The Council on Foreign Relations has just released the transcript to a conference call entitled Global Health Crisis: Swine Flu. Answering questions is top virologist Laurie Garrett, the Council on Foreign Relations' senior fellow for Global Health, and the author of "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance," and "Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health."
The entire conference call is a must-read for those interested in the science behind the outbreak scare. Here's a taste:
GARRETT: I'm very, very worried about -- I want to underscore this -- on December 20th CDC issued a bulletin that said, "We now have a form of H1N1 in the world that is completely resistant to Tamiflu," and Tamiflu is the primary treatment for influenza infection.
So far, thankfully, that type of H1N1 has not recombined and mixed with this, what we're calling swine flu -- which could just as easily be called a bird flu or a human flu because it's got genetic material from all three in it. If we see a recombination now with the Tamiflu-resistant strain, I would say that it's time to go to a higher threshold of pandemic alert. [currently level 4]
4 comments:
I own a copy of Laurie Garrett's "The Coming Plague." I was amazed to find it a 768-page page-turner. -- Sufficiently Scared
Fear of a pandemic has to make people wonder. In the U.S., where unemployment is expected to top 10 percent before the end of the year, could the shock of a flu outbreak make it 12 percent instead? Think what that would mean to retailers, to people's ability to pay their mortgages, to companies' ability to get work done.
Infectious PeriodPersons with swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection should be considered potentially infectious from one day before to 7 days following illness onset. Persons who continue to be ill longer than 7 days after illness onset should be considered potentially contagious until symptoms have resolved. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.
Non-hospitalized ill persons who are a confirmed or suspected case of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection are recommended to stay at home (voluntary isolation) for at least the first 7 days after checking with their health care provider about any special care they might need if they are pregnant or have a health condition such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or emphysema. CDC guidance on care of patients at home can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_homecare.htm
Influenza is transmitted through respiratory droplets that travel between 3 to 6 feet when an affected individual coughs or sneezes.
In addition, the influenza virus may survive approximately 2 hours when affected individuals wipe their hands on surfaces such as doorknobs or tables.
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