...Influenza A/H5 Detection Kit otherwise known as the avian flu detection kit was produced in 2006 before the merger. Thus, Applied Biosystems would be the more appropriate company for the comparison instead. Applied Biosystems Inc. was first established in 1981, and has a reputation for producing top quality instruments for diagnostic research. Moreover, the scales of both companies differ greatly. Applied Biosystems has approximately 5000 staff that work under them whereas Veredus has about 20-30 staff. The level of technology and expertise that the firm possesses is equivalent to that of a listed company, in order for Veredus Laboratories to be able to compete with such big market players in the industry and to emerge as a formidable force to be reckon with,. Thus, Applied Biosystems is definitely a strong competitor of Veredus Laboratories with its vast experience. Applied Biosystems developed the TaqMan Influenza A/H5 Detection Kit (Taqman) in 2006, which is capable of detecting the avian influenza in laboratory samples reliably and quickly. Instead of the usual traditional testing which requires up to 10 days for the results to be analyzed, the Taqman requires only 2 hours. This detection kit is very similar to the one that catapulted Veredus Laboratories to its position today, the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 Detection Kit, which was also produced in 2006. Both products serve the same purpose in terms of detecting the avian flu by using the...
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...Flu of 1918 Literature & Communications Flu of 1918 Introduction/Thesis Do you know what disease took more lives than World I and II, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War all together? It was the Flu of 1918. The Flu of 1918 is an Infectious disease that caused a worldwide fear. It killed thousands upon thousands of people, and it helped us learn how some diseases spread. I. Health A. Symptoms B. II. Economy A. Where did it hit first B. What did it do to city life? III. Education A. When did they shut down schools and how long. B. Did the Flu affect the school system? IV. Environmental/Ecology A. Did it affect the animals? B. Did it affect the plants? V. Other types of Flu A. B. Conclusion Do you know what disease took more lives than World I and II, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War all together? It was the Flu of 1918. The Flu of 1918 is an Infectious disease that caused a worldwide fear. It killed thousands upon thousands of people, and it helped us learn how some diseases spread. The victims of the 1918 Spanish flu suffered greatly. Within hours of feeling the first symptoms of extreme fatigue, fever, and headache, victims would start turning blue. Sometimes the blue color became so pronounced that it was difficult to determine a patient's original skin color. The patients would cough with such force that some even tore their abdominal muscles. Foamy blood exited from their mouths and noses. A few bled from their ears...
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...Bird Flu of H5N1 virus threatens world pandemic Public health has traditionally been an area of concern as anything that poses a threat to humans should be considered a top priority societally. From a global standpoint if public health is neglected then the amount of preventable deaths would rise exponentially. In the past few years several events have been noted as threats to public health, but society had identified them quick enough so that the threat to humans was minimized. One such event occurred in 2006 and was known as the bird flu. Although there is currently no vaccine for this strain of bird flu the rapid identification of this deadly virus helped to minimize its spread. According to Medline, birds just like humans can be stricken with the flu but the virus historically only affected avian species without the potential to affect humans. This remained true until 1997 in Hong Kong when the first case of the avian flu was reported. This avian virus has the ability to mutate or change its genetic makeup so that it can be easily incorporated into the human genome, thus causing a new form of flu that can be deadly and difficult to treat. Since 1997 the avian flu has spread to several countries and has severely affected both the commercial poultry supply and humans alike. Although the viral transition to infecting humans is rare, the avian flu is responsible for approximately 600 infections since its inception with a mortality rate of 60% (National Library of Medicine...
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...| Spanish Flu | Crisis Management | Table of Contents Introduction Page 2 What is Spanish Flu and what happened during the pandemic? Page 2 How the situation was handled in 1918 Page 2-3 Impacts from the Spanish Flu Page 3-4 Impacts of mass gathering Page 4-5 Crisis Management Page 5 Additional information that may have arose from research Page 5-6 Recommendations Page 6-7 How the Hospitality sector should act Page 7 Hotel Response Plan Page 8-9 Sample Guest Letter Page 9 Conclusion Page 9 References Page 10-11 Appendices Page 12 Introduction Spanish flu in the year 1918 was a pandemic crisis that greatly affected everyone worldwide. To this day researchers are still studying the influenza pandemic and are working to counter future pandemics. When the Spanish flu came it created many negative impacts to the daily lives of the citizens and industries. Learning from the past, there are many recommendations that industries should implement in order to counter the spreading of a future oncoming pandemic. Crisis management is important during such a deadly situation and every business should create a plan. This document talks about what is Spanish flu and how should it affected the hospitality industry. This document also talks about what steps hotels should take during a pandemic. What is Spanish Flu and what happened during the pandemic? Spanish flu is an avian flu that occurred...
