August 30th 2009
Firstly, i would like to wish all Malaysian a Happy Independence Day – Merdeka !!! While on this auspicious and memorable day, let us recap back our Merdeka Day message by watching some of out past year ads for our Independence Day….
Merdeka ~!!!
When it’s gone, it’s too late….
A true message to all Malaysian……
But most Malaysian is ini macam…!!!!!
Merdeka !!! Merdeka !!! Merdeka !!!
“”~ Veritas liberabit vos…~”"
August 15th 2009
Pandemic Declared
World Health Organization
Raises Pandemic Alert to Phase 6
How to Protect Yourself, Family or Business
Presently there is a swine flu epidemic that originated in Mexico and has quickly spread throughout the world. The virus is known as swine influenza A (H1N1).The human swine flu outbreak continues to grow internationally.
According the World Health Organization, the majority of countries have officially reported tens of thousands of cases of swine flu, also know as the influenza A(H1N1) infection. There have been hundreds of known deaths so far. After Mexico, the US has the highest number of deaths, where it is already in all 50 states and spreading at an alarming rate.
In response to the intensifying outbreak, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6, the highest. A Phase 6 pandemic is characterized by increased and sustained transmission in the general population. This is the world’s first flu pandemic since 1968.
There is no Vaccine
According to officials it could take six months or more to produce a vaccine. Even then, quantities will be limited. Initial supplies will be designated for health professionals, first responders and the military.
Still in circulation in Asia is the H5N1 bird flu virus, a highly deadly virus carried by birds and other animals. When contracted it often causes rapid and sudden death in 60% of its victims.
So far over 400 people have contracted it and over 60 percent of them have died. It is spreading throughout Africa, Asia and Europe. On March 9, 2006, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff estimated migratory birds could carry the avian flu virus through Canada and to U.S. shores within several months.
As the traditional flu season approaches in the northern hemisphere, there is a fear the spread could intensify. The bigger fear is that the H1N1 swine flu virus, which spreads rapidly and easily, may combine with the highly leathal H5N1 bird flu virus, and mutate into a highly contagious and deadly pandemic flu.
The CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the agency’s response to this emerging health threat and on April 26th 2009 the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declared a public health emergency in the United States.
Typical of a new virus, such as the H1N1 swine flu, there is virtually no immunity to it and no vaccine. The alarming part about the H5N1 avian flu is that it kills the majority of people that get it, including young healthy people with strong immune systems, whereas normal seasonal influenza causes only mild respiratory symptoms in most people.
Increasing Human-to-Human Spread of both the
H1N1 Swine Flu Virus and the H5N1 Bird Flu Virus
Swine flu is spreading at an alarming rate. According to The World Health Organization, the current outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza are the largest and most severe on record. In July 2009 the W.H.O. decided to stop counting cases. It is estimated that as many as 2 billion people may become infected, including 40% of the U.S. population.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has already mutated with limited person-to-person spread occurring in Indonesia. Health experts fear that as in past pandemics, it will mutate further, into a virus that is easily spread from person-to-person, becoming a deadly human pandemic with millions dying. Many scientists think it is just a question of when.
Being an international travel hub, Britian has been especially hard hit. Britian is already stockpling body bags in preparation for a worst case scenario, a potential 65,000 deaths in the U.K. alone.
We were long overdue for a pandemic, now it is here
Whether it is the currently fast spreading swine flu, avian bird flu, SARS or a totally different viral threat, experts acknowledged we were overdue for a pandemic. “The (bird flu) virus continues to spread in wild birds across the world. There is no reason to believe that at some point it will stop. … We need to be prepared,” said Michael Leavitt, former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’ve probably never been closer to a pandemic”, stated Dr. Julie Gerberding, formerly of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). “It’s not a matter of if, but when…”, said Dr Michael Osterholm, one of the world’s foremost infectious disease experts and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP).
There is no way to stop it; everyone is at risk
In response to the bird flu threat, Dr. David Nabarro, United Nations World Health Organization Coordinator for avian and human influenza, estimated a pandemic flu could cause as many as 150 million potential deaths worldwide.
According to Dr. Nabarro: “Once a flu pandemic starts, everyone will be at risk of getting pandemic flu, because no one has natural immunity to the virus. However, certain groups may be at greater risk of dying than others. There are strong indications that the coming bird-flu pandemic may be similar to the influenza pandemic of 1918 and, if so, healthy adults would be most at risk of dying, along with pregnant women and the elderly.”
Why are healthy adults at greatest risk?
