Killer Goat Flu Appears in Netherlands

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Companion piece:http://snipurl.com/tno9p [Huffington Post]Dr. Sherri TenpennyDr. Sherri Tenpenny is respected as one of the country's most knowledgeable and outspoken physicians ...Novartis Is Celebrating. Should We?Posted: December 8, 2009 04:31 PM>>On November 24, 2009, Novartis officially opened its first, large-scale vaccine manufacturing facility in the U.S. Located in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The project is a collaborative effort between Novartis and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which contributed $457M for the design, construction, and licensing of the facility. For its part in the deal, Novartis is required to provide two commercial-scale lots of "pre-pandemic" vaccine annually for a minimum of three years. In addition, the government has the right to exercise options to purchase influenza vaccine over the next 17 years. (1) Currently, 191 employees work at the plant but that will increase to 350 persons when fully operational, anticipated to be sometime in 2011. The Holly Springs facility will be able to roll out 150 million flu shots per year.<<============http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=110979Killer Goat Flu Appears in NetherlandsWorld | December 11, 2009, Friday The population of the Netherlands is threatened by a new Q-virus, spread by goats and sheep. Photo by BGNESThere have been press reports of an alarming new epidemic that has struck the Netherlands. Following bird flu, then swine flu, now goat flu is causing panic.According to online news sources, up to 2 300 people have succumbed to goat flu in the country, and six people have died.The Dutch government is concerned about the impact of the epidemic and is planning to destroy hundreds of thousands of goats and sheep that may be infected by the virus.Their Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed that the new virus has struck between 55 and 350 Dutch farms. Two of the most affected cities are Eindhoven and Tilburg.The symptoms of the new variation of influenza - known as ‘Q-fever’ - resemble those of flu, and include severe headaches, shivers and perspiration, aching muscles, sickness and diarrhea and a slow pulse rate.The acute variant of the disease lasts for up to two weeks, but there is also a chronic variant which may last two years, with fatigue as its main symptom. So far there have been no recorded cases of transmission of the infection from person to person.According to Dutch experts, Q-fever is caused by bacteria (Coxiella burnetii) released when pregnant goats or sheep have spontaneous abortions.Bulgarian medical expert Dr. Angel Kunchev, head of the Anti-Epidemic Control Department of the Bulgarian Health Ministry, has announced on Friday that there are no known cases of goat flu in Bulgaria, or in neighboring countries."We have an agreement with veterinarians to monitor incidence and to do research, so if something occurs in Bulgaria, we would be aware and we would begin tests to orient us. There is no immediate danger,” reassured Dr. Kunchev. =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.