Swine Flu Over-reaction?

[masterblaster72 0]

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I am preparing. If it get it I get it. If my kids get it then they get it. I manage.

That's it. What the hell can I do to stop this? It's not a denial of an issue but a cynicism of what effect my individual decisions and actions have.

Very, very little, I'm afraid. So bring it on.

Here's what I'm doing, for example:

- canceled a week's vacation, with no refund or credit (tix were only $377 r/t). I'd rather not fly twice in one week with something like this going around since I often catch a cold/flu after long flights.

- walking to and from work rather than taking public transportation.

- washing my hands frequently and using hand sanitizer at my desk when at work

- blowing my nose after walking in public places

- washing my nasal passages with saline solution when I get home from work.

- opening doors with the top of the sleeve of my shirt rather than using my bare hands

- avoiding use of public bathrooms

Might seem neurotic/hypochondriac to many but taking these steps gives me peace of mind.

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[freeflybella 0]

"In case after case, patients (in Mexico) have complained of being misdiagnosed, turned away by doctors and denied access to drugs."


AP Source

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[434 2]

In our world I dont think we will manage to escape the flu at all, it is just matter of time. Either you are one of those who get it, or you dont. If you get a earlier version, will you then be resistant for the next wave, or the next type of flu?

[usedtajump 1]

The end is near. It's the Aporkalypse.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[shropshire 0]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[freeflybella 0]

Some perspective.

There is alot to be said for natural immunity to viruses. Not the least of which is that it's lifelong.

It's a little nuts to think we can avoid illness. Avoiding illness doesn't make you healthy - it makes you susceptible.

Vaccines for every thing that comes along seem risky because a/ they don't always work; b/ boosters are needed and often it is discovered that more and more boosters than previously thought are needed to maintain immunity and c/ hastily created vaccines have a history of making us sicker than the illness they're intended to prevent.

I think it's OK for there to be a lot of media coverage of the subject - because I think the general public is lazy and desensitized. Without media sensation you probably couldn't get people to wash their hands more frequently. And I do think the WHO and the CDC need to watch what this virus does and how it mutates.

But all we hear about is how a pandemic is imminent. And quite frankly, I'd like to see less coverage of the college student who had a 101 fever for 3 days, and more coverage of the town in Mexico that is downstream/wind of the Smithfield hog CAFO.

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[BillyVance 34]

Not responding to anybody in particular, but it appears that 2 students in an elementary school in Madison may have come down with the swine flu. They did not require hospitalization and are recovering, as far as I know. The reaction? The school board orders all schools in the system CLOSED and the state high school association postpones all state athletic competitions to a later date.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[lawrocket 3]

Of course. After working in a hospital for a couple of years some things like frequent hand washing are still habit. I think that if it is out there I will get it sooner or later.

That which does not kill us merely postpones the inevitable. And my schedule looks pretty good for the next couple of weeks. If I get sick in mid-May it'll suck.

I also know my luck. It means that I will get sick in mid-May if I were to live in a bubble until then.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Remster 24]

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The school board orders all schools in the system CLOSED and the state high school association postpones all state athletic competitions to a later date.

Which is inline what what the CDC and WHO recommend.

Remster

[434 2]

It all started in Mexico where there have been more than 20 confirmed deaths, with around 1,600 more people believed to be infected.

Governments around the world are hurrying to contain the spread of a new swine flu virus after outbreaks were reported in Mexico, the US and Canada.

In Europe, health ministers called for an urgent meeting as one case of swine flu was confirmed in Spain.

And more than 11 countries are looking into suspected infections, including New Zealand where 10 students have been held in quarantine. They returned from a trip to Mexico and are believed to be carrying the virus.

The UN has warned that the virus has the potential to become a pandemic, but said the world was better prepared than ever to deal with the threat.

Is the threat as serious as it seems? Is this the pandemic that could wipe out half of the world's population? Or is it a worldwide panic exacerbated by the media?

