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Swine Flu: The Next Pandemic?By Steven A. Turner MD Swine Flu, a seasonal respiratory virus infection in pigs, rarely affects humans. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported only twelve cases of human Swine Flu infections during a four-year period from 2005 to 2009 in the United States.
The CDC reports that there are 40 current (laboratory-verified) cases of Human Swine Flu in the United States.
The virus, technically a H1N1 influenza type A virus, is constantly mutating. The virus contains genetic material from Asian Swine Flu, American Swine Flu, avian flu and human flu. And the latest transformation of this virus is keeping the CDC working furiously to identify the scope and magnitude of an infection that is rapidly spreading across the globe.
The symptoms of being infected with Swine Flu are similar to any influenza infection: sore throat, body aches, fever, runny nose, and diarrhea.
Human to human infection spreads by coughing and sneezing. Touching an inanimate object such as a doorknob, which can harbor a virus for days, also transmits the virus.
The CDC states within two days of symptoms, the virus can be treated with antiviral medications such as Tamiflu or Relenza.
The epicenter of this plague is Mexico City, where 149 people have died so far and 1,995 people have been hospitalized with serious cases of pneumonia. There is no vaccine available.
In city that has a population of 20 million, there are only one million doses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu. And if things weren’t bad enough already, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico today.
Mexico City is a virtual ghost town. All schools, museums, zoos and public meeting places have been closed. Even churches have been affected: all masses, baptisms and confirmations were canceled until further notice.
The CDC confirmed yesterday that the virus samples from Mexico deceased victims were essentially genetically the same as the samples from the United States cases.
The difference is that in the United States, no one has died. In fact, only one infected American needed hospitalization.
There may be an age variance in the susceptibility for the swine flu virus.
In Mexico, most of the deaths centered on a population age range from 20 to 45 years old. In the U.S., the infections were found initially in children, all of whom recovered without permanent medical injuries. However, Mexico City has the worst air pollution in North American and its resulting lung damage prior to an influenza infection might contribute to the higher mortality rate.
Or, it may simply be a cultural difference in hand washing frequency. Hand washing with soap removes potentially pathogenic organisms including influenza viruses. Americans may be more diligent about washing their hands throughout the day than their southern counterparts. This may explain the higher prevalence of the virus in Mexico, although no firm conclusions can be made until more information is known about swine flu's incubation period.
Nonetheless, it is the ease of transmission that is worrisome. It is estimated that at any given moment, there are over 75,000 airborne passengers in commercial airline flights. These passengers have already been implicated in the international spread of this virus.
In response to this threat, the European Union's health commissioner today urged Europeans to avoid all non-essential travel to both Mexico and the United States.
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Cover Story: Pacific Tea: Turning Algae into Green CrudeAlgae, the most ubiquitous renewable substance on Earth is considered a nuisance by most people. Yet, it may be our salvation for rising gas prices. Algae can grow anywhere, in brackish back-waters to vast oceans. The salinity of its environment also does not hinder its proliferation. Where other creatures find ocean life inhospitable, algae thrives. Algae grows in the desert as well as it grows at the North Pole. Algae also have the benefit of lowering the emission levels of CO2. Chlorella algae have been used experimentally in Japan to cut emissions from power stations. It uses the algae’s fixation of CO2 during the photosynthesis cycle. In other words, just passively growing algae can garner CO2 tax credits that can, in turn, be sold to power stations to offset their own CO2 emissions. Thus, algae is considered a carbon neutral source of fuel because of its CO2 fixation abilities. Algae are the scavengers of the vast mires of non-potable water. Algae efficiently extract nutrients from waste water while yielding biomass ten times the rate of land plants that use up limited fresh water supplies. One acre of corn yields only 20 gallons of fuel a year. An acre of algae can yield 3,000 to 15,000 gallons of fuel. Presently, there are scores of companies racing to find the algae best suited for bio-fuel production. While some algae can produce up to 50% of its weight in oil, production and refining costs are prohibitive. The Defense Department estimates that the cost of converting algae into a gallon of gasoline is twenty dollars. Costs must decrease to around two dollars a gallon to be economically viable. The interest of algae-based fuel has spawned a mini-oil rush as academics and private companies compete to unlock the secrets of low-cost algae fuel production. The Scripps Research Institute and the University of San Diego collaborated to start Sapphire Energy Company. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, (DARP) is working with Honeywell and the University of North Dakota to make jet fuels from algae. Roger Ruan's lab at the University of Minnesota is also active in the hunt. Ruan has called algae a near- perfect feedstock. It can be grown anywhere. Algae can utilize sewage and take out pollutants such as phosphorous and it has a high density of oils that can be converted into diesel and its cellulosic waste products into biocrude. Today’s corn-based ethanol has its share of critics. Ethanol is a low octane fuel. Ethanol is also slightly acidic and engines have to be modified to accommodate its corrosive actions. Utilizing corn for biofuel has also exacted unintended consequences. Corn-based products are utilized anywhere from bread to the sweetener dextrose. Because of this, ethanol has been implicated in the rapid rise of the United State ’s core inflation since there is less availability of corn for food derivatives as demand for corn-based fuel has increased. The United States has transformed itself from a country that once produced so much corn, and so efficiently, it had to give subsidies to farmers to support corn’s selling price. The U.S. Government, utilizing foreign food aid programs, couldn’t give corn away fast enough. Last summer, demand for corn was so high, record prices on the Chicago Mercantile exchange caused food riots in the far reaches of the globe. The once-scorned nuisance named algae may be America ’s salvation for both its food inflation and energy woes. © 2009 Steven Turner. All rights reserved. |
Isis Eyed By Pfizer- But Turned Down By Steven Turner Last Update: 11:31 AM ET Nov 21, 2008 In February of 2007, shortly after Isis (ISIS) announced its multibillion dollar, collaboration with Genzyme (GENZ), a senior executive of Pfizer (PFE) was chided, asking how they could let rival Genzyme outbid them for the rights to Mipomersen. The Pfizer executive pointed out that the mode of delivery was the key factor in their decision. This reluctance on Pfizer’s part was understandable in light of the disastrous multibillion-dollar loss with “the sure thing,” Nektar’s (NKTR) inhaled insulin product, which nobody wanted to buy. This fiasco was unfolding while Pfizer and 10 other pharmaceutical companies were engaged in a bidding war to acquire the rights to Mipomersen. |
Toxic Heparin: Another Fine Product from China By Steve Turner © 2008 Steven Turner. All rights reserved Eighty-one deaths in the United States have been linked to allergic reactions to a Chinese-concocted contaminant in the widely used blood thinner heparin. The contaminant is an animal cartilage-derived oversulfated chondriotin sulfate. This ersatz non-FDA-approved chemical poorly mimics heparin but costs one one-hundredth of the price of legitimate heparin. Last month, FDA Commissioner Andrew Von Eschenbach told the US Senate that the replacement of heparin was not inadvertent, but an intentional act that was by “virtue of economic fraud.” This fraud joins several recent Chinese-initiated toxic chemical substitutions executed to save money for the Chinese suppliers while ultimately costing their American counterparts billions of dollars in litigation expenses and product recalls. |
Avoid These 7 Deadly Dangers of Outsourcing Anonymous writes "Avoid These 7 Deadly Dangers of Outsourcingby Steve Mezak, CEO Accelerance, Inc. Here are seven dangers of outsourcing your software development. They become deadly if your career or entire company depends on the timely release of your software. " |
XPS file format – new reality of Windows Vista Anonymous writes "The official release of Windows Vista, a new operational system by the Microsoft Corporation is a landmark event for the majority of software vendors. The vendors who are able to adjust their products to this new operating system will gain significant competitive edge."
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CyberMatrix Office Version 1 ReleasedAnonymous writes "CyberMatrix Office Version 1 ReleasedCyberMatrix Corporation has released version 1.00 of CyberMatrix Office. CyberMatrix Office is a virtual office collaboration program. It is designed for those companies that would like to allow their employees to work from home yet still be accessible to others that need to interact with them. " |
VERIZON WIRELESS GIVES $40,000 GRANT TO THE ST. LOUIS FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER VERIZON WIRELESS GIVES $40,000 GRANT TO THE ST. LOUIS FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER
.Verizon Wireless Funds Survivor Intake Database . ST. LOUIS—Through the Verizon Foundation, Verizon Wireless has awarded a $40,000 grant to the St. Louis Family Justice Center (FJC) to upgrade technology for a survivor intake database and for community outreach that will be used to improve services to survivors of domestic violence. |
St. Louis Business Networking BreakfastREMINDER - NEW LOCATION:
Start the New Year off right! Spread the word to your friends and Business Associates: A great environment to network, ask questions, and conduct one-to-one meetings before and after informative presentations. Contact me to sign up to introduce your business with a 2-minute presentation to the group.
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FREE SEMINARS ON MICROSOFT ACCESS OFFERED BY UM–ST. LOUIS MICROCOMPUTER PROGRAMAnonymous writes "Microsoft Access is the most popular database application for tracking inventory, maintaining mailing lists, and managing information files. Pick up some tips on using Access by attending one of four free seminars during Access Night at the University of Missouri–St. Louis Microcomputer Program. This open house will be held 6:00–8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 24, at the UM–St. Louis West County Computer Center, 1715 Deer Tracks Trail.
From an overview to a session on VBA programming, there’s a seminar for all levels of experience with Access, so participants are bound to pick up a few helpful tips from the Microcomputer Program’s experienced instructors.
Access Night is free, but registration is required by January 22. For more information or to register, call (314) 984-9000 or visit www.micros.umsl.edu/accnight.html.
For information on other Continuing Education programs, visit www.umsl.edu/~conted/."
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