http://www.opednews.com/articles/Palestinian-Student-s-Hear-by-Meryl-Ann-Butler-090503-836.html

'Draconian' powers seen to contain swine flu 03 May 2009 Regional governments can invoke "draconian" powers if the swine flu virus reaches a worst-case scenario, from monitoring people in their own homes to seizing control of entire economies... Australia has also approved the isolation of suspected sufferers against their will. Australia's pandemic action plan, a draft of which is publicly available on the Internet, reveals the government potentially has recourse to even more extreme measures should the threat escalate. The plan, which was updated in April, allows for "extraordinary measures" including the power to manage the supply of goods and services, giving it effective control over the economy.

Swine flu broke out of California: CDC 03 May 2009 The US disease prevention center claims the newly-spread potentially-fatal strain of swine flu virus may have originated from California. The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) said on Saturday that the state preceded Mexico, the alleged source of the virus, in reporting cases of the affliction. "As we do our investigations here in the US, we may find that there were cases earlier," CDC spokesman, Scott Bryan was quoted by AFP as saying. As early as March, patients were diagnosed in California with a new type of viral infection resulting from the A(H1N1) -- the new strain of the swine flu virus, H1N1. The patients had neither been to Mexico nor had they come into contact with pigs.

'Those cases contradict the conventional understanding of how the strain originated.' In California, Cases Suggest Border Origin 01 May 2009 Growing evidence in California suggests that early flu cases had no apparent origin in Mexico. Many of the early California victims -- including the first two cases -- say they hadn't traveled to Mexico and had no contact with pigs. Some may have fallen ill before the first Mexicans did.Those cases contradict the conventional understanding of how the strain originated.

Search for hundreds on flu plane 03 May 2009 Health officials are hunting for hundreds of airline passengers who may have become infected with swine flu from a Scot returning home from a trip to America. The man was last night revealed to be Scotland's latest "probable" case of H1N1 after falling ill with flu following a trip to Texas, one of the areas affected by swine flu.

113 quarantined after taking flight from Mexico with flu case 03 May 2009 At least 113 people, who were on the same Mexico City-Shanghai flight with a Mexican national later diagnosed with influenza A/H1N1 in Hong Kong, are under quarantine, Chinese health authorities said Saturday. None of them have displayed any flu symptoms so far.

Hong Kong hotel quarantine move stirs controversy 02 May 2009 Travellers quarantined in a Hong Kong hotel for a week after a Mexican guest tested positive for the H1N1 flu expressed dismay on Saturday at the tough steps, while an infectious disease expert said the authorities had over-reacted. Police wearing surgical masks sealed off the Metropark hotel on Friday night after test results on the 25-year-old Mexican man were confirmed, ordering approximately 200 guests and 100 staff to stay in the hotel for the next seven days.

Quarantine units at Iranian airports to stop swine flu 02 May 2009 Iran has set up quarantine centers in its international airports due to the spread of swine flu infection. "Currently, we have established quarantine units in these airports where, in addition to giving information to the passengers, health care services are also offered," Mohammad Mahdi Gouya of the Iranian Health Ministry told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

Swine Flu: Israel Raises Alert, New Measures in Effect 29 Apr 2009 The Health Ministry announced Thursday that it has raised Israel's alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest on the scale, following the discovery of two new suspected cases of swine flu in the Jewish State. Following a meeting with senior officials at the Health Ministry, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a series of orders. Among the new measures are the establishment of a temporary clinic in Ben Gurion airport, the stationing of doctors at Israel's borders, and a mandatory trip to the emergency room for travelers from Mexico suffering from flu-like symptoms.

Thank you, sir, for the martial law, KBR detention plans: 'At his news conference Wednesday night, Mr. Obama praised the Bush administration for stockpiling antiviral drugs and establishing a detailed plan for responding to international [Fort Detrick] outbreaks like this one.' President Enlists Cabinet to Prepare for a Pandemic 02 May 2009 A week after his administration first received word about a deadly flu spreading across Mexico, President Obama convened his cabinet on Friday and instructed every agency to play a role in preparing the United States for a pandemic... Mr. Obama said his administration was focused both on the immediate threat posed by the H1N1 virus, as well as the possibility that a more virulent outbreak could be looming months away. [Yes, count on it. This is the dry run -- to gauge public acceptance of the "draconian measures."]

Inflatable mortuaries and 'express' funerals planned for flu pandemic --The 59-page report, "Planning for Possible Influenza Pandemic: A Framework for Planners Preparing to Manage Deaths" has been circulated to local councils, coroners and undertakers. 01 May 2009 Inflatable mortuaries, 24-hour cremations and "express" funerals could all be used to dispose of thousands of bodies in a flu pandemic, Whitehall papers show... Department of Health projections put the total UK death toll from a pandemic as high as 750,000. It was confirmed in 2006 that officials have ordered millions of extra body bags as a precaution. A Home Office contingency planning document seen by the Daily Telegraph reveals the extreme measures that would be required to cope with the sheer number of extra corpses that are expected.

Companies buy flu drugs for 500,000 staff from private stockpile amid shortage fears 02 May 2009 Companies are turning to a private stockpile of antiviral drugs amid fears that Government supplies will be overwhelmed by a swine flu pandemic. Employers, including the banking giant HSBC, have already paid to secure enough doses to treat half a million workers in the event of a mass outbreak.

Swine flu: supermarkets prepare for panic buying 01 May 2009 Supermarkets are preparing for panic buying by shoppers fearful of swine flu, by stocking up on millions of extra litres of bottled water. The leading chains contacted the major water suppliers on Friday and placed orders far in excess of a normal bank holiday -- in anticipation of shoppers panic buying. Orders of about an extra 50 million litres of bottled water were placed with the major suppliers, the Telegraph understands.

WHO says raise to pandemic alert Phase 6 still possible 03 May 2009 The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that the risk of a pandemic caused by the A/H1N1 virus is still very high and there is still the possibility to raise the alert level to Phase 6 from the current Phase 5. "At the present time, I would still propose that a pandemic is imminent because we are seeing the disease spread," Michael Ryan, the agency's director for global alert and response, told a news briefing in Geneva.

WHO's tally of A/H1N1 cases rises to 615 02 May 2009 The total number of laboratory confirmed A/H1N1 flu infections worldwide has risen to 615 with 17 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a latest update on Saturday. A total of 15 countries and regions have officially reported laboratory confirmed cases to the UN agency, including Mexico, whose confirmed number of human cases has increased to 397, including 16 deaths.

Three dozen under swine flu cloud in NSW 03 May 2009 Thirty-six people in NSW remain under assessment as possibly having swine flu, health authorities say. NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant says 237 people have been assessed so far for suspected cases of human swine influenza, with 201 of them cleared after testing. "There are currently 36 people awaiting test results," she said in a statement on Sunday.

Pigs infected with A/H1N1 flu in Canada 03 May 2009 Some pigs in Canada have been found to be infected with the A/H1N1 flu, Canadian media reported Saturday citing government sources. This has been the first time that the H1N1 flu virus has been found in pigs, the Canadian Press said, adding federal health officials will announce the news later Saturday.

// posted by Alice @ Monday, May 04, 2009