CT Scan : A diagnostic Breakthrough in Medicine

Computed tomography (CT), originally known as computed axial tomography (CAT or CT scan) and body section roentgenography, is a medical imaging method employing tomography where digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation. The word "tomography" is derived from the Greek tomos (slice) and graphein (to write). CT produces a volume of data which can be manipulated, through a process known as windowing, in order to demonstrate various structures based on their ability to block the X-ray beam. Although historically (see below) the images generated were in the axial or transverse plane (orthogonal to the long axis of the body), modern scanners allow this volume of data to be reformatted in various planes or even as volumetric (3D) representations of structures.


History
The first commercially viable CT scanner was invented by Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield in Hayes, England at Thorn EMI Central Research Laboratories using X-rays. Hounsfield conceived his idea in 1967, and it was publicly announced in 1972. It is claimed that the CT scanner was "the greatest legacy" of the Beatles; the massive profits from their record sales enabled EMI to fund scientific research.[1] Allan McLeod Cormack of Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA independently invented a similar process and they shared a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1979.

The prototype CT scanner
The original 1971 prototype took 160 parallel readings through 180 angles, each 1° apart, with each scan taking a little over five minutes. The images from these scans took 2.5 hours to be processed by algebraic reconstruction techniques on a large computer.
The first production X-ray CT machine (called the EMI-Scanner) was limited to making tomographic sections of the brain, but acquired the image data in about 4 minutes (scanning two adjacent slices) and the computation time (using a Data General Nova minicomputer) was about 7 minutes per picture. This scanner required the use of a water-filled Perspex tank with a pre-shaped rubber "head-cap" at the front, which enclosed the patient's head. The water-tank was used to reduce the dynamic range of the radiation reaching the detectors (between scanning outside the head compared with scanning through the bone of the skull). The images were relatively low resolution, being composed of a matrix of only 80 x 80 pixels. The first EMI-Scanner was installed in Atkinson Morley's Hospital in Wimbledon, England, and the first patient brain-scan was made with it in 1972.

a historic EMI-Scanner
In the U.S., the first installation was at the Mayo Clinic. As a tribute to the impact of this system on medical imaging the Mayo Clinic has an EMI scanner on display in the Radiology Department.
The first CT system that could make images of any part of the body, and did not require the "water tank" was the ACTA scanner designed by Robert S. Ledley, DDS at Georgetown University.

Guinea Worm : Dracunculiais CDC article

Source: CDC

What is dracunculiasis?

Dracunculiasis, more commonly known as Guinea worm disease (GWD), is a preventable infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis. Infection affects poor communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe water to drink.

Currently, many organizations, including The Global 2000 program of The Carter Center of Emory University, UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) are helping the last 5 countries in the world (Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria) to eradicate the disease. Since 1986, when an estimated 3.5 million people were infected annually, the campaign has eliminated much of the disease.

In 2007, only 9,585 cases of GWD were reported. Most of those cases were from Sudan (61%) and Ghana (35%). All affected countries are aiming to eliminate Guinea worm disease as soon as possible.

How does Guinea worm disease spread?

Approximately 1 year after a person drinks contaminated water, the adult female Guinea worm emerges from the skin of the infected person. Persons with worms protruding through the skin may enter sources of drinking water and unwittingly allow the worm to release larvae into the water. These larvae are ingested by microscopic copepods (tiny "water fleas") that live in these water sources. Persons become infected by drinking water containing the water fleas harboring the Guinea worm larvae.

Once ingested, the stomach acid digests the water fleas, but not the Guinea worm larvae. These larvae find their way to the small intestine, where they penetrate the wall of the intestine and pass into the body cavity. During the next 10-14 months, the female Guinea worm larvae grow into full size adults, 60-100 centimeters (2-3 feet) long and as wide as a cooked spaghetti noodle. These adult femal worms then migrate and emerge from the skin anywhere on the body, but usually on the lower limbs.

A blister develops on the skin at the site where the worm will emerge. This blister causes a very painful burning sensation and it ruptures within 24-72 hours. Immersion of the affected limb into water helps relieve the pain but it also triggers the Guinea worm to release a milky white liquid containing millions of immature larvae into the water, thus contaminating the water supply and starting the cycle over again. For several days after it has emerged from the ulcer, the female Guinea worm is capable of releasing more larvae whenever it comes in contact with water.

