Popularity: 4% [?]

ENERhance
Boost and Restore Energy: natural herbs, vitamins & minerals

Secondary Benefits

• Strengthen and protect the immune system
• Helps individuals speed recovery from illnesses
• Contains Astragalus, Poria seed, Ginseng, Reishi Mushroom

• ********************************************************************

One Virus Particle Is Enough To Cause Infectious Disease

ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2009) — Can exposure to a single virus particle lead to infection or disease? Until now, solid proof has been lacking. Experimental research with insect larvae at Wageningen University and Simon Fraser University in Canada has shown that one virus particle is theoretically enough to cause infection and subsequent disease.

A virus population is usually composed of a collection of variants of virus particles. In order to  investigate whether virus particles (virions) can cause an infection independently from each other, and therefore individually, the researchers set up an experiment with two ‘marked’ virus variants. They exposed a population of hosts (caterpillars) to both variants.

The experiment showed that exposure to a low dosage of virus particles resulted in a small number host infections (20%). The majority of these hosts (86%) turned out to be infected by a single virus genotype. In contrast, exposure to a high dosage of virus particles resulted in virtually all the hosts (99%) becoming infected, where most of the hosts were infected by both types of virus. Only 14% were infected by only one of the two variants.

Based on the assumption that every virus particle operates independently from all other virus particles, the researchers set up a probability model. This model predicts how many virus particles have caused an infection and how many different virus genotypes are present in infected hosts, such as plants, insects or people. The results of the infection experiment with the susceptible insects are in agreement with the model predictions. From this it can be derived that the virus particles have an independent effect, and that a single virus particle can indeed cause infection and/or disease.

If there are few virus particles that lead to an infection, the number of virus particles determines the degree of diversity that can be present within the host. This is an important finding because the interactions between virus variants, such as competition and exchanging genetic information, determine the progression of disease and the evolution of the virus.

Until now, it was unclear whether a virus must be seen as an individual that can infect a host independently, or whether a cloud of viruses ‘cooperates’ to cause an infection. It is not yet known if the viruses that affect people can also act individually, but this research shows that it is possible.

The researchers recently published this finding in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Journal reference:

1. Mark P Zwart, Lia Hemerik, Jenny S Cory, J. Arjan G.M de Visser, Felix J.J.A Bianchi, Monique M Van Oers, Just M Vlak, Rolf F Hoekstra, and Wopke Van der Werf. An experimental test of the independent action hypothesis in virus%u2013insect pathosystems. Proc. R. Soc. B, 2009; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0064..Adapted from materials provided by Wageningen University and Research Centre.

Strengthen Immune System-Build white blood cells

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By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The new H1N1 swine flu is estimated to have infected about 800,000 people in New York City in the spring, a top U.S. health official said on Sunday, citing a study due to be released later this week.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, who heads the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said surveys suggested the virus was widely spread around the city. Frieden was New York City’s health commissioner before taking the top CDC job in June.

“In New York City where we had a lot of H1N1 this last spring the estimate is about 800,000 people, about 10 percent of New York City residents, got infected with the flu,” Frieden said in an interview with C-SPAN television aired on Sunday.

“That’s a lot of people.”

New York City health department officials say the full study is being finished and will be released within days.

Frieden said there had been a twenty-fold variation in influenza infections around the country. “We expect that some places will have more flu. Some places will have less,” he said.

Swine flu has infected well over 1 million people in the United States, and is now the CDC’s No. 1 priority. Other research also shows that older children and young adults are by far the most likely to be infected with the new virus.

The World Health Organization predicts a third of the world’s population will eventually be infected.

The virus is still circulating and most health experts expect a resurgence in the northern hemisphere’s autumn as temperatures cool and schools, traditional breeding grounds for infection, reopen after summer holidays.

Detailed reports on outbreaks can help health officials prepare for epidemics in their communities.

Every year, seasonal flu infects between 5 percent and 20 percent of a given population and kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people globally. Because hardly anyone has immunity to the new H1N1 virus, experts believe it will infect far more people than usual, as much as a third of the population.

