Just wanna say … take care everybody … and GB.
Here’s an interesting article by Dr Mercola
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/29/Swine-Flu.aspx
I thought we’d be pretty safe in Australia, being an island fairly isolated from the rest of the world. But of course overseas travelling plus human error in checking returning travellers has now resulted in a big big boo-boo. This morning we were told about a cruise ship with 2000 people on board, with a lot of sick (flu/cough symptoms) people on board, that let people off in various ports, who then mingled amongst the community, catching planes and heading off to other states. Most do not realise they could be infectious. Others have been asked to quarantine themselves but are refusing and are going about normal lives!! The first people on the ship to be tested have all got swine flu. So potentially 2000 people have been released into the country spreading the disease left, right and centre. I think a pandemic is about to start here.
I forgot to mention, as those unsuspecting infected swine flu Aussies got OFF the cruise ship, (having been to various Pacific ports and possibly infecting people in those nations), they passed the 2000 people getting ON the cruise ship, who are off sailing around the pacific and have probably already spread swine flu in those ports. No doubt the ship will be one big quarantine vessel today, but probably too late to have started a huge outbreak in the Pacific, with tourists heading from those countries to all parts of the world.
Because its from a paid source i cannot paste the link for others to see without them paying for it … so i have no choice but copy and paste … its not fear mongering but awareness …
Another health hazard from US meat producers
By HARISH MEHTA
…swine flu which originated at American factory farms that produce pork, the United States itself is turning its attention to another health hazard - E. coli contamination of meat products. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 21 that Valley Meats, a meat producer in Coal Valley, Illinois, was recalling over 95,000 tonnes of ground-beef products that are suspected of E. coli contamination.
America’s mega food companies are being identified as the source of deadly diseases. US researchers and medical doctors have gathered enough evidence to support their argument that some killer diseases such as swine flu and E. coli originate in the country’s mega farms and giant meat-packing companies. In the latest outbreak, the infected Valley Meats beef was distributed across the country. The contamination was discovered when the Ohio Department of Health informed the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on May 13 about ‘a cluster of E. coli infections’ that had been reported in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois. People in these areas have fallen ill after consuming the beef products.
The FSIS warned that this particular bacteria, known as E. coli, is ‘potentially deadly’ because it ‘can cause bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, old people, and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to food-borne illness’.
This is not the first time that Valley Meats - which makes ground-beef products such as patties, burgers and chopped steaks for brands such as J&B, Grillmaster, Klub, Thick ‘n’ Savory, and Ultimate - has reported E. coli contamination. It recalled more than 45,300kg of ground beef in 2007. E. coli contamination is happening with alarming regularity in the US, raising questions about sanitary conditions during slaughter, when beef gets contaminated with animal faeces. In 2007, California-based United Food Group recalled 2.6 million kilograms of beef products that had been shipped to 11 US states.
American researchers have been warning for several years that many US meat producers and packers do not ensure that faecal matter is not mixed into the meat during slaughter. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1999 there were about 73,000 cases of E. coli infection which caused 60 deaths in the US. Most of the cases have been associated with eating undercooked and contaminated ground beef. However, independent researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey argue that the infection causes 250 deaths annually.
E. coli was first recognised as a cause of illness in 1982 during an outbreak of severe bloody diarrhoea which was traced to contaminated hamburgers. Other outbreaks have been linked to spinach, lettuce, pepperoni pizza, unpasteurised apple and orange juice and milk, alfalfa sprouts, and water. E. coli is only a part of the concerns over the health risks posed by American food. American researchers and doctors have for long been drawing attention to the widespread use of artificial growth and sex hormones and antibiotics in the cattle industry to promote rapid animal growth.
Many Americans are worried about the safety of US beef. Roy Hertz, a former director of endocrinology at the National Cancer Institute, has warned against the uncontrolled use of sex hormones in cattle. He has said that even a dime-sized piece of meat contains billions of millions of molecules, which pose the risk of cancer. American doctors are concerned that consuming hormone-treated meat can result in breast cancer.
