IDEALS

PESHAWAR, (Aug. 20, 2009) IPS/GIN – A swine flu advisory issued by
the Saudi government, banning the entry of pilgrims under 12 and
over 65 years, is a blow for Hajj pilgrims as Muslims the world
over prepare for Ramadan which starts this weekend.

After the month of fasting – which will start in Pakistan on Aug.
22 with the sighting of the new moon – millions of Muslims will
converge on Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the largest annual pilgrimage in
the world that culminates in the festival of Eid al-Adha. Read the rest of this entry →

NEW DELHI, (Aug. 15, 2009) IPS/GIN – While proven cases of “swine
flu” in India are still few in number, the country’s ailing health
delivery system and its plans to remedy the situation through
‘private-public partnerships’ have been sorely tested.

Much of the drama is playing out in the western Indian city of Pune
where the death of a 14-year-old schoolgirl, on Aug. 3, following
misdiagnosis at a private hospital where she was being treated, has
led to charges in the media that the government was not doing
enough contain the spread of the A(H1N1) virus. Read the rest of this entry →

RIO DE JANEIRO, (May 15, 2009) IPS/GIN – The H1N1 flu virus has
begun its southward march in Latin America, carried by passengers
travelling from areas hit by the outbreak. But the mortality rate
is much lower than in Mexico, and there are no signs of “sustained
domestic transmission” in the rest of the region.

According to infectious disease expert Dr. Gabriel Levy at the
Durand Hospital in Buenos Aires, who is the coordinator of the
Infectious Disease Network in the Argentine capital, the new H1N1
influenza A virus – popularly known as swine flu – got off to a
ferocious start in Mexico, but its impact has gradually weakened
as it moves southward. Read the rest of this entry →

BANGKOK, (Apr. 29, 2009) IPS/GIN – When the World Health
Organization (WHO) raised the influenza pandemic alert from phase
three to an ominous phase four warning this week, it went beyond
the alarm associated with the killer avian influenza virus in Asia.

The global health body’s warning came as the outbreak of a lethal
strain of swine flu has killed more than 150 people in Mexico – the
epicentre of the virus – and has also been detected in parts of the
United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The WHO warning for a possible global pandemic emerging from avian
influenza always remained a “phase three alert,” says Peter
Cordingley, spokesman for the WHO’s Western Pacific division. “The
difference now is that we have raised the pandemic alert to phase
four.” Read the rest of this entry →

MEXICO CITY, (Apr. 28, 2009) IPS/GIN – The swine flu epidemic has
dealt a new blow to the Mexican economy, already weakened by the
global recession, striking small and large companies alike.

But there are also a few winners: pharmaceutical laboratories,
pharmacies, doctors and private medical clinics, as well as the
home entertainment industry.

Projections issued prior to the outbreak of the epidemic last week
indicated that Mexico’s GDP would shrink this year – by 3.7
percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and by
2.8 percent according to the government. Read the rest of this entry →

MEXICO CITY, (Apr. 30, 2009) IPS/GIN – Esther de Anda has stopped
eating pork since the appearance of swine flu in Mexico. “They say
there’s no problem in eating it, but for now I prefer fish or
chicken,” the homemaker told IPS.

Her response was typical of many consumers in Mexico, where the
pork industry has come under scrutiny since the outbreak of the flu
epidemic on Apr. 24, which so far has officially infected 97 people
and killed seven in Mexico, although some 1,300 patients are under
observation. Read the rest of this entry →

MEXICO CITY, (Apr. 27, 2009) IPS/GIN – The deadly new influenza
strain that originated in Mexico has led to the closure of schools,
universities, museums, libraries, cinemas, theatres and churches
here, while it continues to spread to other countries.

So far there is insufficient data to predict when the outbreak will
ease or whether the measures adopted to fight its spread will be
effective, experts say.

By Monday, four days after a health emergency was declared in
Mexico, the number of people killed by the virus had climbed to
149, out of a total of around 2,600 cases, mainly in the capital. Read the rest of this entry →

BEIJING, (May 5, 2009) IPS/GIN – Rebuked in the past for its
sluggish response and attempts to cover up the 2003 outbreak of
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), China’s measures to curb
the spread of the swine flu virus are earning opposite marks of
being extreme and “unjustified.”

The country’s health authorities have been accused of
discriminating against Mexican nationals by singling them out for
forced isolation amid fears that the world’s most populous nation
may be exposed to the spread of the flu. Beijing suspended flights
with Mexico – the country hardest hit by the current outbreak of
H1N1 flu – after health minister Chen Zhu warned the virus would
very likely enter mainland China. Read the rest of this entry →

GENEVA, (May 19, 2009) IPS/GIN – The first step towards a massive
global health prevention mechanism was taken Tuesday resulting in
a handful of pharmaceutical companies raking in profits. The
mechanism under which billions of people around the world could be
vaccinated against the H1N1 influenza virus was taken parallel to
the World Health Assembly.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of
Experts (SAGE) on influenza A-vaccines estimated that if the
current outbreak turns into a full-fledged global pandemic, 4.9
billion doses of a vaccine would be needed. Read the rest of this entry →

BUENOS AIRES, (Jun. 26, 2009) IPS/GIN – Doctors at the forefront
of the battle against the H1N1 influenza virus in Argentina point
out that the number of cases is far larger than the official
figures reflect. But they also stress that the mortality rate, as
a proportion of the much higher number of cases, is lower than
people assume.

The Health Ministry is still issuing a daily report on the number
of cases of what is popularly known as swine flu, and the number
of deaths. The latest statistics are 1,488 confirmed cases and 23
deaths, representing a mortality rate of 1.3 percent. Read the rest of this entry →