www.signs-of-the-times.org
Influenza - "a human respiratory infection of undetermined cause" according to Webster's dictionary. Most people have at some stage in their lives felt its effects, and while the normal human virus is not lethal to humans there exists the possibility that lethal "mutated" strains can develop.
Each winter the flu virus makes its expected appearance, commonly known as the "Flu season". The standard government response is to commission the large pharmaceutical companies to manufacture vast amounts of a vaccine.
The vaccine is essentially a dose containing several, either dead, or alive but weakened, flu virus strains (among other things as we shall see). When introduced into the body these supposedly immunise us against those particular strains. However the vaccine does not cover all the possible Flu virus strains and if the predominant flu virus in any given season is not contained in the vaccine then naturally no protection will be afforded by the vaccine. Interestingly, this was the case this 2003/4 season, yet it did not stop the government from urging the public to "get immunised!"
While initially being recommended for the elderly and young, now it is advised that everyone who wants to avoid the flu should receive the shot. The question is, how much do you trust your government, and how much of that trust is warranted. As we shall see, there is cause to be highly suspicious of government advice. In regards to this years flu virus the GovernmentCenter for Disease Control has said:
"It is not possible to accurately predict in advance what type of flu season we are going to have. However, current surveillance data show that people in the United States are getting sick with flu earlier in the year than usual. Also, in laboratory tests from across the country, a greater proportion of specimens testing positive for influenza are type A (H3N2). Historically, A (H3N2) viruses have been associated with more-severe flu seasons during which higher numbers of influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths have occurred."
2004 Flu spreads to all 50 US states
Half are considered "hit hard" by the epidemic...
2004 Flu Outbreak Now Widespread in 24 States
By ANGIE WAGNER, Associated Press Writers
December 12, 2003
LAS VEGAS - With the flu now spread to all 50 states and nearly half of those considered hit hard, the government is scrambling to ship 100,000 vaccine doses to combat shortages, hoping to head off what could become one of the worst outbreaks in years.
The number of states with widespread infections nearly doubled to 24 in the past week, and the season has not yet peaked nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Worried parents are rushing to find shots even though many local health departments and doctor's offices are either out or about to run out of the vaccine. [...]
She found 300 people waiting to get the vaccine at her daughters' pediatrician's office Saturday, but couldn't endure the three-hour line. She later got the vaccine from her mother, who is a nurse. [...]
Comment: Ah, hysteria... Worried parents are stampeding to get their children injected with a dangerous vaccine that offers no protection against the latest strain spreading across the country.
Flu forces public school to close
Associated Press
December 11, 2003
COLCHESTER, Conn. -- A public high school closed Thursday afternoon because of an apparent outbreak of the flu.
Bacon Academy in Colchester sent students home
at 12:30 p.m.
School officials said about 300 students, more than one-third of the student body, and 17 faculty members called in sick Thursday with flu-like symptoms. That was up from 175 student absences Wednesday. Officials said the school will be closed Friday as well. [...]
Scientists Predict Worldwide Flu Outbreak
By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer
Sat Dec 13, 4:48 PM ET
NEW YORK - As bad as this year's flu season is, it hasn't brought the worldwide outbreak known as a pandemic. But experts warn that a pandemic is coming, it's just a question of when. "It's going to happen," said Dr. Greg Poland of the Mayo Clinic. "For the American public in particular,I think it will be horrific." [...]
Panel reluctantly backed flu vaccine to FDA
Saturday, December 13, 2003 Posted: 10:52 PM EST (0352 GMT)
(CNN) -- Members of an advisory panel that backed this year's flu vaccine expressed doubts about its potential effectiveness before recommending it for the Food and Drug Administration's approval.
Some said they were concerned the vaccine would not provide as much protection against the Fujian strain of flu that was thought most likely to dominate this year's flu season, according to a transcript of the group's deliberations.
