Possible Cervarix HPV Vaccine Related Death in the UK

A fourteen year old school girl has died in Coventry after being given the HPV vaccine Cervarix as a part of Britain's national HPV immunization campaign for teenage girls. The HPV vaccine protects against infection from some human papillomavirus types which are a cause of cervical cancer.

Rightwing Christians in Britain, have opposed the immunization effort because of the belief that fear of cervical cancer is a deterrent against pre-marital sex and immunization will encourage teenage girls to have pre-marital sex.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. (MMR) Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism

A extract from Ben Goldacre's book 'Bad Science' on the false claims in the media that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. (MMR) Vaccine causes autism: The Media's MMR Hoax

Swine Flu: No Need for Travel Restrictions or Border Closure Says WHO

The latest WHO (World Health Organization) press release on the Swine Flu reports 20 confirmed cases of death from Swine flu in Mexico, 40 confirmed human infections from Swine Flu in the United States, 6 cases in Canada and 1 case in Spain. However WHO sees no need for placing travel restrictions or closing down borders to stop the spread of the virus. Their advice to individuals is merely to regularly wash their hands with soap and seek medical treatment if they have symptoms of flu.

Related Link
WHO Swine influenza web site

The Hilarious XKCD Webcomic Mocks Swine Flu Induced Mass Panic

Swine Flu: World Health Organization raises pandemic alert level from three to four

The WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 3 to phase 4. Level six denotes a full-blown pandemic, Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director General says that the current level signaled a significant step towards pandemic influenza. He also said that since the virus has already spread to several countries other than Mexico, "..at this time, containment is not a feasible option."

Meanwhile Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova declared that the suspected death count of the swine flu epidemic is now at 149, with 20 death confirmed to have been from swine flu. More than 2000 people in Mexico are believed to have been infected.

The European Union Commissioner for Health, Markos Kyprianou, issued a statement advising Europeans to avoid nonessential travel both to Mexico and parts of the United States.

SCUCISD Texas School District that includes 14 Schools Closed for Fear of Swine Flu

On sunday, the the Texas Department of State Health Services, made the following press release:

All 14 schools and two district facilities in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District will be closed effective immediately after several more flu-like illnesses have been discovered in the ongoing Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) swine flu investigation. All extracurricular activities are also cancelled.

Public parks in Cibolo have also been closed.

The federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 2 confirmed cases of swine flu in texas and total of 20 cases in the US in their Human Swine Influenza Investigation.

CDC Fears US Deaths From Swine Flu as WHO Issues Warning

Following the warning issued by by the UN Agency World Health Organization (WHO) reports of swine flu infections keep turning up from more and more countries. The flu has killed a reported 81 people in Mexico. In the neighbouring US a spokesperson for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal agency responsible for countering communicable diseases, Dr Anne Schuchat said in response to a question about deaths from swine flu in the US, "I do fear that we will have deaths here". Audio: CDC Podcast on Swine Flu

Cases of swine flu have been reported from New Zealand, France, Spain, Israel and Australia. UK Health officals also expect to have to deal with cases of swine flu in the near future.

Deadly Swine Flu Epidemic in Mexico

Mexican government has ordered the closure of numerous schools and other public places in an effort to stop the spread of a flu virus that may have killed more than 60 people in or around the capital Mexico City