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Stay healthy to prevent the flu: With this year shaping as possibly the worst flu season since the pandemic of 2... http://t.co/owR46gbG With this year shaping as possibly the worst flu season since the pandemic of 2009, authorities have issued important advice on how not to fall victim. Link - Trackbacks

Swine _Flu_ Pandemic. World Health Organization raises Swine _Flu_ level to 5: Pandemic Imminent .... Jun 27 (5).... http://t.co/e8xbKTn3 To be able to view this link, please enable JavaScript in your Internet Link - Trackbacks

Stay healthy to prevent the flu - The West Australian http://t.co/EqLO3LjL With this year shaping as possibly the worst flu season since the pandemic of 2009, authorities have issued important advice on how not to fall victim. Link - Trackbacks

Zombie Cover up!! http://t.co/s8GhcZEh http://biomorphers.webs.com/ Zombie Virus" Possible via Rabies-Flu Hybrid? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/1001027-rabies-influenza-zombie-virus-science/ Highly improbable genetic tweak could create mutant virus.. In the zombie flicks 28 Days Later and I Am Legend, an unstoppable viral plague sweeps across humanity, transforming people into mindless monsters with cannibalistic tendencies. Though dead humans can't come back to life, certain viruses can induce such aggressive, zombie-like behavior, scientists say in the new National Geographic Channel documentary The Truth Behind Zombies, premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society, which part-owns the National Geographic Channel.) For instance, rabies—a viral disease that infects the central nervous system—can drive people to be violently mad, according to Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida who also appears in the documentary. Combine rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air, and you might have the makings of a zombie apocalypse. Rabies Virus Mutation Possible? Unlike movie zombies, which become reanimated almost immediately after infection, the first signs a human has rabies—such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis—don't typically appear for ten days to a year, as the virus incubates inside the body. Once rabies sets in, though, it's fatal within a week if left untreated. If the genetic code of the rabies virus experienced enough changes, or mutations, its incubation time could be reduced dramatically, scientists say. Many viruses have naturally high mutation rates and constantly change as a means of evading or bypassing the defenses of their hosts. There are various ways viral mutations can occur, for example through copying mistakes during gene replication or damage from ultraviolet light. (Related: "New, Fast-Evolving Rabies Virus Found—and Spreading.") "If a rabies virus can mutate fast enough, it could cause infection within an hour or a few hours. That's entirely plausible," Andreansky said. Airborne Rabies Would Create "Rage Virus" But for the rabies virus to trigger a zombie pandemic like in the movies, it would also have to be much more contagious. Humans typically catch rabies after being bitten by an infected animal, usually a dog—and the infection usually stops there. Thanks to pet vaccinations, people rarely contract rabies in the United States today, and even fewer people die from the disease. For example, in 2008 only two cases of human rabies infection were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (See pictures of infectious animals in National Geographic magazine.) A faster mode of transmission would be through the air, which is how the influenza virus spreads. "All rabies has to do is go airborne, and you have the rage virus" like in 28 Days Later, Max Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, says in the documentary. The international nonprofit is devoted to "raising the level of zombie scholarship in the Arts and Sciences," according to their website. To be transmitted by air, rabies would have to "borrow" traits from another virus, such as influenza. Different forms, or strains, of the same virus can swap pieces of genetic code through processes called reassortment or recombination, said Elankumaran Subbiah, a virologist at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the documentary. But unrelated viruses simply do not hybridize in nature, Subbiah told National Geographic News. Likewise, it's scientifically unheard of for two radically different viruses such as rabies and influenza to borrow traits, he said. "They're too different. They cannot share genetic information. Viruses assemble only parts that belong to them, and they don't mix and match from different families." (Take a quiz on infectious diseases.) Engineered Zombie Virus Possible? It's theoretically possible—though extremely difficult—to create a hybrid rabies-influenza virus using modern genetic-engineering techniques, the University of Miami's Andreansky said. "Sure, I could imagine a scenario where you mix rabies with a flu virus to get airborne transmission, a measles virus to get personality changes, the encephalitis virus to cook your brain with fever"—and thus increase aggression even further—"and throw in the ebola virus to cause you to bleed from your guts. Combine all these things, and you'll [get] something like a zombie virus," she said. "But [nature] doesn't allow all of these things to happen at the same time. ... You'd most likely get a dead virus." Link - Trackbacks

❿ Would your Loved ones Survive if there is a #flu #pandemic? #survival ❿ Would your Loved ones Survive if there is a #flu #pandemic? #survival Link - Trackbacks

