Any one of you suffering from a bad flu / respiratory illness or know someone who is?
Posted by LeDaemon (Member # 198) on :
Like the swine flu coming from Mexico? Not me... OINK!
Posted by A&F_FootDude_05 (Member # 2999) on :
Let's hope that swine stays contained in New York, California and Kansas....well LeDaemon I know that's near your neck of the woods somewhat so let's just hope the Swine gets wiped out altogether!
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
quote:Originally posted by LeDaemon: Like the swine flu coming from Mexico?
Exactly like that...
A woman came into work yesterday sweating, wheezing, and coughing all over the place. She says "I had the influenza 8 weeks ago and this is what it left me with!" She then proceeded to circle the store, coughing into her hands and then molesting the merchandise, and also making attempts to LOOK like she was coughing into her hands when really she was only holding her fist about a foot away from her face. It was really outrageous, I've never seen anything like it. It's like she was some walking satirical caricature of what NOT to do when you have the flu. The woman was in rough shape and clearly completely ignorant or just does not care about hygiene or spreading her illness. It was terrifying and I can't tell you how absolutely furious I was.
[ April 26, 2009, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: vanderfeet ]
Posted by diamond johny (Member # 27586) on :
I live in So Cal & I'm a little worried.
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
I know enough about the 1918 flu pandemic to be somewhat disconcerted as well.
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
Well, godspeed, everyone.
Posted by A&F_FootDude_05 (Member # 2999) on :
one of my family members works at an airport...came down with the flu over the weekend but is supposedly feeling better....i'm super concerned but the only one in my family that is...
Posted by sofatater (Member # 4209) on :
I don't mean to down play any possible pandemic. Just take the information from the news casters with a grain of salt. They're trying to sell newspapers and advertising space. Facts from the CDC: 200,000 Americans are hospitalized each year with flu symptoms. 36,000 Americans die annually from complications of the flu. But, you're not getting that information in the evening news with the report about "The Next Bad Thing To Come From Somewhere Else!" or whatever the flavor of the day/week is.
Posted by LeDaemon (Member # 198) on :
Absolutely sofatater!
Avian Flu SARS Swine Flu
A little media hysteria to shake us up. Should be great for the already tanking economy telling us to not go out in public places for fear of Piggly Wiggly Influenza.
Best advice you should wash hands often, and don't travel to Mexico.
[ April 29, 2009, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: LeDaemon ]
Posted by Toetapper (Member # 6473) on :
I concur with sofatater & L.D. I can't recall the exact numbers of currently confirmed cases of Swine Flu but, when considered as a percentage against the total American population, it is vanishingly small.
I think it is helpful to remember that this is the part of the year when influenza diminishes to a very low rate of occurrence. This makes transmission even more unlikely.
For many years, the motto of most news organizations (especially local news outlets) "If it bleeds, it leads." Over-sensationalizing events is a common media practice as a way to gain ratings. As one who is suspicious of news agencies, when I see one story get as much hype as this one has it tells me that my attention is being drawn away from other events of equal or greater significance, perhaps intentionally...Somebody's getting away with something about which they want you to know nothing.
To use an old example: "Look! It's Haley's Comet!"
Posted by LeDaemon (Member # 198) on :
Well the entire Fort Worth Independent School District has closed until May 8th and some area Dallas schools are doing the same now. There is a total at the last moment I checked of 16 cases in the state of Texas.
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
Now that some time has passed, I will re-pose the initial question:
Any one of you suffering from a bad flu / respiratory illness or know someone who is?
Posted by Salvy_Mic (Member # 13384) on :
Not here. I wonder if people realize how deadly your regular, garden-variety influenza is? The influenza outbreak after World War I is still among the deadliest pandemics in human history and people still die from it these days. Considering the Avian Flu and SARS were contained pretty well, I'm actually not as worried about this, especially since people are already cognizant of its existence and taking appropriate, and at times, excessive precausion. The worst pandemics are the ones you DON'T see coming.
Posted by National (Member # 8568) on :
You know, I was going to post the following in the "I hate it when..." thread. But it will be more appropriate to post it here:
I hate it when the government tries to scare me with diseases we will NEVER get. First, it was SARS, then it was monkey pox, chicken pox, West Nile virus, and now THIS? Please. Remember the Asian bird flu? That one especially didn't scare me because I'm not a sparrow in Thailand. Mysterious Asian diseases just don't come knocking on your door unless you're Neil Bush.
Posted by Cain (Member # 8492) on :
Yeah i was sweating a little today cause my son had flu like symptoms but he is ok just the regular strain of the virus.
Posted by bison4me (Member # 21530) on :
I wonder what it'll be next year, maybe the Willie Mammoth flu, or the Gieco Gecko flu, or Puff The Magic Dragon flu, you'll catch that from smoking weed with friends.
Posted by sofatater (Member # 4209) on :
I live near Disney World and considering the huge number of visitors to this area, I figured I'd hear about someone in this area contracting "Swine" Flu. As of this evening, I haven't heard about a single case in the entire state of Florida.
Like "Footgirl" said "Just take precautions". Life's way too short to worry about the next case of creeping butt crud to come along and wipe out humanity.
Since you're more likely to die in a freak accident than of a case of the flu, make sure you look both ways before crossing the street. And if you should encounter Chicken Little, tell him his momma is looking for him.
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
I think a state of national emergency will be declared in the US within 4 or 5 days.
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
quote:Originally posted by Cain: Yeah i was sweating a little today cause my son had flu like symptoms but he is ok just the regular strain of the virus.
He was tested?
