Expert Warns of Pandemic Flu Mutation
November 25, 2009
Reuters
By Stefanie McIntyre
China must be alert to any mutation or changes in the behavior of the H1N1 swine flu virus because the far deadlier H5N1 bird flu virus is endemic in the country, a leading Chinese disease expert said.
Zhong Nanshan, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China’s southern Guangdong province, said the presence of both viruses in China meant they could mix and become a monstrous hybrid — a bug packed with strong killing power that can transmit efficiently among people.
“China, as you know, is different from other countries. Inside China, H5N1 has been existing for some time, so if there is really a reassortment between H1N1 and H5N1, it will be a disaster,” Zhong said in an interview with Reuters Television.
“This is something we need to monitor, the change, the mutation of the virus. This is why reporting of the death rate must be really transparent.”
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that H5N1 had erupted in poultry in Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, posing once again a threat to humans.
“First, it places those in direct contact with birds — usually rural folk and farm workers — at risk of catching the often-fatal disease. Second, the virus could undergo a process of “reassortment” with another influenza virus and produce a completely new strain,” it said.
“The most obvious risk is of H5N1 combining with the pandemic … (H1N1) virus, producing a flu virus that is as deadly as the former and as contagious as the latter.”
Zhong told the Chinese media last week that China may have had more H1N1 flu deaths than it has reported, with some local governments possibly concealing suspect cases.
The doctor is known for his candor and work in fighting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, when nationwide panic and international alarm erupted after it emerged that officials hid or underplayed the spreading epidemic.
Cover-ups by local governments in 2003 during the SARS epidemic led to the sackings of several officials. More than 300 people died in that outbreak.
Your Asthma Could be Caused by Acetaminophen
November 24, 2009
NaturalNews
by S. L. Baker
Acetaminophen, the pain reliever and fever reducer found in Tylenol and many other over-the-counter as well as prescription drugs (such as Lortab), is often hyped for its supposed safety — specifically because it doesn’t cause stomach upset as often as aspirin. However, in recent years, it has become clear that acetaminophen can cause liver damage and, when combined with alcohol, stomach bleeding. Now comes another warning: researchers have linked the drug’s use to an increase in asthma and wheezing in both children and adults.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), asthma affects 16 million adults and nearly 7 million children in the US. It is, in fact, the most common serious chronic disease of childhood. A respiratory disease of the lungs, it is marked by episodes of inflammation and narrowing of the lower airways in response to asthma triggers which include infectious agents, stress, cigarette smoke, air pollution, dust mites and pollen. A new study just published in the November issue of Chest, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, suggests acetaminophen can also be an important asthma trigger.
Canadian researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, conducted a detailed analysis of 19 clinical studies which contained information linking asthma and/or wheezing to taking acetaminophen. In all, a huge number of research subjects — 425,140 — were included in these studies.
The results of the investigation showed the odds of having asthma were significantly raised among people who took the pain reliever. The analysis specifically showed a worrisome risk of asthma in children who had been given acetaminophen in the year prior to their asthma diagnosis or in the first year of life. And the findings raised another red flag concerning the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women. The study results showed an increase in the risk of asthma and wheezing in children if their mothers had taken the drug prenatally.
Writing in Chest, the researchers called for future studies to further confirm their analysis. They concluded: “The results of our review are consistent with an increase in the risk of asthma and wheezing in both children and adults exposed to acetaminophen.”
Suspicious Swine Flu Numbers
November 20, 2009
Lewrockwell.com
By Kathryn Muratore
As the college campuses began to populate, stories began to emerge about the high rate of swine flu among students. However, a little known fact was that most places were not actually testing for swine flu. Any student presenting with flu-like symptoms was presumed to have H1N1 because seasonal flu does not usually hit until much later in the fall.
When I heard this, I was suspicious of whether there really was an outbreak of swine flu on campus, but there was just no data one way or the other. Now there is: the world-renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia routinely tests patients for rhinovirus (the common cold) and H1N1. They found that most of their patients with flu-like symptoms had a cold, not swine flu.
But, there’s more…
Doctors and researchers are now worried that this is a new, more severe strain of rhinovirus (second verse, same as the first). It seems to me that because hospitals and doctors are seeing a rise in the number of patients with respiratory illnesses, and schools are closing due to low attendance, that the experts think this cold is more severe than normal colds.
This, again, is highly suspect reasoning. Schools, doctors, public health bureaucrats, and just about everyone else is recommending that people with a respiratory illness should not go to work or school and, instead, should see a doctor to be treated for the flu. So, while parents may normally send their child to school or choose to save time and money by no taking their little one to the doctor at the first sniffle, they are now petrified of the swine flu and taking all precautions. Thus, the increase in school closings and hospital admissions may simply be an unintended consequence of our leaders’ fearmongering.
