Tag Archive: pandemic

August 3rd, 2014
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Map Of Ebola Quarantine Stations: Here’s Where They’ll Send Those Suspected of Ebola or “Respiratory Illnesses”


Despite concerns around the globe that the Ebola virus may continue to spread and mutate into something even more deadly, the director of the CDC attempted to assuage fears about the possibility of an outbreak on U.S. soil.

“It is not a potential of Ebola spreading widely in the U.S.,” director Thomas Friedman told reporters on a conference call Thursday. “That is not in the cards.”

But while the CDC downplays the potential threat, emergency planners behind the scenes have been getting ready since as early as April of this year. In a report presented to Congress while the virus was spreading in West Africa, the Department of Defense said that it has dispatched biological detection kits to National Guard units in all 50 states with the capability of diagnosing the virus in infected patients in as little as 30 minutes.

And, in a move that raised some eyebrows this morning, President Obama amended a 2003 Executive Order that gives the Federal government, as noted by Paul Joseph Watson, the power to “mandate the apprehension and detention of Americans who merely show signs of respiratory illness.”

Although Ebola was listed on the original executive order signed by Bush, Obama’s amendment ensures that Americans who merely show signs of respiratory illness, with the exception of influenza, can be forcibly detained by medical authorities.

Though the government and media are doing everything in their power to keep the panic to a minimum, going so far as to suggest that the possibility of Ebola spreading in the United States is almost non-existent, the fact that over 750 people in six West African countries have died from the virus suggests otherwise.

Even the World Health Organization recently claimed that the virus is out of control and all attempts to contain it thus far have failed.

Michael Snyder’s recent analysis on what is going to happen if Ebola comes to America sheds some light on how the government might behave. Though Obama didn’t sign the Executive Order allowing for the rounding up and detention of Americans suspected of respiratory illnesses until today, Snyder correctly pointed out just 48 hours before the order that “isolation would not be a voluntary thing.”

The federal government would start hunting down anyone that they “reasonably believed to be infected with a communicable disease” and taking them to the facilities where other patients were being held.  It wouldn’t matter if you were entirely convinced that you were 100% healthy.  If the government wanted to take you in, you would have no rights in that situation.  In fact, federal law would allow the government to detain you “for such time and in such manner as may be reasonably necessary”.

And once you got locked up with all of the other Ebola patients, there would be a pretty good chance that you would end up getting the disease and dying anyway.

It turns out that not only is the government prepared to identify, isolate and detain potentially contagious individuals, but they already have the facilities in place.

According to the Centers for Disease Control there are twenty (20) quarantine centers actively prepared to accept patients as of this writing.

The following map provided by the CDC shows where these centers are located.


President Obama’s recently updated Executive Order gives the organization the authorization to detain anyone suspected of having been infected with a contagious disease.

CDC has the legal authority to detain any person who may have an infectious disease that is specified by Executive Order to be quarantinable.

Such “quarantinable” diseases may include Cholera, Smallpox, Plague, SARS, Hemorrhagic fevers (like Ebola), and now even “respiratory illnesses” that may have symptoms similar to those of deadly viruses.

It was no accident that President Obama added the Executive Order amendment this morning. They can downplay the seriousness of Ebola all they want, but the fact is that hundreds of medical workers, including the World Health Organization, have failed to contain its spread.

In anticipation of the virus hitting U.S. shores, President Obama has set the legal authorization to essentially declare martial law in stone. The U.S. military, including the National Guard, also has contingency plans in place.

The minute this virus is detected in “the wild” on U.S. soil these directives will be executed.

Though what happens next is unpredictable, preparing for a pandemic ahead of time may be the best way to not only avoid contracting a deadly virus, but staying out of a government run quarantine station.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 


Via: shtfplan



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July 31st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Ebola Bio Kits Deployed to National Guard Units In All 50 States

The Department of Defense informed Congress that it has deployed biological diagnostic systems to National Guard support teams in all 50 states, according to a report published by the Committee on Armed Services. The report, published in April amid growing fears that the Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus might spread outside of West Africa, says that the portable systems are designed for “low probability, high consequence” scenarios.

