New Flu Virus SPREADS!

[pookha]

It also doesn't hurt to have both acetaminophen and ibuprofen in the house so you can use both to fight a high fever. If you have kids get the kid's versions to make it easier to dose them.

Both of which only fight symptoms and not the virus itself. And since a fever is one of the ways your body fights off illness...

really go to the doctor now instead of just trying to ride it out is the best thing,
for one thing they need a true image of the exposure levels and there is a chance that u.s. is just behind mexico in how long it will take the more dangerous varient to start spreading.
in the early stages this thing didnt look that dangerous and all of sudden people in mexico were at deaths door.


nah you dont need to panic but a certain amount of awareness does help.

as to way different strains are in this virus..
from http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm

Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

this may also be of help

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm

 

[Technomage]

We now have *confirmed* cases of this swine flu here in New Zealand!
Is this non-story still 'just like' the bird flu scare?

LINK TO NEWS ITEM

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[Ethros]

TWO SCOTTISH PEOPLE FEELING A BIT RUN DOWN

THE government raised its virus alert level to 'pantastic' last night after it was confirmed that two people in Scotland were hovering close to feeling slightly unwell.

Dr Tom Logan, from the Royal Infirmary of Scotland, said: "Scottish flu is particularly common at this time of year as the weather becomes milder and the days longer, meaning everyone spends even more time in the pub than usual, mainly because they can stand outside all night smoking hundreds of fags."

He added: "I would not be surprised if over the next few days we see thousands of Scottish people coming forward reeking of cheap wine and claiming to have spent the weekend in Mexico City."

 

[Roger Wilco]

What would suck more, dying of bird flu or pig flu?

 

[Geckothan]

I'm still not convinced there's ANYTHING to worry about, even remotely and I still feel pity for those that think they're going to die if they aren't wearing their filter masks in public. It's amazing how a silly outbreak of flu, when reported in a certain way, can make people panic so much. People comparing it to the "pandemic" in 1918 make me laugh so hard I almost faint.

I'm not going to let some stupid news story prevent me from living my life, I'm going to go out in public and do normal stuff regardless of what the news says. If you let things like that stop you from doing what you want, then you're just promoting this kind of sensationalism.

 

[bigdaddy]

This comes from the AP...

A full-scale pandemic — if it ever comes — could be expected to claim the lives of about 2 percent of those infected, about 2 million Americans.

2% of 300,000,000 USA Americans would be 6,000,000. Someone can't do math.

I plan on going to a couple malls over the next few days. Right now there is NOTHING to worry about, unless you watch the news, more so Fox News. "The flu of 1918 killed 100 MILLION PEOPLE!!!", when it killed 20-50 million. Right now why panic, frankly why panic at all? You either don't get it, or you get it and live or get it and die. You are 100,000,000 times more likely to die in a car crash today then from this flu.

 

[Roger Wilco]

This comes from the AP...

A full-scale pandemic — if it ever comes — could be expected to claim the lives of about 2 percent of those infected, about 2 million Americans.

2% of 300,000,000 USA Americans would be 6,000,000. Someone can't do math.

Someone can't read.

 

[bigdaddy]

No, no I can't.



Well the way the "media" is "reporting" this "outbreak" (I like using quotes today), you think 110% of the population will get it!

 

[freak]

Yes, I do agree. It's a very serious illness..but in a way, I do agree that maybe the news is just making it to be a bigger deal than it really is though. I'm just gonna stear clear of germs. So far it hasn't hit my state but if it does, I might stay indoors a little more.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

You know why I never gave a toss about Bird Flu and this? The word "flu"

Flu is something when you might have 1-3 days sick off work max, feel a bit shit, maybe be sick once or twice, a bit of a fever, stay in bed all day, watching trash daytime TV until you recover, then feel totally fine afterwards.

Wow, I'm so scared!

Maybe you've never had the flu, just some lesser viral infection.

With flu you are bedridden for at least a week, and attempting to get up will bring on severe dizziness and nausea, which coupled with a progressive physical and mental weakness, you just can't tolerate being up. Food doesn't stay down either. Expect to lose a stone in weight. You will struggle to sleep and have a temperature, which will make you feel exhausted and as irritable as hell, and will likely reduce you to tears before the week is out. Antibiotics will typically be prescribed because of your susceptibility to bacterial infections. And it will typically take a month before you feel right again. And that's for a healthy person in their prime. For a weaker person it can feel like death.

