en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:54:09 GMT 15 By Jonathan Zavaleta
As more cases of the swine flu are reported across the globe, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has raised the pandemic alert level to five of six. The flu has caused widespread concern, with several hundred confirmed cases in Mexico, the U.S, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, France, Israel and Brazil. Currently, there are 1,025 confirmed cases in Mexico, and at least 220 confirmed in the U.S., the two nations hardest hit by the pandemic. In the U.S., affected states include Kansas, Texas, Ohio, and now 13 cases in California as of May 1. A six-month-old infant from Texas was the first reported casualty resulting from swine flu in the U.S. Across the U.S., over a hundred schools have been closed, with at least 74 confirmed or suspected cases. In California, three private schools have closed. The disease has also prompted the canceling of Corona’s long running Cinco de Mayo celebration along with the Lee Pollard High School prom, in Riverside. In Mexico, swine flu has prevented people from gathering in large groups, such as soccer games. Different measures are being taken to combat the flu. Government officials have been wearing surgical masks as protection from the virus, though Infectious Disease specialists are saying that they won’t be very effective. Each nation is taking special precautions to ensure the disease does not reach and or spread in their region. The U.S. is trying to prevent the disease from spreading to American soil from Mexico.  Other countries, such as Vietnam and Singapore, are taking measures to check U.S. visitors for flu-like symptoms. Despite the heightened alarm and screening at airports, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, deputy general director of the World Health Organization (WHO) says that, “With the virus being widespread... closing borders or restricting travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this virus.” The symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of normal flu, and include fever, cough, sore throat, and body aches. As more cases are reported, many are wondering how they can protect themselves from the illness. According to the CDC, the virus can be treated with four drugs: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. However,  this particular strain of the virus has been found to be resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. A common misconception is that the disease is spread through the eating of pork. Swine flu is spread through human-to-human contact. As a precaution, any people have begun wearing surgical masks, but evidence has shown that masks are not very effective in preventing the flu according to the CDC. According to a statement released by President Barack Obama, the infection should cause concern, but it is still “not a cause for alarm.”  The CDC still advises caution, saying that the situation has the potential to escalate, resulting in a higher number of fatalities worldwide.   ]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:41:31 GMT