Is Swine Flu ?The Big One? or a Flu That Fizzles?

[Arnold]

Is Swine Flu ‘The Big One’ or a Flu That Fizzles? By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer ATLANTA ??? As reports of a unique form of swine flu erupt around the world, the inevitable question arises: Is this the big one? Is this the next big global flu epidemic that public health experts [...]


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[Gazhole]

We've been studying these in Immunology this semester. Very nasty stuff indeed.

 

[IronAddict]

Just another boogie man to fear. Did you ever notice every year at this time there is some ailment or bug in the news that's supposed to be a serious disaster, All Machiavellian. Gotta keep the masses fearful. I'm not saying we shouldn't take precautions to help keep us safe, but that's just common sense!

After all Emerson once wrote,"common sense is genius dressed in its working cloths".

 

[juggernaut]

the problem as I understand it is that this one is easily transferable, plus we are due for a really overdue pandemic. We are however, better prepared with tamiflu-which has been shown to help if caught at an early stage. Dont fuck around with this. If you feel crappy, get to the doc.

 

[IronAddict]

the problem as I understand it is that this one is easily transferable, plus we are due for a really overdue pandemic. We are however, better prepared with tamiflu-which has been shown to help if caught at an early stage. Dont fuck around with this. If you feel crappy, get to the doc.

Yeah, the owner the Co. that makes Tamiflu sure made a lot of dough with this when everyone was fearful of the 'Bird Flu'.

The owner of that Co. is no other than that maleficent Donald Rumsfeld.

See what I mean.

 

[juggernaut]

hey it could be ronald mcdonald...I dont wanna die a painful death.

 

[IronAddict]

Yup, and Ronald Mcdonald has enough gumption to at least be honest with us and wear makeup and a clown suit. The other guy is, well, is just a clown!

This guy is in hiding and is still trying to bilk us out of our dough.

 

[juggernaut]

Yup, and Ronald Mcdonald has enough gumption to at least be honest with us and wear makeup and a clown suit. The other guy is, well, is just a clown!

This guy is in hiding and is still trying to bilk us out of our dough.

 

[IronAddict]

Just rambling Jugg, Is that one of the symptoms of 'swine flu' cause, "I have the sudden urge to eat bacon and pork chops".

 

[ZECH]

Sars, birdflu passed and so will swine. Take precautions, but I don't think it will be a pandemic.

 

[Arnold]

Mexico Raises Swine Flu Death Toll to 149 - washingtonpost.com

 

[juggernaut]

Sars, birdflu passed and so will swine. Take precautions, but I don't think it will be a pandemic.

It's still going on, but it seems as if it truly dangerous in Mexico. Other cases have been reported, but they are not as "bad" as Mexico. Perhaps it has to do with subpar living conditions, inadequate health care...who knows?

 

[juggernaut]

The epicenter was Mexico, where the virus is blamed for 86 deaths and an estimated 1,400 cases in the country since April 13. Schools were closed, church services canceled and Mexican President Felipe Calderon assumed new powers to isolate people infected with the swine flu virus. International concern magnified as health officials across the world on Sunday said they were investigating suspected cases in people who traveled to Mexico and come back with flu-like illnesses. Among the nations reporting confirmed cases or investigations were Canada, France, Israel and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, in the United States, there were no deaths and all patients had either recovered or were recovering. But the confirmed cases around the nation rose from eight on Saturday morning to 20 by Sunday afternoon, including eight high school kids in New York City ??? a national media center. The New York Post???s front page headline on Sunday was ???Pig Flu Panic.???

 

[juggernaut]

and yet...

BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexico to re-test swine flu cases

 

[tucker01]

Check how many have died from the regular flu since January. That should put this into better perspective.

 

[Gazhole]

Regular flu has killed thousands since January - CNN.com

"Worldwide, seasonal flu is estimated to cause between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths a year"

 

[juggernaut]

I'm not seeing the point, Ian. I do understand the severity of this strain but they are already scaling back.

 

[Gazhole]

I guess the seasonal flu point Iain's making is that regular flu has probably killed far many more people this week than swine flu, so right now it's not a huge blip on the death toll radar.

From the other perspective, if regular flu kills this many people how many people will a new strain of flu kill once it gets going? One which we have no immunity to?

Its a big worry this swine flu thing, but i think we should stop comparing this outbreak to the Spanish Flu in 1918. This isn't 1918, and last time i checked medical care has moved on somewhat since then.

For the UK at least, a statement has been released saying we have a stockpile of anti-viral meds to treat roughly half the population. As well as that, we have two companies over here that develop flu vaccines, so we could theoretically have a vaccine in the next 6 months.

Everything right now is up in the air from both sides of the coin. Nobody really knows how bad this is going to be. The fact still remains though that nobody outside Mexico has actually died from it yet, which is a good sign. Next few weeks are going to be pivotal.

This is Gazhole news at 3:23 GMT. Film at eleven.

 

[juggernaut]

When bird flu hit NJ 2 years ago, Gov. Corzine stockpiled a shitload of tamiflu.

 

[Gazhole]

This is probably a good thing for this outbreak if its still stockpiled. Sucks the thing couldn't be contained, really.

Funny though - before easter we had a shitload of Immunology lectures on the flu and pandemics etc, in which we were discussing what would happen if another pandemic happened.

Come back to uni this week and lo and be-fucking-hold...

 

[juggernaut]

whats worse is that Mehico knew a week before the outbreak that this was going on...so they had time.

 

[juggernaut]

this reminds me of...."Captain Trips"...anyone know what this is????? Triviiiiiiaaaaaa!!!!!!

 

[juggernaut]

The WHO just raised it from Level 4 to 5...do we shit our pants now?

 

[largepkg]

The issue is just like Gaz said. Right now this hasn't spread to even a fraction of a percent of the population.

If it does and there's no known vaccine it could be trouble. It could take 6+ months to come up with a viable vaccine then you still have to produce enough for the general public.

The majority of deaths have been those in less fortunate countries with substandard health care and living situations. So at least we have this on our side.

 

[vader]

its killer bees all over again

 

[Gazhole]

its killer bees all over again

Except the bees are a fraction of the size of a human cell and can multiply at will.

Fucking bees.

 

[Pirate!]

YouTube Video

 

[T_man]

Check how many have died from the regular flu since January. That should put this into better perspective.

I know swine flu is made out to be worse than it is, but you're comparing 2 things which are not yet comparable. Swine flu hasn't even reached 2000 confirmed cases yet, compared to the millions of normal flu.

 

[juggernaut]

cough cough...sniff...hey I got it! oink.

 

[Uba]

I dont think to much of it, only 7 deaths are 100% sure were caused by the Swine Flu where 36,000 people die a year from a regular flu that is just as easly transferable. Not a big deal in eyes but hey who knows.