The Fujian strain, which emerged in the Far East, is now responsible for 75 percent of U.S. flu cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
But drug makers could not culture the Fujian strain in a way to meet FDA standards, forcing the advisory committee to make this year's flu vaccine the same as it was last year.
The committee's decision in March has come under a microscope now because the flu is reaching near epidemic proportions in the United States.
Experts cast bet on flu vaccine - Imperfect shield beat delivery delay
By SARAH AVERY, Staff Writer
November 29, 2003
Despite evidence that a flu bug had mutated and was defying the current vaccine, health officials around the world took a calculated risk not to change the formula for this year's flu shots.
Part of the reason was that the new strain was difficult to grow in the lab. That could have delayed the vaccine's development and, thus, its availability.
About 10 percent to 20 percent of U.S. residents will get influenza each year. Most will recover in one to two weeks, but some will develop life-threatening complications. An average of about 36,000 people per year in the United States die from influenza, and 114,000 per year are admitted to a hospital. People age 65 and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions and very young children are more likely to get complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and sinus and ear infections. The flu also can exacerbate chronic health problems such as asthma and congestive heart failure.
Given two options -- a late but better vaccine or a timely but flawed shot -- health officials chose the latter.
"Obviously, the hope was that the current vaccine would provide enough degree of protection," said Dr. Samuel L. Katz, a professor emeritus at Duke University and member of the advisory panel that recommends the nation's flu vaccine.
Whether that hope was valid is not yet known.
Study shows flu vaccine was ineffective
Friday, January 16, 2004
ATLANTA,Georgia (CNN) -- This year's flu vaccine had little or no effectiveness against influenza-like illnesses, according to a preliminary study released Thursday.
The study, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, looked at workers at Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
Of the 1,000 people who got the vaccine before November 1, 149 went on to develop influenza-like illness (14.9 percent). Of the 402 people who did not get the vaccine, 68 got an influenza-like illness (16.9 percent), the study said.
This year's outbreak started early and more severely than usual, sparking a run on vaccine by people eager to protect themselves. That depleted supplies.
But the vaccine did not contain the Fujian A virus that proved to be the predominant strain this year. Despite public health authorities' hopes that there was enough overlap with the vaccine's other strains that some protection would be conferred, that does not appear to be the case.
The preliminary findings "demonstrated no or very low effectiveness," against flu or flu-like illnesses, the report stated.But officials said the vaccine is not designed to combat flu-like illnesses.
This is an important point. There are many temporary illnesses that cause symptoms similar to that of the flu but which are not in fact caused by the flu virus. Despite this, due to the ramping up of the fear factor, the first sign of a sniffle or ache is enough to send people running for the flu vaccine.
Flu Outbreak Strains Demand for Test Kits
By JOHN NOLAN, Associated Press Writer
CINCINNATI - Manufacturers of tests used to determine if a patient has the flu say the current outbreak has strained their ability to meet demand from hospitals, medical laboratories and doctors' offices.
Jack Kraeutler, president of test kit distributor based Meridian Bioscience Inc., said the company is running about a week behind in filling orders.
"I don't think that there's a manufacturer or a health professional who hasn't been overwhelmed with how quickly it's moved," Kraeutler said.
The number of states hit hard by the flu has doubled to 24 over the past week and now includes most of the western half of the country.Nationwide, at least 20 children have died in what could become the worst flu season in years.
"Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire."- Robert Heinlein
US 'wants British flu vaccine'
US health officials are considering buying thousands of doses of flu vaccine from Britain because it is running short of supplies.
Parts of the US have been affected by the Fujian flu strain, which has also hit the UK.
[...] Last year, flu-vaccine manufacturers in America overproduced and had to scrap 12 million doses of the vaccine.
But this year, a combination of more cases of flu and an increase in the numbers choosing to have the flu jab has led to the shortage, experts said.
Madison closed until Monday (Ohio)
By J. Ameer Rasheed, Journal Staff Writer
12.11.03
After three days with 30 percent of the student body missing school,largely because of the flu, Madison Jr./Sr. High School officials decided to close school doors until Monday.
