Influenza outbreak in North America

[jackrock]

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/24/health-flu-mexico090424.html:
World health agency schedules emergency meeting after 20 deaths



Dozens of suspected swine flu deaths in Mexico raise fears of global epidemic (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MED_SWINE_FLU?SITE=WSAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)


Emergency and Disaster Information Service (http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/?area=usa&lang=eng)


Deadly new flu strain erupts in Mexico, U.S. (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE53N22820090424)



Mexico bid to contain deadly flu
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8017871.stm)


WHO (http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_04_24/en/index.html)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu


So it's basically a concoction of the Eurasian Swine, NA Swine, Avain flu and human flu.

[Echewta]

You live your life like a canary in a coal mine.

[jackrock]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

Wash your hands. (http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2446309020090425)

Timeline of Events (http://biosurveillance.typepad.com/biosurveillance/2009/04/swine-flu-in-mexico-timeline-of-events.html)

Twitter... good for something? (http://twitter.com/veratect)

Pandemic Flu / Swine Flu Orientation and Action Guide (http://www.globalswadeshi.net/forum/topics/pandemic-flu-swine-flu)

[funk63]

I say bring it on!

[Freebasser]

3 words.

Zombie. Outbreak. Cover-up.

[jackrock]

2 cases confirmed in Kansas (http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2547703020090425)

What You Should Know about Using Facemasks and Respirators during a Flu Pandemic (http://www.cdc.gov/features/masksrespirators/)

San Antonio, TX school closed amid swine flu outbreak (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6391960.html)

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/swine_flu/

California confirms seventh case of swine flu (http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2546290520090426)

Watch it happen on Google maps! (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109496610648025582911.0004686892fbefe515012&z=3)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak)

Pandemic 2 (http://www.addictinggames.com/pandemic2.html)

Why the young and healthy are most vulnerable (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm)

[Adam]

So we are all gonna die before 2012? The time travellers lied damnit! :mad:

[jackrock]

CDC FAQ (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm)

Six confirmed cases of swine flu in Canada (http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/04/26/mexico-swine-flu.html)

And to reiterate (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109496610648025582911.0004686892fbefe515012&z=3)

[Adam]

I think the only safe thing to do is if you see some1 sneeze or cough is to bash their face in with a brick until they stop breathing those infected germs.

[kaiser soze]

Here's a Google swine flu map - not sure how accurate it is - a couple suspected cases in Montreal which means possibilities of it coming to where I'm at (1 hour away)

Canadians swarm my area for shopping, here's hoping it isn't spread through Walmart...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=36.315125,-45&spn=92.320899,188.085938&z=2&source=embed

[jackrock]

Kaiser: Montreal swine flu fears unfounded: report (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Montreal+swine+fears+unfounded+report/1534686/story.html)
I'll be watching that area closely as well, I've got family but 90 minutes away.


Some basic things you can do: Buy N95 respirator masks and/or surgical masks (preferably both for supply sake). They likely aren't necessary now for most of us, but if you live in an area with confirmed cases (NY, Southern US, NS, BC, NZ, etc) I personally wouldn't take any chances and wear it when you are in public, avoid public places when you can (stay in for lunch, carpool instead of public trans, etc.) And we should all be washing our hands religiously, hand washing is more important than masks. Cough, sneeze into your elbow. Keep your ears open to the news especially in the next few days. And certainly not least, stay calm, reread this paragraph and see how simple these precautions are. Only time will tell if you need to do more, could be tomorrow, could be weeks, could be never.

I'm sure many of you are dismissing all this. SARS was going to kill as all, West Nile, Avian Flu, etc. I'm hopefully this falls into the same category, but sooner or later the big one will come. It won't kill you to take precautions.

Relax. The cases outside of Mexico are relatively mild. Only one in the US has been hospitalized, but it's spreading fast.

[The Notorious LOL]

assuming there actually is some massive flu pandemic that wipes out a gigantic portion of the worlds population....why would I want to be alive in some post apocalyptic shithole with a bunch of dead friends and family?