It also disproportionately affects younger people, unlike seasonal flu which mainly burdens the elderly, and as a result may cause more severe illness and deaths among young adults and children than seasonal flu.

Chicago health authorities said last week that the pandemic H1N1 flu infected 14 times as many children as adults over 60 there, and also disproportionately affected blacks and Hispanics.

WHO said pregnant women and people with asthma, diabetes and heart diseases are at special risk of severe complications of death from H1N1 flu.

Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 percent of patients hospitalized with the new H1N1 pandemic virus have needed intensive care, further straining already overburdened healthcare systems, WHO said on Friday.

Companies are preparing vaccines against H1N1, which will be given in addition to the regular seasonal influenza immunization.

(Editing by Paul Simao)

Popularity: 2% [?]

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer Sun Aug 30,

WASHINGTON – The alarm sounded with two sneezy children in California in April. Just five months later, the never-before-seen swine flu has become the world’s dominant strain of influenza, and it’s putting a shockingly younger face on flu.

So get ready. With flu’s favorite chilly weather fast approaching, we’re going to be a sick nation this fall. The big unknown is how sick. One in five people infected or a worst case — half the population? The usual 36,000 deaths from flu or tens of thousands more?

The World Health Organization predicts that within two years, nearly one-third of the world’s population will have caught it.

“What we know is, it’s brand new and no one really has an immunity to this disease,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says.

A lot depends on whether the swine flu that simmered all summer erupts immediately as students crowd back into schools and colleges — or holds off until millions of vaccine doses start arriving in mid-October.

Only this week do U.S. researchers start blood tests to answer a critical question: How many doses of swine flu vaccine does it take to protect? The answer will determine whether many people need to line up for two flu shots — one against swine flu and one against the regular flu — or three.

The hopeful news: Even with no vaccine, winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere without as much havoc as doctors had feared, a heavy season that started early but not an overwhelming one. The strain that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu isn’t any deadlier than typical winter flu so far. Most people recover without treatment; many become only mildly ill.

Importantly, careful genetic tracking shows no sign yet that the virus is mutating into a harsher strain.

We’re used to regular flu that, sadly, kills mostly grandparents. But the real shock of swine flu is that infections are 20 times more common in the 5- to 24-year-old age group than in people over 65. That older generation appears to have some resistance, probably because of exposure decades ago to viruses similar to the new one.

Worldwide, swine flu is killing mostly people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, ages when influenza usually is shrugged off as a nuisance.

Especially at risk are pregnant women. So are people with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and neuromuscular diseases including muscular dystrophy. Some countries report more deaths among the obese.

Still, some of the people who’ve died didn’t have obvious health risks.

“People who argue we’re seeing the same death rates miss the point — they’re in young adults. To me, that shouldn’t happen,” said one infectious disease specialist, Dr. Richard P. Wenzel of Virginia Commonwealth University. He spent the past few months visiting South American hospitals to help gauge what the Northern Hemisphere is about to face.

Children, however, are the flu’s prime spreaders. Already, elementary schools and colleges are reporting small clusters of sick students. For parents, the big fear is how many children will die.

Panicked crowds flooded India’s hospitals in August after a 14-year-old girl became that country’s first death. In the U.S., regular flu kills 80 to 100 children every winter, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reports of about three dozen child deaths from swine flu.

Even if the risk of death is no higher than in a normal year, the sheer volume of ill youngsters means “a greater than expected number of deaths in children is likely,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “As a society, that’s something that’s much harder for us.”

___

Swine flu quietly sickened hundreds in Mexico before U.S. researchers stumbled across two children in San Diego who had the same mystery illness. A world already spooked by the notorious Asian bird flu raced to stem the spread of this surprising new virus. Mexico closed schools and restaurants, and barred spectators from soccer games; China quarantined planeloads of tourists. But there was no stopping the novel H1N1 — named for its influenza family — from becoming the first pandemic in 41 years.

Well over 1 million Americans caught swine flu in spring and summer months when influenza hardly ever circulates; more than 500 have died.

In July, England was reporting more than 100,000 infections a week.

Argentina gave pregnant women 15 paid days off last month at the height of its flu season, hoping that staying home would prove protective.

