Flu Preparedness Dealt Blows

Public health, preparedness and the World Health Organization response to swine flu in 2009.

was so special about this virus to induce a state of near panic? With all infectious diseases, the two key factors that determine how much damage is done are transmissibility, or the ability to spread, and virulence, or the ability to cause severe disease. A disease that is highly transmissible, like the common cold, spreads rapidly but is not considered an epidemic or pandemic because it is no...

Who Blows the Whistle on Corporate Fraud

What external control mechanisms are most effective in detecting corporate fraud? To address this question we study in depth all reported cases of corporate fraud in companies with more than 750 million dollars in assets between 1996 and 2004. We find that fraud detection does not rely on one single mechanism, but on a wide range of, often improbable, actors. Only 6% of the frauds are revealed ...

Small bowel rupture from abdominal blows.

Rupture of the small bowel with nonpenetrating abdominal trauma occurs in one-third to one-fourth of all abdominal injuries. Perforation of the bowel can result from injuries of crushing, bursting or tearing type. The symptoms are those associated with peritoneal irritation. Repeated observation and examination is necessary for diagnosis. Operative repair is mandatory. Two cases, one in a child...

H7N9 flu

Aquatic wild birds are the reservoir of more than 100 influenza viruses whose subtypes (HxNy) have never been responsible for sustained infection in humans. As a matter of fact, humans are usually not infected by avian influenza A viruses. However, sporadic cases of avian influenza virus infection are observed every year, mostly in Asia. By subsequent adaptation these emerging viruses may resul...

'The flu'.