Down Under Today

         MALAYSIA WATCHING CLOSELY ON AUSSIE ARRIVALS

AUSTRALIANS visiting Malaysia will be closely watched as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

This is because they come from a country that is affected by swine flu, or officially known as A/H1N1.

Some of the Aussies will be screened only once, but others depending on their appearance such as looking ill, may have to be screened at least twice.

Reports I received from my contacts in Malaysia say that more health officers have been assigned to the KLIA to ensure that “strict checks” will be maintained on tourists, especially from Australia, the United States, Mexico and the Philippines.

Malaysian health authorities are concerned that more Australians are believed to be suffering from the swine flu, which reportedly has killed seven people.  But the deaths have not been confirmed as due to swine flu.  Some of the victims are understood to have also other ailments.

Five of the deaths were from Melbourne and the remaining two from Perth. 

In recent weeks more than 1,000 students from various private senior high schools had been told to stay at home as six of them had been diagnosed as having the A/H1N1 virus. 

But what is surprising, though, it is not known yet how the six students had caught the disease.  They had not been overseas or interstate recently where swine flu is more prevalent. 

They have been among the 70 confirmed cases of swine flu in Western Australia. Throughout Australia the total number of A/H1N1 confirmed cases has increased to 1515.  

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the the spread of the disease to other parts of the country is inevitable.

However, medical authorities have cleared some of the schools and students were allowed to return from their unexpected holidays.  There is still some uneasy feelings.

Roxon also announces that a swine flu vaccine would become available next month.   What is available now is antiviral drug called Tamiflu, which generally costs $60.

For those who can’t afford to buy Tamiflu, there is still a hope.  It is an alternative treatment using a Chinese spice, one of the ingredients normally used in Chinese cooking, according to my contact Manuel Dorall quoting a Chinese doctor. 

The doctor’s “prescription” is: Get nine pieces of star anise, put them in an earthen pot, pour six cups of  water into it and boil for about 30-40 minutes until the water is reduced to about four cups and drink half a cup of the boiled water  twice a day until the flu is over.  Do not use a metal pot.

To add flavour to the drink, add a couple of red dates to the concoction when boiling, but remove the seeds first.

The doctor says that judging from the reported characteristics of the swine flu, it is a warm-type of epidemic, which develops quickly and kills quickly.

“The best thing to do is strengthen your immune system, stay healthy, drink lots of warm water, vitamin C, sleep well and stay away from crowded places,” he adds.

“The star-anise water may make you feel a little dizzy for a few minutes but it is all right.”

According to the doctor this alternative remedy is just as effective as any Westeren drug available for swinbe flu.  

But I would suggest that you consult your own doctor before using this alternative treatment as each individual may have some other ailments which could cause complication. – Jeff Francis.

World biggest problem in swine flu pandemic

EVEN if World Health Organisation declares a pandemic after closely examining the rapidly spreading swine flu throughout the five continents, it does not necessarily mean that the devastating disease is now under control.

In fact, it will create one of the biggest medical problems in world history on where they can get at least 6.5bil – yes, billion, not millions -- doses of vaccine to meet the demands of the global hospitals.

Not even the United States with all its advanced technology, combined with those of other countries, could produce such an amount in time to deal with the disastrous situation.

The best they could expect is a total production of no more than 350mil doses, which would probably take six months before they can be distributed to other countries.

This is the limitation of the current medical technology in any part of the world.  It is the greatest impediment which scientists are desperately trying to overcome by using possibly other methods and biotechnologies than chicken and eggs.

Whether they could produce 6.5bil doses in time to address the rapidly growing swine flu is another matter.

The authorities are watching the situation closely in more than 20 countries in four continents around the world.

They need to know by next week how many people are actually infected by swine flu to determine how widespread it is at the moment before declaring a pandemic.

But the figures coming out of Mexico on the death toll is confused to say the least.  Latest official figures put it down to between 160 and 176 while a Mexican doctor believes it is more than 200.

The actual figure could make the difference in calculating the more accurate approximate number of victims of the dreadful disease. 

 Reports from Mexico estimate that more than 2,500 people are currently ill with influenza, but how many are really affected by swine flu has not been confirmed yet.

Part of the problem is that the authorities do not have adequate rapid diagnostic testing systems and are simply taking quick blood test from people to find out if they might have been infected with swine flu in the past.

What is absolutely essential at this point is to find out what is the actual death toll in Mexico, says Laurie Garrett, an American expert in chronic and infectious diseases, global health systems and bioterrorism.

In an interview with ABC 7.30 Report, Garrett, who is also a Pulitzer Prize science author, points out that health authorities are not sure how virulent is the current swine flu because they do not really know the denominator or the ratio of deaths to incidents of the disease in Mexico.

The denominator issue in Mexico is important to assess the fatality rate of 1% or 2% of all victims of swine flu.

As far as the World Health Organisation (WHO) is aware is that, of the thousands of suspected swine flu victims, only 105 cases have been confirmed throughout the world.

It all began in the village of La Gloria in Mexico two months ago when a five-year-old boy suffered swine flu and survived.

The disease spread quickly over the border to the United States, Canada, Britain and various parts of Europe and finally to Asia, Australia and New Zealand. 

Until a pandemic is declared, the situation is in Phase 5 alert, which means that human-to-human spread has occurred in at least two countries within the WHO region.

“The worrisome thing is that a lot of the illness and death is in young adults,” Garrett says.  “They are in the age group of between 15 and 36 who normally has no trouble with influenza.”

Perhaps, one of the reasons is to do with the behavioural patterns of young adults and teenagers who hang out together in groups at schools, gyms and other places.  When someone sneezes, the germs from it could easily spread to others in the group.

The virus is reported to have broken out in 15 states in the US.  In Mexico City, about 35,000 public venues have been closed.

The situation is almost similar to the 1981 Spanish flu, known as “one of the world’s great historic scourges”, that killed 100 million people throughout the world.

Young people in Australia have been urged not to congregate in groups in public areas as a precaution against swine flu. The situation has caused almost a panic as householders began hoarding food and masks to avoid going to the shops regularly.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon describes the panic as unnecessary and appeals to Australians not to stockpile food and antiviral drugs in their pantries.

The government has taken every precaution necessary, as advised by health professionals, to stop the disease from getting into Australia.  Incoming passengers at all airports are being screened by thermal scanners and have to fill a health declaration card.

Anyone who has a high temperature will be immediately examined by a medical staff member and required to give a nose or throat swap if considered necessary.   

A total of 136 people have been tested for swine flu, including those who have travelled to Mexico recently, but there has been no confirmed case.  But two Australians, now in London, have been found positive with swine flu after their return from Mexico and a woman is awaiting the result of a test.

Garrett says: “What happens in the next few days will tell us whether what we’re dealing with is a garden variety flu that just happens to have gone through pigs, but is no more likely to cause death and devastation than a normal flu or whether we’re dealing with something that, indeed, is a significant killer flu.”