Posted by By Jonathan Lynn
GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization stuck on Tuesday to its statement that about two billion people could catch H1N1 influenza by the time the flu pandemic ends.
But the estimate comes with a big health warning: no one knows how many people so far have caught the new strain, known as swine flu, and the final number will never be known as many cases are so mild they may go unnoticed.
"By the end of a pandemic, anywhere between 15-45 percent of a population will have been infected by the new pandemic virus," WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said in a statement.
"Thirty percent is a midpoint estimate and 30 percent of the world’s population is 2 billion."
But she added: "We must remember however, that attempts to estimate infection rates can only be very rough."
Early in the outbreak, which was first detected in April, Dr Keiji Fukuda, acting Assistant Director-General of the U.N. agency, fueled accusations the WHO was creating panic about the disease when he used the two billion figure.
But the WHO, which raised its global flu alert to the highest level on June 11, declaring a worldwide pandemic, has since said the strain is already spreading much faster than previous flu pandemics.
At the same time, because most victims suffer only mild symptoms, it has told countries they no longer need to try to report each case, but concentrate on monitoring suspicious concentrations of the disease and tracking deaths. [click here for the complete article on Reuters]
Prevention, they say, is the best medicine. I rarely respond to fear-mongering news reports. Rather, I personally believe in the power of the human bio-system to heal, regenerate and maintain itself, if given the proper nutritional factors to do so.
As a preventative measure, I started my internal "Spring Cleaning" early this year. I am personally doing everything I can to boost my immune system naturally, and for the long haul. That means I’m not only getting my admittedly "bad" diet under control, but also getting more exercise. I have been taught that one of the fastest ways to build the immune system is to do a simple Colon Cleanse.
There is growing awareness in both the allopathic and holistic healthcare communities that several stressful, energy and immune-zapping conditions such as anxiety, headaches, backaches, nausea, abdominal discomfort, lack of sexual response, memory loss, loss of concentration, insomnia, irritability, depression, asthma, food cravings, allergies, poor appetite, indigestion, cramps, constipation, fatigue, hemorrhoids, prostate trouble, skin problems, menstral problems and more — can often be attributed to undigested "poison" being reabsorbed back into the body due a bowel system that is not working properly.
Our modern lifestyles, complete with high fat, high cholesterol, low fiber processed foods combined with lack of exercise and low-level toxic pollution everywhere have wreaked havoc on our digestive and immune systems. It has been said that death begins in the colon.
I suggest that NOW is the best time to give your body and immune system a new lease on life starting with a Colon Cleanse.
