Swine flu hitting everywhere

[Morm]

Firstly,

Of the three genera of human flu, two are endemic also in swine: Influenzavirus A is common and Influenzavirus C is rare.[2] Influenzavirus B has not been reported in swine. Within Influenzavirus A and Influenzavirus C, the strains endemic to swine and humans are largely distinct

Source: wikipedia

Influenza B is swine flu, Influenza A is bird flu. They are considered different enough to be two different "genera". It should now be abundantly clear to people that swine flu won't be mutating into bird flu, so stop making wild hand waving declarations of it mutating in such a way everyone.

Chris, are you honestly reading what you are writing down?

What about antivirals?

Okay, acute viral infections don't respond well to generic antivirals. That's exactly why innoculation is a far better option.

Proactiveness is also the only way to combat car accidents; we should close the roads when it is raining.

Okay, that's a pretty ignorant comparison to make and here's why:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

I honestly don't think driver negligence and stupidity in poor weather should be compared in such a cavalier way with a group of viruses that really does have a history of killing en mass in a short period of time.

That's roughly as fast as the normal flu spreads, which kills 36,000 people a year

yes, but in one week it's already killed 150 people and the 'maximum virulence' isn't yet known. I'm an advocate of non panic as I'm sure you are, but I'm also a fan of actually knowing what is going on. Those 36 000 people that die from the flu every year are also those that don't/can't innoculate as a general rule, so if something is hypervirulent, you can imagine it being alot more hideous if there is no innoculation available.

I don't understand why people are such a ridiculous amount more cautious than they are during flu season

Because there is no 'cure', there are no preventative measures right now and this thing can kill in a real hurry. Educate yourself a little more about pandemics and how they work and you'll understand why some people are concerned (though alot of people are flipping out too early!)

If you don't feel the symptoms that early, you don't have a bad enough case of swine flu that it matters.

And you base this on an extensive knowledge of this brand new strain of influenza?

Antivirals don't just shorten the length, they significantly reduce the symptoms. Swine flu is the variant of flu most susceptible to antivirals, and we have plenty to go around.

Source please. I dislike how you're just waving the term antivirals around like some miracle cure without some kind of reference.

 

[Coram_Boy]

Erm... the NHS (British National Health Service) website? That's just off the top of my head - in the government leaflet, downloadable there, perhaps.Antivirals aren't a miracle cure in any way, and he never said that they were. They do certainly reduce symptoms - believe the NHS, it's a very good source for medical information. Also, you were right about your second last point - the inoculation period has no effect on the severity of the flu. However, it is definitely more dangerous to others if it takes longer to be noticed - that way, you can pass checks in airports etc. and spread the virus faster.

 

[Cosmic Jeff]

There have not been any alleged cases of Swine Flu in my neighborhood yet, but that did not stop the school a couple blocks away from my apartment from closing until Monday. It seems pretty irrational to me. If there are any students that could potentially have Swine Flu, then they are wandering around the mall today.

 

[turtwigpal]

It seems that WHO has decided to not call it the Swine Flu anymore, due to the mass murdering of pigs in Egypt and other places. They're calling it by its scientific name, H1N1 influenza A.

On another note, a possible case is happening about 30 miles away from my city, and the person is supposed to get test results back from the CDC today. :\

 

[Tarquin]

Lol, the first people in the UK to get it were from a small scottish town just down the road. Scotland normally avoids this stuff due to the small population, and now we get it first >_>. Still, I am feeling okay about the situation. My biggest concern is that they'll cancel the exams and We'll have to rely on preliminary results, in which I did mediocre.

 

[umbreonleader]

I'm in upstate New York and no cases in my county yet. But i'm currently into my third and probably final week of the symptoms of the pneumonia that i somehow got. So my immune system will be shot for another month, as well as me still being tired as hell. So if I get this soon I'm dead. Pretty sweet, eh?

 

[cookie]

Yesterday a case was confirmed in London. I don't see why I should panic unless it's going to make contracting the disease any more likely. Even if it does become a full-blown pandemic staying calm is the only reasonable thing to do. Are you going to lock yourself up indoors until it blows over? Come on.

 

[cim]

Most of my information is straight from my physician, by the way. So do I need a new doctor? Yes it's worse than the normal flu and people will die and stuff but it's not going to be that bad for 90% of the infected people at least.

