swine flu

I know I am not going to get the swine flu, bottom line. And I live in New York City and I am not even worried. Not even worried a bit. So the question is how to prevent the flu and block swine flu? Here is the answer.

It is such a trip as you see so many people here in New York wearing these surgical mask to prevent themselves from getting the swine flu and you know the swine=e flu is only the beginning. There are going to be so many other flu's out in the coming years. Why?

Why, because it is business. Whether you believe that or not it is true. It is business and it is big business at that. The more people who are sick the more people who have cancer the more people who have this disease and that disease the more people who have swine flu the more money the pharmaceutical companies make in the United States and around the World.

It is a trillion dollar business. Trillions of dollars World Wide, this is a huge, this is global. So here I am riding the subway, I am from New York City born and raised and lived in Europe for a while and lived on the West Coast of the United State for a while and been to many places in the world and let me tell you one thing.

We are all the same and that is so represented in New York City and it is unbelievable and yet believable the biggest outbreak of the swine flu is right here in New York City.

People are scared and people are dying and people are wearing masks and people are staying away from each other and this will happen in your town or city in your part of the world also because this is a fact, if it is happening here it will happen in your town also, in your part of the world whether you are in Spokane Washington or Mumbai India it just does not matter.

So it is kind of funny to me the whole thing. Not funny in the sense that people are actually dying and getting sick and that this thing is spreading and that this swine flu is real and growing and that there will be other out breaks of this flu strain or the next flu strain soon this summer early next year and that peoples families are devastated, non of that is funny to me, my heart really goes out to everyone.

What is funny to me is that I walk and hangout out amongst these people wearing the masks and coughing or sneezing next to me on the pack train subway car on the street in a park wherever and I don't even mind because I know I am safe. How to prevent the flu and block swine flu? I am not even worried about as I have taken these steps that I am sharing with you here.

I'm living my life and I know I will not and never get the Swine Flu because I am informed and studied and researched and I eat healthy and drink plenty of water and I make sure I take the right supplements to boost my immune system so that swine flu or any thing for that matter gets smacked once it enters my body by my cells which are happy dancing healthy fighters of toxic disease including swine flu.

That is the bottom line. I also found this product Baniflu after doing all the research to find out what is the best thing out there that I can take now or buy now and put on the shelf until I need to take it to totally protect myself from getting the swine flu on the next big flu and I found it. You can check it out at the link below.

That is it, period, and end of story as to how to prevent the flu and block swine flu. Don't go around worrying as worry will only deplete your immune system anyway, get prepared remain healthy and get yourself a flu blocker just in case and as I said I take and recommend Baniflu and I am in the center of this swine flu epidemic.

With this plan you and your family and your friends and kids, will be safe and you not only have a full proof plan but you also have a back up plan. You are 100 % percent covered right now starting today and there is no need to worry just go about your life as it was intended to be.

You need to be proactive and not wait until it is to late until you find yourself waiting on Tamiflu which you cannot get your hands on because there is no supply and it takes a prescription to get to you or you get it after you are sick, you need to just not get sick to prevent the flu and you can with Baniflu which you can get now and have ready at a moments notice and it is healthier and better than Tamiflu anyway.

It works for me, so go and check it out at the link below howtopreventflunow.com and answer the question to how to prevent the flu and block swine flu today, now and forever. Enjoy be happy love smile!

The outbreak of the swine flu epidemic is now sending a wave of panic to all corners of the world. Starting from Mexico where it has claimed record number of lives, new cases have been confirmed in all the continents of the world prompting health professionals to insinuate that it will definitely develop into a pandemic.

But what exactly is swine flu? Swine flu or swine influenza is described as a highly contagious acute respiratory disease contacted from pigs. It is an air borne disease which spreads through tiny particles in the air or by direct contact. It is caused by a virus which normally infects pigs and it tends to kill one to four per cent of those infected. The worst part of it is that some infected animals may not display any symptoms at all, making it difficult to isolate and cull the infected ones.

