Hospital cited over infections

California health regulators have cited White Memorial Medical Center for failing to properly sterilize a medical instrument later implicated in a deadly bacterial outbreak in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

White Memorial, near downtown Los Angeles, closed its busy neonatal intensive care unit last month after identifying an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which sickened five babies. Two of the babies are believed to have died as a result. The neonatal unit subsequently reopened.

In a report made public Tuesday, inspectors from the California Department of Health Services criticized the way the respiratory therapy staff at White Memorial cleaned laryngoscope blades, which are used to insert breathing tubes. The blades were cleaned with soap, tap water and alcohol wipes, which was not in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations to sterilize them, the report said.

The hospital's director of risk management and infection control told inspectors that "the practice was unapproved, and there was no training, no competency and no monitoring of the procedure," the report said.

In a written statement, White Memorial said that the inspection report "simply confirms the hospital's preliminary findings."

The hospital said it has worked closely with Los Angeles County public health officials and outside experts, and it has ensured that all hospital departments are following policies related to cleaning of medical equipment.

White Memorial said there had been no new infections since officials identified the problem in early December.

P. aeruginosa is a common bacterium found in water and soil and can be spread through body contact, fluids and water. In most people, it is not deadly or even dangerous, because their immune systems can ward off infection.

But that is not the case in patients with weakened immune systems, such as premature babies, patients with cancer or AIDS and those on breathing machines.

In such situations, the bacterium can cause a variety of infections depending on where it enters the body. These include respiratory, urinary tract and blood infections.

It can spread rapidly and, in some cases, be unstoppable even with antibiotics.

In addition to the neonatal unit, White Memorial closed its pediatric intensive care unit for several days last month after two children were diagnosed with Pseudomonas infections. Those cases were later determined to be unrelated to the outbreak and the unit reopened.

ID Bracelets Establish Company's Name in Health-Care Field

When patients check into Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, the nurses dispense an identification wrist band, a plastic bracelet containing vital information, such as name, patient ID number, medical record number, birth date and physician.

And when kids get their tickets to Legoland in Carlsbad, they also get plastic ID bands--with different colors that let park operators know instantly who's tall enough to be on what ride.

The venues are wildly different, but the ID bands come from the same source: Precision Dynamics Corp., at 44 years old one of the oldest and largest manufacturing firms in the northeast San Fernando Valley. This maker of ID wrist bands has succeeded in a region that other companies have written off, growing slowly but consistently. Today, Precision has $50 million in annual sales and employs 550 people, 350 at the two-story, 135,000-square-foot headquarters here.

How has Precision done it? By picking its spots.

The company hasn't made a splash with headline-grabbing new products like some biomedical high-fliers. But Precision has built a solid business by going after profitable niches where it's achieved leading market positions. It's adapted to market changes as necessary, and is now boosting its bottom line through acquisition. Through it all, it's built a corporate culture based on employee empowerment and profit-sharing, an approach that's paid off with little turnover among the ranks.

"They are low-tech but they are doing very well," said Ahmed Enany, executive director of the Southern California Biomedical Council. "You don't necessarily have to be high-tech to make money."

The fact that Precision is still standing--and succeeding--after a period of massive consolidation in the health-care business is an accomplishment. From 1985 to 1995, times were tough for purveyors of lower technology items hospitals buy in volume.

Precision's customers--large health-care distributors that sell to hospitals--grew ever-larger, giving them increased leverage in negotiations. Many companies of Precision's size sold out.

Today, the shake-out is over, according to David Cassak, editor of In Vivo, a Connecticut-based health-care industry journal. "If you've survived this long, you're going to survive," he said.

Precision is an unlikely success story given its humble beginnings.

Medical Experts Debate Value of In-Utero Photos

The images are irresistible, and there's no mistaking what they show: sharp renderings of a sleeping baby's face--except in this case it's not a newborn, but a fetus.

Three-dimensional ultrasound is one of the latest technological additions to the obstetrician's office, and it's winning fans as parents-to-be clamor to picture their offspring in utero.

"Patients love it," says Delores Pretorius, a professor of radiology at UC San Diego, and a pioneer in the technology.

It's easy to see why. The photos show babies sucking their thumbs or sleeping with a tiny hand draped over an eye. They provide a look at profiles and facial features so clear that parents claim to recognize family traits.

