In the latest official swine flu figures, a count far lower than actual totals, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced 202,151 confirmed cases, and 1,550 deaths across 168 countries and territories. Formosa (Taiwan) experienced the first cluster of swine flu cases within a hospital, with the Center for Disease Control announcing other severe cases, including a chef being treated in an isolation ward and two young boys.
Alarmingly in Argentina, the number of people who perished doubled to 337 in the past month, while the country’s deputy health minister stated that another 400 deaths were likely caused by swine flu as well.
As the pandemic continues its relentless spread, both Iran and the Netherlands are the latest to report their first swine flu fatalities. The casualties in Saudi Arabia jumped to seven when a 12-year-old girl perished.
In Asia, Laos has reported 43 additional cases, bringing the total to 156, while China just confirmed 58 new cases out of 2,210 so far.
In an ad campaign running since May 2009, the US-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) cited the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic that
one-third to one-half of pigs on US farms carry evidence of past flu viruses.
The group, whose board of advisors include esteemed vegan nutrition researcher Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and famed vegan physicians Dr. Caldwell Essylstyn, Dr. John McDougall and others, called on US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to mandate pig farm closures on grounds of their extreme health risks.
PCRM President Neal Barnard, MD, wrote in an article, “There would be no swine flu pandemics without pig farms. These huge pig facilities are unsanitary, inhumane, and extremely dangerous to human health.
It’s time to shut these flu farms down.” As part of its swine flu campaign, the group has urged the public to send a symbolic “billing invoice” demanding accountability from the largest pork producers. It reads:
Please see Invoice No. 0000001 below:
Item [Amount Due]
1 box of surgical face masks: $11.993
8 ounce bottles of hand sanitizer: $13.97
10 doses of antiviral flu medication: $95.09
Protecting myself from swine flu likely caused by hog farms: Priceless
Tax: Constant fear and panic
Total Due: Incalculable Sincerely,
[Your Name]
VOICE: We thank the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine and all concerned experts raising awareness of the root cause of this pandemic: animal “flu farms.”
Our prayers are with the loved ones of those who have succumbed to this tragic epidemic, as well as those now afflicted and awaiting a safe recovery. May unstoppable diseases such as these be forever removed through widespread adoption of the most humane, cleanest, most preventive organic vegan diet.
Referencehttp://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/index.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJmp7lwJE9k http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2018163&Language=en http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/05/content_11830669.htm http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/05/content_11831330.htm http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/05/content_11827927.htm http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_412765.html http://english.cna.com.tw/ReadNews/Detail.aspx?pSearchDate=&pNewsID=200908040027&pType1=
HH&pType0=xJDLNHH&pTypeSel=0 http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1022970 http://www.pcrm.org/newsletter/jun09/swine_flu.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/05/argentina-swine-flu-deaths-double