The 70 percent attendance rate is 25 percent lower than the school’s average daily attendance rate, according to school Principal Curtis Philpot. Madison Primary and Madison Intermediate are not affected by the cancellations. [...]
Of course, we are not surprised that the fear factor was used to ensure that the popoulation scrambled to get the shot, vaccines have less to do with protecting the public and more to do with making money...
MedImmune Seeks Help In Relaunching FluMist
New Plan to Be Rolled Out in January
By Michael Barbaro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
MedImmune Inc. hired a consultant to discover why its needle-free flu vaccine FluMist disappointed sales expectations this fall and is considering emphasizing what it says is FluMist's safety as well as its convenience, said an analyst who spoke to the Gaithersburg drug company's managers.
Mark Schoenebaum of Minneapolis investment bankers U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. said MedImmune executives were surprised to learn thatdoctors and patients say they believe FluMist, which contains a live but weakened form of the influenza virus, might give them the flu. The company told him "many physicians are actually advising against FluMist," Schoenebaum said. [...]
Comment: And lo and behold, the "help" to MedImmune is provided, despite the fact that even the corrupt FDA has "health concerns" about the vaccine.
Flu Shot Shortage Could Help FluMist
By STEPHEN MANNING
ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 09, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) -Shortages of flu shots could boost disappointing sales of the needle-free vaccine FluMist this winter, but analysts say the drug's long term outlook is dogged by a high price and limits on who can use it.
The news last Friday that the nation's two producers of traditional flu vaccine injections have run out of stock and won't be able to produce more this season has led some health agencies and consumers to turn to FluMist.
There is plenty of the nasal spray vaccine available - only 400,000 doses out of the roughly 4 million doses made by Gaithersburg-based MedImmune and its partner, Wyeth, have been distributed to pharmacies and flu vaccine sites.
State health agencies are recommending that healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 use FluMist and save what remains of the traditional vaccine for others.
Until last week, MedImmune had a hard time selling FluMist. Its wholesale price of $46 per dose is much higher than the cost of flu shots. And the drug - originally billed as a painless alternative for those scared of needles -hasn't been approved for use by toddlers and seniors.
At pharmacies in 33 Giant Food grocery stores in Virginia, FluMist sales tripled last week over the previous week, company spokesman Jamie Miller said. FluMist sells for $59.95 at Giant, while a flu shot is $20, he said.
"FluMist will probably be the last place to turn," said Philip Nadeau, an analyst with SG Cowen Securities. "I think most physicians would think that FluMist is better than nothing."
MedImmune spokeswoman Jamie Lacey said it was too early to tell how the vaccine shortage would affect FluMist sales.
FluMist, which contains a live but weakened flu virus, is meant to be a painless alternative to the traditional flu injection, which is made from a dead flu virus.
MedImmune hoped FluMist would be a blockbuster drug, much like its childhood respiratory drug Synagis that had $668 million in sales last year. The company pumped $25 million into an ad campaign touting the drug to consumers and another $25 million pitching it to pharmacies.
But the drug's introduction was hampered by several factors.
Citing safety concerns, the Food and Drug Administration did not approve FluMist for children under 5 years and those above 50, the two groups at the greatest risk for the flu. [...]
Two Flu Shot Makers Run Out of Vaccine
Dec 5 2003
By DANIEL Q. HANEY
The two makers of flu shots in the United States said Friday they have run out of vaccine and will not be able to meet a surge in demand resulting from fears of a particularly bad flu season.
Nevertheless, the companies said people who have put off getting their shots may still be able to find them, since distributors and doctors' offices may still have some left.
The companies, Chiron and Aventis Pasteur, together made about 80 million doses of the injected vaccine, which ordinarily would be enough to take care of U.S. demand.
"Because of the recent outbreak, we've seen an unprecedented surge of vaccine orders late in the season," said Len Lavenda, an Aventis spokesman. "As a result, we have now shipped all our available supplies."