In Saudi Arabia, people younger than 12 and older than 65 are being barred from this November’s hajj, the pilgrimage to holy cities that many Muslims save up their whole lives to make.

And in Australia — closely watched by the U.S. and Europe as a predictor for their own coming flu seasons — hospitals set up clinics outside the main doors to keep possible flu sufferers from entering and infecting other patients.

“While this disease is mild for most people, it does have that severe edge,” said Australia’s health minister Nicola Roxon, who counted over 30,000 cases in a country of nearly 22 million. That’s comparable to its last heavy flu season in 2007.

Cases are dropping fast as winter there ends. But Australia still plans to start the world’s first large-scale vaccinations next month in case of a rebound, inoculating about 4 million high-risk people.

Most amazing to longtime flu researchers, this new H1N1 strain seems to account for about 70 percent of all flu now circulating in the world. In Australia, eight of every 10 people who tested positive for flu had the pandemic strain.

That begs the question: Do people still need to bother with regular flu vaccine?

Definitely, stressed CDC’s Schuchat, who plans to get both kinds. There’s still enough regular flu circulating to endanger people, especially the 65-and-older generation.

Notably, South Africa is having a one-two punch of a flu season, hit first with a seasonal strain known as H3N2 and now seeing swine flu move in.

___

Wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, stay home so you don’t spread illness when you’re sick. That’s the mantra until vaccine arrives.

This week brings a key milestone. Hundreds of U.S. adults who rolled up their sleeves for a first shot in studies of the swine flu vaccine return for a blood test to see if they seem protected. It will take government scientists a few weeks to analyze results, but the volunteers get a second vaccine dose right away, in case the first wasn’t enough.

The vaccine, merely a recipe change from the usual flu vaccine, seems safe. Federal authorities two weeks ago gave the go-ahead to start children’s vaccine trials.

“It’s been a piece of cake,” said Kate Houley of Annapolis, Md., who jumped at the chance to enroll her three sons, ensuring that if the vaccine really works, they’ll have some protection as school gets started. Eleven-year-old Ethan was among the first to be vaccinated by University of Maryland researchers and didn’t even report the main side effect — a sore arm.

In the U.S., Britain and parts of Europe, vaccinations are set to begin in mid-October, assuming those studies show they work. First in line:

_Pregnant women. Despite accounting for about 1 percent of the U.S. population, they’ve been accounting for 6 percent of the swine flu deaths.

_Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years. Babies younger than 6 months can’t get flu vaccine, so their parents and other caregivers should be inoculated to protect the infant.

_Health care workers.

_Younger adults with risky health conditions.

Schools around the U.S. are preparing to inoculate children in what could be the largest campus vaccinations since the days of polio. The government has bought 195 million doses and will ship them a bit at a time, starting with 45 million doses or so in October, to state health departments to dispense.

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is negotiating with pharmacists to help perform those vaccinations. Massachusetts even is deputizing dentists to help give swine flu vaccine, and passed emergency regulations to encourage more health care workers to get either the shot or a nasal spray version.

What if people not on the priority list show up? The idea is for pharmacists to gently encourage them to come back a few weeks later, said the association’s executive director, Dr. Paul Jarris.

A concern is whether enough people are worried about swine flu to get vaccinated.

“Complacency is a big challenge,” said CDC’s Schuchat. “We are trying to strike a balance between complacency and alarm.”

Ten-year-old Isabella Nataro had a cousin sent home from summer camp because of an outbreak, and she readily agreed when her mother, a University of Maryland vaccine researcher, signed her and her brothers up for a study of the new shot. (The store gift card that participating kids receive after each blood test was a bonus.)

“I’m kind of worried about my friends if swine flu does come to our school,” the suburban Baltimore girl said. “I hope everybody else at my school gets a chance to get it.”

___

Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau in Sydney and Michael Warren in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

CDC background on swine flu: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/Return of swine flu: What\'s ahead for Americans?

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ScienceDaily (May 1, 2006) — Breast cancer survivors who suffer from persistent, debilitating fatigue years after their diagnosis have something in common: their immune systems don’t shut down following treatment, according to researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center.

