UPDATED: A FLU FALSE ALARM? WHAT IS KILLING MEXICANS IN THE CURRENT FLU OUTBREAK?

7 June 2009: after about 3 months since the first cases were reported (in USA), the death rate has settled down to well below 0.025% outside Mexico (about 2% there) , despite the mild swine flu having spread globally to probably millions of people briefly affected.

In virtually all deaths (149 so far associated)  there were apparently serious  underlying chronic health problems, so it remains unclear whether this virus is ever fatal in previously well people. .

UPDATE 3 June  2009: since the original report of the current epidemic of this “swine” flu, some 136 deaths  associated with it’s presence ( in well over 21000 cases world wide)  have now been ”confirmed”  from North America (none from other continents) – 104 in Mexicans, 27 Americans, 3 Canadians and one Chilean and 1Costa Rican- but scant details of these deaths have so far been published.

UPDATE 28 MAY 2009: since the original report of the current epidemic of this “swine” flu, some 108 deaths  associated with it’s presence ( in well over 15 000 cases world wide)  have now been ”confirmed”  from North America (none from other continents) – 90 in Mexicans, 15 Americans, 2 Canadians and one Costa Rican- but scant details of these deaths have so far been published.

UPDATE 27 MAY 2009: since the original report of the current epidemic of this “swine” flu  in this column a month ago , it appears that this virus has likely spread far more widely than is being tested (at enormous  profit for American industry?) and reported on.  It seems if anything  milder than average seasonal flu.

So the published statistics surely become increasingly meaningless?

Some 100deaths  associated with it’s presence ( in well over 13 000 cases world wide)  have now been ”confirmed”  from North America (none from other continents) – 84 in Mexicans, 13 Americans, 2 Canadians and one Costa Rican- but scant details of these deaths have so far been published. The great majority of deaths  have apparently been in people with documented major underlying disease eg diabetes, lung or heart diseases.  So it is unclear what role the virus- if any- has played in these deaths, whether the virus was  contributory or incidental.

Similarly, while the virus has been reported sensitive to and widely treated with Tamiflu,  no randomized controlled trial in these flu cases has apparently been done, so there is no information as to whether using antivirals makes the slightest difference or contributes to morbidity.  It is the age-old dilemma of modern prescription antibiotics  and vaccines- when is the right time if ever to use them ?..

Only randomized controlled double blind trials will tell.

UPDATE: Despite the current epidemic of this “swine” flu so far mild in North America (even in Mexico) and then western Europe,  only 61  deaths   in Mexicans-(out of >2400 confirmed cases there  so far – ie 0.25%),  and a handful  in neighbours-  Americans  Canadians  and a Costa Rican- have  by 14th  May been associated with proven American hybrid H1N1   swine flu.  (Another ~100 deaths in N America  are suspect, await reporting of both hybrid virus test results, autopsy  and antecedent pathology).

Contrary to skeptical  US  physicians , the current American swine influenza A  flu H1N1  concern is anything but a hoax – although  deaths attributable to swine flu  have  been confirmed only in some two dozen Mexicans.

It is common cause that influenza A kills hundreds of thousands of the frail elderly and children worldwide each year.

Is the new hybrid America-Mexican  “swine” H1N1 flu virus  epidemic virulent at all?

What are Mexican and USA  Public Health officials doing to clarify this?

No autopsy results have yet been reported to confirm whether and how  overwhelming Mexican hybrid swine flu has actually directly caused a single death. . . The  death rate in Mexico attributed directly  to swine flu is  currently apparently unknown. But  if it is the American swine virus causing death, below 8 deaths might  have been expected in non-Mexicans . But so far there have been no very ill cases or suspicious deaths attributed to swine virus  except in Mexicans..

It is striking  that after a month, there are still no reports anywhere to indicate whether deaths in these Mexicans  with the hybrid American flu virus had any clear cause of death attributable to the virus eg virus meningitis, virus pneumonitis, virus carditis, virus hepatitis, virus gastroenteritis, etc.

So there is still slim proof yet that this hybrid (human-swine-avian) H1N1 virus is virulent,  has actually itself killed anyone (as  opposed to them dying of other causes eg malnutrition, exposure, intoxications, bacterial or other virus  infection, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cancer etc, although also carrying the hybrid virus). Most of us in eg South Africa carry TB, but it mostly harms only those with  eg malnutrition/poor crowded housing/ diabetes  or HIV.