"It's all been shipped out," said Chiron's John Gallagher. "We began shipping in August. It's all gone at this point."
The companies said they cannot make more vaccine this year, because the process takes four months. By that time, the flu season would be over.
Another alternative is the FluMist, the more expensive inhaled version of the vaccine. Its maker, MedImmune Vaccines, made between 4 million and 5 million doses this year. Spokeswoman Jamie Lacey said that as of Nov. 18, the company had sold 400,000 doses, and "there is still a wide supply available."
Revealed: how drug firms 'hoodwink' medical journals
Pharmaceutical giants hire ghostwriters to produce articles - then put doctors' names on them [...]
Glaxosmithkline chief: Our drugs do not work on most patients
08 December 2003
A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.
Flu shot, anyone?
By John McCaslin
The Washington Times
Gotten your flu shot yet? Whether you have or not, one leading congressman's warning might frighten you more than the needle.
If your doctor hasn't told you, Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican, feels it is his duty to inform Americans about the "contents" of their influenza vaccines.
"As we approach the flu season, many of you will visit the doctor's office and receive an annual influenza vaccine. This might prevent the flu, but what else will it do?" Mr. Burton said. "You should be aware that the vaccine you are about to receive contains thimerosal — a mercury-laden preservative."
Mr. Burton says scientific evidence "continues to accumulate" regarding a biologically plausible connection between the preservative and certain neurological disorders. Some scientists have attributed the growth in Alzheimer's disease and autism to mercury found in certain vaccines.
During his chairmanship of the Government Reform Committee, Mr. Burton held numerous hearings on possible adverse effects of thimerosal.
As for a second opinion, we call upon Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee — a doctor in real life — who actually reminded friends in his Christmas cards last year: "Don't forget your shots: flu shot annually."
Comment: Notice how this Moonie-owned, Bush, Sr. backed rag manages to belittle Rep. Dan Burton. It is interesting that Bill Frist,
[...] authored a bill intended to protect vaccine makers, such as Eli Lilly & Co, from lawsuits regarding thimerosal found in vaccines and argued is linked to autism in children. While Frist denies having any role in the provision that was slipped into thehomeland security bill passed in November 2002 protecting Eli Lilly from legal matters for their thimerosal containing vaccines, Frist is hoping to pass his original bill, which will have liability protection regarding vaccines. [...] [Tennessee Senator hoping to protect vaccine makers from legal problems]
See theToxic Exposure Study Trust Foundation for more information.
It is clear that a healthy, happy, unafraid population does not make for good profits in the pharmaceutical industry, which in turn means less money in "contributions" to political parties.
But hang on to your hats, the intrigue does not stop there...
In fact, a more appropriate title for this supplement may be The Flu Vaccine Threat. As we shall see, there is more to the vaccine than a mere dose of dead viri.
Should you get the Flu shot?
By Dr Sherri Tenpenny
www.nmaseminars.com
News reports have been flooding us with articles warning that the impending flu season may be the worst in years.Even though it is difficult to separate the facts from the hype, a close evaluation of the flu vaccine will reveal that serious questions must be raised about the recommendations that are routinely touted, namely high efficacy with little risk. Anyone considering a flu shot should become informed about the substances coming through that needle, and should be determined to investigate the safety and efficacy issues that are still unresolved.
What's in a flu shot?
The influenza virus is grown in "specific pathogen-free" (SPF) eggs. Eggs are tested for a variety of agents usually between 23 and 31-to confirm the absence of those specific pathogens. Laboratories limit the number of agents that are screened due to the shear abundance of potential viruses and/or bacteria to choose from. In addition, screening for every potential agent would be cost prohibitive. If none of the tested agents are detected, the vaccine is reported as "pathogen free.
However, it should be understood that there is a distinct difference between "pathogen free and "specific pathogen-free. In its July 1996 report, the Institute of Medicine acknowledged that "although it is not possible to produce a completely uncontaminated animal, it is possible to produce an animal [or egg] certified to be free of specific pathogens. Viruses that are harmless to their animal host, however, may be potentially harmful to humans.
