What is everyone thinking about the swine flu in Mexico and US that WHO is worried could become a global pandemic? Current stats: Confirmed infected Mexico: Unknown US: 66 Canada: 13 Spain: 4 UK: 5 New Zealand: 3 Israel: 2 Costa Rica: 2 Austria: 1 Other possible infected Mexico: 2498 US: 213+ Canada: 22 New Zealand: 44 Colombia: 42 Spain: 59 UK: 40 Australia: 100+ Israel: 3 Switzerland: 21 Poland: 5 France: 20 Argentina: 12 Guatemala: 3 Chile: 13 Hong Kong: 2 South Korea: 1 Italy: 1 Iceland: 2 Brazil: 27 Honduras: 5 South Africa: 2 Dominican Rep: 1 Finland: 1 Panama: 1 Singapore: 13 Venezuela: 3 Slovakia: 2 Uruguay: 1 Dead 159 (Mexico) 1 (US) Before you worry, most other possible cases will most likely end up negative....
I remember going to Niagara Falls, and we couldn't visit Toronto at the time because of a SARS outbreak. Bird flu never mutated to pass between people, though. Right? I just recently read The Stand, so mysterious illnesses are making me paranoid.
A few years ago here in the UK, there appeared a flesh-eating disease that made the news nearly every day for two or three weeks. People were dying from it across the UK. Once it got hold of you, your organs would slowly turn to mush and you would die a slow, agonising death. But after three weeks or so, that news story slowly ran dry and nobody ever heard of it again. I predict the same will happen with this.
We would never ridicule you in such a way. nya nya nya nya nya nya Ye, that's a much better way to ridicule Don't worry, this is little more then the press looking for a story. Any one here remember "summer of the shark"? It's all just a big over reaction in an attempt to get higher ratings.
Given a chance, any germ will mutate if it's survival chances increase. All it needs is time. Some viruses and diseases, such as smallpox, were eradicated before they had a chance to evolve but others are more tenacious.
Personally, I was pretty scared when I heard about this. Disease is my #2 biggest fear (anybody seen the movie Outbreak?).
Eh. Diseases come and go. If this turns out to be the next Black Plague though, I'm ready for the collapse of civilization. Yep, even got my copy of "A Canticle for Leibowitz" ready
wash your hands lots. avoid crowds, and if you are sick stay home. I have only ever had the flu once. 36 years ago while pregnant and I have been sick ever since. in the 50's it was the asian flu which killed people all over the world. sars outbreak in Toronto in the 90's. I think the flu that got me in the 70's was called the hong kong flu but I could be wrong. was too sick to care about the name.
Well, I can tell you that in classic style, Latin America is all, "Oh, no! Poor Mexico!" in the news, but then the action is all, "Close the borders to anyone with a Mexican passport or passport stamped with a Mexican seal."
i have to admit, this swine flu is annoying (it's making me paranoid and i hate that....). plus it doesn't help that there is a confirmed infection less than an hour away from me in toledo *pulls out bottle of purell that is now carrying everywhere*
SARS was not nearly as bas in Toronto as everyone made it out to be. In a region with five million people, less than 500 people actually got sick, and most of the people who died were either very young, very old, or had some other health problems. The precautions they took were warranted because they wanted to keep the numbers small and didn't know how it spread. I don't doubt that this is probably more serious, but I'm still not afraid. Less than 100 dead so far? That means we've caught it before it can become as serious as the flu in the 1910's did. We have a better understanding of how viruses spread (I've seen videos of nurses from back then who didn't even cover their noses with their masks). We know how to prevent viruses from transmitted, so we can figure out how this one does and stop it.
Outbreak was a good movie. We watched it in bio when we were learning about diseases, haha. And, I suggest you don't read Hot Zone in that case. But anyway, I agree with Rei. We are extremely well equipped in dealing with diseases and it appears that we caught this one relatively early. That doesn't mean that it isn't a problem, but it does make me think that there is a chance this isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. That happens a lot with diseases. There is a news story or two... or ten... about it and people go into a panic. Which can, at times, exacerbate it. Like, washing your hands too much leaves you more vulnerable to bacteria, infections, and diseases because your body is being exposed to much fewer pathogens and is therefore producing antibodies for those fewer pathogens.
One confirmed case of swine flu in Mayaguez, PR. *leans back with bag of pop-corn as the panic commences*
You know, it's good and all that we know how to deal with this kind of stuff nowadays, but there's just one small problem... Anyone else know that we have no vaccine for this yet? And that we only have one for pigs? ^ {paranoid}
Lilix, from what I've heard, very few people look like they have any risk of actually dying from this unless they have other health problems. It's like being afraid of pnumonia. Most of the people who died from it had other, more serious, problems, or didn't take care of it when it first showed up. Do what you can to prevent infection, and see your doctor right away if you get flu symptoms that are worse than normal, and you have nothing to be afraid of.
Mutations occur whether or not they are beneficial. The rate of mutation depends on the rate of cell division, the frequency of generations, and the environment's tendency to introduce gene defects. Viruses reproduce rapidly, and therefore have a high mutation rate. The chemical environment in which tey exist can also favor mutation. Most mutations are fatal to te organism. The few that are not compete with unmutated viruses, and those that survive the best get to reproduce. Mutation does NOT occcur more rapidly because conditions may be favorable.
Why, yes I do, Matt. *pats the cushion next to me on the sofa, passes pop-corn to Mattie* Not to take the alarmist note, but this kind of panic mongering in the news has a side effect here where I live that truly gives me pause. It goes like this: I know that the next truly troublesome infectious disease is going to come from somewhere like Puerto Rico. My culture combines four elements which almost guarantee this to happen. 1) Self diagnosing: There is always someone in your family whom you trust way more than the doctors, so that's the person you go to for medical advice. In the best of circumstances, this person's medical training consists of religiously watching Grey's Anatomy (dubbed in Spanish on the local channel WAPA), and in the worst of scenarios, this person is a santero(a). Santeros practice Santeria which is just Puerto Rico's version of voodoo with a splash of Catholicism for flair. 2) Antibiotics without script: The only pharmacies which require a script for antibiotics are Walgreen's and Walmart in Puerto Rico. There are local, homegrown, pharmacies on every corner in Puerto Rico, because it is oh-so-popular to be ill with something. These pharmacies require no script for antibiotics. Just ask, and you shall receive. 3) Locals believe that antibiotics cure everything: From a hangover to a hangnail, from cancer to Cushing's Syndrome, the locals believe that antibiotics are the way to go. All of which obviously means that antibiotics get taken for maladies which have nothing to do with bacterial infections (eg. swine flu). 4) Will stop taking meds as soon as they feel better: Even though you got the antibiotics without the hassle of a doctor, they were still expensive. Why would you keep taking them once you feel on the mend?? (in case anyone missed it, that last bit was sarcasm) So, there you have it. The perfect cocktail for a catastrophic pandemic sometime in the future. Cheers!
