ghost69 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 has our flu never been documented outside of the USA? i think it alters itself as it travels, but swine flu stays the same. maybe that is why. but everyone gets the common cold and regular seasonal flu. i mean, not everyone catches it year in year out, but internationally everyone as a whole in general. you got it i think. Link to comment
EQD Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 well if swine flu stayed the same it would be less threatening than the average flu if anything. i think the biggest problem we have right now is that there is no solid facts being widely distrubuted about this flu which has apparently been around for almost 100 documented years.. and that obscurity is being played on. Link to comment
melrich Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 My Mom just got over a severe infection and she's 72. They thought she may have pnuemonia, but she's fine, she lived through it. Cool. Sounds like the elderly are now safe from the flu. Link to comment
jul-els Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Cool. Sounds like the elderly are now safe from the flu. If you say so. Link to comment
melrich Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 the average flu mutates every season and the vaccines are only 50% effective or thereabouts.. it kills thousands of people. and yet... we are still more afraid of the swine flu than the regular one. i wonder which one is more contageous. All viruses mutate and evolve. There are literally millions of viruses out there. Most of them stay with their original host and do little damage because the host species has a layer of immunity. The problem when a virus jumps species is twofold, 1. The species it jumps to is unlikely to have any layer of immunity. This is what makes something like this new strain potentially very dangerous compared to what you are all calling "normal" flu. The human race has built up certain layers of immunity to flu viruses that live in the human species. This is why there was so much alarm about the Avian flu, because it jumped from one species to another and no one knows just what is going to happen. 2. Secondly, like any other virus, it will mutate in the new species and again, no one knows in what way it will mutate. This is not just another strain of a human virus. It is a virus that previously existed in another species and the "panic" if you like is because no one is sure what it will do. The only thing you can be sure of is that if it were left unchecked it is likely over a 6 to 12 month period infect billions of people. It may not kill another one of them. But we just don't know because we have not seen this particular strain of virus in the human species before. Link to comment
Stinkweed Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 ^that's what I'm thinking... Okay, maybe there is some panic going on, but on the other hand governments have pretty little control over this virus. With new cases popping up every day, it could mutate into something much worse... The only thing they can do is stop it from spreading and thus it wouldn't be able to mutate... But government's not all-powerful and new cases have been appearing every day... I hope it just fizzles out, and that it does so within the next 2 weeks... Link to comment
Miss Firecracker Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Cool. Sounds like the elderly are now safe from the flu. Absolutely! I am so certain of this I went to two thrift stores this evening and touched and bought used clothing and shoes. I even walked by Mexican shoppers and didn't hold my breath. And I didn't wear a mask either. Link to comment
Nixee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I agree that the species jump is unnerving no doubt. But wearing a mask around out in public as if the whole world is now contaminated with something deadly seems a bit extreme to me... as does the media showing all the images of these people in their masks. This ain't exactly Resident Evil we're talking about here. It's only triple digits WORLDWIDE who are sick at all at this point in a population well over 6 billion. That's pretty highly spread out. 109 cases in the US, 50 of them in NY where I live. Ok... so thats pretty darn close to home for me. Does that mean I should be wearing a mask? Skipping school? Avoiding people? If I personally know anyone or know OF anyone who is sick (even unconfirmed), sure... I'll definitely avoid, or better yet, tell THEM to avoid... as they should be doing already. But to assume that the virus is just floating around in the air everywhere and we need masks now to protect us? Silly. We aren't in germ warfare. We do know HOW the illness is caught and passed. If you aren't exposed to it, chances are... you aren't going to get it. Link to comment
Miss Firecracker Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 link removed I didn't order designer masks, but they are available. Link to comment
Nixee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 link removed I didn't order designer masks, but they are available. hahahaa...... ok... for sheer humor value I *might* wear one of those. Maybe on vacation in Cancun? Link to comment
Miss Firecracker Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 hahahaa...... ok... for sheer humor value I *might* wear one of those. Maybe on vacation in Cancun? I should have waited a day and I could have been in style. Those weren't advertised yesterday when I bought mine on eBay. Just when I was getting over the swine flu panic, look what I found. This is ten times worse, and I'm not joking. I will certainly die if this happens. link removed Link to comment
melrich Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Does that mean I should be wearing a mask? Skipping school? Avoiding people? I don't know. Do what the authorities are advising. If they are saying wear a mask, wear one. Look up your local advisory. Our government for example is saying simply maintain appropriate hygienne at this stage. They will obviously give more stringent guidelines if the outbreak expands. Link to comment
Stinkweed Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I'm totally expecting to get sick... just wish it had happened before my travels. Oh well. But that's just the way these things are... Just like regular flu, nearly everybody in the world will get it. Link to comment
CynicalGuitarist Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 Agreed. I've lived through way too much in my life to run from a flu virus. I live as healthy a lifestyle as I can - that's the best defense I can offer. Flu is a natural part of life. I was far more afraid of being raped and murdered when I lived in South Central L.A.... As to Obama's billion bucks - Melrich, he's already spent our tax dollars for a millennium into the future. We don't need to be spending more money - where is the CDC's existing funding, and other private agency funding? With all the bird flu panic, I bet they didn't spend the time examining other possible strains which could be evolving. Although this came from another country, I think it points to the fact that maybe we're not allocating our resources appropriately. Doesn't mean to go get further in debt. Couldn'tve said it better myself, really. To hell with this "swine" flu; I'm not gonna spend my life worrying about it. If I was wrong and happen to die from it, I just hope Radiohead's Motion Picture Soundtrack is playing in the background before I pass. Link to comment
BellaDonna Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 My poor grandmother is feeling a lot of panic over it. She called me tonight to tell me to "wash my hands", bless her heart. Link to comment
Nixee Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Ya know what? I've had the regular flu before, I've been in car accidents before, I've had surgery before, I've had other illnesses and taken other risks before. I certainly have cancer in my family, and that is much higher on my list of worries, I know that much. To me these are things with a much higher rate of mortality, and yet I'm still alive. This is why the facts of swine flu get little more than a shrug of the shoulders from me. Not like all the other risks in the world have suddenly gone away. Link to comment
EQD Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 i heard on the radio yesterday after work that a local woman got it. but is apparently in another state on vacation at this point. still dont care. Link to comment
jul-els Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I came down with an absolutely brutal case of the flu last year. It was excruciating and I did start to get the idea of what it might be like to succumb to it. It was really tough, but I lived. The flu just doesn't scare me much. If a pandemic occurs the government won't be able to do anything about it. We'll all be in the same boat taking our chances equally. If there's anything they can do to protect children and the elderly then they should by all means do their job and do the best they can, but I'll be fine. All I know is I'm gonna go someday one way or the other and if ends up being by the flu then so be it. I honestly don't believe that will be the case but either way, it's not for me to choose. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy my life and not let some goofy newscaster spoil my day. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.