Word: viruses
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...World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday raised the pandemic swine flu alert level from phase 3 to 4, two levels below the declaration of a full pandemic. The elevated alert means there has been sustained human-to-human transmission of the new A/H1N1 swine flu virus and that scientists now believe government efforts should focus on slowing the spread of the virus rather than containing it at its source...
...could create a shortfall in normal flu vaccine, potentially leading to needless deaths should the A/H1N1 swine flu end up petering out on its own. Still, preparations for a swine flu vaccine are being initiated, as any vaccine would take months to produce - a costly delay if the new virus ends up becoming virulent. (Read "CDC Readies Swine Flu Vaccine...
...Indeed, the greatest risk from a pandemic might not turn out to be from the swine flu virus itself - especially if it ends up being relatively mild - but what Osterholm calls "collateral damage" if governments respond to the emergency by instituting border controls and disrupting world trade. Not only would the global recession worsen - a 2008 World Bank report estimated that a severe pandemic could reduce the world's GDP by 4.8% - but we depend on international trade now for countless necessities, from generic medicines to surgical gloves. The just-in-time production systems embraced by companies like Wal-Mart...
...government's long-term failures to better prepare for a pandemic, gives the CDC a 9 out of 10 for its response so far. Outside of Mexico, the swine flu hasn't looked too serious yet - unlike during the SARS outbreaks of 2003, when an entirely new virus with no obvious treatment took the world by surprise. In the U.S., the normal flu season is winding down, which should make it easier for public-health officials to pick out swine flu cases from run-of-the-mill respiratory disease. And there are simple things that people can do to protect...
...wear face masks and hand-sanitizer dispensers are just about everywhere. There's no question that Hong Kong is as prepared as it can be to tackle swine flu, but for now, just like the rest of the world, it waits. "We have to wait and see whether the virus gets to us," Peiris says. "I suspect it will, but I don't know how soon...