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...Free Flu Domain Name Anthony James Wolf IT/240 April 26, 2015 Raymond Schafer Free Flu Domain Name This assignment requires me to assume the role of an it consultant and determine a domain name for the non-profit organization Free Flu, which provides flu shots to the elderly. The first thing I did was a basic google search of domain name and several ads for domain name providers came up, godaddy.com, 1and1.com and domain.com. A definition for domain name came also up through Wikipedia.com, a domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the domain name system (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name. (wikipedia.com, 2015) The next thing I did was an internet search for how determine a domain name for a non-profit organization. The website I found is www.nonprofit.pro. According to this site, most non-profit organizations use.org addresses. (Demartinis, 2005) After more research, I was able to find that freeflu.org is available as domain name, the reason I would use and .org domain name is because free flu is a non-profit and needs to be advertised as such. The website itself should have its purpose on the main page, which is to deliver flu shots to elderly. An additional page would have the information on the requirements to get the flu shots, and how to contact the organization. The webserver will need to be...
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...Bird Flu (H5N1) This articles discusses Bird Flu (H5N1). It talks about a lot of information from the causes, symptoms, exams and tests to detect it, the treatments and also the outlook or prognosis. The first human case was reported in Hong Kong in 1997 and was transmitted through chickens. This means that the virus was able to pass the barrier and mutate between animal and man. Since then there has been hundreds of cases and the mortality rate is approximetely 50%. Your risk of contracting the avian flu virus increases if you work with poultry, travel to countries where the virus is present or you consume undercooked poultry meat or eggs. The most recent case involved a 10 year old girl from Cambodia. After 5 days she was admitted to the hospital and after 2 days in intensive care she died (Zimmer 2012). The article states that treatment for H5N1 varies depending on your symptoms but generally can be treated with Tamiflu or Relenza to lessen the severity. These medications must be taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms for them to be effective. Typically with any virus the best treatment is a lot of fluids to help the virus run its' course more quickly. There have been cases of Bird Flu reported in Asia, Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Pacific and near the East. It also goes on to state that the chance for a worldwide outbreak in humans goes up the more the the avian flu virus spreads. In conclusion, the avian flu virus, or bird flu is absolutely...
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...Book Review: Flu by Gina Kolata This book begins by describing the 1918 influenza epidemic that killed an estimated 20 to 100 million people worldwide during the fall and winter of 1918. This particular strain of the flu was known as the Spanish Flu since it was first seen in the spring of 1918 in Spain. It struck young healthy people around the world in a matter of months. The flu would begin with typical flu like symptoms that could then become pneumonia and killed 2.5 percent of people who contracted it. That is twenty-five percent more deadly than the average strain of influenza. Public health departments attempted to prevent further spreading by passing out gauze masks to people. It appeared all over the world and decimated some populations, including Eskimos and Western Samoans. Since the 1918 flu killed millions, countries around the world have feared further epidemics and in 1976 fears of an outbreak of 1918 flu caused an unprecedented vaccination program. It was discovered in 1928 that the 1918 flu and swine flu were closely related strains of influenza (possibly the same) by Dr. Richard Shope. He found that swine flu occurring in pigs caused similar symptoms and the antibodies of swine flu were found in those who survived the 1918 flu. Then in 1976, four men were found to have swine flu at Fort Dix in New Jersey. One man died as a result and scientists began to worry that another outbreak of the 1918 flu could occur due to swine flu. Therefore, it...
