Blog Archive for May, 2009
Prepare…Prepare…Prepare
Recent events have provided us with several interesting lessons regarding the preparations (or lack there of) of the world’s ability to equip, react, and stabilize a viral outbreak.
While the particular strain of the virus at this particular time has not killed a large number of people, it is amazing to think of the pure scope of the outbreak within the last four weeks. Initial numbers that were reported at the beginning of the outbreak included 943 reported cases of people that contracted the virus and 20 deaths as a result of contracting the virus in Mexico. There are now 8,829 cases with 76 deaths around the globe in just the four weeks of tracking the virus. The virus has spread easily around the globe to forty different countries all during a time when the flu generally subsides during the summer months in North America.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, in a recent press conference, indicated the new swine flu virus continues to spread rapidly and said that a global outbreak is likely. “This virus may have given us a grace period, but we do not know how long this grace period will last,” Chan said. “No one can say whether this is just the calm before the storm.”
In the past few years, thoughts of an outbreak have not threatened us in the United States. The recent concerns regarding SARS and bird flu have seemed remote. But this outbreak has been different in that it has shown up in our own backyard, moved quickly, and done this in a non-flu season.
The concern now is two-fold. What happens in the Fall if the virus reappears during the new cold/flu season? Will the virus mutate and become more potent? What populations will it affect most? Finally, how quickly will it spread and will the virus become deadly? The second concern is that we have to ask the question - are we truly prepared for a global outbreak? Do we have the information we need, the resources in place to mobilize and protect our citizens, and the ability to contain the virus?
Obviously, we are very passionate about this subject. We have dedicated ourselves to create truly innovative germ defense products. Products you have not seen before. Products that provide protection in ways that have not been provided before. We are not alarmists, but we want to raise question: Are you prepared?
We recommend that you create a disaster preparedness plan at work and at home, stay informed by reading the most recent CDC guidelines and reports, and utilize Clyns Brands products as part of your plan. To purchase our products go to our online store at www.myclyns.com/store or call us at 877-Go-Clyns.
Have a great week.
Joel Ivers
WHO head indicates full flu pandemic to be declared
By Ben Harding and Laura MacInnis
Reuters
YahooNews!
MADRID/GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization is likely to raise its flu alert to the top of its six-point scale and declare a pandemic, its director-general indicated in an interview published on Monday.
In remarks setting the scene for another alert increase, but without saying when, WHO chief Margaret Chan warned against over-confidence following a stabilization in the number of new cases of the H1N1 strain that has proved deadly in Mexico.
“Level 6 does not mean, in any way, that we are facing the end of the world. It is important to make this clear because (otherwise) when we announce level 6 it will cause an unnecessary panic,” she told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
“Flu viruses are very unpredictable, very deceptive … We should not be over-confident. One must not give H1N1 the opportunity to mix with other viruses. That is why we are on alert.”
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MyClyns wins 2009 MedicCast Product Innovator Award from EMS Today
MyClyns has won a 2009 Product Innovator Award in the field of EMS from MedicCast, a podcast for EMT’s, Paramedics, and other medical professionals that provides news, commentary, tips and tricks, and much more.