Brazil surpasses USA in swine flu deaths, leads the world
Scott McPherson
in Politics and government, influenza and infectious diseases
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3 Comments
Brazil has just passed the United States in the number of confirmed deaths due to H1N1(2009)V Skyhook swine flu. Or whatever the Heck we are supposed to call it these days.
Anyway, the number down there is 557, compared to 522 in this nation. This is a race we do not need to win. Argentina is third, with 439 deaths.
The bad news within the bad news is that South America leads the world not just in the sheer numbers of swine flu deaths, but in overall mortality.This is further reinforcement of the blog I wrote a few weeks ago, talking about just how hard South America got hit with H1N1v.
Here's the AFP story:
Brazil tops global swine flu toll with 557 deaths: officials
SAO PAULO — Brazil now has 557 swine flu deaths, making it the country with the highest number of fatalities in the world from the disease, according to figures announced by the health ministry Wednesday.
The toll puts it ahead of the latest count from the United States, which as of August 20 had 522 swine flu deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Brazil's health ministry said in a statement the government was freeing up one billion dollars to buy 73 million doses of a new vaccine being developed against swine flu, as well as Tamiflu stocks, hospital equipment and diagnostic gear.
It added that the infection rate appeared to be diminishing in the country, which is about to exit the southern hemisphere winter at the end of this month.
The ministry stressed that, as a ratio of its population of 190 million, Brazil's mortality rate from the virus ranked 7th in the world.
Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Australia and Paraguay all had higher rates on that basis, it said, referring to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
The United States, which has a population of 300 million, came 13th on the list.
The Americas is the worst-hit region in the world in terms of swine flu deaths, accounting for more than 90 percent of the global count given by the World Health Organization.
After Brazil and the United States, Argentina is the country to suffer the most, with at least 439 swine flu deaths.
Reader Comments (3)
Scott,
Thanks so much for these blogs, especially with your wife needing your care and support. Thanks also for suggesting that the medical establishment doesn't always know what's going on. We have to take responsibility for our own health. Docs can be so overworked or out of the loop they are passing out misinformation.
I am immune compromised and I have read enough here and other places to conclude that it would be a good idea for any adult to get a pneumonia shot. I have read that about 30 percent of the swine flu deaths are occuring b/c of bacterial pneumonia complications. This is exactly what the pneumonia vaccine targets.
Since the swine flu vaccine won't be available for many of us until late October or November, we all have ample opportunity to catch it. It makes sense to me to take the pneumonia vaccine to try to protect against complications.
Since I am immune compromised, I have already had the pneumonia vaccine.
But it has been very difficult to get my husband vaccinated; we finally went to a CVS Minute Clinic. My husband's personal doctor did not recommend the vaccine and doesn't carry it. My doc has the vaccine but said she didn't think my husband "needed it." I asked why not vaccinate since it could protect against 30 percent of swine flu deaths. Her response: "We don't vaccinate just to vaccinate or to make you feel good. He should get the swine flu vaccine."
I agreed, and said yes he would and I would too when it became available, but to tide him over until it becomes available, why not use the pneumonia vaccine? She refused. She said she could not recommend it, that there were side effects to vaccination...
I have always thought her to be a good doc, but this whole interchange baffled me.
Hello,
I wanted to add my two cents on the pneumonia vaccine.
I took my 11 year old into the doctor for her yearly and told the doctor I wanted her to get the pneumonia vaccine (she did not get it when a baby). I thought it would be a fight and it was to some degree until I showed them an article from the La Times.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-pneumonia4-2009aug04,0,6872284.story
This put my point over the edge and they gave her the vaccine. I would like to get it my myself, but I'm disgusted with the establishment. People really are not doing enough for themselves (the medical establishment will be overwhelmed at some point)and most medical people are clueless (the ones I've talked to anyway). The nurse at the office was the most out-of-touch. "Just get the vaccine," she said. Yea, right!
Thank God for the internet and blogs like this one.
We would be sitting ducks if we only had the nightly news and the gov to inform us!
This kind of reminds me of the 1918 outbreak when people just ignored it until it hit full force and then they proceeded to block it out of their collective memories. Talk about "bubbles". I think many a folk are living in a "bubble" of delusion going about their lives without realizing the tsunami heading our way (just shear numbers).
Your blog, Scott, I'm sure will save many alot of pain and suffering (by pre-planning) and just might save someones life.
Cindy
PS: Maybe down the road you could address this "to close schools or not to close". I'm getting the feeling our children's health/lives are being risked/trumped by economics and the drive for keep the GDP up.
Hi,
I would just like to say that good health comes from good eating habbits. We should abandon the meat and all meat products in our lives. It is very clear and becoming more clear day by day that the pandemic swine flu, bird flu etc are indirectly or directly the result of our support of the killing machine. aka primary pork producers.
Meat has been linked to colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, heart attack, hypertention, obesity and countless other diseases, not to mention SARS, avian flu, human-bird-swine flu, BSE, stepylococcus aureus, etc etc.
Meat is POISON. Ban meat and stop supporting the meat industry. Meat is killing our young and pregnant people alike.
Change your heart. Change your mind. Turn to the organic vegan solution.
Be Veg. go Green. Save the planet