Swine flu confirmed in NYC

You might think that inter-species diseases are a thing of the movies, but in reality viruses, bacteria, and fungus jump between the species they attack. The recent H1N1 pig flu virus had genes from bird flu, and when it migrated to humans, it acquired human genes.
Vaccines try to prevent inter-species viruses and include immunity against variations of H1N1, H3N2, H1N2. Viral mutations are not fiction, and vaccination and potent anti-virals are some of our weapons.

NEW YORK - New York City was dealing with a growing public health threat Sunday after tests confirmed that eight students at a private Catholic high school had contracted the same strain of the swine flu that has ravaged Mexico. Some of the school's students had visited Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago.

New York officials previously had characterized the cases as probable, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that it was swine flu, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

About 100 students at St. Francis Preparatory School complained of flu-like symptoms; more tests will determine how many of those cases are swine flu.

Bloomberg stressed that the New York cases were mild and many are recovering, but said that some family members of students also had flu symptoms, "suggesting it is spreading person to person."

He said the virus likely came from Mexico, although that has not officially been determined.

"We do know that some of the students from the school had a spring break in Mexico," Bloomberg said. "It is most likely to be brought back from Mexico, but nobody knows."

Federal health officials said Sunday that 20 swine flu cases have been reported so far in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California. Patients have ranged in age from 9 to over 50. At least two were hospitalized. All recovered or are recovering.

In Mexico, health officials say a strain of swine flu has killed up to 86 people and sickened 1,400.

In New York, state infectious-diseases, epidemiology and disaster preparedness workers have been dispatched to monitor and respond to possible flu cases. Gov. David Paterson said 1,500 treatment courses of the antiviral Tamiflu had been sent to New York City.

The city health department has asked doctors to take extra precautions and test patients who have flu symptoms and have traveled recently to California, Texas or Mexico. Bloomberg and health officials also urged people to cover their noses and mouths when they sneeze and cough, and not to leave the house for two days after the symptoms disappear.

Also on Sunday, Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu, and global health officials are considering whether to raise the global pandemic alert level.

Nations from New Zealand to France also reported suspected cases and some warned citizens against travel to North America while others planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers.

Nova Scotia's chief public health officer, Dr. Robert Strang, said the East Coast Canadian province had confirmed four "very mild" cases of swine flu in students ranging in age from 12 to 17 or 18. All are recovering, he said.

"It was acquired in Mexico, brought home and spread," Strang said.

A senior World Health Organization official said the agency's emergency committee will meet for a second time Tuesday to examine the extent to which the virus has spread before deciding whether to increase the pandemic alert beyond phase 3.

The same strain of the A/H1N1 swine flu virus has been detected in several locations in Mexico and the United States, and it appears to be spreading directly from human to human, said Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general in charge of health security.

Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine.

Others were increasing their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas or banning them outright despite health officials' reassurances that it was safe to eat thoroughly cooked pork.

WHO's emergency committee is still trying to determine exactly how the virus has spread, Fukuda said

Symptoms of the flu-like illness include a fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

The virus usually is contracted through direct contact with pigs, but Joseph Domenech, chief of animal health service at U.N. Food and Agriculture Agency in Rome, said all indications were that the virus is being spread through human-to-human transmission.

Seasonal vaccine no help

ATLANTA - U.S. health officials say they are "very pessimistic" that the seasonal flu vaccine protects against the unique swine flu infecting people in the United States, Mexico and other countries.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Sunday that tests of the seasonal vaccine and the new virus show no cross-reaction, suggesting that people who got the vaccine have no added protection against the new bug.

It's possible that people who have been exposed to flu viruses every year - especially older people, with a greater exposure history - might have some natural immunity, the CDC official said.

- Associated Press

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Biotechnology advances have allowed us to understand viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens better than ever before. We use genetic engineering, DNA sequencing, microarrays, PCR, and other genomic and proteomic tools to understand pathogens better.

We've also developed vaccines and potent antivirals and antibiotics that fight diseases. A proof of this is how much longer life expectancy is Today than it was before the 1940's when antibiotics were invented.

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