1976 swine flu outbreak strain. On July 23, the President sends a letter urging Congress to take action on indemnification. In early August an outbreak of illness in Philadelphia is thought to be related to swine flu. It is found to be an atypical pneumonia thereafter called Legionnaires' disease. On August 6, President Ford holds a press conference urging Congress to take action on the indemnification legislation. Four days later, both Houses of Congress pass the legislation. Merrill becomes the first company to submit samples to the FDA's Bureau of Biologics for safety testing, which approves it on September 2. Merck makes the first
Timeline of the SARS outbreak On the flight, he fell ill and upon arrival in Bangkok told an awaiting friend not to touch him and to call an ambulance to take him to a hospital. He was isolated in an intensive care unit. A similar outbreak of a mysterious respiratory disease was reported among healthcare workers in Hong Kong. On March 12, WHO issued a global alert about a new infectious disease of unknown origin in both Vietnam and Hong Kong. On March 15, WHO issued a heightened global health alert about mysterious pneumonia with a case definition of SARS as after cases in Singapore