ALERT FOR NEW SUPER FLU

A NEW strain of killer flu which could spread to ­Britain within 24 hours is “one of the biggest biological threats of our time”, experts warned.

The alert comes after people started to fall victim to seasonal flu and the more virulent swine flu at the same time.

Such a rare incidence creates the risk of a lethal mutation, leading to an “ominous” super-flu virus for which humans have almost no immunity, said medical scientists.

Dr Peter Hotez, a world-renowned infectious disease expert, warned: “Highly infectious strains of the virus against which humans have little defence can spread from one continent to another within 24 hours.” He said the fact scientists had detected the rare double-flu infection highlighted the need for extreme vigilance against new killer strains around the world.

Dr Hotez, president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, praised the scientists who had made the discovery.

But he warned: “We are required to remain vigilant against one of the biggest biological threats of our time.”

The worst-case scenario for many disease experts is that bird flu and a human flu strain combine to create a lethal new virus that is easily ­transmitted among people.

This comes as Britain’s winter flu season gets underway, amid fears it could be one of the worst outbreaks of the disease in years.

Last year more than 600 people died from winter flu in the UK, with hospitals so overwhelmed they were forced to cancel routine ­operations.

The severity of the outbreak in late 2010 took experts by surprise as it was far more virulent than had been predicted.

But many Britons still have little immunity to the virus strain because of low uptake of the vaccine that fights it.

The true nature of this year’s virus won’t be known until the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors, which leads to the quick transmission of the disease.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Temperatures are set to plunge to “Siberian levels” within the next fortnight and a bitterly cold ­December with temperatures of minus 15C is on the cards.

The killer virus alert comes after flu surveillance experts in Cambodia confirmed the unusual incidence of people being infected with seasonal flu and pandemic swine flu at the same time.

The worst-case scenario for many disease experts is that bird flu and a human flu strain combine to create a lethal new virus that is easily ­transmitted among people.

So far, the bird flu virus has shown very limited ability to pass from human to human.

But it is thought to be only a ­matter of time until someone already infected with a strain like swine flu is also hit with bird flu.

The fear is that it will then mutate into a super-flu that could wipe out millions of people and spread across the globe within weeks.

According to a report today in the American Journal of Tropical ­Medicine and Hygiene, the people with double infections in Cambodia recovered and the two flu strains did not combine into a new virus.

However, experts say co-infections in South-east Asia need particularly close scrutiny in view of the deadly bird flu H5N1 virus and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic that emerged in 2009.

Professor John Oxford, one of Britain’s leading flu experts, said: “This has been a ‘mini crisis’.

“The bird flu virus hasn’t yet got the launch-off point. It is basically revving its engines but hasn’t started on the flight path.

“If it can hitch a ride on another current strain of the virus, that will be particularly unpleasant and means that no-one in the world will have any immunity to the new strain that is created.

“That means the world is then its oyster.”

The professor added: “Cambodia is one of about six areas across the world where bird flu is embedded in the bird population and it regularly kills chickens and humans. It is a microbial volcano area and every now and again it gives off some smoke and there is a bang.

“This is a warning that we should not disregard.

“They have found a fairly rare thing, people co-infected with a range of influenza A viruses.

“Fortunately for them and everyone else, that didn’t include H5N1.

“If that happened then we would be for it and into a scenario of worldwide contagion. It is just a matter of time.” A warning was also sounded by Dr Patrick Blair, director of respiratory diseases at the US Naval Health Research Centre in San Diego, California, which first spotted the unusual double infection.

Dr Blair said: “Influenza viruses are continually changing.

“Finding a co-infection in an area where there is considerable seasonal flu, pandemic flu and H5N1 avian flu shows there is an opportunity for co-mingling in swine or human hosts that could create an ominous global health problem.”

Q&A

What is a pandemic?

It is an epidemic of an infectious disease that spreads either across a large region, from continent to continent, or worldwide.

When will another one strike?

No one knows when or how virulent the next pandemic will be. The only thing certain is that there will be one.

Will a super virus develop?

Flu mutates a little each year which is why new vaccines have to be made. Sometimes large mutations occur, such as the one which led to swine flu.

Bird flu has been monitored since 1997 and has “pandemic potential”, meaning it could change into a form that will transmit between humans.

How will pandemic flu be spread?

The same way other flu spreads, by infected people coughing and sneezing. Any outbreak could spread across the world in weeks.

During pandemics in 1918, 1957 and 1968, when most international travel was by ship, the illnesses were worldwide within six to nine months.

Has Britain been struck before?

Yes, most recently by the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009 which originated in Mexico.

