H1N1 Swine Flu Could Be Back in October

As we in the western world enjoy the lazy hazy days of summer, the flu is probably the last thing on our minds – that’s a winter thing, right?

But yesterday, the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices began planning ahead, recommending children between six-months and nine-years-old receive not one, but two doses of H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine this fall, as the notorious killer flu continues to circulate the globe.

Every year, the three most common strains of the flu virus are placed in the seasonal flu vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors these strains, and currently the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic virus is still the most prevalent one around the world – which is why the American CDC is suggesting it be included in the seasonal flu vaccine.

The two shots for kids is intended for children who haven’t received an H1N1 vaccine ever, as their bodies don’t have any way to fight the dreaded H1N1 Swine Flu.

CDC estimates that about 60 million people – that’s 20 percent of the American population – were infected with H1N1 Swine Flu since the spring of 2009.

Most flu viruses attack children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems hardest, but H1N1 Swine Flu affected children hardest, as they haven’t built up immunity from past flu vaccinations over the course of many years.

Not that adults are immune from the deadly virus, they may eventually be included in the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccination program in the fall as well – but children are still more at risk from this particular strain of flu.

Last year, from April to November, the CDC says about 830 to 1,730 children under 17-years-old died from H1N1 Swine Flu.

On June 11, 2009, WHO declared an H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic, moving their alert level to “phase 6,” marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong Flu. About one million people died between 1968 and 1969 from the Hong Kong Flu.

WHO’s latest update on May 30, 2010 says 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, resulting in over 18,138 deaths.

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Canadian Study Claims Flu Shot Increases Chances of Contracting H1N1 Swine Flu

For many in Canada and around the world, it is an annual fall tradition – rolling up your sleeve for the once-a-year flu shot.

Medical experts for years have been telling us these shots are good for everyone, as they really do help keep society safe from the flu, by reducing contamination rates.

This may change, if an unpublished Canadian study proves to be true. The series of studies from British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario says that those who got a seasonal flu shot last year are almost twice as likely to catch H1N1 Swine Flu when compared to those who have not had the annual vaccination.

The study’s lead writer’s have submitted a scientific paper to a medical journal, but won’t comment on it until it has been reviewed by other medical experts.

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Traditionally, medical journals prohibit researchers from discussing their unpublished work, prior to it being reviewed and published.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that this unpublished study will deter people from getting their annual flu shot, and is encouraging its member countries to promote and provide both seasonal and H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic flu shots.

News of the unpublished study isn’t new – the Public Health Agency of Canada knew of this study some time ago and has been keeping a low profile while it tries to determine the validity of the research.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control also knew of the unpublished study, and has dismissed it due to lack of similar evidence in the States.

Whether the study is accurate or flawed remains the question for medical experts – but the immediate concern remains: should I or shouldn’t I get a flu shot this year?

Flu shots aren’t golden tickets promising those who get them a flu-free season. Every year, microbiologists, virologists and other scientists work together to crack the flu vaccine secret code for the following flu season. Their research is based on the trends going on around the world with the current flu variants, and the seriousness of those infections.

The flu virus is usually made to counter the effects of three strains of the flu – and these three strains are the ones those medical miracle workers believe are the most likely ones to harm the public.

That’s why the flu vaccine may differ in results from year-to-year. Usually the brains behind the vaccine are pretty accurate, but just two years ago they admitted defeat, as they publicly stated that they had predicted the wrong variants, and so the flu shot didn’t do as much good as it could have.

But with this new unpublished study making the rounds of medical experts desk’s the question isn’t if the annual seasonal flu shot will work, but rather, will it make you more likely to catch the deadly H1N1 Swine Flu?

And that’s the question I’d like to know the answer too.

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How the Vain Die – Tanning Beds

Unless you’ve been frozen in time for the past decade or longer, you are well aware of the dangerous affects the Sun can have on our bodies. Thanks to the miracles of modernization, the ozone layer has been letting through more of the Sun’s harmful Ultra-Violet A and B (UVA and UVB) rays, which can cause skin cancer, and ultimately death.

