SwineFlu cases

[Sub_Umbra]

http://www.emergencyemail.org/newsem...asp?a=356&z=34

That's a really weird link. Weird statement. I searched for some context and couldn't find any. What are we to conclude from this cryptic statement -- is she saying that everything that the CDC has planned to do (and puiblished) for years about future flu pandemics won't work and has been thrown out? Or is it the end of the world? What in the hell is she trying to say?

It is frustrating when the CDC makes poorly thought out statements.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

On average over 90 people die everyday from the flu in the USA, about 36,000 per year. So why are we all scared of this Swine flu that only killed 81 people so far, in Mexico. Could have been elderly, immune compromised, etc, that died...What's the big fuss?

Emphasis mine.

According to an AP article:

"...Nearly all those who died in Mexico were between 20 and 40 years old..."

That's pretty much what the fuss is about. Viri that are virulent enough to cut a swath through young, healthy populations are what are feared most. That is the stuff pandemics are made of.

It would appear that the flu cases in the states are more run of the mill, affecting an age range of from 9 to 50 and lacking the lethality of the Mexican virus. One US official stated that if they hadn't been on alert because of the Mexican situation, they wouldn't have even noticed the US cases as they are so mild in comparison.

 

[nitesky]

Any flu death is tragic but it does not appear to be a scene out of The Stand. It does appear the US is acting out of an "abundance of caution." Perhaps as a test of their own capabilities?

Remembering the "white powder scares" after 9/11 I wonder if we won't see something similar as people take too much counsel from their fears.

Go to work, school, church, flashlight shopping, etc, until advised otherwise

 

[Sgt. LED]

We're all gonna DIE! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh...........

Just like in The Stand.

 

[ypsifly]

Just like in The Stand.

I thought I saw Randall Flagg walking down the street on my way to work yesterday.

WadeFhit on something I was thinking earlier today while reading articles about the flu. From what I recall, the folks who die from the flu in the US are usually the old, the weak, the very young, and the very poor. Seems like these epidemics start in places where people are impoverished and lack access to good health care and proper sanitation on some level. A bunch of people die in the immediate area, the disease is carried to a more affluent area and is eventually controlled.

SARS scared the crap out of a lot of people, killed a number of people in the places it was first found, but was controlled once it went global and eventually more or less stopped when resources were sent to the areas first hit.

The only american killed by SARS caught it in China and died in Viet Nam. It showed up in Toronto but was contained fairly quickly.

The Swine Flu seems to be following suit. Showed up in an area where people are without good health care, killed people, has crossed borders and for now seems treatable. I'm hoping we get on top of this and stop it in its tracks. I'm also hoping we learn from it and are more prepared for something on the level of Captain Trips and the Andromeda Strain.

Who knows what kind of bugs are gonna be waiting for us down the line.

 

[fieldops]

We're all gonna DIE! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh...........

Just like in The Stand.

Just beware of taking up with any psycho chick with white hair

 

[fieldops]

This all means that the threat of a breakdown of the social order will have much greater potential in these scenarios. It means that no matter how well stocked you are you may have to take early action to protect yourself from those outside your house. Now is the time to stock that big roll of six mil black plastic for blacking out windows.

In the aftermath of Katrina I couldn't wait for my neighbors to get out. Unprepared neighbors are a very real threat to preppers.

Unfortunately, this is true. People who are otherwise civil, can become animals when their bacon is on the line. Especially if they know that YOU have provisions.

 

[LuxLuthor]

This is not like routine flu, and should not be thought of in that manner. The rapid widespread incidence throughout the world, deaths of 20-45 year olds, combination of Avian, Swine, Human DNA components in the virus, possibility of more lethal mutation, and no available vaccine combine to make this quite unique.

I also agree it is being irrationally blown beyond what is sensible. None-the-less, get your Tamiflu or Relenza now...especially if you are not a paragon of good health, and have prescription insurance with a minor co-pay. Roche only has 3 million doses of Tamiflu which can also be taken prophylactically. You have been warned.

Also, check this stock jump for Biota who makes Relenza

 

[chmsam]

If you want to lessen your chances of getting it or spreading it, remember these things:

- Cover your sneezes and coughs. Use a facial tissue or your sleeve, and do NOT use your hands. Handkerchiefs might just let the germs be caught to be spread around later so they're not a first choice.
- Wearing a mask will not prevent you from getting it but if you have the flu, a mask can help keep it from spreading.
- Wash you hands often in hot, soapy water. Most people don't wash their hands anywhere near long enough -- take your time.
- Keep common surfaces clean and disinfected. Telephones, cell phones, doorknobs, keyboards, etc.
- If you get the flu, STAY HOME! If you don't want the flu, why do you think anyone else wants it? Staying home will lessen the chances it will spread.
- Do not touch your eyes or nose with your fingers or your hands.

Guess what? All of this is common sense stuff and things people should do all the time anyway.

The flu pandemic in the early 1900's was at a time when medical care was far less advanced, especially for home care. People did not properly treat it or really understand how it spreads.

There are no vaccines for the swine flu so the flu shot you got last fall won't work for this.

If you think you're coming down with it, see a doctor as soon as you can. Antiviral drugs work best if you get them within the first day or two of coming down with it. People are contagious for as long as they have symptoms and some (mostly children) for up to a week afterward. If your symptoms get worse, if you have trouble breathing, if you have chest or abdominal pain, if you get a high fever, if you have uncontrollable diarrhea or vomiting, or sever dehydration, get medical help immediately. That's just common sense stuff too.