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...Discussion of Communicable Disease: Seasonal Influenza Each year the general public is urged to take action to avoid getting the Seasonal Flu virus by, encourage the pubic to obtain the vaccine before January. It is also; widely made known to the general public the impact of the Flu virus and that it can lead death for some each. However, each year many choose to ignore the advice that is given. But, why is it so vital that we get our Flu vaccine. In this paper we will discuss that very question. We will discuss why the Seasonal Flu is considered a communicable disease, explain the demographics of interest, describe the determinants of health and how these factors contribute to the development of the virus, discuss the epidemiologic triangle as it relates to communicable diseases, explain the role of the community health nurse, identify national agency that addresses the communicable disease and describe how the organization contributes to resolving or reducing the impact of the virus. Description of Communicable Disease According to Global Health Communicable diseases are defined as diseases that are spread from one person to another or from an animal to a person. In addition, they are considered infectious and contagious. (Global Health, 2014). The Seasonal influenza will be referred to from this point on as the “Flu”. The Flu is acute viral infection that is easily spread from person to person. They are seen worldwide, that peaks in the winter months in most parts...
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...Influenza or the flu affects an estimated 5-15% of the world’s population and results in 500,000 deaths annually. (World Health Organization, 2009). In the United States, between 1979 and 2001, averages of 226,000 persons were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year as a result of complications from influenza. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007[CDC]). The primary method for preventing influenza is the flu vaccine, which is available in a variety of settings including clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and schools. The vaccine is typically distributed in October and November in anticipation of the winter flu season, which usually begins in late November and peaks in February. Influenza has been a common seasonal irritant for many years; it is a respiratory infection caused by a variety of viruses. Its symptoms are consistent with those of a cold, congestion, fever, chills, aches and pains. The virus can pass through the air and enter the body through the nose or mouth; it is spread very easily and very contagious. Everyone needs to be aware of the dangers of the influenza virus and the benefits of the influenza vaccine. The vaccine is a primary level of intervention to prevent a person from becoming ill with the influenza virus. Once vaccinated against the influenza antibodies are produced and hopefully the person who was vaccinated will not become infected. Cross-transmission of influenza infection from healthcare personnel (HCP) to patients has been described in...
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...H1N1 Swine Flu Top of Form History will always repeat itself. In many events it has been proven fact. There are many examples of this; some would say the landing of Christopher Columbus and the Holocaust, others might say the Columbine Massacre and the several school shootings that followed that. But the most eerie and coincidental reoccurrence is the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’ outbreak. By the fall of 1918 a strain of influenza seemingly no different from that of previous years suddenly turned so deadly, and engendered such a state of panic and chaos in communities across the globe, that many people believed the world was coming to an end. It would later be characterized as a human-to-human transmissible case of swine flu. The virus struck with amazing speed, often killing its victims within just hours of the first signs of infection. So fast did the 1918 strain overwhelm the body's natural defenses, that the usual cause of death in influenza patients---a secondary infection of lethal pneumonia---oftentimes never had a chance to establish itself. Instead, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients would drown in their own body fluids. Not only was the Spanish Flu (as it came to be known) strikingly virulent, but it displayed an unusual preference in its choice of victims---tending to select young healthy adults over those with weakened immune systems, as in the very young, the very old,...
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...Spanish Flu; Swine Flu History will always repeat itself. In many events it has been proven fact. There are many examples of this; some would say the landing of Christopher Columbus and the Holocaust, others might say the Columbine Massacre and the several school shootings that followed that. But the most eerie and coincidental reoccurrence is the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’ outbreak. By the fall of 1918 a strain of influenza seemingly no different from that of previous years suddenly turned so deadly, and engendered such a state of panic and chaos in communities across the globe, that many people believed the world was coming to an end. It would later be characterized as a human-to-human transmissible case of swine flu. The virus struck with amazing speed, often killing its victims within just hours of the first signs of infection. So fast did the 1918 strain overwhelm the body's natural defenses, that the usual cause of death in influenza patients---a secondary infection of lethal pneumonia---oftentimes never had a chance to establish itself. Instead, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients would drown in their own body fluids. Not only was the Spanish Flu (as it came to be known) strikingly virulent, but it displayed an unusual preference in its choice of victims---tending to select young healthy adults over those with weakened immune systems, as in the very young, the very old, and the infirm...
