Swine flu tragedy sparks conspiracy talk

[joeblow]

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=92789



Swine flu tragedy sparks conspiracy talk

In a world only recently relieved of virulent epidemics such as avian flu, SARS and mad cow disease, the emergence of swine flu has sparked new fears and has fueled talk of a conspiracy.

The latest in the wave of pandemics broke out in Mexico where the reported "probable" death toll has reached 152, though the number of deaths confirmed by Health Ministry does not go further than 20.

Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova reported that there was a fall in the number of suspected flu deaths from six on Saturday to five on Sunday and to three on Monday meaning that the epidemic could be receding.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its alert level from three to four -- which means that the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human with the potential to cause community-level outbreaks.

WHO Assistant Director General Keiji Fukuda said the virus had become too widespread to be contained by closing borders or imposing travel bans, urging that countries should now strive to alleviate the effects of the virus.

As large quantities of a promised swine flu vaccine is to be ready in no earlier than six months, the disease has sparked a reaction across South America, where doctors have been deployed to airports to check passengers suspected of carrying the lethal virus.

Asian and European countries also raised vigilance on Monday to prevent a potential spread of swine flu, which has already found its way to Spain, Canada, and the US, with suspected cases in at least five other countries.

The BBC reported tests were being carried out on individuals or groups in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Britain and Israel displaying indispositions following travel to Mexico.

The Philippines and Thailand have temporarily banned pork imports from countries with confirmed and suspected flu casualties while their airports -- along with those of Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Indonesia -- resorted to thermal scanners last used to detect cases of the SARS virus.

China also rushed Tuesday to return or destroy pork shipments from Mexico and three US states. Stock markets are cautious as a result.

Falling short of elaboration, Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said on Tuesday that the deadly swine flu virus could have been genetically engineered. She had earlier accused Western governments of making and spreading viruses in developing countries to boost pharmaceutical companies' profits.

Since 2006, Indonesia has refused to share all of its bird flu virus samples with WHO researchers, citing fears that the system is being abused by rich countries to produce profitable vaccines, which impoverished nations have to buy.

The fact that the new virus causing an avian-human-swine flu first occurred in Mexico -- where pigs and birds are rarely raised together -- has also raised suspicion that the rare combination of more than two different flu viruses could have been genetically-engineered as a form of bio-weaponry.

MRS/SC/AA