Thread: Avian Flu: Bush's Call To Be On the Offensive Too Late ?

http://www.10news.com

No Nation Is Ready For Bird Flu Outbreak, Official Says

POSTED: 9:13 am PDT October 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's top health official said Thursday that "no one in the world is ready" for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of bird flu as President Bush summoned vaccine manufacturers to the White House to discuss the situation.

But Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt also said that U.S. officials and their counterparts around the globe recognize that a pandemic is possible and are working hard on ways to protect people from it.

"The good news is, we do have a vaccine," Leavitt said on CBS's "The Early Show." But he cautioned that officials do not currently have an ability to mass produce it or get it to people quickly.

"It's enough of a possibility that it demands our attention," he said. "We have to be prepared all the time ... for that type of problem and we need to improve."

Bush was meeting with top advisers Thursday on the matter and will meet on Friday with representatives from U.S. companies and some foreign vaccine manufacturers, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

"We want to press ahead to expand our manufacturing capacity to address this risk," McClellan said.

Outlining the pandemic plan in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, Leavitt said U.S. health officials would rush overseas to wherever a bird flu outbreak occurred and work with local officials to try to contain it.

"If you can get there fast enough and apply good public health techniques of isolating and quarantining and medicating and vaccinating the people in that area, you can ... squelch it or you can delay it," Leavitt said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Leavitt is traveling to Asia to shore up international cooperation should bird flu mutate to easily infect people.

To further that goal, more than 65 countries and international organizations were to participate in discussions Thursday at the State Department about preparations for the possibility of worsening bird flu.

Next week, Leavitt plans to meet with leaders of the Southeast Asia countries that are the epicenter of the virus.

There have been three flu pandemics in the last century; the worst, in 1918, killed as many as 50 million people worldwide.

Scientists say it is only a matter of time before the next worldwide influenza outbreak. Concern is rising that it could be triggered by the avian flu called H5N1.

That virus has killed or led to the slaughter of millions of birds, mostly in Asia, but also in parts of Europe. It has killed about 60 people, mostly poultry workers, because so far the virus does not spread easily from person to person.

The fear is that it will mutate to spread easily, a catastrophe because H5N1 is so different from annual flu strains that people have no natural immunity.

"The probability that the H5N1 virus will create a pandemic is uncertain. The signs are worrisome," Leavitt said. He added that the updated pandemic plan, due this month, envisions other super-strains of flu, too.

Role-playing different outbreak possibilities over the past few months led federal health officials to broaden their focus on how to detect a bird-flu mutation in another country and quickly send overseas help.

If that fails, the pandemic plans' first draft last year called for closing schools, restricting travel and other old-fashioned quarantine steps, depending on how fast the super-strain was spreading and its virulence. Those steps are getting renewed attention after President Bush's comments Tuesday that troops might have to be dispatched to enforce a mass quarantine.

Typically, state and local authorities deal with quarantine decisions -- isolating the sick and closing large gatherings where diseases might spread.

"They have to be prepared, and frankly they're not," Leavitt said.

The updated plan will outline when federal health officials will take over for the locals, something that will depend on how the flu is spreading, he said. For instance, mass quarantines were needed in 1918, but not during the pandemics of 1957 and 1968, he said.

As for treatment, HHS last month began spending $100 million for the first large-scale production of a bird flu vaccine. But the department has been criticized for only stockpiling enough of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu for several million people. The Senate last week passed legislation that would increase those purchases by $3 billion.

A bigger gap is how to create quickly a vaccine to match whatever pandemic flu strain erupts, Leavitt said. That currently takes months. The new plan will focus on rejuvenating vaccine production to speed the process, he said.

www.usatoday.com


Bush presses vaccine makers to prepare for bird flu
WASHINGTON (AP) â€â€

www.redherring.com

Fake Flu Drug Warning

Roche warns that counterfeit versions of Tamiflu may be selling on the Internet.
October 7, 2005

Roche warned consumers on Friday to avoid purchasing Tamiflu over the Internet out of concern that counterfeit versions of the drug may be available.