"You can certainly get some very beautiful pictures of the fetal face and body," says Barry Goldberg, director of diagnostic ultrasound at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Anyone who has struggled to fathom an unborn child's image on a fuzzy, two-dimensional ultrasound picture will appreciate the vivid details and quality in this new type of photo.

"This is like the difference between seeing your baby in the doorway backlit where you can't quite see the features and putting a light on the baby so suddenly it's not a shadow," says Craig Winkel, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center.

But if the 3-D images have surprising clarity, their medical value is still something of a blur. Skeptics see them as little more than a clever way to attract patients. "I have not seen the utility of these images," says John Larsen, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and genetics at George Washington University Hospital. "They're cute at medical conventions. They have good marketing potential, as in, 'Hey, lady, give me some cash, and I'll take a picture of your baby.' But in truth, they don't give a whole lot of medical information."

Even those who have used the technology caution about over-promising what it can provide. "We're still working on figuring out where this fits in the big picture," adds Ulrike Maria Hamper, director of the division of ultrasound at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Ultrasound--the ability to use sound waves to "see" inside the body--was introduced experimentally to obstetrics in the late 1960s. It has gradually become a standard part of prenatal care. Today an estimated 80% of expectant women in the United States have ultrasound exams, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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US: 160M doses of swine flu vaccine due in October

WASHINGTON – The U.S. may have as many as 160 million doses ofswine flu vaccine available sometime in October, even though manufacturers worldwide are having serious trouble brewing shots, federal health officials said Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration may formally approve much of that vaccine before studies required to prove how well it works are completed, treating the new inoculations just like the recipe change that regular winter flu vaccine undergoes each year.

That doesn't mean mass vaccinations would start before key information from studies of thousands of volunteers is in, U.S. officials stressed Thursday. Most of those studies start next month to determine if people will need one shot or two for good protection and how high a dose should be in each shot. The earliest results should start arriving in September and October.

But the FDA told its scientific advisers it could finish the red tape of licensing much of that vaccine well before the use-it-or-not decision is made — because it's brewed exactly the same as regular winter flu vaccine, merely using the new swine influenza virus, part of the common H1N1 influenza family, as the chief ingredient. Companies just have to take the normal steps required for each year's regular winter flu vaccine, such as proving the inoculations are manufactured appropriately.

Taking the same path now will save some important time because "the virus is ahead of us," said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Norman Baylor. This "is not a rubber stamp. We do need to review some data to give us some comfort that that vaccine will provide some benefit and that it's manufactured properly."

Even if swine flu is not more dangerous than regular winter flu, "we have a population that's virtually 100 percent susceptible," said committee chairman Dr. John Modlin, a pediatrician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. "This is an entirely appropriate way of proceeding, one that to me seems both necessary and appropriate and prudent."

European regulators plan to license swine flu vaccine very similarly, although the U.S. is awaiting study data before deciding whether to use it.

Make no mistake: Vaccines containing immune-system boosters called adjuvants are not candidates for the easier strain-change approval, the FDA said. Flu vaccine with this extra ingredient is widely sold in Europe but never has been sold here, and there's little information about their safety in young children or pregnant women. While both adjuvant-free and adjuvant-added swine flu vaccine is being tested in the U.S. and abroad, using it outside of those studies would require a completely separate government decision.

Even if 160 million doses are in hand in October, at the expected two doses a person, that supply would cover only a fraction of the populations that this new influenza strain is sickening the most — school-age children, teenagers and young adults. More vaccine would trickle out over the following months.

Companies making swine flu shots are struggling. The chief ingredient for influenza vaccine is grown in chicken eggs, and companies are getting far fewer doses per egg — 30 percent of the normal yield for regular winter flu vaccine, said FDA's Dr. Jerry Weir.

One bright spot: The U.S. has the world's only nasal-spray flu vaccine, and maker announced Thursday that it's producing plenty — so many millions of doses a month that it can't keep up with putting them into the special sprayer required to use it. So Maryland-based MedImmune Inc. is working with the government to see if it can race out a different method for fall, simply dripping its swine flu vaccine into people's noses.

"A dropper instead of a sprayer works as well," said MedImmune vice president Dr. Ben Machielse.

