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Mass. Senate approves pandemic flu prep bill By Associated Press | Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously passed a pandemic flu preparation bill that has languished in the Legislature before the recent swine flu outbreak. The 36-0 vote today sends the measure to the House. Both branches have taken it up in past years, but have not been able to agree on the details. The new Senate version would allow the public health commissioner — in a public health emergency — to close or evacuate buildings, enter private property for investigations, and...

MEXICO CITY/GENEVA, April 30 (Reuters) - Mexico's president told citizens to stay home from Friday for a five-day partial shutdown of the economy, after the World Health Organisation raised its alert level and said a swine flu pandemic was imminent. In his first televised address since the crisis erupted last week, President Felipe Calderon told Mexicans to stay home with their families. The country will suspend non-essential work and services, including some government ministries, from May 1-5. "There is no safer place than your own home to avoid being infected with the flu virus," Calderon said.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged parents to prepare for the possibility that their children's schools could be closed temporarily if swine flu cases spread to them. Speaking at the White House, Obama said he wants Americans to know the government is doing "whatever is necessary" to contain the emerging health threat, which was officially blamed for a U.S. death for the first time Wednesday. Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with the family of the 23-month-old child in Texas who became the nation's first reported swine flu death. The president's remarks came at an event welcoming Sen. Arlen...

The World Health Organisation raised its flu alert signalling a swine flu pandemic is "imminent" as a toddler in the United States became the first to die of the disease outside of Mexico. "All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," WHO chief Margaret Chan said as she raised the alert to five on a scale of six following WHO health expert talks in Geneva. "The international community should treat this as an opportunity to ramp up the response. After all, it is really all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic," she added. Phase five,...

A Washoe County official says the 2-year-old Reno girl diagnosed with the first case of swine flu in Nevada does not appear to have traveled to areas of the country where other cases have been diagnosed. Dr. Randall Todd, state epidemiologist, said during a press conference Wednesday, that another family member is ill as well. The girl, who is recovering, taking anti viral medication and never admitted to a hospital, attended a local day care center, Todd said.

What to call the new strain of flu raising alarm around the world has taken on political, economic and diplomatic overtones. Pork producers question whether the term "swine flu" is appropriate, given that pigs so far do not seem to be falling ill. Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said using the word "swine" would lead to consumers avoiding pork. Some people in Thailand have started referring to the disease as "Mexican flu". The US is reviewing whether to change the name, complaining that a slew of countries were misguidedly banning pork imports from North America. "This is not a food-borne...

The World Health Organisation tonight raised the pandemic alert level to five out of six after the continued spread of swine flu world wide. Margaret Chan, the organisation's director-general, said tonight: "I have decided to raise the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5. "Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world." Making a call to governments, she said: "This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other industries, to the pharmaceutical industry...

The deadly disease formerly known as "swine flu" is now called the "2009 H1N1 flu," US officials said Wednesday as they battled against a worldwide clampdown on US pork exports. Bidding to distance the hybrid influenza from pigs, which are responsible for only one part of the strain, US officials again insisted that people could not catch H1N1 from eating pork. The new designation was in the script at briefings by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting chief Richard Besser and other US officials. "We're calling it the 2009 H1N1 flu. That's...

Original report just issued on web in Japanese. English translation not up yet; synopsizing here for Free Republic.Upshot is that Japanese pandemic-tracking organization (per Japanese link) is bundling this Mexican swing flu into a threat coming from both MEXICO and the UNITED STATES, and as such more than likely the flu will be officially named "The North American Influenza" in due time. (理的由来から名づけられており、このため、このインフルエンザは「北アメリカインフルエンザ（North American influenza）」と呼ばれることが理にかなっているだろう。 )Additional observations:1) Japanese Border Inspection authorities (at airports and ports) are stringently inspecting each aircraft coming either from Mexico, or the United States with travelers from Mexico. Protection-suited up health specialists with googles, operation...

MEXICO CITY—Even the mighty Wolverine is taking precautions when it comes to swine flu. Film distributor 20th Century Fox says it has canceled actor Hugh Jackman's scheduled appearance in Mexico City to promote "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - What's in a name? U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu. At a news briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack took pains to repeatedly refer to the flu as the "H1N1 virus." "This is not a food-borne illness, virus. It is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that's not what this is about," Vilsack said. Israel has already rejected the name swine...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned of Orlando's first confirmed case of swine flu. According to the chief medical officer for Adventist Health System, Loran Hauck, the case was diagnosed Tuesday morning. "A case was diagnosed here in Orlando today on a tourist from Mexico who came to Disney attractions two days ago to visit," Hauck wrote in an email obtained by Eyewitness News. No further details have been released, but Eyewitness News is working to learn specifically what days the tourist was at the parks and which park the tourist went to. Details about the tourist, beyond being...

WASHINGTON (AP)- American agriculture officials want to change the name for the virus that's broken out in Mexico and the U.S. from "swine flu" to something else. The problem, they say, is that the name "swine flu" suggests a problem with pork products. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points out that the virus is not food-borne and has nothing to do with consuming pork products.

CDC: 'Fully expect we will see deaths' Apr 28 02:29 PM US/Eastern By MIKE STOBBE ATLANTA (AP) - A U.S. health official said at least five people are hospitalized with swine flu in the United States and deaths are likely. "I fully expect we will see deaths from this infection," as swine flu cases are investigated, said Richard Besser, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control. He said he did not know about a newspaper report of two deaths in two southern California hospitals in which the victims seemed to be suffering from swine flu symptoms. "I would...

GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - The WHO said on Tuesday it awaited formal confirmation from U.S. authorities the new swine flu virus has spread significantly between people, a sign that could indicate an "imminent" influenza pandemic. Confirmation infected people in two countries are spreading the new disease to their families or contacts in a sustained way would meet the World Health Organisation's criteria for declaring a phase 5 alert on its scale of 1 to 6. The United Nations agency raised its pandemic alert level to phase 4 from phase 3 on Monday as the virus spread to Europe. The...

Congressman Paul gives his perspective on the swine flu issue.

Cases of swine flu were confirmed early today in Israel and New Zealand, the first definitive proof that the dangerous new virus has spread to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. The World Health Organization, which yesterday raised its pandemic threat level from 3 to 4, two levels below a full-scale pandemic, will not meet today to consider another increase, a spokesman said at a news conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Eyewitness News has learned of Orlando's first confirmed case of swine flu. According to the chief medical officer for Adventist Health System, Loran Hauck, the case was diagnosed Tuesday morning. "A case was diagnosed here in Orlando today on a tourist from Mexico who came to Disney attractions two days ago to visit," Hauck wrote in an email obtained by Eyewitness News. No further details have been released, but Eyewitness News is working to learn specifically what days the tourist was at the parks and which park the tourist went to. Details about the tourist, beyond being...

Swine flu forces shutdown of Richardson school 03:09 PM CDT on Monday, April 27, 2009 WFAA-TV Staff RICHARDSON — Richardson Independent School District officials said Monday that Canyon Creek Elementary School will be closed for the rest of the week after one student tested positive for the swine flu virus.

EL PASO — U.S. airport officials and border agents waved people through Monday with little or no additional screening for Mexico’s deadly swine flu — a far more muted reaction than the extreme caution elsewhere around the world