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U.S. not prepared for a flu pandemic |
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arirish
Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215 |
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Posted: October 13 2017 at 9:45am |
U.S. not prepared for a flu pandemic, experts warn
As the U.S. begins its annual flu season, experts warn that the country is ill-prepared for a pandemic flu that could cause widespread disruption and death. In a webinar Tuesday with the Association of Health Care Journalists, flu experts outlined potential problems that will occur if and when there is another flu pandemic. Those occur when there is a large mutation in the current circulating flu viruses that it is unlike previous strains or the emergence of a wholly new kind of strain, often from one that jumps from animals like chickens or pigs to humans, said Dr. Sonja Olsen, deputy chief of the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch in the Flu Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2013, the CDC has been monitoring an avian influenza strain called H7N9 that has caused some human infections, increasing from 135 cases to 759 in the last season that ended in August. About 70 percent of those patients ended up in intensive care units and 40 percent died, she said. However, the virus has not shown yet it can pass very well from human to human, Olsen said. In an analysis published in recent months, scientists looked carefully at the virus strain and tried to see if it could be made to create certain mutations that would make it more adaptable to humans, known as “gain of function” studies, she said. They noted that it already had some mutations similar to strains that caused pandemics in 1957 and 1968. And that with a few small changes, it could adapt to attack human cells that line the airway, Olsen said. It “required only a small amount of change to potentially be more devastating in humans,” she said. The problem with preparing for a pandemic is not so much in the U.S. as it is with other countries whose infrastructure and public health may not be as robust. That is a problem because of the global nature of trade and in particular our reliance on other countries to supply essential drugs and supplies, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. They looked at 30 essential drugs and found that they all are made outside the U.S. except for a couple made in Puerto Rico. Any kind of disruption from a pandemic elsewhere, particularly in India or China, would have a rapid impact on U.S. health care, he said. This is already happening with the devastation in Puerto Rico, which manufactures some drugs for the U.S. already in short supply now, he said. Nor is the U.S. government ready itself to deal with a pandemic, Osterholm said. “This administration does not have a team in place to deal with that, in my estimation,” he said, though in fairness neither did President Obama. “This is going to take a big team.” “There are lots of gaps globally,” Olsen said. http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/2017-10-10/us-not-prepared-flu-pandemic-experts-warn |
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Buy more ammo!
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jacksdad
Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251 |
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They think...? |
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep"
"Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary. |
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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We aren't over here! But at least 'The powers that be' are worrying about it. That is a start.
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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arirish
Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215 |
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Is that you Rashat?
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Buy more ammo!
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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It was, Arirish. Now removed like the rest of his spam.
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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arirish
Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215 |
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Can't fault his persistence! He obviously believes in try, try again!
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Buy more ammo!
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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Try our patience!
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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Albert
Admin Joined: April 24 2006 Status: Offline Points: 47746 |
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No country can never prepare for a deadly pandemic. It won't be possible. Every year for the last decade we have heard "the U.S. is not prepared for a flu pandemic". In fact, we hear that about basically every country. Highly doubtful we will ever hear about a country being fully prepared. I can just see it now.... "Europe claims to be fully prepared for a pandemic , and advises citizens there will never be anything to worry about and all is fine forever".
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https://www.facebook.com/Avianflutalk
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CRS, DrPH
Expert Level Adviser Joined: January 20 2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 26660 |
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The US public health infrastructure was somewhat more aware when H5N1 looked imminent....there were all sorts of trainings, equipment purchases etc. for the "inevitable" bird flu pandemic.
When the threat seemingly fizzled, our PH leaders lost interest. The grant money & funding dried up, and so did their attention. It's always what you least expect that kills you. I'm most worried about H7N9, but any of a number of flavors could come around to whack us.
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CRS, DrPH
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Kilt5
V.I.P. Member Joined: March 29 2017 Status: Offline Points: 5740 |
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translation I want to invite you to my psychiatric pereosvidetestvovanie. You think I'm crazy.
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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Technophobe
Assistant Admin Joined: January 16 2014 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 88450 |
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Thank you Kilt, I missed that one. I have wiped out five or six of his posts today.
I am glad I missed one. I needed a laugh!
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How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving. |
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arirish
Admin Group Joined: June 19 2013 Location: Arkansas Status: Offline Points: 39215 |
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Chuck: You are absolutely right! We watch the news about H7N9 and follow it's every move but it's some mutation or drifted strain that we have never dreamed of that will probably kill us! There's no way to resist the new stains, we can only prep to hunker down when they arrive! Every virus we " cure" comes back in time to bite us in the backside! It's just human nature to forget the past and let history repeat itself!
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Buy more ammo!
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