Swine flu vaccine is safe says Health Secretary Andy Burnham

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has insisted he will never take any risks over the safety of swine flu jabs. The Minister dismissed scientists' claims that the Government could rush out the vaccines before the results of their clinical trials were known. Some medical experts warn side effects from vaccines, which have not been fully tested, could claim more lives than swine flu itself. But Mr Burnham told the Sunday Mirror: "We take advice at all times to make sure the vaccines are safe. We're not taking any risks. "If it was a more aggressive...

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Officials report another swine flu-related death

he Southern Nevada Health District says a 47-year-old man with underlying medical conditions died Friday morning in Clark County. The health district did not release any additional information.The death appears to be the fourth in Nevada related to swine flu.Earlier this month health officials reported the swine flu-related death of a 51-year-old man.In late June, a 33-year-old Clark County man infected with the swine flu virus died. Also last month, health officials reported the death a 70-year-old woman, a New York state resident, who was infected...

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British Holidaymakers In Swine Flu Warning

The Department of Health, which is currently setting up a new pandemic flu service, advised people with the virus to delay journeys until symptoms had gone.Officials warned that visitors to a number of countries would have to face strict screening procedures as the illness spreads.This was demonstrated in China, where 52 British schoolchildren and teachers were placed in quarantine in a Beijing hotel after four teenagers from London were diagnosed with swine flu.According to the DoH, holidaymakers should take medication such as paracetamol with...

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Swine Flu Warning For Small Businesses

David Frost told Sky News: "In many ways this couldn't have come at a worst time."After a dramatic decline in the economy there is a touch more confidence coming back."But if swine flu does really take off then it will act as a major dampener on any upturn as we pull out of this recession. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable."He also said small businesses should read all the advice and help being offered on government and business web sites.Ian O'Donnell who runs Real Point, an IT and web design company in Meriden, near Coventry, has already...

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Burnham grandmother had ring stolen

Health Secretary Andy Burnham has revealed that his grandmother's wedding ring was stolen from her finger while she was in a care home shortly before her 2002 death. Skip related contentGrandmother Catherine Murray was forced to sell her home to pay for care in her final years, and yet the care she received "wasn't great", he recalled.One of Mr Burnham's first actions after being appointed to the Department of Health last month was to put forward proposals to end the "cruel lottery" of care for the elderly in England, which currently sees some...

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British students in Chinese swine flu quarantine

The group of 52 students and teachers were quarantined after four students tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus after arriving in Beijing for a study tour, the British Council said earlier."It was a bit of surprise to be detained at the airport. We have been in a state of shock," Ian Tyrell, one of the teachers leading the tour, told AFP by telephone from the hotel where the group was quarantined.Tyrell said there were some Americans and other nationalities under quarantine at the hotel, some of them students, but he could not provide a specific...

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Travel warning to swine flu victims

Britons going on their summer holidays have been warned not to travel if they had swine flu. Skip related contentThe Department of Health, which is currently setting up a new pandemic flu service, advised people with the virus to delay journeys until symptoms had gone.As the Government awaits the arrival of a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, the end of the school year coincides with an outbreak affecting thousands.Officials warned that visitors to a number of countries would have to face strict screening procedures as the illness spreads.This was demonstrated...

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Swine flu cases in the United States

Swine flu cases in the United States rose above 60 on Tuesday as governments around the world intensified steps to battle the outbreak that has killed scores of people in Mexico. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion to fight the fast-spreading disease. Federal officials suggested the flu may be spreading so fast, there may be no practical way to contain it, and no need to tighten borders further. So far, there have been no deaths from the fast-spreading virus in the United States. Still, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...

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WHO warns swine flu 'unstoppable'

According to the World Health Organization the new H1N1 virus is ‘unstoppable’. It gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain.Every country needs to vaccinate citizens against the swine flu virus and must choose who else would get priority after nurses, doctors and technicians. The new virus attacks people differently than seasonal flu - affecting more of younger people, pregnant women, the severely obese and seemingly healthy adults, and causing disease deep in the lungs.WHO's Strategic Advisory...