As the name implies, swine flu normally infects pigs and is in most cases, transferred from pig to pig. However, it is quite unfortunate that the virus can transcend this species barrier and infect humans. In other words, the swine flu virus can develop into a form easily spread among humans by combining with a human flu virus as it can equally mutate on its own into a transmissible form. When this happens, it can spread quickly especially in this age of cheap flight and frequent trans border travels. A possible scenario is succinctly described by Meri thus:

Unfortunately it seems to be spreading...all it takes is one infected person to get on a plane out of Mexico...it spreads easily through contact with an infected person (ie: sneezing, coughing, shaking hands, etc). the same as any flu virus. One person on a plane infects 5 more...those 5 get off the plane and infect a further 25 people at JFK Airport in New York...those 25 get on different planes going to different parts of the world...each infecting another 5 people...now there are 125 people with swine flu traveling and infecting more people...it won't take long for it to become pandemic.

Symptoms:

Swine flu symptoms can hardly be differentiated from those of the seasonal flu or influenza. These may include fever, cough sore throat and body pains. According to the World Health Organization, the symptoms can also include acute pneumonia which can eventually lead to death. If anyone displays one or all of the above symptoms, please take the person to the hospital immediately for treatment.

Considering the above facts, coupled with the media hype surrounding the outbreak of the diseases and the scary comments of health professionals and political leaders, it is quite understandable why people are frightened worldwide. In fact the decision of the World Health Organization to raise the alert level to phase five of six, meaning a global outbreak is imminent, is enough to trigger worldwide panic. Instead of panicking, the best thing individuals can do is to be on guard and to do everything humanly possible to prevent themselves from contacting the virus. The following measures are recommended in this regard:

1- Do not travel to a locality where the outbreak of the disease has been reported. Do not travel outside such localities if you reside there.

2. If swine flu outbreak has been reported in your locality, avoid moving close to the infected persons and stay away from high risk areas. Try not to mix with people except it is absolutely necessary.

3. Under no circumstances should you move near live pigs except where impossible. Remember the virus is not contacted by eating pork products.

4. Young children, very old people and those with respiratory illness or compromised immune systems are most at risk. Therefore, special attention should be paid to them.

5. Always wash your hands thorougly after using any public facility, especially toilets and lavatories.

In conclusion, I wish to point it out that testing positive to swine flu does not amount to death sentence. It may be frightening and quite scary, the good news is "swine flu is treatable." Not only that, scientists have been working very hard to develop a vaccine against the virus that is responsible for the disease. Fortunately, a group British scientists has taken a giant step in this regard. They have succeeded in developing a strain of swine flu that is suitable for developing the vaccine. This is a good news, innit?

Can an employee be excluded from the workplace with or without a confirmed diagnosis of swine flu?

The first concern of every business should be for the health and safety of their employees and customers. There are two health and safety aspects which an employer needs to address within the workplace namely:

• Keeping employees informed about the health risks; and
• taking steps to ensure that there is good hygiene in the workplace and that working practices do not impose undue risks to employees.

Swine flu is thought to spread in the same way that seasonal flu spreads through coughing, sneezing or even coming into contact with someone who has or has recently had influenza. The World Health Organisation also recognises that Swine Flu appears to be highly contagious and as such their advice is to apply pandemic infection control procedures. It is deemed best practice to remain vigilant and ask employees to stay at home, report to HR and to consult their doctor if they report they are feeling unwell, have flu like symptoms or have travelled to Mexico or any other area considered high risk by the World Health Organisation.

If there is a confirmed diagnosis of swine flu in the workplace employers could also consider imposing home working or travel bans on employees until such time as they have been appropriately assessed medically. Therefore if a pandemic develops, it is likely that some employees will be required to work from home or to refrain from work for a period. However, unless such things are provided for in the employment contract, imposing these changes could constitute a unilateral variation, potentially giving rise to claims of constructive dismissal.

There are additional powers provided, albeit generally to local authorities, under The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (Public Health Act). In essence what this act enables authorities to do is:

• Seek orders that a person be medically examined or be removed to, or detained in, hospital; and
• request that a person does not attend work.