Some 340 Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS) units have thus far been given to emergency response personnel. The systems are “rapid, reliable, and [provide] simultaneous identification of specific biological agents and pathogens,” says executive officer for the DOD’s Chemical and Biological Defense group Carmen J. Spencer.

The Chemical and Biological Defense Program has sharpened the DoD diagnostics portfolio by increasing the capability of our fielded system, some 340 of which have been provided to the Military Services.

The Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System is a portable system capable of rapid, reliable, and simultaneous identification of specific biological agents and pathogens. By partnering with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Food and Drug Administration, we have made accessible additional diagnostic assays for high consequence, low probability biological threat agents for use during declared public health emergencies.

This collaboration has facilitated the availability of viral hemorrhagic fever diagnostic assays for use during a declared emergency and adds previously unavailable preparedness capabilities to this fielded system.

…

To address the need for a near term capability to combat emerging threat materials, we have already provided Domestic Response Capability kits to the National Guard weapons of mass destruction civil support teams resident in all 50 states.

These kits provide emerging threat mitigation capability that includes detection, personnel protection, and decontamination.

Full Congressional Report via POTR

According to manufacturer BioFire Diagnostics, the JBAID is capable of detecting a variety of infectious disease targets including Anthrax, Plague, Ricin, and various forms of influenza. The detection kits sent to National Guard units also include hemorrhagic fever detection capabilities, giving the military the ability to identify potential infections in as little as thirty minutes:

The ruggedized JBAIDS is an open platform that analyzes 32 samples in 30 minutes and is deployed in field hospitals, mobile analytical labs, shipboard medical labs, food and water safety test centers, research labs, and other mobile scenarios.


(Pictured: Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System)

The Ebola threat recently popped up on the global radar when an infected individual traveled via airplane from Liberia to Nigeria’s capital of Lagos, alarming bio-specialists who say it could just be a plane ride away from U.S. shores.

As noted by Steve Quayle, Department of Defense planners had already taken steps to deliver the biodetectors to the National Guard before April of this year, suggesting that, while no infection of Ebola in North America has been confirmed, the military is already taking precautions.

The military has response plans in place for national emergency events that could include anything from a pandemic outbreak to economic collapse, both of which could lead to civil unrest.

Video Update (Provided by POTR)

It is unclear how real or imminent the threat may be, but it is clear that a massive surge of Governmental spending and preparedness has occurred since Hemorrhagic H7N9 Bird Flu came on the scene in 2013 and those preparedness activities are accelerating as EBOLA has started to gain momentum in Africa.

…

In that regard, spotting the field use of the biomedical equipment shown below is an extremely strong indicator that a Biodefense operation is underway. Pay special attention to the JBAIDS device shown below, its presence at any medical or field facility is prima facie evidence of a high risk medical event of disastrous proportion.

 


 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan


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July 29th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Ebola Outbreaks: Two Americans Now Infected

Fear is growing around the globe after the Ebola Virus has spread to at least four West African countries and infected two American aid workers this week.


Doctors decontaminating after treating patients with Ebola

An American doctor and a U.S. aid worker helping to fight an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa are now infected with disease. Even more troubling, is how our government allowed the doctor’s family back into the U.S., despite the fact that they were living with the doctor during a period where he may have already had the virus.

Although American health officials are denying the family is infected, they were living with the doctor right before he fell ill. Ebola can be present in the body 21 days before the symptoms first show, so the fact that our government is so carelessly allowing these healthcare workers and their families to come and go from these infected areas is troubling to say the least.

Ebola can have up to a 90 percent fatality rate, which makes its spread throughout Africa something our health care officials need to take a little more seriously, especially since we have healthcare workers flying back and forth from these infected areas.

There is no vaccine and no known cure for Ebola, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.

Are American Health Officials doing enough to protect us?

The only way to really stop Ebola from spreading is to find and isolate everyone who has come into contact with it, so why our government is allowing healthcare workers who are treating these patients back into the country without a quarantine period is a bit perplexing.

