08 May 2013 (17:07 UTC-07 Tango)/27 Jumada t-Tania 1434/18 Ordibehest 1392/29 Ding-Si (3rd month) 4711

Quietly, in the middle of April, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency over the new H7N9 virus.  On the surface the declaration allows the use of testing kits that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  However, on 22 April a new FDA approved H7 test was made “….available to all qualified U.S. public health and U.S. Department of Defense laboratories…”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has already set up a Situational Awareness Coordination Unit, which includes coordination with the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Quietly, on 01 May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated: “…CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate efforts. In the United States, planning for H7N9 vaccine clinical trials is under way. Although no decision has been made to initiate an H7N9 vaccination program in the United States, CDC recommends that local authorities and preparedness programs take time to review and update their pandemic influenza vaccine preparedness plans……CDC also recommends that public health agencies review their overall pandemic influenza plans…..”

A report from the NewScientist says health and security personnel will begin testing people at entry points into the country, as several Asian countries are already doing.  The concern is that H7N9 is proving to be not only difficult to detect and treat, but that it is a sneaky virus which manages to avoid detection by your own body’s immune system.  This allows it to replicate and overwhelm you.