NationStates Jolt Archive

I know what you guys are thinking: Another thread on the same topic. The other one was intended as a joke. I don't think it's fitting to have a stupid title for a topic that is supposed to be serious. Plus part of that other got unintentionally hijacked at one point. I promise I won't do that with this one.
This topic should have a more serious title though.


KFI is currently reporting that starting early tomorrow morning, the Mexican President will be declaring martial law in Mexico and send in the military to make sure no one leaves their own neighborhood.

Places where the North American Flu has been confirmed:
California
Texas
Mexico City
Oaxaca state
Baja California
Mexicali
New York
Kansas
Israel
New Zealand
France
Spain
Brazil
Colombia
Scotland
Ohio
Nova Scotia
British Colombia
North Carolina
South Carolina
New Jersey
Russia
South Korea
Australia
Florida
Indiana
Veracruz (epicenter and origin)
Germany
Austria
England
Finland
Massachussetts
Michigan
Arizona
Nevada
Netherlands
Switzerland
Costa Rica
Peru
Alabama



Current Threat Level: 5

The WHO and the CDC in another reversal are now saying they are not sure how the viruses in California are related to the ones in Mexico. Their earlier statement that the two were the same were based on similarities but they have found genetic differences.
Until they prove it is two different ones we'll refer to them here, collectively, as the North American Flu.

Authorities are saying that the number of people infected in the three nations is being deliberately under reported by the governments in an effort to avoid public panic.


Humans have no natural immunity to the viruses and have to rely on Tamiflu. The company that makes Tamiflu has reported they can produce another 100,000 doses and that won't be enough for the US, let alone the continent.

In 1918 police in San Francisco were arresting people for not wearing surgical masks because of the Spanish Flu. They also forcefully shut down schools and businesses and community centers.

Princeton University was also shut down because of the 1918 Spanish flu.


WHO is saying quarantine is useless because the virus seems to be popping up everywhere at once. One minute your fine, the next you have severe flu like symptoms.

I know what you guys are thinking: Another thread on the same topic. The other one was intended as a joke. I don't think it's fitting to have a stupid title for a topic that is supposed to be serious. Plus part of that other got unintentionally hijacked at one point. I promise I won't do that with this one.
This topic should have a more serious title though.


KFI is currently reporting that starting early tomorrow morning, the Mexican President will be declaring martial law in Mexico and send in the military to make sure no one leaves their own neighborhood.

Places where the North American Flu has been confirmed:
California
Texas
Mexico City
Oaxaca state
Baja California
Mexicali
Ontario, Canada
New York

The WHO and the CDC in another reversal are now saying they are not sure how the viruses in California are related to the ones in Mexico. Their earlier statement that the two were the same were based on similarities but they have found genetic differences.
Until they prove it is two different ones we'll refer to them here, collectively, as the North American Flu.

Authorities are saying that the number of people infected in the three nations is being deliberately under reported by the governments in an effort to avoid public panic.


Humans have no natural immunity to the viruses and have to rely on Tamiflu. The company that makes Tamiflu has reported they can produce another 100,000 doses and that won't be enough for the US, let alone the continent.

In 1918 police in San Francisco were arresting people for not wearing surgical masks because of the Spanish Flu. They also forcefully shut down schools and businesses and community centers.

Princeton University was also shut down because of the 1918 Spanish flu.


WHO is saying quarantine is useless because the virus seems to be popping up everywhere at once. One minute your fine, the next you have severe flu like symptoms.

Let's just hope for the best. Maybe it'll die down.

The police tactics in 1918 are credited with preventing its spread out of SF prime.
Maybe the measures being taken by the Mexican government will have the same effect.

ФФФФФФЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮЮ >.<


This better stay by you guys, I hate getting the flu.

How ironic would it be, after all the screaming about bird flu, if humanity was wiped out by pig flu?

The WHO and the CDC in another reversal are now saying they are not sure how the viruses in California are related to the ones in Mexico. Their earlier statement that the two were the same were based on similarities but they have found genetic differences.

Birds and sea creatures are migrating farther north because of climate change. Disease can too ya know.

How ironic would it be, after all the screaming about bird flu, if humanity was wiped out by pig flu?

It's swine bird human flu.

Places where the North American Flu has been confirmed:
California
Texas
Mexico City
Oaxaca state
Baja California
Mexicali
Ontario, Canada
New York


Source on this? As of 6 p.m. Friday, the Health Minister and Chief Public Health Officer said there were no confirmed cases in Canada.
EDIT: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/04/24/health-flu-mexico090424.html?ref=rss

It's swine bird human flu.

Manbearpig?

What's the mortality rate so far? Doesn't seem to be too high. I'll worry about it when people start dropping dead left and right.