MERS Outbreak another major cause for Concern

At the same time, a number of countries in the Middle East are dealing with an outbreak of MERS, a deadly virus first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 that has a mortality rate of 30%. Just like with the Ebola Virus, U.S. health officials seem to be taking a wait and see approach instead of taking measures to ensure the virus doesn’t reach the U.S.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration said they were closely monitoring the MERS outbreak in the Middle East. But just like with Ebola, they have done nothing to stop healthcare workers who are treating these patients from coming back into the U.S.

Because of the influx of international and U.S. healthcare workers into these areas, world health officials say there’s a good chance MERS and Ebola could hitch a ride on workers as they return home. from the infected areas.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: offgridsurvival


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July 28th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Delivered By Airplane: Ebola Now Threatens 21 Million People In Major Metro Area– ALERT

In January the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the next plane could bring a pandemic.

At the time, they were referring to highly contagious strains of deadly flu virus, but in reality any killer virus could travel around the globe in less than a day.

In March we warned that the deadly Ebola virus, which kills upwards of 85% of its victims, was spreading at an alarming pace in West Africa. It was so serious that governments in the region had locked down their borders. The following month in April, officials in the U.S. and Canada were alerted that the virus may have made its way to North America, though no follow-up information was provided after the initial report. Then, just last month, the World Health Organization issued a dire warning – Ebola could go global.

Despite these warnings and the fact that over 650 people are confirmed dead by medical officials in Africa, global governments failed to take any significant action. Flights out of West Africa were still being allowed to leave without any real screening procedures, even though medical professionals in the region had warned that containment of the virus was spiraling out of control.

Now, amid the highly publicized infection of a leading Ebola doctor, the first case of the virus travelling aboard a commercial passenger airline has been confirmed.

Nigerian health authorities raced to stop the spread of Ebola on Saturday after a man sick with one of the world’s deadliest diseases brought it by plane to Lagos, Africa’s largest city with 21 million people.

The fact that the traveler from Liberia could board an international flight also raised new fears that other passengers could take the disease beyond Africa due to weak inspection of passengers and the fact Ebola’s symptoms are similar to other diseases.

Officials in the country of Togo, where the sick man’s flight had a stopover, also went on high alert after learning that Ebola could possibly have spread to a fifth country.

Screening people as they enter the country may help slow the spread of the disease, but it is no guarantee Ebola won’t travel by airplane, according to Dr. Lance Plyler, who heads Ebola medical efforts in Liberia for aid organization Samaritan’s Purse.

“Unfortunately the initial signs of Ebola imitate other diseases, like malaria or typhoid,” he said.

As always, government officials did nothing until it was too late.

Perhaps the death of the Liberian Ebola patient was an isolated incident.

However, the plane on which he traveled stopped for a layover where other passengers disembarked and then headed to Africa’s most populated city of 21 million residents.

If this man came into contact with just one or two others who then mixed with the rest of the population, it’s quite possible that scores of others are now infected. Because the symptoms during the onset of the virus are similar to a flu, by the time infected individuals realize what is happening it’s too late – too late for them, and for those who they came into contact with.

The virus may not be airborne, and because of its genetic profile it may not spread as quickly as a flu virus, but with its possible exposure to a population of 21 million people there is a distinct possibility that Ebola may mutate into something even more contagious.

While the United States claims to have screening procedures ready, at this point, with global air carriers using numerous hubs to transfer passengers, it is becoming more and more likely that the virus will eventually make an appearance in North America.

For the time being there are no active procedures being implemented to screen passengers from West Africa. If the virus were to arrive in the United States via an airplane, the infected person could easily come into contact with scores of other people who would jet off to various destinations around the country.

If that were to happen, all bets are off.

Tess Pennington, author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, says that Preparing for a Pandemic before information about it hits the news is absolutely essential:

When the pandemic begins, many will remain in a state of denial about any approaching epidemics and not want to think of the long lasting repercussions of such a disaster. Being prepared before the mass come out of their daze will ensure that you are better prepared before the hoards run to the store to stock up.

Ebola could potentially end up all over the United States within a matter of hours, a situation that would very quickly become untenable for medical emergency response teams.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: shtfplan

 


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May 19th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Obama Admin Refuses to Stop Travelers from Infected Countries – MERS in US

The first human to human case of MERS in the United States was confirmed this week in Illinois.