I've had all those symptoms, numerous times in my life. I think the longest period was about 5 days in late 2007.
Yes you feel like shit, but it's not like you're gonna die, you know you're gonna get better, it's just a question of when. No point in going to the Doctor or anything. Last time I was ill it was just boring, as I was simply waiting for it to be over with. Think I was sick about 12 times in one day, but I wasn't worried, it'll pass

Maybe I'm just super human with my amazing immune system

I always defined the Flu as feeling so unwell as to not even being able to leave your bed if there was a billion pounds lying in your back garden waiting to be collected. (It was a fiver in the original context, but inflation and credit crunch and all... )

I know I've had the Flu before. It's not good. And very often it doesn't even present as a sore throat.

I don't get why so many of you are writing this off because it's "just the flu." The flu can kill people, you know, and when antigenic shifts or reassortments occur it can kill LOTS of people. This is probably a reassortment (swine gets infected at the same time by both human and avian influenza strains; the genetic material gets mixed up and out comes a new virus) . This means epitopes that our immune systems have never seen before, which can be deadly.

Before y'all mock people for taking influenza epidemic's seriously, take a virology class or two.

I agree with this commentary and/or assessment. (And yes, I have taken the poster's advice at the end there. Multiple times. )

Antigenic drifts involve minor changes in the virus's antigenic makeup, leading to localised outbreaks (when "everyone is off with the Flu" for example) usually seasonal. It's the antigenic shifts (big changes in the haemagglutinin [H] and neuraminidase [N] components) that has everyone worried, as immunity to these viruses is very rare despite vaccination attempts, leading to the occasional pandemic - thankfully, these only occur once every 30 to 40 years. It's especially troublesome as Influenza, as stated above, also comes in variants spread through pig and bird vectors that can swap over their antigenic components given the opportunity, as is the case with this month's H1N1 outbreak in Mexico and beyond.

At work today we had a small talk from one of our bosses about the current problem and describing a HPA-approved guideline on how we should deal with patients who come in with suspected swine flu from this outbreak (fortunately for everyone else it hasn't yet come to the stage where the triage consists of whether we use a shotgun or not ). I'll be on call this weekend, so I shall expect things to be busy. Well, busier.

Incidentally, anyone interested in some background information can read more about it here:

http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1191942171181?p=1191942171181

 

[Jadzia]

viruses always seem to affect me the same way whenever I get them. First symptom being mildly sore throat, followed by abnormal skin sensations and a drunken-like dizziness with delayed sense of physical orientation. I do fight viruses off pretty well though.

When I am ill I listen to my body and feed it whatever strange things I feel a subtle urge to eat, which last time involved tonnes of raw garlic and raw carrots.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

That's interesting, as viral illnesses have affected me differently each time. Usually it's the sore tonsils, followed by sneezes, cough producing thick clear sputum, then a mild listlessness for a week - good old paracetamol helps me with that, and very often even stems the progression of symptoms. The last time I had it very bad was last August, just as I was starting some annual leave. Typical.

Twice, however, I've had it differently. Last year I came down with shivers, headache (of a generalised type - not a migraine, they are different) and a feeling of not being able to get out of bed, and I recall being curled up in bed with shivers and nausea, which lasted only two days before I started to feel anywhere near better.

Then I remember my last major Flu virus illness several years ago. Proper, cold-sweat, stay in bed all day Flu. It presented as an ache in both of my hips, to the point that I kept sitting down, then wanted to stand up. By the time I finished work, I decided to rest a little in bed, then ended up staying in bed for the following 36 hours. I thought to myself, "ZR [this was well before I was known as ZR, by the way], you can shrug this off easily" then I tried to go to work the following day, but couldn't hack it at all. This was proper Flu. And the irony of it was that I was due my Flu vaccination the following week.

 

[Jadzia]

I've never found paracetamol to be effective for me for anything other than being soporific if I have a double dose, which I have very rarely done because I don't really like having any of these drugs in my system. I find nutrient rich foods to be much more effective at returning me to health when I have contracted a virus.

But yes, it's always been much the same onset symptoms. Maybe I'm more susceptible to one kind of virus and have good immunity to most of the others

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I've never found paracetamol to be effective for me for anything other than being soporific if I have a double dose, which I have very rarely done because I don't really like having any of these drugs in my system.

My mother has always told me to take half-doses of medications as I often become overly affected by some of them - it seems to be the ones that affect the liver, especially antihistamines. I don't mind taking paracetamol, but by taking them regularly at full dose I end up feeling strange and depressed. I've recently wondered if this was as a result of the tablets? Or is it the illness getting me down? Or the guilt of not being at work? [Doesn't paracetamol also affect the liver, with too much ingested causing often life-threatening acute liver failure to the point of requiring an urgent transplant? - someone] Er, yes.

