Deadly Swine Flu Outbreak

[TheMercenary]

Anyone keeping an eye on this? We probably should.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...53N22820090425

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24449988.htm

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090425/D97P8SD00.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24524032.htm

[Sundae]

I heard about it on the news this morning.
Grim.

[piercehawkeye45]

MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Reuters) - The majority of the people killed in Mexico's fatal flu outbreak were adults between 25 and 45 years old, a Mexican health official said on Friday.

This is the scary part.

[Elspode]

This stat would seem to indicate to me that those who are more active and likely to be out and about socializing are at greater risk. Or I could be completely wrong. The stat as posted doesn't really reveal whether or not this age range is dying more than younger or older people who have been exposed, or if there are simply more members of that demographic who have contracted the flu.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Elspode

This stat would seem to indicate to me that those who are more active and likely to be out and about socializing are at greater risk. Or I could be completely wrong. The stat as posted doesn't really reveal whether or not this age range is dying more than younger or older people who have been exposed, or if there are simply more members of that demographic who have contracted the flu.

That's true but influenza viruses usually only kill the young and old because of a weaker immune systems. Since the majority of people that have died are middle aged, it hints that this is a strong strain along with its never before seen avian, swine, and human hybrid makeup.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

never before seen avian, swine, and human hybrid makeup.

[Shawnee123]

I hope the pigs are stocking up on Theraflu.

[Pie]

Originally Posted by Elspode

This stat would seem to indicate to me that those who are more active and likely to be out and about socializing are at greater risk. Or I could be completely wrong. The stat as posted doesn't really reveal whether or not this age range is dying more than younger or older people who have been exposed, or if there are simply more members of that demographic who have contracted the flu.

In a lot of cases, the immune response of the host itself is what is deadly in a flu infection. Those with the most aggressive immune response are young and middle-aged adults. Children and the elderly can squeak by.

The same was true for bird flu.

[Kitsune]

Friend of mine that lives around the corner notified me that I haven't heard from him this past week because has been shut in for some days now with high fever, aches, chills, dizziness and minor breathing issues. Hope he doesn't mind if I keep my distance from him for another seven days or so.

[Aliantha]

My cousin just got back from south america. She came back with dengue fever and some blasto(something) virus. Since she had to give samples of everything to determine her illnesses, I'm assuming she's safe, but I hope she gets checked out anyway.

[capnhowdy]

We can expect a flood of illegals as a result. Some of them will be infected. May God have mercy on our souls.

[classicman]

there has been a flood of illegals for decades - this will not change that.
except in the media coverage.

[Sundae]

It's already making headlines here.
Yawn, yawn - the NHS Trusts will have to waste time and money answering media questions, reassuring the public, drawing up plans in the event of a pandemic...

We had it with ebola, a flu pandemic, SARS, avian flu... now we go through it all again.

I was interested and concerned originally. Now I'm tired of it already. Sorry, how many have died? Less than in an hour from hunger in some parts of the world? Okay, I'll zone out for a bit then.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

We had it with ebola, a flu pandemic, SARS, avian flu... now we go through it all again.

B-b-b-but... what are you going to do? You can't just continue to live your life!

I stopped taking this seriously when I was forced by my company to sit in on a DHS presentation back in '08 concerning business continuity in times of disaster. I found it a bit odd that despite giving this presentation in Florida, they didn't once talk about the obvious issue: hurricanes. Instead, they spent a full hour talking mostly about what the world was going to be when the bird flu hit and how we were to prepare for it. The usual two weeks of supplies, we were told, would not be enough and so we would have to plan for a possible full 3 months of being disconnected and shut in our houses and away the outside. Two medical respirators per person per day would be needed, along with all prescription drugs, food, and water needed for the entire duration of just one wave of the disease. "Tuna and spam", the DHS rep said, were perfect because the low profile cans would "enable you to fit many cases of it under your bed." 3 months of all supplies was the minimum, 6 was the suggested.

Right.

That presentation was when I realized how fucked up and unrealistic it all is. The same agency that told me to seal up a safe room with duct tape and plastic so that I could suffocate to death in the event of a bioterror attack on my home town was trying to suggest I needed to stock up a half year's worth of canned meat and clean out my local Home Depot of N95 dust masks while not once ever suggesting I consider the ramifications of living and working just six miles from the Gulf of Mexico or have a plan in place for when the next major storm arcs in off of Cuba and turns the area into a gigantic sand bar.

Disaster preparedness, indeed. Were we not living above limestone aquifers, I would expect them to suggest constructing a backyard bunker to live in perpetuum to protect against all threats. Wouldn't want to take any chances, would we?

[capnhowdy]

From the Associated Press: [quote]

U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency For Swine Flu

WASHINGTON – The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.

Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild — and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.

"As we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader spectrum of disease," predicted Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to see more severe disease in this country."

At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.

Top among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that, Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.

Napolitano called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure — one was declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."

"Really that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."


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