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H1N1 ("Swine") Flu
- Thread starter Cave Man
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Risk remains, but I hope that in general, media and people start to settle down about this now...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8030365.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8030365.stm
There was a great article in The Economist this week about this. It didn't focus on the medical side as much, as that's not their area of expertise, but on the government side. You can find it on the site here: (http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13576183), no subscription required.
This swine flu is really going to test global resources, and couldn't come at a worse time. Pressure about the economy can turn in to panic with the threat of imminent infection of a deadly strain of the flu. Government's are already in debt and will likely have to borrow more to protect against potential pandemic. Bond sales would be the obvious choice, but at least in Britain, there's no certainty that that would succeed.
The good news is that as for the financial crisis, we're going to need true co-ordinated multilateral action for any nation's program to have an effect. We're moving closer and closer together, and after we emerge, hopefully governments agree that some reform of the UN must take place so it can act as a central forum for co-ordinated global policies about things other than war. The UN needs to take a larger role in economic and health policies. Just as the spread of financial institutions overseas has given us a shared economic destiny, the increasing availability of air travel means that there needs to be more international co-operation for healthcare.
One problem pointed out in the economist article was the need for better testing facilities. As well as developing a vaccination for this new flu strain, I believe this is where we should be focussing our efforts so that we can more quickly detect epidemics before they become pandemics. However, unlike the economist, I believe a decentralised method is best: say, test strips to test for specific strains or portable cheap laboratories which can identify the strain from a sample. Obviously these will need to be heavily subsidised or even free to make them easily available worldwide, which is necessary in preventing future pandemics.
This swine flu is really going to test global resources, and couldn't come at a worse time. Pressure about the economy can turn in to panic with the threat of imminent infection of a deadly strain of the flu. Government's are already in debt and will likely have to borrow more to protect against potential pandemic. Bond sales would be the obvious choice, but at least in Britain, there's no certainty that that would succeed.
The good news is that as for the financial crisis, we're going to need true co-ordinated multilateral action for any nation's program to have an effect. We're moving closer and closer together, and after we emerge, hopefully governments agree that some reform of the UN must take place so it can act as a central forum for co-ordinated global policies about things other than war. The UN needs to take a larger role in economic and health policies. Just as the spread of financial institutions overseas has given us a shared economic destiny, the increasing availability of air travel means that there needs to be more international co-operation for healthcare.
One problem pointed out in the economist article was the need for better testing facilities. As well as developing a vaccination for this new flu strain, I believe this is where we should be focussing our efforts so that we can more quickly detect epidemics before they become pandemics. However, unlike the economist, I believe a decentralised method is best: say, test strips to test for specific strains or portable cheap laboratories which can identify the strain from a sample. Obviously these will need to be heavily subsidised or even free to make them easily available worldwide, which is necessary in preventing future pandemics.
The writer's conclusion seemed to be oversimplified. From the information below, it's a combination of Eurasian swine flu and North American swine flu. But does have bird and human in the mix:
Well, if you have evidence that this swine flu "is a load of nonsense" please let the WHO know.
While, thus far, it looks like this strain is not as severe as originally feared when data was still scarce and sketchy, the CDC and WHO are still being cautious, as pointed out before, influenza is a fickle thing that could change very quickly.
Yeah, last thing you want is hospitals full of people who think that they are sick, when actually they aren't.
The real danger is not the virus itself, but the possibility for the virus to mutate. People don't realise that ordinary flu kills quite a lot of people.
Lee, that was all media speculation, this flu hasn't been around long enough for anyone to even know that. You people really will believe anything you hear. Why on earth would it be dangerous to someone with a strong immune system? What is a strong immune system? That term is relative as someome could have strong immunities to one thing and someone else to another.
Trust me people, this flu is pretty much just a regular flu.
PS: Does anyone using Opera know how to make new tabs open in the backgroun instead of as the focus. I've tried command clicking, but it just makes the new tab the focus, right now I have to right click and select "Open in Background Tab"
EDIT: I got it, Shift+command+click. Does anyone know how to change this to just command+click?
look up the 1918 flu before you talk. it caused a hyper immune response in healthy people. that is the potential danger
here you go
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic
as for healthy individuals getting sick, its called a cytokine storm
this hasnt been confirmed but its not a sure bet that this flu wouldnt cause this type of reaction
STOP SAYING THIS IS THE SAME AS THE REGULAR FLU
it just isnt the case
what are your credentials? unless you are a prodigy virologist working at the CDC or WHO, you have NO credibility over the people that do work at those organizations
why you keep dismissing it is silly to me. do you really not see the impact of what a virus can do if it has a ton of negative traits? the flu viruses are not all the same. it mutates. you dont seem to grasp that concept when you just say its the regular flu over and over
this threat is real. why do you think the CDC and WHO are getting all concerned over this as opposed to the regular flu of past years?. as i have said before, i fear this will rise its ugly head again and hit worse come flu season....just liike the 1918 flu
i hope im wrong but id rather error on the side of caution....