The pharmaceutical giant, based in Basel, Switzerland, said it is looking into Internet sales of the prescription-only pill and cannot vouch for its authenticity.

In many ways it seems only a matter of time before counterfeit versions of Tamiflu hit the market, if they have not already. Tamiflu, along with GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza, is thought to provide the best treatment of flu symptoms currently available in the event of a bird flu pandemic.

Governments around the world have recently stockpiled enough of the drug to provide treatment for up to a quarter of their respective populations, following advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Many individuals in wealthy countries are also trying to procure their own supplies, with pharmacists reporting a recent run on the drug.

“There is the possibility that some material could be counterfeit,� said David Reddy, who is in charge of Roche’s Tamiflu sales.

“Our biggest concern is people who don’t know about the safety features on the packaging and who may buy material from the Internet which is purported to be Tamiflu but isn’t,� he added.

Counterfeits Growing

The counterfeit medicine industry is massive and is growing fast. Researchers at Oxford University in the United Kingdom reported in April that 15 percent of all drugs sold worldwide are fakes.

This means the annual global market value of counterfeit medicines is $35 billion, which is nearly 10 times as much as the 2004 product sales of the world’s largest biotechnology company, Genentech (see Tech to Fight Fake Drugs).

Counterfeit medicines are dangerous because they may contain incorrect dosages of a drug, act purely as placebos, or contain toxic chemicals.

Many Internet pharmacies are based in countries known for high levels of pharmaceutical counterfeiting, such as India and China.

“They are trying to look like they’re in Canada, but when you actually look at the URLs and you find out where this stuff actually comes from, it’s not coming from Canada at all,� Forrester Research analyst Laura Ramos recently told Red Herring.

Roche has donated enough Tamiflu to the WHO to treat 3 million people in case of a bird flu outbreak.

I came across an article that said Tamiflu may not be as effective against this flu espically if that strain changes a little. Sorry no link. Couldn't find the article but I read it.

William mentions the swine flu:
Yes, I remember. Thanks William. Now I remember how old I'm getting too.

in 1987-90 there were a series of viral infection outbreaks in the US. The viruses involved were strains that had grown(mutated) as many life forms do, from generic ones like streptoccocous, staphylococcous. It takes humans by surprise as we have not built up a resistance to the new assaults by old enemies with new talents. So we were seeing a minor sickness turn into a life threatening situation in 24 or 48 hours. During that period, the virus would either kill you or maim you. I got away with a maiming. I lost some nerves, brain tissues, and related other parts in the general vicinity. Most of the damage was on the left side of my head. I lost all of the hearing on that side, plus about 30% of my balance. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me in life so far. But I got a better. I'm still deaf there, but the balance problem compensated a little over time. And just like losing limbs, the nerves that weren't totally damaged still send signals which can be really, really distracting. But here I am both survivor and victor of microbial warfare. Those enemies are not all necessarily products of conspiracies; unless you see mother nature as an evil mastermind. As individuals we may fall to harm; but as a spiecies I think we'll survive even the manufactured ones.
By the way, that was the sickest I have ever been. It was the first time I was really willing to surrender my life to make it stop. thankfully, the worst of it only lasted about 48 hours, and I was back on my feet in a month. So planning for disasters like that should include having a months pay stashed in the mattress

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

So people can buy Tamiflu through this site? How much does it cost and what's the delivery time?

W

[mod edit]
I recently read an article about it.
"The United States is to hold international talks to devise strategies against a potential avian flu pandemic " here http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005091...ho_050915193940

All this sounds scary, especially the way they ae calling it a pandemic.

So how do I get my supply of Tamiflu?

Our company has partnered with a Swiss based distributor to offer you brand name Tamiflu at the lowest possible prices. Since we are shipping this medication from a country that does not require a prescription, you will not require a prescription when ordered from us. We must warn you though, everyone's supplies come from the same place and there is no telling just how long the stock will last. As more and more die from the Avian Flu and the virus spreads further, the demand will increase and so too will the shortages. We urge you to purchase your supply immediately to avoid any delays.

