Swine Flu; Looks dangerous!

Started by stimulationii, April 27, 2009, 01:23:03 AM

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Oniya

The biggest difference seems to be that is it is more contagious.  Kipoc posted a link upthread about how the swine flu is hitting healthy, relatively young adults.  Even in Mexico, it hasn't killed any more people than regular flu did this year, and if you get proper treatment - just like with regular flu - you're probably in good shape.  (Go on and look up ordinary flu deaths, if you're curious.)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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Neroon

It's exactly as dangerous.  Influenza viruses spread easily and kill people every year.  With normal flu, there are a large number of people who are immune so there is no massive epidemic.  With this, most people will not have antibodies to both spikes (H1 and N1) and so the number of cases will be large.

Received wisdom about zoonoses (diseases caught from animals) is contradictory.  In some cases, they can be more virulent than the human form of the disease (flu viruses being a good example), in others they can be less (the process of attenuation being an example of this) and in others they can cause totally different symptoms (equine Herpes causes a disease similar to flu, for example).
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes

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Lingo

I live in New York, and many people have caught it here  :-\ Fortunately they seem to be taken care of, I actually have a neighbor down the block who has it, and I hope everyone will be alright  :-)

MercyfulFate

Swine Flu is less scary than the standard flu.

Caliban

Quote from: Heart It Races on April 28, 2009, 07:28:55 PM
Apparently no deaths have been recorded OUTSIDE of mexico.
I'm not American so I don't know what the medical standards of Mexico are, but if they are substandard, I wouldn't worry about it becoming lethal in other places.
I'm concerned about that because Mexico is notorious for breeding antibiotic-resistant strains of various diseases.

Meanwhile, he's a somewhat-dated but (to me, at least) still-fascinating article,  and now an update.

"All jocks think about is sports.  All nerds think about is sex." Somewhere at the edge of the bell curve is the girl for me.
"Take off your clothes.  And roll for initiative." I burn for you: I Cor. 7:9
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Do the rocks in my head fit the holes in yours? --> Oohs and Ahhs
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Oniya

The difference is that the flu (swine, avian or otherwise) is a virus, not a bacteria.  Antibiotics like the various -cillins and -mycins don't work on viruses to begin with.

Now, if they're distributing antibiotics willy-nilly during this outbreak, then the medical personnel are inviting trouble.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Valerian

NB: Val is very, very far from a medical expert.  I've just been rereading The Great Influenza, about the flu epidemic of 1918, so mainly I'm drawing from that.


This H1N1 influenza is technically the same strain from 1918.  BUT it is a much milder form of that virus.  It never went away after that terrible outbreak, just mutated so as to be less deadly.  Like the 1918 flu, though, when it kills, it most often kills otherwise healthy young adults, not the very young or very old as with most flu strains.

All influenza strains are endemic, meaning always present somewhere or other, even if only in birds or swine.  Flu can be transmitted from birds to humans only in extreme cases of severe overexposure (poultry workers, for instance, as happened in Hong Kong) and those humans cannot in turn infect other humans.  Domesticated pigs are sometimes the medium through which bird flus get into the human population, though: bird flus can infect pigs, and pigs can infect humans.

But yes, we have had in the past, and will have in the future, these waves of infection from influenza every so many years -- usually there's just enough time in between for people to forget how bad the previous one was, and make lots of people panic again, unfortunately.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Oniya

As further reassurance - part of what I do for work involves analyzing lab reports for disinfectants.  I can't say much more than that, but I can say that (H1N1) has been something that the companies want their products to work against for over seven years. (Estimating how long I've been doing these things.)  When SARS and the various cruise-ship diseases hit the news, I got tons of reports for people updating their labels, but (H1N1) is really an old standby, just like Salmonella and E. coli.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Caliban

"Do You Have Swine Flu?" at The Volokh Conspiracy.

