Swine Flu originated from Asia and not Mexico?

A New York Times article reports that a new theory suggests that H1N1 flu originated from Asia and not Mexico.

Read about it here

TAMIFLU RESISTANT H1N1 strain seen

ABS CBN News reports that a strain of H1N1 has developed a resistance to TAMIFLU which is the drug of choice in treating the virus.

Click here to read more about it on ABS CBN

Here a Virologist writes about it in more detail

And here is Reuters report about the findings of Roche on Tamiflu resistance

Does being infected in the 1st wave of H1N1 provide a person with immunity to the second or third H1N1 wave?

One question that has been raised again and again is the that of whether being infected in the 1st H1N1 pandemic wave provide a person with immunity to the second or third pandemic waves.

There are numerous opinions on this but one of the best indicators would be the data from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

The Flu Wiki discusses this at length and it seems that being infected in the 1st wave DOES NOT protect one against the second wave BUT it protects against DEATH.

This matter should be evaluated carefully by both the government authorities (only in nations with competent officials) and / or the individual.

Philippine Department of Health defends policy of keeping swine flu death a secret.

The DOH defended its move to keep secret, the occupation of the countries 1st H1N1 related death. The DOH Head, Dr. Duque, invoked their departments protocol in keeping identities of fatalities secret as justification in their practice of secrecy.

However, officials in the Congress, where the first fatality was later identified as connected to, reacted strongly and negatively to this saying that by witholding this information from the top officials , they put the rest of the employees in grave danger.

The repost of GMA News can be found here

Low Level H1N1 Outbreak Declared in Metro Manila

The two major news networks reported tonight that the DOH has declared a low level community level outbreak in Metro Manila.

Click here for the ABS CBN News report

Click here for the GMA News Report

In an earlier report, the DOH warned the public regarding the possibility of a more devastating "second wave" or what is more commonly known as a mutation. The DOH spokesperson specifically mentioned the 1918 outbreak as well.

Click here for the report on ABS CBN

The first Influenza A H1N1 related death in the Philippines

In a report by ABS CBN, the DOH has reported the country's 1st death from the H1N1 virus.

For the full text of the story follow this link