Pharmaceutical Companies are going to make a lot of money on flu. The federal government is seeking an additional $1.5 billion for swine flu vaccinations.
Three years ago, the Bush administration awarded about $1 billion to vaccine makers as a way to increase and speed production. Several vaccine makers, including Baxter and Sanofi-Aventis, the "Blackwater of bugs", were awarded multimillion-dollar contracts: :Sanofi Aventis Invests 100 Million Euros In New Facility In Mexico to Produce Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccine.
Legitgov.org is tracking interesting oddities about the flu here. One oddity is the name: Swine Flu, whereas swine can't get this strain -- only humans.
If you are going to get vaccinated against it, should you be concerned about Baxter's vaccination? They are making a vaccination, but previously one of their vaccinations CONTAINED H5N1 (the human form of avian flu). They sent it to labs in Czech Republic, Germany and Slovenia. Initially, Baxter refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1, invoking “trade secrets.” After increased pressure, they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident.
A container of swine virus samples packed in dry ice exploded on a Swiss train, injuring one person but posing no other risks to humans, police said on Tuesday. The box held vials of swine flu virus, although a different strain than the H1N1 variety that has caused about 150 deaths in Mexico and infected people in the United States, Canada, Spain and Britain. A technician was transporting the container on Monday night to the Swiss national flu centre in Geneva, where scientists are developing a flu test for humans, police said.
The U.S. Army is finishing an investigation into the disappearance of three vials of a potentially lethal pathogen from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Feb. 10).
Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which killed millions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3719990.stm
Flashback: CDC to mix avian, human flu viruses in pandemic study
The United States has flatly denied allegations it was producing biological weapons from bird flu samples sent by Indonesia to the World Health Organization, the English daily The Jakarta Post reported Monday. Michael H. Anderson, counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia, [has issued the denial]. However, Indonesian senior biodefense researcher Isro Samihardjo said the U.S. could use bird flu virus samples from Indonesia to develop weapons at the Los Alamos Laboratory. Isro was speaking at a meeting about Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari's newly released book here Saturday. In her book "It's Time for the World to Change, Divine Hands behind Bird Flu," Siti writes of her suspicions about a conspiracy between the U.S. and the WHO.
What is the US government but a bunch of private companies, no?
Jan 14, 2004 (CIDRAP News) – One of the worst fears of infectious disease experts is that the H5N1 avian influenza virus now circulating in parts of Asia will combine with a human-adapted flu virus to create a deadly new flu virus that could spread around the world.
That could happen, scientists predict, if someone who is already infected with an ordinary flu virus contracts the avian virus at the same time. The avian virus has already caused at least 48 confirmed human illness cases in Asia, of which 35 have been fatal. The virus has shown little ability to spread from person to person, but the fear is that a hybrid could combine the killing power of the avian virus with the transmissibility of human flu viruses.
Speaking at a conference to reassure the public over hers government's response to the swine flu threat, Indonesian Heath Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said Tuesday that the controversial virus could have been man-made.
She declined to elaborate on her claim but she had previously accused Western governments of making and spreading viruses in the developing world to boost pharmaceutical companies' profits, AFP reported.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92794§ionid=3510212
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Reading all the reports about this and previous virus that have been "let loose" does make a person rather skeptical of it all...so we know the pharm. companies will make tons of $$ now, and I guess all we can do is keep thoroughly washing our hands!! and watch who you kiss!
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