Swine Flu: What will happen if this outbreak gets classified as a pandemic?

Swine Flu:What will happen if this outbreak gets classified as a pandemic?

Moving the world to pandemic phase 4 would be the signal for serious containment actions to be taken on the national and international level. Given that these actions would have major implications for the global economy, not to mention the effects of the public fear that would ensue, there is concern that the WHO may be considering politics along with science. "What the WHO did makes no sense," says Osterholm. "In a potential pandemic, you need to have the WHO be beyond question, and (April 25) was not a good day for them."


Of course, declaring a pandemic isn't a decision that should be taken lightly. For the WHO, phase 4 might trigger an attempt to keep the virus from spreading by instituting strict quarantines and blanketing infected areas with antivirals. But we appear to have missed the opportunity to contain the disease at its source since the virus is already crossing borders with ease. "We cannot stop this at the border," said Anne Schuchat, the CDC's interim director for science and public health. "We don't think that we can quench this in Mexico if it's in many communities now."


That would leave the WHO and individual countries to fall back on damage control, using antivirals and old-fashioned infection control - like closing schools, limiting public gatherings and even restricting travel - to slow the spread of the virus. But such efforts would likely inflict serious damage on an already faltering global economy - and the truth is, we don't know how well those methods will work.

Is this a flu pandemic?

The influenza virus is constantly mutating. That's why we can't get full immunity to the flu, the way we can to diseases like chicken pox, because there are multiple strains of the flu virus and they change from year to year. However, even though the virus makes us sick, our immune systems can usually muster enough of a response so that the flu is rarely fatal for healthy people.


But every once in awhile, the virus shifts its genetic structure so much that our immune systems offer no protection whatsoever. (This usually happens when a flu virus found in animals - like the avian flu still circulating in Asia - swaps genes with other viruses in a process called reassortment, and jumps to human beings.) A flu pandemic occurs when a new flu virus emerges for which humans have little or no immunity and then spreads easily from person to person around the world. In the 20th century we had two mild flu pandemics, in 1968 and 1957, and the severe "Spanish flu" pandemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 40 to 50 million people worldwide.


The WHO has the responsibility of declaring when a new flu pandemic is underway, and to simplify the process, the U.N. body has established six pandemic phases. Thanks to H5N1 avian flu, which has killed 257 people since 2003 but doesn't spread very well from one human to another, we're currently at phase 3. If the WHO upgraded that status to phase 4, which is marked by a new virus that begins to pass easily enough from person to person that we can detect community-sized outbreaks, such a move would effectively mean that we've got a pandemic on our hands.


The H1N1 swine flu virus has already been identified as a new virus, with genes from human and avian flus as well as the swine variety. And since it is apparently causing large-scale outbreaks in Mexico, along with separate confirmed cases in the U.S. and Canada and suspected cases in other countries, it would seem that we've already met the criteria for phase 4. But though an emergency committee met on April 25 to evaluate the situation, the WHO hasn't made the pandemic declaration yet. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's interim assistant director-general for health, security and environment, said on Sunday that its experts "would like a little bit more information and a little bit more time to consider this." The committee is set to meet again by April 28 at the latest.


As health officials have repeatedly emphasized, with good reason, the swine flu situation is evolving rapidly, and more lab tests are needed to ascertain exactly what is going on in Mexico and elsewhere. "We want to make sure we're on solid ground," said Fukuda, a highly respected former CDC official and flu expert.

What Is Autism

What Is Autism
Basically, Autism is a neurological disorder. It is classified to be a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The main characteristic of Autism is that it affects three major areas in relation to speech and language. This triad is the impairment of the child's: social interaction, communication and imaginative play.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder is actually an umbrella term for Autistic Spectrum Disorders. With the use of the term pervasive, it is emphasized that the disability's range of deficits is beyond psychological development. On the other hand, the term developmental puts emphasis that the occurrence of the condition is during the child's development rather than later in life.

Autism is actually only one condition under this umbrella. Other conditions include Rett's Disorder, which is a neurodevelopmental disorder that begins to show its symptoms during early childhood or infancy.

Another is Childhood Disintegrative Disorder; it somewhat resembles Autism but the difference is the first two to four years of the child's life is rather normal, then the symptoms start to show.

Asperger's syndrome is also in this umbrella. It is sometimes called high functioning autism. Lastly, PDD-NOS or Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not otherwise specified is also related to Autism. These are children that present symptoms similar to but don't quite match the other conditions.

