Brazil swine flu toll 557, highest in world

A total of 577 people have died from swine flu in Brazil, putting the South American nation at the top of the list of countries reporting fatalities from the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, the health ministry said.

The mortality rate, however, is 0.29 percent in Brazil, well below the 1.08 percent rate in Argentina, the 0.75 percent rate in Chile and the 0.67 percent rate in Costa Rica, which have the highest levels in Latin America, health officials said Thursday.

The toll from swine flu stood at 488 as of last Friday, the health ministry said, noting that the jump in the death toll was due to lab tests coming back positive for people who died between Aug 16 and Aug 22.

Brazil now has the highest number of deaths from swine flu followed by the US with 522, Argentina with 439 and Mexico with 179, according to the World Health Organization.

A total of 5,206 people have contracted swine flu and undergone treatment as of Wednesday, the health ministry said.

The government has decided to appropriate 2.1 billion reais ($1.13 billion) for the purchase of vaccinations against swine flu, health officials said.

The funds will allow health officials to purchase 73 million doses of the vaccine, which will be administered during the first half of 2010 to deal with an expected outbreak of the disease during the southern hemisphere winter.

5 REASONS NOT TO PANIC – H1N1

The world has learnt a lot about swine flu — much more than was known about previous pandemics, and much more rapidly. And technology allows instant sharing across the globe. Based on worldwide experience documented by scientists, here are 5 solid reasons why you should not panic

1 Low Fatality: Out of over 2 lakh cases worldwide, the number of deaths is just short of 1,900, or, less than 1%.
WHO says many countries are no longer recording confirmed cases. Actual number of cases might run into many more which would bring down the number of people dying of swine flu to much lower than 1%. Many of the deaths are also due to underlying conditions or complications. In short, swine flu is not a killer disease like TB (death rate 3.5%) or respiratory diseases (death rate 11%). There is more likelihood of death in a traffic accident (1.8%) or a fire (1.4%) than by catching swine flu

2 Moderate Symptoms: Fear of suffering is next only to fear of death. Swine flu causes aches, fever, sore
throat, cough, runny nose and in some cases vomiting. All this will make you (and your family) pretty miserable if you do get infected. But it is no different from having a severe case of common flu or cold. And, the symptoms can be further reduced by taking (under doctor’s guidance!) suitable painkillers and analgesics. Compare this to the enormous suffering and pain caused by other diseases like malaria or cancer or a stroke

3 Short Duration: The illness lasts up to a week in most cases. In some cases it may be shorter. It won’t
haunt you for a month or two like jaundice or typhoid. For this week you will suffer some isolation, but mainly you will be resting throughout, and having lots of fluids. No injections, no drips, no constant testing. Tamiflu is there, but studies show it only reduces the duration by one to two days

4 Complete Recovery: After the fever goes away on its own, you will feel weak for a few days — then back to
normal. There are no lingering effects, no scars, no slow road to recovery. No future complication — in fact, you would have strengthened your immunity to the flu. You can start interacting with others within 24 hours

5 Panic creates problems: If you panic, rush around, crowd hospitals at the slightest sneeze, you might end
up increasing the chances of actually getting swine flu. Besides, you will be unnecessarily choking the stretched medical system. Swine flu is a disease, not the end of the world. Treat it with respect and deal with it

10 home remedies to avoid swine flu

Very useful information…

1. Have five duly washed leaves of Tulsi (known as Basil in English; medicinal name Ocimum sanctum) everyday in the morning. Tulsi has a large number of therapeutic properties. It keeps throat and lungs clear and helps in infections by way of strengthening your immunity.

2. Giloi (medicinal name Tinospora cordifolia) is a commonly available plant in many areas. Take a one-foot long branch of giloi, add five to six leaves of Tulsi and boil in water for 15-20 minutes or long enough to allow the water to extract its properties. Add black pepper and sendha (salt used during religious fasts), rock or black salt, or Misri (crystalised sugar like lumps to make it sweet) according to taste. Let it cool a bit and drink this kadha (concoction) while still warm. It will work wonders for your immunity. If giloi plant is not available, get processed giloi powder from Hamdard or others, and concoct a similar drink once a day.

3. A small piece of camphor (kapoor) approximately the size of a tablet should be taken once or twice a month. It can be swallowed with water by adults while children can take it along with mashed potatoes or banana because they will find it difficult to have it without any aides. Please remember camphor is not to be taken everyday, but only once each season, or once a month.

4. Those who can take garlic, must have two pods of raw garlic first thing in the morning. To be swallowed daily with lukewarm water. Garlic too strengthens immunity like the earlier measures mentioned.

5. Those not allergic to milk, must take a glass of hot or lukewarm milk every night with a small measure of haldi (turmeric).

6. Aloe vera (gwarpatha) too is a commonly available plant. Its thick and long, cactus-like leaves have an odourless gel. A teaspoon gel taken with water daily can work wonders for not only your skin and joint pains, but also boost immunity.

7. Take homeopathic medicines — Pyrogenium 200 and Inflenzium 200 in particular — five tablets three times a day, or two-three drops three times a day. While these are not specifically targeted at H1N1 either, these work well as preventive against common flu virus.

8. Do Pranayam daily (preferably under guidance if you are already not initiated into it) and go for morning jog/walk regularly to keep your throat and lungs in good condition and body in fine fettle. Even in small measures, it will work wonders for your body’s resistance against all such diseases which attack the nose, throat and lungs, besides keeping you fit.

9. Have citrus fruits, particularly Vitamin C rich Amla (Indian gooseberry) juice. Since fresh Amla is not yet available in the market (not for another three to four months), it is not a bad idea to buy packaged Amla juice which is commonly available nowadays.

10. Last but not the least, wash your hands frequently every day with soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds; especially before meals, or each time after touching a surface that you suspect could be contaminated with flu virus such as a door handle or a knob/handle, especially if you have returned from a public place or used public transport. Alcohol-based hand cleaners should be kept handy at all times and used until you can get soap and warm water