I wouldn't say I have much credentials. All I have is a couple of IB bio classes, a text book, a book on the Spanish flu, some logic and a little research. What are your credentials to say I'm wrong? You watch a lot of television?
and note that I don't say it's the regular flu, I said it's a regular flu, and it is. There is very little that sets it apart from other flus other than the way it bonds to our bodies, and even that isn't very unique as most flus have a unique way of doing so.
Either way it sounds like I know a lot more about it than you. Can you quote a few credible sources that tell you it's something crazy dangerous? and I not asking for a quote from a scientist followed by media speculation.
That wasn't even a response... Do you not have any credible sources to say that this is a crazy dangerous man killing flu (more so than most conventional strains)?
Jimmy,
I am not going to engage in a silly high school argument with you saying "you clearly know more than I".
You just need to realize
1) you are not a virologist
2) your opinions from an IB bio course does not supercede the CDC and WHO knowledge base
The only reason I am replying in this thread is because you are spreading so much misinformation that I had to reply.
I am not going to waste more time proving you wrong just for your appeasement.
Got it? I sure hope so
I'll trust you when you have links and/or studies to back up your claims.
Please link to an article that states that this is "just a regular flu" - preferably one that tells who the scientist(s) was(were) who has(have) the authority and expertise to make such a declaration, and how she/he(they) concluded such a claim.
TuffLuffJimmy said:
And yet, you believe that we should trust you over the scientists at the WHO and CDC - folks with PhDs in virology, immunology, epidemiology, molecular biology, and so on? These people spend their entire lives studying epidemics, endemics, pandemics, and other public health issues - and yet, you claim:
"Trust me people, this flu is pretty much just a regular flu."
You still cannot provide a source for this statement of yours either:
TuffLuffJimmy said:
If you are going to be making such claims, please back them up. That's all we're asking.
In addition to my previous post.
From the CDC (emphasis mine): "There is insufficient information to date about clinical complications of this variant of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. Among persons infected with previous variants of swine influenza virus, clinical syndromes have ranged from mild respiratory illness, to lower respiratory tract illness, dehydration, or pneumonia. Deaths caused by previous variants of swine influenza have occasionally occurred. Although data on the spectrum of illness is not yet available for this new variant of swine-origin influenza A(H1N1), clinicians should expect complications to be similar to seasonal influenza: exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions, upper respiratory tract disease (sinusitis, otitis media, croup) lower respiratory tract disease (pneumonia, bronchiolitis, status asthmaticus), cardiac (myocarditis, pericarditis), musculoskeletal (myositis, rhabdomyolysis), neurologic (acute and post-infectious encephalopathy, encephalitis, febrile seizures, status epilepticus), toxic shock syndrome, and secondary bacterial pneumonia with or without sepsis."
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/identifyingpatients.htm
From the CDC (emphasis mine): "There is insufficient information to date about clinical complications of this variant of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. Among persons infected with previous variants of swine influenza virus, clinical syndromes have ranged from mild respiratory illness, to lower respiratory tract illness, dehydration, or pneumonia. Deaths caused by previous variants of swine influenza have occasionally occurred. Although data on the spectrum of illness is not yet available for this new variant of swine-origin influenza A(H1N1), clinicians should expect complications to be similar to seasonal influenza: exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions, upper respiratory tract disease (sinusitis, otitis media, croup) lower respiratory tract disease (pneumonia, bronchiolitis, status asthmaticus), cardiac (myocarditis, pericarditis), musculoskeletal (myositis, rhabdomyolysis), neurologic (acute and post-infectious encephalopathy, encephalitis, febrile seizures, status epilepticus), toxic shock syndrome, and secondary bacterial pneumonia with or without sepsis."
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/identifyingpatients.htm
Do you have any expert opinions to back this up?
I'm no virologist, but based on my understanding a virus will mutate with or without the influence of a vaccine.
It is common sense, if you over vaccinate a immunity builds up. If this is the same strain that hits in the fall and everyone panics now we will be in more trouble in the fall.
Fear the unknown? There's insufficient information on nearly every modern flu strain, why should we be any more fearful of this one than others?
People, wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough and quit worrying unless there's something to worry about.