Friday night Pandemic Watch - Swine Flu coming to you?

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Friday night Pandemic Watch - Swine Flu coming to you?

Postby lightningBugout » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:10 am

The US strains match the Mexican one:

(CNN) -- U.S. health officials expressed concern Friday that a swine flu virus that has infected eight people in the United States matches samples of a virus that has killed at least 68 people in Mexico.
Swine flu is usually diagnosed only in pigs or people in regular contact with them.

Swine flu is usually diagnosed only in pigs or people in regular contact with them.

U.S. health experts also are concerned because more than 1,000 people have fallen ill in Mexico City in a short period of time.

"This situation has been developing quickly," said acting CDC director Richard Besser. "This is something we are worried about."

New York health officials announced Friday they are testing about 75 students at a Queens school for swine flu after the students exhibited flu-like symptoms this week.

A team of state health department doctors and staff went to the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens on Thursday after the students reported cough, fever, sore throat, aches and pains.

There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu there. The tests results are expected as early as Saturday.

Of the 14 Mexican samples tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seven were identical to the swine flu virus found in Texas and Southern California, Besser said at a news conference.

An eighth U.S. case was reported Friday. All of the eight U.S. patients have recovered, Besser said. Video Watch for more on the U.S. cases »

As a precaution to avoid further contamination, schools and universities in Mexico City and the state of Mexico were closed Friday, said the national health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos. He said the schools may remain closed for a while.

Sixty-eight people have died in Mexico City, Cordova said at a news conference. More than 1,000 other people have gotten sick, he said.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon canceled a trip Friday to northern Mexico so he could remain in Mexico City to monitor the situation, the state-run Notimex news agency reported. Calderon met with his Cabinet on Thursday night to discuss the outbreak.
Don't Miss

* CDC confirms 7 cases of swine flu in humans
* CDC: Swine flu

Six of the U.S. cases were found in California, and two in Texas, near San Antonio, CDC officials said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada issued a respiratory alert for Mexico on Wednesday, recommending that health providers "actively look for cases" in Canada, particularly in people who've returned from Mexico within the last two weeks.

An alert issued Friday by the International SOS medical and consulting company said more than 130 cases of a severe respiratory illness have been detected in south and central Mexico, some of which are due to influenza.

"Public health officials in Mexico began actively looking for cases of respiratory illness upon noticing that the seasonal peak of influenza extended into April, when cases usually decline in number," the medical alert said. "They found two outbreaks of illness -- one centered around Distrito Federal (Mexico City), involving about 120 cases with 13 deaths. The other is in San Luis Potosi, with 14 cases and four deaths."

Authorities also detected one death in Oaxaca, in the south, and two in Baja California Norte, near San Diego, California.

There was no indication why the International SOS tallies did not match the Mexican health secretary's figures.

The majority of cases are occurring in adults between 25 and 44 years of age.

The CDC first reported Tuesday that two California children in the San Diego area were infected with a virus called swine influenza A H1N1, whose combination of genes had not been seen before in flu viruses in humans or pigs.

The first two cases were picked up through an influenza monitoring program, with stations in San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The program monitors strains and tries to detect new ones before they spread, the CDC said. Other cases emerged through routine and expanded surveillance.

The human influenza vaccine's ability to protect against the new swine flu strain is unknown, and studies are ongoing, Schuchat said. There is no danger of contracting the virus from eating pork products, she said.

The new virus has genes from North American swine and avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza normally found in Asia and Europe, said Nancy Cox, chief of the CDC's Influenza Division.

The new strain of swine flu has resisted some antiviral drugs.
Health Library

* MayoClinic.com: Influenza (flu)

The CDC is working with health officials in California and Texas and expects to find more cases, Schuchat said.

A pandemic is defined as: a new virus to which everybody is susceptible; the ability to readily spread from person to person; and the capability of causing significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. The new strain of swine flu meets only one of the criteria: novelty.
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History indicates that flu pandemics tend to occur once every 20 years or so, so we're due for one, Steinberg said.