Hat-tip to Eugene Volokh, who in turn tips his hat to his father.
"All jocks think about is sports.  All nerds think about is sex." Somewhere at the edge of the bell curve is the girl for me.
"Take off your clothes.  And roll for initiative." I burn for you: I Cor. 7:9
System RP: Shadows of Terramar (d20 fantasy) * Pulp Scripture (WoD contemporary supernatural) * Perfidious Albion (GURPS steampunk)
Do the rocks in my head fit the holes in yours? --> Oohs and Ahhs
Meae Culpae (A&A)

setojurai

So lets see... we have a new flu virus that:

1) Can jump host species
2) Is no more dangerous then other strains of Influenza that are contracted on a daily basis
3) Is seen in "otherwise" healthy (why does that sound suspicious) people in non first world nations.
4) Is easily treatable and survivable
5) Can cause a mass panic in the public if given the right "story" in the Media
6) Can make politicians look good for "stopping" a "great threat" to our national health

What does the world media want us to do?
PANIC

What should we do?
DON'T PANIC

Follow the advice of the Hitchhikers Guide, and don't forget your towel.


strudel

Haha I completely agree with setojurai.

It's been overdone in the media and thus the majority of the general population blew it way out of proportion.

setojurai

The fact of the matter is, that unless we as the masses panic, then the Mass Media has nothing to write a story about.  If there aren't riots in the streets, looting and murdering going on because of Swine Flu, then how are they going to admonish us for being such animals and reverting to our base instincts?

Why would they do this?  Because they told us to become animals so they'd have a way to shame us so that they could have a "human issue" story that has enough blood and guts to sell.  The news doesn't report the news anymore, they create it.  Local news media is guilty of it, and national news media is even more guilty of it.  Their hands are stained crimson with their own prideful greedy crimes.  Swine Flu is nothing different.  They'd take a kitty stuck in a tree and turn it into a national pandemic if they could, just to get fellow to turn against fellow and shed blood for their "story".

Politicians are just as bad.  They'll take any News Media story and the easier it actually is to resolve, the more they'll be behind it to appear to be the Great Hero's the world needs.  Taking attention away from our actual everyday Heros.  This is part of why that the word Hero in the military has become a derogatory term.  It doesn't mean "Whomsoever does Great Things For the Greater Good", now it means "Glory Hog That Will Get You Killed For Their Gain."  Which fits the modern description of a politician perfectly.  Do they care how many soldiers and innocent civilians they slaughter if it makes them look good when they "pull us out of an un-winnable situation"?  No.  Do they care that this supposedly un-winnable situation could actually be WON by our military if ONLY they where left alone to do their job?  Not on your life.  Do they care how much the Media makes them look good?  Oh yes.

Do we have to put up with this?  Nope.  Do we have to put up with politicians stoking the fire of the Media and using their gory, bloodsoaked pages for their own political agendas?  No.  Do we have to put up with Media's constant tricks on us?  No.  We can do our own independent research.  We can think for ourselves.  We can inform others of the truths and our opinions on same.  In short, we can revert the news to what it used to be.  A word of mouth system of information that delivers TRUTH, not story to everyone that will listen.

Valerian

Quote from: setojurai on May 10, 2009, 11:27:17 AM
So lets see... we have a new flu virus that...

3) Is seen in "otherwise" healthy (why does that sound suspicious) people in non first world nations.
The H1N1 virus does kill more otherwise healthy people than most flu strains.  No quotation marks necessary.  One reason why the 1918 epidemic of this virus was so terrible and dramatic was because its victims were almost exclusively young adults, those who are normally least likely to die from influenza.

I found a table from the CDC here, listing the age range for the 24 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Mexico in April.  Of the seven deaths reported, ALL were of patients between 5 and 59 years of age.  ZERO were patients less than five years or 60 or over.  In other words, the exact opposite of the usual pattern of deaths, and this is very typical of this particular strain.  This is also part of the reason why this is a "good story", because it's unexpected.  I won't comment on the integrity (or lack thereof) in the media on this issue, since that's for another thread.

