Bogus Cures

Meanwhile, the Financial Times (FT) reported on August 7 that bogus cures for swine flu are being touted on the Internet, and that FDA is aggressively policing the snake-oil products.

For example, Rebuilder Medical Technology received an FDA warning for a shampoo contained in its $129 "SilverCure protection kit" claiming to prevent swine flu from gathering on hair, FT said. FT reported that FDA says it considers the false cures to be a public health threat and is aggressively pursuing the fraudulent products.

The FDA warning letters require a response from companies within 48 hours, compared to the normal 15-day standard for other products facing recall. And once the products are recalled, they remain on the FDA website to discourage other fraudulent manufacturers from advertising, FT reported.

Costa Rican President Has Swine Flu

In other news this week, Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, said Tuesday that he has swine flu. The 69-year-old president said in a statement that he was quarantined at home and is being treated with the anti-flu medicine oseltamivir. Arias suffers from asthma so is at high risk than most for developing respiratory complications.

"Aside from the discomfort of the fever and sore throat, I feel in good shape and in full capacity to carry out my work by telecommuting," Arias said in a statement.

CDC Alters Recommendations

Finally, last week, WHO reported 162,230 confirmed cases of the pandemic H1N1 virus and 1,154 deaths globally. CDC says more than a million people in the U.S. have been infected.

Meanwhile, CDC recently changed its recommendation for people suffering from swine flu. The agency now recommends that people (in non-health care settings) with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C]), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

This is a change from the previous recommendation that ill persons stay home for 7 days after illness onset or until 24 hours after the resolution of symptoms, whichever was longer, CDC says. The new recommendation applies to camps, schools, businesses, mass gatherings, and other community (non-hospital and public) places where most people are not at high risk for influenza complications.

"This guidance does not apply to health care settings where the exclusion period should be continued for 7 days from symptom onset or until the resolution of symptoms," the agency says.

"This revision for the community setting is based on epidemiologic data about the overall risk of severe illness and death and attempts to balance the risks of severe illness from influenza and the potential benefits of decreasing transmission through the exclusion of ill persons with the goal of minimizing social disruption," the agency says. "This guidance will continue to be updated as more information becomes available."

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