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MEXICO CITY, (AFP) – World health officials stepped up warnings of a possible pandemic of swine flu as governments released millions of antiviral drugs and the number of cases rose, spreading into Europe.
With the likely death toll in Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, now standing at 149, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its flu pandemic alert level from three to four.
While the increase marked a “significant step towards pandemic influenza, it’s also a phase which says we are not there yet,” said Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant-general for health, security and the environment.
Fukuda warned “that in this age of global travel where people move around in airplanes so quickly, there is no region to which this virus could not spread.”
The number of confirmed cases in the United States more than doubled on Monday to 44 and Britain and Spain both said they had registered patients sick with swine flu, the first cases in Europe.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the new multi-strain virus, which is believed to be a mix of a human flu virus and an avian flu that first came from swine, risked triggering a global pandemic.
“We are concerned that this virus could cause a new influenza pandemic. It could be mild in its effect or potentially be severe,” Ban told reporters.
“We don’t know yet which way it will go but we are concerned that in Mexico most of those who died were young and healthy adults.”
Influenza caused three epidemics during the 20th century, the worst being the Spanish flu between 1918 and 1919 that killed at least 40 million people, according to the WHO.
Mexico, which was rocked by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake on Monday, said the number of confirmed and suspected deaths from the flu had now risen to 149, as other countries urged against non-essential travel to the tourism hotspot.
Schools across Mexico have been closed until May 6 in a bid to stop the spread of the flu, which has sickened more than 1,600 people.
“We’re in the decisive moment of the crisis. The number (of deaths) will continue rising,” Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova added.
Europe’s first confirmed case was reported in Spain, where 26 suspected cases were being probed, while two people were found to have the disease in Britain and dozens more potential cases were being checked in seven European Union member states.
Fears the disease could further strain the already-embattled global economy gave stock markets the jitters, leading to falls in Europe and Asia, while trading on Wall Street was muted.
And oil prices fell sharply on fears the escalating outbreak could further dampen economic activity and impact energy demand.
Although the US government has declared a public health emergency with 44 cases in five states, President Barack Obama urged calm.
The swine flu outbreak “requires a heightened state of alert, but it is not a cause for alarm,” he told a gathering of the National Academy of Sciences.
Richard Besser, acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the affected states of New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California and others were receiving 11 million courses of antiviral drugs.
Besser stressed that of so far most people in the US had only been mildly ill.
Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche said it was ready to send out more stocks of the antiviral medication Tamiflu, some 220 million doses of which are in the hands of governments worldwide.
And British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline also said it was “urgently” investigating how to boost production of its antiviral drug Relenza, as the race to develop a direct vaccine for the H1N1 strain gathered pace.
The company has already provided 100,000 packs of the drug to Mexican authorities, along with a further 170,000 doses of its seasonal flu vaccine.
The European Union called emergency talks of health ministers and advised against non-essential travel to areas where the deadly virus has surfaced.
The United States issued a travel alert warning against “non-essential travel” to Mexico.
In New Zealand the government said it was investigating a further possible 56 cases of swine flu, while one person in Peru and up to 12 in Canada are under observation with flu symptoms.
There have been six confirmed cases in Canada and in the Middle East, a 26-year-old Israeli was also hospitalized.
AmericanHealthOptions.com reminds that top anti viral medication for flu treatment is Tamiflu.
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Levitra (generic name: vardenafil) is a prescription drug that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) - which is an inability in men to achieve penile erection. This embarrassing situation of failing to maintain an erection until ejaculation is often referred to as impotence. Whatever its underlying physiological and psychological causes are, this condition was once a taboo subject.
Thanks to recent heavy advertisements on drugs in this category, and much publicity of high-interest stories, taking remedial medications such as Levitra has become a more accepted norm.
Levitra is an FDA-approved oral medication that is available only by prescription. It works by relaxing your muscles to increase blood flow to the penis. The extra flow of blood will engorge the penis thus helping men get a harder erection. Moreover, Levitra works by preventing blood from flowing out of the penis. This helps you keep a longer-lasting erection. Generally, after the sexual activity ceases, the erection will go away. If the penis persists in staying erect for more than 4 hours, seek medical attention to avoid long-term injury.
