Warmer weather and long school vacations are ahead. This is the time when everyone’s thoughts turn to holidays, if not abroad, then definitely closer to home. However, two new threats to your travel plans are creating consternation worldwide. They are, of course, the recession and swine flu. How real are these threats and how long will they last?

Looking at the recession first, leaders in the travel industry are already seeing reduced numbers of people moving around the world.

Giovanni Bisgnani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says: “Like the rest of the economy, recovery in the air transport sector rests on a rise in consumer confidence and consumer spending. Shedding debt will be a major headwind. US households, for example, are leveraged at 130 percent of annual income. Even bringing this down by five percent erases $500 billion in consumer spending. The challenge for governments is to turn stimulus funds into spending that fuels trade.”

Recovery also depends on putting people into seats of planes, coaches and trains. To that end, there are some great deals to be had if you want to travel and know where to look. For example, Vacationstogo (vacationstogo.com) is currently offering 75 per cent off some Alaskan cruises, with special deals for those aged 55 and over, firefighters, police, military – even teachers. This may be a great time to consider visiting those snow-capped mountains, enormous glaciers, bottomless fjords and wildlife like whales, bears, eagles, and seals.

There are some good deals about in accommodation as well. Orbitz (orbitz.com) will find deals in large hotels internationally. EuroCheapo (eurocheapo.com) is a good site to look for accommodation if you are planning to travel in Europe. Check out their budget specials and don’t forget to look at the online recommendations of people who have actually stayed in the places you are considering. Remember too that many places will be happy to do a deal if you suggest one (seven nights for the price of six, for example).

The threat of contracting swine flu may mean you are rethinking travel plans. Certainly, Mexico would seem a place to avoid just now, but the World Health Organization has not suggested travel restrictions to any country – including Mexico. Keiji Fukuda MD, who is assistant director-general for health security and environment at the WHO, says countries can set their own policies, but general travel restrictions would not be any use in stopping the spread of the virus.

Unless you are elderly, already unwell, or suffer from conditions like diabetes, heart or lung disease, general advice is that it’s okay to travel so long as you carry out normal everyday health precautions like handwashing. And it may be a good idea to pop that packet of Tamiflu into your hand luggage as well.

Travel companies are tending to stay away from worst hit areas: Carnival Cruises has already cancelled stops at Mexican ports for three ships and Transat AT, a tour operator from Canada, has postponed flights to Mexico for the next month.

This may just be a time to wait and see. Oil companies’ share prices, closely linked to the travel industry, have taken a tumble. When they start to move up again, we will know the world economy – and people’s health – are also trending upwards.

http://www.google.com

The recent swine flu outbreak in Mexico has caused much trepidation among the international community, especially because of the increasing number of fatalities. It is important to recognize swine flu symptoms to prevent the spread of infection and illness.

Swine flu or swine influenza is a respiratory infection caused by the influenza type A virus, endemic in domestic pigs. In the past, swine flu has infected people only rarely – those infected being ones who have had direct and close contact to infected pigs. But the current swine flu outbreak in Mexico is different, caused by a new strain of the swine flu virus. As per recent health reports, swine flu is being transmitted with surprising speed in humans, spreading easily from person to person, causing serious illness among those infected. It has been reported that the disease has been diagnosed in humans who haven’t had any exposure to pigs.

Among pigs, swine flu symptoms include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing, sneezing, breathing difficulties, redness or inflammation of the eye, going off feed, and discharge from the nose or eyes.

Like the influenza virus affecting humans, swine flu viruses are constantly mutating. Although the swine flu viruses are not the same as human flu viruses, swine flu symptoms resemble those produced by regular human seasonal influenza. In humans, common swine flu symptoms are fever, chills, sore throat, muscle pain, severe headache, coughing, lethargy, lack of appetite, weakness, and general discomfort. Some may even experience runny or stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

However in humans, self care measures and appropriate treatment in the early stages of infection can reduce the increased risk of these complications. In order to confirm that the illness is the result of a swine flu virus, one must undergo laboratory testing. Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza are considered effective for the treatment and/or prevention of infection by swine flu viruses.

http://www.google.com

A bird flu pandemic will change many things around the world, and one thing that the United States government must consider in its bird flu plans is the effect of illegal immigration.

When people are dying right and left, it’s only human nature that people want to blame somebody for their problems. Therefore, a bird flu pandemic will likely spark ethnic violence around the globe. This most likely place for this to happen in the U.S. is in the southwestern states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas where there is a high concentration of Hispanics, some of whom entered the U.S. illegally.

We do have plans in place to monitor and screen passengers coming into the U.S. through international jet travel, and this is good. We will likely try to keep obviously sick people from even boarding planes headed for U.S. destinations. We plan to monitor passengers during the flight (because during a long Asia to U.S. flight infected people can go from nonsymptomatic to coughing and sneezing), and we plan to isolate sick passengers and quarantine the rest of the passengers and crew.

That’s all well and good, but what about the many thousands of people who daily cross our border without even permission, let alone observation for good health?

Mexicans are no more likely than anybody else to be infected with bird flu, but during a pandemic no less likely either.

It’s also possible that Mexican hospitals and clinics will be overwhelmed by flu patients, and so some will head for the U.S. for treatment, in the mistaken belief that U.S. hospitals and clinics will be better prepared to treat flu patients.

However, it is true that it will be difficult for anybody with bird flu to cross the desert. It’ll be difficult enough for them to breathe. However, it’s possible that their relatives may try to reach the U.S. in the belief they can buy Tamiflu here to save their ill family member.

