Panic In Benue As Strange Disease Kills Victims Within 48hrs – Leadership Newspaper

New since Nov 2019...
https://leadership.ng/2020/02/07/panic-in-benue-as-strange-disease-kills-victims-within-48hrs/

Panic In Benue As Strange Disease Kills Victims Within 48hrs

By

AHURAKA ISAH, Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, PATIENCE IVIE IHEJIRIKA, SUNDAY ISUWA

February 7, 2020

Residents of Benue State are having a horrible experience with a strange disease which is ravaging some communities in the state.

The worse hit victims live in areas in Oye-Obi local government area of the state where 15 deaths have been recorded and 104 others infected since the mystery disease broke out on January 29, 2020.

LEADERSHIP Friday learnt that the survival chances of those infected are very slim because they always die within 48 hours and the symptoms manifest in the form of swollen stomach, legs, internal heat, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

The ailment, which cure and treatment are yet to be discovered by Nigeria's health authorities, broke out as the country battles the Lassa fever scourge and coronavirus is sending shockwaves across the globe.

The unknown disease outbreak in Benue and its devastating effects on the people was brought to the notice of the Senate yesterday by Senator Abba Moro (PDP – Benue South) during plenary. Consequently, the lawmakers directed the Federal Ministry of Health to immediately mobilise focal persons to the affected communities to investigate and ascertain the nature of the disease.

The Senate also ordered the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to promptly put up surveillance to contain the disease, ensure the treatment of victims and protect others from contacting it.

These resolutions were reached after the consideration of a motion brought on the floor by Senator Moro.

Moro had told the Senate that the first victims of the epidemic outbreak were Happiness Ogbo, Onajobi Ogbedu, Wisdom Agwo, Andy Edu, all of whom died 48 hours after contacting the yet to be diagnosed disease by health authorities and medical experts in Benue State.

He added that the symptoms of the disease were headache, internal heat, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach.

Senator Moro said: "As at Monday, February 3, 2020, the number of persons affected by the strange epidemic had risen to 104."

Production Of Lassa Fever Vaccine In Progress – Minister

Meanwhile, the minister for health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has said that progress has been made in the local production of vaccines to contain the Lassa fever disease, which has hit many states of the federation.

Since the disease outbreak in January this year, the death toll in Nigeria has risen to 41.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said Tuesday that from January 1 to January 26 a total of 258 cases were confirmed, including five health workers, in 19 states of the federation.

While opening a meeting of state commissioners of health organised by the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), Ehanire said that breakthrough in the vaccines' production was imminent.

The minister disclosed that about 27 states of the federation had recorded cases of Lassa fever as at the last count, adding that the federal government was doing a lot in terms of prevention.

He said: "I thank the states for the cooperation the federal government has received in its efforts to tackle Lassa fever which has reached about 27 states as at the last count and also to have ensured that the popular coronavirus has not entered Nigeria. Progress is being made in the production of vaccines for Lassa fever."

According to him, Nigeria has not reached the level of providing the quality of health required to its population, stressing that "we know that our country health system does not yet provide the level of quality of service required to meet the population."

Ehanire noted that Nigeria was far from reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as he stated that the "maternal mortality rate of 512 per 100,000 live births and under-5 morality rate of 132 per thousand births; that we are far away from reaching SDGs."

The minister said that with the right approach, appeal, and strategic use of data and resources, the country can achieve the strategic development goals.

He maintained that the country has the potential to becoming a major player in the global economy by virtue of its human resource, natural resources and endowment, adding that the government is focused on investment in human capital development.

The development of a functional healthcare system, he said, is the foundation of healthcare which must be complemented by a strong secondary health care system.

"The policy requires that you develop the primary, secondary and a functional health system in every local government area of the state. When all these are not put in place, the connectivity is lost," he stated.

The minister urged state commissioners for health to make their governors understand that the secondary level of healthcare is as important as the primary.

The director-general of the NGF, Asishana Okauru, in his remarks, acknowledged the ongoing efforts of the federal government to revitalise primary healthcare in Nigeria.

Okauru, who was represented by Chijioke Chuku, remarked that primary healthcare remains the pillar of the healthcare system.

He said that the governors and two foundations had made commitments aimed at promoting stronger collaboration among the states, the NPHCDA, Federal Ministry of Health and development partners to transform primary healthcare at the sub-national level.