Although the virus was highly transmissible and millions were infected, the death rate was very low. However a “doomsday” strain did emerge 93 years ago, a variety of H1N1 that swept the globe.

What was that?

It was 1918’s “Spanish flu”. It killed between 50 and 100 million people, about four to seven per cent of the world population – a higher toll than the bubonic plague in the 14th century and smallpox in the 16th. It killed 230,000 in the UK.

What about the other pandemics?

The flu pandemics of 1957 and 1968 killed more than two million people, including 100,000 in the UK.

In 1989 a flu epidemic in Britain claimed 29,000 lives.

A worst-case scenario pandemic could kill 750,000 in Britain leading to mass graves, temporary mortuaries and round-the-clock cremations.

KILLER FLU TO GRIP THE WEST

 The West is facing one of the worst winter flu outbreaks in years according to leading experts on the virus. A big leap in cases in Australia in recent months points to what is likely to happen in the West. many could be at risk of low immunity because of the relatively limited outbreaks during the past two years.

Professor Oxford, a virologist at The London School of Medicine and Dentistry said that "No one is sure why our patterns of flu tend to follow what happens in the Southern hemisphere during the summer but it does. Unfortunately, in Australia there has been a sharp outbreak with higher than normal numbers of flu strains A and B. We won't know a bit later into the year when flu levels start to peak- which generally happens when the weather gets colder and people start to congregate indoors more."

In Australia, the Department of Health and Ageing said flu levels had been "above the peak frequency experienced in previous years". At one point last month there were almost 2,000 new cases reported each week yet their population is a third the size ours.

The danger from the southern hemisphere is not the only issue to concern health professionals this winter, according to Professor Oxford. "Even without this I would expect older people to be hit harder by flu than they have been in recent years. That is because flu strains are like the survival of the fittest and for a couple of years the B strain that is normally prevalent over the winter has been overshadowed by other strains such as swine flu. With swine flu and avian flu both just bubbling in the background that means the B strain could strike hard this year."

"As it has not been around much for about two years people's natural resistance to it will be low and it could hot older people especially hard.  It is the over 65s that usually die from this strain."

Flu cases clog Auckland hospitals

Health

The icy-cold snap earlier this month is getting some of the blame for a rise of flu-like and respiratory illnesses which has overloaded hospitals in the Auckland region.
Hundreds of sick people have been arriving at emergency departments each day and sometimes waiting up to eight hours for treatment, hospitals told the New Zealand Herald.
Another cold southerly outbreak forecast for Friday and Saturday is expected to keep the numbers high.
Auckland's Middlemore Hospital was the busiest with record numbers through its emergency department but other hospitals also reported a late-winter peak in numbers. Waikato Hospital in Hamilton also reported an increased in respiratory cases.
On Monday a record 356 patients arrived Middlemore's emergency department, clinical director Dr Vanessa Thornton said and the department had seen more than 300 people a day since last Friday.
The previous highest was 330, two years ago.
The hospital had postponed some outpatient clinics to transfer staff on acute services, was using bureau nurses to overcome staff shortages caused by sickness and asking doctors to work overtime.
The number of respiratory infections had increased since temperatures plunged in mid August and Thornton said people should go to their doctor.
She said part of the increase was in the 15-39 age group - people who did not often go to a doctor.
Other hospitals reported similar problems. Rotorua, Tauranga and Taupo hospitals were almost full with Tauranga getting about 180 cases a day.

Colds and Flu.

What are they?

The common cold and flu (influenza) are very common infections of the upper respiratory tract (nose, throat, ears and sinuses).

Causes of colds and flu

Colds and flu are caused by viruses. The infections are contagious, passed on by tiny droplets and hand contact.

There are hundreds of different types of virus that can cause a cold, which explains why children get repeated colds.

Flu is caused by the influenza virus. There are three major types: A (often the cause of flu epidemics), B and C. The flu virus is constantly changing its structure, so new strains appear each year.

We don't have immunity to the new strains, which is why we can catch flu repeatedly.

Who's affected by colds and flu?

Anyone can catch a cold or flu. The peak season for colds is the colder winter months, not only because of the weather but because central heating dries out the normally moist nasal mucosa - an important defence against invading viruses.

However, you can catch a cold at any time of the year; one particular type of cold virus thrives in the summer. Flu rarely occurs outside November to February in the UK.

Some children are at particularly high risk from the complications of flu, for example those who are immunosupressed or have chronic lung or heart disease.

Cold and flu symptoms

A cold causes a stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, cough, mild fever and tiredness, lasting two to four days.

Flu is more severe with a high fever (usually 39ºC or above), chills, headache, intense muscle pains, exhaustion, loss of appetite, cough and sometimes a blocked nose and sore throat. It may last a week or more, and possible complications include pneumonia. 