"I can say with 100 percent confidence that a pandemic of a new flu strain will spread in humans," he said. "What I can't say is when it will occur.
"What's robbing a bank compared with founding a bank?" Bertolt Brecht
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Postby Cosmic Cowbell » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:22 am

Health Officials Investigate Illness at Queens Private School
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
Published: April 24, 2009

The New York City health department dispatched a team of investigators to a private school in Queens on Friday after dozens of students complained of symptoms that officials believed were consistent with a strain of swine flu that has swept Mexico City.

The agency said about 75 students at St. Francis Preparatory School had complained Thursday of nausea, fever, dizziness and aches and pains. Several of the students were said to have recently traveled to Mexico, where as many as 61 people have died and possibly hundreds more have been infected in an outbreak of swine flu in recent weeks.

To control the epidemic, Mexican officials have shut museums and closed schools in and around the capital.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that eight cases have been diagnosed in the United States, six in California and two in Texas.

In New York City, health officials said that doctors and investigators were sent to St. Francis Preparatory as a precautionary measure, and that tests were being conducted in an effort to rule out swine flu as the cause of the students’ symptoms.

“The health department will continue to work closely with students, parents and school officials to monitor the situation,” the agency said in a statement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/nyreg ... f=nyregion
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Postby justdrew » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:23 am

Swine flu? When pigs fly.
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Postby KeenInsight » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:35 am

This is the first time I've heard of this, then again my news usually comes from this forum or Comedy Central occasionally.

This all seems very vague, but definitely alarming.

OFF TOPIC:
Nice quote you got there in your sig. An example of my ridiculousness on the internet.
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Postby lightningBugout » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:45 am

KeenInsight wrote:OFF TOPIC:
Nice quote you got there in your sig. An example of my ridiculousness on the internet.


Funny, perhaps applies quite well to swine flu too...
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Postby Nordic » Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:39 am

Funny, I just came here to see if there was anything on it.

I just got this rather hysterical e-mail from Natural Solutions Foundation:


THIS Health Freedom Action eAlert IS LONG - AND COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

SMOKING GUN: NEW DEADLY VIRUS HAS GENE SEQUENCES NEVER SEEN BEFORE

GENES DO NOT "POP UP" OUT OF NOWHERE. WE BELIEVE THIS IS A BIOENGINEERED WEAPON.

YOU NEED TO READ THIS BLAST, THEN BUY SILVER

www.Nutronix.com/naturalsolutions

AND GET OUT OF THE US IF YOU CAN, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE - OR BOTH

Index

Note 1: Nano silver, www.Nutronix.com/naturalsolutions, overcomes all known pathogens (that is, disease-causing organisms) against which it has been tested. Currently, I am aware of about 635 successful tests. I cannot tell you that it will deal with this weaponized virus, but I can tell you that if anything can, this virus can -- safely, without harming you, your children or pets...

Note 2: The information which appears at the end of this email was originally intended to be the sole subject of today's email blast. The appearance of a potential novel "Pandemic" virus meant that we had to cover that situation carefully and thoroughly first but the information is so relevant that we decided to add it to the end of the blast. I urge you to set aside some time in your overcrowded schedule to read this entire email from start to finish and then send it out with a request that your entire list do the same. I know that you are busy. But your immune system is your only defense against being overwhelmed with whatever is being brought to you by dedicated lunatics who literally want you and your family dead. Literally.

Index:

Weaponized Flu Pandemic Starting?
Pushback: Nano Silver Victory
Pushback: Food Bill
Pushback rbGH Victory
Dr. Coldwell and Wellness
Nutrients for Health
GMO Free Food
Clean Water for Life
Toxic Load Assay
De-Stressing
Final Note



The Weaponized Flu Pandemic, WPF, Appears to Have Begun

"It first looked mostly like a swine virus but closer analysis showed it is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the CDC."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24524032.htm

"Don't be concerned", say the pundits of officialdom, "but this virus has killed 61 people in Mexico and has spread to the US." In Mexico, the victims have died while in the US they have not. I must assume that this is because their immune systems were in better shape. You will find specific information relating to that vital truth at the end of this message. Please take the time to read it all because it could save your life.

The article in Reuters goes on to say, "Because there is clearly human-to-human spread of the new virus, rising fears of a major outbreak, Mexico's government canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas.