They'll soon realize that a lot more people are infected than originally thought...and look at that its not nearly as deadly as was initially assumed.

[Adam]

so you know - drugs are responding to the current virus. People are only pissing themselves if it mutates again or where healthcare is not easily available.

Something I thought about the other day. I bought worldwide travel insurance after shopping around found the perfect one for £40 (about $65USD) which lasts me a year. I am covered up to £5m of healthcare benefit. How much does health insurance cost you guys in the US? I'm sure it'd be more than that. I mean I'm not sure how it works and I'm guessing if I became ill but well enough to fly then'd kick me back over here for state healthcare...

[jackrock]

drugs are responding to the current virus. People are only pissing themselves if it mutates again or where healthcare is not easily available.
Or if there is not a large enough stockpile to last before a vaccine is available.

I think one problem with Tamiflu is that the dosing has to continue in order for it to remain effective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak#Prevention_and_treatment

US and Can stockpile info (http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/20/flu-pandemic-stockpile.html)

Vaccine may take 5-6 months to develop (http://www.torontosun.com/news/2009/04/26/9248411-sun.html)

[Adam]

Yeah, stockpile also. I forgot what I read UK had stockpiled.

A vaccine is different to treatment to. Although I think you should a little concerned, I think its already been blown out of all proportion in the media. Each day, worldwide there is a one in 257,000 that you'll die anyway. I don't know the stats about this flu but the confirmed cases seem still below those odds. I'm taking my chances*

*last words

[jackrock]

Maybe. Some Mexican medical professionals are saying the death tole is being under-reported* by as much as half. Not to mention the possible amount of unofficial cases in Mexico. Hopefully things will clear up, and your trip won't be affected. Luckily you don't leave tomorrow and there's plenty of time to see how big an issue this will be, instead of being up in the air (lol) like it is right now.

You can see stats here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak) to the right.

* Will find source later

[Adam]

Not worried about my trip at all. With how much I've had to deal with death these last 3 years (2 uncles, 2 parents) I've little fear left of these scares. Kinda sad I know but its also focussed my life a lot more...

I will be scared when the Killer Bees start carrying the virus on deadly strains of GM Crops pollen so the whole food supply gets infected :eek:

[monkey]

at the atm yesterday, someone left a napkin with the words "pig flu" on it. twas hilarious.

i think people are blowing this shit WAY out of proportion, particularly here in ny. it's the flu. if you dont take care of the flu, yea, you could die. dont be stupid, if you have the flu, try to get yourself some medical treatment. but jeez, unless you have a compromised immune system already, you should not worry about dying from a flu. the worse case scenario is you'll be very sick for 4 days. get over it.

[Freebasser]

2 confirmed cases in Scotland.

The end is nigh! (y)

[jackrock]

but jeez, unless you have a compromised immune system already, you should not worry about dying from a flu.

Did you miss the part where the young and healthy are most vulnerable to this particular strain? That's the most troubling part about this. The death rate is 7%, the normal flu death rate is 0.5%. But yeah, cases outside of Mexico are mild, then again the infected outside Mexico is much fewer. Health care for it is easy to get to, but what happens if the hospitals get clogged? Right now that's a big IF, let's hope it stays that way.

WHO raises pandemic flu alert level to phase 4 (http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_un_who_swine_flu.html)

Infection Monitoring System (http://www.idemc.org/)

The end is extremely fucking nigh. (y)

[Bob]

Did you miss the part where the young and healthy are most vulnerable to this particular strain? That's the most troubling part about this.

vulnerable to dying, or vulnerable to infection? has anyone in the developed world* actually died of this yet, or is it just happening to mexico?

*sorry mexico, i tried to think of a better word, i really did, but it just wasn't coming

[jackrock]

No one outside of Mexico has died.

vulnerable to dying, or vulnerable to infection?
The Mexican fatalities are mainly young adults of 25 to 45, a hallmark of pandemic flu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak#Initial_outbreak).

[...]the illness has primarily struck young, healthy adults, much like the deadly Spanish Flu of 1918, possibly because of the phenomenon known as cytokine storm. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak#Pandemic_concern)

It's the same type (H1N1) as the Spanish Flu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu)

Don't worry, Mexico has bigger burns to heal... Israeli official: Swine flu name offensive (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieHZRubAS3lyjn2GBiCPkXkHrXwwD97QROAG0)

[monkey]

spanish flu, mexican swine flu, why is the flu so fuckin racist?


the kids that got infected in the qns high school are all ok now for the most part. they got their antivirals and now are doing tv interviews. IN THE GRIP OF DEATH.


i just think these things happen, especially when we overpopulate the earth.

[Planetary]

stop being such a little butt munch about it with your gay little maps and billions of links.

[Kid Presentable]

*bacon*

[mikizee]

Flu shlu.

Fuckin media hype.

Who cares.

And if it DOES happen to knock off a portion of the worlds population, would that be such a bad thing?

[Bob]

Flu shlu.

Fuckin media hype.

Who cares.

And if it DOES happen to knock off a portion of the worlds population, would that be such a bad thing?

only if you like the people in it, man

[YoungRemy]

tamiflu

/thread

[kaiser soze]

Rumsfeld loves the sound of that!

From 4 years ago

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/

Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.

[jackrock]

Son of a bitch. (http://imgur.com/27K39.jpg)

[Adam]

I bet the next thing to come out of this is to panic buy oil to push up the price to help the stock exchange get going again.

I'm already bored of this story. Proper overkill on something that you are less likely to catch than you are to be murdered by your best friend tomorrow.

Obviously it doesn't stop me bumping the thread to keep it in the loop, but that is the cynical poster for ya ;)

[YoungRemy]

Five Ways the Swine Flu Story is Dumb (http://gawker.com/5230963/five-ways-the-swine-flu-story-is-dumb?skyline=true&s=i)

Here we are two days into the Swine Flu Panic of '09, and dead bodies have yet to be stacked up like cordwood on the streets of American cities. Face it: this story is dumb.

1. The actual "news" part of it is boring: A new case of swine flu in New Zealand. A new case in Queens. On and on ad infinitum. Do you know what immediate worldwide reporting of single flu cases does not add up to? An interesting and newsworthy story. It adds up to scaremongering! Reporting every single new case of anything will make it appear to be a grave threat. See: Crime reporting on local news networks.
And try this test: Are new cases of deadly disease X emerging at a slow enough rate that they can each be reported in individual news stories? Then it's not much of a pandemic! When might it actually become a pandemic that sweeps the globe? Maybe next week, maybe never! Stay tuned for by-the-minute updates, until you starve to death.

2. Tedious images: Pictures of people wearing masks. It's only funny for one day. It would be more interesting if someone explained how these magical flimsy paper masks kept humans safe from germs. What's their secret???

3. Scare tactic overload: Because there's little actual news going on here, every TV news anchor is forced to use the "scare voice" to make this story seem important enough to justify the hours it's filling. The "scare voice" applied to less-than-apocalyptic stories is the prime reason people think cable news is full of shit, generally.
Maybe the print media is better? A little. But not completely. Hey, check out this CNN story on "what the world might see if there is another pandemic":

World health Organization officials believe as many as 1.5 billion people around the globe would seek medical care and nearly 30 million would seek hospitalization. Based on the last pandemic and current world population, as many as 7 million people could die, epidemiologists said.

"Hospitals will become overcrowded, schools will close, businesses will close, airports will be empty," Dr. Lo said.

Will there be an accompanying zombie war? Wait another day or two and CNN will tell us!

4. No good heroes or villains: Faceless low-level health workers versus a microscopic virus? It's a failure of drama. If Bin Laden and Jack Bauer are found to be involved though, watch out!

5. No incentive for news outlets to cut down on the bullshit: Panic is great for the media. Ideally for media outlets, the population would be in a state of low-level panic at all times, punctuated only by frequent crises that boost us into a higher level of panic. Even news people who realize something is bullshit also know that Panic=Attention to News People. For example: Media antihero Michael Wolff is writing columns about what a bullshit story this is. His columns appear on Newser right next to HUGE LEAD STORIES about the Deadly Swine Flu Epidemic.
Wake us up when we're all dead.

[jackrock]

If you have zombie preparations and you don't need them, you are fine.
If you don't have them and you need them, you're Fucked with a capital F.


I find this stuff interesting. The way it works in our bodies, watching it gradually spread, picking up some history. I guess I was wrong in thinking others here would as well. And since no one here gives two shits, I digress.

[Dorothy Wood]

oh yeah, it's just the flu, who cares about the mexican economy or people anyway? (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hc2zgpovq-efflI8FUbN0xQzGY8wD97RN1P81)

it's not like if the mexican economy gets ruined, it'll affect us or anything.


oh wait, it totally fucking will.


I'd say this thing is pretty interesting and I'm glad actually that people are thinking and talking about it so that nobody gets caught off guard. I think that the media is definitely blowing things out of proportion, but it's pretty worrisome when a virus mutates in a new way that affects the population so quickly. it's newsworthy for sure.

I'm really not in the mood to get swine flu though, I hope it's contained soon.

[b i o n i c]

everyone should have a doctor

[HEIRESS]

I have 2 fly in two days.

I kinda wish I didn't have to, but I need to get home. I seem to get sick every goddamn time I fly so just my luck Imma catch this or some other fucked up virus.

goddammit. :mad:

[Dorothy Wood]

ever since I started taking vitamin B complex with vitamin C a year ago, I've hardly been sick at all. only twice really. and I used to get sick like 6 times a year.

*knocks on wood*

[Adam]

I might start taking a big fat placebo to

This news literally has me in stitches, I can't help but laugh. I'm not saying I don't feel bad for people ho have died, but 150 dead in a city with 20 million while every1 else who catches it is recovering fine? Meh, I'll take my chances.

The problem is, the media use the words 'could, might, may' kill one in four of us. I might try and kill 20 million people, but I doubt I will. I can't help being cynical when the people who are scaremongering have shares in the drug companies.

[AceFace]

You live your life like a canary in a coal mine.
MOTHER FUCKER I LOVE YOU!

favoritest song in the WORLD!

[taquitos]

i can say it to my husband and family, but friends... i dunno why it's so hard..

[AceFace]

I have 2 fly in two days.

I kinda wish I didn't have to, but I need to get home. I seem to get sick every goddamn time I fly so just my luck Imma catch this or some other fucked up virus.

goddammit. :mad:
my husband flys on Friday. i'm begging him to drive home and he just laughs at me. this is nothing to take lightly. people are slobs and don't care if they pass thier germs around.

i just yelled at a guy today at work for not covering his face when he sneezed.

[AceFace]

haha. you totally got me!
CHEWY ALWAYS COUNTS! :p

[AceFace]

WHO says estimated deaths have been over stated.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/only-7-swine-flu-deaths-not-152-says-who-20090429-aml1.html

[NoFenders]

Northside school closed today.

Looks like it's here in Chicago now.
:mad:

[paul jones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1y9BIjTSVk

[Adam]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1y9BIjTSVk
(y)

[Freebasser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDS_Td0KIg

[paul jones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDS_Td0KIg

(y)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gLN3QoN-q8

[The Notorious LOL]

lol deliverance. What a bundle of good times that film is.

[paul jones]

lol deliverance. What a bundle of good times that film is.

fun for all the family(y)

[Adam]

I've been learning 'Dueling Banjos' for my trip to america in case I find myself stuck in the middle somewhere and need a way to communicate. Such an excellent film!