Swine Flu Pandemic

Just received from my longevity/vitality doctor's office:

The Swine Flu is a viral illness that is potentially life threatening. Its epicenter is Mexico City where 149 deaths have been reported to date. Not all have been confirmed specifically to the Swine Flu as Mexico has limited laboratory facilities to do so.

Below is a copy from the Center for Disease Control’s table on cases in the U.S. These have so far (4/27/09) been mild with no deaths. It is not understood why the U.S. cases have been milder.

U.S. Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection (As of April 27, 2009 1:00 PM ET)
State	# of laboratory confirmed cases
California	7 cases
Kansas	2 cases
New York City	28 cases
Ohio	1 case
Texas	2 cases
TOTAL COUNT	40 cases
International Human Cases of Swine Flu Infection See: World Health Organization

This year’s flu vaccine was not formulated for the swine flu, which is caused by a virus mutated with human, porcine and bird components, named H1N1. However, the vaccine may offer some level of assistance in combating the virus.

The Swine Flu virus, according to the CDC, is susceptible to Tamiflu (oseltamivir) by Roche and Relenza (zanamivir) by Glaxo Smith-Kline. Both can be used for prevention once exposure is suspected or for treatment once symptoms begin.

Roche claims to have 3 million packages of Tamiflu on hand for delivery should the CDC request it be sent to a particular country. Pharmacies and wholesalers are not yet reporting shortages. With the population of the U.S. at 306,000,000, one would wonder how far the 3 million packages would go, even if it were sent here.

For prevention, the dose of Tamiflu is 1 capsule (75mg) orally daily for 10 days, beginning as soon as possible after exposure.

For treatment, dosing should start 12 to 48 hours after the first symptom (fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, body aches) and it is taken as one 75mg capsule twice daily for 5 days.

The drug is dispensed in packs of 10 capsules.

To minimize chances of exposure, avoid travel to areas of known outbreaks, avoid congregating in large groups, wash your hands often, and keep your blood sugar low (spikes in blood sugar hinder immune response).