Possible flu pandemic starting

dkg999

It's going to be embarrassing when they find out it was all caused by bad tequila.

Any death is a tragedy. I have to agree that statistically speaking this seems to be getting more attention than is warranted. Last winter about 50 to 60% of the kids and teachers at my daughter's school were out with the flu at one time, and we didn't label it as a pandemic?

tcrossma

dkg999 wrote: »

Last winter about 50 to 60% of the kids and teachers at my daughter's school were out with the flu at one time, and we didn't label it as a pandemic?

Last winter's flu also wasn't of the strain that killed 50-60 MILLION people in 1918, which this new strain apparently is. I personally think there's reason to be cautious and to keep a close eye on it.

And "thinning out the herd" being in order? C'mon, that's really not funny. If this turns real, which I for one sure hope it doesn't, you might end up eating those words.

When a hurricane hits land in the US it garners a heck of a lot of attention and media even though it might only kill a handful of lives. Same with a tornado -- statistically speaking it does not kill all that many lives compared to the population of the country. But that doesn't make it any less tragic. Those are real people dying and there's nothing wrong with doing what we can to try and prevent lives from being lost. What's wrong with being cautious when there's a potentially deadly flu strain knocking at our door?

Hillbilly61

sucks2beme wrote: »

Sooner or later, it's going to happen anyway. Something new pops up
and runs through the population. We are so interconnected, it's a wonder
it hasn't already happened. And the world is knee deep in people.
A bit of herd thinning is in order.

My wife works for the New York State Health Department. They are on high alert, but are not freaked out. Flu typically hits the very young and the elderly. What's got them spooked is that this flu is focusing on the 18-60 year old populace. Plus, there's been an elevated % of deaths from this population, which is generally at its prime strength to fight off the bug. The 1917 flu pandemic carried these traits.

What they are losing sleep over is if the bug mutates within the populace, which often happens. It only needs to strengthen its lethality, as it is carrying all of the other traits to make it a very good sequal to the 1917 pandemic.

bobman1235

Any death is not a tragedy, it's a part of life. Every one of us is going to die. And yes, the herd does occasionally have to be thinned. It's the way nature works. You don't have to be HAPPY about it but it's gonna happen, one way or another.

sucks2beme

tcrossma wrote: »

Last winter's flu also wasn't of the strain that killed 50-60 MILLION people in 1918, which this new strain apparently is. I personally think there's reason to be cautious and to keep a close eye on it.

And "thinning out the herd" being in order? C'mon, that's really not funny. If this turns real, which I for one sure hope it doesn't, you might end up eating those words.

It wasn't meant to be funny. It happens. Yes I might be a casaulty.
But it's a repeating pattern in history. It's not if, it's a matter of when.
Many big cities are packed in tight. Mexico City is an disaster waiting to
happen, as are many other major population centers. High populations,
poor sanitary conditions combined together with a new resistant strain
of old diseases will reek havoc.

tcrossma

bobman1235 wrote: »

Any death is not a tragedy, it's a part of life. Every one of us is going to die. And yes, the herd does occasionally have to be thinned. It's the way nature works. You don't have to be HAPPY about it but it's gonna happen, one way or another.

You sound like I did before I had kids. Not sure if you do or don't, but they change your perspective on many things.

tcrossma

sucks2beme wrote: »

It wasn't meant to be funny. It happens. Yes I might be a casaulty.
But it's a repeating pattern in history. It's not if, it's a matter of when.
Many big cities are packed in tight. Mexico City is an disaster waiting to
happen, as are many other major population centers. High populations,
poor sanitary conditions combined together with a new resistant strain
of old diseases will reek havoc.

That's all fine, and I understand what you're saying, but sometimes we have the ability to prevent things. Having the CDC alert this early and having already developed a vaccine for this particular strain could save a lot of lives. It will still take 4-6 months to manufacture a vaccine, but these extra weeks could make a difference.

I just don't see why people are criticizing the world for taking a calculated guess that this particular virus is a nasty one and taking precautionary steps. Those extra days may end up being the difference between losing a loved one or not. If this turns out to be nothing, GREAT, no real harm done. But if it turns out to be real....

sucks2beme

tcrossma wrote: »

That's all fine, and I understand what you're saying, but sometimes we have the ability to prevent things. Having the CDC alert this early and having already developed a vaccine for this particular strain could save a lot of lives. It will still take 4-6 months to manufacture a vaccine, but these extra weeks could make a difference.

I just don't see why people are criticizing the world for taking a calculated guess that this particular virus is a nasty one and taking precautionary steps. Those extra days may end up being the difference between losing a loved one or not. If this turns out to be nothing, GREAT, no real harm done. But if it turns out to be real....

I'm not being critical. But the reality is it's going to happen. And it's going
to happen like wildfire. There won't be weeks of handwringing and fretting.
Once again, look at history. War, disease, famine are patterned events.
When the population gets too packed in, some combination of the three
will occur. Color me cruel if you will. But I NEVER sugar coat stuff.
And yes, I have kids(grown). I can be concerned, sympathetic, but
still be acutely aware of how things work. I don't want anyone to die.
But that doesn't change the facts of life.

bobman1235

tcrossma wrote: »

You sound like I did before I had kids. Not sure if you do or don't, but they change your perspective on many things.

When the people I care about die, it's a tragedy to me. It's not like I don't care about people. If someone I care about loses someone, I feel bad for them, my heart goes out to them. But there's no way you can go through your life pretending every death is a tragedy. Multiple people die every second, you'll spend a lot of time being depressed if you grieve for every one of them.

schwarcw

I blame the failed policies of the Bush Adminstration.