This constant immune system activation, which researchers discovered by measuring specific proteins in blood samples from survivors, may be causing the fatigue, UCLA researchers theorize. Their discovery may lead to behavioral interventions such as tai chi and yoga that will help alleviate persistent fatigue, which affects about a third of breast cancer survivors for years after they complete treatment.

The study is the first to look at the cellular basis for immune activation in fatigued breast cancer survivors, said Dr. Michael Irwin, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and the study’s lead author. The research appears in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.

“Without knowing why this fatigue happens at the cellular level, we can’t develop efficient therapies to treat it,” said Irwin, who also serves as director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

“Breast cancer survivors can be severely disabled by fatigue and that can dramatically impact their quality of life. That’s the tragedy of our treatments for cancer,” Irwin said. “We have focused on treating the disease, but we should also focus on the patient’s well being later. Right now, we have no treatment for cancer-related fatigue and we need something that will allow patients to return to their prior level of functioning.”

Dr. Patricia Ganz, a nationally renowned expert who has studied quality of life in breast cancer survivors for two decades, agrees that fatigue is a serious problem for survivors, a fact that their primary care physicians don’t always understand.

“When breast cancer survivors talk to their physicians about being tired and how it affects their lives, they’re often told that they survived cancer, so they should be grateful to be alive,” said Ganz, one of the co-authors of the study. “But their fatigue is a very real problem that needs to taken seriously and addressed.”

A small study at UCLA had previously demonstrated abnormalities in immune activation in breast cancer survivors. If researchers could determine the biological factors underlying this activation, and therefore fatigue, they could uncover a biomarker for the condition that could help them predict which patients would suffer from fatigue and which would not, Irwin said.

Irwin and his colleagues took blood samples from breast cancer survivors one to five years out from diagnosis and placed them into two groups, those who suffered from persistent fatigue and those who did not. The researchers measured the levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine protein in their blood — levels that indicated the immune system was turned on. Irwin said the pro-inflammatory protein levels were significantly different between the two groups. Those with persistent fatigue had 30 percent more of the proteins circulating in their blood. Additionally, their immune cells produced more cytokines in laboratory analyses than the cells from survivors without fatigue, and those cytokines were more efficient at producing the pro-inflammatory proteins driving the immune response.

“This study proved that there is an aberrant immune response in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue,” Irwin said. “With this information, we may now be able to identify those patients at greatest risk for persistent fatigue and implement interventions early on that will lessen the severity and duration of the fatigue.”

The immune systems of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer are activated at high levels to help them fight disease and help the body recover from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Some data suggest that survivors who develop fatigue might have immune system changes before the cancer and the treatments may be exacerbating that. Further studies are needed to understand how this immune activation occurs and what clinical factors predispose to it, Irwin said

“We know from studies that animals with immune activation and cytokines circulating in their blood don’t move around a lot, they don’t eat, they don’t engage in sexual activity,” Irwin said. “From our study, we believe that the severity of fatigue in breast cancer survivors is not related to the type of treatment they received or its duration, but rather that the fatigue is driven by constant immune activation. Their immune systems simply don’t shut down after treatment.”

Irwin and his team studied 32 breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue and compared their blood samples to 18 survivors who did not suffer from fatigue. The pro-inflammatory proteins in the blood of fatigued cancer survivors could be used as a biomarker to classify those women who may suffer from fatigue after treatment. In those who appear to be predisposed to fatigue — the women whose immune systems have not shut off as they should — it may be possible in the future to provide interventions can right away that might eliminate or, at the least, alleviate the severity and duration of the fatigue.

While there are drugs such as statins that can be used to dampen immune response, future studies by Irwin and his team will focus on behavioral interventions such as tai chi and yoga. Exercise and meditation, Irwin said, have been shown to decrease levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the blood.

“If we can identify survivors at greatest risk of persistent fatigue, we can implement interventions early on to help them,” Irwin said. “That would be good news for the increasing numbers of women who are surviving breast cancer every year.”

