swine flu

[Mr D]

I am surprised that talk about this is even here on the boards what with the sensitive nature of tourism and the economy right now, this could be the death blow to Disney if it were to be that people were so afraid of this they absolutely did not come and the parks became a ghost town.

As of this time all sporting events or any congregation of people in Mexico has been canceled, a jet arriving from Mexico City has been quarantined earlier today in the US, Japan is using thermal imaging to check arriving people from California and Mexico for fevers, this reminds me of the scene from the latest Will Smith movie where the military were scanning people for a deadly disease, maybe Hollywood comes to life soon.

 

[girlface]

I am surprised that talk about this is even here on the boards what with the sensitive nature of tourism and the economy right now, this could be the death blow to Disney if it were to be that people were so afraid of this they absolutely did not come and the parks became a ghost town.

As of this time all sporting events or any congregation of people in Mexico has been canceled, a jet arriving from Mexico City has been quarantined earlier today in the US, Japan is using thermal imaging to check arriving people from California and Mexico for fevers, this reminds me of the scene from the latest Will Smith movie where the military were scanning people for a deadly disease, maybe Hollywood comes to life soon.

Were is will smith in all of this? Its usually up to him to save the world

I robot...hancock...i am legend..men in black..independance day...the fresh prince...okay maybe not the last one!

 

[Phonedave]

You guys that dismiss this are doing so based on the fact that you have very clearly a limited understanding of what is going on.
True the flu kills ALOT of people every year. But what is different about this is that it attacks the healthiest people. It uses our own immune systems against us. It does not respond to any flu vaccine we currently have, and it does NOT rerspond well to Relenza or Tamiflu (it will IF contracted from a swine but this has mutated); I be;ieve Relenza works better. Furthermore, our immune systems do not know what to do with this virus as it has NEVER encountered anything like it because it is not the standard flu.

This is an H1N1 flu strain which caused the 1918 Spanish flu. More specifically, it is a strain of avian flu that mutated with a strain of swine flu. While swine flu can, in rare circumstances, be transferred to humans, the fact that it has yet again mutated to human to human transfer is disturbing. It shows this virus has a great ability to mutate and overtake our immune defenses and vaccines. Also, scary is the fact that it is airborne. Most sickness is .

See, this is what fear mongering does.

H1N1 IS a "standard" flu. The media loves to thow technical terms out there. I do not have a medical background, but an Engineering backgound, including a number of classes in steel design and in reinforced concrete design. The media did the exact same thing with the WTC terrorist attack. They started using buzz words that sounded cool and people loved to repeat, but made no sense. Throwing words like "corbels" and "I beam" (try looking up "I Beam" in the LRFD manual) around made for good ratings.

In the "name" H1N1, the letters simply refer to the presence of certain protien indicators. The virus can be configured a bunch of different ways, and still be an H1N1. The "spanish flu" of 1918 was indeed AN H1N1, but it was not THE H1N1

Yes, this particular strain of flu is new. Yes it does seem to be particulary nasty as it seem it can cause hypercytokinemia (wow, that word seems a lot less dramitc that Cytokene Storm - let me guess would a reporter rather say "an unckecked positive feed back loop resulting in a cytokentic storm" or say "for some reason your immune system creates too many T-cells, which can cause problems in certain organs, such as the lungs" - I am thinking choice 1 is the ratings choice). It also seem to spread via human to human contact easily.

Just take normal precautions. Don't panic. If you do get it, chances are you are not going to die, especialy if you get treatment.

No need for canned food and ammo (and has anybody tried to get ammo lately anyway. The Obama scare has make ammo scarcer than hens teeth, so there is none left for the swine flu scare)

-dave

 

[sublimesting]

See, this is what fear mongering does.

H1N1 IS a "standard" flu. The media loves to thow technical terms out there. I do not have a medical background, but an Engineering backgound, including a number of classes in steel design and in reinforced concrete design. The media did the exact same thing with the WTC terrorist attack. They started using buzz words that sounded cool and people loved to repeat, but made no sense. Throwing words like "corbels" and "I beam" (try looking up "I Beam" in the LRFD manual) around made for good ratings.

In the "name" H1N1, the letters simply refer to the presence of certain protien indicators. The virus can be configured a bunch of different ways, and still be an H1N1. The "spanish flu" of 1918 was indeed AN H1N1, but it was not THE H1N1

Yes, this particular strain of flu is new. Yes it does seem to be particulary nasty as it seem it can cause hypercytokinemia (wow, that word seems a lot less dramitc that Cytokene Storm - let me guess would a reporter rather say "an unckecked positive feed back loop resulting in a cytokentic storm" or say "for some reason your immune system creates too many T-cells, which can cause problems in certain organs, such as the lungs" - I am thinking choice 1 is the ratings choice). It also seem to spread via human to human contact easily.

