president authority to take more action.

 

“The federal government under my charge will not hesitate a moment to take all, all the measures necessary to respond with efficiency and opportunity to this respiratory epidemic,” Calderon said today during a speech to inaugurate a hospital in the southern state of Oaxaca.

 

At least 20 deaths in Mexico from the disease are confirmed, Health Minister Jose Cordova said yesterday. The strain is a variant of H1N1 swine influenza that has also sickened at least eight people in California and Texas. As many as 68 deaths may be attributed to the virus in Mexico, and about 1,000 people in the Mexico City area are showing symptoms of the illness, Cordoba said.

 

Obama’s Visit

 

The first case was seen in Mexico on April 13. The outbreak coincided with the President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico City on April 16. Obama was received at Mexico’s anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archeologist who died the following day from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported. The newspaper didn’t confirm if Solis had swine flu or not.

 

The Mexican government is distributing breathing masks to curtail the disease’s spread. There is no vaccine against the new strain of swine flu, health authorities said.

 

Museums, theaters and other venues in the Mexico City area, where large crowds gather, have shut down voluntarily and concerts and other events canceled to help contain the disease. Two professional soccer games will be played tomorrow in different Mexico City stadiums without any fans, El Universal newspaper reported. Catholic masses will be held, the newspaper said, although church officials urged worshipers to wear breath masks and to avoid contact.

 

Schools will likely remain closed next week, Calderon said in the Oaxaca speech. The decree allows Calderon to regulate transportation, enter any home or building for inspection, order quarantines and assign any task to all federal, state and local authorities as well as health professionals to combat the disease.

 

“The health of Mexicans is a cause that we’re defending with unity and responsibility,” Calderon said. “I know that although it’s a grave problem, a serious problem, we’re going to overcome it.”

 

Normal Airport Operations

 

Mexico City’s international airport, which handles about 70,000 passengers each day, is operating normally, said Victor Mejia, a spokesman. Passengers are given a questionnaire asking if they have flu symptoms and recommending they cancel their trip and see a doctor if they do. The measures are voluntary, Mejia said, and no case of swine flu in airport passengers, workers or visitors has been confirmed.

 

Authorities throughout Central America have issued alerts to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Guatemala ordered tighter control yesterday of its northern border with Mexico, according to EFE. Gerberth Morales, who’s heading the Guatemala government’s response, said no cases of swine flu have been reported in his country, the Spanish news agency reported.

 

Brazil is intensifying vigilance in ports, airports and borders to check travelers’ health, luggage, aircrafts and ships in a preventive action against the outbreak in Mexico, the Agency for Sanitary Vigilance said on its Web site.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Monterrey at tblack@bloomberg.net

 

Last Updated: April 25, 2009 16:45 EDT

Default text in editor

Tweet