The H1N1 virus literally turns the immune system against itself.  If you're normally healthy, with a strong immune system, you're part of the group most likely to suffer the most from this particular flu.

NOTE: I am not advocating panic!  It's just something that it's good to be aware of, at any time, not just when an epidemic threatens.  Influenza/pneumonia (they're counted together because so often the former leads to the latter) is still the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

setojurai

Have you heard of the dangers of this chemical out there called Di-hydrogen Monoxide?  It's a serious health concern!  Here's the leading facts on the dangers of Di-Hydrogen Monoxide:

1) It's a common chemical found throughout the world.  Terrorists and extremists have easy access to it.
2) It's highly addictive.  Some people claim to be unable to live without their daily dosage of Di-Hydrogen Monoxide.
3) Studies have shown that those who become addicted to Di-Hydrogen Monoxide are 100% likely to die when deprived of the chemical compound within a month.  Not only is Di-Hydrogen Monoxide extremely addictive, but the withdrawal symptoms can be deadly.
4) Further studies have shown that every single Di-Hydrogen Monoxide user born prior to 1900 is DEAD!
5) Di-Hydrogen Monoxide is a product used in all major nuclear power plants to help produce electricity.
6) Large quantities of Di-Hydrogen Monoxide have been seen in most major disasters in the world.
7) There is a strong record that a Di-Hydrogen Monoxide related disaster once wiped out 99% of life on Earth.
8) Di-Hydrogen Monoxide chemical pools can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and viruses.
9) Di-Hydrogen Monoxide is a chemical used in most heavy industry, often used for waste disposal, especially in waste treatment plants, where it is used in conjunction with even WORSE chemical compounds.
10) Di-Hydrogen Monoxide addicts often complain of thirst and parched throats when deprived of this highly addictive chemical compound.
11) Although at Ph7, it isn't the strongest acid in the world, Di-Hydrogen Monoxide is still known to be more than capable of destroying even steel with ease, causing the surface to corrode and flake away.

Be aware of the dangers of Di-Hydrogen Monoxide!  Tell your friends to stay away from this dangerous chemical compound today!  Support the Anti Di-Hydrogen Monoxide Movement in your local neighborhood!

Zakharra


Valerian

Yes, a very old joke, and very off-topic.  :P  *nudges back on track*
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

setojurai

Actually I was using that as a concrete example of how the media blows things out of proportion quite intentionally.  Yes, you can try to make something sound incredibly dangerous and be talking about a completely innocuous substance.  While the joke is old, it's still topical and still a very good way to show just what these yahoo's are doing to us on a daily basis.

Caliban

If you're interested in tracking swine 'flu cases, you might find this link useful.
"All jocks think about is sports.  All nerds think about is sex." Somewhere at the edge of the bell curve is the girl for me.
"Take off your clothes.  And roll for initiative." I burn for you: I Cor. 7:9
System RP: Shadows of Terramar (d20 fantasy) * Pulp Scripture (WoD contemporary supernatural) * Perfidious Albion (GURPS steampunk)
Do the rocks in my head fit the holes in yours? --> Oohs and Ahhs
Meae Culpae (A&A)

OneOfAKiind

http://underquarantine.tumblr.com/

I don't think anyone has looked at this website, I just found it today and thought it was interesting because I hadn't heard anything on the news about it. My friend said that there are about 50 (I think) new teachers that are currently under quarantine. He also said that an order was handed down from HQ at his workplace to "avoid foreigners". Others have been told to avoid new foreigners whilst still yet others have been told they might be fired if they visit Canada for a family affair.

Wow.
and when you think of me years down the line, I hope you can't find one good thing to say

Nikkia

Look at the bright side; I bought 3lbs of bacon for under $10.

OneOfAKiind

and when you think of me years down the line, I hope you can't find one good thing to say

rafufu

Hahaha, brilliant picture

On the subject of swine flu, a couple of schools here in England have closed due to pupils with confirmed cases. Unfortunately, my school was not one of them.