Just take normal precautions. Don't panic. If you do get it, chances are you are not going to die, especialy if you get treatment.

No need for canned food and ammo (and has anybody tried to get ammo lately anyway. The Obama scare has make ammo scarcer than hens teeth, so there is none left for the swine flu scare)

-dave

You missed the point: This is NOT standard flu even though it is same strain. This behaves like the bird flu. Also, you missed the point that there is no treatment, as is the case with any flu. And everyone is missing the point that it is WHO and CDC putting this "panic" out there not the media. And cytokine storm is what it is commonly refered to
And to actually think Obama is going to take your guns and ammo is actually being alarmist.

 

[jessyhalifax]

over here in the uk we are getting told the normal drug for flu are working fine and we have proof a couple are on tamiflu and have been confirmed cases os swine flu and are inproving i may only be 16 but someone is gettign some wrong information here

 

[k.hunter30]

You missed the point: This is NOT standard flu even though it is same strain. This behaves like the bird flu. Also, you missed the point that there is no treatment, as is the case with any flu. And everyone is missing the point that it is WHO and CDC putting this "panic" out there not the media. And cytokine storm is what it is commonly refered to
And to actually think Obama is going to take your guns and ammo is actually being alarmist.

It's not the WHO nor the CDC that is "putting the panic" out there. They are putting the information out there... and thank goodness. But it IS the media who is feeding the fear. I have a dergree in journalism, and even I admit that is what is happening.

Flus mutate every year. That's why there will be people who receive the flu vaccine who will still get the flu... every year. Medical professionals can't predict exactly what strain will be most common each year and strains mutate, so this will happen. So to say it's not the "standard flu," well, none are really. And yes, this is a more serious form of the flu b/c it is new, etc., and we SHOULD be educated about it, which is what the CDC is trying to do. But to have a sense of fear spread by the media over this...? That is not necessary, despite it keeping viewers watching the news which WILL sell advertising. :shrug:

 

[Master Yoda]

I ran across a blog post that unlike the news reports has all the facts and some fairly rational thinking. It is worth a read if you are one of the ones on the fence about buying a biohazard suit and duct taping your windows and doors shut.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-fears.html

 

[devoy1701]

I ran across a blog post that unlike the news reports has all the facts and some fairly rational thinking. It is worth a read if you are one of the ones on the fence about buying a biohazard suit and duct taping your windows and doors shut.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-fears.html

Thank you Yoda... good article. :wave:

 

[Phonedave]

You missed the point: This is NOT standard flu even though it is same strain. This behaves like the bird flu. Also, you missed the point that there is no treatment, as is the case with any flu. And everyone is missing the point that it is WHO and CDC putting this "panic" out there not the media. And cytokine storm is what it is commonly refered to
And to actually think Obama is going to take your guns and ammo is actually being alarmist.

Exactly. The whole flu thing is alarmist. As someone else said. The CDC and WHO is putting out information, not panic, the media is putting out the "alarm"

Cytokine storm is indeed a valid term, but it gets used because it sounds "cool". If this flu caused something like fluid retention you would not hear it as much. But I bet you would hear "it can cause you to drown in your own tissues".

Yes, to think Obama is going to take guns and ammo is alarmist, but then so is shutting down WDW, wearing masks, staying indoors, and spraying the room down with Lysol ever 5 minutes.

-dave

 

[RiversideBunny]

I ran across a blog post that unlike the news reports has all the facts and some fairly rational thinking. It is worth a read if you are one of the ones on the fence about buying a biohazard suit and duct taping your windows and doors shut.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-fears.html

A good article with rational explanations it is.

Tks.

 

[CheshireCatStef]

According to the CM I spoke with at 2:00 this afternoon, Disney has only closed twice in it's history, and neither time was for a flu virus...
(and even before this we lysol'ed our entire hotel room every time we check in and use our own pillows, blankets, and towels... but that's just us!)
3 1/2 weeks and counting

 

[sbkline]

I ran across a blog post that unlike the news reports has all the facts and some fairly rational thinking. It is worth a read if you are one of the ones on the fence about buying a biohazard suit and duct taping your windows and doors shut.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-fears.html

My wife and I just got back from Walmart, and I wish I would have read that article before we went there and spent all that money on duct tape and canned goods.

 

[Vince3]

OMG! we are all going to die!......eventually .

 

[TURKEY]

You have better odds of dying at a Casselberry gun range than you do of this flu.

 

[The_CEO]

You have better odds of dying at a Casselberry gun range than you do of this flu.

I love the Google ads at the bottom of the pages on this thread.

"Get your surgical masks now, FAST SHIPPING!!!"

Umm.. These viruses can flow right through these, it only stops mucus if anything.