Inside Story presenter Kamahl Santamaria is joined by Dr. Hassan El-Bushra, a regional advisor for emerging diseases at the World Health Organisation, Dr. Abdel-Hady Mesbah, a professor of immunology at Cairo University and a fellow of the American Immunology Society, and Roger Highfield, an award-winning science journalist and editor of New Scientist magazine.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, April 27, 2009.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2009/04/2009427135840711563.html

[riddler 0]

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It's a little nuts to think we can avoid illness. Avoiding illness doesn't make you healthy - it makes you susceptible.

Most people in America have immune systems that are already compromised, due to poor diet and environmental pollution, stress, lack of sleep, etc. Our bodies are constantly being bombarded with viruses and bacteria - why don't we get sick every day? The answer is our immune system.

Two ways to look at the issue:

1. The germ theory says that we transmit diseases to each other, and it's the transmitter's fault that we got sick. It also says that those people that survive develop a resistance to the germs only after getting sick.

2. Another way to view it is that it's our fault for compromising our immune systems, and we take action to improve our immune systems to prevent futher illness. Not everyone that is exposed to a virus gets sick. If you live a clean lifestyle, eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, get regular exercise, plenty of sleep, miminize your stress levels, you may be one of those people. You won't have to get sick to build an immunity if your immune system is already strong enough to kill the viruses and bacteria in the first place.

I don't know if a really strong immune system could stop each and every virus, but I do know that our ability to stop most of them comes down to how healthy of a lifestyle we choose to live. For every person that has gotten sick from swine flu, there are probably several that have been exposed, but their immune systems killed the virus before the virus got ot of control. If you want to be one of those people, take care of your body.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[freeflybella 0]

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Our bodies are constantly being bombarded with viruses and bacteria - why don't we get sick every day?

My guess is the truth lies somewhere in between/or a combo of both your 2 choices. I'm not sure if you raised a person in a germless environment, fed him good food, gave him plenty of exercise, love, etc. and then exposed him to germs - that his body would fight it off.

Although it's absolutely true that diet and stress and chemicals and vaccines and anti-bacterial soaps have made us weaker.

I imagine the immune system is like our metabolism. Eat lots of small good meals to keep your body burning energy at an efficient rate. But starving yourself causes your metabolism to slow down. Then when you do eat, your metabolism isn't as efficient.

I think it's the constant bombardment of viruses and bacteria that make our immune systems strong. In essence, we do get "sick" a lot when we're young but it's not debilitating and sometimes not even apparent that we're "sick" at all.

Either way, +1 on the healthy lifestyle as best prevention.

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[billvon 2,417]

>You won't have to get sick to build an immunity if your immune system is
>already strong enough to kill the viruses and bacteria in the first place.

Actually what most people refer to as "sickness" _is_ proof that your immune system is strong enough to kill the virus in the first place.

Much of the severity of any illness is determined by how long it takes the adaptive immune system to kick in. That's a system that exhibits immunological memory; it remembers specific antigens and will mount a response against them specifically. It's much more powerful than the innate system because it can target viruses/infected cells/bacteria directly.

However, until you have that disease (or one like it) the adaptive system has no memory of them, and cannot respond quickly. Hence, vaccines or prior exposure to a disease greatly reduces the amount of time needed to fight off a new infection, to the point where you will likely not even notice the infection (i.e. it's eliminated before it bothers you.)

If you don't have such a 'memorized' response, then the innate immune system has to start fighting it, and the adaptive system has to recognize the invader and start producing antibodies to defeat it. All this activity (which includes things like histamine release) makes you feel lousy. However, it's really your body's response that makes you feel lousy, not the disease itself. Indeed, the time of greatest infection (and the time you're often most contagious) is the time preceding what most people define as "sickness" (i.e. runny nose, coughing) and immediately thereafter, since that's the point at which your body starts really fighting off the disease.

[TomAiello 25]

Wow. Did anyone else see the Vice President today, saying he would keep his whole family out of public places, not get on any airplane, etc?

Talk about creating hysterical panic. I think they need to get him a teleprompter or something.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[434 2]

Its going to be interesting for the heliboogie, Extreme sportsweek, and WBR this year if this continue. Even Bridge day will be in the danger zone if this escalades.

Donald is getting rich I hear.