During the manufacturing process, antibiotics (neomycin, polymyxin B and gentamicin) are added to eliminate stray bacteria found in the mixture.The final solution can contain the following additives in any combination: Triton X-100 (a detergent); polysorbate 80 (a potential carcinogen); gelatin; formaldehyde; and residual egg proteins. In addition, many of the influenza vaccines still contain thimerosal as a preservative. Thimerosal (mercury) is being investigated for its link to brain injury and autoimmune disease.
Does the flu shot protect?
There are no guarantees that the influenza viruses selected for the vaccine will be the identical strains circulating during a given flu season.In fact, it has recently been announced that this year's flu vaccine does not include the strain that is being reported by doctors in the community called the "A Fujian strain. Outbreaks have been reported in Texas, Colorado and elsewhere that involve strains that do not match the current flu vaccine. CDC tests have confirmed that more than 80 per cent of the 55 strains of influenza virus isolated thus far are the A Fujian strain. Even so, the CDC still maintains that the current vaccine could provide cross-protection against the new variant,but the fact is, no one knows for sure.
Moreover, the majority of illnesses characterized by fever, fatigue, cough and aching muscles are not caused by the influenza virus. Non-influenza viruses (e.g., rhinoviruses respiratory syncytial virus [RSV], adenoviruses, and parainfluenza viruses) can cause symptoms referred to as influenza-like illnesses. Certain bacteria, such as Legionella spp., Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, have been documented as the causes of ILI.
Notably, these microbes are not part of the flu vaccine.Unless an organism's antigen is contained within the vaccine, there is no protection conferred by the vaccine.
Targeting the elderly
The flu vaccine is generally recommended for persons aged 65 and older, and those with medical conditions who could experience serious complications from the flu. Medical journals report broad differences in effectiveness for the elderly, ranging from 0 to 85%.
The CDC states that 90% of deaths from influenza occur among the elderly. Considering that nearly 65% of all deaths (from any cause) occur in this age group, it is nearly impossible to prove that flu shots significantly increase life expectancy in this group. The truth is that most people-young and old-will weather a bout of the flu without hospitalization or complications.
A serious concern: Alzheimer's Disesase
Hugh Fudenberg, MD, an immunogeneticist and biologist with nearly 850 papers published in peer review journals, has reported that if an individual had five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied), his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is ten times higher than if they had zero, one, or two shots.
Dr. Boyd Haley, Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky, Lexington has done extensive research in the area of mercury toxicity and the brain. Haley‚s research has established a likely connection between mercury toxicity and Alzheimer‚s disease.In a paper published in collaboration with researchers at University of Calgary, Haley stated that "seven of the characteristic markers that we look for to distinguish Alzheimer's disease can be produced in normal brain tissues, or cultures of neurons, by the addition of extremely low levels of mercury."
Does this prove that the mercury contained in the influenza shot can be directly linked to Alzheimer's? No, absolutely not. But further research in this area is critically needed because the absence of proof is not the "proof of absence."
Flu vaccine now for children
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) adopted a resolution effective March 1, 2003 that expanded the use of the influenza vaccine to include children aged 6-23 months. The recommendations also included vaccinating those aged 2 to 18 years who live in households containing children younger than 2 years of age.
The flu vaccine most commonly given to children is Fluzone, a trivalent vaccine grown in chicken eggs. Harvested with formaldehyde and containing the recommended ratio of 15 ug of each of the three prototype viral strains, each dose of Fluzone also contains 25 ug of mercury. The new CDC recommendations include giving the influenza vaccine to children beginning at six months of age and then annually, for the rest of their lives. Children less than age 9 receiving their first flu shot, two doses of vaccine are recommended, with a minimum interval of one month between the two doses. However, the CDC does not provide a direct reference to substantiate this recommendation.