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Protestors and swine flu

Thai soldiers and police stop traffic as a jogger makes his way past a security point outside one of the venues of the 42nd ASEAN Regional Forum Saturday, July 18, 2009, in Phuket, Thailand. The Thai government has vowed to protect delegates from anti-government protestors and swine f...

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Thai soldier

A Thai soldier looks on as helicopters conduct drills near one of the venues of the 42nd ASEAN Regional Forum Saturday, July 18, 2009, in Phuket, Thailand. The Thai government has vowed to protect delegates from anti-government protestors and swine f...

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Thailand and Swine flu

A crowd gathers to watch helicopter drills outside one of the venues of the 42nd ASEAN Regional Forum Saturday, July 18, 2009, in Phuket, Thailand. The Thai government has vowed to protect delegates from anti-government protestors and swine f...

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Yanxiang Hotel in Beijing

Quarantined British students, from left, Christopher Panayi, George Edge, and their teacher Ian Tyrrell stand outside the Yanxiang Hotel in Beijing, China, Saturday, July 18, 2009. The students, from the Central Foundation Boys School, in Islington, were among 52 students and teachers who were quarantined after four classmates were diagnosed with swine f...

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Quarantined students from Portland

Quarantined students from Portland, Oregon, stand outside the Yanxiang Hotel in Beijing, China, Saturday, July 18, 2009. Four students visiting China from the United Kingdom have been diagnosed with swine flu, and 52 of their classmates and teachers have been quarantined, the British Embassy said Saturd...

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Shanghai airport positive for swine flu

Chinese health workers take the temperatures of airline passengers after a German plane landed at Shanghai airport in May 2009. The British Council says a group of 52 British students and their teachers have been quarantined by Chinese authorities after four students tested positive for swine f...

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Protective Face Masks Swine flu

Children wear protective face masks as they play at a kindergarten in Hong Kong. A group of 52 British students and their teachers have been quarantined by Chinese authorities after four students tested positive for swine flu, the British Council sa...

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DNA test kits for swine flu.

DNA test kits for swine flu. Singapore has reported its first death linked to swine flu after a 49-year-old man who was diagnosed with the virus died of a heart atta...

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H5N1 bird flu virus

A man sells rare pigeons in the popular "Friday market" in south of Cairo July 10, 2009. The government want to ban the sale of birds on the street in a hope to stem the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus, local media reported at the beginning of July. ...

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Bird Flu

Birds are seen for sale at the popular "Friday market", south of Cairo July 10, 2009. The government want to ban the sale of birds on the street in a hope to stem the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus, local media reported at the beginning of J...

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1,000 schools have already recorded cases of swine flu

Bristol health experts have said they are sufficiently prepared to deal with an increase in swine flu cases. South Gloucestershire has increased the number of swine flu centres, where stocks of antivirals will be handed, out to 28. In North Somerset stocks of Tamiflu are limited but health managers are confident that there are enough of the drugs to last until another delivery is due to arrive early next week. People suffering flu-like symptoms are being asked by health experts not to pick up their own tablets,...

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April, including 429 deaths

A study by Oxford Economics - a forecasting consultancy whose clients include multinational corporations and government - said recovery could be delayed by a couple of years due to the swine flu pandemic. 'Although so far the social and economic impacts have been very small, if infection rates were to rise much further, significant costs could be expected,' it said. Comparing the outbreak to the 2003 SARS crisis, it said that outbreak had occurred at a time of strong economic growth. Both consumption and growth had returned as soon as the epidemic...

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who had swine flu is dead

The man, who was not identified by officials, had been hospitalized with underlying medical conditions, and had a confirmed case of H1N1 virus or swine flu. Officials stressed the man had several conditions that likely interacted, leading to his death."There were multiple underlying health conditions going on," said Vincent C. Martello, assistant deputy county executive/communications, "... all of which contributed to the individual's death."Case is 1st Ulster fatalityThis is the ninth confirmed case of swine flu in Ulster County and the first...