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
quote:Originally posted by footgirl0226: considering over 30,000 peeps die of the regular flu a year, I think everyone is making too much fuss over this shit...
Flu severity is not based on total fatalities. It is based on case-to-fatality ratio. Seasonal flu results in over 30,000 deaths in the US per year, you are right. But that is only 0.1% of those infected. So far, this swine strain appears to be killing at least 2% of those infected (and primarily healthy young adults). The deadly 1918 flu pandemic also had a kill rate of approx 2%. Estimates range from 50-100 million people were killed worldwide in a matter of months.
You understand why, if this spreads (which it appears to be relentlessly doing), then it could be VERY BAD.
This is not just a health risk. It is a monumental economic threat and will generate severe social unrest.
Posted by sofatater (Member # 4209) on :
How can you say that this strain has a kill rate of at least 2% ? Nobody knows the number of people infected in Mexico and I'm pretty sure that we don't know the accurate number from anywhere else either. So we don't know if the kill rate is 2% or .00002%
A lot of things are different now than they were in 1918. Medicine has come a LONG WAY. As soon as the particulars are figured out, vaccine will be produced on a scale that wasn't imagined in 1918. Aviation was only 15 years old at that time. We travel around the world in a matter of hours now. Which is aiding the spread of the virus now. (But we're not seeing people dropping like flies.) If that should happen, I don't know how we can do any more to prevent it.
Bottom line: Relax, wash your hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough and don't travel if you feel ill. And Chicken Little, Put a helmet on.
Posted by Maverick Matrix (Member # 2989) on :
This whole flu thing can be taken care of very easily. Just keep your body In an alkaline state and you'll never get sick.
Posted by The_FJCruiser (Member # 6007) on :
quote:Originally posted by vanderfeet:
quote:Originally posted by footgirl0226: considering over 30,000 peeps die of the regular flu a year, I think everyone is making too much fuss over this shit...
Flu severity is not based on total fatalities. It is based on case-to-fatality ratio. Seasonal flu results in over 30,000 deaths in the US per year, you are right. But that is only 0.1% of those infected. So far, this swine strain appears to be killing at least 2% of those infected (and primarily healthy young adults). The deadly 1918 flu pandemic also had a kill rate of approx 2%. Estimates range from 50-100 million people were killed worldwide in a matter of months.
You understand why, if this spreads (which it appears to be relentlessly doing), then it could be VERY BAD.
This is not just a health risk. It is a monumental economic threat and will generate severe social unrest.
Good point. Another thing to consider is that typically the only ones who die of the flu are the very young, the very elderly or those with an already compromised immune system. I also work in health care and a little prevention goes a long way (i.e., washing your hands)
Posted by vanderfeet (Member # 8733) on :
quote:Originally posted by sofatater: How can you say that this strain has a kill rate of at least 2% ? Nobody knows the number of people infected in Mexico and I'm pretty sure that we don't know the accurate number from anywhere else either. So we don't know if the kill rate is 2% or .00002%
A lot of things are different now than they were in 1918. Medicine has come a LONG WAY. As soon as the particulars are figured out, vaccine will be produced on a scale that wasn't imagined in 1918. Aviation was only 15 years old at that time. We travel around the world in a matter of hours now. Which is aiding the spread of the virus now. (But we're not seeing people dropping like flies.) If that should happen, I don't know how we can do any more to prevent it.
You're right, there are a lot of unknowns, and the numbers are currently statistically inadequate to accurately determine a case-to-fatality ratio. I am just a bag of nerves right now over what might be on the horizon come autumn. Every flu pandemic we have ever seen, starts with a mild first wave, and a few months later, usually beginning in late summer or early autumn, is followed by a series of increasingly lethal waves that do a great deal of damage.
I'm sure, like you say, our more sophisticated state of medicine will help to mitigate fatalities. But I am concerned that the benefits may be relatively negligible. For example, the vast majority of deaths in Mexico are in the normally unaffected age group of 20-45. The reason why new or 'novel' influenza virus pandemics often single out the young and healthy is because the virus sends healthy immune systems into severe overreaction, resulting in a cytokine storm. Once one's body gets to that point, which is often terrifyingly rapid (frequently within hours of onset of symptoms), it is pretty much a lost cause and there is actually no medicine in existence to deal with that scenario.
I don't think I would be reacting with this much concern if I was a bachelor. The fact that my wife and I are expecting our first child in September just has me a little on edge. Pregnant women are extremely high risk for influenza complications from regular seasonal flu, nevermind 'novel' influenza pandemics. Otherwise I'd be on the "Come What Come May" side of the fence.
So yeah, forgive my hysteria.
Posted by sofatater (Member # 4209) on :
I didn't mention it before because my memory is so full of holes and I've been wrong before. This is at least the 2nd time we've had a "swine flu" scare.
The last time was in 1976. I was in boot camp at the time and all military personnel were vaccinated for it. If you google Swine flu 1976 you'll find pages of information about the B.S. scare dumped on the public. After all was said and done, it was no worse than any other flu we'd experienced. It sure sold a lot of newspapers and ad space though. As well as put billions in the pockets of the drug makers.
Great way to drum up future business, huh? Start a panic in the spring that will give the public several months to worry over, then when the new flu season comes around you've got an eager and ready market to peddle your latest cocktail to.
Posted by Danielle Moore (Member # 34633) on :
No one is sick that I know of, which is good...knock on wood.
Posted by Gameon (Member # 20877) on :
nope! My throat has been hoarse lately but thats coz i was screaming support for my team who lost 60 something nil.
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Otherwise I'd be on the "Come What Come May" side of the fence.