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The original news story can be found here.
A preliminary report from Finnish health officials today said the link between narcolepsy in children and the Pandemrix 2009 H1N1 vaccine appears to be real, but more study is needed to explore the possible role of other factors.
The investigators from Finland’s National Narcolepsy Task Force found a ninefold increase of narcolepsy in children and young adults ages 4 to 19 who received the vaccine compared with their unvaccinated peers, according to a press release from the country’s National Institute for Health and Welfare. They said the effect was most pronounced in those ages 5 to 15. They didn’t find a link in those under age 4 or over 19.
They based their findings on discharge data from patients who were hospitalized with narcolepsy during 2009 and 2010. They used primary care records to gather data on pandemic vaccination.
Narcolepsy was reported in 60 Finnish children and adolescents in 2009 and 2010. A panel of neurologists and sleep researchers reviewed their records. Of those with narcolepsy, 52 (nearly 90%) had received the Pandemrix vaccine. Vaccine coverage for the entire group was 70%.
Finland’s vaccine adverse event registry received through Jan 24 of this year 56 reports of narcolepsy in those who received Pandemrix. All but two were in the 4-to-19 age-group. In most cases, narcolepsy symptoms started about 2 months after vaccination.
For years now natural health practitioners have been stating that there are a large number of side effects from Vaccines. The flu vaccine can be of a particular danger in my opinion due to the fact that they are rushed into production every year in order to be ready in time for flu season. They are never fully tested as would be most full vaccines or they would not be ready in time to administer prior to flu season.
There is always a big rush on to get a vaccine prepared and out to be distributed in time for flu season. The issue can also be compounded as flu season varies from country to country. In most of the northern hemisphere flu season runs in the late winter months. There are some early cases starting around September and in fact all year long, the majority of cases however come in the late fall and early winter.

“The observed association is so evident that it is unlikely that other so-called confounding factors could fully explain the phenomenon,” the group said in a press release.
Reports of a possible narcolepsy link to the Pandemrix vaccine in Finland and Sweden came to light in August 2010. The following month Swedish regulators issued a preliminary report finding no link between immunization and the condition.

Among other countries that used Pandemrix, increased numbers of narcolepsy cases were seen only in Finland, Sweden, and Iceland, the Finnish investigators noted. However, Iceland also found a greater-than-expected number of narcolepsy cases in unvaccinated children and teens.
Further investigations will explore infections or other factors that occurred in the children around the time they receive the pandemic vaccine. The group said they would explore a range of possible epidemiologic, immunologic, and genetic factors that could contribute to the development of narcolepsy. Specifically, studies will be conducted to detect if children with a genetic disposition to the condition or those who got sick varied in their response to different components of the Pandemrix vaccine.
The group said it would release its final report by Aug 31.
In August 2010 Europe’s drug regulatory agency, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), launched its own review of the narcolepsy reports in Finnish children vaccinated with Pandemrix, which it expected would take several months to complete. In September a panel from the group said there was no need to restrict the vaccine’s use and that benefit-risk balance continued to be positive.
GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Pandemrix, said in a statement today that it is reviewing the task force report, but said it is premature to draw any conclusions about any possible link between the vaccine and narcolepsy until the EMA completes its investigation.
The company said it has been working closely with the EMA and other groups to better understand the reports.
More than 31 million doses of Pandemrix have been administered in 47 countries, Glaxo said. As of yesterday the company had received 162 reports of narcolepsy in people who have been vaccinated. Seventy percent were from Sweden and Finland.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a release today that it was aware of the preliminary report from Finnish health officials and agrees that further study is needed. It said its Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is considering all available data on the increased narcolepsy reports and will issue a statement within the coming days.
“Recommendations for the use of seasonal 2010/2011 influenza vaccines in children and adolescents remain unchanged,” the WHO added.

