IheartTesla Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 It has already claimed 68 victims south of the border. None so far here in the US, although there are 8 reported cases all of whom have recovered. Linky:A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.The worrisome new virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before — also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S."We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."Fingers crossed that the epidemic is halted, but there is a lot of traffic particularly in Mexico city. There is also no vaccine for swine-related virus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 It's been going on for a while now but people only really give a shit about it when it affects people in the US. A bit like nobody is that bothered about the few hundred people that have been killed by H5N1 - because it happened in SE Asia. Same old, same old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Mostly I think we only give a shit if it affects us personally, not other Americans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I heard about this on NPR yesterday. The death toll was twenty then. The thing that caught my attention was that most of the dead were between 25 and 45 just like 1918 flu pandemic. Everyone please stay as safe as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 from pigs, birds and humans sounds like osama concocted a new biological weapon in his subterranean laboratories for use in the war on terror. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I'm pretty sure the Koran has injunctions against having anything to do with swine, so I think we can rule Osama out.Kim Jong-il, I'm looking at you, man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EHK for Darwin Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 It's been going on for a while now but people only really give a shit about it when it affects people in the US. A bit like nobody is that bothered about the few hundred people that have been killed by H5N1 - because it happened in SE Asia. Same old, same old.Eh...bullshit. Bird Flu got plenty of play over here. Articles claim the Mexican authorities just got the details on the new Flu thursday, started shutting public shit down Friday, and by Friday we had a thread, frontpage news stories on Yahoo, and reporting on most of the major networks. Its hardly being ignored. But yeah, god forbid people be just SLIGHTLY more interested in an outbreak if its in their own backyard. I think that's an accusation you can levy against every nation and community in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 injunctions against having anything to do with swineran, that's the beauty of it: moslems don't keep swine, so they won't get the evil swine flu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Good point, EHK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemiNymph Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Ok, no cow, no birds, no pig... I'm left with fish to eat only?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brude Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I might actually get a flu shot for the first time with this one. This one sounds really bad and it might have already shown up in NYC, I heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Belwas Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Ok, no cow, no birds, no pig... I'm left with fish to eat only?!If you want a nice pork substitute, you could try human flesh. I hear it tastes just like pork. And, unfortunately, fish can give you mercury poisoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aemon Stark Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Okay, *eating* the animals will not give you influenza. Those who have contracted H5N1 did so via close contact with live or recently deceased, infected poultry. If you don't play with chickens, the human-to-human transmission risk is very low. That being said, we'll see how this unfolds - my dad (in public health) is apparently having a rather busy day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I might actually get a flu shot for the first time with this one. This one sounds really bad and it might have already shown up in NYC, I heard.Huh. I might do the same, I almost never get them. Do we have a vaccine that's good against this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lany Freelove Cassandra Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I might actually get a flu shot for the first time with this one. This one sounds really bad and it might have already shown up in NYC, I heard.The general flu shot usually protects against only certain strains of the flu. Is there a vaccine for this one yet, since it is knew and never before seen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrist Simon Steele Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 There seems to be a link between the fatalities and not having flu shots. So it's too early to tell, but there is a belief that the flu shot might help fight off the fatal aspects. The fact it has been fatal to people in the 25-45 year old range makes sense because young people and old people tend to get their flu shots every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aemon Stark Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 This flu is not *entirely* new or never before seen. It's a novel animal strain of H1N1 - the same influenza type that was responsible for the pandemic of 1918-19. The anti-virals that we have will actually work against it. I can't speak for the vaccine, but it's possible there'd be some cross-coverage to cover it from current vaccines. We don't really know how different this one is yet... :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Progressive Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Huh. I might do the same, I almost never get them. Do we have a vaccine that's good against this one?There is no vaccine for this particular strain yet. However, since this is a combo of 2 pig viruses, one bird virus and one human virus ........... most people are likely to have been exposed to the human strain and have developed partial immunity. Again, there are currently no vaccine, but the infected could be treated with Tamiflu and Relenza to decrease severity of symptoms. The best precautions right now would be to isolate the sick and closing down schools and sporting venues. As with all flu, the following preventive measures are recommended:1) Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.2) Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.3) Try to avoid close contact with sick people.4) If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.5) Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aemon Stark Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 There seems to be a link between the fatalities and not having flu shots. So it's too early to tell, but there is a belief that the flu shot might help fight off the fatal aspects. The fact it has been fatal to people in the 25-45 year old range makes sense because young people and old people tend to get their flu shots every year.I'm not clear that it's *only* been fatal to people in the 25-45 year old range. Rather, it's simply unusual that they are being affected to that extent at all. "Normal" influenza doesn't do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angalin Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 The virology lab here is all over this: found 16 positives out of, IIRC, 51 samples sent to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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