What are the signs and symptoms of Guinea worm disease?

Infected persons do not usually have symptoms until about one year after they become infected. A few days to hours before the worm emerges, the person may develop a fever, swelling, and pain in the area. More than 90% of the worms appear on the legs and feet, but may occur anywhere on the body.

People, in remote, rural communities who are most commonly affected by Guinea worm disease (GWD) frequently do not have access to medical care. Emergence of the adult female worm can be very painful, slow, and disabling. Frequently, the skin lesions caused by the worm develop secondary bacterial infections, which exacerbate the pain, and extend the period of incapacitation to weeks or months. Sometimes permanent disability results if joints are infected and become locked.

What is the treatment for Guinea worm disease?

There is no drug to treat Guinea worm disease (GWD) and no vaccine to prevent infection. Once the worm emerges from the wound, it can only be pulled out a few centimeters each day and wrapped around a piece of gauze or small stick. Sometimes the worm can be pulled out completely within a few days, but this process usually takes weeks or months. Analgesics, such as aspirin or ibuprofen, can help reduce swelling; antibiotic ointment can help prevent bacterial infections. The worm can also be surgically removed by a trained doctor in a medical facility before an ulcer forms.

Where is Guinea worm disease found?

Dracunculiasis now occurs only in 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission of the disease is most common in very remote rural villages and in areas visited by nomadic groups. In 2007, the two most endemic countries, Sudan and Ghana, reported 9,173; 5,815 and 3,358 cases of Guinea worm disease (GWD), respectively. Other endemic countries reporting cases of GWD in 2007 were: Mali (313 cases), Nigeria (73 cases), and Niger (14 cases).

Asia is now free of the disease. Transmission of GWD no longer occurs in several African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda. No locally acquired cases of disease have been reported in these countries in the last year or more. The treat of case importations from the remaining endemic countries requires that surveillance be maintained in formerly endemic areas until offical certification. The World Health Organization has certified 180 countries free of transmission of dracunculiasis, including six formerly endemic countries: Pakistan (in 1996), India (in 2000), Senegal and Yemen (in 2004), Central African Republic and Cameroon (in 2007).

Who is at risk for infection?

Anyone who drinks standing pond water contaminated by persons with GWD is at risk for infection. People who live in villages where the infection is common are at greatest risk.

Is Guinea worm disease a serious illness?

Yes. The disease causes preventable suffering for infected persons and is a heavy economic and social burden for affected communities. Emgerence of the adult female worms can be very painful, slow, and disabling. Parents who have active Guinea worm disease may not be able to care for their children. They are also prevented from working in their fields and tending their animals. Because worm emergence usually occurs during planting and harvesting season, heavy crop losses may result leading to financial problems for the entire family. Children may be required to work the fields or tend animals in place of their disabled parents, preventing them from attending school. Therefore, GWD is both a disease of poverty and also a cause of poverty because of the disability it causes.

Is a person immune to Guinea worm disease once he or she has it?

No. Infection does not produce immunity, and many people in affected villages suffer disease year after year.

How can Guinea worm disease be prevented?

Because GWD can only be transmitted via drinking contaminated water, educating people to follow these simple control measures can completely prevent illness and eliminate transmission of the disease:

Drink only water from underground sources (such as from borehole or hand-dug wells) free from contamination.

Prevent persons with an open Guinea worm ulcer from entering ponds and wells used for drinking water.

Always filter drinking water, using a cloth filter, to remove the water fleas.

Additionally, unsafe sources of drinking water can be treated with an approved larvicide, such as ABATE®*, that kills copepods, and communities can be provided with new safe sources of drinking water, or have existing dysfunctional ones repaired.

*Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Public Health Service or by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Swine Flu 4 vaccines Declared

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that it has approved 4 vaccines against the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus, formerly known as "swine flu." The vaccine lots are expected to be available and distributed within the next 4 weeks.

FDA Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said she thought Tuesday's approval was good news for the nation's response to the H1N1 influenza virus. "This vaccine will help protect individuals from serious illness and death from influenza," she said.