"Our concern has grown as of yesterday," U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing." but the CDC and WHO go on to note that you should not alter your travel plans even though they also say they think that there may be as many as 1000 cases in Mexico...

Eight people were infected with the new strain in California and Texas, but all of them have recovered. Mexico said it had close to 1,000 suspected cases there.

"The CDC's Besser said scientists were working to understand why there are so many deaths in Mexico when the infections in the United States seem mild. Worldwide, seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people in an average year, but the flu season for North America should have been winding down. The U.S. government said it was closely following the new cases. 'The White House is taking the situation seriously and monitoring for any new developments. The president has been fully briefed,' an administration official said. Mexico's government cautioned people not to shake hands or kiss when greeting or to share food, glasses or cutlery for fear of infection....The WHO said it was ready to use rapid containment measures if needed, including antivirals, and that both the United States and Mexico are well equipped to handle the outbreak. Both the WHO and the CDC said there was no need to alter travel arrangements in Mexico or the United States."

I believe, on the contrary, that you SHOULD alter you travel plans. If you have any means to, or reason to, or thoughts of, being outside the US and Mexico RIGHT NOW, do it. Get a ticket and get out. Why? Because the flu may not sicken or kill you, but the forced vaccinations very well may.

It has also been noted in officialdom that although there is no evidence that this year's seasonal flu would provide cross "protection," that "possibility" is being "studied."

5 will get you 10 that the official pronouncement comes forth that, indeed, this year's flu vaccine miraculously confers "protection" against this mystery disease and, aren't we lucky? We can all take the Seasonal Flu vaccine and get "protected". I will be literally astonished if that is not the thrust of this "investigation" of a "lucky coincidence".

Vaccines, an uninsurable risk, are damaging and deadly at the best of times and have never been proven either safe or effective, despite the near-religious fervor of their well-funded supporters. Despite the total lack of scientific evidence that the antibodies produced by an irritated immune system provide protection for people against what they were injected for, epidemics continue to occur primarily in vaccinated populations (just as Avian Flu continued to appear in vaccinated flocks living in industrial conditions). But epidemics make for great crowd control opportunities and for wonderful population reduction exercises.

If this "strange brew virus" is the beginning of the Pandemic we have been promised for so long, it will LITERALLY signal the end of our lives as we know them, or even the ending of our lives. The monsters intentionally working this scheme have said over and over that there WOULD be a Pandemic, that it COULD be any time. The Powers That Kill (PTK) decided some time ago that there were simply too many of us "Useless Eaters" and they have concocted several schemes to accomplish the culling to get rid of what the US Government, the UN, WHO and others have decided is "necessary" for a sustainable planet: 80-90% of us dead. Remember, information is appearing which says that the new virus is a "strange brew" of swine flu, avian flu and human flu. Such "Strange Brews" do not occur by themselves. They occur in laboratories where mad men/women and their murderous gutless, spineless technicians and helpers assist them.


I won't quote the whole thing. It goes on and on. Weird!
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Postby lightningBugout » Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:43 am

You think a true mexican pandemic would stir a mob at the border? Noticed some of the cases are in Mexicali which is one of the bigger border towns in Baja.

One can only imagine what would happen if a pandemic pushed northern Mexico over into anarchy where it seems to have been trying desperately to go for a long time now.
"What's robbing a bank compared with founding a bank?" Bertolt Brecht
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Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:34 am

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Postby Elvis » Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:09 am

Image

Donald Rumsfeld is the former chairman of Gilead Sciences Inc., the inventor of Tamiflu.

----------

Venture capital firm set to reap rewards on swine flu
Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:11pm BST

By Alexander Haislip

LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Reuters) - The swine flu outbreak is likely to benefit one of the most prolific and successful venture capital firms in the United States: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Thomson Reuters Private Equity Week reported on Friday.

Shares of the two public companies in the firm's portfolio of eight Pandemic and Bio Defense companies -- BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O) -- jumped Friday on news that the swine flu killed a reported 60 people in Mexico and has infected people in the United States.

The World Health Organization said the virus appears to be susceptible to Roche's (ROG.VX) flu drug Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, but not to older flu drugs such as amantadine.

Shares of Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG closed up 3.48 percent after falling sharply earlier in the week on a cancer drug disappointment, while shares of U.S. biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O), which gets royalties from Roche on Tamiflu sales, slipped 10 cents to $45.80 on Friday.