The U.S. estimates for its October supply took that problem into account, said Robin Robinson of theDepartment of Health and Human Services, which is buying the nation's swine flu supply and will decide who receives it. But that estimate also assumes that two low-dose shots, about a month apart, will offer enough protection.

If studies show people need higher-dose shots, that will further cut the early available supply.

Not included in that calculation are MedImmune's potential extras. It used a different "seed virus" to grow vaccine than other manufacturers, because it's a different type of vaccine: Flu shots are made of killedinfluenza virus, while FluMist is a live but weakened strain. It comes in a set dose, and MedImmune said it will have 14 million swine flu nasal sprays available by October, and 40 million by year's end. But overall it's producing roughly 35 million doses a month, Malchielse said, if only it could turn that bulk product into a form easily administered to people.

The good news: Despite a brisk flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, the new swine flu isn't yet mutating to become more dangerous, said Dr. Nancy Cox of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cox said "it's actually quite surprising" that the virus is showing so little genetic variation given its rapid spread. It has sickened more than a million people in the U.S. alone since April and circled the globe in a matter of weeks.

ALERT! Swine flu is made in labs! Thats why we havent seen any swines!

The H1N1 virus was created in a laboratory according to several articles published on internet sites. The media has not covered this angle of the story.

Even though many might not believe it, HIV was introduced as a hepatitis vaccine to the gay communities of San Francisco and New York City in the late 1970's. The makers of the virus did not realize that bisexuals existed at the time therefore the disease has spread like wildfire throught the world claiming the lives of millions and counting.

We have been led to believe that the HIV virus somehow jumped species. That is false.

While the HIV virus is transmitted through contact with blood and sexual intercourse, H1N1 is airborne and causes flu like symptoms. No one really knows what happens after a patient recuperates from the latest health threat. Some believe that it might debilitate the human immune system as does AIDS.

So far we have only been told that the H1N1 flu is a mutation between 5 different viruses.

Other countries have taken drastic measures to secure their borders. Our ports of entries remain open.

In New York City many train commuters are wearing protective masks. I believe everyone in this country should adopt extreme measures to protect themselves especially after discovering an interesting timeline of the H1N1 virus.

I found the following information on the web. PAY VERY CLOSE attention to the details:

Conspiracy Theory Time Line

February 1976

Fort Dix, New Jersey

19-year-old Pvt. David Lewis told his drill instructor that he felt tired and weak, although not sick enough to skip a training hike. Lewis was dead with 24 hours.

The autopsy revealed that Lewis had been killed by "swine flu," an influenza virus originating in pigs. By then several other soldiers had been hospitalized with symptoms. Government doctors became alarmed when they discovered that at least 500 soldiers on the base were infected without becoming ill.

March 24, 1976

President Ford orders swine flu shots for all.

40 million Americans were inoculated, and there was no epidemic.

October 1976

Mass vaccinations started in October, but within weeks reports started coming in of people developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralyzing nerve disease, right after taking the shot. Within two months, 500 people were affected, and more than 30 died.

December 1976

Amid a rising uproar and growing public reluctance to risk the shot, federal officials abruptly canceled the program Dec. 16.

Source: March 24, 1976: Ford Orders Swine-Flu Shots for All

2001

9/11 terrorist attacks and anthrax scare.

2001-2002

Several microbiologists begin to die under mysterious circumstances

The mysterious deaths of top microbiologists since 9/11

October 07, 2004

Killer flu is recreated in a US lab. A US team added two genes from a sample of the 1918 virus to a modern strain known to have no effect on mice.

Animals exposed to this composite were dying within days of symptoms similar to those found in human victims of the 1918 pandemic.

Source: BBC BBC NEWS | Health | Killer flu recreated in the lab

October 31, 2005

Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu

Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.

Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.

Source: CNN News Defense Secretary Rumsfeld sees growth in Gilead stake - Oct. 31, 2005

February 2008

Date when possibly 3 US viral samples misplaced from Fort Detrick (read down).

A 2008 FBI and DOJ investigation concluded that Bruce Edwards Irvins, a microbiologist, vaccinologist, and senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, was responsible for mailing anthrax to members of Congress and the media in September and October 2001.

The fact that Irvins apparently committed suicide shortly before the announcement led many to suspect that he was a patsy in a wider plot. Despite the suspicious circumstances, no autopsy was carried out on Irvins’ body. His attorney was certain that Irvins, who had cooperated with the 6-year investigation, was innocent of the five anthrax deaths.