With billions  dying prematurely each year of poverty, poor obstetric and child care, plagues, and human malevolence  like war and genocide, motor accidents, homicide, cholera, AIDs,  smoking, alcoholism and other lethal street drugs,  what is the fuss all about? Is it just another misguided   false alarm or, worse, a hoax?

Or is the frenzy over swine flu  a deliberate opportunistic conspiracy beloved of dramatists  and the media, shock tactics  to distract from the world Depression and irreversible climate change caused by willful  global  governmental- Big-Business  disaster capitalism? Is it mostly opportunism to  earn $billions for the global Disease Industry mafia and their lobbyists in academia, the media and academia  by generating panic flu product buying over the rest of 2009, and divert a few $million in aid to  poor countries?

Stranger human conspiracies have happened the past two  centuries ie in our /grandparents’  lifetime, – like the recent  two world wars started by Europeans, the holocausts perpetrated by power-mad “enlightened”  humans against blacks (USA, Africa), the poor/ intellectually impaired (America),  jews & gypsies (Europe), armenians, greeks,  hindus,  kurds and muslims(eg the Balkans), arabs  (by Europeans),  Poles & Russians (Stalin), Chinese (the Opium wars), against pregnant  women and infants (the American stilbestrol  and German-Japanese thalidomide scandals), against the now virtually extinct non-white natives of the Americas, Australia, New Zealand – and against the larger non-human  life forms of the forests, wilds and the oceans.

The latest persisting genocidal conspiracy  is the ongoing denial by Mother Church and governments of any form of birth control or equal rights  to billions of   defenseless women worldwide; and the ongoing tolerance  of barbaric primitive genital mutilation of millions of African female (including forced circumcision of male) children; and the gang-rape and execution of  millions of (mostly)  Muslim  women on grounds of adultery after they have been seduced/ raped or attempted to escape from forced slavery-  abusive “marriage”. .

Only time will tell.

ndb

UPDATED FIGHT FLU (influenza A or B) and all (eg Swine) infection PRECAUTIONS/ TREATMENT:

May 2009:   PRECAUTIONS against both ‘flu and colds: (see the updated swine flu alert):

CDC WARNING: “Special Considerations for Children: Aspirin or aspirin-containing products  should not be administered to any confirmed or suspected  influenza  case  aged 18 years old and younger due to the risk of Reye syndrome. For relief of fever, other anti-fever  medications are recommended “. These may be acetaminophen paracetamol or  herbal anti-inflammatory drugs.

UK: “Aside from their obligations under health  safety legislation, employers can help to minimise  spread of the virus and support good infection control practice by positively encouraging any employee who reports feeling unwell with influenza-like symptoms to stay at home until their symptoms resolve, by sending people home who develop influenza-like illness at work (avoiding public transport and wearing a face mask if possible) and by ensuring that stocks of surgical facemasks are available in the workplace for symptomatic staff to wear until they get home.– DoH Pandemic Flu Plan, November 2007″

Seasonal Influenza A  is a major risk for older people everywhere, it kills half a million people a year.

The American hybrid H1N1 swine flu is so far only a real risk (>1% mortality) in Mexico, or in people already critically ill with other problems eg malnutrition,  obesity diabetes, emphysema, heart/ kidney  failure, cancer,  etc (who are at high risk of any passing bugs).

During outbreaks of infection, or if you feel a cold/ flu coming on:

–DON’T overstress or overexert yourself.

–STAY AWAY from:   Public transport and busy clinics and offices; or returning overseas travelers –  if you must meet them or  share the car with them, they and you must wear a mask, have  no contact.

–REST at home if you feel feverish/a cold coming on, perhaps take a cold shower twice a day.

- if you have flu, or during outbreaks, wear a SURGICAL MASK in public transport, open clinics- for protection against airborne TB, flu and cold viruses. Don’t share masks with anyone. Discard mask if at all soiled. wash hands often.

BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY: – also against TB, HIV/AIDs and all common chronic diseases

1. DIET/LIFESTYLE: Eat, drink and exercise prudently and regularly, and get plenty of fluids (incl tea), rest and sleep, if needed with melatonin at night for poor sleep; avoid smoking,  sugars and undiluted fruit-juice and sweetened commercial drinks. Tighten diabetic/ overweight  control eg add metformin/galega to tolerance (ie short of nausea/ diarrhoea);      eliminate suspect allergens eg milk- and wheat(gluten) -products.