But BioCryst, a maker of drugs that block key enzymes in viral diseases, jumped more than 26 percent on Friday to $2.21 per share. Viral vaccine maker Novavax rose more than 75 percent to $1.42 per share.

BioCryst CEO John Stonehouse said his company does not anticipate the use of its technology in treating this episode of swine flu.

"We're in clinical trials right now and not on the market," Stonehouse said.

Still, the companies will have to go even higher for Kleiner Perkins to make its investment back. Both BioCryst and Novavax experienced long drops from price peaks in 2006, when reports of avian flu dominated headlines.

BioCryst is down nearly 90 percent from its 2006 high of $20.75 per share and Novavax is down more than 85 percent from a high of $7.98 per share.

Kleiner Perkins invested $30 million in BioCryst in December 2005 alongside Fort Worth, Texas-based buyout firm TPG. The two firms invested again in August 2007, picking up $65 million worth of shares and warrants. The investors bought shares in BioCryst at $13.46 and then $7.80.

Kleiner Perkins put $20 million in Novavax in February 2006 alongside Palo Alto, Calif.-based Prospect Venture Partners. The two firms picked up the shares at $4.35.

Novavax can produce a vaccine from an emergent strain of flu virus in 12 weeks, according to CEO Rahul Singhvi. The company has contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to offer help and is trying to contact the Ministry of Health in Mexico, Singhvi said.

The company uses genetic information and "recombinant, virus-like particle technology" to rapidly engineer a vaccine. Its technology has been proven to work in humans during Phase II trials, Singhvi said, and it might be used in the case of an emergency.

"There is an emergency authorization avenue that is available that would allow us to use the vaccine in an emergency without further testing," said Singhvi.

Kleiner Perkins typically only invests in early stage start-up technologies. It is best known for its investments in Netscape, Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Google (GOOG.O) and Genentech (ROG.VX).

The Menlo Park, California-based VC firm launched a $200 million Pandemic Bio Defense fund in 2006 to invest in technology companies working on drugs, diagnostics and inoculations against flu-like diseases.

"We will invest to accelerate innovation, and we're in a hurry," Investor John Doerr said at the time. "We hope even a mild pandemic never recurs."

Investors at Kleiner Perkins were not immediately available for comment.

The firm's other Pandemic Bio Defense investments include: * San Francisco-based Anza Therapeutics, which is working on therapeutic vaccines for treating certain types of cancer and hepatitis C. * Fremont, Calif.-based Breathe Technologies, which is working on lightweight respiratory ventilator systems. * Emeryville, Calif.-based HX Diagnostics, which is working to make diagnostic tools for seasonal and emerging diseases. * Pleasanton, Calif.-based Juvaris BioTherapeutics Inc., which is working on vaccines and immunotherapeutics to treat infectious disease and cancer. * San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics, which is developing drugs to fight resistant-strains of bacteria. * Marlborough, Mass.-based Xcellerex Inc., which has developed tools and manufacturing processes to speed the deployment of new vaccines.


-----
from 2005: "Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu"
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/
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Postby American Dream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 7:31 am

I remember back in the 70's when President Ford wanted all "Americans" to get Swine Flu shots.This was around the time that there was an outbreak amongst some soldiers at Fort Dix, and the U.S. was using Swine Flu to wage biological attacks on Cuba. As I recall the Cubans drove many thousands of pigs off a cliff near Playa Giron. I also believe there was significant work with the virus in Uncle Sam's labs, and significant transfers between the Fort Detrick and Plum Island biowar facilities.

So, not saying what that might mean, but something to remember...
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Postby American Dream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:34 am

The U.S. was engaged in intensive Swine Flu biowar work in the early Cold War. Famed Nazi germ warfare scientist Eric Taub was deeply involved. He worked in part at the Plum Island facility, which was involved with breeding virulent new strains of Swine Flu just prior to the Fort Dix outbreaks.

