Swine flu- deconstructing H1N1 virus

[Humble Janitor]

I was asked earlier by my boss if I would "volunteer" to stay in the building and work in an event that the campus be shut down due to swine flu.

No way. Not interested in being a guinea pig since he mentioned that volunteers would be medically monitored, etc. It just didn't sound good to me at all so I did not volunteer. The "special rate of pay" b.s caught me off guard too. I feel sorry for anyone else who decides to volunteer and knowing my superiors, they will likely prey upon the Vietnamese and other foreign workers, who would gladly volunteer. It makes me sick.

I was honest. Not getting the vaccine and it's all ********.

[feeler]

Originally Posted by Humble Janitor

I was asked earlier by my boss if I would "volunteer" to stay in the building and work in an event that the campus be shut down due to swine flu.

No way. Not interested in being a guinea pig since he mentioned that volunteers would be medically monitored, etc. It just didn't sound good to me at all so I did not volunteer. The "special rate of pay" b.s caught me off guard too. I feel sorry for anyone else who decides to volunteer and knowing my superiors, they will likely prey upon the Vietnamese and other foreign workers, who would gladly volunteer. It makes me sick.

I was honest. Not getting the vaccine and it's all ********.

Humble Janitor,

We know what happened to the office workers who listened and returned back to the twin towers.

Or to the first responders who listened and believed it was safe to return to Ground Zero.

-feeler

[Waterman]

There has been many via emails, PMs, etc., asking my thoughts which is not a problem. To help answer those questions, especially the same one, I'm putting info on a blog. Hopefully you will find it useful and feel free to ask questions there too. This way I can better manage what I've said and do a better job of answering questions.

www.simplyyourhealth.wordpress.com

Thanks

PS - I'm going to be posting a really important story on my blog. While the flu was becoming center stage, a company providing remedies that have a reputation for anti-viral properties could not get anymore supplies from their German source. No the German manufacturer did not run out! Nor could the US supplier get the FDA to allow them to import similar remedies from a different German company.

[Humble Janitor]

Originally Posted by feeler

Humble Janitor,

We know what happened to the office workers who listened and returned back to the twin towers.

Or to the first responders who listened and believed it was safe to return to Ground Zero.

-feeler

Exactly. My intuition is spot-on or else I would have stupidly volunteered.

The basics:

Influenza A(H1N1)
Inside the virus often referred to as the Mexican swine flu, May 6-09
http://www.calgarysun.com/news/world...66101-sun.html

A/H1N1 IS A MIX OF FOUR DIFFERENT FLU STRAINS
- North American swine flu
- North American avian flu
- Human A/H1N1 flu
- A swine flu strain found in Asia and Europe
...

A - Virus type: Of the three types (A, B and C), A and B are the most common causes of epidemics.
H - Hemagglutinin (HA protein): Enables virus to attach to receptor of host cell.
1 - Indicates a specific type of the H or N protein.
N- Neuraminidase (NA protein): Helps release new virus from host.
1 - [??]

CHANGE FOR THE WORSE
- When a virus mixes with other viruses, changes sometimes occur to the antigens.
- A minor change - or drift - results in a new viral strain often not blocked by the immune system.
- A major change - or shift - results in a new virus to which there is no immunity.

LIFE CYCLE OF A VIRUS
1. Virus attaches to a host cell and is taken in.
2. Virus RNA is released and enters the nucleus.
3. The virus RNA uses the cell to copy the virus' genetic material.
4. The materials join to form new copies of the virus.
5. The new viruses break free of their host -- sometimes destroying it -- to find new host cells.

From an avaaz newsletter (may 5-09):

Scientists are looking into initial indications that link the triple hybrid 'swine flu' and factory pig farms that are dirty, dangerous, and inhumane.

Last week the flu was all that we talked about -- Mexico has been nearly paralysed and across the world leaders halted air travel, banned pork imports and initiated drastic controls to mitigate the spreading virus. As the threat shows signs of subsiding the question becomes where it came from and how we stop another outbreak.

Smithfield Corporation, the largest pig producer in the world whose farm is being fingered as the source of the H1N1 outbreak, denies any connection between their pigs and the flu and big agrobusiness worldwide pays huge sums of money for research to argue that biosafety is ensured in industrial hog production. But the WHO has been saying for years that 'a new pandemic is inevitable'(2) and experts from the European Commission and the FAO have cautioned that the rapid move from small holdings to industrial pig production is in fact increasing the risk of development and transmission of disease epidemics. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that scientists still do not know the extent that infectious compounds produced in factory farms affect human health.(3)

Studies abound of the horrific conditions endured by pigs in concentrated large-scale operations, and the devastating economic impact on small farmer communities of bloated large-scale operations.(4) Smithfield itself has already been fined $12.6m and is currently under another federal investigation in the US for toxic environmental damage from pig excrement lakes.(5)

But even with all of this damaging evidence, a combination of increased global meat consumption and a powerful industry motivated by profit at the cost of human health, means that instead of being shut down - these sickening factory farm operations are propagating around the world and we are subsidising them (6). In the wake of this swine flu threat, let's hold industrial pig producers to account. Sign the petition for investigation and regulation:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic

If we resolve this global health crisis boldly by reassessing our food consumption and production, and urgently calling for an inquiry into the impact of factory farms on human health, we could put in place tough farm practice rules that will save the global population from future animal borne lethal pandemics.

Immunity and sleep: "When we sleep, our bodies recharge themselves: this means repairing tissue, healing, and fueling cells and organs up with fuel. Sleep may be the single most important thing we can do to help our immune system." http://www.aim4health.com/immunity.htm
..............................

NEW- Dept. of the Army, Pamphlet 385-69 (pdf, 45pp), "Safety Standards for Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories," May 6-09.

SUMMARY of CHANGE
DA PAM 385–69
Safety Standards for Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories
This major revision, dated 6 May 2009--
o Incorporates requirements of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
publication Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (para
1-1).
o Clarifies applicability to microbiological activities in a clinical
laboratory and in a biomedical research setting (para 1-1).
o Adds guidance and standards on infectious agents and toxins risk
assessment(para 2-4).
o Clarifies standards for biological safety programs (chap 3).
o Clarifies requirements and responsibilities for surveys (paras 3-10e and 3-
13b).
o Clarifies medical surveillance requirements (para 4-3).
o Adds requirements for illness absence monitoring (para 4-6).
o Adds requirements for integrated pest management (para 7-9).
o Clarifies requirements for the import, export, transportation, and transfer
of infectious agents and toxins (chap 9).
o Updates emergency planning and response requirements (chap 11).
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/pam385-69.pdf (45pp)
................................................

NEW- Congressional Research Services, ""The 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Outbreak: Selected Legal Issues," May 4-09.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40560.pdf (34pp)

feeler posted this on another thread:
Novavax announced H1N1 VLP on April 14
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13638

The first death from swine flu occurred on April 13, when a diabetic woman from Oaxaca died from respiratory complications.

The following day, April 14, Novavax announced:

Novavax, Inc. reported preclinical study results showing that an investigational H1N1 virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine based on the 1918 Spanish influenza strain protected against both the Spanish flu and a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain.

PDF format available at Novavax.com:
http://www.novavax.com/download/rele...14_09%20FO.pdf

-feeler