Coronavirus: World Launches $675m Preparedness, Response Plan

To contain the spread of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China and globally, and protect states with weaker health systems, the international community has launched a $675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February to April 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

WHO, which made this known in a statement from its headquarters in Geneva, yesterday, said that there was urgent support needed to protect vulnerable countries from the outbreak.

The world body said that the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for the new coronavirus lays out activities and resources needed by international health organisations globally, including WHO, to implement priority public health measures in support of countries to prepare and respond to nCoV-2019 for the period February-April 2020.

It further stated that the objectives of the plan are to limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, particularly in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak; identify, isolate and care for patients early; communicate critical risk and event information; minimise social and economic impacts; reduce virus spread from animal sources and address crucial unknowns.

WHO director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: "My biggest worry is that there are countries today which do not have the systems in place to detect people who have contracted with the virus, even if it were to emerge. Urgent support is needed to bolster weak health systems to detect, diagnose and care for people with the virus, to prevent further human-to-human transmission and protect health workers.

"The effectiveness of outbreak response depends on the preparedness measures put in place before outbreaks strike. That is why we are seeking resources to safeguard the most vulnerable countries to protect people from the new coronavirus before it arrives on the doorstep," head of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Dr. Mike Ryan said.

As noted in the SPRP, WHO assesses that the outbreak poses a very high risk in China and high risk regionally and globally. The risk assessment was based on factors including the likelihood of further spread, the potential impact on human health, and the varying levels of effectiveness in national preparedness and response measures. Accelerated action, as called for in the plan, can address these risks and areas requiring support.

"As of 10 am. Central European time on February 5, 25 countries had confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including China, where 24,363 people had contracted the virus, or over 99 per cent of all cases. In all other countries, 191 cases have contracted the virus," the statement explained.

Senate To Invite Health Minister Over Coronavirus

As the world rolled out its Marshal Plan against coronavirus, the Senate yesterday resolved to invite the Ehanire (health minister, to brief it on the preparedness of his ministry to check a possible outbreak of the disease in Nigeria.

The Senate, however, charged the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) to introduce measures to stop the exportation of surgical face-masks from Nigeria to Asia and other countries affected by the dreaded Coronavirus.

The upper chamber also urged the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Ministry of Health, Nigerian Immigration Service and other relevant authorities to strengthen port health regulatory services in all entry ports across the country to check the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria.

This formed part of resolutions adopted following the consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP – Anambra South).

Ubah said that "over the last three weeks, face-masks have become the most sought-after commodity in Nigeria with over 100 million face-masks being unpatriotically exported to Asia using the Murtala Mohammed Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport."

The lawmaker disclosed that "the exportation of these face-masks have led to a surge in the market prices.

"As at November 5, 2019, stores that usually sell one piece of face-mask for N10 now sell it for N80, while a pack consisting of 50 pieces has been inflated from N500 to N3,000; with a carton consisting of 40 packs also inflated from N20,000 to N120,000.

"It has now become a booming trade for illicit traders aided by airport officials in Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Port Harcourt International Airport to unpatriotically export face-masks to China, India and other affected countries," Ubah lamented.

He warned that unless something was done, Nigeria may soon be facing shortage of protective surgical face-masks, especially against the backdrop that "the country is on the brink of an imminent outbreak given our massive population and frequency to travel."

Consequently, the Senate urged the NCS to impose strict penalties and heavy fines on anybody trying to export surgical face-masks within the period of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Upper House also mandated the health ministry and other relevant agencies to launch a sensitisation campaign in preventing the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria.

~A.

Threatened and Endangered Plants | USDA PLANTS

https://plants.usda.gov/threat.html


~A.

https://www.forbes.com/

These Endangered Plants Could Disappear From Each U.S. State

GrrlScientist

This map, which features some of the many overlooked endangered plant species found only in the United States, reminds us that plants are endangered too

A map of the most endangered plant in every US state. This map was created using the USDA's database ... [+]

NetCredit

When you hear the phrase, "endangered species", what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Most people think of an endangered mammal. I think of an endangered bird. But birds and other wildlife aren't the only endangered species out there; there's plenty of native plants under threat, too. In fact, there are more than 800 plants that are found only in the United States that are listed as federally endangered species, and thousands more that are protected by individual states as either threatened or endangered (ref).