A U.S. citizen who came in contact with an infected Saudi man earlier this month has tested positive for the MERS virus and is currently under observation in Illinois.

Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contacted the Illinois resident earlier this month after learning that he had met with a man from Saudi Arabia on two occasions prior to that man being hospitalized in Indiana.

Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is the known source of this disease, the Obama Administration is refusing to suspend air travel from the infected areas, all but ensuring the disease will become a global epidemic.

“The president has been briefed on this development,” White House spokesman Carney told reporters. “The CDC is taking the current situation very seriously and is working in close coordination with local health authorities.” Carney said.

Saudi Healthcare Workers will likely make this a Global Epidemic

Saudi officials have recently stepped up efforts to recruit foreign doctors for high paying jobs in Saudi Arabia, where MERS was first identified in 2012. About 15 percent of physicians working in Saudi Arabia are American or European doctors.

Because of the influx of doctors and healthcare providers into the area, world health officials say there is a good chance the MERS virus will hitch a ride on workers as they return home.

“This is how MERS might spread around the world,” said infectious disease expert Dr Amesh Adalja of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Both of the initial U.S. MERS infections were carried into the country by healthcare workers who fell ill shortly after leaving their work in Saudi hospitals. This could have been prevented; unfortunately our government seems more concerned with offending the Saudi government than they do saving American lives.

Almost one-third of the MERS cases in Saudi Arabia is being seen in Healthcare workers, so why we would allow anyone from the infected countries into the U.S. – especially those working directly with infected patients – is insane. What’s even crazier is not only are they refusing to stop air travel from the infected countries, but the government has also refused to even mandate returning physicians be screened for the disease.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: offgridsurvival


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May 10th, 2014
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Honey and Ginger Beat Antibiotics in Inhibiting Superbugs


Honey, and combinations of honey and herbs have been used for thousands of years to counteract various ailments including infections. And honey and ginger has been used as a healing combination for many conditions. But few realized just how antibiotic honey was – until recently.

Researchers from Ethiopa’s College of Medicine at the University of Gondar have determined that a combination of honey and ginger extract powder will inhibit the growth of superbugs such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae  – some of the most lethal ‘superbugs’ known.

The researchers conducted a laboratory study to test the inhibition ranges – using a standardized approach of measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) after culturing the bacteria in a broth solution and then using agar as a medium for measurement. The broths were cultured with the antibiotics for 20-24 hours to measure their effect upon the bacteria.

The researchers separately tested Ethiopian honey, ginger powder and a combination of the two against three different antibiotics. The researchers also tested a water extract of the ginger.

The antibiotics tested were methicillin, amoxicillin and penicillin – three of the most successful antibiotics in our pharmaceutical arsenal.

The researchers conducted five tests for each treatment. These included the following bacteria:

  • Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and non-MRSA)
  • Escherichia coli (two different strains)
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae

The research determined that both the honey and the ginger extract powder (alcohol extract) independently had greater inhibition levels than any of the antibiotics. The only antibiotic to come close to the inhibition of either of these was amoxicillin – which was close to the ginger extract. And this was only on the non-MRSA S. aureus. The ginger and the honey – each alone – beat out all three of these antibiotics in terms of inhibition levels (MIC).

The numbers tell it all. Honey and ginger extracts each had an average MIC inhibition of 19.23 among all five bacteria – ranging from 13 to 24.

Meanwhile, the methicillin had an average MIC inhibition of 4.00 (ranging from 0 to 13), amoxicillin had an average inhibition of 12.25 (ranging from 7 to 22) and penicillin had an average inhibition of 13.25 (ranging from 9 to 20).

And the combination of the ginger extract and the honey had even greater antibiotic properties, with MICs averaging 25.62 and ranging from 19 to 30 – beating out all the pharmaceutical antibiotics by a landslide.

How was the ginger extract made?

The ginger extract powder was made by slicing ginger root and drying at 37°C for 24 hours. These dried ginger pieces were then ground and blended with methanol and ethanol. A 50% solution of ginger was the result.

The ginger extract powder was then blended with 100% honey at a one-to-one (50/50) basis.

The water extract of the ginger had no inhibition of the bacteria. This what other research has indicated – that alcohol apparently extracts the antibiotic constituents from the ginger.