However the above is all subject to the employer complying with relevant laws in relation to discrimination in the workplace on the basis of disability, sex, marital status, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

In conclusion, employers have a duty to provide a safe place of work for all its employees. Consequently, an employer would be justified in the circumstances to ask such an employee to work from home for a period of time and to seek medical advice following a return from Mexico. Once the employee is given the medical all clear, they should then be allowed to return to work.

How could swine flu impact on wages?

In the event an employee is sent home, the issue of money is likely to be a big concern for both the employer and the employee. The employer will want to know whether they have a duty to pay the employee and the employee will want to know if they will be paid. This will depend on the circumstances of each individual case, but the first point of reference will always be the employee's contract of employment.

As a result of the recent press regarding Swine Flu, companies are being advised to put a contingency plan in place in case of a pandemic. This document, a health and safety internal procedure or handbook may state the company's position about the situation including whether wages will be paid and how much the employer will pay.

If an employee is suspected of swine flu, or has been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with swine flu, it may be wise to send the employee home. The employer has an obligation to provide a duty of care to its workforce as a whole. However, the employer also has a duty to provide work, therefore, if the employee is ready and willing to work but sent home as a precaution, the employer should consider keeping the employee on full pay and isolated from other employees. This is until they are assessed by a GP and cleared of the swine flu. By taking such steps the employer would achieve a balance of complying with both duties.

If an employee has been diagnosed with swine flu, it is more than likely the side effects will place the employee in a position that they are unable to work. The employee will then be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay or sick pay in accordance with the company policy. Even if the employee is able to work, they should be told to stay at home until a GP has declared that they are no longer a risk to other employees. By doing this, the employer has taken steps to ensure its employees are protected. In the situation of a confirmed diagnosis, the fact that swine flu has the potential to cause fatalities, the employer's duty of care and its health and safety obligation is paramount.

As in most employment situations, this is the basic position. However, each case would be assessed on its own merits.

What duty does an employee have to his employer?

Contrary to what employees may believe, if they fail to protect themselves by reducing or minimizing the risk of catching or spreading swine flu, they may be in breach of the implied duties imposed on them under their contract of employment.

Even though employees may have a large pile of work on their desks, they need to seriously think about the consequences of going into work whilst they feel unwell. A common sense approach needs to be adopted and if they feel unwell, they should stay at home until they feel better in order to avoid the risk of spreading the flu to other members of staff, putting their employer at risk of having a very ill workforce.

Employees need to balance the duty they have to act in the best interests of their employer, against the duty they have to serve their employer. Some employees may be tempted to jump onto the potential pandemic bandwagon in order to use the excuse and take time off from work. However, doing this could leave them in breach of their implied duty.

So what actions can employees take in order to comply with all implied duties under the contract?

• If you feel ill, stay at home until you feel better - regardless of the urgent work that may be on your desk.
• Keep your employer updated in respect of your illness.
• Prevent the spread to others - keep your distance from colleagues and other people, especially children.
• Do everything you can to ensure a speedy recovery such as, taking regular medicines to relieve the symptoms such as paracetamol and asprin, drinking plenty of fluids, maintaining a good level of basic hygiene.

What duty does an employer have to the wider workforce to protect them from infection?

There are a number of measures that employers will be considering to stop the spread of the illness to its work force. One such recommendation has been to conduct a risk assessment, whereby the employer considers a range of social, environmental and organisational measures that could be taken. Employers would be wise to make sure that healthy workers reduce or avoid contact with individuals (whether colleagues or clients) who may be showing symptoms of the illness. Social distancing is considered a priority, for example by:

• Creating an atmosphere where it is acceptable to take time off sick, and not to return to work until symptoms have completely gone; or
• encouraging workers to work from home; or
• promoting communication through conference calls, or other telecommunication instead of face to face meetings.

Employers should also raise awareness about the need for workers to take responsibility for their own health, by promoting individual respiratory hygiene, and ensuring that adequate access to hand washing facilities exists.

