Pigs Escape Influenza, but They Get Slaughtered Anyway
Since the first reports of a new strain of H1N1 influenza virus causing human casualties in Mexico, and then in other countries there has been a deluge of news, special reports, opinions and interviews on the topic. Most of them erroneously refer to the disease as “Swine Flu”. However, according to the Centers for Disease…
Masks or Handwashing?
In Mexico and South East Asia, face mask wearing to prevent spread of respiratory diseases SARS and swine flu is popular with the public and encouraged but the World Health Organisation and national health agencies seem to be recommending masks for healthcare settings only. Whats the evidence that they work?
Health systems: fuzzy or not?
Despite swine influenza calling world experts home to advise their governments, it was business as usual here on Tuesday April 28 at the World Congress for Public Health in Istanbul. Tuesday was the first full day with 9 concurrent sessions. I sought out those which addressed health systems, as this is an area finally recognised as…
Swine flu or North-American influenza?
A better name for the influenza virus causing alarm around the world may be 'North-American influenza' rather than 'swine influenza' the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has suggested. The reason for this proposal is that the virus has not actually been isolated from pigs to date. OIE points out that in the past, many…
Swine flu: the long view
Here's a book I located in Global Health Archive on what happened in 1976, when swine flu caused an outbreak in man in the USA. This outbreak was dealt with using a mass vaccination campaign. The political fallout was huge however because the vaccine produced cases of paralysis. It illustrates public health dilemmas when considering…
Flu pandemic?
WHO alerted the world last week of a flu outbreak in Mexico that is caused by a new swine virus. The 'swine flu' has caused >80 deaths since March this year. The same strain is confirmed to have caused cases in California and now some ill people have travelled by air internationally, so cases are…
Swine flu: can it be stopped at the border?
Anyone looking at the news in the last couple of days can be of no doubt as to the leading story of the moment (well, at least it makes a change from the credit crunch). Over 100 deaths from swine flu in Mexico, confirmed cases in the USA, Canada and now Spain, and suspected cases…
Express Yourself Genetically: Say It With Flowers
Is it a plant or is it animal? Is it an artwork or is it a science project? Is it a profound statement or just messing about? These are just some of the questions unlikely to be answered by Edunia, a transgenic flower with artist Eduardo Kac's own DNA expressed in the red veins. …
Earth Day – what is the single most effective thing we can do for the environment? – My final batch of eco-questions.
Photo from Google Images Today is Earth Day and I thought this was a good opportunity for me to finish off my series of eco-questions and answers, so read on to find out what is the most effective thing we can do for the environment and, ultimately, our planet.
Note from Toronto – how to sort your rubbish
I went to Toronto, Canada, on a week's holiday during the Easter break. I was actually going to go camping in Devon, but changed my mind when the weather turned to rainny and after coming across bargain flights offers to Toronto, where I have a couple of good friends who I’ve been meaning to visit…