The Pentagon Takes On Swine Flu

Going Viral: The Pentagon Takes On A New Enemy: Swine Flu. -- The New Yorker

ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF SCIENCE about the Pentagon’s reaction to the swine flu virus. On Tuesday night, April 28, 2009, Darrell Galloway, a senior official at the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency, watched a news report from Mexico City about a new strain of influenza known as swine flu that was spreading fast. That night, Galloway, a microbiologist, resolved to do something about it. He was authorized by the military to work on a specific set of threatening diseases that were considered potential weapons in war or in terrorism, including anthrax, smallpox, plague, and the Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers. Influenza was outside his focus, but the next morning, Galloway summoned his staff and announced that they were to begin work immediately on creating a new antiviral drug to combat swine flu.

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My Comment: Unfortunately, only a portion of this article is available to read (the balance is behind a subscriber wall). But what is available to read is fascinating, and it gives a good insight into how the Obama administration is concerned about pandemics and/or the use of biological agents by terrorists.

On the personal note, this is an important story for me because last month (a day after Christmas) I developed cold chills and a shivering that I could not stop. The following day I was experiencing a full blown attack of the flu. It is only now .... a month later .... that I am starting to recover and feel better. During this time I was diagnosed with a version of the swine flu, and it has wrecked me. I lost 30 lbs (from 210 to 180) in 3 weeks, and I still feel terribly weak at times. I now understand why in the past .... when we had flu pandemics .... tens of millions died .... including the very healthy.

I must also confess that even though I was very ill .... I still have no idea on how I was able to keep this blog updated during this time. I can only guess that because I love doing this blog, it gave me the energy to keep it up even though there was many a time that I just wanted to shut down everything and sleep for a week.

What have I also learned from this experience. Hmmmm .... I have never been as sick as I have been in the past month .... and trust me .... what I will forever now carry is the realization that influenza and all the other agents that can cause disease and illness should never be underestimated. The Obama administration's focus on how to make the system respond better to future pandemics is something that I wholeheartedly support .... because I now know from personal experience it can be very costly if ignored.

Update: I take a flu shot every year, but because I was in California last month I decided to delay my shot until I got back home in Montreal. Alas .... after getting back .... that is when I got the flu. My advice .... take your flu shot .... it will help you more than what you can think.