I recently shared a series of posters featuring endangered animals in the United States to celebrate National Wildlife Day (more here), but some of you wondered where are the endangered plants? So I thought I'd share this map featuring some of the most endangered plants in each US state, and to remind you of the variety of plant life we stand to lose, too.

Why should we protect endangered plants?

A healthy functioning ecosystem is maintained by its citizens: plants and animals. When an ecosystem is no longer functioning properly, its plants and the animals that depend upon them become endangered.

Further, when ecosystems fail, human health is at stake too. A well-balanced and functioning ecosystem cleans the air we breathe, the water we drink and that our crops need to grow. Additionally, some endangered plants have healing properties that serve as foundations for our medicines. Several examples of endangered medicinal plants that are native to the United States include Hawaiian sandalwood, American ginseng, wild yam, and rosy periwinkle.

Although often overlooked, plants are essential partners in maintaining functional ecosystems in the United States. According to The Center for Biological Diversity, nearly all of these endangered plants are threatened because of human actions: climate change, droughts, wildfire, agriculture, invasive species, avaricious American legislators, rampant human expansionism and habitat destruction. To save them, corporations and individuals must work together to ensure that state and federal governments continue to conserve our native plants for future generations to enjoy and to benefit from.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), enacted in 1973, has been credited with conserving the habitats upon which endangered species depend, stabilizing populations of species at risk, and saving hundreds of species from extinction, including the California condor, grizzly bear, whooping crane, Okaloosa darter (that's a fish) and black-footed ferret. But few people know that the ESA also protects endangered plants, such as California's iconic sequoias. Thus, the ESA is an important legislative tool that, ironically, also needs protecting if North American ecosystems are going to survive the Sixth Mass Extinction Event already in progress.

A handful of conservationists have been hard at work changing the story for a tiny fraction of plant populations facing extinction (for example, here). But in the US, hundreds of plant species are still facing a losing battle for survival. To avoid this tragedy, we all must work to rectify this by making basic changes in our personal lives. For example, reduce the amount of water we use, stop using herbicides, pesticides and other poisons and dispose of them properly so they don't harm native plants, their pollinators and their seed dispersers, be careful with campfires, cigarettes and other flaming materials and only hike on visitor trails in national and state parks, and plant native plants on our property.

Sources:

Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture (2019). Threatened and Endangered Plants (online database).

Barbara Davidson (2020). An Illustrated Tribute to the Most Endangered Plant in Every U.S. State (link).

~A.

FDA Coronavirus Fact Sheet for Patients

https://www.fda.gov/media/134921/download

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) | FDA

https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-issues/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

02/04/2020

FDA is working with U.S. Government partners, including CDC, and international partners to closely monitor an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

On this page: What's new | Fast facts | FDA's role | Medical countermeasures | Press and statements | Additional resources | Contact FDA

What's new

• February 4, 2020: FDA Takes Significant Step in Coronavirus Response Efforts, Issues Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the First 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diagnostic - FDA issued an EUA to enable broader emergency use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2019-nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel. To date, this test has been limited to use at CDC laboratories; today's authorization allows the use of the test at any CDC-qualified lab across the country. Additional technical information and fact sheets
• February 4, 2020: Important Information for Blood Establishments Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak - The potential for transmission of 2019-nCoV by blood and blood components is unknown at this time. However, respiratory viruses, in general, are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus. Routine blood donor screening measures that are already in place should prevent individuals with clinical respiratory infections from donating blood. As a precaution, blood establishments may wish to consider whether to provide donor education, encourage self-deferral, and manage post-donation information about 2019-nCoV. Read more
• January 27, 2020: FDA Announces Key Actions to Advance Development of Novel Coronavirus Medical Countermeasures  - "We have a vital mission to protect and promote public health and the FDA is closely collaborating with our domestic and international public health partners to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. "We are actively leveraging the vast breadth of the FDA's expertise and have begun employing the full range of our public health authorities to facilitate the development and availability of investigational medical products to help address this urgent public health situation."
• January 27, 2020: FDA requests that diagnostic test sponsors interested in potential Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for tests to detect 2019-nCoV contact CDRH-EUA-Templates@fda.hhs.gov for further information and templates. Also see: How to Submit a Pre-EUA for In vitro Diagnostics to FDA

Fast facts

FDA is working with U.S. Government partners, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and international partners to closely monitor an outbreak caused by a novel (new) coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.