What's the mortality rate so far? Doesn't seem to be too high. I'll worry about it when people start dropping dead left and right.

out of 1000 confirmed cases in mexico, 62 are dead. In the us, there have been 8 cases, 0 deaths.

I've never had a flu.

*knocks on wood, pops a C, garlic tab and drinks some pickle juice*

Americans appear to have a stronger immunity. The Mexicans have the weakest immunity.

The cases in Canada are still under investigation.

The difference between the American and Mexican reactions to the flu is likely to do to America's better standard of living which is healthier. Plus America has a far better health protection system than Mexico does.

Americans appear to have a stronger immunity. The Mexicans have the weakest immunity.

The cases in Canada are still under investigation.

The difference between the American and Mexican reactions to the flu is likely to do to America's better standard of living which is healthier. Plus America has a far better health protection system than Mexico does.

Bullshit. Americans have better access to healthcare.

Bullshit. Americans have better access to healthcare.

That's what I said.

Confirmed in New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/americas/26flu.html?hp


EDIT: The article is also confirming Mexico as the epicenter. At least as far as New York goes.

KFI NEWS SERVICES is now saying the virus has been confirmed in Kansas.

Maybe we if we could control our southern border, we might be able to stop its spread to the US. If it gets spread to the US, then it will get psread to the rest of the world. If we can keep it contained for the most part in Mexico, and slow its speard so as few people get infected as possible, we might stop this thing cold before we have another spanish flu.

oh looks like the UK will have to place a ban on American pork for a few years oh how my heart will bleed

also its doesn't seem to be that bad tbh maybe its just a dodgy batch of bacon that got out?

Actually you can't get it from eating pig meat. As long as you cook the meat which you have to do anyway.

Actually you can't get it from eating pig meat. As long as you cook the meat which you have to do anyway.

I do beleive a similar thing was with BSE so have fun with your pork industry

Maybe we if we could control our southern border, we might be able to stop its spread to the US. If it gets spread to the US, then it will get psread to the rest of the world. If we can keep it contained for the most part in Mexico, and slow its speard so as few people get infected as possible, we might stop this thing cold before we have another spanish flu.

It's already spread into the US. But Americans don't need to worry because your immune system is much stronger than it is south of the border. I'm speculating but I think this is because Americans are the most mixed race people on the planet and this could be conferring a benefitial evolutionary advantage over people who are of homogenous ethnicity.

Bse?

It's already spread into the US. But Americans don't need to worry because your immune system is much stronger than it is south of the border. I'm speculating but I think this is because Americans are the most mixed race people on the planet and this could be conferring a benefitial evolutionary advantage over people who are of homogenous ethnicity.

*cough*

Americans general uncleanness and habitual raping of various farm animals (especially in the south) has granted us with a super-strength set of immune systems. Having been exposed to so many diseases, we can kick all of their asses.

Also, we give our white blood cells tiny little microscopic guns.

But Americans don't need to worry because your immune system is much stronger than it is south of the border.

actually the opposite is true hence all the flak cleaning products come under these days

I'm speculative but I think this is because Americans are the most mixed race people on the planet and this could be conferring a benefitial evolutionary advantage over people who are of homogenous ethnicity.

bs I want proof of this

Bse?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

if it works the same way your farming industry is ruined

edit: oh fuck its just come to the UK (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/25/swine-flu-pandemic-mexico-flight)

bs I want proof of this

I said it was speculation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

if it works the same way your farming industry is ruined

edit: oh fuck its just come to the UK

link?

I said it was speculation.

with no basis of fact on that not even your theory that the US is the most racially mixed

link?

edited in

Mexico has declared emergency powers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53O2WD20090425

"Mexican President Felipe Calderon issued an emergency decree on Saturday giving the government special powers to run tests on sick people and order them isolated to fight the deadly flu crisis.

Mexico City has already shut schools and museums and canceled sporting and cultural events as an outbreak of a new type of swine flu killed up to 68 people in the country and spread north to infect some people in the United States.

Saturday's decree, published in Mexico's official journal, gives the government power to isolate sick people, enter homes or workplaces and regulate air, sea and land transportation to try to stop further infection."

It's also being confirmed the virus originated in Mexico hence the earlier term "Mexican Flu" was accurate.

Need to wait for confirmation of the lone UK case before I can edit the OP to include it.

They need to sample the virus and send it WHO to check if it is the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

if it works the same way your farming industry is ruined

edit: oh fuck its just come to the UK (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/25/swine-flu-pandemic-mexico-flight)

Ermmm... you do know influenza is viral and spread primarily by coughing, while CJD (the human "BSE") is a prion disease contracted by eating infected meat?

