Swine Flu Updates & Outbreak – Affect Soccer Tournaments

Tweet

Due to Dangerous Swine Influenza(H1N1 Flu) attacks,Swine Flu Outbreaks.

There were two soccer tournaments affected which are following,

(1) Japan cancels games against U.S. women due to swine flu.

The Japanese women's soccer team canceled a tour in the United States on Tuesday because of the swine flu outbreak.

The team was scheduled to play the U.S. team on May 20 in Frisco, Texas, and May 23 in Sandy, Utah. The team was to travel to Canada for a match in Toronto on May 25.

The Japan Football Association, which announced the decision, said it may have to pay damages for breach of contract.

"This is an unfortunate situation, but one that we had absolutely no control over," said U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati.

"We have been assured that the risk to the participating teams is exceptionally low, but we accept the Japanese Federation's decision not to travel."

(2) Malaysia cancels soccer tournament over swine flu.

Malaysian soccer officials have canceled next month's Intercontinental Cup under-23 tournament due to the threat of the spread of swine flu, local media reported Tuesday.

The Football Association of Malaysia canceled the eight-team tournament after consulting with the nation's Health Ministry, the New Straits Times reported.

Among the teams which had been expected to contest the June 1-14 tournament were Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, which have each confirmed cases of swine flu.

"The cancellation of the Intercontinental Cup is due to the threat posed by the influenza virus outbreak which has affected several countries," the Football Association of Malaysia said in a statement.

Health News – Swine Flu Outbreak Updates

Tweet

Indians determined to combat the H1N1 flu.

India is gearing up to be a major contributor towards preventing the spread of deadly H1N1 flu. Serum Institute of India, Ocimum Biosolutions and Dr. Suresh Mittal, a researcher in Purdue University, have all taken up initiatives to fight this fast-spreading flu. The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted that if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic, up to two billion people around the world could be infected by this virus.

Commenting on the current progress made in the project, Jadhav said, "We will be getting the samples in another three weeks and if the testing goes as per plan, we can have the vaccine by 4-5 months." According to Jadhav, there were originally eight scientists working on the project, but now another five scientists may be added. "Our objective is to develop around 100 million doses", adds Jadhav.

The Ocimum Biosolutions is another Indian company that has launched a microarray based test, to detect the H1N1 virus. The test will be conducted on the updated version of the custom made OciChip platform that was used during the avian flu outbreak, three years ago.

The test will be conducted with the sequence information available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). "We have still not received any samples from the affected countries", said Anuradha Acharya, CEO, Ocimum Biosolutions. According to Acharya, the test will be validated in an Indian lab in the next two weeks before it is available.

In addition, to the microarray based test, the Hyderabad-based company has said that it can also provide a Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) based molecular diagnostic test also. "Both these tests can be conducted in a few hours and avoids the risk of patients with suspected cases infecting others when the wait is longer", adds Acharya.

Joining this league of companies is Mittal, a professor of comparative pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine in Purdue. He has already received gene samples of the H1N1 virus and has started working on it, in his laboratory. Within a month, Mittal hopes to develop a vaccine ready for testing. He would be using the same approach that he had developed for the H5N1 bird flu virus during its outbreak.

According to a recent report by UN health agency, the number of confirmed cases of H1N1 infections stands at 4,379 in 29 countries, with a death toll of 49. India with its one billion people cannot be immune to such a threat without being vigilant. Both Jadhav and Acharya believe that India can prevent an outbreak, if there is rapid screening at airports and having the necessary stockpiles of anti-virals.

Source Link :- http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indians_determined_to_combat_the_H1N1_flu-nid-56462.html

Health Tips & Benefits - Swine Influenza(Swine Flu) Symptoms,Facts

Tweet

A Swine Flu virus has health officials around the world working to contain the growing outbreak. Swine flu or Swine Influenza is a contagious respiratory sickness that is normally only found in pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus.

Normally the swine flu virus only spreads from animal to person containing the spread but When the flu spreads person-to-person, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to combat because people have no natural immunity.

The swine flu virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

Swine flu Symptoms :-

It was as regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting related to swine influenza. The symptoms can also cause many other conditions.