In 1971, when Cuba was attacked with this agent, it seems that the disease was distributed from Fort Gulick in Panama to Cuban operatives in Bocas Del Toro, who took the disease by boat to Cuba. As I understand it, there were two simultaneous outbreaks in different parts of Cuba, highly unlikely to occur by accident.
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Postby American Dream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:18 am

Via AP:


Health officials are investigating a never-before-seen form of the flu that combines pig, bird and human viruses and which has infected seven people in California and Texas. All the victims recovered, but the cases are a growing medical mystery because it’s unclear how they caught the virus.

None of the seven people were in contact with pigs, which is how people usually catch swine flu. And only a few were in contact with each other, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, health officials said it’s not a cause for public alarm: The five in California and two in Texas have all recovered, and testing indicates some mainstream antiviral medications seem to work against the virus.

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said officials believe it can spread human-to-human, which is unusual for a swine flu virus.

The CDC is checking people who have been in contact with the seven confirmed cases, who all became ill between late March and mid-April.

Because of intensive searching, it’s likely health officials will find additional cases, said Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

CDC officials detected a virus with a unique combination of gene segments that have not been seen in people or pigs before. The bug contains human virus, avian virus from North America and pig viruses from North America, Europe and Asia.

Health officials have seen mixes of bird, pig and human virus before, but never such an intercontinental combination with more than one pig virus in the mix.

Scientists keep a close eye on flu viruses that emerge from pigs. The animals are considered particularly susceptible to both avian and human viruses and a likely place where the kind of genetic reassortment can take place that might lead to a new form of pandemic flu, said Dr. John Treanor, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The virus may be something completely new, or it may have been around for a while but was only detected now because of improved lab testing and disease surveillance, CDC officials said.

The virus was first detected in two children in southern California — a 10-year-old boy in San Diego County and a 9-year-old girl in neighboring Imperial County.

The cases were detected under unusual circumstances. One was seen at a Navy clinic that participates in a specialized disease detection network, and the other was caught through a specialized surveillance system set up in border communities, CDC officials said.

On Thursday, investigators said they had discovered five more cases. That includes a father and his teenage daughter in San Diego County, a 41-year-old woman in Imperial County (the only person hospitalized), and two 16-year-old boys who are friends and live in Guadalupe County, Texas, near San Antonio.

The Texas cases are especially puzzling. One of the California cases — the 10-year-old boy — traveled to Texas early this month, but that was to Dallas, about 270 miles northeast of San Antonio. He did not travel to the San Antonio area, Schuchat said.

The two 16-year-olds had not traveled recently, Texas health officials said.

The swine flu’s symptoms are like those of the regular flu, mostly involving fever, cough and sore throat, though some of the seven also experienced vomiting and diarrhea.

CDC are not calling it an outbreak, a term that suggests ongoing illnesses. It’s not known if anyone is getting sick from the virus right now, CDC officials said.

It’s also not known if the seasonal flu vaccine that Americans got last fall and early this year protects against this type of virus. People should wash their hands and take other customary precautions, CDC officials said.

U.S. health officials are consulting with Mexican and Canadian health officials, and the CDC is beginning to receive samples from Mexico for testing, a CDC spokesman said. The ethnicity of the seven confirmed cases was not disclosed.
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Postby H_C_E » Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:48 am

Be sure to keep track of this because there will be others as time goes by.
(You must remember this, a kiss is just a... never mind)

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.

We're gonna die, we're all doomed.

We had billboards here in my town with a picture of a big cock's head on it (as in flightless barnyard bird) with text reading "know the signs"

I'm sure it was intended to be vaguely threatening, but I just saw it as funny in a surreal, Dada sort of way. How could you not?

"Oh no! giant Cocks are coming!!!"

Okay, nevermind that sentence....
Abdul, wax the beach with postal regret portions. Nevermind the o-ring leader he got not the cheese duster from the dachshund dimension or even pillow frighteners.
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Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:17 am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm



Readers in Mexico have been emailing the BBC describing the sense of fear gripping the country as a result of a flu virus outbreak, which has so far claimed up to 60 lives.

The World Health Organization says the virus has the potential to become a pandemic.

Read a selection of BBC readers' comments below.