The number of breast cancer survivors is steadily increasing due to advances in screening and treatment strategies. More patients are being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and are surviving longer. In fact, breast cancer survivors are the largest group of patients to overcome any type of cancer in the United States. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Hailed in ancient Eastern medicine as the “mushroom of immortality” and the “medicine of kings,” you’d expect reishi to offer you some pretty astounding health benefits, right? Your assumptions are correct. This prized fungus may be able to boost your immune system, fight cancer, ward off heart disease, calm your nerves and relieve both allergies and inflammation.

“Reishi indeed sounds like a cure-all,” writes Rebecca Wood in her book “New Whole Foods Encyclopedia.” She goes on to explain reishi’s wide range of uses: “An immunostimulant, it is helpful for people with AIDS, leaky-gut syndrome, Epstein-Barr, chronic bronchitis and other infectious diseases. It is used as an aid to sleep, as a diuretic, as a laxative and to lower cholesterol.” It almost seems too good to be true.

How can one fungus help the human body in so many ways? Traditional Eastern medical science explains reishi’s wide range of medicinal applications better, perhaps, than mainstream medicine ever could. According to Eastern thought, the body needs to defend itself against threats to its “equilibrium.” These threats can be physical, such as viruses and bacteria that cause infection; emotional, such as stressors that cause anxiety; or energetic, in that they reduce alertness. Whatever the threat, reishi helps the body maintain its defense against these threats to its equilibrium, helping the body to maintain balance. In this sense, diseases like heart disease and cancer mean that the body is out of balance, which is why an equilibrium-enhancing remedy such as reishi can help so many diverse ailments.

Skeptics can doubt the previous explanation as Taoist “mumbo jumbo,” but laboratory research proves many of reishi’s medicinal applications. As Dr. Andrew Weil writes, reishi “has been the subject of a surprising amount of scientific research in Asia and the West.” Research shows that the polysaccharide beta-1,3-D-glucan in reishi boosts the immune system by raising the amount of macrophages T-cells, which has major implications for people suffering from AIDS and other immune system disorders.

This immune-boosting action also works wonders in the prevention and treatment of cancer, as the T-cells are then able to fight cancer cells more effectively. However, reishi may help the body defeat cancer in not just one, but four ways. In addition to boosting the immune system, the glucan in reishi helps immune cells bind to tumor cells. Many experts believe that it also actually reduces the number of cancerous cells, making it easier for T-cells and macrophages to rid the body of them. Another substance in reishi, called canthaxanthin, slows down the growth of tumors, according to “Prescription for Dietary Wellness” author Phyllis A. Balch and other experts. As a result of these amazing anti-cancer abilities, laboratory research and traditional medicinal usage of reishi to fight cancer is so positive that the Japanese government officially recognizes it as a cancer treatment.

Besides cancer, reishi can help and treat another of America’s top killers: cardiovascular disease. The protection reishi offers against heart disease and stroke is truly remarkable because it helps prevent so many different risk factors, due to its high content of heart-saving substances like sterols, ganoderic acids, coumarin, mannitol and polysaccharides. Experts believe that the ganoderic acids in particular lower triglyceride levels, remove excess cholesterol from the blood, lower blood pressure, reduce platelet stickiness and even help correct arrhythmia. In fact, for 54 people with hypertension unresponsive to medication, taking reishi extract three times a day for four weeks was enough to significantly lower blood pressure, according to a study reported by Burton Goldberg in “Heart Disease.” Just imagine how the incidence of cardiovascular disease could be reduced if using reishi really caught on in the Western hemisphere.

While you protect your body against infectious disease, cancer and heart disease, your use of reishi can also help relieve your everyday discomforts. Do you have allergies? Japanese researchers discovered that the lanostan in reishi acts as a natural antihistamine. Do you suffer from muscle aches or arthritis? Dr. William B. Stavinhoa of the University of Texas Health Science Center found that reishi is as powerful as five milligrams of hydrocortisone, but with minimal side effects. What about anxiety or insomnia? According to “Mind Boosters” by Dr. Ray Sahelia, the reishi mushroom can calm the mind, as well as improve memory, concentration and focus. With all these benefits, reishi truly is the “medicine of kings.”

Article continued: Mr Green Archive

Popularity: 10% [?]