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Swine flu spreads in Gainesville

UF has seen several more confirmed cases of the virus since the first infected student in April, said Phillip Barkley, director of the Student Health Care Center. Barkley said he didn’t know how many more cases were confirmed.Though only a few more have been verified, there have likely been many more students infected, he said. The majority of flu cases are the H1N1 strain, known as swine flu, and the SHCC saw about 35 people with some kind of flu or flu-like symptoms last week, he said.The center does not have the capability to test...

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anti-virals to tackle swine flu

HEALTH officials have confirmed there are enough anti-virals available for people diagnosed with swine flu in South Cumbria. NHS Cumbria has assured members of the public that supplies of Tamiflu are plentiful.But the anti-viral is not available over the counter and is only being prescribed to high-risk patients, or those who are clinically diagnosed with swine flu.It does not act as a cure...

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Academy and likely at other schools in fall

The United States Air Force Academy reached 103 confirmed cases of swine flu last week.As of Friday, there were 37 cadets in isolation, which was down from the previous weekend when 121 cadets were isolated, said John Van Winkle, spokesman for the Academy. At that time, there had also been 124 cadets returned to duty from isolation.Last week there were less cadets with flu-like symptoms than the week before, he said. When the Academy started noticing more cases than is usual, they followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s...

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Most of the 263 deaths in the United States

Laboratory tests confirmed late Thursday that the man, who was hospitalized at the medical center on July 3, had the H1N1 flu. The man had a serious underlying chronic medical condition that makes it complicated to conclusively state that the flu virus caused his death, according to Dr. MaryAnn Curl, chief of staff at the medical center. Additional tests are pending that may help infectious disease physicians make a determination on whether the H1N1 flu was the cause of death. The man's family has declined to have an autopsy performed. “I can't...

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Swine flu calls swamp East Anglia

New predictions suggest up to 275,000 could be affected by the pandemic in Norfolk and 1,500 admitted to hospital in the coming months. So far around 1,000 people have been treated with Tamiflu in Norfolk and many more are likely to have been affected.It comes as four key players in the fight against the virus in the county announced they were leaving NHS Norfolk - including the county's director of public health, Dr John Battersby.Their departures in early autumn could coincide with the start of a second and possibly larger outbreak of swine flu...

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Pigs have swine flu

Swine flu has swept the globe at "unprecedented speed," the World Health Organisation said on Friday, as a study warned the pandemic could tip the world into deflation and delay the economic recovery. The WHO said it would stop giving figures on the numbers infected by the A(H1N1) virus to allow countries to channel resources into close monitoring of unexpected developments and patterns in the spread of the disease. Argentina, meanwhile, issued a nationwide alert after pigs were confirmed to have the swine flu virus, health authorities said. "We...

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Swine flu: The facts

What are the symptoms of swine flu? A temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher, which comes on suddenly, combined with two or more of the following: sudden cough, headache, tiredness, chills, aching limbs and joints, muscular aches, diarrhoea, sore throat, running nose, sneezing or a loss of appetite. "There is very little bog standard seasonal flu around at the moment, so if you have the above symptoms, it is most likely to be swine flu," says Dr Maureen Baker of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Should...

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Swine Flu Vaccines Being Tested

ScienceDaily (July 18, 2009) — Researchers at the University of Antwerp are currently comparing 4 potential vaccines for H1N1v, also known as swine flu or Mexican flu. 300 to 400 volunteers will be recruited for the tests. “There is a good chance that a Mexican flu vaccine is available early November”, expects vaccine expert prof. dr. Pierre van Damme, director of the Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV), a department of the Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) at the University of Antwerp.We were...

