Word: viruses
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...first time. A similar flu scare began in February, 1976, with the sudden death of 19-year-old Pvt. David Lewis of Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was found to have been killed by “swine flu,” a virus thought to resemble the one responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic. On the advice of worried health officials, president Gerald Ford ordered the implementation of a mass inoculation program. Unfortunately, reports surfaced that the vaccine was causing people to develop an autoimmune disorder and had resulted in several deaths. The program ended...
Sidney Wolfe of the HRG said this summer, “The major disease in the U.S. this year related to Fort Dix will not be swine flu but, rather, swine flu vaccine disease.” The Lancet, a respected British medical journal, concluded that the swine flu virus “seemed to be not very good at infecting man and may have died out as a result” and implied that the U.S. response to a minimal danger,” and suggested that the government stockpile the vaccine and administer it only if swine...
...global financial meltdown weren’t enough, this spring introduced scary words like “novel virus” and “pandemic,” bumping the financial crisis off the headlines. The attention-grabbing RNA virus took the world by surprise and, thanks to air travel, spread rapidly from its origin in Mexico to every continent. The virus’ spread was a perfect storm of mutation (a combination of swine, human, and avian elements), little to no human immunity, and no available vaccine against it. To make matters worse, everyone was touting its similarity...
Fortunately, the ensuing months alleviated those fears. From the outset, many things went right. The internet allowed for sharing of public health information easily between countries. The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control tracked the virus internationally and nationally and communication flow regarding infection rates and recommended treatment was seamless. Harvard, like many other institutions, had developed a preparedness plan a few years ago in response to the potential threat of the avian flu (H5N1) virus. Consequently, a multidisciplinary team, drawn from University Health Services, University Hall, Harvard University Dining Services, and the University Operations Services?...
Annual uproars over illnesses tend to inure college students to a genuine fear of CNN’s virus du jour. Before my experience with swine flu, I numbered among these apathetic adolescents--what 4-letter headline, I thought, could possible defeat my Übermensch immune system? Armed with this confidence and the hand-sanitizing station in front of the DeWolfe elevators, I carried on with the business of life...