“The number of students staying home sick with the flu is multiplying nationwide and normally quiet school nurses’ offices suddenly look like big-city emergency rooms, packed with students too ill to finish the day. The federal government has urged schools to close because of the H1N1 swine flu only as a last resort. But schools [...]
“President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients. The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the [...]
“The H1N1 virus is being blamed for two more deaths in Pima County. County health officials say two adults died at least a week ago. Both were women with underlying health concerns. Both died at home. The deaths bring to five the number of people who have died from H1N1 in Pima County since April. [...]
“Senators grilled the heads of three cabinet agencies about delays in the availability of H1N1 flu vaccine and whether states are ready to cope with the rising number of cases.” (Delays in Swine Flu Vaccine Trouble Senators | Kansas City infoZine News | USA)
“The study conducted by Purdue University says the H1N1 vaccine won’t be as effective as the regular season vaccine because it was released late in the season. Scientists are predicting about 60 percent of the US population will get be infected by the end of this year, but only about one quarter of Americans will [...]
“Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference in Denver, Colo., emphasizing her commitment to enhanced information sharing with state and local law enforcement partners to combat threats of terrorism. ‘Effective information sharing is essential to our partnerships with state and local [...]
“Many people who have died of H1N1 swine flu in the United States have also had bacterial infections, health officials reported on Wednesday. A study of 77 patients who died of the new pandemic H1N1 virus showed 29 percent of them had so called bacterial co-infections, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. [...]
“There are two types of the vaccine available: the flu shot, an inactivated vaccine containing fragments of killed influenza virus, and a nasal-spray, which is made using a weakened live flu virus. The nasal spray will most likely be the first to be widely distributed, however certain groups, including pregnant women, young children and people [...]
“The San Ysidro Port of Entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in California was temporarily closed Tuesday after four people were wounded by gunfire that erupted from three vans packed with than 70 people headed from Mexico toward the border, officials said. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer also [...]
“Preparations for a potential outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus are well under way in Missouri, a state health official said Monday night. Eddie Hedrick, emerging infections coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the virus has laid claim to being the fastest-moving pandemic on record. Mr. Hedrick spoke before about [...]