The swine flu...there is amazing hype that has been created over this virus. The concern has been that we are going to have a repeat even of what happened in 1918, when the influenza hit, and killed 20-40 million people [1] Let us look at some differences between now and 1918:
There was not proper wound care/hygiene at that time
Medical care was limited as were diagnostic techniques
Clean water and proper sanitation was not established for at least another decade, and it took even longer for it to become available to everyone
Here is another point to consider.
There was a swine flu outbreak in 1976, which led president Ford to push forward with a vaccination campaign. Vaccination against swine flu at that time only proceeded for 10 weeks before it was halted because of the overwhelming number of adverse events. More people were killed by the vaccine then the swine flu. Hundreds developed Guillian Barre. It is possible to retrieve the archived news reports about the swine flu of 1976, or thank you to YouTube, you can view what was being shown on television at that time. View here: [2] Here is an article to review: [3]
So we have seen that history can repeat itself...what about the current swine flu?
Well let's start with the symptoms:
According to the CDC, symptoms include coughing, sneezing, runny nose/eyes, fever, chills, vomiting, and lethargy - the same symptoms as the seasonal flu. Many people believe that the flu must have all of these components, but in truth, the flu can produce just the respiratory symptoms. Some people will be exposed and then develop immunity to it without symptoms (that goes for all communicable diseases), because you need a pathogen (the virus) a vector (secretions - like snot), and then a susceptible host (you - not eating well, not sleeping, working too much, etc. wears down the body. Ever wonder why you get sick at that time?).
It is impossible to say with certainty how many people have gotten the H1N1 flu, because not everyone goes to hospital. The CDC does have some charts and various information that offers a visual representation of the data at: [4]and[5].
According to the US Census, in July 2008, the US population was 304,059,724. (this number only includes data from the US, 50 states...not the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands)
Hospitalization rate: 9079 (this include data from Includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
Death Rate: 593
So that means that out of a population of over 300 million, the total hospitalization rate is less than 2.9 x 10-5, and the death rate is less than 1.9 x 10-6, and remember the illness data includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, while the census data does not.
What about a vaccine against H1N1?
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this vaccine. Let us begin with the makers of the vaccine. The first in line was Baxter pharmaceuticals. Why is that so controversial? Because in 2006, then sent several batches of flu vaccines to other countries for use which were tainted with the avian flu, which has been said to have a 60% fatality rate. Luckily, these other countries tested the vaccine on ferrets...when the ferrets died they examined the vaccine and found that it was tainted. So what happened to Baxter? Nothing. "Sorry we released a vaccine to another country tainted with a virus that has been rated as a bioterrorism agent...can we make the new swine flu vaccine?" Ok...maybe some of you are not into sarcasm, but hopefully you get the point. Here is a press release about the story: [6]. You can google the subject for more about it.
Here is a list of the other pharmaceutical companies making the vaccine: [7]
What is in the vaccine?
This is probably the biggest concern. Ingredients for the yearly flu shot include:
•· Egg proteins: including avian contaminant viruses
•· Gelatin: can cause allergic reactions and anaphylaxis are usually associated with sensitivity to egg or gelatin
•· Polysorbate 80 (Tween80TM): can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Also associated with infertility in female mice.
•· Formaldehyde: known carcinogen
•· Triton X100: a strong detergent
•· Sucrose: table sugar
•· Resin: known to cause allergic reactions
•· Gentamycin: an antibiotic
•· Thimerosal: mercury is still in multidose flu shot vials
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- Some other possible ingredients for the H1N1 vaccine, depending on the manufacturer, include:
- PER.C6 cells (human retina cells) -contain MF59, a potentially debilitating adjuvant.
- MF-59 is an oil-based adjuvant primarily composed of squalene. Information retrieved from [8] (Tenpenny, 2007-2008).
All rats injected with squalene (oil) adjuvants developed a disease that left them crippled, dragging their paralyzed hindquarters across their cages. Injected squalene can cause severe arthritis (3 on scale of 4) and severe immune responses, such as autoimmune arthritis and lupus. [9] and [10].
The study published in the American Journal of Pathology concluded that the study with squalene raised the questions about the role of adjuvants in chronic inflammatory diseases.