You cant bypass getting a medication required by prescription without breaking the law. We don’t advocate any criminal activities here.

Let the fear mongering begin. I guess we need marshal law too and forced quarantines even though birds fly and will spread it anyways. Bush will want to end posse comitatus to enforce it. No thanks, keep your Tamiflu.


Bird Flu Developing Resistance to Tamiflu and Other Anti-Flu Drugs According to Experts
http://www.newsinferno.com/storypages/1 ... 5~002.html


There are many more news stories on this as well.

During the last flu season Tamiflu was always out of stock in the pharmacy, MFG out.

Tamiflu may not even help you if you get sick. You have to take it before you get sick or right away. Also if the strain changes even a little bit tamiflu may NOT help. Tamiflu is not cheap and some insurances or HMO's will not cover it. Kinda makes me think Bird Flu=Tamiflu=$$$$$$$$$$$$ and stock prices rise for ROCHE.

Either population control, work of the NWO, Elites etc Just like illegal immigration.

I also came across an article stating Tamiflu may not even work against the current strain.

check out the home page for the article

BIRD FLU AND ILLEGAL ALIENS

http://www.alipac.us/article-793--0-0.html

http://wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=106&sid=535567

Feds Prepare for Super-Flu Disaster
Updated: Sunday, Oct. 9, 2005 - 3:54 AM

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A super-flu could kill up to 1.9 million Americans, according to a draft of the government's plan to fight a worldwide epidemic. Officials are rewriting that plan to designate not just who cares for the sick but who will keep the country running amid the chaos, said an influenza specialist who is advising the government on those decisions.

"How do you provide food, water ... basic security for the population?" asked Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, a government adviser who has a copy of the draft plan and described it for The Associated Press.

"This is a much more comprehensive view than has previously been detailed," he said in an interview Saturday.

The Bush administration has spent the last year updating its plan for how to fight the next flu pandemic. While it is impossible to say when one will strike, the fear is that the bird flu in Asia could trigger one if it mutates to start spreading easily among people.

A recent draft of the plan, first reported Saturday by The New York Times, models what might happen based on the last century's three pandemics.

In a best-case scenario, about 200,000 people might die.

But if the next pandemic resembles the birdlike 1918 Spanish flu, as many as 1.9 million could die, Osterholm said. Millions more would be ill, overwhelming hospitals.

"You plan for the worst-case scenario," he said. "If it's less than that, thank God."

The government has on hand enough of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu to treat 4.3 million people. Manufacturing of $100 million worth of a bird flu vaccine just began.

The draft makes clear that tens of millions more doses of each would be needed. That is far more than the world has the capacity to manufacture quickly.

To finish that draft plan, federal health officials for several weeks have been role-playing what would happen if a super-flu struck now _ not next year, after more medicines and vaccines have been stockpiled.

The strategy, Osterholm said, is, "Don't emphasize what you can buy, emphasize what you can get your hands on. If it happens tonight, how do you deal with order?"

For example, health workers would need to wear special masks, known as N-95 masks, to prevent infection while treating patients. Two U.S. companies produce 90 percent of the world's supply and "we'll run out overnight," Osterholm said.

Also being considered is the possibility that Tamiflu will not be powerful enough to treat someone already sick, but could protect against illness if given beforehand. So who would get the 4.3 million doses?

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently met with Cabinet secretaries to get other federal agencies to determine their role in stemming rioting at vaccine clinics; when to close schools; how to keep gasoline, electricity, food and water supplies running; and how to manage the economic fallout.

State health officers also are being asked for input, Osterholm said.

"The HHS plan is going to be the foundation of a larger government-wide plan," said Leavitt's spokeswoman, Christina Pearson. "Beyond health care, there are issues with banks and schools, and that states and other place have to have their own plans."

Democrats have criticized the administration for not having a plan. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said in a statement Saturday that time for action was short.

"Having a plan on paper does nothing to protect us," Harkin said while urging the administration to work with Congress on implementing protections against a pandemic. "Next month is too late. The United States is woefully unprepared for this, and we must get started immediately."

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On the Net:

Background on bird flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/