Long suspected of providing an artificial cancer risk into the mix, recently the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed it – tanning beds are bad news.

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New research has prompted WHO to classify tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as definite carcinogens – they have even categorized them among the top cancer risks to humans, along with smoking.

An article, published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology, found the risk of skin cancer jumped by 75 per cent when people started using tanning beds before age 30.

Tanning beds give off mostly UVA rays, which may not be as harmful as UVB rays, actually penetrate deeper into the epidermis, meaning, the more you expose yourself to these rays of invisible light, the more likely you will get skin cancer.

I’ve always wondered what the fascination is with heading to a tanning salon, tossing on some funky high-tech looking protective goggles, and lying naked on a giant metallic bed – all in the name to stay golden brown during the winter, or anytime. I’ve met people that use tanning beds on a regular basis throughout the year.

Some go to these places before going away to a sunny vacation destination, to avoid burning once there. Though wouldn’t it make more sense – and be cheaper too – just to slop on some sun screen?

Just how vain do you have to be these days to risk your life?

Years ago, when I was a kid, I’d love soaking up some sun to get a tan. But we’re talking long before we knew the ill affects the sun has on our bodies, and our life spans.

Back then, it wasn’t uncommon for those wanting a quick tan to lather up in Vaseline to increase the affects of the sun’s cooking power. Some would come back looking like lobsters, all burned – but after the burn had gone, a golden tan was all one could see.

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Do the same thing these days and you would probably be greeted with strange looks, as most people do whatever they can to prevent the sun’s harmful rays from beating down on them.

But for some reason, we don’t give those strange oddball glances to those telling us they go to tanning salons to get a tan. We assume that because they are everywhere, and allowed to legally sell their product – a tan – that they are safe.

Perhaps that should change.

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How A Labour Dispute Can Kill Off The World’s Human Population

Canada’s largest city has been without some essential services for the past month, thanks to a strike by the city’s 24,000 inside and outside unionized workers.

Paramedics, daycare centers, public parks, municipal offices, and garbage collection have all been affected by the strike.

The most visible concern affecting Toronto residents are the massive piles of trash, overflowing in community center parking lots, public basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and even children’s playgrounds.

The so-called “garbage strike” hasn’t crippled the prosperous city, ofte

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n referred to as the economic engine of the country – but it could in far reaching ways.
As the mounds of garbage fill the city’s makeshift temporary landfill sites fill – which residents have to cart their own trash too – countries around the world issue travel advisories, warning people not to come to Toronto.

Rats, raccoons, cockroaches, seagulls, and other wildlife are having the time of their lives, feasting on the simmering stinking mess. They could bring and spread diseases to people, at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) is already concerned about the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic sweeping across the globe.

WHO’s six-stage scale is at level six – the pandemic stage – as H1N1 Swine Flu has proven deadly to thousands worldwide.

With the ongoing strike – now over a month old – new concerns are popping up, as the city’s health department won’t be properly prepared to handle any sudden outbreaks of the deadly H1N1 Swine Flu.

WHO says the deadly bug’s infection rates have recently begun to decline, but as new strains of the virus have been found in the population, they are anti

Image by Metrix X via Flickr

cipating a relapse of the outbreak – one which may not be as easy to fend off, thanks to mutations making it more resilient against anti-viral medications like Tamil Flu.

If that more resistant strain hits Canada’s largest city and the local healthcare system isn’t ready, chaos will be the result. Millions of people commute back and forth from the neighboring communities outside Toronto, all of whom could fall sick, and possibly die, due to an uncontrolled outbreak. As Toronto is the hub for much of Canada’s travel, with over 50% of those coming to Canada by air, landing at the city’s Pearson International Airport, any outbreak could easily affect citizens from other countries.

If the city’s health department – which is on strike – fails to act immediately upon discovering an outbreak of the H1N1 Swine Flu, infected individuals could board planes heading for other countries, and create a global catastrophe.

All because the unions representing the city’s inside and outside workers can’t come to reasonable terms with the City of Toronto on issues of job security and sick leave.