While the U.S. Government considers this a serious public health concern, based on current information, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time.

2019-nCoV resources from CDC include:

• Situation Summary
• Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
• Information for Healthcare Professionals
• Information for Laboratories
• Information for Travelers

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/novelcoronavirus.

About coronaviruses

• Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some cause illness in people; numerous other coronaviruses circulate among animals, including camels, cats, and bats.
• Rarely, animal coronaviruses can evolve and infect people and then spread between people such as has been seen with Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV).
• A novel coronavirus means that this strain has not previously been identified in humans.
• More about coronaviruses, from CDC:
  • Prevention and treatment
  • Transmission
  • Symptoms and diagnosis
  • Human coronavirus types

FDA's role

FDA plays a critical role in protecting the United States from threats including emerging infectious diseases. In collaboration with interagency partners, product developers, international partners and global regulators, FDA's roles in preparedness and response include:

• Facilitating the development and availability of medical countermeasures (MCMs) that can be used to diagnose, prevent, or treat emerging diseases. Also see: What are medical countermeasures?

• Providing regulatory advice, guidance, and technical assistance to sponsors developing investigational MCMs for emerging threat indications.

• Working with medical product sponsors to clarify regulatory and data requirements necessary to rapidly advance development of products essential to supporting response efforts.

• Providing review and feedback on development proposals including design and set-up of clinical trials for establishing the safety and efficacy of investigational products and data assessment.

• Protecting the safety of the nation's blood supply and human cells, tissues, and cellular/tissue-based products for transplantation. Also see: Important Information for Blood Establishments Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak

• Enabling access to investigational MCMs—when necessary—through an appropriate mechanism such as under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or under expanded access mechanisms when the clinical circumstances warrant.

• Protecting consumers against fraudulent products - Unfortunately, during emergency situations or outbreaks, fraudulent products claiming to prevent, treat or cure conditions associated with the emergency or outbreak almost always appear for sale. The FDA monitors for fraudulent products and false product claims related to 2019-nCoV and other conditions and takes appropriate action to protect consumers.

Medical countermeasures

There are currently no FDA-approved medical countermeasures for 2019-nCoV. FDA stands ready to work with medical product developers to clarify regulatory and data requirements necessary to move products forward in development as quickly as possible.

Diagnostics

• There are no FDA-approved diagnostics for 2019-nCoV.
• Diagnostic Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs):
  • FDA requests that diagnostic test sponsors interested in potential EUA for tests to detect 2019-nCoV contact CDRH-EUA-Templates@fda.hhs.gov for further information and templates. Also see: How to Submit a Pre-EUA for In vitro Diagnostics to FDA
  • On February 4, 2020, FDA authorized emergency use of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel. For additional technical information and fact sheets, see: Emergency Use Authorizations (Devices).

Vaccines

• There are no FDA-approved vaccines to prevent 2019-nCoV or other coronaviruses.
• Biological product sponsors, including vaccine developers, can email industry.biologics@fda.hhs.gov or call 1-800-835-4709 for further information.

Therapeutics

• There are no FDA-approved therapeutics (drugs) to treat 2019-nCoV or other coronaviruses.
• Sponsors wishing to develop therapeutics are encouraged to submit information and questions via the Pre-IND Consultation program (see the web page or call 301-796-1500 for additional information on this program). Information regarding any clinical trials that may be initiated may be searched for at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

For product developers

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a component of the HHS Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR), is supporting U.S. government market research to identify medical countermeasures with the potential to help address the 2019-nCoV outbreak. If your company is developing diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, or other products, submit your ideas to BARDA's online portal.

Also see above for FDA information for product developers regarding specific types of MCMs.

Press and statements

For more updates, follow @SteveFDA, @US_FDA, @FDA_Global, and @FDA_MCMi on Twitter.