We are unlikely to have enough Tamiflu to treat more than a small percentage of influenza patients, and treatment must begin within 2 days of symptoms, so it’s not practical for Mexicans to get Tamiflu by going to the U.S. for sick family members, but that may not keep them from trying.

In any case, there’s the risk that illegal immigrants will be blamed for further spreading bird flu into the U.S.

Another border issue is simple security. Most illegal immigrants coming from Mexico are Mexicans who want to make money in the U.S. Some are non-Mexicans who just want to work in the U.S.

Some are no doubt terrorists who want to destroy the United States. During a bird flu pandemic, more terrorists may plan to come into the United States to take advantage of pandemic-related problems.

It’s also possible that Mexican gangs who now smuggle marijuana, cocaine and other drugs into the U.S. may switch to smuggling fake drugs. They’ll find a large market for counterfeit or poorly made Tamiflu.

http://www.google.com

Zoonosis refers to a kind of infectious disease that plagues between animals and human beings. Some plagues, though discovered, spread widely all over the world. Others are newly found, such as the swine flu.

It may be more difficult to deal with those newly-discovered diseases which often result in big disaster for people know little about it. Zoonosis is usually caused by such close contacts between animals and human beings as husbandry, hunting and eating.

The swine flu has been discovered gradually in Mexico and USA since Mar, 2009 and it represents a trend of outbreak. It is A-type flu virus which contains the DNA gene of bird flu, swine flu and human flu virus.

Man is infected by the swine flu virus in the way that the swine flu virus causes a respiratory disease. After man caught this virus, similar symptoms will appear. At the early stage of this disease, Oseltamivir will be useful but man will show a resistance to Amantadine and Rimantadine.

It is reported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that there is no specific medicine at present. Perhaps the capsule “Tamiflu” produced by Roche and the spray medicine “Relenza” by GlaxoSmithKline will be useful for people to fight against swine flu.

Bird flu refers to an infectious disease among birds which is caused by influenza A virus. Injecting the bird flu vaccine into animals’ bodies may effectively prevent the spread of the virus.

According to records, the first person who was infected by the bird flu virus was discovered in Hong Kong in 1997, when the virus H5N1 made 18 people catch respiratory disease and even caused 6 deaths. Meanwhile, the death rate kept high all over the world, counted by WHO.

As a significant way of medical treatment, vaccines, if provided sufficiently and quickly, will reduce the number of injuries and deaths.

It is forecast that the market size of China’s bird flu vaccine for both animals and human beings will maintain a 10% to 20% annual growth from 2009 to 2012, for the spread of swine flu has caused a panic throughout the world.

To get more details, please visit http://www.shcri.com/reportdetail.asp?id=294

http://www.google.com

You can’t turn on the TV these days without an update on the swine flu pandemic (that means it’s widespread throughout the world). In my part of the world, dozens of schools have closed this week as health officials are attempting to stay ahead of the spreading problem.

As all parents know, schools can be a prime breeding ground for infectious diseases. Kids, who typically haven’t built up immunity to as many germs as adults…in confined spaces with other kids…who typically don’t think about the spread of germs or washing their hands, oh my!

Knowing that my younger son wouldn’t be exposed to the virus at school, at least this week anyway, gave me a bit of relief. I know for a fact that some of his fellow students returned recently from a junket to Mexico, so I was especially relieved by the school closing. But it got me thinking and worrying, so I did a little research that you may find useful.

Although swine flu normally affects only pigs (hence the name), the problem occurs when it’s spread to humans, which typically requires direct contact between human and pig. Once it’s in the human population, however, it can spread from person to person just like any other strain of influenza.

Swine flu is a “type A flu virus” with four subtypes, including H1N1, which, according to the authorities, is what we appear to be dealing with currently. One myth I’d like to debunk deals with acquiring the swine flu from consuming pork. NOT TRUE. According to doctors, you cannot contract swine flu from consuming pork or pork products, so no need to change your diet.

What should parents do to help safeguard their children (and themselves)? First, we should all be on the lookout for the symptoms of swine flu, which are much like the symptoms of any other type of flu: fever, headache, fatigue, lack of appetite, sore throat, persistent cough, nasal congestion, and muscle aches.

In children, however, be aware that diarrhoea or vomiting are especially prevalent flu symptoms. Also be aware that adults can be contagious for about a day before symptoms appear and up to seven days after the symptoms appear. Children, however, can be contagious for more than seven days after symptoms first appear.

Second, if you live in an area that has a number of reported cases, it might be a good idea to avoid public places as much as possible. Also, remind your children (and yourself) to wash hands often, and avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth. Studies have shown that viruses and bacteria can live for several hours on surfaces such as desks, tables, doorknobs, etc. And one of the most common ways people catch colds and the flu is by rubbing their nose or eyes after being contaminated.

In the home, parents are advised to routinely clean and disinfect objects such as toys (and other objects small children might put in their mouths), as well as other surfaces using soap, disinfectant and disposable paper towels.

It’s also recommended that parents teach their children “cough etiquette,” which involves turning their heads to cough and sneezing into a disposable tissue (or the inside of the elbow if necessary), rather than sneezing or coughing into their hands.

If you do suspect swine flu (or any flu), of course, see your doctor immediately. There are antiviral flu drugs, such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) available to treat it and, as with most illnesses, early detection is better.

http://www.google.com