Certain other medications can work to inhibit the elimination of enzymes that are stimulated by Levitra. People who are on medications such as erythromycin, ketoconazole (Nizoral), itraconazole (Sporanox), indinavir (Crixivan) and ritonavir (Norvir) are recommended to take lower dosages of Levitra. In addition, the time between each dosage may need to be extended. Normally a minimal initial dosage of 10 mg per day is recommended.
Common Levitra adverse drug reactions include nausea. Infrequent ADRs include abdominal pain, back pain, photosensitivity, abnormal vision, eye pain, facial oedema, hypertension, palpitation, tachycardia, arthralgia, myalgia, rash, itch, and priapism. (Rossi, 2004). The side effects reported in clinical trials include headache, flushing and stuffy or runny nose. In extremely rare cases, report to doctor immediately, if you have a sudden decrease or loss of vision, in one or both eyes.
However, what is special about Levitra is that people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and even diabetics, have been found to be safely taking this medication. These health factors don’t seem to impede these men from enjoying increased sexual activities after taking it. As with taking any new medications, it is always best to ask your doctor about drug interactions with your existing medications, and with your present medical conditions.
So before taking Levitra, talk to your doctor if you have or have had a history of heart disease such as irregular heart rhythms or angina, or congestive heart failure, or heart attacks. Make your doctor aware of any history of stroke, blood clots, blood pressure problems, kidney disease, liver disease, blood cell disorder, bleeding disorder, stomach ulcers, retinitis pigmentosa, penis deformity, or if, for health reasons, you cannot engage in sexual intercourse.
If any of those conditions apply to you, your physician may choose one of three options. First, he or she may decide to seek an alternative to Levitra all together. He or she may also reduce the regular dosage for your case, or continually observe and test your health during treatment.
Disclaimer: This article should not be substituted for medical advice. Please talk to a qualified professional for more information about Levitra.
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The word Viagra is synonymous to strong penile erection in the sexually enlightened world community. Business giants have already sensed the pulse of ED market and challenged Viagra with equally efficient erectile dysfunction treatments. Not that the small fishes in the market are sitting idle - the market is flooded with many generic versions of branded ED pills along with those called Herbal Viagra. But the name itself confuses me, how can Viagra be herbal?
This question erects from the sheer fact that the so-called herbal Viagra contains undeclared ingredients, and the most risky affair about it is, most of the time it is Sildenafil. Ridiculously, it is named after ?herbal? and that too with the marking of VG on it! Medsafe investigators have tested the products named Meng Rong and pills with marking of VG and results revealed the fact that it contained Sildenafil, the main ingredient of Viagra.
A health warning has been issued under Section 98 of the Medicines act 1981 in the month of May, 2006 against so called herbal products containing undeclared prescription medicines. Yixinjiaonang which contains Tadalafil (main ingredient of Cialis) and Reduce Weight containing Sibutramine an FDA approved weight loss pill, are also included in that list.
Sildenafil is never prescribed to those who have glaucoma, and harmful to the patients with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. At the same time it could have fatal reaction with heart medications containing nitrates. Same goes to Yixinjiaonang, which contains Tadafil, a PDE5 inhibitor for treatment of erectile dysfunction. At the same time Sibutramine which is found in so-called herbal weight loss medicine named Reduce Weight, increases blood pressure and interferes with glaucoma, mental illness as well as liver or kidney problems.
According to Medsafe investigators, the products are supposedly sold through an herbal product retailer and are manufactured in China or in a country where Chinese language is used on the labels of medicinal products. Normally, we, the English speaking lot of Americans, cannot read Chinese labels if available by any fair chance. That is why it is all the important for us to know the other ways to identify the so-called herbal Viagra. Let us know how to identify those five so-called herbal products detected by Medsafe investigators;
The crux of the matter is to know your medicine. We, as consumers, are actually at the most vulnerable point in this whole affair, as we are spending our hard-earned dollars on drugs that are dangerous for our lives. This is a very bad deal indeed! Government is doing its best for the protection of consumer rights as well as lives. But it is also our duty not to be always tempted by the words like under-the-counter and cheap particularly when dealing with health related issues. Do not let yourself bamboozled by the money-monger frauds of the medicine market. Be vigilant and protect life, because it is precious.
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