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H1N1 ("Swine") Flu

TuffLuffJimmy said:
yeah, no big deal. The regular flu kills exponentially more. As I said, it's just the flu.

The only people I see getting worked up over this are those with no idea on how a influenza works, or they watch the news channels that blow everything out of proportion.
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cool for my first response to this post being deleted........my response wasnt against the forum rules so im confused....

do you know how influenza works? chances are you dont

however, if one cant understand the magnitude of a virus being a threat to the globe and just dismiss it as the "flu" then yes it is ignorant of the behavior of viruses. not all flu strains are just the "flu". the flu virus is one of the most adaptable virusees and poses a huge threat

the 1918 flu was not "just" the flu. that too had a mild outbreak in the summer BUT came back hard and made its impact in the winter

i would not be surprised if the same happened here
 
Wiska said:
Why isn't the media reporting on drunk driving related deaths? This killed more people than the current flu outbreak in the same time period.

Meh, the media ARE blowing this out of proportion.
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Because drunk driving is an individual's stupid choice. They have control over it - nobody has control over the flu.

This is important because it has killed healthy young adults in Mexico Lee.. regular influenza usually causes the immuno-compromised to succumb.
 
dukebound85 said:
cool for mt first response to this post being deleted........

however, if one cant understand the magnitude of a virus being a threat to the globe and just dismiss it as the "flu" then yes it is ignorant of the behavior of viruses. not all flu strains are just the "flu". the flu virus is one of the most adaptable virusees and poses a huge threat

the 1918 flu was not "just" the flu. that too had a mild outbreak in the summer BUT came back hard and made its impact in the winter

i would not be surprised if the same happened here
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Exactly. This feels like the big is 'testing' around for the next slam attack.

I can't understand why people come up with the same 'ahh the media is blowing this up'. :confused: If CNN stated on their front page "Hide! Swine flu WILL kill you" - now *that* is blowing something out of proportion. I fail to see how reporting on the number of cases, deaths in mexico, the WHO levels, scientists' opinions, etc - is blowing it out of proportion.

And PLEASE do not compare this to deaths due to smoking, drunk driving, suicides, etc - again, those are individual choices. I always see stupid comparisons all the time.

It's always better to be a bit paranoid than be absolutely careless. Thanks to this coverage, at least my usually filthy niece now washes her hands regularly! :p
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
agreed!

I find it very comical that people here are calling me ignorant.
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What makes you so certain that this is just a regular ole flu, like any other seasonal influenzas? If you have such research and knowledge, I'm sure the CDC and WHO would love to get in touch with you.
 
MLeepson said:
Wow, really? My dad lives there and my aunt works at several schools in the district. MCPS is a huge district, at least their on top of it.
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Yeah they closed Rockville High School. They also moved the SAT that was scheduled to be there tomorrow to another school. I actually don't want my school to be closed because I have APs next week and I want to get them over with.

I personally think that it is being blow a bit out of proportion. As of now the cases in the US have been mild. If we start to see the killing of healthy people in the US and other more developed nations then I will be more nervous. However at the same time, it is better to be overly cautious than to not to prepare enough.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
agreed!

I find it very comical that people here are calling me ignorant. You guys will freak out over anything. So what if schools are closed because of it? Schools in the northwest close all the time because of an inch of snow, does that mean we get to call an inch of light snow a blizzard?
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lol wow ok

please tell me your credentials so i know i can take you seriously

until then, ill believe the WHO and CDC and other health orgs over you
 
Eanair said:
What makes you so certain that this is just a regular ole flu, like any other seasonal influenzas? If you have such research and knowledge, I'm sure the CDC and WHO would love to get in touch with you.
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Of course it's no ordinary flu virus (not that there is such a thing) but it really isn't something to get worked up over. and I'm not dismissing it as nothing more than the flu, because it's called the flu, I know that certain varieties of influenza are extremely dangerous, but this really isn't any more news worthy than people dying in car accidents or drowning.
 
bartelby said:
No, but it's a good distraction from the important stuff...
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Thank you! This reminds me of OJ's trial last (or was it the year before) everyone was clamoring over that, while someone important (I really wish I could be less vague, but I don't remember the specifics) in the military said something to the effect of, "it turns out we were completely wrong about the middle east, and we should have never come here." The guy making the huge statement got next to no media coverage, but OJ was all over the news. Why the hell should any of us care what OJ does!!?!??
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
Of course it's no ordinary flu virus (not that there is such a thing) but it really isn't something to get worked up over.
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Again, how do you know this? If you know it's not something to get worked up over, please get in touch with the WHO and let them know, so they can stop with the pandemic alerts and preparation. The WHO and CDC are taking this new strain rather seriously. Are their scientists wrong?
 
leekohler said:
...which has already killed 160 people in Mexico alone. But ya know- no big deal or anything.
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No, no it hasn't.