 

[E.A.]

One of my teachers brought up a good point earlier today about the "pandemic." More than 15,000 people are injured in car accidents every day (not sure of the exact number, but it's at least 10,000 a day.) And yet, the swine flu has infected far less than that in a month (two and a half thousand in Mexico and ~1000 cases outside of Mexico). The point being you're more likely to get into a serious car accident than you are to get the swine flu. I'm not saying that this is something to totally ignore, but the media really does like to blow stuff out of proportion, and we need to be aware of this.

EDIT: What the hell is this edit button doing in my post?

 

[sbc]

Yesterday a case was confirmed in London. I don't see why I should panic unless it's going to make contracting the disease any more likely. Even if it does become a full-blown pandemic staying calm is the only reasonable thing to do. Are you going to lock yourself up indoors until it blows over? Come on.

I think there are three now, one of which in North London. I was on an exam board website a few moments ago and they were talking about postponing exams and whatnot, I mean come the fuck on, it hasn't even killed anyone that isn't Mexican, I'm not going to take it seriously unless there are fatalities in western countries.

I'm pretty sorted though in the short run as there is a shitload of drinks and food in my house. It's overflowing quite literally.

 

[motobrokane]

you folks need to watch more zombie movies. this is ALWAYS how it starts. unfortunatly, they are handling this all wrong. mexico should be on LOCKDOWN. and the US government should be quarantining EVERYONE who is infected, and those they are in close contact with, while medicating them at the same time.

isolation, destruction, extinction. thats how you deal with a virus. like we did with polio.

as far as i know, the only cure for swine flu is a bullet in the head, or being burned alive.

 

[Tangerine]

You know, the saddest part about all of this is that I can't even laugh at the people who are like "why are people freaking out it's only a flu" people in this thread if the swine flu does become some sort of a widespread pandemic.

I don't see why we shouldn't be cautious against this - it's better to approach this conservatively rather than just assume "oh it's nothing special" and do nothing about it. I think it's a good thing we're proactive about it.

And of course, after we're proactive about all of this, people will be like "so what happened to swine flu? I guess it was another case of Media outlets going crazy over nothing again"

Proactiveness is also the only way to combat car accidents; we should close the roads when it is raining.

Glad to see you're as pedantic as usual.

1) So you're saying you aren't proactive while you're driving in rain? You're not going to be aware that there is less friction, and you need to be more cautious, and be more attentive?
2) This is exactly what we're doing right now. It *is* raining. We are being more attentive, and hoping that we don't run into a 10 car car-wreck.
3) Yeah we're not closing roads. But the chances are we will be going on lockdown if the situation gets serious enough.

But sadly, you can close all the roads in the world to prevent traffic accidents, you're not going to stop a virus even with a proper lock down.

If you're going to make a sarcastic comment attempting to ridicule another's point then do it correctly. Then again, this would require... thinking about the analogy you're making :(

 

[Wrecky]

I'm getting worried, I'm feeling very tired, I'm getting bad aches in my head and neck, and my throat is starting to feel sore. Should I go to the doctor?

 

[Tarquin]

you may as well, but just wait a day or two to make sure it's not just a small cold

 

[Equinox]

I live in LA and the count of swine flu victims has been rising. I think its more serious than some people think. If it can go from swine's to people because the disease seems to be "evolving", it could be possible that diseases from other animals could do the same. Seems scary to me, especially being so close to mexico

 

[Wrecky]

you may as well, but just wait a day or two to make sure it's not just a small cold

Ok...just wondering, because on the news more and more they're saying if people go to the doctor for just a cold or have flu-like symptoms, the doctor tells them immediately to go to the hospital.

I don't want to die.

 

[cim]

Glad to see you're as pedantic as usual.

1) So you're saying you aren't proactive while you're driving in rain? You're not going to be aware that there is less friction, and you need to be more cautious, and be more attentive?

You're twisting my argument. The comparison I was making wasn't to being proactive when driving, it was to closing the roads when it's raining. Obviously when it's raining I try to suck less as a driver. How could you get that from my post?

2) This is exactly what we're doing right now. It *is* raining. We are being more attentive, and hoping that we don't run into a 10 car car-wreck.