• February 4, 2020: FDA Takes Significant Step in Coronavirus Response Efforts, Issues Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the First 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diagnostic - FDA issued an EUA to enable broader emergency use of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 2019-nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel. To date, this test has been limited to use at CDC laboratories; today's authorization allows the use of the test at any CDC-qualified lab across the country.
• January 27, 2020: FDA Announces Key Actions to Advance Development of Novel Coronavirus Medical Countermeasures - "We have a vital mission to protect and promote public health and the FDA is closely collaborating with our domestic and international public health partners to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. "We are actively leveraging the vast breadth of the FDA's expertise and have begun employing the full range of our public health authorities to facilitate the development and availability of investigational medical products to help address this urgent public health situation."

Additional resources

• Coronavirus information from the World Health Organization (WHO)

• Novel Coronavirus Disease Outbreak News (WHO)

• Interim Guidance for Healthcare Professionals (CDC)

• Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected (WHO)

• 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor)

• Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) advice for the public, including how to protect yourself and others from getting sick (WHO)

• Secretary Azar Declares Public Health Emergency for United States for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (HHS, January 31, 2020)

Contact FDA

Consumers and general information: contact FDA
You may also call 1-888-INFO-FDA / (1-888-463-6332)

Report a fraudulent 2019-nCoV product
Includes options for phone and online reporting

Press: contact the Office of Media Affairs
Email fdaoma@fda.hhs.gov or call 301-796-4540

Therapeutics sponsors interested in submitting drug development proposals for review
See the Pre-IND Consultation Program link above or call 301-796-1500 for more information on this program.

Diagnostic test sponsors interested in EUA
Email CDRH-EUA-Templates@fda.hhs.gov for further information.

Biological product sponsors, including vaccine developers
Email industry.biologics@fda.hhs.gov or call 1-800-835-4709 for further information.

~A.

go Here to see the fabulously creative way they adapt to their 'vegetation'!

https://mymodernmet.com/riitta-ikonen-karoline-hjorth-eyes-as-big-as-plates/?fbclid=IwAR16SMc9zEWcIcK-lU0ltW1UvnQLFNmAVUhLyBR3h6yis3ApywrtX_Gt100

Playful Seniors Wear Organic Materials to Personify Nature

Eyes as Big as Plates is a whimsical series by Finnish photographer Riitta Ikonen and Norwegian photographer Karoline Hjorth that features senior citizens donning organic materials like twigs and grass. Ikonen says that the collaborative project originally began as "a play on characters and protagonists from Norwegian folklore" but has since evolved into a collection of images exploring "mental landscapes" that reflect a return of body to nature with the use of scavenged materials.

There's a lovely sense of humor to the series that places the elderly in natural landscapes. Their organic outfits simultaneously camouflage them into their surroundings and make them stand out as unique individuals. The choice to use seniors to present personifications of nature is also especially interesting and refreshing. There's an aged beauty in both the subjects and their costumes.

Update: Eyes as Big as Plates is running a Kickstarter campaign to help fund a book featuring seniors from all around the world.

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/02/04/novel-coronavirus.aspx?cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1ReadMore&cid=20200204Z1&et_cid=DM450922&et_rid=803931764

Novel Coronavirus — The Latest Pandemic Scare

Chances are you've heard the news about a new and potentially lethal coronavirus.¹ Ground zero is Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China. As of February 2, 2020, mainland China reported² a total of 17,187 confirmed cases, including 2,110 severe cases and 362 deaths (including a retired doctor working with coronavirus patients in Wuhan³).

The first case was reported in Wuhan on December 21, 2019. According to ProMED International Society for Infectious Diseases:⁴

"Patients' clinical manifestations were consistent with viral pneumonia. Most patients had severe and nonproductive cough following illness onset, some had dyspnea, and almost all had normal or decreased leukocyte counts and radiographic evidence of pneumonia.

Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market has western and eastern sections, and 15 environmental specimens collected in the western section were positive for 2019-nCoV virus through RT-PCR testing and genetic sequencing analysis. Despite extensive searching, no animal from the market has thus far been identified as a possible source of infection."

