All this swine flu stuff

Whats everyones take on this swine flu stuff?

Today, the government of mexico asked that the nation shutdown all non-essental services. And for everyone to stay at home. That is a pretty big deal, to shutdown an entire nation.

 

Pandemics actually seem to happen at pretty regular intervals. About every 40-50 years or so. The largest recorded was in 1918 which involved a flu strain called the Spanish Flu and is estimated to have killed 100 million people around the world. The last one was in 1968 which killed 1 million people in official numbers.

I fully expect the WHO (World Health Organization) to declare this a Pandemic in the next day or two. It meets all the requirements of a stage-6 global pandemic at this time. Those are minor though and include multiple cases in neighboring regional countries as well as at least one case of human to human transmission in a secondary world region. With about 3,000 suspected cases in North America right now, we satisfy the first part of the requirement which is why we're at alert level 5 on the "Pandemic Scale". The last part was confirmed yesterday in Spain with human to human transmission.

However, we need to put this into perspective. Throughout the centuries, mankind has survived plagues, pandemics, flu mutations and many other health issues. Every year, the common flu infects Millons, if not Billions, of people. Every single year, world wide there are an estimated 500,000 deaths due to the flu. In 2008, there were 36,000 flu related deaths in the United States. In the current outbreak, its primarily restricted to Mexico and places where infected travelers reside. There have been no confirmed cases in Africa yet and Asia, outside of Isreal, hasn't been hit yet. Both Africa and Southeast Asia would be causes for concern due to other diseases and lack of medical care in many areas.

Really, I'd follow the advice of the CDC at this time. These include:
Being aware of your surroundings. Don't hang out with sick people.
Wash your hands frequently with hot soapy water. Doesn't matter if its antibiotic because the commercial antibiotic soaps don't work anyway.
Make sure your food is properly prepared.

If you change one thing about your habits right now, then don't eat out. You don't know the health conditions of the cook or whether they actually wash their hands frequently. Especially avoid fast food restaurants if you can because the workers there cannot afford sick days. Eating healthy meals at home prepared from whole foods is the healthiest thing you can do. Stop at the pharmacy or health food store and get yourself a bottle of tea tree oil and a bottle of eucalyptus oil. These are the best antimicrobial agents that mother nature makes. Put a little on a washcloth and wipe down surfaces in your home and let them dry in the air.

But don't panic. Be cautious and aware. Keep your family healthy with good food, clean water and good hygiene.

 

While on the discussion of plagues, lets not forget the bubonic plague that passed through Europe in the 1348 - 1350, and London in 1665 - 1666.

Besides those 2 times, the bubonic plague swept through europe on a regular basis. So its not like those are the "only" 2 times.

There is no way to estimate how many people died in the 1348 wave because entire communities were killed off. Entries in journals from that time tell of towns where just a few children survived. The children that survived turned wild from lack of contact with other people.

The starvation might have killed more people then the plague. As farmers and merchants died off, there was nobody to grow the food that the people in the cities needed. There is wide spread stories of people killing and eating each other for food. Some stories tell of parents killing their children, other stories are of children killing their parents.

Some estimates put the deaths around 75 - 125 million people just in the 1400s. But there is no way to know for sure.

And the great plague of london in 1665 - 1666 killed an estimated 100,000 people just in that one city.

Disease is always around us. Whether its the flu, plague, or the cold they are out there, waiting for their turn to leave their mark on humanity.

 

It's great. People must come to the forum to discuss. Over-analyze, hyper-ventilate, rend health professionals and politicians, recount their own health history, read all the posts and pick apart arguments.

Oh wait. You meant health-wise.

 

I think it's great that everybody is becoming extremely cautious and that this thing isn't coming at us full-force.

What I do not like is that the media has over-hyped this entire thing. We want the facts; the media gives drama -- it just doesn't work together.

Although, this is a good little 'drill' (at least in the stages it is in now) for when a real plague, epidemic or pandemic comes through.

 

Unless .... I'm hearing some backlash. People are getting used to a big wind-up from the Crisis News Network and other excitable media news outlets with little substance behind it. Some are thinking this is just another trip round the same block, with advertising as the principal motivation for the buzz. If there is a true public health crisis (and who knows, maybe this is it) I think there may be some erosion of confidence in the news media that communicates it.

 

I've felt this way since November 4th of last year.

Actually, I've felt this way for a long time. Nov. 4th just secured my thoughts.