On June 17, 2003, the FDA approved an intranasal influenza vaccine for use in healthy persons aged 5 - 49 years. Flumist is a live-virus vaccine that can cause a litany of problems.
Alternatives?
If you choose not to receive the flu shot, have a discussion with your doctor regarding other options. However, some simple and possibly quite effective things you can do for yourself to prevent the flu include: 1) avoid white sugar;[xiv] 2) exercise regularly; 3) get adequate sleep; 4) eat a healthy diet, omitting trans-fats; 5) drink plenty of purified water daily and 6) wash your hands. A common way people contract viral illnesses is by rubbing their nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with a virus. The CDC states, "the most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands.
We are so used to taking medications-for prevention and treatment-that it is difficult to comprehend that these modest recommendations are really the most powerful ways to minimize the likelihood of getting the flu.
"Kim Collins talks to her son, Nick Collins, 9, both of Texarkana, Texas, as he opens his eyes briefly in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Ark., Monday, Dec. 8, 2003. Nick, who arrived at the hospital on Nov.10, needs four chest tubes to drain air and fluid from three holes in his lungs caused by bacterial pneumonia. Doctors are trying to prevent a blood clot from killing him. He%27s also developed a drug-resistant bacteria infection, a worrisome find thatdoctors are starting to see in other flu cases. Doctors are reporting unusual and frightening complications with this year's flu outbreak, particularly among young patients."
Unusual and frightening complications with Flu outbreak
At left: Kim Collins talks to her son, Nick Collins, 9, both of Texarkana, Texas, as he opens his eyes briefly in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Ark., Monday, Dec. 8, 2003. Nick, who arrived at the hospital on Nov.10, needs four chest tubes to drain air and fluid from three holes in his lungs caused by bacterial pneumonia.
Doctors are trying to prevent a blood clot from killing him. He's also developed a drug-resistant bacteria infection, a worrisome find thatdoctors are starting to see in other flu cases.Doctors are reporting unusual and frightening complications with this year's flu outbreak, particularly among young patients.
Comment: Essentially then, in the "flu shot" you are getting a host of deadly chemicals along with supposedly a small dose of the actual dead or live flu virus. Leaving aside the mercury (extremely poisonous to humans) and formaldehyde (the main ingredient in rat poison), how are any of us to know just what virus the Pentagon has chosen to introduce into our bodies? Ask yourself, would you be happy to rely on the moral integrity of someone like Donald Rumsfeld to safeguard your own life and the lives of your children? You may be thinking, "they wouldn't do that!", if so, we recommend that you read on.
Few people alive today are old enough to remember theSpanish Flu outbreak of 1918
"The effect of the influenza epidemic was so severe that the average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years. The influenza virus had a profound virulence, with a mortality rate at 2.5% compared to the previous influenza epidemics, which were less than 0.1%. The death rate for 15 to 34-year-olds of influenza and pneumonia were 20 times higher in 1918 than in previous years (Taubenberger). People were struck with illness on the street and died rapid deaths. One anectode shared of 1918 was of four women playing bridge together late into the night. Overnight, three of the women died from influenza (Hoagg). Others told stories of people on their way to work suddenly developing the flu and dying within hours (Henig). One physician writes that patients with seemingly ordinary influenza would rapidly "develop the most viscous type of pneumonia that has ever been seen" and later when cyanosis appeared in the patients, "it is simply a struggle for air until they suffocate," (Grist, 1979). Another physician recalls that the influenza patients "died struggling to clear their airways of a blood-tinged froth that sometimes gushed from their nose and mouth," (Starr, 1976). The physicians of the time were helpless against this powerful agent of influenza.