Can someone stay away to avoid the risk of infection?

The million-dollar question for employers is whether there is a genuine need for an employee to stay away from the office i.e. are they at such a risk of being infected that they must stay away?

Historically employers have placed a high level of emphasis on and encouraged a culture of tolerance and the struggle to attend work even when you are not physically fit. In the modern world this effectively amounts to being a breach of an implied term of the employer's duty to take reasonable care of its employees' safety and working conditions. Hence the attitude to attend work irrespective of health must change.

When examining this issue the employer must assess whether there is a genuine belief that the employee will contract the infection. Questions to determine why and how they could contract the infection must be asked to establish this. Employee fear cannot be taken into account.

Current governmental guidance is that employees should attend work as normal unless there is a risk imposed in that workplace. However, this advice may change, so employers must pay close attention to the statutory and contractual rights employees have in relation to sickness.

At the moment when employees consider whether they are within their rights to stay away to avoid the risk of infection, effectively the answer is 'no'.

Could I claim if I catch flu at work as a result of my employer not protecting me? What would I do to prove it was work related?

Employers should ensure that they adhere to government guidelines in respect of protecting against swine flu as well as updating their own policies to ensure that anyone affected by the virus stays away from the workplace to prevent the virus being passed on to others.

An employer owes its employees a duty of care and by not having adequate controls in place it could be argued that they have acted negligently and are in breach of this duty of care. This could give rise to potential claims from employees who may have contracted the virus at work, through contact with other colleagues or clients that have had the illness.

Employers should also ensure that they have adequate employee liability insurance in place to cover themselves in the event of such a claim.

What is the position of employees who have high contact with the public (either inside or outside health services)?

The government has advised that employees with regular public contact should carry out their duties as normal. However, employers whose staff have high contact with the public would be advised to carry out a risk assessment and issue its staff with face masks where needed.

Employers who work for the health services should take particular care in relation to swine flu. They should report to their line manager if they have had contact with someone who has been diagnosed with swine flu or have flu like symptoms themselves. Employees who have been diagnosed with swine flu should usually stay away from work until all the symptoms have been gone and they have been signed fit for work by their GP. However, employees may be able to come back to work early in order to work within a sanctioned off area for patients with swine flu, in this scenario they should ensure that they remain in the sanctioned off area at all times, including during rest breaks unless there is a particular risk of infection in their workplace.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Viruses
Avian Flu
Swine Flu
Virus characteristics and heat instability
About Viruses
Single-Minded Mission
How to destroy Viruses

Viruses

Many of us are naturally concerned by the alarming spread of viruses in recent years; the bird flu virus was a huge threat to Europe and most parts of the world. The H5N1 bird flu virus was fist shown to have passed from birds to humans in 1997. Even more recently, swine flu is increasingly becoming a huge threat with its ability to mutate and change form. The first case of swine flu was reported in Mexico; however, it has since spread to over 66 countries with over 203 confirmed cases reported in Britain. The very young, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk from these viruses.

Avian Flu

For more than a century, bird flu has circulated among birds, particularly domesticated fowl, but the new subtype A (H5N1) first appeared in 1997, the strain which can infect humans. The virus has strengthened and mutated, resulting in a contagion that can move from bird to human- but not yet from human to human. There is concern that if the virus infects someone who is already infected with a human flu virus, then a new highly virulent strain could result, that can be transmitted human to human.

Human cases of bird flu have caused infections and death across the globe as scientists struggle to identify the dangerous strains and prevent a fatal pandemic. About 20 million birds have been slaughtered in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, which spreads by air, water, and soil. So far the virus can be caught only by people who are working with infected fowl, or in contact with infected rivers, poultry processing plants, etc. About 100 cases of the disease have been reported, resulting in about 50 deaths.

The symptoms range from fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches to eye infections (conjunctivitis), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications.

Most health experts researching and fighting the incidence of human bird flu do not have an optimistic outlook. It is especially dangerous to humans as our immune system does not have the antibodies to handle something that used to be relegated to animals.