Fears that a mass pandemic was being readied as a biological attack have rumbled on in the conspiracy community ever since 9/11. Investigators point to the highly unusual number of deaths of top microbiologists to suggest that people with knowledge of the program are being eliminated.

March 17, 2008

U.S. denies producing biological weapons from bird flu samples –Media: U.S. denies Indonesia’s allegation on bird flu virus 17 Mar 2008 The United States has flatly denied allegations it was producing biological weapons from bird flu samples sent by Indonesia to the World Health Organization, the English daily The Jakarta Post reported Monday. Michael H. Anderson, counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia, [has issued the denial]. However, Indonesian senior biodefense researcher Isro Samihardjo said the U.S. could use bird flu virus samples from Indonesia to develop weapons at the Los Alamos Laboratory. Isro was speaking at a meeting about Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari’s newly released book here Saturday. In her book “It’s Time for the World to Change, Divine Hands behind Bird Flu,” Siti writes of her suspicions about a conspiracy between the U.S. and the WHO.

Source: Media: U.S. denies Indonesia's allegation on bird flu samples_English_Xinhua

July 09, 2008

Experts identify genes for bird flu replication. Scientists have identified around 100 genes that the H5N1 bird flu virus needs in a host in order to replicate, and this finding may help in the hunt for ways to block foment its proliferation.

Source: Reuters Experts identify genes for bird flu replication | Reuters

December 29, 2008

Scientists isolate genes that made 1918 flu lethal By mixing and matching a contemporary flu virus with the "Spanish flu" — a virus that killed between 20 and 50 million people 90 years ago in history's most devastating outbreak of infectious disease — researchers have identified a set of three genes that helped underpin the extraordinary virulence of the 1918 virus.

Source: University of Wisconsin Scientists isolate genes that made 1918 flu lethal (Dec. 29, 2008)

March 5th, 2009

Baxter, an International pharmaceutical company based in America, has just been caught mixing live Avian Flu virus (H5N1) with common flu virus, in a flu vaccine. Baxter International’s research facility in Orth-Donau Austria was the facility that shipped the contaminated flu vaccine to other facilities in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany. The incident was discovered by a technician in a facility in the Czech Republic, who injected ferrets with the vaccine as a normal test procedure. The ferrets died.

Source: OpEdNews » Baxter Pharmaceutical Mixed Avian Flu with Flu Vaccine

Was the viral contamination intentional?

The shocking answer is that this couldn't have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3) - a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials.

As explained on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosaf...):

"Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. This is considered a neutral or warm zone. All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features."

April 2, 2009

Sometime before April 2nd: When 5-year-old Edgar Hernandez of the small village of La Gloria in the state of Veracruz, Mexico became sick, it seemed like a normal case of influenza. But officials now believe his initial infection was the first in the swine flu outbreak that's sweeping the world. He's been called patient zero and has since recovered.

April 6, 2009

Veratect reported local health officials declared a health alert due to a respiratory disease outbreak in La Gloria, Perote Municipality, Veracruz State, Mexico. Sources characterized the event as a "strange" outbreak of acute respiratory infection, which led to bronchial pneumonia in some pediatric cases. According to a local resident, symptoms included fever, severe cough, and large amounts of phlegm. Health officials recorded 400 cases that sought medical treatment in the last week in La Gloria, which has a population of 3,000; officials indicated that 60% of the town’s population (approximately 1,800 cases) has been affected. No precise timeframe was provided, but sources reported that a local official had been seeking health assistance for the town since February.

April 16, 2009

Veratect reported the Oaxaca Health Department (SSO) indicated that an unspecified number of atypical pneumonia cases were detected at the Hospital Civil Aurelio Valdivieso in Reforma, Oaxaca State, Mexico. No information was provided about symptoms or treatment for the cases. NSS Oaxaca reported that rumors were circulating that human coronavirus was spreading at the hospital; sources did not provide any response to these statements from the hospital or health officials.

Laboratory samples were sent to Mexico City for analysis; results were expected to be released sometime next week. According to NSS Oaxaca, health officials had intensified preventive measures aimed at mitigating further spread of the disease. Sources reported that the SSO also implemented a sanitary cordon around the hospital.