The implications of this research are vast

The implications of this study are great. Both honey and ginger repel dangerous superbugs more than our most lethal antibiotics. These ‘superbugs’ have specifically armed themselves to counteract these overused antibiotics.

What about honey and ginger? Couldn’t these ‘superbugs’ eventually figure out how to counteract those treatments as well?

Nature works with completely different mechanisms than static antibiotics. How is that?

It is a fact that bacteria are always present around bee hives. Bacteria are also constantly present around the roots of a ginger plant – in the soil.

In fact, soils maintain some of the highest levels of bacteria.

So how did the honey and the ginger survive the bacteria onslaught before being harvested?

Living organisms are in constant motion. They are not static. Ginger plants, for example, are constantly producing their own antibiotic mechanisms to repel bacteria. These include producing acids that break down bacteria on contact. They also include using soil-based organisms to territorialize and inhibit bacteria invasion.

These antibacterial measures that plants utilize are incorporated into the flowers where pollen is produced. This pollen is collected by bees and brought to the hive.

The bees also employ their own antibacterial measures to prevent infection in the hive. These include employing their own probiotic bacteria colonies and producing their own antibiotics which are secreted from their saliva.

Propolis, in fact, is the product produced from the bee’s saliva and various plant resins. It has been shown to be significantly antibiotic.

So why do these antibiotic strategies beat out antibiotics like methicillin, amoxicillin and penicillin? Because these pharma antibiotics are static. They work the same way every time.

This means that bacteria like MRSA staph and E. coli can figure out a workaround. They can figure out how those antibiotics work and just develop measures that counteract them. Then they pass on that workaround to other bacteria in the form of plasmids.

Why? Because bacteria are alive, and they want to survive.

But so do bees, and so do plants, and so do other organisms these utilize. And this creates a moving target.

We might compare it to two opposing nations. When one country produces a certain weapon, the other nation will produce another one to counteract it. Then they will produce a new one, which the first nation will develop a means to counteract it.

This mutual counter activity produces something biologists call evolution. In each species’ quest to survive, their defense mechanisms evolve.

It is for this reason that using nature to help us counteract infection is far more sustainable than creating temporary, environment-polluting pharmaceuticals that only create resistant ‘superbugs’ in the end.

Learn how to use nature’s perfect antibiotic producers – probiotics.

REFERENCES:

Yalemwork Ewnetu, Wossenseged Lemma, and Nega Birhane, “Synergetic Antimicrobial Effects of Mixtures of Ethiopian Honeys and Ginger Powder Extracts on Standard and Resistant Clinical Bacteria Isolates,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2014, Article ID 562804, 8 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/562804

 

Case Adams
R.E.A.L. Natural

Case Adams is a California Naturopath and holds a Ph.D. in Natural Health Sciences. His focus is upon science-based natural health solutions. He is the author of 25 books on natural health and numerous print and internet articles. A listing and description of many of his books can be found on realnatural.org as well as GreenMedinfo’s book library. Contact Case at [email protected].

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: readynutrition


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May 5th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

CDC Confirms Deadly MERS Virus Infection Has Reached U.S. Soil

After a year of being kept at bay and isolated to the Middle East the deadly MERS coronavirus has broken through World Health Organization containment zones and found it’s way to the United States. There is currently one confirmed case of the virus, which shows up initially with symptoms similar to a cold and then takes over the immune system, but the report from a CDC conference call on the infection is sobering. The infected individual started his travels in none other than Saudi Arabia, where the virus has been actively spreading for months. He took a plane to Chicago on April 28 via a layover in London, finishing the last leg of his journey to Indiana aboard a bus. Thousands of people were in the direct vicinity of this person while he was travelling. Because the symptoms may take several days to manifest it is quite possible that there are now people all over America who may be infected but have not yet been identified.

We urge our readers to be aware that the virus is here and that it may be spreading. The following article from Lily Dane of The Daily Sheeple provides additional details about the US-based infection, symptoms to look for, and preventative measures to consider right now in the event more cases are reported.

If you don’t have them already, acquire the necessary pandemic protection supplies ahead of any panic which may ensue should more cases be identified.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the first case of the deadly MERS virus in the United States.