The Narcolepsy findings were also reported in Australia last year. There were several children under the age of five that were having trouble after receiving the Swine Flu Vaccine as well. With the trouble that they were having in Australia the government there ceased recommendations that children under the age of 5 receive the H1N1 vaccine.
With all the secrecy surrounding the vaccine industry it is difficult to affirm how many actual cases of narcolepsy there may be worldwide. Only a few governments will allow that information to be released.
There is also no telling how many of those hospitalized with the flu have received the flu vaccine as well. Last year it was accidentally reported that nearly 70 percent of those hospitalized at one point had already been vaccinated for H1N1. If that is true it can make you wonder, Is it worthwhile?

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Finland Finds Link Between Pandemic Vaccine and Narcolepsy Cases is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

Swine flu appears to be rather hard hitting this year in the Carolina’s, A few days ago it was reported that a prison was pretty much quarantined; now it is a hospital in North Carolina having troubles with the pesky H1N1 virus.

The Transylvania Regional Hospital is asking for limited visits from outsiders in an attempt to limit the spread of the Swine Flu virus. As infection rates spike in the eastern US everyone wants to keep those that are already most prone to illness safe.

So they are asking you to limit your visits and leave the kids at home. That makes good sense. It will also protect your children from all the nasty things they can catch at hospitals.

Also as you should do multiple times throughout the day anyway, they ask that you wash your hands before and after you visit your friends and family staying in the hospital.

Read the complete story here

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Transylvania Regional Hospital asking for Limited Visitors due to Swine Flu is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

If you were one of the lucky people to both catch and survive the Swine Flu during the 2009-2010 pandemic, the according to a new study, your immune system may have become supercharged. It seems that the Swine Flu virus was totally unknown to many that caught it and the body did not know how to cure it.

Somewhere in the vicinity of 60 million people came down with the Swine Flu last year, and even though death by flu was much lighter than in prior years, there were still around 18,000 deaths from the disease. What is surprising is what comes to the survivors is a type of super immunity. They seem to have antibodies that are capable to kill any type of flu virus and not just the swine flu.

Research has shown that survivors of the H1N1 virus have an amazing immune response. The researchers say that five of the antibodies they have identified are capable of fighting off all known seasonal flu’s, the Spanish flu virus that killed around 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic and even the bird flu variant H5N1.

The researchers feel that it is how unique the Swine Flu was that triggered that kind of reaction from the immune system. Since the body did not know what the exact invasion was, it began to create antibodies for everything taking hints from every flu virus it had encountered to date. By the time a person had completely recovered they seemed to be immune to every type of flu around. Researchers are unsure if the H1N1 vaccine will give the same type of immunity that actually having the swine flu will give. More research is needed.

Now onto the really interesting part, An Oxford University Virus expert Dr. Sarah Gilbert is feeling that this immunity from swine flu survivors in the relatively near future could lead to a super vaccine. This vaccine could give you immunity to every type of flu, a universal influenza vaccine.

Swine Flu Survivors Develop Super Immunity is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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A version of last years H1N1 flu strain is circulating in a South Carolina prison. As a precaution the prison has shut the doors to all visitors for the moment. The outbreak has so far hit about 140 of the inmates. The facility currently holds just under 750 inmates.

The outbreak began on January 17^th and moved rather swiftly through the prison population.

For 2011 most of the US seems to have bypassed the Swine flu for the year. The United Kingdom on the other hand, has seen a lot of H1N1 this year including 112 deaths to date. Hospitals are also rapidly filling up with flu vaccine in short supply. A few of the other countries in northern Europe have been hard hit with swine flu as well. So far few cases have been seen in the US but that could change. Air travel makes it easy for a virus to move from country to country.

You can read more about this subject at CIDRAP.

Swine Flu Outbreak Hits South Carolina Prison Population is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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Most experts  from the CDC and Yahoo!Health are expecting this year to be pretty average in terms of flu. They see little cause to believe that the Pandemic levels of H1N1influenza from last year will be repeated this year. While that is of comfort to those that are not in danger of coming down with the flu, it does little to make you feel too good if you are in a high risk group.