So far, doctors have been ineffective at treating the resultant respiratory infection, which can lead to fatalities as it takes hold with unprecedented force, settles in the lungs, and resists anti-viral and anti-bacterial medication.

Swine Flu

First detected in Mexico , Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin. The H1N1 strain is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans; however, the swine flu H1N1 strain is different as it contains genetic materials typically found in strains of virus, which affect birds, swine and humans. When flu viruses come into close contact with the same host, they have the ability to swap genetic components with each other. The virus is thought to spread through coughs and sneezes of people who have been infected.

In humans, swine flu symptoms are similar to those manifested for seasonal flu, i.e., sudden onset of fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, headache, tiredness, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose and loss of appetite. Buy an Air Purifier Proven and Tested to destroy Viruses.

It is now expected that a swine flu pandemic is likely to strike the UK in September or October as the virus is gathering strength as it spreads. The World Health Organisation is preparing to declare a swine flu pandemic and the world is in phase 5 of WHO's pandemic alert scale with 6 being the highest. Phase 5 of the pandemic alert scale "is characterized by human-to-human spread of a virus into at least two countries in on WHO region. The declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalise the organisation, commincation, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short" (W.H.O). According to the W.H.O, 74 countries have reported 27, 737 cases of swine flu, and 141 deaths since its outbreak in April 2009.

The treatment of swine flu mainly involves antiviral drugs and antibiotics to treat any complications which may arise. A number of air purifiers can also be used for preventative measures; these have been tested and found to be effective in denaturing the proteins which make viruses active.

Virus characteristics and heat instability

Viruses aren't considered living organisms, but they are very dependent on living cells to replicate. The structure of the virus includes the envelope which is constituted by proteins and the genetic material which can be DNA or RNA. All these components are thermosensible. The genetic material and the proteins have complex structures that are involved in their function and the change of their arrangements may result in lost of function. This process is called denaturation. There are two basic ways to do that: changing pH and temperature.

The avian virus, H5N1, is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus 5 , which has two types of proteins in its surface: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) 6 . It is known from the literature that the virus can be inactivated by 56 o C in 3 hours and 60 o C in 30 minutes 1 . Thus, only four degrees of temperature elevation reduced the time of inactivation exposure about 85%.

About Viruses

What They Are
A virus is basically a tiny bundle of genetic material-either DNA or RNA-carried in a shell called the viral coat, or capsid, which is made up of bits of protein called capsomeres. Some viruses have an additional layer around this coat called an envelope. That's basically all there is to viruses. Viruses are strange things that straddle the fence between living and non-living. On the one hand, if they're floating around in the air or sitting on a doorknob, they're inert. They're about as alive as a rock. But if they come into contact with a suitable plant, animal or bacterial cell, they spring into action. They infect and take over the cell like pirates hijacking a ship.

What They Look Like
There are thousands of different viruses that come in a variety of shapes. Many are polyhedral, or multi-sided, a bit like a cut gem. Other viruses are shaped like spiky ovals or bricks with rounded corners. Some are like skinny sticks while others look like bits of looped string. Some are more complex and shaped like little lunar landing pods.

Where They're Found
Viruses are found on or in just about every material and environment on Earth from soil to water to air. They're basically found anywhere there are cells to infect. Viruses have evolved to infect every form of life, from animal to plant and from fungi to bacteria. However, viruses tend to be somewhat picky about what type of cells they infect. Plant viruses are not equipped to infect animal cells, for example, though a certain plant virus could infect a number of related plants. Sometimes, a virus may infect one creature and do no harm, but cause havoc when it gets into a different but closely enough related creature. For example, the Hantavirus is carried by deer mice without much noticeable effect on the rodents. But if Hantavirus gets into a person, it causes a dramatic and frequently deadly disease marked by excessive bleeding.

Single-Minded Mission

Viruses exist for one purpose only: to reproduce. To do that, they have to take over the reproductive machinery of suitable host cells.