AZFamily reports:

Middle East respiratory syndrome — or MERS — first surfaced two years ago. Since then, at least 400 cases of the respiratory illness have been reported, and more than 100 people have died.

Saudi Arabia was been the center of the outbreak. All the victims have had ties to the Middle East or to someone who traveled there.

The virus has been found in camels, but officials don’t know how it is spreading to humans.

The CDC said the infected person is a healthcare worker who traveled from Saudi Arabia to Indiana:

On April 24, the patient traveled by plane from Saudi Arabia to London, then from London to Chicago,” the CDC said. “The patient then took a bus from Chicago to Indiana. On the 27th, the patient began to experience signs of illness, including shortness of breath and coughing. The patient went to an emergency department on April 28th. Because of the patient’s symptoms and travel history, Indiana public health officials had him tested for MERS.

MERS is related to SARS, the virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2003. Both are caused by coronaviruses, members of a family of viruses that usually cause common cold symptoms and that infect a wide range of mammals.

The virus can survive on surfaces, and kills approximately one-third of people who show symptoms. Some people have been found to have the virus, but never develop symptoms or become ill.

Here are the symptoms:

  • Coughing
  • Mucous
  • Shortness of breath
  • Malaise – a general feeling of being unwell
  • Chest pain
  • Fever
  • Diarrhea (in some cases)
  • Renal (kidney) failure

The person who brought the virus to the US traveled via airplane and bus.

It is too soon to know if the virus will spread and how many will be impacted, but just in case…are you prepared?

Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition provides the following tips:

So what can you do to be ready for a pandemic outbreak?

  • Store a two week supply of water and food. During a pandemic, if you cannot get to a store, or if stores are out of supplies, it will be important for you to have extra supplies on hand.
  • Have a supply of face masks to wear around those who may be ill or exposed to the illness.
  • Periodically check your regular prescription drugs to ensure a continuous supply in your home.
    Have any nonprescription drugs and other health supplies on hand, including pain relievers, stomach remedies, cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes, and vitamins.
  • Talk with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick, or what will be needed to care for them in your home.
  • Prepare a sick room for the home to limit family member’s exposure to the virus.

To decrease the chances of the virus spreading and infecting other household members as well as members of your community, it is important that every effort be made to limit exposure to the illness.  Some considerations on how to prevent exposure to a pandemic outbreak are:

  1. Avoid close contact with those who are ill.
  2. Stay inside and avoid contact with others.
  3. Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes during any pandemic.
  4. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
  5. Keep your hands clean. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub or make your own natural hand sanitizer.
    Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  6. If you are ill, stay indoors or keep your distance from others.
  7. Keeping your immune systems up by getting lots of sleep, having a good diet and taking antioxidants in protecting your health.

Remember, MERS is a virus and has no cure. Preventing the spread of the disease is crucial.

Delivered by The Daily Sheeple

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan


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April 29th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Saudi Arabia has 26 more cases of MERS virus, 10 dead

Saudi Arabia confirmed 26 more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed nearly a third of sufferers, and said 10 more people have died from the disease.

The confirmations follow Egypt’s announcement on Saturday that it had confirmed its first case of MERS in a man who had recently returned to the country from Riyadh, where he was working.

Saudi Arabia, where MERS was discovered around two years ago and which remains the country most affected, has now had 339 confirmed cases of MERS, of which 102 have been fatal.

The 143 cases announced since the start of April represent a 73 percent jump in total infections in Saudi Arabia this month.

The new cases were announced in two statements published on the Health Ministry website on Saturday and Sunday.

The 10 confirmed on Saturday included seven in Jeddah, the focal point for the recent outbreak, two in the capital Riyadh and another in Mecca. Two MERS patients died.

The 16 further cases confirmed on Sunday included two in Riyadh, eight in Jeddah and another six in the northern city of Tabuk. Eight MERS sufferers died on Sunday.

The acting health minister, Adel Fakieh, said on Saturday he had designated three hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on the Gulf coast as specialist centres for MERS treatment.

The three hospitals can accommodate 146 patients in intensive care, he said in comments carried by local press on Sunday.