The approval comes at a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that visits to physicians around the country for influenza-like illness are increasing and are higher than expected at this time of year. The vaccines that are currently available against 3 seasonal influenza virus strains will not protect against the 2009 H1N1 virus.

The FDA said that the vaccines, based on early data, effectively elicit an immune response in most healthy adults about 8 to10 days after vaccination. Clinical studies are still underway to produce an optimal dose for children, with results expected in the near future.

Meanwhile, the CDC stresses that influenza is primarily spread through person-to-person contact, by the coughing or sneezing of infected people, and recommends that infected people stay home and limit their contact with others to keep from infecting them.

The newly approved vaccines are being made by CSL Limited, MedImmune LLC, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited, and Sanofi Pasteur Inc. All 4 firms reportedly use the same processes to manufacture the H1N1 vaccines. As with the seasonal influenza vaccine, some lots of the H1N1 vaccine will contain the preservative thimerosal and others will not. The FDA has been continuing its efforts toward reducing thimerosal used in vaccines.

The FDA warns that persons with known allergies to chicken eggs or any other substance in the vaccine should probably not be vaccinated, although in the ongoing clinical trials, the vaccines have been well tolerated. The most common adverse effect is soreness at the injection site; other adverse effects can include a mild fever, body aches, and fatigue for a couple of days after vaccination. For the nasal spray delivery system, the most common adverse effects were runny nose, nasal congestion in all ages, sore throats in adults, and fever in children aged 2 to 6 years.

The FDA is working with different organizations regarding adverse event monitoring, information sharing, and an overall analysis during and after the 2009 H1N1 vaccination program, according to the news release. "As with any medical product, unexpected or rare serious adverse events may occur," the FDA notes.

Virus : A threat to Human Civilization

Magic Johnson: Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Magic Johnson: Personal life and His Commitment against AIDS

Personal life

Johnson first fathered a son in 1981, when Andre Johnson was born to Melissa Mitchell. Although Andre was raised by his mother, he visited Johnson each summer, and as of October 2005 was working for Magic Johnson Enterprises as a marketing director. In 1991, Johnson married Earlitha "Cookie" Kelly, with whom he had one son, Earvin III; the couple adopted a daughter, Elisa, in 1995.

In 1998, Johnson hosted a late night talk show on the Fox network called The Magic Hour, but the show was canceled after two months due to low ratings. He runs Magic Johnson Enterprises, a company that has a net worth of $700 million; its subsidiaries include Magic Johnson Productions, a promotional company; Magic Johnson Theaters, a nationwide chain of movie theaters; and Magic Johnson Entertainment, a movie studio. Johnson has also worked as a motivational speaker. He is a supporter of the Democratic Party—in 2005, he publicly endorsed Phil Angelides for governor of California, and Hillary Clinton for president of the United States. Johnson was an NBA commentator for Turner Network Television for seven years, before becoming a studio analyst for ESPN's NBA Countdown in 2008.

After announcing his infection in November 1991, Johnson created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat HIV, although he later diversified the foundation to include other charitable goals. In 1992, he joined the National Commission on AIDS, but left after eight months, saying that the commission was not doing enough to combat the disease. He was also the main speaker for the United Nations (UN) World AIDS Day Conference in 1999, and has served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

HIV had been associated with drug addicts and homosexuals, but Johnson's campaigns sought to show that the risk of infection was not limited to those groups. Johnson stated that his aim was to "help educate all people about what [HIV] is about" and teach others not to "discriminate against people who have HIV and AIDS". Johnson was later criticized by the AIDS community for his decreased involvement in publicizing the spread of the disease.

To prevent his HIV infection from becoming AIDS, Johnson takes a daily combination of drugs from GlaxoSmithKline and Abbott Laboratories. He has advertised GlaxoSmithKline's drugs,^[91] and partnered with Abbott Laboratories to publicize the fight against AIDS in African American communities.

WHO Issues Guidelines for Antiviral Treatment for H1N1 and Other Influenza

WHO Issues Guidelines for Antiviral Treatment for H1N1 and Other Influenza

August 25, 2009 —
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines for antiviral treatment for novel influenza A (H1N1) and other influenza. The purpose of the new recommendations, which were posted online August 20, is to provide a basis for advice to clinicians regarding the use of the currently available antivirals for patients presenting with illness caused by influenza virus infection, as well as considerations regarding potential use of these antiviral medications for chemoprophylaxis.