On January 21, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first U.S. case⁵ — a patient in Washington state who had recently visited Wuhan, China. A second case, in Illinois, was confirmed January 24, 2020.⁶ This patient had also recently returned from a visit to Wuhan. As of February 2, 2020, there were 11 confirmed cases in the U.S.⁷

Since then cases have also been reported in at least 23 other countries,⁸ including Canada, Australia,⁹ Japan, Thailand, South Korea,¹⁰ France,¹¹ Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Saudi Arabia¹² and Africa. Globally, there were 14, 557 confirmed cases and one death as of February 2, 2020.¹³

January 22, 2020, China shut down all transport networks in and out of Wuhan — a city with a population of 11 million — in an effort to contain the spread of the disease.¹⁴

Elderly Appear Particularly Vulnerable

So far, most of those who have died have been elderly. As reported by the Foreign Policy Journal:¹⁵

"One puzzling aspect so far is the thankful lack of child victims. Usually, children, with less developed immune systems than adults, come down with one illness after another …

Yet few children have yet been reported with coronavirus symptoms. That does not mean that no children have been infected. A similar pattern of benign disease in children, with increasing severity and mortality with age, was seen in SARS and MERS.

SARS had a mortality rate averaging 10 percent. Yet no children, and just 1 percent of youths under 24, died, while those older than 50 had a 65 percent risk of dying. Is being an adult a risk factor per se? If so, what is it about childhood that confers protection?"

The Foreign Policy Journal goes on to suggest children may be protected by other vaccines given during childhood, such as the measles and rubella vaccines. It even goes so far as to wonder whether innate immunity against the coronavirus might be boosted in adults by giving them the measles vaccine.

If you ask me, that would be a significant long-shot. Vaccines have risks, so getting a vaccine on the remote chance that it might confer protection against a completely different infection than what it's designed for seems inappropriate in the extreme. As noted in the Washington Examiner:¹⁶

"Sending out coronavirus vaccines won't make sense unless the spread gets worse ... The bare facts, at least as far as anyone knows them yet, are that a global rollout of a coronavirus vaccine would kill some 7,000 people or so.

Of course, we're never going to get everyone vaccinated. And I'm guessing here, but that average death rate from vaccination, for all things, is one in a million.

Yes, that's including those influenza shots the old folks are abjured to get every winter — we know that some will die because of them. That we know this is exactly why we have the vaccine compensation program …

The … trade-off in this situation is how many we kill by giving them the vaccine, versus how many die without it? The coronavirus is simply not widespread enough yet to take the risk of jabbing everyone."

---

Source of Novel Coronavirus Remains Unknown

Like other coronaviruses, such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), this new coronavirus (dubbed 2019-nCoV¹⁷), is suspected of being zoonotic, meaning it can be transmitted between animals and humans.

The disease itself has been named "novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia" or NECIP.¹⁸ As reported by CNN:¹⁹

"Both SARS and MERS are classified as zoonotic viral diseases, meaning the first patients who were infected acquired these viruses directly from animals.

This was possible because while in the animal host, the virus had acquired a series of genetic mutations that allowed it to infect and multiply inside humans. Now these viruses can be transmitted from person to person …

In the case of this 2019 coronavirus outbreak, reports state that most of the first group of patients hospitalized were workers or customers at a local seafood wholesale market which also sold processed meats and live consumable animals including poultry, donkeys, sheep, pigs, camels, foxes, badgers, bamboo rats, hedgehogs and reptiles."

However, while media have been quick to blame the outbreak on snakes²⁰ and bat soup,²¹ as of January 22, none of the animals sold at the Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market had been found to carry the virus.²²

Meanwhile, a number of other reports cast a disturbing light on the outbreak, raising questions about biohazard safety at laboratories working with dangerous pathogens.

Season of Fear and National Budgeting Go Hand in Hand

Whatever the source, the hysteria being drummed up follows a now well-worn pattern where the population is kept in a perpetual state of anxiety and fear about microbes so that drug companies (aided by federal health officials) can come to the rescue with yet another expensive (and potentially mandatory) drug or vaccine.

Back in 2005, headlines warned the U.S. was facing a cataclysmic extermination event with a calculated 2 million Americans succumbing to the bird flu; the best-case scenario had a calculated death toll of 200,000. The same scare tactics were used during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

Both pandemics turned out to be grossly exaggerated threats, but that didn't result in a more conservative, cool-headed approach to subsequent outbreaks. If anything, efforts to drum up fear and hysteria have only escalated.

In 2014, we were told Ebola might overtake the U.S. and then it was pertussis outbreaks.²³ In January 2015, it was measles in Disneyland. In January 2016, it was zika, followed by more news about pertussis outbreaks.²⁴ In 2017 and 2018 it was influenza,²⁵ then back to measles again in 2019.²⁶ Now we have coronavirus.