Ermmm... you do know influenza is viral and spread primarily by coughing, while CJD (the human "BSE") is a prion disease contracted by eating infected meat?

yes but you see I'm European and thus entitled to ridiculing the US and its citizens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy

if it works the same way your farming industry is ruined

edit: oh fuck its just come to the UK (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/25/swine-flu-pandemic-mexico-flight)

Ban planes

Curiously, the virus is a lot weaker and the symptoms very mild outside of Mexico. I think it's possible that it's lost a lot of virulence once it evolved to be easily transmissible between humans. Of course, it's also vulnerable to several different anti-virals so it's not exactly a Captain Trips in the making. Personally, I think this reflects more poorly on conditions in Mexico than anything else, especially since it's so mild in the United States even among people infected during trips to Mexico.

The people in Canada have normal flu, rather than the Mexican flu.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/624533

OP listing edited.

Japanese people returning to Japan from North America now face special scrutiny.

WHO has declared the virus a Phase 3 and may raise it. If it does, the US will go into clamp down mode.

with no basis of fact on that not even your theory that the US is the most racially mixed



except the fact the fact that the US has more ethnic groups and more ethnic group mixing than any single European nation.

Not only do we have ethnic mixing constantly going on, but we treat everyone in America the same. We don't have special laws for Muslims and laws for everyone else.

You'll be hard pressed to find an American who is 100% of anything.

The radio has just qouted someone as saying the virus may been genetically engineered. I hope that's just a conspiracy theory because if someone made this thing and deliberately released it,



that would be an act of war.

(EDIT: or bioterrorism)

The radio has just qouted someone as saying the virus may been genetically engineered. I hope that's just a conspiracy theory because if someone made this thing and deliberately released it.

If that were the case, whoever engineered it did a pretty shitty job. The virus is already pretty weak outside of Mexico and that's in the US no less, where the cases were directly from the original source of the outbreak. Generally, you'd think biological weapons would be a little more effective than this...

The radio has just qouted someone as saying the virus may been genetically engineered. I hope that's just a conspiracy theory because if someone made this thing and deliberately released it,



that would be an act of war.

(EDIT: or bioterrorism)

Who did the radio quote?

It's already spread into the US. But Americans don't need to worry because your immune system is much stronger than it is south of the border. I'm speculating but I think this is because Americans are the most mixed race people on the planet and this could be conferring a benefitial evolutionary advantage over people who are of homogenous ethnicity.

Brazil is far more racially mixed.

And if it was deliberate, why would anyone attack some unenlightened dump like Mexico? Instead of the gloriously compassionate America, that non Christian terrorists hate, for their love and kindness?

WHO has declared the virus a Phase 3 and may raise it. If it does, the US will go into clamp down mode.

Man you would be awesome on radio.

" Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News.." :tongue:

Just kidding. I will now go look up this Phase 3 lol

http://www.pandemictoolkit.com/flu-pandemic/flu-levelsofseverity.aspx

Americans appear to have a stronger immunity. The Mexicans have the weakest immunity.

The cases in Canada are still under investigation.

The difference between the American and Mexican reactions to the flu is likely to do to America's better standard of living which is healthier. Plus America has a far better health protection system than Mexico does.


That is what I call news. America has a health protection system.

Hopefully this won't escalate into a Phase 5 or 6.

Unless the Black Death would be considered a 5 (Large Clusters, but still localized) .. had to be a 5 on those terms. Cause it wasn't global. eek. I know this has popped up elsewhere.. but that's because of freakin plane travel. So .. gotta take that into account when saying localized.. near populated air travel destinations or something.

ok.. hopefully it won't escalate above the 3 or 4 mark.

If that were the case, whoever engineered it did a pretty shitty job. The virus is already pretty weak outside of Mexico and that's in the US no less, where the cases were directly from the original source of the outbreak. Generally, you'd think biological weapons would be a little more effective than this...

Possibly it's in a mutated form in Mexico.

It's already spread into the US. But Americans don't need to worry because your immune system is much stronger than it is south of the border.

Actually, insofar as a quantitative comparison can be made, US immune systems are almost certainly weaker, because improved sanitation and better health care massively reduce people's exposure to contagious diseases.

Actually, insofar as a quantitative comparison can be made, US immune systems are almost certainly weaker, because improved sanitation and better health care massively reduce people's exposure to contagious diseases.

However, I have heard that in the case of this kind of influenza, that is a good thing.

You see, influenza epidemics like the infamous Spanish Flu of 1918 (Which, frighteningly, is of the same strain varient as the current S.O.B., H1N1) were mainly deadly to healthy young adults.

This is because the H1N1 strain causes cytokine storms in the lungs. Cytokines attract the white blood cells and such. A cytokine storm causes an over-reaction, thus having the body really destroy itself in the end.