The influenza pandemic circled the globe. Most of humanity felt the effects of this strain of the influenza virus. It spread following the path of its human carriers, along trade routes and shipping lines. Outbreaks swept through North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Brazil and the South Pacific (Taubenberger). In India the mortality rate was extremely high at around 50 deaths from influenza per 1,000 people (Brown). The Great War, with its mass movements of men in armies and aboard ships, probably aided in its rapid diffusion and attack. The origins of the deadly flu disease were unknown but widely speculated upon. Some of the allies thought of the epidemic as a biological warfare tool of the Germans. Many thought it was a result of the trench warfare, the use of mustard gases and the generated "smoke and fumes" of the war. A national campaign began using the ready rhetoric of war to fight the new enemy of microscopic proportions. A study attempted to reason why the disease had been so devastating in certain localized regions, looking at the climate, the weather and the racial composition of cities. They found humidity to be linked with more severe epidemics as it "fosters the dissemination of the bacteria," (Committee on Atmosphere and Man, 1923). Meanwhile the new sciences of the infectious agents and immunology were racing to come up with a vaccine or therapy to stop the epidemics.
The origins of this influenza variant is not precisely known. It is thought to have originated in China in a rare genetic shift of the influenza virus. The recombination of its surface proteins created a virus novel to almost everyone and a loss of herd immunity. Recently the virus has been reconstructed from the tissue of a dead soldier and is now being genetically characterized.The name of Spanish Flu came from the early affliction and large mortalities in Spain where it allegedly killed 8 million in May. However, a first wave of influenza appeared early in the spring of 1918 in Kansas and in military camps throughout the US.
Few noticed the epidemic in the midst of the war.
Wilson had just given his 14 point address. There was virtually no response or acknowledgment to the epidemics in March and April in the military camps. It was unfortunate that no steps were taken to prepare for the usual recrudescence of the virulent influenza strain in the winter. The lack of action was later criticized when the epidemic could not be ignored in the winter of 1918 (BMJ, 1918). These first epidemics at training camps were a sign of what was coming in greater magnitude in the fall and winter of 1918 to the entire world."
The "Spanish" Flu of 1918 was a pandemic of massive proportions, and one that we certainly would not want to see ever happen again. Well, perhaps we are speaking only for ourselves when we say this. It would appear that people in high places are very interested in the specific strain that appeared with such devastating results in 1918.
US Army scientists create "Spanish Flu" virus in laboratory
- medical benefit questionable [...]
Biosafety Irregularity in Spanish Flu Experiments
Highlights the Need to Strengthen Biodefense Transparency
The Sunshine Project
News Release 21 October 2003
(Austin and Hamburg) -Genetic experiments to recreate one of the most devastating viruses of the past century were not reviewed or approved by a biosafety committee. The University of Georgia claims that it was too troublesome to convene its Institutional Biosafety Committee to review research to genetically reconstruct the Spanish flu. Instead, the University signed off on the experiments based on ad hoc talks between only four members of its biosafety committee. As a result, no minutes were taken to describe safety review of the experiments.In fact, by not convening its committee, Georgia's actions ensured that there was no timely opportunity to raise concerns at all.
The case demonstrates a severe weakness in the public disclosure provisions of federal research rules (the NIH Guidelines) and underscores the need for mandatory committee-level (or higher) review of research projects with disease agents. By approving the experiments with an ad hoc subcommittee, requirements for public disclosure were avoided. The existence of the experiments only came to light through journal articles. According to Edward Hammond of the Sunshine Project, "Genetic engineering of bioweapons agents has national and international implications for health, biosafety, and security.But Georgia shied away from these and simply rubber-stamped the Pentagon-led project to recreate the Spanish flu."
In 1918-19, the Spanish flu killed 20-40 million people worldwide. In the US, deaths from the flu strain resulted in a 10 year drop in life expectancy.Recreating the deadly flu may create international unease, in particular because of the leadership of the US military in the project.
The Spanish flu reconstruction began at a University of Georgia biosafety level three (BSL-3) facility in 1999. Researchers from US universities, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) are involved.The lab specializes in diseases of poultry, including avian influenza. The Sunshine Project has confirmed - and reconfirmed - under the Freedom of Information Act that USDA has no biosafety committee minutes related to the experiments. The Project also directly contacted the University of Georgia and requested Institutional Biosafety Committee meeting minutes that are required by the NIH Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research. Georgia's Biosafety Officer stated that no minutes exist.