I agree with that, but closing whole schools because someone 100 miles away has it is ridiculous. There's different degrees of proactiveness, and I was adressing the most extreme.

3) Yeah we're not closing roads. But the chances are we will be going on lockdown if the situation gets serious enough.

lol

If you're going to make a sarcastic comment attempting to ridicule another's point then do it correctly.

 

[squirtleboy12]

just in the antivirals have severe side effects specially for young children! This includes compulsions and serious psychiatric behavior problems. Or at least that's what the news said, also this must be drank in a period of 48 hours as soon as you get the virus or it has no effect. confirmed cases in 14 countries(Mexico:94,US:109,Canada:34,Spain:13,united Kingdom:8,new Zealand and Germany:3,Israel and Costa Rica:2,Switzerland;Austria;Ireland;Peru and Netherlands:1
and at least 3964 possible Cases 2498 being in Mexico and at least 594 in the US

just trowing in the latest facts...

 

[Morm]

okay, for the record chris is me WAS coming off in a way that seemed he was simply saying "Yeah just throw some antivirals at it and we'll be fine".

Most of my information is straight from my physician, by the way.

Not only are they not infallible, but I'd bet many dollars that your physician doesn't specialize in this. Not to mention it's awesome that you'd use that as a reference- it has the benefit of being untestable, unrefutable and unconfirmable. Way to go, thats the EXACT same arguementative basis that religious folk us on the regular.

So do I need a new doctor?

I am starting to dislike you

Yes it's worse than the normal flu and people will die and stuff but it's not going to be that bad for 90% of the infected people at least

I'd give it a bit of time before rattling off such definitive statements like the bolded. Maybe we should wait and see what the survival rate pans out to be once more time passes? I'd consider that the reasonable thing, since you'll feel awefully silly if the death rate ends up being 75% or something.

 

[cim]

I'd give it a bit of time before rattling off such definitive statements like the bolded. Maybe we should wait and see what the survival rate pans out to be once more time passes? I'd consider that the reasonable thing, since you'll feel awefully silly if the death rate ends up being 75% or something.

My logic is that if the death rate's that high we've got more problems on our hands than "chrisisme looks bad on a forum" (what else is new).

I'll get my doctor's references.

 

[Hipmonlee]

I've played enough pokemon to know not to trust 90%.

Have a nice day.

 

[Tarquin]

Ok...just wondering, because on the news more and more they're saying if people go to the doctor for just a cold or have flu-like symptoms, the doctor tells them immediately to go to the hospital.

I don't want to die.

If you do go to the docters, make sure you are nice and hygienic :). Many people will head there at the slightest sign of symptoms, so it could be crowded :o. Don't worry about the death issue too much, the fatality rate is not very high. :) Essentially it is just flu, it is perfectly treatable :)

 

[Wrecky]

If you do go to the docters, make sure you are nice and hygienic :). Many people will head there at the slightest sign of symptoms, so it could be crowded :o. Don't worry about the death issue too much, the fatality rate is not very high. :) Essentially it is just flu, it is perfectly treatable :)

Well I go to and from Philadelphia for school everyday, so every time I go to and from the train station, or to and from the building I use a little bottle of instant hand sanitizer. And generally I'm a very clean person. My only concern is I've been under stress lately and I heard that stress can weaken your immune system too.

 

[Tarquin]

I hope so :)
The Death rate seems fairly low so far, and being healthy and normal and taking the treatment seems to help it clear up in a week or two, just like a regular flu!

I think both the spread of it and the illness are serious, but not too scary :)
I think that canceling end of year exams in the UK would be a mistake at thi stage O_O

My only concern is I've been under stress lately and I heard that stress can weaken your immune system too.

Not to the point that it will be fatal :) Don't get too panicky, just get it checked out :)

 

[NESgamer]

Seems scary to me, especially being so close to mexico

Well, the real problem is currently in Mexico city and not in states close to the border, Mexico city is pretty far away ( to the south) from L.A.

I understand we are in the verge of a "pandemic" level, so my point is, you should be worried about the cases in your own country :/ I belive the US will solve it easily though, since you are warned.

Edit:

So far i'm very confused with the symptoms and details of this disease, does anyone know how intense and if ALL of them are needed to confirm you have said disease? It's been said many times over here on the tv but i'm still confused because details of the current patients haven't been said (what they felt,for how many days etc).