On the basis of a review of data collected with previously circulating strains, and treatment of human H5N1 influenza virus infections, the new guidelines expand on recommendations published in May 2009, titled ʺClinical management of human infection with new influenza A (H1N1) virus: Initial guidance." These new guidelines do not change recommendations in the WHO rapid advice guidelines on pharmacological management of humans infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus.

"In April 2009, the [WHO] received reports of sustained person to person infections with [H1N1] virus in Mexico and the United States," write Edgar Bautista, from Médico Neumólogo Intensivista, Jefe de UCI-INER in Mexico, and colleagues. "Subsequent international spread led WHO to declare on 11 June 2009 that the first influenza pandemic in 41 years had occurred. This 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus has now spread worldwide, with confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 virus infection reported in more than 100 countries in all 6 WHO regions[, which] has led to the need to add to the existing guidance on the use of antivirals."

The new recommendations highlight oseltamivir and zanamivir, which are neuraminidase inhibitors, and amantadine and rimantadine, which are M2 inhibitors. Suggestions are also provided regarding the use of some other potential pharmacological treatments, such as ribavirin, interferons, immunoglobulins, and corticosteroids.

Management of patients with pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 virus infection is the primary focus of the statement, although it also includes guidance regarding the use of the antivirals for treatment of other seasonal influenza virus strains, as well as for infections resulting from novel influenza A virus strains.

The guidelines urge country and local public health authorities to issue local recommendations for clinicians periodically, based on epidemiological and antiviral susceptibility data on the locally circulating influenza strains. As the prevalence and severity of the current pandemic evolves, WHO anticipates that additional data will be forthcoming that may require revision of the current recommendations. WHO therefore plans to review the guidance no later than September 2009 to determine whether modifications to the recommendations are needed.

Recommendations for Antiviral Treatment of H1N1

For patients with confirmed or strongly suspected infection with influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, when antiviral medications for influenza are available, specific recommendations regarding use of antivirals for treatment of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infection are as follows:

•Oseltamivir should be prescribed, and treatment started as soon as possible, for patients with severe or progressive clinical illness (strong recommendation, low-quality evidence). Depending on clinical response, higher doses of up to 150 mg twice daily and longer duration of treatment may be indicated. This recommendation is intended for all patient groups, including pregnant women, neonates, and children younger than 5 years of age.
•Zanamivir is indicated for patients with severe or progressive clinical illness when oseltamivir is not available or not possible to use, or when the virus is resistant to oseltamivir but known or likely to be susceptible to zanamivir (strong recommendation, very low quality evidence).
•Antiviral treatment is not required in patients not in at-risk groups who have uncomplicated illness caused by confirmed or strongly suspected influenza virus infection (weak recommendation, low-quality evidence). Patients considered to be at risk are infants and children younger than 5 years of age; adults older than 65 years of age; nursing home residents; pregnant women; patients with chronic comorbid disease including cardiovascular, respiratory, or liver disease and diabetes; and immunosuppressed patients because of malignancy, HIV infection, or other diseases.
•Oseltamivir or zanamivir treatment should be started as soon as possible after the onset of illness in patients in at-risk groups who have uncomplicated illness caused by influenza virus infection (strong recommendation, very low quality evidence).
Recommendations for Chemoprophylaxis of H1N1

Specific recommendations regarding the use of antivirals for chemoprophylaxis of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infection are as follows:

•When risk for human-to-human transmission of influenza is high or low, and the probability of complications of infection is high, either because of the influenza strain or because of the baseline risk of the exposed group, use of oseltamivir or zanamivir may be considered as postexposure chemoprophylaxis for the affected community or group, for individuals in at-risk groups, or for healthcare workers (weak recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
•Individuals in at-risk groups or healthcare personnel need not be offered antiviral chemoprophylaxis if the likelihood of complications of infection is low. This recommendation should be applied independent of risk for human-to-human transmission (weak recommendation, low-quality evidence).
For treatment of mild to moderate uncomplicated clinical presentation of infection with multiple cocirculating influenza A subtypes or viruses with different antiviral susceptibilities, patients in at-risk groups should be treated with zanamivir or oseltamivir plus M2 inhibitor (noting that amantadine should not be used in pregnant women). Otherwise-healthy patients with this presentation need not be treated.