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

I work as a resident doctor in one of the biggest hospitals in Mexico City and sadly, the situation is far from "under control". As a doctor, I realise that the media does not report the truth. Authorities distributed vaccines among all the medical personnel with no results, because two of my partners who worked in this hospital (interns) were killed by this new virus in less than six days even though they were vaccinated as all of us were. The official number of deaths is 20, nevertheless, the true number of victims are more than 200. I understand that we must avoid to panic, but telling the truth it might be better now to prevent and avoid more deaths.

Yeny Gregorio Dávila, Mexico City

The situation in Mexico City is really not normal. There is a sense of uncertainty that borders on paranoid behaviour in some cases. At this very moment, Mexican TV is showing how military forces are giving masks to the people in the streets. Moreover the news is sending alarming messages for the audience. Really, the atmosphere in the city is unsettling, a good example: pubs and concerts are being closed or cancelled and people don't haven thorough information. In this city (and country) there is an urgent need for assertive information, no paranoid messages from the government or the Mexican media.

Patricio Barrientos and Aranzazu Nuñez, Mexico City

Massive events have been cancelled at the National Auditorium - Mexico City's largest indoor venue with capacity of 10,000 - which has been closed. Two soccer games have been cancelled at the Olympic Stadium. A sold out game with 70,000 expected attendance will be played behind closed doors. Another game at the famous Azteca Stadium that would draw an attendance of 50,000 will also be played behind closed doors.

Juan Carlos Leon Calderon, Mexico City

It's eerily quiet here in the capital. Lots of people with masks, Facebook communities exchanging gallows humour, everybody waiting to see if schools and universities will stay closed for ten days (as goes the rumour). All masks have been used up, and we are waiting for new supplies.

Dr Duncan Wood, Mexico City


We will be sick soon and, well, do the math - 400 can infect at least another two per day

Adriana, Mexico City
Yesterday in my office it was a bit surreal walking in to see all in blue masks with deep cleansing of computer equipment and surfaces going on. Let's hope it is contained and does not escalate. The local news is reporting 200 fatalities and reports of flu spreading from areas outside of Mexico City. Given the volume of daily commuter traffic on cramped busses and trains, this may not have to be too virulent to be disastrous in human terms. I wonder what controls there will be on flights in and out.

Will Shea, Mexico City

I work for the government as a head of a computer infrastructure operations department. At work we are doing several actions to try not to expose workers. We sent several home. I support the Pumas football team and the very important match with the Guadalajara team will be played behind closed doors. My family and I are going to stay home all weekend. We feel a little scared and confused with the feeling that we are not given being told the truth. Many people think the numbers of dead people is higher than we are being told.

Marcos, Mexico City

The whole city is affected, I have a very bad feeling about this. Two of my friends at work are sick, they were sick for a couple of days, they went to the hospital and they sent them back to work. The doctor told them it was just a flu until Friday when the alarm was spread, then they were allowed to go home. I work in a call centre and I'm worried because there are no windows in the building so it cannot be ventilated and around 400 people work there.

We all have talked to our supervisor but no one has done anything not even sterilise or disinfect the area. We will be sick soon and, well, do the math - 400 can infect at least another two per day. The authorities say there's nothing they can do since it's a private company and I can assure you, the company I work for is not the only one like this in the whole city. Us workers don't have much protection from our government and if we want to keep our jobs we have to go anyway.

Adriana, Mexico City

I'm a college student in Mexico City, and I can only say that the information that the media has provided doesn't seem to be enough, we do not now how serious it is because they have failed to mention it. There have been two ways of responding to this event, the ones that have entered themselves into quarantine claiming that the government is hiding something much more serious, and those who take this as a joke saying that everyone is overreacting. To put a cherry on top all kind of crazy rumours are flying around - that they are going to quarantine Mexico City, that a school and some specific branches of offices and jobs are going to be suspended for days to come, and so on. I wish more info was available, for example how to prevent it? Have there been many deaths? Is there a threat of an epidemic?

Mari A, Mexico City

I didn't hear about the flu epidemic until last night at 2330. Yesterday the streets were almost empty compared to a normal Friday afternoon. The media is bombarding the same information over and over again, but the authorities haven't said anything new yet, only that they have enough vaccines for those with the flu and that we should avoid public spaces.

Paulina, Mexico City
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Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:56 am

President Obama was just in Mexico, correct? That is all




http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

200 fatalities?
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