[1969912 0]

Interesting ideas about why the flu seems to be less deadly in the US than in Mexico:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518514,00.html

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[JohnRich 4]

It has been said for hundreds of years that pigs will fly before we ever get a black president.

And now look what happened: Obama, and Swine Flu

[Conundrum 1]

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Interesting ideas about why the flu seems to be less deadly in the US than in Mexico:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518514,00.html

Wild guess, but, I would imagine we have a little better health care over here.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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Interesting ideas about why the flu seems to be less deadly in the US than in Mexico:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518514,00.html

Wild guess, but, I would imagine we have a little better health care over here.

The fact is most Americans (and Canadians, Spaniards, etc) haven't needed the health care system to combat it. Very few have been hospitalized.

[billvon 2,417]

>Wild guess, but, I would imagine we have a little better health care over here.

IMPOSSIBLE! The Mexican health care system is an almost entirely out of pocket, privately funded system. It is inconceivable that it could be worse than the US's more-publically-funded health care system.

Now ixnay on the ommentscay before heads start exploding.

[freeflybella 0]

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Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[wmw999 2,137]

Ripped right out of Bonfire: patient zero in the swine flu epidemic

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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More

Maybe we will see a market for free range, non-medicated pork emerging.
I already insist on my eggs being so. I would buy the beef if I could afford it.

[Capt.Slog 0]

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Wow. Did anyone else see the Vice President today, saying he would keep his whole family out of public places, not get on any airplane, etc?

Talk about creating hysterical panic. I think they need to get him a teleprompter or something.

Explain why it's bad advice.

As many as one in five passengers develops a cold within a week of flying because of bacteria and viruses in the recycled air of the cabin. But catching a cold may be the least of a traveller's worries. Other airborne infections which can be transmitted between passengers include tuberculosis, influenza (flu), measles, mumps and chicken pox.

Recycled Air. The air is recycled on aircraft and usually consists of 50% fresh and 50% stale air. Boeing Flight Manual. Lufthansa have a mixture of 60% fresh air and 40% recycled whereas other airlines like B.A. have 50-50 or 60-40 of recycled air.
Bacteria and viruses that cause illnesses like colds flu and pneumonia become airborne when passengers talk cough or sneeze. A cough produces 100,000 particles that can be dispersed over 20 rows in the cabin. This was shown in a study by Boeing and Pall Cabin Filters Brochure 1999.
Transmission of Disease in flight. Influenza epidemics follow major air routes. The Centres for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia has proved that tuberculosis can be transmitted to passengers through the air conditioning. Kenyon T.A. et al (1996). Transmission of multi-drug resistant mycobacterium during a long aeroplane flight. New England Journal of Medicine 4,334. Testimony before subcommittee on Aviation U.S. Senate 1989 Robertson G.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.(SARS) As with all infectious diseases,prevention can be controlled by frequent washing of hands. Be alert to symptoms of fever,dry cough,shortness of breath,headache and muscular stiffness.If a respiratory mask is worn the risk of infection can be reduced.
Gastro-enteritis. Two incidents of gastro-enteritis occurred on a Britannia Flight that affected 46% and 38% of passengers on short flights from U.K. to Europe. The virus was spread directly from person to person and through air conditioning. Public Health Laboratory Services (1997) Donnely m. et al. An investigation of gastrointestinal illness among airline passengers.
Insecticides (Permethrin). All visitors to Australia are sprayed with pesticides that can cause health problems for passengers with allergies, chemical sensitivities, asthma and other respiratory problems. The pesticide is sprayed either directly into a cabin with passengers onboard or unoccupied cabins are treated with long-lasting residual chemicals. U.S. Consumer Report. Jan 1999. Travel letters

[freeflybella 0]

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I would buy the beef if I could afford it.

This is why we never will.

There is a demand for free range eggs and cows. But intensive chicken and beef farming still exists. In no real reduced numbers.

It's not a slam against you, it's just the reality. It's much easier to put it out of one's mind because "the McRib is back!" or because you can feed a family of 4 at KFC for under $10.

The reality is, the only way to stop factory farming is to reduce consumption of, or better still, stop eating meat.

(Cue the "Yummy Bacon" comments now...)

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi