Swine Flu

Lol if you haven't noticed I'm updating the original post with new statistics found....

 

Rei, I know you said that it's likely nothing will happen, but you have to admit, for something that just kind of got out now, with the Mexican Government covering it up prior to this and all, we kind of are getting to something that might require a cure. Which we lack.

Plus, the only reason I'm more paranoid than usual is because three people in my family, my mother, father, and younger brother, have all been sick with viral bronchitis for the past month and just got started on the medication. Dad's fine, but mom and brother are still in terrible shape. I'm worried the most because my brother is easily susceptible to diseases (his immune system's always in the hole) so it'll only take a brush with the flu and he'll be down and out again. Same thing with mom. I'm not worried about myself getting sick, because I only get sick now and then with colds and stuff, but everyone else in my family doesn't do so good with this stuff.

 

Most people are recovering on their own without any special cure. In your case, you'd certainly need more medical help. Still, even if you have immune system problems, unless you are surrounded by it, why be afraid as long as you are taking normal precautions and have a doctor you can see right away?

 

They have two drugs that they say will treat it, but aren't using it unless the case warrents it. No one in the US has yet died from it, and last I heard they didn't know the specifics of the cases in Mexico that resulted in the deaths. But there could be more info now...

Just take care of yourself if you don't feel good. All the hyp is about how easily the disease is spread, no necessarily the severity of cases. Most people are recovering rather well.

 

2 people in UK now confirmed to have it, 7 people they have come in contact with are suffering mild symptoms of it...

however, they have all been quarantined...

 

Yep!

The pandemic that would 'kill the world'
We're apparently still here...the last major pandemic was the Spanish flu after WWII that killed more people than the war itself..up to 40 million.

I read that only a small % of people affected by Swine Flu actually die, and there is an effective antivirus.
Nothing like Ebola, now if that spread there wouldn't be a hope in hell. That's what you call nasty

 

I have just received three different e-mails from work with links to the CDC on the topic of swine flu (Influenza Porcina in Spanish) in order to ensure our vocabulary readiness for the expected calls. *le sigh*

 

There were 2 big outbreaks afterwards, one in 50s and one in the 60s though not on the same scale.....

See, SARS was dangerous but the government responded correctly and stopped it before it got big, that's probably what will occur here too

 

It would be, and I imagine it will be from the doctors for whom I translate. Sadly there is a cultural tendency to ignore information which does not conform to the preconceived notion in my culture. Hence the following dramatization:

Dr. ~ "You do not have swine flu."

Pacient ~ "But I have been hearing about swine flu! I must have it. Look, my hair is shorter than it was yesterday. Isn't that swine flu."

Dr. ~ "You do not have swine flu."

Pacient ~ "But it's going around. I have it, I am sure."

Dr. ~ "Interpreter? Are you relaying what I am saying to the patient?"

Me ~ "Yes, Dr. Word for word."

Dr ~ "Why is the pacient not understanding me?"

Me ~ *shrugs*

Pacient ~ "What are you guys saying? Are you talking about me? I'm dying, right? I'm dying of swine flu! I knew it!!"

 

swine is a mix between 3 diferent viruses or something, one of them is the common cold thats why its so contagous

 

Yeah.... viruses aren't cake mix. You can't just add a pinch of this and a pinch of that, mix well, bake.

 

I always knew you didn't mince words and Banzai, you don't dissapoint.

I think that this is just going to be one of those rush things where eventually it will all blow over. I know there have already been deaths, but I think that eventually this will just splutter to a halt.

Although, if this does become an epidemic, I will look pretty stupid.

 

Wreybies tell the first person that pulls that on you that he/she does have swine flu and will die in a matter of days. then when they start to freak out tell them: "psych".

if nothing else he won't pull that stuff again.

 

Yes, it is! I'll just have to put up with my translated words falling on deaf ears....:redface:

 

It's a long, long trek from the ears to the brain.

 

But brain to mouth, on the other hand...

 

The mouth often acts on its own. No cerebral intervention at all.

 

It sounds like the only people who end up dying from this are the ones who were already weekend from being half starved and malnourished before they were infected with the virus. Or possibly the very old and very young.

 

I live in Mexico, but thanks to God I lie in one of the north-western states, where the swine flu hasn't gotten to yet. Classes were suspended for a week, and well... As much as I'm enjoying it, I can't help but to think in the other states, especially the Capital (Mexico D.F.).

 

No offence, but right now I kind of want to punch Puerto Rican people in the face. That's some appallingly ignorant and dangerous behaviour you got going on*.

As to the "no big deal" crowd - I think it's always going to be no big deal, until it suddenly becomes a big deal, and then it's really going to be a big deal. The fact that we've gotten lucky with SARS et al doesn't mean the next one won't be massive. Airborne Marburg comes to mind, but flu can be plenty bad on its own, simply because it would infect so many people that the death counts would be staggering in the end (even if it has relatively low fatalities).

The effect on the econom can't be underestimated, either.

*Not that Puerto Rico is uniquely bad. We've got plenty of stupidity in Africa.

 

updated only minutes ago from msnbc: first cases confirmed in middle east, asia-pacific region. deaths in mexico surpass 150. u.s. cases double to 50 (one confirmed officially here in ohio). no one has died outside of mexico. WHO pandemic alert raised to level 4, risk of a deadly global outbreak, adept at spreading amongst humans.

phase 6 is a full-blown pandemic. *relaxes slightly* at least there's no deaths outside of mexico

 

updated from my local ohio newspaper: one confirmed case of swine flu in elyria (near cleveland). 9 year old boy that visited mexico. one case being investigated in wood county (hmm...the county right above me). local doctor expects it to spread more during the next few days, since viruses don't respect county lines.

i agree with the other local doctor. to paraphrase: it's not a pandemic because not a lot of people across the country are sick and dying. right now it's a nuisance.

 

Swine flu can be transmitted from person to person but then it is milder and treatable.. cases are worse when caused by human-pig contact. I doubt it will become a worldwide issue- careful measures have been taken in Mexico City such as everyone wearing masks, and pubs and nightclubs being shut down.
It will die down soon.

 

Sounds like it is all coming out of Mexico, so why don't they close down the boarders and contact anyone they KNOW was there recently. It's not like they don't know the names of people on flights in or out. But considering there are multiple govenments involved, they will prolly mess everything up.

What I don't understand is they have all this medicine ready for it, or at least that is working on it. (Unless they had it stored up incase bird flu hit us. That was H2N1, the swine flu is H1N1.) If we had so much stock piled, weren't we kind of expecting it? Why are we only hearing about it after it is killing people and spread across the globe?

 

By the time you can see it, it's too late to start sealing borders.

Think about this. With a top end credit card and a passport you can get between any two major cities on the planet in 24 hours*. London to Tokyo is something like 12 hours.

Multiply that by the enormous number of people flying every day, and containing this kind of thing becomes near impossible. By the time you even know anything's happened, the genie's out of the bottle.

Shutting down an entire country's commerce and travel is also outrageously expensive. We're talking literally billions and billions of dollars, every day. This is also people's jobs, which is particularly problematic during depression.

Finally: this is all even without the illegal movement across borders. I mean, the US-Mexico border is famously porous, and tons of drugs and people move across it every day. Stopping all the flights out of Mexico won't stop Americans from getting sick, so the next step is to seal off America, and maybe Mexico's southern neighbours, and....

*Tokyo to Cape Town is the longest one I can think of, offhand, and it would take slightly longer, but only because of the Johannesburg-Cape Town connection.