US cattle farmers routinely administer sex hormones, such as estradiol and progestins, to their cattle. Many farmers inject hormones directly into the muscle tissue that is used to make meat products. Many Americans are worried the USDA is not exercising the necessary supervision in various sectors of the food industry, particularly the pork and beef producers. Unsanitary conditions and overcrowding of pigs at mega factory farms is the suspected cause of the current swine flu outbreak. It appears that lack of regulation and sound slaughterhouse practices are the cause of recurring E. coli infection of beef.
The time may have come for importing nations to look at all the other problems with US beef.
The writer, based in Toronto, specialises in environmental and intellectual property rights issues
this is some advice from CDC,breastfeeding during H1N1 pandemic.
you all can read the articel here: http://breastfeeding.suite101.com/article.cfm/cdc_advises_breastfeeding_during_h1n1_pandemic
I read through the Dr. Mercola article (please see the link posted above), and thought that although it may be right that many governments are overreacting to swine flu, it is still a very serious threat - IMHO, the Mercola article oversimplifies the effects of swine flu.
It’s quite important for all of us to take extra care in being exposed to large groups of people - I wouldn’t recommend holing yourself up inside your home for extended periods of time which would indeed be extreme, but just take extra care by being extra hygienic, and taking some precautionary measures, especially to those of you with children.
What the Mercola article did not discuss was the medical history of the swine flu, which is also important to understand.
There are many types of flu in the world, all of them can be classified under three headings - Human Flu, Avian Flu (bird flu), and Swine Flu. Human flu is something we all know and experience every so often. Avian flu, not necessarily transferable to humans, can mutate (like all flu viruses), hence the outbreak of Bird Flu here in Hong Kong a few years back. Then there is Swine flu - which is a bit more complicated, since while bird flu cannot be transferable to humans, pigs can contract both avian flu and human flu - creating the possibility of a more potent mutation of the flu.
One factor which perhaps causes much fear in the hearts of people today, is that swine flu has HAD a deadly history. Back in the years of WWII, millions of people were killed by a strange sickness which spread, primarily through soldiers being shipped to various parts of the world. The CDC of modern day was able to autopsy various lung samples from soldiers who died of this strange disease - and this process wasn’t easy because these samples must have been long-preserved in formaldehyde - but they were able to deduce that this strange sickness which killed massive numbers of people in various parts of the world was in fact a lethal strain of swine flu.
So seeing that swine flu does have a lethal facet to it, I am still quite grateful to know that in a way, some governments are doing something about it (or at least taking precautions to stop the spread.) I would take the Mercola article with a LARGE grain of salt, and still take into account a majority of news articles and releases, primarily from health organizations.
Better same than sorry, I always say. 
Hi,
some addition here about swine flu.My company was done a commercial video for swine flu for our government; Ministry of Health.From video that we had produced,its include info about what is swine flu,how its spread,the symptom and the prevention step.
The conclusion is, we must wash our hand more often(wash properly,use soap), cover your mouth and nose when you are sneezing and cough.and consult to doctor if the symptom appear.
From our experience,doing so much of video for our ministry of health;the best way to protect ourself is WASH HAND PROPERLY & MORE OFTEN.
Great public service announcement, Qisdhi! :happy:
Many diseases have been prevented simply by doing these simple things, but many people just forget about them! lol
The outbreak in Australia is over 2000 people now, but until today no-one had died, and there’d only been a few hospitalizations. So generally it seems good to not hide away from it but build up immunity. Unless you have other medical conditions, are a new baby, pregnant mum etc. The man who died was an aboriginal at the remotest community in Australia…they’re still wondering how he got it, but he was in hospital for other complaints, transferred to another hospital, and died, having the swine flu, but they arent sure if that or the other complaints killed him. This situation goes to remind us that the MOST vulnerable people are those that arent exposed to these diseases, just like what happened when Australia was first settled by people from England, bringing all their diseases with them, and wiping out the aboriginal people with them (unintentionally). I have the flu now, about to have a baby, and went to the doctors 2 days ago with my 19 month old who was coughing and had yellow snotty nose etc. I rang before we went, but they took no precautions, saying it really was no big deal. (yet there was a sign there saying they’d give us a mask and sit us elsewhere). The doctor said it wasnt swine flu, without even testing us.