Image by artriguing via Flickr

Ironic how the union is holding the city hostage over sick leave benefits, when the H1N1 Swine Flu could make much of the city, the country, the continent, and even the world, extremely sick, just because some staffers aren’t working because of the strike.

Scientists have been predicting the next great pandemic, far worse than the bubonic plague which wiped out most of Europe’s population, for the past decade. These scientists, using models charted over time, show how pandemics occur every century, and show how we are overdue for our century’s outbreak.

Due to economic, geographic, social, and other demographic conditions, these scientists predicted that the next great plague would come from a third-world country, where clean water and food sources are scarce.

Toronto, one of the world’s most prosperous cities, was never thought of as being a potential source for the next great pandemic. But because of the labour dispute between the city and its staff, it could be just that.

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H1N1 Swine Flu Sweeps Across Canadian Provinces Summer Camps

Hundreds of children at three Muskoka, Ontario summer camps have caught the H1N1 flu virus – commonly called “Swine Flu.” Health officials confirmed yesterday that 227 children have contracted the deadly virus, but all cases are mild, and pose no immediate risk.

Summertime in Canada is a time to slow down, to relax in the great outdoors. Schools out, and many kids are sent to summer camps to play, learn and grow in northern communities, which thrive during the summer months. These cottage-based communities have an influx of visitors from across the province, and around the world, as people from all over come to enjoy the fresh country air, swim and fish in local lakes, ponds and streams, or just to soak up some sun on the many beaches.

An outbreak of any virus is never a good thing, especially when children are involved. But when that outbreak occurs in a community at the peak of its tourist season, more harm may come, as there are more people coming and going into town.

Which is why the summer hotspot of Muskoka, in Ontario, Canada is the worst place to have a Swine Flu outbreak. Muskoka, made famous in Canada by the so-called “Muskoka Chair” – a wooden deck chair commonly found in the region – could have an even bigger problem, if the H1N1 Swine Flu virus isn’t contained to just the summ

Image by kodomut via Flickr

er camps affected.

The number of Swine Flu cases are declining in the area, which health officials say is a good sign, as it means control measures are working to contain the deadly virus. However, the outbreak is still being assessed, as it is estimated that about 20 percent of the kids at the three summer camps have contracted the H1N1 Swine Flu bug.

So far, 61 staff members at the three camps have also contracted the H1N1 Swine Flu virus, and they have all been isolated at their respective camp sites to prevent further contamination. Most of the infected children have been sent home.

The logic behind sending the infected kids home, is that they will feel more comfortable and make a quicker recovery at home. However, the risk of contamination increases by sending kids home, as they may come into contact with others on their journey home. And, kids will always be kids, infected children may not sit still while infected, and spread the deadly virus to their neighborhoods.

And some of the neighborhoods these kids are coming from are in the States – increasing the potential for the H1N1 Swine Flu to spread on both sides of the border. Camp Ramah, a Jewish Education camp affected by the H1N1 Swine Flu outbreak has over 450 children registered, many of them from the United States.

Image by Amanda-Ruth via Flickr

Although infected kids wouldn’t be as comfortable recovering in isolation at their summer camp, it would be a more prudent method to prevent cross contamination across the region, the province, and even the continent.

Other provinces in Canada are experiencing outbreaks of the deadly H1N1 Swine Flu. Off the west coast, a Vernon, British Columbia army cadet training center has reduced their training schedules, after a cadet was diagnosed with the virus.
Despite restructuring their programs, 27 cadets have become sick since the initial cadet’s infection, showing just how infectious this bug really is.

The summer camps in Ontario remain open, however all kids coming and going into the camps are screened for the virus.

Summer camps in the United States have actually been closed, due to H1N1 fears. The American Lung Association has advised 50 affiliated camps which host children with asthma to close, to prevent Swine Flu infections. And last month, the American-based Muscular Dystrophy Association closed 47 summer camps, also because of concerns over the growing spread of H1N1 Swine Flu in North America.