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...Should we purposefully engineer avian flu strains to become highly transmissible in humans? In our view, no. We believe the benefits of this work do not outweigh the risks. There are no guarantees that such a deadly strain of avian flu would not escape accidentally from the laboratory. This particular experiment was performed by internationally respected scientists in biosafety conditions considered top of the line. They seem to have taken the expected and necessary precautions. The risk of a person accidentally becoming infected and starting an outbreak with this new strain is low. But it is not zero. The safety record of most labs working at high biocontainment levels is outstanding, and the historic number of accidents is very low. In almost all situations, even if a laboratory worker comes in contact with a dangerous pathogen and becomes sick, the risk of extensive wide community spread is negligible. This is because very few dangerous pathogens are as highly transmissible as influenza is. An accidental escape of an influenza strain from a lab in 1977 proves the possibility: That accident led to widespread flu epidemics. Given the potential global consequences of an accident with the newly modified strain of avian flu, we are playing with fire. We are not opposed to research in high-containment labs using dangerous pathogens, including H5N1. Over the past decade, the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC has publicly argued for the importance of such research to develop diagnostics...
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...Excelsior College Microbiology 212/ Dr. Odeh Raichell Fuentes December 4, 2014 Avian Flu Viral Disease Avian influenza is used to describe influenza A subtypes that primarily affect chickens, turkeys, quail, geese. Avian influenza is an ecological classification. Outbreaks of influenza have been recognized in poultry (chickens and turkeys) for many years. Avian influenza strains are classified according to disease severity recognized forms: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as fowl plague, and low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI). Avian influenza viruses that cause HPAI are highly virulent, and mortality rates in infected flocks often very high. LPAI viruses are generally of lower virulence, but these viruses can serve as progenitors to HPAI viruses. Human infections caused by avian strains have been associated with HPAI (H5, H7, and H9) . Infected birds spread the virus per nasal secretion, saliva, feces. They have swollen necks and a bluish coloring around their neck. Human symptoms effect respiratory tract to a rapid pneumonia. Treatment is the best prevention to increase the chances of getting the avain flu viral disease. Prevention is to avoid contaminated environment and places and live poultry markets and practice good hygiene. The World population want to defuse a risk of a full blown epidemic . Hello to Members of Congress. Thank you for this moment in time to discuss a bill that would protect the health and wellness in people within the World...
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...for a potential influenza pandemic by buying medicines, running disaster drills, and developing strategies for tighter border controls. On the other hand, a survey of global companies by London-based newsletter Continuity Central found that 72 percent have not even begun to get ready for a potential bird flu pandemic. Businesses in the U.S. seem to be particularly unprepared. In a survey by Deloitte & Touche of 100 U.S. executives, two-thirds said their companies had not yet prepared adequately for avian flu, and most have not one specifically in charge of such a plan. What these businesses might not realize is how they potentially will be affected. For instance, how will they continue to do their business if their workforce is ill or quarantined; if transportation, communication, utility services of other necessary public infrastructure functions are not available or are only available in limited areas; or if financial services are curtailed? How will they earn revenues if the general public is sick or not able to venture out? It’s a scenario with monumental implications for both the short term and the long term. One company that has panned for any potential avian flu outbreak is Deutsche Bank. The steps it has taken include making sure employees in infected zones don’t carry the disease to co-workers, moving others out of harm’s way, communicating medical bulletins to far-flung offices, and preparing for the inevitable economic shocks as mass illness slows trade and...
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...Introduction Influenza (“the flu") is an infection in the lungs, nose, and throat (respiratory tract). It is caused by a virus. The flu causes many common cold symptoms, as well as a high fever and body aches. It can make your child feel very sick. The flu spreads easily from person to person (contagious). Having your child get a flu shot (influenza vaccination) every year is the best way to prevent your child from getting the flu. Follow these instructions at home: Medicines Give your child over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your child's doctor. Do not give your child aspirin because it has been associated with Reye syndrome. General instructions Use a cool mist humidifier to add moisture (humidity) to the air in your child's room. This can make...
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