http://news.ca.msn.com/health/time-to-close-the-pig-barns-flu-expert-says-2
By Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press, thecanadianpress.com, Updated: August-21-12 1:00 AM
Time to close the pig barns, flu expert says
In this Aug. 1, 2012 photo, a sign warning people to wash their hands after being near farm animals hangs outside the Swine Barn at the Ohio State Fair, in Columbus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, there's been a five-fold increase of cases of a new strain of swine flu that spreads from pigs to people, thanks to a wave of new cases confirmed in Indiana and Ohio, many of them attributed to contact at fairs. The flu does not seem to be unusually dangerous, like the strain in 2009 that killed at least 12,000. Most or all of the cases appear to have spread from pigs to humans, meaning it's not very contagious. (AP Photo/Columbus Dispatch, Kyle Robertson)
TORONTO - It's been found in pigs and-or people in more than 10 U.S. states and counting. In less than a month, more than 200 people ? most young children ? have been infected by an unwanted visitor to many of the state and county fairs that are held at this time of year.
A new swine flu virus is infecting a growing number of people in the United States. But the official response to this outbreak is substantially different from the one that greeted the swine H1N1 virus that emerged in 2009.
Public health authorities, perhaps still stinging from criticism of the response to the H1N1 pandemic, are struggling to strike the right note with this virus, which so far doesn't seem to be spreading from person to person. But is their low-key strategy the right one to take?
[snip]
By Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press, thecanadianpress.com, Updated: August-21-12 1:00 AM
Time to close the pig barns, flu expert says
In this Aug. 1, 2012 photo, a sign warning people to wash their hands after being near farm animals hangs outside the Swine Barn at the Ohio State Fair, in Columbus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, there's been a five-fold increase of cases of a new strain of swine flu that spreads from pigs to people, thanks to a wave of new cases confirmed in Indiana and Ohio, many of them attributed to contact at fairs. The flu does not seem to be unusually dangerous, like the strain in 2009 that killed at least 12,000. Most or all of the cases appear to have spread from pigs to humans, meaning it's not very contagious. (AP Photo/Columbus Dispatch, Kyle Robertson)
TORONTO - It's been found in pigs and-or people in more than 10 U.S. states and counting. In less than a month, more than 200 people ? most young children ? have been infected by an unwanted visitor to many of the state and county fairs that are held at this time of year.
A new swine flu virus is infecting a growing number of people in the United States. But the official response to this outbreak is substantially different from the one that greeted the swine H1N1 virus that emerged in 2009.
Public health authorities, perhaps still stinging from criticism of the response to the H1N1 pandemic, are struggling to strike the right note with this virus, which so far doesn't seem to be spreading from person to person. But is their low-key strategy the right one to take?
[snip]