Here’s a couple more articles on the Swine flu situation. – Ilene
Swine Flu Confirmed in 20 People in the U.S., CDC Chief Says
By Hans Nichols, Bloomberg
April 26 (Bloomberg) — Twenty people in the U.S. have confirmed cases of swine flu linked to the virus that has spread in Mexico, and the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said officials expect more severe infections to begin showing up.
Richard Besser, the CDC’s acting director, said the virus has been identified in New York, Texas, California, Kansas and Ohio. So far, the cases have been relatively mild and only one person has reported being hospitalized.
“It looks to be the same virus that is causing the situation in Mexico,” Besser said at a briefing at the White House. Scientists are trying to determine why the virus, normally transmitted among pigs, has been more severe in Mexico, where as many as 81 deaths have been linked to the infection…
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said it was “far too early to determine” whether there will be an economic impact from the outbreak….
He said there is “no evidence whatsoever” of a connection to bioterrorism. Besser said all investigations so far point to a naturally occurring virus.
More here.
Drug and vaccine makers on standby over swine flu
By Ben Hirschler and Sam Cage
LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) – Drugmakers said on Sunday they could supply millions of doses of medicine and were ready to work on a vaccine against a new type of swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico and infected around a dozen in the United States.
Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, and GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Relenza, or zanamivir, are both recommended drugs for seasonal flu and have been shown to work against viral samples of the new disease.
Tamiflu is expected to be in greatest demand should swine flu develop into a pandemic, as experts fear it may, since it is given as a tablet. Relenza must be inhaled…
The longer-term battle against any pandemic, however, depends not on antiviral drugs but a successful vaccine.
Making a vaccine against a new strain of flu takes months and vaccine companies said they were on standby to start the development process as soon as possible.
Leading flu vaccine manufacturers include Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis SA, Glaxo, Novartis AG and Baxter International Inc.
"Sanofi Pasteur, as the world leading producer of influenza vaccine, is standing ready to assess its capabilities to support public health efforts, should the WHO and other health authorities request support from influenza vaccine manufacturers," said spokesman Pascal Barollier.
Full article here.