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SWINE FLU: Drug collection points set up

HEALTH chiefs said last night they had opened two emergency points in Oxfordshire to dish out swine flu drugs. Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust yesterday opened its first anti-viral collection point (ACP) at Oxford Town Hall. A second one will open at Woodgreen Leisure Centre, in Banbury, on Monday. The centres are aimed at easing the pressure on local health services by helping with the distribution of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu and will be open daily between 10.30am and 4.30pm until further notice. People diagnosed with swine flu...

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Five students in a Maryland Institute

Five students in a Maryland Institute College of Art summer program have been diagnosed with probable H1NI influenza infections, commonly known as swine flu, a college spokeswoman said Friday.Three of the students enrolled in MICA's pre-college program who were showing symptoms have gone home, said Kathleen Murray, the spokeswoman. One student has been isolated, as recommended by the Baltimore City Health Department, and another is asymptomatic, beyond the seven-day period of infection, Murray said.The Health Department notified MICA of the probable...

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swine flu died shortly

A woman who had contracted swine flu died shortly after giving birth prematurely, it was reported. The woman, who died in Whipps Cross Hospital, was named by her brother as Ruptara Miah. She is thought to be from Bangladesh....

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Swine flu Rajendra

The reports of the throat swab samples received from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi are positive," State Nodal Officer for Swine flu Rajendra Tamba said. The 20-year-old boy had arrived in the state on July 14. "He came to India on July 12 from USA. He was tested negative for swine flu in America," Tamba said. The boy developed swine flu like symptoms on July 16 and was referred to a private practitioner in South Goa. "He was quarantined at Chicalim and then admitted in Goa Medical College," Tamba said. The test...

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Swine flu fear at local school

Parents of children at a Shropshire secondary school have spoken of their concern after being told a pupil had been diagnosed as having suspected swine flu. The pupil attends Rhyn Park School in St Martins, near Oswestry, and a letter was sent to parents on Wednesday by headteacher Richard Hedge. He said the pupil would not be in school for the rest of term and medical advice was all children without symptoms should attend school as normal. The school was open as normal on Thursday and yesterday. It has now closed for the summer holida...

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The number of H1N1 swine flu

The number of H1N1 swine flu cases is up by 20 from Friday's total. There are now 2,250 confirmed cases in New Zealand. The National Health Coordination Centre says the actual number of cases will be significantly higher, as only a small proportion of people with symptoms is being tested. This is because for most people, it is a mild illness and they will recover readily at home without needing medical treatment. The number of New Zealand deaths from swine flu remains at ...

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The Big Island woman, Swine flu

The Big Island woman, who was in her early 50s, died July 7 at Kona Community Hospital."Although flu was the primary cause of death for this individual, she had serious underlying medical conditions that exacerbated her condition and contributed to her decline and death," said Dr. Sarah Park, chief of the Disease Outbreak Control Division and state epidemiologist, in a news release. "We all need to take care of ourselves ... to fight off infection."There have more than 1,000 reported cases of swine flu in the Islands since May.Nationwide, there...

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SYDNEY childcare centres Swine flu

SYDNEY childcare centres are feeling the brunt of the swine flu pandemic, with youngsters at high risk of infecting their peers. Health Department figures released last week revealed that 94 children aged under five were in hospital with the disease in NSW.A further 225 children underfive have been confirmed as swine flu sufferers.NSW Health Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Jeremy McAnulty said it was imperative that parents kept their sick children away from child care."Childcare centres are places where small children congregate and,...

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Beijing after four came down with swine flu

One of the four, Lucy van Amerongen called her sister to say that the episode had been 'quite intimidating'. Her sister Amii said: 'Lucy called me this morning telling me that she is confined in a hotel and she is being very brave about the whole thing. ''She said it was quite intimidating - they have these ‘guns’ that they point at your head which measure your temperature.'Her father TV producer Victor van Amerongen, 54, who lives near Stroud, Glos., revealed that daughter Lucy, 15, could be quarantined for up to a week.He said: ''She's with...

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