 

So there has been what two people killed by the Swine thus far in the US and it's a Pandemic? Now what does that make the typical flu that kills roughly 35,000 people a year? I'm not trying to be some conspiracy theorist but the whole Swine flu issue doesn't add up.

 

Most of the posts in this thread were made in the Swine Flu's nacent stages, at which point it wasn't exactly easy to tell that it is harmless. Now we all know better.

Hopefully it won't mutate and come back this autumn like the one of 1918 did (so I hear).

 

Yes sir, but that has been my standard reply to the Swine dating back to the very beginning...even when I was sick my self during that time. It started out with a supposed 150 people being infected and killed down in Mexico. Then we learned the actual number of fatalities was closer to 6-8 and that Tameflu was working. But the media was still screaming the Sky is Falling and reminded everyone of the 1918 Pandemic. Now what the people really needed to do was to set aside their emotions and review the facts. There wasn't anything going on during that time to indicate a Pandemic or justify states like California declaring a state of emergency.

 

A disease doesn't have to kill people to be a pandemic. Even though many didn't die in Mexico from it, they still suffered hundreds of billions of dollars of loss to their Economy because of shutdowns. Even here in California where no one has died of this strain yet, they are estimating that its close to a billion dollars in economic damage, primarily from scared people crowding emergency rooms instead of going to clinics.

Even with that, the issue is still ongoing. Its just not being covered by the media. However new cases are still creeping up and its still mutating so its something to be leary of and watch out for. The fact that its made up of four different varieties of common flu viruses is also worrisome and has to make one wonder if this was a test or not.

The deaths in Mexico will never been known. Only inidivduals who had not been buried or cremated will ever be tested in Mexico. Since the Outbreak there started in early April and the WHO did not get involved until April 24th, they don't know the true numbers.

A "State of Emergency" is a legal term and allows state funds to be used to combat a variety of things. They can be broad and cover the entire nation or a few states. They can be narrow and cover as little as a town or even a few city blocks. Without them, fire wouldn't be fought. Flood Victims wouldn't be fed. Earthquake victims wouldn't be removed from the rubble. There just wouldn't be the funds to do so. Its really nothing more than that, though the media always tries to boost them up.

Should you let it alter your everyday life? No. Should you be prepared if this or a similar disease strikes your area? Yes. Being prepared is not the same as panic. In fact its quite the opposite. Personally, I really hate the flu. I have bronchitis and allergies so getting the flu means that I am sick for at least 6 weeks. You haven't lived until you get the flu and haven't slept for 3 days because you can't breathe or sit up all night coughing until you vomit. I'll avoid anyone who has the flu but it doesn't mean that I don't go outside or wear surgical gloves everywhere.

 

Yes sir, my wife is allergic to everything known to man and has asthma to boot. When she gets sick it's like you said, last for ever. The steroids will keep her up for days as well. It's people like you all that are in serious risk and should take precautions.

Anyhow, you're right and it's my opinion that the news created this pandemic. Just imagine the chaos if the news handled the situation that same during our normal flu season which kills some 35,000 people a year?

Now if you believe in conspiracies, rummer has it the worlds supply of Tameflu was about to go bad. So they created this scare to get people lined up at their local hospitals. It's sounds a little far fetched until the WHO came out and reported their sock piles was in fact old. And if that doesn't get your attention, keep in mind Hank Paulson and Donald Runsfeld are key players in Tameflu. I'm just saying...

 

I feel sorry for the poor kids who first bought it to New Zealand, heh. A bunch of 13/14 year olds came back from a trip to Mexico, and most fo them came back with positive results of Swine Flu, the first cases here.

 

Wow, that's a shame. You go on vacation and come home sick with your life at risk.

 

Wasn't really a vacation. A variety of schools from around the world went to Mexico City on a language seminar to get kids to learn more about Spanish in a native environment. I understand its an annual thing.

School trips is how it spread to most countries. In the U.S., the outbreaks in New York were from the same trip. There were probably outbreaks elsewhere due to this but they were never reported or tested. The WHO estimates that as few as 10% of people affected will be tested and confirmed.

 

The way i saw it, it was silly to be ignorant and pass it off as "nothing" but it was grossly (sp?) exaggerated.

Can't we find a middle ground?

 

I know I'm completely ignorant here, but I can't say I have must interest in this.

There are so many ways to die. This is just another.

 

I think when something like this happens the best thing to do is to turn off the news, the radio and don't read the newspapers The media always dramatize everything they can.