I find nutrient rich foods to be much more effective at returning me to health when I have contracted a virus.

Nutrition is one of the priorities of getting anyone better, no matter what their illness. You always need energy to get your body's defences to fight the illness, otherwise it'll succumb. (Of course, once you are better, it's all about eating the right things, but that's another story...)

But yes, it's always been much the same onset symptoms. Maybe I'm more susceptible to one kind of virus and have good immunity to most of the others

The headache-and-rigors one I put down to a faulty batch of my mother's curry. I ate it the following week and it came back.


Anyway, back to the topic at hand: the HPA has this to say on the subject of the Swine Flu, complete with useful FAQs:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1240732817665?p=1240732817665

and this is the treatment algorithm I was introduced to today at work on how to treat any susepcted cases. You know, just in case.
(links to PDF document)
http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1240732819361

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I'm honestly not remotely worried about the new Flu Virus. As long as I have my trusty Extra Strength Oil of Oregano at hand I shall forever be immune.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

OMG, go to this link and check out the picture. That guy must think he's immune or something.

 

[Ethros]

WHO WILL BE THE FIRST ARSEHOLE TO WEAR A FACEMASK?

AS the number of confirmed pork flu cases in the UK soared into single figures, millions of people across Britain were last night wondering who would be the first arsehole to start wearing a facemask.
Online retailers have reported high demand for their utterly useless anti-pork flu kits, consisting of a flimsy surgical mask, some Kendal mintcake, a James Blunt CD, a novelty keyring and a cyanide pill.

Haha, I love that site

Dr Tom Booker, from Reading University, said: "Of course they're wearing them in Mexico. If I was in Mexico I'd be wearing one regardless. You can almost smell the fucking place from here."

He added: "If you've got the cash - and the back muscles - you could try walking around in a scuba suit, with a couple of oxygen tanks strapped to your shoulders.

"But really, the best way to stop pork flu is to get it, takes some pills and watch the telly until you don't have it anymore."

 

[An Officer]

I'm rather nervous about seeing Trek XI when it comes out. One room, full of hundreds of people, most of them tourists from the states and the continent... Not the most reassuring combination. The last time I was in a cinema, to see Duplicity, there was a guy sitting directly behind me, hacking away, blowing his nose, and making strange breathing noises. Yep, I came down with the same cough a week later. Even if it isn't the swine flu, picking up little things like that is such a nuisance. Some idiots don't have the decency to stay home when they're sick.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

That's interesting, as viral illnesses have affected me differently each time. Usually it's the sore tonsils, followed by sneezes, cough producing thick clear sputum, then a mild listlessness for a week - good old paracetamol helps me with that, and very often even stems the progression of symptoms. The last time I had it very bad was last August, just as I was starting some annual leave. Typical.

Twice, however, I've had it differently. Last year I came down with shivers, headache (of a generalised type - not a migraine, they are different) and a feeling of not being able to get out of bed, and I recall being curled up in bed with shivers and nausea, which lasted only two days before I started to feel anywhere near better.

Then I remember my last major Flu virus illness several years ago. Proper, cold-sweat, stay in bed all day Flu. It presented as an ache in both of my hips, to the point that I kept sitting down, then wanted to stand up. By the time I finished work, I decided to rest a little in bed, then ended up staying in bed for the following 36 hours. I thought to myself, "ZR [this was well before I was known as ZR, by the way], you can shrug this off easily" then I tried to go to work the following day, but couldn't hack it at all. This was proper Flu. And the irony of it was that I was due my Flu vaccination the following week.

I have a fairly low resistance anyway, so I get the vaccination every year.

But I've had this thing for weeks now that just keeps getting better and worse. It was really bad at the start of the month, couldn't breath properly, sore throat, coughing, thick sputum, headaches, etc. Of course the problem with me is it's hard to sort symptoms from the rest of my health problems.
But the coughing, sore throat and headaches keep coming back. Guess I should count myself lucky that I'm not getting bed rest at the slightest sniffle most of the time though.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm rather nervous about seeing Trek XI when it comes out. One room, full of hundreds of people, most of them tourists from the states and the continent... Not the most reassuring combination. The last time I was in a cinema, to see Duplicity, there was a guy sitting directly behind me, hacking away, blowing his nose, and making strange breathing noises. Yep, I came down with the same cough a week later. Even if it isn't the swine flu, picking up little things like that is such a nuisance. Some idiots don't have the decency to stay home when they're sick.

I always try to go first thing in the morning when I expect films to be busy, that way there's only a smattering of people there. I don't suppose that's possible for most people who are working at 10am, though.