When the clinical presentation of infection with multiple cocirculating influenza A subtypes or viruses with different antiviral susceptibilities is severe or progressive, all patients should be treated with oseltamivir plus M2 inhibitor, or zanamivir.

For treatment of mild to moderate uncomplicated clinical presentation of infection with sporadic zoonotic influenza A viruses including H5N1, the at-risk population should be treated with oseltamivir or zanamivir, and the otherwise-healthy population with oseltamivir. All patients, regardless of risk status, with severe or progressive presentation of infection with sporadic zoonotic influenza A viruses including H5N1 should be treated with oseltamivir plus an M2 inhibitor.

((News From MEDSCAPE NEWS))

Top 10 Epidemics of All time

Plague

Smallpox

Measles

is

Number 10

Approx 454,000 people, died worldwide in 2004, aka rubeola.

Polio

is

Number 9

Caused more than 27,000 cases and 7,000 deaths in 1916.

Yellow Fever

is

Number 8

1878 New Orleans killed 13,000 people 200,000 estimated cases of yellow fever, with 30,000 deaths, per year.

AIDS

is

Number 7

(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) The leading cause of death of 15-to-49-year-olds totaling 45 million in 2005.

Malaria

is

Number 6

Over 1 million people a year die, (parasites of the genuis Plasmodium). Annually 300 million–500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide!

Tuberculosis (TB)

is

Number 5

2 million die annually with one-third of world’s population are thought to be infected

Cholera

is

Number 4

This water-borne disease in the summer of 1832, killed 3,000+ in New York, World Health Organization said that 56 countries officially reported 101,383 cholera cases, including 2,345 deaths.

Plague (bubonic and Pneumonic)

is

Number 3

Killed one-third of Europe’s population in 1348-50, (Yersinia pestis). World Health Organization reports 1,000-3,000 cases annually

Smallpox

is

Number 2

Ancient disease (variola virus)

Influenza or “flu”

is

Number 1

Kills 36,000 people annually, (RNA virus).

Computer Eye Strain: Tips to relieve

Computer Eye Strain: 10 Steps for Relief

1. Get a computer eye exam.

2. Use proper lighting.

3. Minimize glare.

4. Upgrade your display.

5. Adjust the brightness and contrast of your computer screen

6. Blink more often.

7. Exercise your eyes.

8. Take frequent breaks.

9. Modify your workstation.

10. Consider computer eyewear.

When Did AIDS Begin? How?

When Did AIDS

Begin?

Reprinted from Times Magazine, By Christine Gorman

Spring 1988

A new study of the oldest known HIV suggests the virus jumped from animals to humans in the 1940s.

The year was 1959, location: The central African city of Leopoldville, now called Kinshasa, shortly before the waves of violent rebellion that followed the liberation of the Belgian Congo. A seemingly healthy man walked into a hospital clinic to give blood for a Western backed study of blood diseases. He walked away and was never heard from again. Doctors analyzed his sample, froze it in a test tube and forgot about it. A quarter-century later, in the mid-1980s, researchers studying the growing AIDS epidemic took a second look at the blood and discovered that it contained HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

And not just any HIV. The Leopoldville sample is the oldest specimen of the AIDS virus ever isolated and may now help solve the mystery of how and when the virus made the leap from animals (monkeys or chimpanzees) to humans, according to a report published last week in Nature. Dr. David Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City and one of the study's authors, says a careful genetic analysis of the sample's DNA pushes the origin of the AIDS epidemic back at least a decade, to the early '50s or even the '40s.

Over the past 15 years, scientists have identified at least 10 subtypes of the virus. But they couldn't tell whether they were seeing variations on one changeable virus or the handiwork of several different viruses that had made the jump from primates to man. A look at the genetic mutations in the Leopoldville sample strongly suggests that all it took to launch the epidemic was one unlucky turn of events.