The World Health Organization (WHO) still has its global pandemic scale set to the highest level – level six --- officially considering the H1N1 Swine Flu a global pandemic. Despite being at the highest level, WHO says the overall severity of what they are calling the “H1N1 Influenza Pandemic” is “moderate,” based on scientific evidence and input from its member countries.

WHO’s website says they are concerned “about current patterns of serious cases and deaths that are occurring primarily among young persons, including the previously healthy and those with pre-existing medical conditions or pregnancy.”

So perhaps the American summer camps which have closed are taking the right approach, which our Canadian summer camps need to follow, as young people – even healthy ones – could severely be affected by this global pandemic.

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Canada’s Largest City About to Stink

Can you smell it? The stink of rotting garbage in the summer’s sun? Soon residents of Canada’s biggest city – Toronto – may be smelling that foul stench, as outside city employees – including garbage collectors – are gearing up for a strike as early as next week.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 416 which represents Toronto’s outside workers isn’t after wage increases – they want better job security and for the city to payout the past sick leave it owes to the union’s 6,200 members.

Local 416 includes all outside workers – from those parks and recreation staffers that take care of the lawns, gardens and water parks in the city, to ambulance attendants, and garbage collectors. Ironically, the inside workers union is also gearing up for a strike, which could make getting any city-run services next to impossible.

If a garbage strike were to hit Canada’s largest city, it wouldn’t be the first time. Back in the summer of 2002, under then-Mayor Mel Lastman, the same union went on strike, leaving stinky garbage piling up all over the city for the 16-days of the strike.

We also happened to have a heat-wave that fair and smelly summer, and as the rotting garbage baked under the hot summer’s sun, rats, cockroaches and other – ahem – forms of wildlife started taking roost in the mess, adding to the problem.

That was the summer the Pope came to Toronto, for World Youth Day, which was the main reason the city became squeaky clean so quick. Politicians didn’t want Canada’s largest city looking and smelling like a garbage dump for the Pope and the thousands coming from around the world to participate in the festivities.

This summer we won’t be so lucky. The Pope isn’t planning on coming to Toronto this summer, so unless we have another form of divine intervention, a strike could last much longer.

Ambulance attendants and paramedics are considered emergency workers, so they can’t legally go on strike. But there will be work-to-rule style shortages, meaning fewer ambulances on Toronto’s roads.

The question which came up during the strike and probably will arise again – should trash collectors be essential emergency services?

We don’t often think about garbage collection as an essential service, we simply toss our trash and recyclables into the correct containers, put them out first thing in the morning, and when we come back from work at the end of the day, they are magically gone.

Problem is – as we witnessed during the strike of 2002 – if that “magic” doesn’t happen, rodents, bugs, even birds all zoom in on the mess, bringing viruses and disease which can cause a major health hazard to humans.

At a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) is labeling the H1N1 Swine Flu a global pandemic, is it really wise for the powers-that-be in Canada’s largest city to allow a labour disruption which may increase the threat from this deadly flu?

Labour unions are not evil groups of people, plotting to destroy society. Without the labour movement previously fighting for equal rights, fair wages, and safe working environments, we’d all have real reasons to hate our jobs.

But sometimes, the best labour leaders need to take a reality check and open their eyes to see what is going on around them, and whether or not it really is in their members – and the publics – best interest to go on strike.

CUPE’s leaders aren’t oblivious to the nature of the global economy, nor are they blind to the fact that Swine Flu is a real concern in developing nations, because of poor sanitation.

If CUPE’s leaders encourage and allow their members to go on strike at this point in time, they aren’t looking out for anyone’s best interests. Just because a garbage collector is on strike, doesn’t make him or her any less susceptible to catching the Swine Flu, should our city turn into a giant trash heap.

Making garbage collectors emergency workers, forbidding them to strike isn’t the answer. What is the answer is having responsible leadership at both the management and union side of the negotiating table. Leaders acting responsibly, by taking a long hard look at what is going on in the world around them, and how their actions or inactions may make that world a whole lot less stable is what we need.

One thing we don’t need in a global economic depression, riddled with H1N1 Swine Flu, is another garbage strike.

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