 

[magicmaya]

According to the CM I spoke with at 2:00 this afternoon, Disney has only closed twice in it's history, and neither time was for a flu virus...
(and even before this we lysol'ed our entire hotel room every time we check in and use our own pillows, blankets, and towels... but that's just us!)
3 1/2 weeks and counting

I heart your signature.I love mad people like the mad hatter shown in this story im reading

http://community.livejournal.com/curiousinsane/12737.html

 

[WDW1974]

give me a break.. should we all bathe in bleach and board up our houses?

Nah. That was what we were supposed to do to ward off the 'evildoers' during the Bush live in constant fear days!

Really, the media is MAJORLY sensationalizing this 'epidemic'..... Just like they sensationalized the 2,000 - 3,000 dead american soldiers in iraq/afgan... We lost hundreds of thousands in WWII alone....

Actually the number is well over 4,000 now and the media has downplayed their deaths if anything because that's what the previous administration wanted. I doubt that anyone in the military who lost a loved one in Iraq thinks the deaths were sensationalized.

Dead is dead. And tragic.

The media really can create panic, because the lemmings all believe it.... This flu isn't that 'serious'... The 'serious' part is that when some get the 'regular' flu, they ignore it, and 'tough through it'... Untreated, this can be more dangerous.... treated, this is no big deal.

The media is such an easy target. And while some organizations are beyond laughable (FOX, CNBC and CNN come to mind), the media is largely being responsible in their coverage.

This is SERIOUS. Can it be blown out of proportion? Sure. And your point about the regular flu is well taken, people die of it daily in this country.

But new bugs and superbugs are very scary because they don't respond to traditional treatment and can get out of control very quickly.

No one should panic, but people should use common sense and basic hygiene.

People pick, scratch, touch all the time and then put their hands in places where others can get those germs. If people just practiced basic hygiene then there would be far less outbreaks of both really serious things like this and simple cold and flu and e-coli type bugs.

 

[sublimesting]

I ran across a blog post that unlike the news reports has all the facts and some fairly rational thinking. It is worth a read if you are one of the ones on the fence about buying a biohazard suit and duct taping your windows and doors shut.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/04/flu-fears.html

There was alot wrong with that article, chiefly indicating that anti-biotics would have helped us battle the 1918 pandemic. Anti-biotics do nothing against viruses. She also indicates that we "get swine flu all the time." True, but this isn't swine flu as gotten from a pig. There is a big difference. Also she states that viruses mutate all the time, which is true but they do NOT create brand new viruses all the time which are a combination of multiple types of virus that go from animal - human to human-human transaction. The ability of a virus to do that is troubling. Also the definition of a pandemic (we are at level 5) is this from WHO
Phase 1 no viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.
In Phase 2 an animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.
In Phase 3, an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic.
Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.
Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.

The author wants to put her own spin on what a pandemic is, but we are getting there and that is all the media is saying. No one is saying we are IN a pandemic now, but we are close.

 

[sublimesting]

I am sorry to keep commenting on swine flu, I don't mean to be argumentative. It's just that I majored in biology and my career is pharamceutical research. Swine flu may turn out to be nothing, but it sort of drives me nuts to keep hearing people say: "It's just a flu, and the flu kills people all the time." It really shouldn't be dismissed as "just another flu".:wave:

 

[Master Yoda]

There was alot wrong with that article, chiefly indicating that anti-biotics would have helped us battle the 1918 pandemic. Anti-biotics do nothing against viruses. She also indicates that we "get swine flu all the time." True, but this isn't swine flu as gotten from a pig. There is a big difference. Also she states that viruses mutate all the time, which is true but they do NOT create brand new viruses all the time which are a combination of multiple types of virus that go from animal - human to human-human transaction. The ability of a virus to do that is troubling. Also the definition of a pandemic (we are at level 5) is this from WHO
Phase 1 no viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.
In Phase 2 an animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.
In Phase 3, an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic.
Phase 4 is characterized by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.
Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.

The author wants to put her own spin on what a pandemic is, but by definition she is incorrect.

First, I would like to say that I am by no means a medical expert but I think you are incorrect about the author claiming that anit-biotics would have cured the 1918 pandemic. The author never claimed that anti-biotics would have cured the 1918 pandemic.

The country was recovering from World War I, with widespread poverty, hunger and unsanitary living conditions, coupled with no available antibiotics or flu medications or modern medical care.

She was merely describing the conditions that existed during the 1918 pandemic and not claiming that something like a round of amoxacilin would have cleared things up.

Right now the media is blowing what is going on way out of proportion. Pandemic is a nice scary word that the media just loves to use. I'll bet 9 out of 10 people do not know what the term means and simply relate it to the word epidemic. The article provided a little bit of sanity that the majority of news outlets are ignoring.