By comparing the DNA of the 1959 virus with that of samples taken from the '80s and '90s. Ho and his colleagues constructed a viral family tree in which the Leopoldville isolate sits right at the juncture where three subtypes branch out. The 39-year-old specimen is also strikingly similar to the other seven subtypes. The clear implication: all the viral strains can be traced back to a single event or a closely related group of events. One theory is that AIDS started through contact with infected monkeys in a remote area and spread to the rest of the population through urbanization and mass inoculations.

The findings underscore how rapidly HIV can adapt to its surroundings, making it difficult to develop effective vaccines. No one knows how many more subtypes of HIV will sprout in the next 40 years, but chances are they will be every bit as lethal as the ones we see today, if not more so.

Swine Flu :How to Protect yourself

preventive measures for Swine flu—

1. The first preventive measure is to avoid contact with the pigs (swine). If you have pigs in your area then please inform the local municipal office so that he can take care of those pigs by keeping them isolated.

2. Swine flu is communicable disease, so use the face masks to protect from the swine flu antigens.

3. Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using tissue when possible. Dispose this tissue by using only once.

4. Avoid visiting the crowded places like theaters and prayer halls. This can be the spreading ground for Swine flu

5. Maintain good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of virus. It would be better if you use alcohol sanitizers or Dettol for washing hands.

6. Take a special care of children because they easily get infected with the Swine flu. It is okay if you don’t send them to school for few days. Many schools have even announced holidays.

7. Avoid eating outside food because it may be contaminated and may make you infected with the virus.

8. Don’t use the public urinals because many people spit there, which could lead to the spreading of the disease.

9. Drink the boiled water.

Anthrax: Disease or A Biological Weapon

How the Anthrax Spreads.


ANTHRAX: Danger we face



Anthrax is a deadly disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. This disease has animal origin and mainly the victims are the grazing animals. However, the disease can spread to humans, who come in contact either with the affected animals or their burial grounds. Anthrax is not a contagious disease and does not spread from person toperson. This disease is known to spread from animals or by bioterrorism
.

Anthrax bacteria have long life and can survive in soil for many years. Wild or domestic animals that graze in or around the soil can get infected while eating rough or irritant vegetation. Such vegetation when eaten causes wound within the gastrointestinal tract and this causes the bacteria to enter into the tissues. The bacteria start multiplying and begin producing toxins which finally leads to death.

Exposure to infected animals or their products such as skin, wool or meat is the route taken by the bacteria to enter the human body. Workers, who work with dead animals or their products, are at a greater risk to this disease. People who are exposed to low levels of these bacteria may not develop the infection as the body’s defense mechanism is strong enough to withstand it. A dangerous form of anthrax through inhalation while sorting wool was prevalent long back and this was known as Wool Sorter’s disease. Now such infections are very rare as the infected animals are not available any more.

Anthrax pores have been used as biological weapons of mass destruction. The last reported use was by the Rhodesian government against cattle and humans during its war with black nationalists in 1978-1979. Anthrax was deliberately spread using the postal system in United States in 2001. This caused 21 cases of Anthrax infection.

Anthrax infection can come through three routes. Through the skin, while handling products of infected animals; through inhalation by inhaling anthrax pores from animal products; or through gastrointestinal path by eating undercooked meat from infected animals.

Swine Flu Alert : India And Nepal

Swine Flu Now In South Asia

Current Pandemic Level : 6

The WHO has raised the Influenza Pandemic Alert to the highest level which is 6. Already India has seen over 40 confirmed cases of Swine Flu and the threat of a full blown epidemic in India is very real. The best we citizens can do is keep ourselves informed about the happenings and the steps we can take to prevent the spread of the flu. With most of the affected people fitting the profile of a person with internet access, we believe the internet is the first place that people would come looking for information like symptoms, who to contact etc. Swine Flu India is an attempt to bring all the necessary information in one place. India cannot afford to fall sick. Keep yourself and others informed.

Some Vital Stats

Total Confirmed Cases in India		959**
Total Deaths in India		10**
Total Confirmed Cases Worldwide		162380*
Total Deaths Worldwide		1154*
Last Updated Date and Time		11/08/2009 19:26 IST
Sources : *WHO **MoHFW		Nepal = 20 cases Reported