So who is in a high risk group? Generally those that are under 12 or over 60. Also included are those that have any type of compromised immune system or breathing disorders like COPD.  If you fall into one of these high risk groups, the CDC will recommend that you get a flu vaccine for the year.

I might also recommend that you greatly increase your intake of vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is made by your body naturally if you are out in the sunshine, for most of us though in the winter time you will need more vitamin D3 than you can manufacture naturally so you should look at getting a supplement to get you through the winter flu season.

And remember to wash your hands thoroughly and often when out in public and as soon as you return home.

If you would like to read more about what the CDC has to say about this years flu, check out this story from Vaccine News Daily.

Seasonal Flu Expected to Be Normal for the Year is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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Yet more news on the swine flu front that leaves questions about the effectiveness of the flu jab. In this story from the from the Daily Mail, the Story of Eleanor Carruthers is told.

“A grandmother-of-three thought she was safe from swine flu after she had the vaccine months ago.But Eleanor Carruthers, 68, from Merseyside became the latest victim of the outbreak on Saturday.

Mrs Carruthers was seriously ill with emphysema and lung cancer, but had had the flu vaccination in October to protect her from the illness.

Despite the step, she was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital last week and later died. H1N1 (swine flu) was recorded as one of the main causes of her death.”

We are repeatedly told to get the flu jab and it will keep us safe, this clearly was not true in the case of Eleanor Carruthers. Now they are blaming the vaccine shortage on healthy people getting the flu jab as well. First they tell everyone they should be required and even that they have a duty to get the jab in order to protect public safety. Now they blame the healthy getting shots for causing a shortage that will lead for further illness and death. The case of Mrs. Carruthers brings into question if there might not be better methods to protect ourselves from the flu as well.

“She said: ‘What we don’t understand is that mum had the vaccine in October, because she was in an at risk group.

‘And even though she was ill, she had been OK until her breathing worsened very quickly on Saturday morning.”

‘It was such a sudden thing, she died that night.”

Now a family is left grieving when they had taken the steps that they were promised would protect them from just such an occurrence coming and causing trouble within their lives. Perhaps you should look into exactly what the jab will do for you and see if you might be able to find better methods to protect yourself from Flu.

There are many things you can do. To start be certain to wash your hands often and correctly. Be certain to get plenty of rest and take your vitamins.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1347171/Swine-flu-Merseyside-Grandmother-Eleanor-Carruthers-dies-AFTER-jab.html#ixzz1BSbFyw7v

Grandmother Dies from Swine Flu – Despite Getting the Flu Jab is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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For those in the medical field this is high season. The phone is ringing constantly with people thinking they or their children have they flu. For the most part, they do not.  Can you tell if you have a cold or the flu?

If you have the common cold, I think it is called that because everyone commonly gets the cold, you can feel it coming for around a week before you actually come down with your cold. It will almost always start with a scratchy feeling in your throat. This is often followed by sneezing, and sniffling, then congestion in your head and throat and sometimes moving into your chest. If you have any fever it is most often mild for adults but can be pretty high in children. Coughing is often much like a dry hacking and is mostly due to the congestion. During the early part of your scratchy throat phase, you may be able to deter your cold by taking extra vitamins and getting some extra sleep.

The influenza virus in all of its many forms on the other hand, often starts near instantly. It will often begin with a fever of over 101 and this will often last between 3 to 7 days. Other symptoms that will accompany the flu are a headache, and the feeling that your body is aching everywhere. No matter what position you turn and twist into you just can’t find any comfort. You will normally feel exceptionally tired and should get as much rest as possible during the flu. Coughing is generally dry and hacking and will stick around well after your other flu symptoms have left.

The flu will pretty much affect your entire body, you will feel it everywhere. The cold on the other hand will generally just effect your upper body, meaning your eyes, ears, nose, throat and sometimes chest. While you will at times have some of the symptoms of colds with your flu such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, and a sore throat it is not so common. The reason the flu is so serious a problem for those who already have health troubles is because it can lead to so many major issues, the largest being pneumonia.