Upon landing on an appropriate host cell, a virus gets its genetic material inside the cell either by tricking the host cell to pull it inside, like it would a nutrient molecule, or by fusing its viral coat with the host cell wall or membrane and releasing its genes inside. Some viruses inject their genes into the host cell, leaving their empty viral coats sitting outside.

If a virus is a DNA virus, its genetic material then inserts itself into the host cell's DNA. If the virus is an RNA virus, it must first turn its RNA into DNA using the host cell's machinery before inserting into the host DNA. The viral genes are then copied many, many times, using the machinery the host cell would normally use to reproduce its own DNA. The virus uses the host cell's enzymes to build new viral capsids and other viral proteins. The new viral genes and proteins then come together and assemble into whole new viruses. The new viruses are either released from the host cell without destroying the cell or eventually build up to a large enough number that they burst the host cell like an overfilled water balloon.

How to destroy Viruses

Viruses aren't considered living organisms, but they are very dependent on living cells to replicate. The structure of the virus includes the envelope which is constituted by proteins and the genetic material which can be DNA or RNA. All these components are thermosensible. The genetic material and the proteins have complex structures that are involved in their function and the change of their arrangements may result in lost of function. This process is called denaturation. There are two basic ways to do that: changing pH and temperature.

The avian virus, H5N1, is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus 5 , which has two types of proteins in its surface: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) 6 . It is known from the literature that the virus can be inactivated by 56 o C in 3 hours and 60 o C in 30 minutes 1 . Thus, only four degrees of temperature elevation reduced the time of inactivation exposure about 85%.

The swine flu H1N1 virus is a new strain of the H1N1 virus subtype of influenza A. All influenza A viruses contain hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, although the structure of these proteins differ from strain to strain due to rapid genetic mutation in the viral genome. Influenza A virus strains are assigned an H number and an N number based on which forms of these two proteins the strain contains. There are 16 H and 9 N subtypes known in birds, but only H 1, 2 and 3, and N 1 and 2 are commonly found in humans.

What is swine flu and where has it come from?

Swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by influenza type A. It usually affects pigs, but can be passed to humans. This is a new strain, probably created when two older swine flu viruses infected the same pig in Mexico. These then swapped genes to create a fresh strain

Do facemasks protect against infection?

Possibly, but the evidence is disputed. An Australian study found they can reduce the chances of infection, but only if worn properly and continuously. The Government has stockpiled 350 million masks for NHS staff, but there are no plans to distribute any to the general population

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also have diarrhoea and vomiting

How do I know if I should see a doctor?

If you develop the symptoms above, and you live in places where swine flu cases have been confirmed or you recently travelled to Mexico, you should seek medical advice. Patients are being asked not to go into doctors’ surgeries to minimise the risk of spreading the disease to others. Instead, they should stay at home and call their healthcare provider for advice

Is it treatable?

Yes, with the flu drugs Tamiflu or Relenza, but not with two older flu medications

Is there a vaccine?

No. Now the strain has been isolated, it will take three to six months to produce one

How well prepared is the UK?

As well as it can be. The Government has bought 33 million courses of Tamiflu — the frontline antiviral drug — which is enough to cover half the population. Arrangements are also in place to buy a pandemic vaccine as soon as it is available. The World Health Organisation judges Britain and France as the best-prepared nations

Why has swine flu killed people in Mexico while causing only mild cases in the US?

Scientists do not know yet for certain, but the likeliest answer is that we have yet to discover the full extent of either outbreak. The virus has probably been circulating in Mexico for several weeks, but went undetected because it usually causes only mild symptoms — there may well have been hundreds of mild cases for every death that has occurred. The Mexican outbreak may simply be more advanced than the one in the US

Does that mean we can expect to see deaths in the US and elsewhere too?

Possibly. There will probably be more severe cases, but many of those who have died in Mexico were not treated promptly. The medical response will be swifter and more effective in countries like the US and Britain, and that will certainly save lives

How do I protect myself?

Take common sense precautions. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue that you throw away. Wash hands frequently. Adults should stay at home if sick, while children should be kept home from school

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