New Flu Virus SPREADS!
- Thread starter miraclefan
- Start date
As Trekker has stated so many times, MAY SWEEPS!!!!
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-swine-reality30-2009apr30,0,3606923.story
It's Fuckin dead, not fucken dead.
I didn't make the caption - got the pic in a round robin email
No need to worry unless your blood test looks like this:
You say "EVERY disease on the planet is a Level 5" - it sounds like you still don't understand the definitions or the nature of infectious diseases. You should consider re-reading the WHO Phases of Pandemic Alert:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html
The Pandemic Phases description refers to a specific strain of an infection (any infection, but in this case Influenza virus) that is traceable and can be followed. The WHO feel they are at Phase 5 following news that the virus had spread among humans in two or more areas within the same WHO-defined region (in this case, the Americas) - presumably the index cases in each local outbreak were visitors from an affected area. We were at Phase 4 earlier this week due to documentation of human to human spread of the virus in a single area (Mexico). Here's hoping we don't have Phase 6, a.k.a. Pandemic™, declared (human to human spread in different WHO-defined regions of the world) or panic, spread by the typically insensitive modern media of the world, will ensue.
Also, nowhere in the description is the word "death" mentioned, as the phases refer to the transmissibility of a specific strain of the virus between humans in different parts of the world, not whether it kills people or not.
There may be a risk of pandemic due to the ease of which a specific strain spreads around the world and is found in documented cases of people with flu symptoms, but whether it kills everyone or not depends on the effectiveness of how we deal with prevention of the infection's transmission and treatment of identified cases among the general population, where there is nevertheless an average mortality rate (every disease has a mortality rate, it's just that some diseases have a mortality rate of 0.000%
). Of course, the media doesn't help by confusing "suspected" cases with "confirmed" cases - Mexico recently revised its death toll from 168 suspected, down to about 20, and now down to 8 deaths confirmed to be due to swine flu.
Incidentally the virus is now officially called Influenza A (H1N1) according to the WHO.
Incidentally the virus is now officially called Influenza A (H1N1) according to the WHO.
With that in mind, "WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!"
People will certainly die before they get old.Incidentally the virus is now officially called Influenza A (H1N1) according to the WHO.
With that in mind, "WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!"
People will certainly die before they get old.Incidentally the virus is now officially called Influenza A (H1N1) according to the WHO.
With that in mind, "WE WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!"
They'll probably ask everyone they meet if they're from the world health org:
"WHO are you? Oo oo oo oo?"
Goddamnit, now the stupid bugs popped up here in Washington state. Seven suspected cases and they've started closing schools. I have to admit with the thing less than 25 miles away I can understand how easy it is to let yourself freak out.
I guess I shouldn't worry too much about that concert in July beign cancelled. If the media is to be believed, by then this'll either be forgotten, or we'll all be dead.
I guess I shouldn't worry too much about that concert in July beign cancelled. If the media is to be believed, by then this'll either be forgotten, or we'll all be dead.
It really does seem to me that the American and British media (the only ones I've looked at thus far) seem to be going out of their way to avoid ANY mitigating news on this outbreak. I have not once heard CNN, for instance, report that Mexican officials are saying that this may be tapering off there (stabilizing, in their words).
They rarely report that most scientists and medical professionals (you know, the people who actually know what they're talking about) have repeatedly stated that this is hardly a truly deadly infectious disease, ala HIV, Yellow Fever, Malaria or Smallpox. They report "109 COMFIRMED CASES!!!", but almost under their breaths they may mutter "but most are at home and doing fine", as if they couldn't be bothered. They report that "more schools closed!!!", without stating the fact that most schools close if there's ANY kind of highly contagious outbreak.
FWIW, I have no problem with CNN or the BBC or other outlets constantly hyperventilating about Influenza A, but at least balance that with some facts that give viewers/readers a real, honest perspective on what's going on instead of just feeding them shallow hype.
They rarely report that most scientists and medical professionals (you know, the people who actually know what they're talking about) have repeatedly stated that this is hardly a truly deadly infectious disease, ala HIV, Yellow Fever, Malaria or Smallpox. They report "109 COMFIRMED CASES!!!", but almost under their breaths they may mutter "but most are at home and doing fine", as if they couldn't be bothered. They report that "more schools closed!!!", without stating the fact that most schools close if there's ANY kind of highly contagious outbreak.
FWIW, I have no problem with CNN or the BBC or other outlets constantly hyperventilating about Influenza A, but at least balance that with some facts that give viewers/readers a real, honest perspective on what's going on instead of just feeding them shallow hype.
As was said before, "SWEEPS". The media stopped reporting the news years ago. They now either make the news or are nothing more than entertainment media.
Four confirmed cases at my school and a whole bunch of suspected one (including from someone who was in my room last night and lives down the hall). University President decided to close all public events. You know, except for those pesky classes (no way 100 people meeting in one room for an hour and 15 minutes could ever spread this thing).
Maybe we should just close down EVERYTHING from November to June because that's flu season. It's just a new strain of a flu, there are new ones every year and most people don't die, they just get sick. This whole thing is insane.
When there is a real problem, lets say smallpox outbreak, people will be like "Ehhh the last thing was overdone and I had my smallpox shot 40 years ago". It's the same thing with hurricanes, they make them out to be this big huge deal caused by man made global warming and it turns out it was nothing special. So the next time one comes around no one leaves.
My problem isn't that they didn't close down classes, it's that they closed down fun activities (a concert yesterday and a bus ride and tickets to a baseball game tonight). There's an odd mix of hypochondria and hypocrisy going on.