Scientists have recently begun to accept the need to reinforce the Institutional Biosafety Committee system established under the NIH Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Research.But the discussion, including that in a recent report on biosafety by the National Academies of Science, is out of balance because it is taking place almostly exclusively between scientists, government regulators, and the Pentagon. "There is a need to make more room at the table. The public has a right to help determine if, and under what conditions, risky research proceeds." says Hammond, "Biosafety review must be a matter of law, and public access provisions of federal research rules must be strengthened. Otherwise, risky experiments such as this one will take place with little or no transparency, and that will decrease international security and create environmental and health risks."
Spanish Flu - Why is the US government interested?
A recent commentary in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (Madjid et al. 2003) noted that influenza is readily transmissible by aerosol and that a small number of viruses can cause a full-blown infection. The authors continued:"the possibility for genetic engineering and aerosol transmission [of influenza] suggests an enormous potential for bioterrorism" The possible hostile abuse of influenza virus is seen as a very real threat by public health officials in the USA. Just two weeks ago, $15 million was granted by the US National Institutes of Health to Stanford University to study how to guard against the flu virus"if it were to be unleashed as an agent of bioterrorism".
US scientists led by a Pentagon pathologist recently began to genetically reconstruct this specifically dangerous 1918 influenza strain. In one experiment a partially reconstructed 1918 virus killed mice, while virus constructs with genes from a contemporary flu virus had hardly any effect.
Attempts to recover the Spanish flu virus date to the 1950s, when scientists unsuccessfully tried to revive the virus from victims buried in the permafrost of Alaska. In the mid 1990s, Dr Jeffrey Taubenberger from the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology started to screen preserved tissue samples from 1918 influenza victims.It appears that this work was not triggered by a search for flu treatments, or the search for a new biowarfare agent, but by a rather simple motivation: Taubenberger and his team were just able to do it. In previous experiments they had developed a new technique to analyse DNA in old, preserved tissues and for now looking for new applications: "The 1918 flu was by far and away the most interesting thing we could think of" explained Taubenberger the reason why he started to unravel the secrets of one of most deadliest viruses known to humankind.
We do not doubt that a deadly form of the flu virus could be used as "an agent bioterrorism", but the question is, which group of terrorists would be behind it? Are we really expected to believe that with the US military looking over his shoulder, it is a mere coincidence that Taubenberger chose "one of deadliest viruses known to humankind" as a test subject? It is no secret that the US and other governments have a keen interest in biological weapons, indeed, it seems that one of the standing orders for government scientists isto find the most efficient way of killing the most people with the least effort.
Study: Influenza May Be Next Bioterror Weapon
Mon June 30, 2003 07:49 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) -Forget anthrax and smallpox. Influenza could easily be turned into the next weapon of mass destruction, scientists said on Tuesday. They sounded their warning as researchers come close to completing the blueprint for the virus of the 1918 'flu epidemic that killed up to 40 million people globally.
"Taken together with the fact that influenza virus is readily accessible and may be causing more deaths than previously suspected, the possibility for genetic engineering and aerosol transmission suggests an enormous potential for bioterrorism," the University of Texas scientists said.
Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the team led by Dr Mohammed Madjid noted that last century a series of 'flu epidemics from Spain to Russia and Hong Kong had killed millions of people as the virus naturally mutated.
They pointed out that sequencing of the genome of the 1918 Spanish 'flu epidemic was nearly complete, opening the door to unscrupulous scientists to build an even more potent virus. [...]
It is stated clearly, "influenza could be the next bioterror weapon", and who is making strenuous efforts to develop the killer virus? The Pentagon!! In an interesting yet unsurprising twist, we also discover reports that it may well have been thegovernment vaccine that was administered in response to the 1918 Flu thatcaused the massive death toll.
Vaccine not virus responsible for Spanish flu