Swine Flu (Influenza A/H1N1) is rapidly spreading, and has become a item of major concern to public health agencies around the globe. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared a public health emergency in the United States. Their response goals are to help reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public to address the challenges posed by this emergency.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the outbreak. To assist in this endeavour, the CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help coordinate the investigation.

The United States Government has thus far reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death in Texas. Mexico has reported 97 confirmed human cases of infection, including seven deaths. The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (19), Germany (3), Israel (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (3), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (8).

The World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29, 2009.

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Staying healthy

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

What is Swine Influenza? Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.

How many swine flu viruses are there? Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

Swine Flu in Humans

Can humans catch swine flu? Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

How common is swine flu infection in humans? In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans? The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork? No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread? Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu? In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.

In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed? To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans? There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.

What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there? Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).

Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses? No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.

Swine Flu in Pigs

How does swine flu spread among pigs? Swine flu viruses are thought to be spread mostly through close contact among pigs and possibly from contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs. Herds with continuous swine flu infections and herds that are vaccinated against swine flu may have sporadic disease, or may show only mild or no symptoms of infection.

What are signs of swine flu in pigs? Signs of swine flu in pigs can include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing (barking), discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and going off feed.

How common is swine flu among pigs? H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses are endemic among pig populations in the United States and something that the industry deals with routinely. Outbreaks among pigs normally occur in colder weather months (late fall and winter) and sometimes with the introduction of new pigs into susceptible herds. Studies have shown that the swine flu H1N1 is common throughout pig populations worldwide, with 25 percent of animals showing antibody evidence of infection. In the U.S. studies have shown that 30 percent of the pig population has antibody evidence of having had H1N1 infection. More specifically, 51 percent of pigs in the north-central U.S. have been shown to have antibody evidence of infection with swine H1N1. Human infections with swine flu H1N1 viruses are rare. There is currently no way to differentiate antibody produced in response to flu vaccination in pigs from antibody made in response to pig infections with swine H1N1 influenza.

While H1N1 swine viruses have been known to circulate among pig populations since at least 1930, H3N2 influenza viruses did not begin circulating among US pigs until 1998. The H3N2 viruses initially were introduced into the pig population from humans. The current swine flu H3N2 viruses are closely related to human H3N2 viruses.

Is there a vaccine for swine flu? Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

* Facts in this release are provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Swine Flu web sites. The CDC is one of the major operating components of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Although it masquerades as a “career exploration test,” I was appalled when I first read the tidbits on the grading sheet, test materials and booklet on a test called the ASVAB, a test most high school juniors (11th grade) take.

ASVAB, you ask? What’s that? ASVAB stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery; I had to visit three websites to find the acronym actually spelled out. Yep. My grandson, 17, has been tested by the U.S. Government and the only reasons for that are the probability of intense recruitment efforts or the possibility of forced military service — i.e.: a draft. It’s a logical conclusion, given the issues facing recruiters in a country increasingly disenchanted and disgusted with the policies behind the Iraq War (and the physical, emotional and financial cost of that war), policies that have tens of thousands of U.S. troops deployed in the Middle East, policies that have stretched our troops to the breaking point.

I sat at the kitchen table, thinking that most parents may be under the impression that this is just another in a long line of standardized tests offered as our children move from kindergarten to grade 12. Not so. Except for the local school, nobody in the Departments of Education at the County, State or Federal level see these tests. Instead, the results are fed directly to the military. Further research linked me to a nationwide network of peace and social justice organizations targeting this issue.

To quote directly from the test score sheet sent to parents in the Clarksville-Montgomery County school system:

“Personal identity information (Name, social security number, street address, and telephone number) and test scores will not be released to any agency outside of the Department of Defense (DoD), the Armed Forces, the Coast Guard, and (your) school. Your school or local school system can determine any further release of information. The DoD will use your scores for recruiting and research purposes for up to two years. After that the information will be used by the DoD for research purposes.”

“The Military Entrance Score (also called the AFQT), which stands for Armed Forces Qualification Test) is the score used to determine your qualifications for entry into any branch of the United States Armed Forces or the Coast Guard. The Military Entrance Score predicts in a general way how well you might do how well you might do in training and on the job in military occupations. Your score reflects your standing compared to American men and women 18 to 23 years of age.”

The United States Department of Defense developed ASVAB with input from a panel of career development experts and “designed to encourage students to increase their level of self-knowledge and to understand how that information could be linked to civilian and military occupational characteristics.” The ASVAB Program recently was re-designed (app. 2002) to “be helpful” to virtually all students, whether they are planning on immediate employment after high school in civilian or military occupations, or further education at a university, community college, or vocational institution. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States Armed Forces.

High School Version

The “High School Version” is officially called “Form 18/19.” It’s a paper-based ASVAB commonly given to juniors and seniors in high school through a cooperative program between the Department of Defense and the Department of Education. The test is offered at more than 13,000 high schools and post secondary schools in the United States. The primary purpose of this test is not for enlistment in the military (although the test scores can be used for military enlistment (Ed: Then why is it that only the DoD gets the results?). The primary purpose of this test is to help school counselors and students discover where a student’s basic aptitude lies. Approximately 900,000 students take Form 18/19 ASVAB each year.

The test is often optionally administered to American high school students when they are in the 11th grade, though anyone eligible to and interested in enlisting can take it. The ASVAB was first instituted in 1976, and it underwent a revision in 2002. In 2005, the test’s percentile ranking scoring system was re-normalized, to ensure that a score of 50% really did represent doing better than exactly 50% of test-takers.

The test grades highlight six areas or interest: Realistic, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Investigative. Each of these areas is linked to specific career choices. The catalogue shows pictures of happy people swiming, making music, repairing bicycles, becoming firefighters, filmmaking, and exploring the world in science and travel. Interspersed are also things like flight mechanic, pilot, aircraft launch and recovery, artillery and missile crews, armored assault vehicle crews, and … you get the idea.

