David Luhnow, Jose De Cordoba and Gautam Naik
The Wall Street Journal
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/HEALTH/05/01/swine.flu.cases/art.couple.jpg]
The voice on the conference call last week was Frank Plummer, a Canadian scientist who had just spent 24 hours analyzing virus samples from 51 seriously ill people in Mexico.
The news: Seventeen people carried a completely new type of flu virus, one which had its origin in pigs. Flu from swine, which can be fatal, has rarely made the jump to humans - much less appeared in so many people at once. Within minutes, Mexico's health minister grabbed a red-telephone hotline to President Felipe Calderón. "Mr. President, I need to see you urgently. It's a matter of national security."
A picture is now emerging of how U.S. and Mexican officials, with a key assist from a Canadian government lab, first realized they faced a new type of disease and began racing to isolate its earliest origins. Until recently, Mexico was widely assumed to be ground zero. Now, however, some California doctors are questioning that.
|
Filed under: 360° Radar |
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
In the late '70s, early '80s the swine flu vaccine was administered and some people contracted Gullian Barre Syndrom as a result of receiving the vaccine. What are the chances of this happening again?