Eating pork will not give you the swine flu.

The media and others are playing this up because if it is not treated properly people might die, but another reason a lot of people are worrying about it is the amount of lost work time it could cause. This is a nasty flu but not a cause for panic.

 

[LuxLuthor]

A layman's Q&A on why this episode is unique.

 

[chmsam]

A local radio show this morning had on a virologist (gee whiz, an actual expert, someone who wasn't just a "talking head," had an MD, and everything!). His comments were that this is not really anything new. Sure it is contagious but not ridiculously so and what he would call virulent (i.e.: it isn't killing a lot of people and it ain't like Ebola). He put it this way, there's a school in Queens with quite a few cases but there are not quite a few cases in Queens let alone in NYC. He also mentioned that no one lately has been accusing the media of understating a story.

He said what I posted above and that it was stuff we should do anyway even if it's only to keep from getting colds more frequently. Biggest thing he said was cover your coughs and sneezes, don't use the tissue again -- they're cheap so just throw them away, and that if you get sick, stay home. Basically he said don't be a dummy.

And I gotta ask a burning question. Why do women always keep used tissues? I've never seen one who would throw the things away. Yuck.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

...The flu pandemic in the early 1900's was at a time when medical care was far less advanced, especially for home care. People did not properly treat it or really understand how it spreads...

True, but IMO any advantages in healthcare have probably been completely negated by threats associated with mankind's advances in transportation since the early 1900s.

If you pick any major city in the Western World, for example, in any given day travellers will arrive from cities on every continent where they were mixing with the local populations less than 24 hours earlier.

IIRC the Spanish Flu (avian) of the early 20th century took roughly a full year to circle the globe and burn itself out. If they had had the transportation system that we have today it would have spread around the world in a matter of a few weeks, or even less, perhaps. Even with perfect governmental coordination on an international level, Earth's 'black market' would pose a huge problem to those who would try to contain it.

I agree that there is much hype about this in the news. We must not let the craziness of what is left of the press lull us into inaction. Preparing for a potential Swine Flu quarantine is not like throwing money down a rat hole. Those same preparations will give you countless options in the event of any of a thousand things that may strike our high tech society.

As an example, when I wrote in an earlier post that now is the time to buy that roll of 6 mil black opaque plastic I didn't mean that anyone should run out and get it just for the current Swine Flu scare. I meant that it is time to be prepared to take up the slack for the good of your family if any of the many complex services we take for granted in the 21st century fail. Personal note: I bought a big roll of black plastic ten years ago in the run-up to Y2K. It sat unused for five years until I broke it out for the exact same use I bought it for -- as Katrina approached.

 

[LuxLuthor]

As an example of what I said earlier, after picking up Tamiflu for two of us at local Stop & Shop CT pharmacy where there have not yet been any Flu cases, their one store has received 71 prescriptions just today, and already have been told that the available stock has been depleted today, including all of their stock distributors.

 

[chmsam]

I'll bet that there are a lot of areas that won't see a single case but will still blow out of the prescriptions. There are even more news reports tonight with doctors telling people to just calm down. Let's hope this is being as blown out of proportion as it sounds. Sounds like it.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I'll bet that there are a lot of areas that won't see a single case but will still blow out of the prescriptions...

Yeah. Every dose will be sold out everywhere. It would be interesting to know how many of those buying it up have two weeks worth of food at home...

 

[Empath]

I think the warnings against "the media", as the evil "sky is falling" promoters is the propoganda itself. The media reports on what the agencies report. The latest report from an agency, the World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert level to phase 4.

It's relayed, not by "the media", but by the agencies' information relay systems.

Trying to form such absurd political propaganda positions of "it's a media trick" is absolute foolishness; but unfortunately there are some that have been groomed into thinking and promoting that every fact must be transformed into political opinion.

 

[chmsam]

CDC- The Swine Flu and You.

CDC - Swine Flu Overview

I for one am not playing down the seriousness of this at all. Most of the reports I have heard today say that if you look at the number of cases, even considering fatalities, you can see that the odds are by far in everyone's favor as long as folks use common sense. The doctors I have heard today (from a wide variety of sources) still say that they certainly do not deny it is serious but put it along the lines of SARS and bird flu, both of which were/are serious but did not develop into full blown pandemics. And they said that even if it is widespread, they do not anticipate seeing it to anywhere near the severity or mortality that has been seen in the communities in Mexico.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

This afternoon, I tried to figure it out.
This evening in class, I tried to figure it out.
Tonight while coming downstairs to the computer, I tried to figure it out.

I give up.

What is the roll of black plastic for?

 

[chmsam]

To "shelter in place." At about half way down the page on this page from the ready.gov site you can see what they mean. Clean Air at Ready.Gov. Post-9/11, especially after a number of real and false anthrax incidents, there was a lot of information about stuff like this.

 

[Mike Painter]

That's pretty much what the fuss is about. Viri that are virulent enough to cut a swath through young, healthy populations are what are feared most. That is the stuff pandemics are made of.

True but realize that, like the Spanish Flu it is the immune system of those young and healthy that are causing the problems. The deaths came more from the system over reacting and not from the flu itself.
Proper medical care is much better at handling this type of problem then it was in 1917.

However, will all you young snd healthy people remember me when their family disposes of their flashlights.
I'm 68...