2. STEAM twice a day if you feel a cold coming on.

3. SNIFF a pinch of ENHANCED VITAMIN C* powder 3 x day (50/50 vitamin C + bioflavinoid – a fruit polyphenol).

4. Take ENHANCED VIT C* rapid stepwise dose increase from 1gm 1/4  tsp  a day  up to 2 tsp (~8gm)  2-6  x/day-less if diarrhoea. some people tolerate only <300mg/d, but most (especially if ill) tolerate up to >100gms a day spread over the 24hours; as infection settles, so does the tolerance drop back toward perhaps <4gms a day.

+ FOR-INFECTION BLEND*.

+ FOR-LUNGS BLEND* if chesty/sinus or smoker, or prone to bronchitis/cough/asthma.

+ SUTHERLANDIA and/or Aloe

+ a good MULTINUTRIENT  for balance incl plenty of garlic; and vitamin D3 and betacarotene each up to 10 000iu and zinc up to 30mg/day. . . plus fish oil plus CoQ10.

5. For prevention consider  a homeopathic ‘Flu VACCINE unless allergic -altho’  it is a nonspecific immune booster. There is as yet no specific H1N1 vaccine. BUT the big question is whether to risk the current mercury/ aluminium-based commercial vaccines ,  or the safe but highly dilute  homeopathic version.  Injections in particular may have powerful placebo effect.

6. Consider nonspecific GAMMAGLOBULIN injection- but it is now very costly because of extra screening for eg hepatitis, HIV – and also not totally without risks. Hyperimmune serum from someone who has recovered from  the current  ie American swine flu  is better, as we know from experience   with eg  rabies, tetanus, Congo fevers- but there are still far too few cases of American flu.

7. If you are on drugs likely to aggravate lung problems or infections – consider with your healthcare provider to reduce or stop  them urgently eg swop problem antihypertensive drugs (betablockers and angiotensin- blockers-ACEI, ARBs) to safer old drugs. Reduce or stop anti-inflammatories NSAIDS or  bisphosphonates eg Fosamax – take the >dozen natural supplements that are always better and far safer against fractures and frailty.  Avoid unnecessary antibiotics as these create, dont help, risks. Cortisone dose can sometimes be modified to reduce risk.

8. What about the ANTIVIRALS  Tamiflu and Relenza? read the problems about them  and decide for yourself whether it is worth the risks and considerable cost… Bloomberg.com today  says “The human form of H1N1 that’s currently circulating is resistant to Roche’s Tamiflu (not GSK’s Relenza)” Last week’s  USA report says “widespread oseltamivir Tamiflu resistance was detected among circulating influenza A (H1N1) viruses in USA; but  all influenza viruses tested this season (ie 2008)  have been susceptible to zanamivir Relenza ” .  Last year “there was 100% H1Ni resistance to Tamiflu in RSA”;  and  “strains resistant to Relenza have been reported”.

” Relenza is a safe and effective treatment for influenza, BUT  needs to be given early after the first symptoms appear -  Six to 12 hours is ideal. Usually the time taken to get a prescription renders it  ineffective. The poor oral bioavailability of Relenza zanamivir  limits dosing to inhalation”.

“An FDA  Public Health Advisory warns  of respiratory problems following inhalation of Relenza by patients with underlying asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “

Such lung patients in particular need their cortisone pump, and theophylin, and NAcetyl-or-carbo-cysteine +/or guaifenesin, and extra magnesium, vit C, nicotinamide vit B3,  pantothenate vit B5, vit D3 ideally 6000 to 10 000iu/day, and   probiotic.

So the best seems to be to withhold commercial antivirals   until flu strikes, then hit it immediately hard with eg Relenza plus  amantidine/rimantidine.

For prevention combine all the natural supplements and precautions listed above – ESPECIALLY in areas like Southern Africa where major endemic poverty – malnutrition -obesity diabetes,  drug abuse (incl alcohol and cigarette/ cannabis smoking etc), TB, AIDS and cholera abound.

No American swine flu cases have yet been reported in Africa or mainland Asia or India; but with pandemic TB, AIDS, cholera, malaria etc, and winter biting hard this week to herald the usual bad flu season in the Southern hemisphere, it will be harder to distinguish acute flu from other potential infections.

Take this list and go ask you local health care provider  if you have been exposed to and suspect bad flu, as well as your  specialist if you are seeing one – who should all  know more about simple effective local remedies-  but above all, take the simple preventative nonprescription  steps above. .. .

ndb