World Health Organization (WHO)

Is it safe to travel?

Yes. WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus. Today, global travel is commonplace and large numbers of people move around the world for business and leisure. Limiting travel and imposing travel restrictions would have very little effect on stopping the virus from spreading, but would be highly disruptive to the global community.

Influenza A(H1N1) has already been confirmed in many parts of the world. The global response now focuses on minimizing the impact of the virus through the rapid identification of cases, and providing patients with appropriate medical care, rather than on stopping its spread internationally.

Although identifying signs and symptoms of influenza in travellers can help track the path of the outbreak, it will not reduce the spread of influenza, as the virus can be transmitted from person to person before the onset of symptoms.

Scientific research based on mathematical modelling shows that restricting travel would be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease. Historical records of previous influenza pandemics, as well as experience with SARS, validate this.

Does WHO recommend screenings at country entry and exit points to detect if ill people are travelling?

No. We do not believe entry and exit screenings would work to reduce the spread of this disease. However country-level measures to respond to a public health risk are the decision of national authorities, under the International Health Regulations 2005.

Countries that adopt measures that significantly interfere with international traffic (e.g. delaying an airplane passenger for more than 24 hours, or refusing country entry or departure to a traveller) must provide WHO with the public health reasoning and evidence for their actions. WHO will follow up with all of its Member countries on such matters.

Travellers should always be treated with dignity and respect for their human rights.

How can I protect myself from influenza A(H1N1) when I am travelling?

People who are ill should delay travel plans. Returning travellers who become ill should contact their health care provider.

Travellers can protect themselves and others by following simple prevention practices that apply while travelling and in daily life.

Related links

International Health Regulations
See article 32

What can I do?

Popularity: 12% [?]

World Health Organization The main route of transmission of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus seems to be similar to seasonal influenza, via droplets that are expelled by speaking, sneezing or coughing. You can prevent getting infected by avoiding close contact with people who show influenza-like symptoms (trying to maintain a distance of about 1 metre if possible) and taking the following measures: avoid touching your mouth and nose; clean hands thoroughly with soap and water, or cleanse them with an alcohol-based hand rub on a regular basis (especially if touching the mouth and nose, or surfaces that are potentially contaminated); avoid close contact with people who might be ill; reduce the time spent in crowded settings if possible; improve airflow in your living space by opening windows; practise good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active. What about using a mask? What does WHO recommend? If you are not sick you do not have to wear a mask. If you are caring for a sick person, you can wear a mask when you are in close contact with the ill person and dispose of it immediately after contact, and cleanse your hands thoroughly afterwards. When and how to use a mask? If you are sick and must travel or be around others, cover your mouth and nose. Using a mask correctly in all situations is essential. Incorrect use actually increases the chance of spreading infection. How do I know if I have influenza A(H1N1)? You will not be able to tell the difference between seasonal flu and influenza A(H1N1) without medical help. Typical symptoms to watch for are similar to seasonal viruses and include fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat and runny nose. Only your medical practitioner and local health authority can confirm a case of influenza A(H1N1). What should I do if I think I have the illness? If you feel unwell, have high fever, cough or sore throat: stay at home and keep away from work, school or crowds; rest and take plenty of fluids; cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing and, if using tissues, make sure you dispose of them carefully. Clean your hands immediately after with soap and water or cleanse them with an alcohol-based hand rub; if you do not have a tissue close by when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth as much as possible with the crook of your elbow; use a mask to help you contain the spread of droplets when you are around others, but be sure to do so correctly; inform family and friends about your illness and try to avoid contact with other people; If possible, contact a health professional before traveling to a health facility to discuss whether a medical examination is necessary. Should I take an antiviral now just in case I catch the new virus? No. You should only take an antiviral, such as oseltamivir or zanamivir, if your health care provider advises you to do so. Individuals should not buy medicines to prevent or fight this new influenza without a prescription, and they should exercise caution in buying antivirals over the Internet. Warning on purchase of antivirals without a prescription [pdf 35kb] What about breastfeeding? Should I stop if I am ill? No, not unless your health care provider advises it. Studies on other influenza infections show that breastfeeding is most likely protective for babies – it passes on helpful maternal immunities and lowers the risk of respiratory disease. Breastfeeding provides the best overall nutrition for babies and increases their defense factors to fight illness. When should someone seek medical care? A person should seek medical care if they experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or if a fever continues more than three days. For parents with a young child who is ill, seek medical care if a child has fast or labored breathing, continuing fever or convulsions (seizures). Supportive care at home – resting, drinking plenty of fluids and using a pain reliever for aches – is adequate for recovery in most cases. (A non-aspirin pain reliever should be used by children and young adults because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome.) Should I go to work if I have the flu but am feeling OK? No. Whether you have influenza A(H1N1) or a seasonal influenza, you should stay home and away from work through the duration of your symptoms. This is a precaution that can protect your work colleagues and others. Can I travel? If you are feeling unwell or have symptoms of influenza, you should not travel. If you have any doubts about your health, you should check with your health care provider. More on WHO travel recommendations

