Here is an update on the global swine flu situation as of 28 April 2009. There are now 64 laboratory confirmed cases of infection with the H1N1 swine influenza strain, up from 40 the day before. States reporting cases are California (10), Kansas, (2), New York City (45), Ohio (1) and Texas (6). These are …
I have received several questions about my assertion that the northern hemisphere is safe, at least until the fall, from an epidemic of A/California/09/2009 influenza virus. Here are two representative questions: If I recall correctly, Spanish flu hit hardest during the summer and fall. As for the swine flu, is it impossible (and why?) to …
Swine influenza, seasonality, and the northern hemisphere Read More »
Here are some updates on the global status of swine influenza H1N1. As of Monday, 27 April, the US has reported 40 laboratory confirmed cases of swine influenza H1N1 infection in California, Kansas, New York City, Ohio, and Texas. Mexico has confirmed 26 human cases with seven deaths, Canada reports six cases, and Spain one …
A novel strain of H1N1 swine influenza virus has now also been isolated from cases of respiratory disease in Mexico City, New York City, and two locations in Canada. Clearly I was wrong in hypothesizing that the five mild cases in Texas and California reported last week were not a cause for alarm. In Mexico …
A new strain of swine influenza virus has been recently isolated from seven persons in the US. Is it time to break out the swine flu vaccine of 1976? Last week the CDC reported that swine influenza virus had been isolated from two children with respiratory illness in California. The cases were not linked and …
In an NYTimes Op-Ed article called “The Scary Caterpillar”, Jeffrey Lockwood wrote about potential use of a virus as a weapon of bioterrorism: What if a terrorist group announced that their operatives had introduced Rift Valley fever into the United States? This mosquito-borne disease would make West Nile virus look like a case of the …