In response to the bird flu virus, Dr. Nabarro explained: “It appears that the H5N1 bird-flu virus causes a massive immunological response against the virus in those with the strongest immune systems. Unfortunately, this causes the release of human enzymes called “cytokines,” which destroy lung cells along with viral particles. This, in turn, causes a deadly outpouring of fluids into the lung, which interferes with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. This reaction is frequently fatal.”
“Let’s acknowledge the fact that for the first six months of any pandemic, we’re not going to have a vaccine,” Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told The Associated Press. If they can make a vaccine, it is expected to be too little, too late, with no assurance it will work at all. At best, officials expect there would only be enough vaccine for 25 percent of the population. Health professionals and emergency response workers would get first priority. At a recent avian flu conference, an expert stated that a vaccine could take 10 years to develop.
How can people and their families survive a pandemic flu?
Planning for a pandemic requires immediate action. Most people are not adequately informed or prepared to protect themselves from becoming a victim of this dreadful and deadly disease. The precautions you must take now, as well as after it strikes, are described in detail in the following FREE e-book guide:
The Individual and Family Guide to Pandemic Bird Flu – Swine Flu Preparedness
The guide spells out the critical actions necessary to protect you and your family. It contains many tips and precautions that must be taken to avoid infection, plus valuable web links to help keep you current and informed.
This guide is the result of extensive research from many respected sources including: The World Health Organization, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and others.
In the guide you will learn:
What to expect during a pandemic
How to prepare
Supplies to keep on hand
How to tell if a pandemic is about to start
How the virus spreads
How to tell if you have a cold or the flu
What are the symptoms of the avian flu
How to avoid infection
How to prevent its spread to others
Frank advice not found anywhere else
and more…
BUSINESS OWNERS AND MANAGERS: click below for information on the
Business Guide to Pandemic Preparedness
Source : Pandemic Information and News
August 14th 2009
There are strict guidelines in opening an area for logging, for agriculture development etc. The are specific guideline by both Department of Environment (DOE) and DID. The approval process before a project is approved to undertaken is very stringen and not easy.
There are various physical, biological, socio economic and impact assessment mitigation measures to be precisely look at. And if there is any rivers or catchment in the proposed area, a Hydraulic Load Model and Erosion Modelling or assesment to be undertaken as well.
The impacts should be look at various scenarios such as existing conditions, operating conditions etc etc. and not easy; i’ve been doing these.
The socio economic impact for examples need to adress the potential impacts for the recipients (residents etc)which will tell the damged going to be felt by these local staying there.
I strongly belive it’s very cruel to damage peoples’s live and health by doing projects that did not have any mitigating measures like this one in Baram. Basically these people is not taking all the appropriate instruction, no sediment controls etc, no waste collection facilities etc.
The poor residents downstreams is suffering. In Borbeo they have this EPD (Environmental Protection Department?) similar to our DOE and their rules are more stringent than us (if i’m not wrong base on 1 or 2 cases).
But this is not the case here…very sad.
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MIRI: Bathing and washing in polluted rivers and streams in drought-stricken rural Sarawak has become a daily ritual for those deprived of fresh water, but it can cause severe skin problems – as some natives have found to their distress.
People living in Long Bangga settlement in Ulu Baram district, some 13 hours journey by timber road from Miri, have reportedly suffered skin ailments which they have never encountered before.
Penan youth Pesley Mishak, who was recently sent to Miri Hospital for urgent treatment after his skin and flesh started peeling off, said he had been bathing in a river near his settlement since June because their underground wells had dried up.
“The river is very shallow and the water very muddy because of the dry weather. Logging activities upstream had resulted in a lot of mud and sand flowing into the river and the water had turned brownish.
“During certain times of the month, the water smells of diesel. We have no choice but to bathe in the river. There is no more ground water as it had not rained for weeks,’’ he added.
Pain and suffering: Pesley showing his skin after bathing in what used to be a clean flowing river near his home in Ulu Baram. With him at the Miri Hospital are his father Mishak and mother Guong Lusan
Pesley, 22, was hospitalised for a month and was in great pain as even the soles of his feet were covered in sores.
His raw skins caused him pain whenever he tried to move his body or walk.
His father Mishak Kew said there were numerous river tributaries in Long Bangga that were also badly polluted.
“Every one of them looks like river of mud. The water is shallow and thick with mud and sand.
“We have no choice but to use it for bathing and washing, but not for cooking or drinking,” he said.
Mishak claimed that many others in Long Bangga village also suffered the same skin problems as his son.
In the meantime, firemen were quite successful in dousing the peat fires at the Sarawak-Brunei border.
It was less hazy over Miri yesterday, but the weather remained extremely hot and dry.
Source : TheStar
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