Sometimes you might feel your stomach is upset and think that you are catching the flu as well, it is most likely not though that is probably only gastroenteritis. Or you could have eaten something that is super disagreeable to your digestive system.

For the most part a virus such as the cold or the flu will be completely out of your system in 3 to 7 days. For most people there is no need to see a doctor for such things. However, if you have any type of a chronic involving your lungs or your breathing is compromised in any manner, then you should seek immediate medical attention when you get a cold or flu. If you illness lasts for more than 10 days you should also look into seeing a doctor as it could be a sign of something more serious.

In the long run it is best to avoid the flu and colds by staying healthy for the long run.  So eat well, get plenty of exercise and be sure to take your vitamins.

Cold or Flu? Which is it? is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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According to a report quoted in The Independent, at least 8 of the deaths of pregnant woman in the United Kingdom had avoidable medical errors as a contributing factor. This is actually pretty common in the practice of modern medicine now.

The Independent says that some of those contributing factors included, delays in getting admitted to the hospital, delays in drug treatments, and delays in even testing for the flu.

The Independant also point out that more than 50 people have died since the recent Swine Flu outbreak began in the UK.

Remember to wash your hands often, and be sure that you do it correctly! Also be sure that you are getting enough vitamin D, it is a challenge to get into the sun for your body to make Vitamin D on it’s own so find a good supplement!

8 Pregnant Women May Have Died as a Result of Avoidable Medical Errors is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

Wash your hands?

Did you know that there is some speculation that all of the large number of new people washing their hands maybe what saved the world from swine flu last year? There are many at the WHO and the CDC that believe this is what saved a lot of people and delayed the swine flu virus from really taking hold, giving the authorities enough time to develop a vaccine. You can read the original article in this business week article, and like they say, It just goes to show you that your mother was always right!

Did you know that there are government people that sit in the bathroom and spy on you? Last year they noted that 85 percent of the people using public restrooms were now washing their hands. That is apparently the largest volume of the public since they began tracking how many people are washing their hands in public restrooms.

Do Clean Hands Really Matter?

So why is it so important to wash your hands regularly? Cleaning out the dirt and grime on your hands does a couple of things, first you get rid of any viruses that you may have already picked up,  second you  remove all of the dirt and grime that gives germs and virus a place to hide.  Nearly every surface you touch will have been touched by others. If it is a public place where many people go daily it will have been touched a lot! And a virus can live outside of the host for a long time. Swine flu will live outside the body for around 5 hours. But can be washed of and cause you no damage if you get your hands clean before you give the H1N1 Virus an opportunity to enter your body.

How does the Virus Enter my Body

One of the simplest ways that H1N1 enters into your body is from your hands. It can work just like this, you go into the grocery store, and you pull open the door handle which has been opened hundreds of times today. Now the virus has lodged itself onto your hand, you have an itchy eyebrow and rub that hand across your eye to scratch it. Congratulations, you have just caught the flu! It really is that simple and that is why it’s so important to keep your hands washed.

Proper Hand Washing Technique

So washing our hands is pretty simple right? Well actually few people perform the task correctly. You need to begin with warm water as that helps to break up the grease and grime that may reside on your hands. There is no need for using anti bacteria soap however as normal soap will work just fine. Begin by getting your hands wet and adding in the soap, work the lather around your entire hands and between your fingers. You will need to wash for 20 to thirty seconds for this process to be effective. Now rinse and dry your hands and you are finished!

There You Have it

If you follow this process every time you use a public restroom, and anytime you return home from being out you should cut down your family’s rate of infection pretty dramatically. You will give germs little opportunity to grow and no place to hide around you! Now you can leave the house and have some fun in safety!

Did Clean Hands Save the World From Swine Flu is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu

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Antibodies in Viral Infection (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology) is a post from: Symptoms of Swine Flu