European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 02, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse T 1 drive by shots an elderly woman gets flu infection it drive i vaccination clinic in California. Long Tough flu season by Sally Squires the Washington Post la shot season in the United states opened Early this year prompted by pubic health concerns about recent outbreaks and predictions of a severe Strain of flu. The Federal centers for disease control and prevention recommends immunizing All adults 65 and older and others with chronic health problems such As lung and heart diseases. In addition in recent years a number of younger people without health problems also have begun seeking the shots to reduce the inconvenience of getting sick. Although flu shots do not guarantee Complete immunity they Are designed to Cut the risk of influenza. Flu shots dont prevent the common cold. They Don t guard against the gastrointestinal distress of the stomach flu and they can t even prevent All forms of influenza infection. They Are simply designed to protect against a few select strains of the virus those most Likely to cause an epidemic in a Given year. Even then flu shots Are not perfect. Clinical randomized studies of healthy Young military personnel found that during an epidemic 70 percent to 90. Percent of the volunteers who received the shots and were exposed to the virus did not get sick said Nancy Arden chief of influenza epidemiology activity at the National Center for infectious diseases a part of the cd. While the vaccine is less effective in the elderly and in those who have chronic medical conditions it is very Good at reducing the severity of i monday november to 19f 3 infection and cutting the risk of complications and death Arden said. Influenza usually strikes in the Winter and causes a High fever dry hacking cough headache and joint aches and pains in Short sheer misery for 25 million to 50 million americans every year. Most people suffer through the _ ravages of flu with a few Days in bed followed by about a week or so of feeling under the weather. But for the elderly the very Young and those who have serious or chronic health problems influenza can have devastating and sometimes deadly consequences. What has experts concerned this year or these two reasons we think that there will be a major flu outbreak Thea year Arnold 3. Monto Michigan is that the flu season lingered especially Long last Spring and has already started earlier than usual. Flu outbreaks were reported to the cd As late As june. There was roughly a two month hiatus for the illness and then in August three unexpected outbreaks occurred in Louisiana hitting More than 150 people. The other worry is that the flu Strain predicted to be to prevalent this season is the Beijing virus a variety against which few ame icons have immunity. For these two reasons we think that that there will be a major flu outbreak this year said epidemiologist Arnold s. Monto of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Influenza is caused by three general types of viruses that thrive in the respiratory tract where they produce a cough sore Throat and Runny nose. The flu has always been a Tricky adversary capable of mutating rapidly and confusing the human immune system. Two main strains of influenza known simply As a and a Are responsible for the annual epidemics. A third Type influenza a causes Only very mild respiratory symptoms and is not considered dangerous. The Beijing virus named for the City where the Strain was first isolated first emerged in 1968. Since then various forts of it have been responsible for 300,000 deaths in the United states alone according the cd. _ until 1966, treatment for the flu changed Little Over the years. Doctors could do nothing to fight the infection itself. They offered aspirin or acetaminophen to reduce fever and soothe muscle aches and joint pain. They recommended drinking fluids to replace those lost through coughing and sneezing and they advised bed rest to help Cope with the severe fatigue that often accompanies the flu. But there was no drug available that attacked the virus itself. In 1966, the food and drug administration approved Aman Adinie hydrochloride an antiviral medication that fights influenza a by stopping the virus from multiplying. In september a second drug rim Annadine won Fra approval for use against influenza a. Pisa s Tower slowly losing its lean look by the new York times it might be termed a Triumph of physics and engineering Over time and Gravity. It might also be cached something of an eyesore. But however it is appraised the Gray 400 ton mass of Lead ingots stacked at the base of the leaning Tower of Pisa has achieved its goal reversing 800 years of the Tower s slow Tilting the ingots have begun to pull the 187 foot pillar of White Marble tack toward the vertical the change is less than one sixth of an Inch from the 18 feet by which the top of the Tower overhangs its base but it is cause for Celebration. This is a very modest movement said Michele Jam Tolkowsky a Turin University professor who Heads an International panel of 13 experts supposed to prevent the leaning Tower from tumbling Over. But it is of great importance because to for the first time the Tower is going the other that Means said Carlo Viggiani a neapolitan Engineer on the committee is that those who want to save the Tower have won five or 10 years in which to search for a More elegant and enduring solution than the Lead ingots which act As a counterweight to the Tower s own 14,000 tons of _ i _ in a land where conservation and preservation often fall prey to pomlc3 or procrastination the Experiment seems a departure from what culture minister Alberto Rouchey called the superhuman task of guiding projects to restore and conserve Italy s vast array of decaying Antiquity through the minefields of politics and shadowy interest groups thus far everyone appears United in saving the Tower. The alarms had been sounding about the Tower s steadily increasing tilt for years but the Issue never seemed All that pressing. The Tower was increasing its tilt by roughly one Twenty fifth of an Inch every year. But then in 1909, a Tower in Pavia Italy collapsed and that persuaded people that committees were not enough. In january 1990 the Tower was closed to visitors. Last year a Girdle of steel cables was thrown around the base of the Tower. Then the Tower s original weights ire stacked around Tower s base. Base was reinforced with Concrete so that this year the Lead ingots could be placed on it first 140 tons then 300 More tons and by the end of this year a further 200 tons is to be placed on top of the existing ingots to pull it further Back from its alarming tilt. Then Jamiolkowski said the idea is to stabilize the lean by a process called controlled subsidence meaning that the ground below the Northern flank of the Tower will be lowered to provide a More level base. That possibly is the Riskiest part of the whole operation but according to Jamiolkowski the Man Euver is vital if As he Hopes the Tower is to be reopened to visitors some Day. The stars and stapes 17