What Causes Autism
Even though a lot of research has been done, there is no identified single factor that causes Autism. Several factors are said to play a part in the occurrence of Autism. One of these is brain disorder. Recent studies show that there is a difference in the brains of people with Autism. Their cerebellum seems to be smaller than normal, and their limbic system is impaired.

Chemical imbalances are also said to play a part here. It was found that in some cases, symptoms came from food allergies, chemical deficiencies, hormonal imbalances or elevated brain chemical levels.

Heredity is also an important factor. A lot of genetic disorders have Autism as a symptom. An example would be the fragile-X syndrome. Other factors include pre-, peri-, post-natal trauma, brain damage complications and MMR immunization.

Whatever the cause may be, the child with Autism should be given the same structured training in able to stimulate his learning, language and social skills.

Diagnosis
For a child to be diagnosed of having Autism, he should first qualify for the Diagnostic Criteria for Autistic Disorders according to the DSM-IV.

Treatment
Due to the triad of Autism effects on the child, speech therapy becomes a vital part of Autism management. However, other members of the team are also needed such as pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, child psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, behavior therapist, and educators like schoolteachers or Special Education teachers.

Role Of Speech Therapist In Autism Rehabilitation
The Speech Therapist assesses hearing. He also evaluates whether the speech and language difficulties of the child is really due to Autism or another disorder. This can be taken from analyzing the child's expressive language, receptive language, oral-motor functions, voice quality, articulation and fluency, auditory processing and pragmatic skills.

To Get More Info on Autism Click on Link

Sittercity.com 10% off Registration Fee

Find great sitters in your area on Sittercity.com. Try Sittercity for free today!


Sittercity.com is a great place to find nannies, baby sitters, pet sitters, dog walkers, tutors, house sitters and senior caregivers.

Sittercity.com is offering 10% off Registration Fee with the Code SCSAVE10. This offer is good until December 31, 2008.

Moms Connect Cashback

Sign Up at momsconnectcashback.com and get $2.00 just for joining.

Introduce your friends and family to Moms Connect Cashback . For each person that creates a new account with Moms Connect Cashback via your link, you will get $1.00 once your friend has earned any amount!

At Moms Connect Cashback save money while you shop and earn cashback with every online purchase via our site!

Moms Connect Cashback is a free rewards website where you can make money either by shopping, joining websites, completing offers or surveys.

With over 300 online shops and websites to choose from there are loads of offers to make you money. JOIN TODAY for free.

Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Car : 3 Choosing the Right Car Seat for Your Baby

Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Car : 3 Choosing the Right Car Seat for Your Baby

Pick the right car seat for your baby.



Please check out:
Free Baby Stuff

Get 50 FREE Digital Camera Prints + a Free 8x10 Print at Snapfish by HP!

Free Stuff For New & Expectant Parents!

Catalogs.com -- Order Catalogs & Great Savings!!

Real COUPONS: Print them from your computer.

Nannies Salaries

Remember that hiring a nanny is not just for parents working forty-plus hours a week. Even if you are a stay-at-home parent, work from home, or work minimal hours outside your home, you may find that the services a nanny can provide are priceless when you compare your nanny's pay to the added peace-of-mind, relaxation, and renewed patience that even a few hours' break from your childcare duties can create.

Whether you are just starting your nanny search or you are ready to draw up the contract, the first thing to think about is what you will get for your money. How will your proposed nanny's salary affect the quality of care, as well as the amount of hours, you expect from your nanny?

One way to make your decisions educated when you are thinking about a salary for your nanny is to simply ask around. Other people you know have hired a nanny, so, ask them how much their nanny gets paid and what the negotiations of the nanny contract are. Call local nanny agencies in your area and talk to nannies about what their expectations are.

If you are requiring your nanny to provide their own car and use it on the job you will need to reimburse the nanny for mileage based on Federal standards or your state's standard if higher. This becomes necessary if your nanny will be picking up your kids from school or driving them off to sports practice

Remember that the best way to be comfortable with your nanny's salary is to openly discuss it with your prospective nanny at the appropriate time before hiring her.

Nanny Salaries

Live-in Nannies $250-$800 per week
Live-out Nannies (about 40-50 hours per week) $250-$800 per week
Part-time nannies $6.00-$17.50 per hour

Please check out:
Free Baby Stuff

Get 50 FREE Digital Camera Prints + a Free 8x10 Print at Snapfish by HP!

Free Stuff For New & Expectant Parents!

Catalogs.com -- Order Catalogs & Great Savings!!

Real COUPONS: Print them from your computer.