This information was pushed to CDC in an email alert notification provided by Veratect

April 17, 2009 Tests show two southern California children who became sick in late March have the swine flu. They're believed to be the first known cases from this strain outside of Mexico.

Source: CityNews.ca - Toronto's News: Swine Flu Timeline: A Rapid Spread

April 20, 2009

21 horses die at a Polo match in Florida under mysterious circumstances.

Source: Yahoo news Mystery at Fla. polo match: 21 horses die

April 22, 2009

Missing vials of a potentially dangerous virus have prompted an Army investigation into the disappearance from a lab in Maryland. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command agents have been visiting Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to investigate the disappearance of the vials. The vials contained samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, a VIRUS THAT SICKENS HORSES. In 97 percent of cases, humans with the virus suffer flu-like symptoms, but it can be deadly in about 1 out of 100 cases, according to Caree Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Possibly misplaced in FEBRUARY 2008

Source: CNN News Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility - CNN.com

April 27, 2009

Baxter To Develop Swine Flu Vaccine Despite Bird Flu Scandal

Baxter confirmed over the weekend that it is working with the World Health Organization on a potential vaccine to curb the deadly swine flu virus that is blamed for scores of deaths in Mexico and has emerged as a threat in the U.S.

Source: Swine flu: Baxter seeks swine flu sample to begin work on vaccine -- chicagotribune.com

April 2009

YouTube - Swine Flu is man made, the Floods are man made -HAARP - False Flag phase 1

look at .44

Scientists suggests this virus is man made. The virus is a combination of 4 different flu viruses (2 human, 1 avian, and 1 swine) and he does not believe this happens in nature

Tags: swine_flu, biological, cover-up, veronica, hiv, weapons, onassis, flu, conspiracy, health

H1N1 Vaccine Arriving

GENEVA/LONDON: The first vaccines to combat A(H1N1) flu should be approved and ready for use in some countries from September, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

A nurse displays an H1N1 influenza kit which contains protective face masks and Tamiflu in the dedicated hospital room for arriving patients who are suspected to be ill with the flu at the CHRU Hospital in Lille, northern France, August 6 2009. [Agencies]

Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research, also said vaccine production yields were improving, following a disappointing start that triggered some worries about supplies.

One of the virus strains used by vaccine makers now seems to be yielding the same amount as seasonal vaccine, while early indications were that pandemic H1N1 yields might be only 30 percent of normal.

"I don't want to say too early that the question has been resolved but it really seems that we have found a way to go round this problem," Kieny told reporters. "We are on track in development."

First results from clinical trials are expected early next month and these tests will show whether one or two doses are needed to provide immunity - another big swing factor in determining how many people can be vaccinated.

Once initial clinical trial results are in, regulators will be able to approve the vaccines from next month and the first countries are expected to start mass vaccination programmes, Kieny added.

The H1N1 flu outbreak, declared a pandemic on June 11, has spread around the world and could eventually affect 2 billion people, according to WHO estimates.

Fears the strain could become resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu have underscored the need to get vaccines to market quickly. The H1N1 vaccines would be given separately from regular seasonal flu shots.

Leading flu vaccine makers include Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Baxter, CSL and Solvay.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has said the H1N1 virus is stable and there were no signs of it mixing with other more dangerous types of influenza such as the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain.

At present, patients with mild symptoms generally do not need any medicines to recover, and Chan has stressed hospital visits are not necessary unless those infected with flu have certain warning signs.

These include long-lasting high fever in adults and a lack of alertness in children. Pregnant women and people with health problems including diabetes are also vulnerable to more severe effects from the new flu strain.

FAST-TRACK APPROVAL 'SAFE'

The WHO said vaccines had to be available quickly and in large quantities to have the greatest impact and it insists that fast-track approval will not jeopardise safety.

Vaccines arrived too late in the 1957 and 1968 flu pandemics to be of much use, and flu vaccines had not been developed in the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic which killed an estimated 50 million people.

Some concerns have been raised because of serious side effects and 30 deaths seen during a US swine flu vaccination in 1976.

Kieny said vaccine production and purity levels had improved significantly since but safety issues could arise during a pandemic when a vaccine is administered on a mass scale, even if they did not show up in safety trials.

As a result, countries are being advised to conduct intensive monitoring as the vaccination campaign goes on.