"A novel feature of the two H1N1 vaccines being developed by companies Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline is the addition of squalene-containing adjuvants to boost immunogenicity and dramatically reduce the number of viral antigen needed. This translates to much faster production of desired vaccine quantities" (Nass, 2009). According to Dr. Meryl Nass, and authority on the anthrax vaccine, there are 3 vaccines in existence that use squalene, and none have been approved for use in the U.S. [12]
•§ "Whole live PER.C6 cells: Derived from aborted fetal retinal cells. These cells have the potential to replicate endlessly, classifying them as cancer cells. The causes of injecting them into humans is unknown" (Ledwith, BJ, et al., 2006).
In the event that there are adverse reactions to the new vaccine, what will happen?
According to bill S.1873, the pharmaceutical companies cannot be sued in the event of a pandemic situation and the creation of a vaccine. This was passed in 2005 after 911 to give the pharmaceutical companies an incentive to create vaccines. The claim has been that there is little/no money in making flu vaccines; that you can get one for 25 dollars at Walgreens. We all know that nothing is free. Our tax dollars pay for the creation of those vaccines. Read the bill here: [13]
I also wanted to bring to your attention again, the graph from the CDC, titled "Outpatient Illness Surveillance" at: [5]. Look at how there is already a huge decrease in the cases of H1N1 flu, just in time for the vaccine to come out. This certainly is not because of the vaccine, because that has not been available yet.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
Studies have shown that optimal levels of Vitamin D3 are best a fighting the flu. Dr. Mayer Eisenstein's recommendations based on the latest studies can be found here: [14] Basically, optimal vitamin D levels, rest, fluids, probiotics, and chicken noodle soup.
Canada has been looking at Vitamin D as a means of treating/preventing flu. Read more here: [15]
Do with this information what you will. It is so important that we all are informed about the inside story on this subject. Keep reading and researching and not giving in to the hype in the media or at the doctor's office. Let us not repeat what happened in 1976.
References:
1. The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 (2005). Stanford University. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from (http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/).
2. 1976 Swine Flu Propoganda. YouTube. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=swine+flu+in+1976&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=jrmmSvDcGISDnQettYmyBw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=15#
3. Swine Flu of 1976 - More harm than good? (2009, April 29). Health and Survival. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://healthandsurvival.com/2009/04/26/swine-flu-vaccine-of-1976-more-harm-than-good/.
4. 2009 H1N1 Flu Situation Update (2009, September 4). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/us/#iligraph.
5. FluView: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Prepared by the Influenza Division (August 29, 2009). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
6. Editorial: Baxter's H5N1 as Global Flu Pandemic Thread (2009, February 27). LifeGen.de: Living Facts for Life Sciences. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.lifegen.de/newsip/shownews.php4?getnews=2009-02-26-5323&pc=s01
7. FACTBOX: Who is making the swine flu vaccine? (2009, September 3). Reuters. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-SwineFlu/idUSTRE5822NQ20090903.
8. Tenpenny, S. (2007-2008). The Truth About the Flu Shot. Dr. Tenpenny.com. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://drtenpenny.com/the_truth_about_the_flu_Shot.aspx.
9. Kenney, RT. Edleman, R. "Survey of human-use adjuvants." Expert Review of Vaccines. 2 (2003) p171.
10. Matsumoto, Gary. Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers and Why GI's Are Only the First Victims of this Vaccine. New York: Basic Books. p54.
11. Ledwith, BJ, et al. (2006). Tumorigenicity assessments of Per.C6 cells and of an Ad5-vectored HIV-1 vaccine produced on this continuous cell line. Dev Biol (Basel). 2006;123:251-63; discussion 265-6.
12. Nass, M. (2009). H1N1 vaccines with novel adjuvants being developed for potential mass use. Anthrax vaccine - Posts by Dr. Meryl Nass. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/2009/07/h1n1-vaccines-with-novel-adjuvants.html
13. Bill S. 1873: A bill to prepare and strengthen the biodefenses of the United States against deliberate, accidental, and natural outbreaks of illness, and for other purposes (2005, November) The Library of Congress. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01873:@@@L&summ2=m&
14. Eisenstein, M. (n.d). General Health. Homefirst Health Services. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.homefirst.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=185&Itemid=106.
15. Heller, L. (2009, August 10). Canada examines vitamin D for swine flu protection. NUTRA. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Canada-examines-vitamin-D-for-swine-flu-protection/.
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