Swine flu disrupts activities as it develops resistance to treatment.

In advance of the highly popular South American football games between Brazil and Argentina, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has requested that the match be postponed or moved away from Buenos Aires, due to the nation’s swine flu health emergency.

In Serbia, health authorities have also been working to contain swine flu at the World University Games. Other countries such as Tunisia are making efforts to protect public health by placing restriction on travel, where umrah, or lesser pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia have been suspended as criteria is being decided for who will be allowed to perform the Hajj in November. Similarly concerned for the spread of the swine flu, the Sultanate of Oman has banned the elderly, ill and children from umrah travel.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun more testing for Tamiflu-resistant forms of the virus after an American teenager visiting Hong Kong was confirmed as the third person in the world with a Tamiflu-resistant strain. It is important to note that she had not previously been taking this medicine, which means that she contracted an already-resistant strain of the swine flu.

The virus has sickened nearly 95000 people in tested cases alone across more than 130 nations and has caused over 430 deaths in people of all ages. Among these fatalities are three losses reported in a single day in the United Kingdom, which at an estimated 7,500 cases is the European country with the highest number of swine flu afflicted.

Meanwhile, in Latin America, Belize has reported her first 5 cases. With sorrow for those suffering loss, we pray for Heaven’s protection of people who have been exposed and stricken by the swine flu, and that it subsides to no longer imperil lives. May we all speed this process by choosing wise and health-sustaining lifestyles for ourselves and loved ones.

Reference
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-07-07-1877504869_x.htm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hjdCHrP82YTFser5vD6CzTK1az6wD999U3OG0  
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gXvD3w28tWUtXfIA2n7Jn4crPxlAD998UA080   
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