Actually, maybe it will wipe out some drug gangs, dope smokers, meth heads in the process. Build that fence along the Mexican border and send in the National Guard.

lightman1

Run for your lives!!!!
Not to make light (get it? light) of the situation. But the media outlets are making this seem like one of the signs of the Apocolypse. Do most of you agree that we have a little better health care system here? Sensationalism can scare the be-jesus out of millions in no time flat. Factor those three items together and form your own conclusions to this situation.
It is unfortunate when people die from these viruses. But we have better conditions here to take care of this so called "pandemic".

I'm feeling a liitle achey and have a fever.
Later

messiah

Remember the Avian (bird) flu? The CDC said that it was possible for 50 million to 150 million people to die worldwide. I guess it was possible, however there were 457 total reported cases worldwide and 248 deaths. The other thing that they are not telling you is that pigs are one of the few animals on the the planet that carry the influenza virus that affects humans. These are normal pigs, and from what I've heard, it is normal influenza. Don't freak out just yet.

Airplay355

Have a little faith in your immune system.

Jstas

Airplay355 wrote: »

Have a little faith in your immune system.

I can't, really. Gary Busey ripped my endocrine system out of my body.

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zombie boy 2000

Airplay355 wrote: »

Have a little faith in your immune system.

What appears to be making this particular flu unique is the fact that it is attacking people with stronger immune systems, as opposed to weaker. The idea being that most of the damage is being done as a result of the body's aggressive response.

Airplay355

Jstas that's hilarious. Watching Gary Busey is always a good time.

cnh

Now 'we' would REALLY be in 'trouble' if Busey was our Health Czar! Mucking around with our endocrine systems and all.....

cnh

BlueFox

Things are starting to get interesting. Has not even been one week yet since this started hitting the news. Exponential growth is an amazing concept.

"The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to 5, its second-highest level Wednesday, indicating the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico is nearing widespread human infection."

""This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharm industry and the business community that certain actions now should be taken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace," Chan said.

The annoucement came as the number of people infected with swine flu increased rapidly across the world, and health officials scrambled to get more information about the virus -- which has no vaccine."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/29/swine.flu/index.html

tonyb

Do we have a vaccine for ANY virus ? I could be mistaken,but I don't think so.I want to know how many have to get sick before we restrict incomming traffic at our borders?

cnh

Ok guys,

We can do our own tracking here. The Maine CDC reported 3 cases of swine flu in the state as of today...nothing too serious...they are investigating the movements of said victims.

Anyone else?

cnh

Hillbilly61

I was in Chicago yesterday and today and the local TV reported confirmed outbreaks. Who knows, maybe I brought back a more than my luggage? :eek:

Actually, it was confirmed in Schnectady, NY today. The first upstate NY outbreak. The large hispanic population there has strong ties with New York City, where it first showed up in NY.

bobman1235

tonyb wrote: »

Do we have a vaccine for ANY virus ? I could be mistaken,but I don't think so.I want to know how many have to get sick before we restrict incomming traffic at our borders?

There is a vaccine. Everything I've heard says this is pretty easily curable.

The CDC recommends the use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) or Relenza (zanamivir) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses, however, the majority of people infected with the virus make a full recovery without requiring medical attention or antiviral drugs.

This isn't the black plague.

Hillbilly61

bobman1235 wrote: »

There is a vaccine. Everything I've heard says this is pretty easily curable.



This isn't the black plague.

Correct. As I said in my previous post, the New York State Health Department and CDC is spooked as to this flu's traits being similar to the 1917 flu. What they are losing sleep over the possibility of it mutating into a more lethal form. It hasn't done it yet. No Captain Tripps here.

Tamiflu and Relenza are effective against it. There are 50 million doses available. To ramp up and get out +/- 300 million doses (U.S. population) will take months. By that point, the battle is lost if the flu mutates into a worse form beforehand. There is a pretty good chance the flu is going to mutate. How and to what practical effect, nobody knows. That is what is causing the health officials to lose sleep.

nadams

My cat has been sneezing... I'm making an appointment for her tomorrow, but in the meantime... do I need to be worried about the feline flu pandemic? I think I just started it.

tonyb

bobman1235 wrote: »

There is a vaccine. Everything I've heard says this is pretty easily curable.



This isn't the black plague.

No,it's not the black plague,but I don't think those drugs are necessarily cures once you have it.They help fight it off but are not a cure,otherwise,no deaths would occur,right? Still haven't found a cure for regular flu or even the common cold.

66chevyIISS

sars... the bird flu... and now this... next year it will be the porcupine flu

tonyb

66chevyIISS wrote: »

sars... the bird flu... and now this... next year it will be the porcupine flu

Naaa.....next year,I expect the "clap" to make a nice comeback.If your on any kind of government assistance,they'll have to come out and check your **** before haveing sex.Of coarse,they made need an 18 month notice before hand.

unc2701

tonyb wrote: »

Do we have a vaccine for ANY virus ? I could be mistaken,but I don't think so.I want to know how many have to get sick before we restrict incomming traffic at our borders?

Vaccines are the only truly effective approach to viruses. Grossly simplified, it's a dead virus - your body's immune system learns how to attack the virus without getting the disease. When you actually come into contact with the real, live virus, your body already knows how to kill it.

Restricting border traffic is pretty much useless at this point. The cat's out of the bag, so to speak.

george daniel

If you are concerned,, get some N-95 masks,, some Tamiflu,, and go shopping.:cool:

zombie boy 2000

Zero wrote: »

I guess my days of taggin' fat chicks needs to wind to a temporary close.

Say it ain't so Sean. Either way, you'll always have those memories. Remember that time in Tijuana? We thought they were hookers, but I don't remember paying.