Peak of Swine Flu Before Vaccine Arrives
October 28, 2009
Natural News
By Mike Adams
Swine flu infections have peaked out in the USA, even before drug companies could get their vaccines injected into everyone. According to CDC findings announced recently in Atlanta, one in five U.S. children have already experienced the flu this month, and most of those were likely H1N1 swine flu cases, the CDC says.
This comes from a survey of over 10,000 U.S. households conducted by the CDC.
Meanwhile, flu vaccine shipments are way behind schedule. There have been supply problems from the start, and as of right now, relatively few Americans have yet been injected with the swine flu vaccine. (Many have stood in line for hours trying to be injected, but were told to go home with the vaccine ran out.)
Out of nearly 14,000 suspected flu cases tested during the week ending on October 10, 2009, 99.6% of those were influenza A, and the vast majority of those were H1N1 swine flu infections. This is a very strong indication that swine flu infections have peaked during October, 2009.
Further supporting that notion, researchers from Purdue University just published a paper in the October 15 issue of Eurosurveillance (a science journal about communicable disease) in which researchers stated that the H1N1 swine flu epidemic would peak during “week 42″ (the end of October). Week 42 just passed. It’s over.
The AJC is also reporting this week that swine flu is “retreating” in Georgia, where hospital visits from the flu are markedly down and fewer illnesses are being reported in schools, too.
Even the WHO is reporting a downward trend in many areas, saying, “In tropical areas of the world, rates of illness are generally declining, with a few exceptions. …In tropical Asia, of the countries that are reporting this week, all report decreases in respiratory disease activity.”
Meanwhile, even as the swine flu infection peaks out, the shortage of swine flu vaccines means few people have yet been vaccinated. The shortage is causing “chaos” in clinics across the country, news reports say, and flu vaccination events have been cancelled due to the non-arrival of expected vaccines.
And what, exactly, is causing this shortage of vaccines? According to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, they’re being caused by “production failures” at the drug manufacturing facilities.
Too little, too late
Is she serious? People are lining up to be injected with chemicals made by companies that are suffering “production failures?” If these companies can’t meet the production targets they already promised, how can we expect them to meet the safety targets they promised?
Beetroot Juice ‘Boosts Stamina’
August 6, 2009
BBC News
Drinking beetroot juice boosts stamina and could help people exercise for up to 16% longer, a UK study suggests.
A University of Exeter team found nitrate contained in the vegetable leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake – making exercise less tiring.
The small Journal of Applied Physiology study suggests the effect is greater than that which can be achieved by regular training.
Beetroot juice has previously been shown to reduce blood pressure.
The researchers believe their findings could help people with cardiovascular, respiratory or metabolic diseases – and endurance athletes.
They focused on eight men aged 19-38, who were given 500ml per day of organic beetroot juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests, involving cycling on an exercise bike.
On another occasion, they were given a placebo of blackcurrant cordial for six consecutive days before completing the same cycling tests.
After drinking beetroot juice the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes – 92 seconds longer than when they were given the placebo.
This would translate into an approximate 2% reduction in the time taken to cover a set distance.
The group that had consumed the beetroot juice also had lower resting blood pressure.
Mechanism unclear
The researchers are not yet sure of the exact mechanism that causes the nitrate in the beetroot juice to boost stamina.
However, they suspect it could be a result of the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body, reducing how much oxygen is burned up by exercise.
Study researcher Professor Andy Jones – an adviser to top UK athlete Paula Radcliffe – said: “We were amazed by the effects of beetroot juice on oxygen uptake because these effects cannot be achieved by any other known means, including training.
“I am sure professional and amateur athletes will be interested in the results of this research.
“I am also keen to explore the relevance of the findings to those people who suffer from poor fitness and may be able to use dietary supplements to help them go about their daily lives.”
Professor John Brewer, an expert on sports science at the University of Bedfordshire, said: “These findings are potentially exciting for many people involved in sport and exercise, but will almost certainly require further more extensive studies before the exact benefits and mechanisms are understood.
“We must also remember that exercise and training and a sensible diet will always remain as the essential ingredients for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.”
Dr Simon Marshall, of the University of San Diego, has carried out work on exercise and health.
He said much more work was needed involving many more subjects to draw firm conclusions.
“Certainly, a diet high in nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables is good for your heart health and this study provides further evidence of this.”