January and February appear to be a favorite time to launch a global disease scare with the dutiful assistance of corporatized media. It's convenient, seeing how usually by the first Monday in February every year (Feb. 3, 2020), the president sends the U.S. Congress the administration's budget requesting funds to be allocated to federal agencies for the next fiscal year's budget (Oct. 1, 2020 - Sept. 30, 2021).²⁷

Each time there's a public health scare, the Pharma and public health lobby is able to vie for a larger slice of taxpayer money to pay for drug and vaccine development.²⁸

January 23, 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced a coronavirus vaccine is in the pipeline, with human trials set to start in about three months.²⁹ Stock prices for makers of coronavirus vaccines experienced an immediate upswing^30,31 in response to media reports of impending doom.

Moratorium on SARS/MERS Experiments Lifted in 2017

As mentioned, a number of reports raise questions about the source of the 2019-nCoV. For starters, a 2014 NPR article³² was rather prophetic. It discusses the October 2014 U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, as well as influenza virus, that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans.

The ban came on the heels of "high-profile lab mishaps" at the CDC and "extremely controversial flu experiments" in which the bird flu virus was engineered to become more lethal and contagious between ferrets. The goal was to see if it could mutate and become more lethal and contagious between humans, causing future pandemics.

However, for the past decade there have been red flags raised in the scientific community about biosecurity breaches in high containment biological labs in the U.S. and globally.³³ There were legitimate fears that a lab-created superflu pathogen might escape the confines of biosecurity labs where researchers are conducting experiments. It's a reasonable fear, certainly, considering that there have been many safety breaches at biolabs in the U.S. and other countries.^34,35,36,37

The federal moratorium on lethal virus experiments in the U.S. was lifted at the end of December 2017,³⁸ even though researchers announced in 2015 they had created a lab-created hybrid coronavirus similar to that of SARS that was capable of infecting both human airway cells and mice.

The NIH had allowed the controversial research to proceed because it had begun before the moratorium was put in place — a decision criticized by Simon Wain-Hobson, a virologist at Pasteur Institute in Paris, who pointed out that "If the [new] virus escaped, nobody could predict the trajectory."³⁹

Others, such as Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and biodefence expert at Rutgers University, agreed, saying "The only impact of this work is the creation, in a lab, of a new, non-natural risk."⁴⁰

Wuhan Is Home to Lab Studying World's Deadliest Pathogens

In January 2018, China's first maximum security virology laboratory (biosecurity level 4) designed for the study of the world's most dangerous pathogens opened its doors — in Wuhan.^41,42 Is it pure coincidence that Wuhan City is now the epicenter of this novel coronavirus infection?

The year before, Tim Trevan, a Maryland biosafety consultant, expressed concern about viral threats potentially escaping the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory,⁴³ which happens to be located just 20 miles from the Wuhan market identified as ground zero for the current NCIP outbreak.⁴⁴ As reported by the Daily Mail:⁴⁵

"The Wuhan lab is also equipped for animal research," and "Regulations for animal research — especially that conducted on primates — are much looser in China than in the U.S. and other Western countries … But that was also cause for concern for Trevan.

Studying the behavior of a virus like 209-nCoV and developing treatments or vaccines for it requires infecting these research monkeys, an important step before human testing.

Monkeys are unpredictable though, warned [Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard] Ebright. 'They can run, they can scratch they can bite,' he said, and the viruses they carry would go where their feet, nails and teeth do.'"

Coronavirus Outbreak Simulation Took Place in October 2019

Equally curious is the fact that Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a novel coronavirus pandemic preparedness exercise October 18, 2019, in New York called "Event 201."⁴⁶ The simulation predicted a global death toll of 65 million people within a span of 18 months.⁴⁷ As reported by Forbes December 12, 2019:⁴⁸

"The experts ran through a carefully designed, detailed simulation of a new (fictional) viral illness called CAPS or coronavirus acute pulmonary syndrome. This was modeled after previous epidemics like SARS and MERS."

Sounds exactly like NCIP, doesn't it? Yet the new coronavirus responsible for NCIP had not yet been identified at the time of the simulation, and the first case wasn't reported until two months later.