Gallo: "only a matter of time before our next virus epidemic or even pandemic" Flu a concern. http://t.co/CsBCsujZ World's Leading Virus Researchers Warn 'We Are Not Prepared for a Global Virus Crisis' Global Virus Network Conference Identifies Greatest Threats To Public Health Business Wire | July 17, 2012 | 02:12 PM EDT Link - Trackbacks

Chinese Natl Influenza Lab (supported by @CDCgov >20yr) tracks #flu viruses w/ #pandemic potential. http://t.co/S9ArmgZ9 Chinese Natl Influenza Lab (supported by @CDCgov >20yr) tracks #flu viruses w/ #pandemic potential. http://t.co/S9ArmgZ9 Link - Trackbacks

CDC Country of the Week—Each week we spotlight a country where CDC works. This week: #China. http://t.co/S9ArmgZ9 CDC Country of the Week—Each week we spotlight a country where CDC works. This week: #China. http://t.co/S9ArmgZ9 Link - Trackbacks

Vietnam: Bird flu re-emerges in Quang Binh Province http://t.co/T9yUxc48 #H5N1 #Bird_flu #avian_influenza #pandemic Vietnam: Bird flu re-emerges in Quang Binh Province http://t.co/T9yUxc48 #H5N1 #Bird_flu #avian_influenza #pandemic Link - Trackbacks

EG Flu Tracking News Q&A: How real is the threat of a global pandemic involving H5N1 or a related ... - Reuters http://t.co/wqaF8iM0 EG Flu Tracking News Q&A: How real is the threat of a global pandemic involving H5N1 or a related ... - Reuters http://t.co/wqaF8iM0 Link - Trackbacks

#H1N1 Q&A: How real is the threat of a global pandemic involving H5N1 or a related… http://t.co/NaGpPl7Z #H1N1 Q&A: How real is the threat of a global pandemic involving H5N1 or a related… http://t.co/NaGpPl7Z Link - Trackbacks

End of AIDS pandemic in sight: US expert - Radio Netherlands http://t.co/hngV1WCu End of AIDS pandemic in sight: US expert - Radio Netherlands http://t.co/hngV1WCu Link - Trackbacks

Breaking News - Swine Flu or Bird Flu: Either Way We’re Having a Pandemic: Susanne Posel Occupy Corporatism June... http://t.co/ekG4aDcz Breaking News - Swine Flu or Bird Flu: Either Way We’re Having a Pandemic: Susanne Posel Occupy Corporatism June... http://t.co/ekG4aDcz Link - Trackbacks

#swine #flu The swine flu in Japan could trigger a pandemic | Cordero Ecologico ...: The swine flu in Japan coul... http://t.co/hZ7bhq7A None of these possibilities has not yet fulfilled terrible. The good news is that in Mexico the first country to be hit by the H1N1 swine flu epidemic appears to be declining.Additional information about H1N1 swine flu and see what you can do to stay healthy. Link - Trackbacks

Bird Flu Three Steps Away From Mutating Into Dangerous Pandemic Strain - It's summertime, and the last thing on most... http://t.co/Wze5KJyA Bird Flu Three Steps Away From Mutating Into Dangerous Pandemic Strain - It's summertime, and the last thing on most... http://t.co/Wze5KJyA Link - Trackbacks

#Health End of AIDS pandemic in sight: US expert - Khaleej Times http://t.co/oi1quj0A #Southeast Asia #Health End of AIDS pandemic in sight: US expert - Khaleej Times http://t.co/oi1quj0A #Southeast Asia Link - Trackbacks

@PointGodd_ Plz RT bird flu news "Preventing a bird flu pandemic http://t.co/ZmbNLf9f" @PointGodd_ Plz RT bird flu news "Preventing a bird flu pandemic http://t.co/ZmbNLf9f" Link - Trackbacks

[TRIVIA] The single deadliest flu pandemic in history was the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-1919. Occurring in... http://t.co/uzl9p3SC [TRIVIA] The single deadliest flu pandemic in history was the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-1919. Occurring in... http://t.co/uzl9p3SC Link - Trackbacks

Physical Inactivity a 'Pandemic,' Report Says: Physical inactivity has a negative global impact so severe that i... http://t.co/w6ARCU2j Physical Inactivity a 'Pandemic,' Report Says: Physical inactivity has a negative global impact so severe that i... http://t.co/w6ARCU2j Link - Trackbacks

♊ Would your family survive if there is a #flu #pandemic? http://t.co/flJSgKX7 ♊ Would your family survive if there is a #flu #pandemic? http://t.co/flJSgKX7 Link - Trackbacks