“The reason to have a military is to be prepared to fight and win wars…it’s not a jobs program.” ~~ Vice President Dick Cheney

ASVAB gives the military easy access to nearly a million high school students nationwide, presenting the test as “voluntary” despite the fact that tens of thousands of high school students are forced to take it. High schools in at least 34 states across the country require all juniors to take ASVAB, a military entrance exam given to fresh recruits to determine their aptitude for various military occupations. The test is given to high school students because school administrators are convinced it assists children in identifying a wide range of appropriate career paths. The ASVAB is also used to recruit students into the military.

ASVAB ‘Career Exploration Program’, as the military prefers to call it, provides the the DoD with access to high school children through an obscure privacy loophole. The testing program circumvents the opt-out provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act. The ASVAB contains no requirement of an opt-out notification. Unless a high school takes measures to protect student privacy, the data from the test is forwarded to recruiters and to the military’s Joint Advertising Market Research and Studies (JAMRS) Program, a massive database that has compiled 4.5 million records of 16-18 year-olds.

“The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to give students’ contact information to military recruiters — or that individual students and parents can opt out of this requirement. Some schools are informing students and parents and providing opt-out forms, sometimes as a result of community pressure, but many aren’t.” ~~ Community Media Workshop

Although military regulations do allow schools to preclude test information from reaching recruiting services, school administrators are often unaware of the option and few elect to protect student privacy. According to data released by the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) in November, 2007, only 5.7% of the 573,504 students who were given the ASVAB in fiscal year 2007 were tested on condition that their data not be released for recruitment purposes. Without parental consent, children who sit for the four-hour ASVAB sign a “Privacy Statement” that gives permission to the military to use social security numbers, sensitive demographic information, and test results for recruiting purposes. This practice runs counter to state laws that protect the privacy rights of minors, according to a brief by the National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles Chapter.

Students can “opt out” of the handing over of their contact info to military recruiters by their school.

“The military asks school administrations to give them the phone number and addresses of all junior and senior students.  The law says that if a student has a letter or form signed by his/her parent which states that the school does NOT have permission to give out their child’s contact info to recruiters, then the school must respect the parent’s decision and not give up the info. ‘Opt out’ policies vary from school to school, district to district,   If there is  a form, it is often in the stack of papers students get in the first few days of school and it is highly overlooked.  In fact, some schools do not even know their own policy, so you have to push them to find out, and if they do not have one in place then you can help create that policy.  In the meantime, however, they must accept your requests in whatever form you give them.” ~~ National Organization Opposing Militarization of Youth

What is amazing is that this test, administered so comprehensively to our American students, has generated an ASVAB for Dummies on the market. What is even more amazing is that someone somewhere thinks you can study for a test designed to measure your personal interests!

I do not  resent the fact that our children are taking aptitude tests; I do resent the fact that that these tests have nothing to do with the Department of Education and everything to do with the Department of Defense.

When my granddaughters received military recruiting information, my daughter and I tore it up, unopened. We will do the same for my grandson, who is “helper” of a kinder, gentler mentality. This “career exploration” test is nothing less than a try-out for military service administered to a captive audience of millions of students hovering within a year or so of “draft-able” age — 18.

Under current law, young men aged 18-25 must register with — place their names on a list maintained by — the Selective Service System (SSS). Citizens must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Non-citizens must also register, unless they’re in the country on a student visa or visitor’s visa. (Check the SSS web site for more detailed information on registration requirements.)

Refusing to register is against the law. The penalty is a fine up to $250,000 and up to 5 years in jail. However, a large number of people have not registered and, since the mid 1980s, no one has been prosecuted. But non-registrants can be denied government jobs and financial aid for college. Immigrants can be barred from becoming citizens. In addition, many states impose restrictions on non-registrants, such as denying them a driver’s license. ~~ Resource Center for Non-Violence

I grew up in an era of draft when the staging ground of war was Vietnam and Cambodia. The only way a draft would be remotely palateable at this time in history is if it contained an option for peaceful non-military community service for both young men and young women. The 21st century mandate for war has never impressed me; this backdoor evaluation of potential draftees appalls me. The Vietnam/draft era is revisited in the recent film, Across the Universe, a Beatles retrospective in which “dime a dozen” draftees are rubber stamped into the war zone, charged with bringing liberty to the far side of the world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here is a list developed by the RCNV (Resource Center for Non-Violence) of what to work for at your high school in terms of “opting out:”

• Prominently display the opt-out information on the student Emergency Card.
• Ensure that the right to opt out from giving information to the military is not linked to other releases of information (so that the district cannot combine the release of contact information to recruiters with other agencies and thereby force students to give up receiving contacts from institutions like colleges).
• Students should have the right to opt themselves out, and either students or parents should be able opt-out at any time of the year.Provide contact information on the opt-out form for alternative viewpoints (such as the Resource Center for Nonviolence, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, so that students can get a more balanced picture of what it means to join the military).
• Development of a packet of resources on rights to privacy from military recruiters and information about the practices of military recruiters and alternatives to military service.Charge the military recruiters (and all other institutional recruiters) for access to student contact information.
• Have all recruiters sign an affidavit declaring compliance with local, state, and national discrimination laws.
• Public notification of military recruiter visits to schools.
• Written correspondence to congress people and to the state School Boards Association to suggest making opt-in legal.
• Organize an Opt Out Week. For example, Click here to check out this blog

For more information, visit these websites:

NNOMY (National Network Opposing Militarization of Youth)

RCNV (Resource Center for Non-Violence)

National Priorities Project

National Lawyers Guild