Forbes also refers to the fictional pandemic as "Disease X" — the same designation used by The Telegraph in its January 24, 2020, video report, "Could This Coronavirus be Disease X?"⁴⁹ which suggests that media outlets were briefed and there was coordination ahead of time with regard to use of certain keywords and catchphrases in news reports and opinion articles.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is the biggest recipient of research grants from federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Defense and has received millions of dollars in research grants from the Gates Foundation.⁵⁰ In 2016, Johns Hopkins spent more than $2 billion on research projects, leading all U.S. universities in research spending for the 38th year in a row.⁵¹

If research funded by federal agencies, such as the DOD or HHS is classified as being performed "in the interest of national security," it is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.⁵²

Research conducted under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is completely shielded from FOIA requests by the public.⁵³ Additionally, agencies may deny FOIA requests and withhold information if government officials conclude that shielding it from public view "protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information which could harm the competitive posture or business interests of a company."⁵⁴

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that its mission is "to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S."⁵⁵ Clearly, it will be difficult to obtain information about government-funded biomedical research on microbes like coronavirus conducted at major universities or by pharmaceutical corporations in biohazard labs.

How likely is it, then, that the coronavirus outbreak making people so sick today "suddenly" emerged simply because people ate bats and snakes in a Wuhan market? It looks more like a biosecurity accident but, until more is known, inevitably there will be questions than answers about whether this latest global public health emergency is a more ambitious tactical "sand table exercise," echoing unanswered questions about the 2009 swine flu pandemic fiasco.

This time, there could be a lot more bodies left on the field, although some statisticians conducting benefit cost analyses may consider 65 million casualties in a global human population of 7.8 billion people⁵⁶ to be relatively small when advancing medical research conducted in the name of "the greater good."

Signs and Symptoms of NCIP

According to the WHO, signs and symptoms of NCIP in its initial stages include:⁵⁷

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Dry cough

In more severe cases, the infection can lead to pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome and kidney failure.

Care Advice

WHO's "rapid advice note," detailing how to care for patients presenting mild symptoms of NCIP in the home can be downloaded here. Recommendations include:

• Placing the patient in a well-ventilated room
• Limiting the number of caretakers. Ideally, designate a healthy younger person who has no underlying risk factors to care for the patient (older people appear to be more susceptible to severe disease)
• Keeping other household members in a different room, or keeping a distance of at least 1 meter (3.2 feet) from the patient
• Limiting the movement of the patient and minimizing shared space. Make sure shared spaces such as kitchen and bathroom are well-ventilated by keeping the windows open

Instructions on protective gear, such as protective masks and gloves, and the safe handling and disposal of them are also detailed, as are special instructions for how to maintain good hygiene to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the home.

General recommendations for how to reduce your risk of contracting an infection at home, work or when traveling can be found on WHO's Novel Coronavirus Advice for the Public page.⁵⁸

A key recommendation — which applies to all infections, both bacterial and viral — is to frequently wash your hands with soap and water. Also, be sure to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and avoid close contact with anyone exhibiting symptoms of cold or influenza.

According to Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the Centre of Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford, NCIP has the hallmark signs of "classic viral pneumonia," and since there are currently no antivirals available for NCIP, the focus of care is to support the lungs and other organs until the patient recovers.⁵⁹

During this time, I recommend boosting your immune system with regular sensibly controlled sun exposure and, when unable to do that, taking oral vitamin D3. Adding liposomal vitamin C and quercetin supplements can also be helpful.

All three help protect against infections in general, and quercetin may offer benefits as a treatment for SARS coronavirus infections.⁶⁰ According to a study⁶¹ in the Journal of Virology, "quercetin offers great promise as a potential drug in the clinical treatment of SARS." Resveratrol is another antioxidant that could be useful. It's been shown to inhibit MERS-CoV infection, at least in vitro.⁶²

There are some events that happen, which are not in our control, but one thing we can do is learn how to better respond to bad news that causes stress, which can depress the immune system.

Living in a constant state of anxiety and fear is not healthy. Finding ways to lower stress through regular exercise, spending time in nature, practicing meditation and getting plenty of sleep on a daily basis all help optimize immune function and decrease the effects of stress that are all too often a part of our lives today.