The global fight for swine flu could actually get quite ugly - pharmaceutical companies may renegue on contracts...

An ugly scramble is brewing over the swine flu vaccine - and when it becomes available, Britain, the United States and other nations could find that the contracts they signed with pharmaceutical companies are easily broken.They may renegue on their contracts when vaccine is needed in their own countries first.


Experts warn that during a global epidemic, which the world is in now, governments may be under tremendous pressure to protect their own citizens first before allowing companies to ship doses of vaccine out of the country.

That does not bode well for many nations, including the United States, which makes only 20 percent of the regular flu vaccines it uses, or Britain, where all of its flu vaccines are produced abroad.

"This isn't rocket science," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "If there is severe disease, countries will want to hang onto the vaccine for their own citizens."

Experts say politicians would not be able to withstand the pressure; could they I wonder?

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A swine of a flu - is it really swine flu...

A swine of a flu - but is it really swine flu...


The Swine Flu outbreak could be unleashing an economic blow.

The Swine Flu outbreak could be unleashing a solar plexus blow thay could put the world economy onto the canvass.

Travellers are now reportedly delaying or cancelling trips to Mexico, and recently Cuba became the first country to ban all flights to neighbouring Mexico. China, Russia, and North Korea have banned imports of some North American pork, despite assurances given that the flu is not being spread through pork. Egypt has ordered all stocks of pork in the country to be destroyed. Panic is obviously beginning to sink in.

It has been said that the fear of the flu could be as disruptive as the actual causual effects of the Swine flu.

Many people who are contracting the flu are young people in their twenties - very similar to the age group of many of the victims of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Perhaps older people have a greater immunity to flu in general because of their exposure over many years.

A scientist from New Zealand has thrown cold water on the claims of this epidemic being Swine flu — he maintains it is actually a strain of North American A type influenza. It has nothing to do with pigs, he commented on New Zealand radio news this morning.

The World Health Organisation, on the other hand, claims they are ready for this potential pandemic - the world has never been so ready for such a health problem.

We will all find out the truth over coming days. The official death toll is now seven, six in Mexico and one in Texas. the latter actually a little Mexican girl on holiday in Texas with her parents.

Huttriver Today