Popularity: 8% [?]

Remain health during cold & flu season.

ENERhance contains essential herbs, vitamins& minerals.

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ScienceDaily (May 5, 2009) — As the swine flu continues its global spread, researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have discovered important clues about why influenza is more severe in some people than it is in others.

In their research study published online in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, the scientists show that the influenza virus can actually paralyze the immune systems of otherwise healthy individuals, leading to severe secondary bacterial infections, such as pneumonia. Furthermore, this immunological paralysis can be long-lived, which is important to know when developing treatment strategies to combat the virus.

According to Kathleen Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., the senior researcher involved in the study and Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “We have a very limited understanding of why some people who get influenza simply have a bad cold and other people become very sick and even die. The results of this study give us a much better sense of the mechanisms underlying bacterial infections arising on top of the viral infection.”

Sullivan and colleagues recruited pediatric patients with severe influenza and examined the level of cytokines, which serve as the first line initiators of immune response, in the blood plasma. Although they found elevated levels of cytokines, they also found a decreased response of toll-like receptors, which activate immune cell responses as a result of invading microbes. This suggests that the diminished response of these receptors may be responsible for the paralysis of the immune system, leading to secondary bacterial infections.

The influenza patients were compared with patients with moderate influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and a control group of healthy individuals. The immune paralysis appeared to be specifically a result of influenza infection and was not seen in patients with respiratory syncytial virus. This process might explain why one quarter of children who die from influenza, die from a bacterial infection occurring on top of the virus.

“Despite major medical advances since the devastating flu outbreak of 1918 and 1919, influenza virus infection remains a very serious threat,” said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, “and the current swine flu outbreak is a grim reminder of this fact. The work by Dr. Sullivan and colleagues brings us a step closer to understanding exactly what goes wrong in some people who get the flu, so, ultimately, physicians can develop more effective treatment strategies.”

Journal reference:

1. Meredith L. Heltzer, Susan E. Coffin, Kelly Maurer, Asen Bagashev, Zhe Zhang, Jordan S. Orange, and Kathleen E. Sullivan. Immune dysregulation in severe influenza. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2009; DOI: 10.1189/jlb.1108710

Popularity: 2% [?]

Known in China as a ‘Qi’ tonic, astragalus is one of the most beneficial immune tonics and cancer-fighting herbs. It increases the body’s resistance to disease, strengthens the digestion, and improves the vitality of the immune system. Astragalus increases the ‘bone marrow reserve’, enabling the body to produce more immune effector cells {such as t-cells}, aiding the immune system in its fight against pathogens. In China, health practitioners prescribe astragalus as a daily tonic. Astragalus is often blended with other immune tonics such as ligustrum. Astragalus has a taste of SWEET and a temperature of WARM.

• Treating Cancer with Astragalus
• Treating HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) with Astragalus
• Treating Immune Deficiency with Astragalus
• Treating Spleen Tonic with Astragalus

Astragalus Proper Dose

Astragalus Reference Information

Supporting Research

Leung, A. and S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients. New York: J. Wiley & Sons.

McGuffin, M. et al. 1997. Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Bensky, D. and A. Gamble. 1986. Chinese Herbal Medicine. Seattle: Eastland Press.

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