Many Saudis have voiced concerns on social media about government handling of the outbreak, and last week King Abdullah sacked the health minister.

In Jeddah, some people are wearing facemasks and avoiding public gatherings, while pharmacies say sales of hand sanitisers and other hygiene products are soaring.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.


Via: msn


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April 1st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Borders On Lock Down as Ebola Spreads: “We Will Lose Many People”

One of the world’s most terrifying viruses is multiplying. Thus far at least 70 people have died from the Ebola virus in Guinea in recent weeks and though officials have taken steps to shut down the country’s border it may already be too late. The deadly strain of hemorrhagic fever has reportedly already spread to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The virus is normally acquired as a result of the butchering of or consumption of meat from bats or monkeys, which has prompted Guinea’s government to issue a ban on, among other things, the sale and preparation of bat soup. But because the virus can be spread from human-to-human via feces, blood, saliva, or sweat, it’s possible that the virus is now spreading through the general population.

Frighteningly, while the virus has historically be contained in rural areas of Africa, the latest outbreak has spread to Conakry, Guinea’s capital city of two million people.

As noted by Underground Medic, the strain of virus detected in those that have already died has been confirmed as the Zaire strain of Ebola, which has a fatality rate of 90%.

The disease has traveled 526 miles from Nzerekore to Conakry since Wednesday. It is a highly infectious disease and there are fears that community spread has already occurred.

With an incubation time between 4 and 21 days, and an average mean of 16 days, the amount of people an infected person has come into is considerable. Public transport is often overloaded and crowded living conditions give the disease ample opportunity to spread.

Reports indicate that the virus was largely isolated to Guinea’s low-population regions but one individual who got sick was transported to the country’s capital by his relatives. That person subsequently died, but he or those transporting him may have affected others.

Because of an incubation period that can last nearly three weeks, it may be difficult to identify those who have contracted the virus, which is one reason that officials in Africa, Europe and the United States are watching closely:

What governments and clinicians fear is a person incubating Ebola travelling through an international airport, infecting people from around the globe, before boarding their flight. With the average incubation taking 16 days tracing contacts of an infected individual would be a logistical nightmare. Many believe it would be an impossible task as airports only hold names of those booked on flights, not friends and relatives who are seeing them, and thousands of others off on their journeys.

After three decades in the health care environment I am not easily scared by bacteria and viruses. Out of all the diseases that are capable of doing us harm, Ebola scares me the most, in fact it terrifies me.

Ian Lipkin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University is equally concerned:

What normally happens is that international groups like Médecins Sans Frontières come in and cordon off the area, use a variety of diagnostic tests to exclude the worried well from truly sick, and try to interfere with some of these funeral practices. Then the episode dies out.

But [this outbreak] seems to have moved. It’s not as well contained as we would have hoped. I anticipate we will lose many people, but it will be a self-limited outbreak. We’ve lost less than 70 people. But it’s terrible.

The Ebola virus seems to remain isolated in Africa for the time being, but if one infected individual boards an international flight to Europe, South America, Asia or the USA then all bets are off. With cramped quarters on an airplane over a period of several hours you could potentially end up with scores of cases, and most of those infected would have no idea. From there we could have a spread of deadly contagion unlike any we’ve seen in modern times.

If even a single case pops up in the United States or Canada it could cause mass panic, and for good reason. Nine out of ten people who contract the virus would likely perish.

Those in high-risk communal areas like schools, offices, sporting events or mass transportation systems would be the most likely to acquire and then spread the virus.

The following video reveals the reach and rapidity of pandemic spread originating at a major international airport:

The models rely on the concept of ‘effective distance,’ and the belief that contagion now travels much more quickly and effectively between busy airports in different countries than between cities and more rural areas in the same country.

The maps show various routes travelling from a given airport which is the source of the contagion (in this case London Heathrow).

Circular diagrams show the radial distance from the disease source and the expected spreading path a contagion phenomenon will take – including other airports that might become gateways for the disease. (Exclusive News)


 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

via: shtfplan


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January 31st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

“The Next Plane Could Bring a Pandemic”- CDC Prepares for Perfect Storm

It’s happening.