These are the kinds of statements that get people blowing things waay out of proportion. According to the official WHO report (far more trustworthy than your average news stations), there have been 9 deaths in Mexico. 156 cases. In the US there has been 1 death from 141 cases.

Please get your facts right: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_01a/en/index.html

As an update as to what is actually happening in this part of Mexico (Cozumel), we have no cases yet on the island (or anywhere near this part of the country). Cruise ships have suspended stopping here until the 6th, which has resulted in all the tourist shops being closed until then. The Palacio has ordered public places with a capacity of more than 90 people closed. Nearly all restaurants, all grocery stores, and everything else vital remain open. It's very, very quiet here, without our usual daily load of tens of thousands of cruise ship tourists.
 
Eanair said:
Again, how do you know this? If you know it's not something to get worked up over, please get in touch with the WHO and let them know, so they can stop with the pandemic alerts and preparation. The WHO and CDC are taking this new strain rather seriously. Are their scientists wrong?
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Epidemics, and to a lesser extent pandemics, happen every freaking year! In fact throughout the US there has been a pandemic of mono and herpes. Has that received much news coverage? No. Even though mononucleosis is arguably much more dangerous than H1N1.
 
jknight8907 said:
No, no it hasn't.

These are the kinds of statements that get people blowing things waay out of proportion. According to the official WHO report (far more trustworthy than your average news stations), there have been 9 deaths in Mexico. 156 cases. In the US there has been 1 death from 141 cases.

Please get your facts right: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_01a/en/index.html
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Note the WHO lists only confirmed cases. Those are diagnosed by PCR, a test that was not routinely performed. There are far more cases and many more deaths in Mexico from this virus.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
Epidemics, and to a lesser extent pandemics, happen every freaking year!
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Pandemics happen every year?

What was the pandemic of 2008?

In fact throughout the US there has been a pandemic of mono and herpes. Has that received much news coverage? No. Even though mononucleosis is arguably much more dangerous than H1N1.
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If the "pandemic" is just throughout the US, it's not a pandemic.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
O rly? Do you have some proof of that?
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Nothing in science is provable, only disprovable.

Historical precedent is why I know there are far more than the confirmed cases. In every large outbreak, it is a truism in epidemiology that more cases occur than are confirmed. Even the 36,000 deaths from seasonal influenza in the U.S. each year are based on this premise. Certainly not case confirmations.
 
Cave Man said:
Nothing in science is provable, only disprovable.
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Jesus christ. I'm using the conventional meaning of proof, nothing philosophical.

Eanair said:
If the "pandemic" is just throughout the US, it's not a pandemic.
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You're right, for the bit about mono I should have said epidemic. :eek:
That was a miserably worded post, sorry. By lesser extent I meant they happen often (usually with nothing serious) but maybe not every year.
 
[FONT=Verdana, Arial][FONT=Verdana, Arial]It's a shame we can't have this kind of concerted fear-mongering and world-wide attention from Governments and WHO for such things like Malaria which actually kill up to 3+ million a year and 350 - 500 million cases confirmed, compared to around 13 or so in the past week - but it makes breaking news around the world. Puts it into context...

Infact, I find it mildly offensive, and I'm sure they do too... I suppose when it's not on your doorstep, it's easier for governments to ignore, despite it actually causing more harm, to more (poor) people...
[/FONT][/FONT]
 
MagicWok said:
[FONT=Verdana, Arial][FONT=Verdana, Arial]It's a shame we can't have this kind of concerted fear-mongering and world-wide attention from Governments and WHO for such things like Malaria which actually kill up to 3+ million a year and 350 - 500 million cases confirmed, compared to around 13 or so in the past week - but it makes breaking news around the world. Puts it into context...

Infact, I find it mildly offensive, and I'm sure they do too... I suppose when it's not on your doorstep, it's easier for governments to ignore, despite it actually causing more harm, to more (poor) people...
[/FONT][/FONT]
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Cave Man, Lee, Duke, do any of you have an answer to this?


There are far more important things going on than a silly flu bug.
 
I don't think there are any confirmed cases in Washington State yet. Anyways I am not to worried about the Swine Flu, wash your hands, and take the necessary precautions and you will be fine.
 
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