More Children Than Estimated Could Have Swine Flu

Up to a third of children in some areas may already have had swine flu, even if they were not sick and showed no symptoms.
The Health Protection Agency of the United Kingdom has found that there may be more cases of swine flu in children than originally thought.
No matter what type of flu it is, the flu always affects more people while only a small percentage get sick.
Out of 10 children, a third will have the swine flu but only another third of those children will get sick.


The National Health Agency has been carrying out blood tests as part of its surveillance program to catch individuals who may have come in contact with swine flu and then come down with it.
An extraordinary finding has been that once an individual comes down with the swine flu, they cannot get it again unless they catch a mutation of the virus. The immunity built against swine flu is very stable.
The National Health Agency explains that this may be the reason why the virus hasn't become a giant pandemic as expected.

'Symptoms'

Common symptoms of swine flu are, a strong cough, sore throat, fever, chills, and muscle aches.
There is also a chance of suffering from vomiting or diarrhea.
The National Health Agency says that even with these common symptoms, a number of children may have had the virus already.

Source List

Any and all of the material that has been borrowed from other sources must be credited, and this post will be used to do that. If you were wondering what my sources are for further research on the topic, then look no further.

BBC News (Tamiflu Resistant Strain):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8370859.stm

Let's Get Real (Swine Flu Propaganda):
http://www.nidokidos.org/lets-get-real-t37642.html

Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

Fight Flu:
http://www.fightflu.ca/

Flu Tracker:
http://flutracker.rhizalabs.com/

Flu.gov:
http://www.flu.gov/

Canadian H1N1 Information:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/

World Health Organization:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/

BRC’s First Event of the Year ‘Successful’

Entertainment and food come alive! The Brantford Residence Council (BRC) holds their first event of the year with the aim to provide a fun-filled environment for all first-year students on residence. On Wednesday, November 11, 2009, a Coffee House was held in the Grand River Hall lounge. The event was organized by the BRC, a council consisting of a representative from each residence that holds the sole aim of reuniting residence students with each other through events and activities.
This first event had the theme of a Coffee House with a special addition of a Talent Show. Free food consisting of cookies, pies and cakes, with refreshments such as coffee and tea were provided, exclusive only to first year students living on residence.
The talent provided consisted of volunteers from the various residences that had a wide range of talent. The opening act was a sketch performed by the BRC. Bianca Ferris did a freestyle dance, and Keigan played an acoustic version of ‘What a Wonderful World’ on his guitar.
Other talents included singing, spoken word, and the closing act was a cover of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ performed by the residence Dons.
Meaghan Smith attended the event and had this to say, “The event was fun and exciting, and the talent for the most part was really great! I would love to see events like the Coffee House in the future.”
Carla Egesi, president of the BRC calls the event ‘successful’ as it brought out more than 90 students to the event. As for the attendance of students at the event, Carla had this to say, “Honestly, I expected around 50 at most [students] despite the alleged 180 odd students who were supposed to be in attendance. I was certainly proven wrong when I counted 200 odd students before I and my fellow emcee did the opening address. Suffice it to say, the turnout did exceed my expectations.”
The BRC understands how difficult it is for first year students to come together due to exams and assignments, and so this event was created to form a lively and classy environment for them to relieve stress from school and make new friends.
Carla plans to create similar events in the future with the rest of the BRC and hopes that they will bring the various residence communities’ closer together: “With such positive feedback, BRC will definitely be taking on more projects like the Coffee House in the future. We will be having a banquet in March 2010, so please look forward to that.”

Tamiflu Resistant Swine Flu Spreads Among Patients

Health officials at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff report of a Tamiflu resistant strain of swine flu that has spread among five patients. This is thought by the health officials to be the first case of person-to-person transmission of the swine flu.
Other cases of individuals who have built resistance to Tamiflu have been reported around the world, but they have never spread it among others. The health officials report that there is no further risk to other patients.
Two of the patients have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital. Two are being treated in a separate ward and one patient is in critical care.
Tamiflu, also known as 'Oseltamivir' is an antiviral drug that is used to treat the various influenza viruses. It is used as a treatment for the seasonal flu, Avian flu, and even the H1N1 virus.
The virus has been stable since its emergence in April, and this resistant strain of the swine flu does not seem any more dangerous than the already prevalent strain of swine flu.
Dr. Roland Salmon, the director of the National Public Health Service for Wale's Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, emphasizes that "Treatment with Tamiflu is still appropriate for swine flu and people should continue to take Tamiflu when they are prescribed it."
"It's also important that good hygiene practices are followed to further prevent the spread of the virus."

This Year It's A Different Flu Season

The flu is changing, and this season, it's completely different. The normal influenza virus is meek compared to the H1N1 influenza virus. Ontario has set up a website in order to help protect people against the flu. The website offers daily updates on vaccines and research on the virus.
There is plenty of information on how to prevent and protect oneself from the virus. If you are worried about taking the vaccination feeling that it may not be safe, there is a link provided that provides in-depth information on the vaccine.
Another link is provided for individuals who are having a hard time looking for a clinic that is offering the vaccination. The link helps to find the location of a clinic close by and provides the hours of operation to drop by.
There is information for all sorts of groups, and telephone numbers are provided to talk to a registered nurse about any health issues.
The website link is:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/