The avian flu virus, which up until last year infected poultry exclusively, has now mutated and crossed over to humans.

What’s even scarier is the fact that the Chinese have been unable to contain the novel H7N9 strain of the virus and health officials the world over are getting ready for the worst. It’s spreading and we now have confirmation that the virus has begun appearing in other countries.

On Thursday, billions of Chinese will be on the move to celebrate the Lunar New Year, creating ripe conditions for the spread of the influenza virus from those already infected. And many of those celebrations will include chickens, the primary carriers of H7N9. In addition, with the Winter Olympics, one of the world’s largest sporting events, just two weeks away, the virus could find the ideal conditions for breaking out.

And that means the next plane could bring a pandemic to the U.S. or anywhere else around the world. “The bottom line is the health security of the U.S. is only as strong as the health security of every country around the world,” says Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

“We are all connected by the food we eat, the water the drink and the air we breathe.”

But that’s not the worst of it. Last year the World Health Organization warned that H7N9 is one of the most lethal influenza strains ever identified.

Of the nearly 250 officially confirmed reports of human infection since last year, a quarter of those infected have died.

Those are the official numbers, but it is likely that the number of active infections could be a hundred-fold (or more) higher.

Moreover, like any flu virus, H7N9 continues to mutate and scientists recently suggested that all it would take for this particular strain to become a deadly global pandemic is an increase in its transmission rate.

It was initially thought that the virus only spread through human contact with poultry, but that theory was quickly turned on its head when a team of researchers at the University of Hong Kong confirmed that the virus had gone airborne.

If H7N9 mutates to transmission rates of other flu viruses, which is certainly a possibility, then we could well be looking at a mass global pandemic – and according to WHO the H7N9 is mutating eight (8) times faster than a typical flu virus.

To put this in perspective, the 1918 Spanish Flu infected as many as half a billion people (about a quarter of the world’s population). The mortality rate was somewhere in the area of 5% to 10%, with a final death toll of around 50 million people.

At a 25% mortality rate the H7N9 avlian flu, combined with modern transportation systems and metropolitan areas housing tens of millions of people, there is serious potential for a globally significant catastrophe.

Should this virus increase its transmission rate we could be looking at a scenario where a billion or more people contract the virus around the world.

The math is straight forward. One in four will perish.

While we’ve had pandemic scares in the recent past, this one really has researchers and global health officials spooked:

The fast mutation makes the virus’ evolutionary development very hard to predict. “We don’t know whether it will evolve into something harmless or dangerous,” He said. “Our samples are too limited. But the authorities should definitely be alarmed and get prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

As of yet, there is no available vaccine, and one novel mechanism of action for H7N9 is that as soon as it infects its host it develops rapid antiviral resistance, so traditional medicines like Tamiflu don’t work.

One infected student at a local school, or a restaurant worker, or a passenger on an airplane could take this to the next level.

And once it takes hold, there will be no stopping it.

Most don’t believe it is possible with our advanced sciences and research facilities.

History proves otherwise.

  • Plague of Justinian (541 – 542) – At it’s peak over 5,000 people per day died in the city of Constantinople
  • Black Death (1348 – 1350) – Over 75 Million Dead. Nearly 60% of Europe.
  • Smallpox (16th Century) – Wiped out entire civilizations like the Aztecs.
  • The Third Pandemic (1855 – circa 1990) – A Bubonic Plague that killed over 10 million in China and India
  • The Spanish Flu (1918 – 1919) – Over 50 million dead

The only steps one can take is to be ready in advance with a Pandemic Preparedness Plan, as recommended by Tess Pennington:

When an outbreak occurs, many will remain in a state of denial about any approaching epidemics. Simply put, most people believe themselves to be invincible to negative situations and do not like the idea change of any kind.

They will remain in this state until they realize they are unable to deny it to themselves any longer. Being prepared before the masses come out of their daze will ensure that you are better prepared before the hoards run to the store to stock up.

In addition to remaining isolated from the general population, you must have (in advance) access to food, water, medicine, and self defense armaments.

If such a virus were to spread, infecting millions and killing off 25% of those who contract it, you can be assured of widespread panic as the unprepared search and fight for resources.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan


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