Updated: [July 29, 2009 ] :: 17:11:49 [view 8813]
SWINE FLU SHOCK – IS IT A BIOLOGICAL WEAPON?
Pattaya-29 July 2009 (PDN): As type A (H1N1) flu continues its relentless toll in Thailand, seemingly largely defeating preventative measures, there are disturbing reports that the flu is not one type but, in fact, already a cocktail of human, avian and swine viruses. Which means most antidotes will be ineffective, especially if it turns out to be an ‘escaped biological weapon’; one of the latest claims!

Ever since the type A (H1N1) flu virus came to Thailand, there have been confused and often misleading statements in the media and from the government regarding the true statistics about the number of people infected in Thailand. Initially, great store was put in the thermal sensors installed at the airports being able to effectively prevent the virus entering via this portal, that is until the Minister of Health expressed his concern about travelers dodging the checks! The sensors have obviously been ineffective.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_outbreak) is normally an informative source, as they are supposedly furnished with the latest updates by the Health Ministry, but although the statistics on deaths is more accurate than MCOT, one of the government media outlets, the number of infections on both sources is woefully out of date, if reports by Pongphon Sarnsamak in ‘The Nation’, published on July 23, are anything to go by …. “ Dr Kamnuan Ungchusak, spokesperson for the Disease Control Department, said the ministry estimated the "real" number of people who had caught the typeA (H1N1) flu strain in the three months since the outbreak hit the country in early May was about 440,000. This was based on a ratio of about 10 deaths per 100,000 people infected with the new virus. “



In the same article, it stated “Disease Control Department spokesperson Dr Suppamit Chunsutiwat estimated that between 6 to 30 million people would get the new flu virus with about 600 to 1,200 people likely to die because most people do not have immunity.” This contrasts with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva statement that his administration would not allow the number of fatalities “to exceed 1,000.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that up to 2 billion people could be infected worldwide if the current outbreak worsens; this especially if the strain mutates. Thai medical officials, Chulalongkorn University virologist Dr Yong Pooworawan for one, are at pains to point out that currently there has been no mutation in Thailand. One is forced to add – AS YET! It can only be a matter of time.

A recent WHO report maintained the H1N1 flu virus definitely has the potential to unpredictably mutate into a more virulent form, resulting in a pandemic that may circle the globe in at least two or even three waves. In June, it was reported that a new H1N1 virus mutation, a subtype strain named A/Sao Paulo/1454/H1N1, has already been isolated in a 26-year-old patient in Brazil.



The WHO chief Keiji Fukuda at a press conference in May suggested "Perhaps a third of the world's population could be infected with this virus, based on previous pandemic." A statement reinforced by The Imperial College London, which maintained that swine flu has a ‘full pandemic potential’ as it may infect one-third of the world’s population, currently standing at 6.774 billion (US), within the next six to nine months, adding that the new virus can infect one out of every three individuals who come into contact with an H1N1 patient. The virus also seems to target the young and healthy; a disturbing parallel with the 1919 Spanish flu.

By far the most worrying speculations, however, concern reports that suggest the A-H1N1 virus, may be a biological weapon, which escaped or may have been stolen from a U.S. Army Medical Command test lab, although the WHO and the U.S. government have been quick to deny such claims.



Speculation has been sparked because the H1N1 flu virus is described as a completely new strain, an intercontinental mixture of human, avian and swine viruses, from America, Europe and Asia, never previously seen. According to a source known to former NSA official Wayne Madsen, “A top scientist for the United Nations, who has examined the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, as well as HIV/AIDS victims, concluded that H1N1 possesses certain transmission “vectors” that suggest that the new flu strain has been genetically-manufactured as a military biological warfare weapon.

Madsen claims that his source, and another in Indonesia, “Are convinced that the current outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in Mexico and some parts of the United States is the result of the introduction of a human-engineered pathogen that could result in a widespread global pandemic, equivalent to the 1919 Spanish flu epidemic.

“Chad Jones, spokesman for Fort Meade, said CID is investigating the possibility of missing virus samples from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Army’s top bio-lab,” accordingly to The Frederick News. The USAMRIID also studies various pathogens, including ebola, anthrax and plague.



It wouldn’t be the first time that a government laboratory has been the source of disease outbreaks: in the UK, the 2007 outbreak of foot and mouth disease was traced to a government lab, and there was a significant outbreak of a new form of swine flu in the U.S. which originated from the army base at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

To conclude, we’ll just reiterate preventative measures extracted from The United States authority on disease prevention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommends that persons suffering from influenza infections:

· Stay at home
· Get plenty of rest
· Drink a lot of liquids
· Do not smoke or drink alcohol
· Consider over-the-counter medications to relieve flu symptoms
· Consult a doctor early on for best possible treatment
· Remain alert for emergency warning signs[2]

Warning signs are symptoms that indicate that the disease is becoming serious and needs immediate medical attention. These include:

· Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
· Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
· Dizziness
· Confusion
· Severe or persistent vomiting

In children other warning signs include irritability, failing to wake up and interact, rapid breathing, and a blueish skin color. Another warning sign in children is if the flu symptoms appear to resolve, but then reappear with fever and a bad cough.

Take care.
PDN