Educator letter from allicin center web site, September 2011

Dear Educator, Staff and Parent

I am Dr Peter Josling, Director of The Garlic Centre in the UK and I am writing to you in your professional capacity as an educator to bring to your attention some facts about your potential exposure to the common cold and other viral infections and how this can be prevented during the fall and winter seasons.

In the USA, the common cold leads to 75 to 100 million physician visits annually at a conservative cost estimate of $7.7 billion per year. Americans spend $2.9 billion on over-the-counter drugs and another $400 million on prescription medicines for symptomatic relief. At the moment cases of flu are increasing significantly, so now is the time to act.

Most importantly an estimated 22 to 189 million school days are missed annually due to a cold. As a result, parents missed 126 million workdays to stay home to care for their children. When added to the 150 million workdays missed by employees suffering from a cold, the total economic impact of cold-related work loss exceeds $20 billion.

Upper respiratory tract infections are the most common infectious diseases among adults and teens, who have two to four respiratory infections annually. Children may have six to ten colds a year (and up to 12 colds a year for school children). In the United States, the incidence of colds is higher in the fall and winter, with most infections occurring between September and April. The seasonality may be due to the start of the school year, or due to people spending more time indoors (thus in closer proximity with each other) increasing the chance of transmission of the virus. Sadly this pool of infection is always expanding and bringing new threats into our lives such as the MRSA bacteria which is spreading quickly across the Country.

My company manufactures safe, all natural products that have been proven in controlled scientific studies to both prevent and treat a wide range of infectious organisms including the common cold and mersa bacteria. We are delighted to inform you that our products Alligin® and AlliGel™ are now available across the United States of America. It is only available from the Allicin Center and you may access more information from the web site www.allicincenter.com. You owe it to yourself and those in your care to stay fit and healthy so please look at the web site or call 859 903 2319 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            859 903 2319      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Yours truly,

Peter Josling

Medical Director

Candida in the colon

Here is a nice testimonial I received recently:

Dear Peter,

You may recall my email recently asking how I could obtain supplies of Allicin quickly .

I had had a colonoscopy by a consultant in Leeds who had observed what appeared to be colitis and a DALM (Dysplastic lesion or mass polyp ) which indicated the prompt removal of my colon via a colectomy.

I referred myself to an alternative colorectal surgeon at the same hospital who explained that in the event that he confirmed the diagnosis,  colectomy was the only option. He booked me in for a more thorough colonoscopy using dyes etc. I had taken it upon myself to use all possible preventative measures in order to heal my colon naturally prior to the colonoscopy, accordingly I ate a low meat diet , took supplemental vit C , Vit D , selenium , multi B vit , capsules and ALLICIN.

I took the allicin because I have suffered with what I believe to be candidiasis for about 20 years and felt that it should be cleared from my colon prior to the investigation. After taking allicin for only two or three days I noticed that i felt somewhat nauseous and had a few mild headaches , after about a week i had lost a lot of weight and my bloated feeling was gone . I took allicin right up until today when I went for my colonoscopy , the results were astounding, in that there was no evidence of colitis and the colon appeared very healthy contrary to its condition only 3 months ago. I must return for the results of the various biopsies taken by the consultant in a few weeks , but he told me prior to leaving that he was sure there wouldn’t be any serious problem and was happy with my colonoscopy.

 I am delighted with your product and have just this moment given some to a lady friend who has suffered serious thrush for years and associated cystitis (for which anti-biotics are always prescribed aggravating the candidiasis/ thrush) I will advise you of her outcome in due course.

 Thank you again for your product. I have just ordered additional capsules and some gel for my 9 y/o son who suffers with eczema , again I will advise of any improvement to his condition .

Kindest regards

 AB England

Bird Flu is on the way back

This fall we will be seeing people fall ill with another H5N1 bird flu  as its on the way back and at least one strain is resistant to vaccines, the United Nations has warned.  The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation yesterday called for "heightened readiness and surveillance", because mutant strains of the deadly H5N1 virus appear to be spreading in Asia. One new strain in China and Vietnam seems able to dodge existing avian influenza vaccines but the risk to humans cannot yet be predicted.
Chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth said bird migrations helped the virus travel over long distances, infecting poultry or wild birds in countries that had been virus-free for years.
"Preparedness and surveillance remain essential," he said.
"This is no time for complacency. No one can let their guard down with H5N1
Bird flu is endemic in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India and Indonesia, but was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in 2006
Remember the best form of protection is by PREVENTING attack in the first place - so 3 Alligin daily for everyone from now on and all through the winter!