6 months after swine flu virus identified: No doomsday, but this story isn’t over yetATLANTA — It was six months ago that scientists discovered an ominous new flu virus, touching off fears of a catastrophic global outbreak that could cause people to drop dead in the streets. Doomsday, of course, never came to pass. Notable dates in the AIDS epidemicKey dates in the AIDS epidemic: —June 5, 1981: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports five gay men in Los Angeles are suffering from a rare pneumonia found in patients with failing immune systems. A world first: AIDS vaccine cuts the risk of HIV infection by 31 percent in large Thai studyBANGKOK — For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible. Study: Heart patients who get the flu are more likely to have a heart attackLONDON — Heart patients who catch the flu may have more to worry about than just a fever or the sniffles: the virus could also spark a heart attack, new research shows. HEALTHBEAT: In Duke dorms, researchers try to detect flu, other viruses before symptoms appearWASHINGTON — Coughed on by somebody with the flu? Duke University researchers are developing a test to determine — with a mere drop of blood — who will get sick before the sniffling and fever set in. And they’re turning to hundreds of dorm-dwelling freshmen this fall to see if it works. 2 viruses threaten Michigan blueberry industry; scientists forced to destroy research plantsDETROIT — Two destructive viruses have shown up in blueberry bushes in Michigan. Study: Pregnant women with swine flu more than 4 times as likely to be hospitalizedLONDON — Pregnant women who get swine flu are at least four times as likely to be hospitalized as other people with the virus, a new study says. ‘Missing link’ seen in primate form of AIDS virus killing chimps; other apes unharmedWASHINGTON — Scientists believe they have found a “missing link” in the evolution of the virus that causes AIDS. It bridges the gap between the infection that does no harm to most monkeys and the one that kills millions of people. That link is a virus that is killing chimpanzees in the wild at a disturbingly high rate, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Nature. Study: Deadly 1918 pandemic took years to evolve, through pigs, offering lessons for todayWASHINGTON — History’s deadliest flu pandemic, in 1918, may not have made a sudden jump from birds to people after all. Seoul says attackers who downed Web sites in US, SKorea used IP addresses in Europe, US, SouthSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is learning more about the mysterious cyber attacks that targeted the country and its ally the United States, but the ultimate question of who the instigators are remained elusive. Researchers say swine flu inefficient in binding to nose and throat, but could get worseWASHINGTON — With swine flu continuing to spread around the world, researchers say they have found the reason it is — so far — more a series of local blazes than a wide-raging wildfire. Mexico high schools, universities reopen after closures to curb spread of swine fluMEXICO CITY — High schools and universities closed by the swine flu epidemic are reopening across Mexico, with school employees and parents carefully checking each returning student for flu symptoms. WHO says up to 2B people might get swine flu if it moves to a pandemicGENEVA — Up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic lasting two years, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Mexico cautiously begins reopening schools amid massive disinfection campaignSAN MIGUEL TOPILEJO, Mexico — As if marshaling for war, Mexico’s government mobilized thousands of education officials and parents across the country to swiftly disinfect schools and monitor millions of returning students for signs of swine flu. WHO says up to 2B people might get swine flu if it moves to a pandemicGENEVA — Up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic lasting two years, the World Health Organization said Thursday. With sanitized handshakes, Mexico returns to work after shutdown to contain swine flu virusMEXICO CITY — In gleaming office towers and gritty markets, Mexicans returned to work Wednesday after a five-day swine flu shutdown, and dozens returned to a heroes’ welcome from “humiliating” quarantines in China. But Mexico’s death toll rose, feeding fears of more infections now that crowds are gathering again. Scientists warn swine flu virus could quickly morph from mild to deadlyWASHINGTON — A flu virus is a powerhouse of evolution, mutating at the maximum speed nature allows. A mild virus can morph into a killer and vice versa. Swine flu name change? Flu experts say virus genes are largely pigWASHINGTON — No matter what you call it, leading experts say the virus that is scaring the world is pretty much all pig. So while the U.S. government and now the World Health Organization are taking the swine out of “swine flu,” the experts who track the genetic heritage of the virus say this: If it is genetically mostly porcine and its parents are pig viruses, it smells like swine flu to them. Asia readies for swine flu threat using lessons learned from SARS, bird fluHONG KONG — Before swine flu emptied restaurants and cinemas and made surgical masks a common sight in Mexico, similar scenes unfolded in Asia earlier this decade as it dealt with the back-to-back health emergencies of SARS and bird flu. Long before swine flu, Asia learned hard lessons from SARS, bird fluHONG KONG — Before swine flu emptied restaurants and cinemas and made surgical masks a common sight in Mexico, similar scenes unfolded in Asia earlier this decade as it dealt with the back-to-back health emergencies of SARS and bird flu. |
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