Actually, insofar as a quantitative comparison can be made, US immune systems are almost certainly weaker, because improved sanitation and better health care massively reduce people's exposure to contagious diseases.


Also many people here, clean freaks, clean freak moms etc use anti bacterial every freakin thing. I have never ever thought that a good thing.

For instance I know 2 people who go to extremes in this area. One will try to get anti biotics at the drop of a hat for their grand kid (has custody) or give over the counter medicine on the least sniffle or cough.

The other is a clean freak who won't even use a reusable item (dish rag etc). She uses only paper towels. And is militant about the cleanliness of her home.

Oddly .. the kids in these households always have something going on.

Need to say .. there is nothing wrong with these kids immune systems, they are perfectly healthy outside the .. dopes doping them up.. and attempting to keep them from any sort of anything.

Eight people is statistically insignificant. You can't make any judgment based on eight people. Of course, you also have to note that the mortality rate from Mexican data is 6.2%. The odds that eight out of eight people would survive are roughly 59.9%.

You see, influenza epidemics like the infamous Spanish Flu of 1918 (Which, frighteningly, is of the same strain varient as the current S.O.B., H1N1) were mainly deadly to healthy young adults.

I'm not sure that's the relevant sense of "strength." (Not that I know what I am talking about on this topic.)

I'm not sure that's the relevant sense of "strength." (Not that I know what I am talking about on this topic.)

At the present moment, no, thank God.

But I'm saying that they are seeing very similar characteristics in the H1N1 Swine Flu strain to the H1N1 Spanish flu strain.

This is indeed frightening, however, it should be noted that with modern medicine, it is much easier to identify, research, treat, and cure influenza strains, as well as produce vaccines.

This is not to say there is nothing to be concerned about, but I highly doubt that we will see another Spanish Flu this time around. In fact, it is quite possible we will never see something of that magnitude in our lifetime.

I don't know. Earlier today, I was worried, but I'm feeling a little more sure that everything will be better soon.

This is indeed frightening, however, it should be noted that with modern medicine, it is much easier to identify, research, treat, and cure influenza strains, as well as produce vaccines.


Modern times also bring their problems. Travel is much faster, so infected and asymptomatic individuals can travel to new areas very rapidly and then do the infection thing to others.

If that were the case, whoever engineered it did a pretty shitty job. The virus is already pretty weak outside of Mexico and that's in the US no less, where the cases were directly from the original source of the outbreak. Generally, you'd think biological weapons would be a little more effective than this...

the original source would be an agrarian region where they actually have pigs so the virus can make the initial jump from pig to human. Southern California doesn't exactly have that. It is a mostly urbanized region (from the coast to the desert)

Mexico, on the other hand is very agrarian. Then again, the virus has been found in Baja which is next to S.C. and Baja is just as agrarian as the rest of Mexico.

And if it was deliberate, why would anyone attack some unenlightened dump like Mexico? Instead of the gloriously compassionate America, that non Christian terrorists hate, for their love and kindness?

I doubt it. But it would make sense if you wanted to carry out a bio attack against the USA, you would not directly try to infect Americans who have been programmed to look anything suspicious. Instead you might infect unsuspecting immigrants in the hopes they might somehow enter the US through illegal means and spread the disease to the Americans for you.
Or you could infect the Mexicans, cause an epidemic, draw in American do gooders, they get the virus and take back with them and it spreads from them to other Americans.


I know those are unlikely scenarios. Certainly they would require a lot of planning and conniving. it would also assume that Mexicans would notice someone poking them with a needle or spraying them with stuff.

You would have to look if there was any unusual spraying going on from aeroplanes.


See that's the problem with the conspiracy theory. So many holes.

[/B]

That is what I call news. America has a health protection system.

News to me too. I meant health care.

I don't know. Earlier today, I was worried, but I'm feeling a little more sure that everything will be better soon.

major differences between the Mexican flu and the Spanish flu are that we have better technology and we have a better system of catching and dealing the problem earlier.
If this was supposed to be Spanish Flu II, we're in the process of nipping it in the bud.

Thank God for US medical and detection technology.

the original source would be an agrarian region where they actually have pigs so the virus can make the initial jump from pig to human. Southern California doesn't exactly have that. It is a mostly urbanized region (from the coast to the desert)

Mexico, on the other hand is very agrarian. Then again, the virus has been found in Baja which is next to S.C. and Baja is just as agrarian as the rest of Mexico.

So it's still basically a non-issue outside of agrarian regions close to pigs. I figure it's just another weird influenza strain showing up on the edge of a (very mild) flu season. Nothing more to worry about than anything else these days.

Once it jumps to humans, it can go human to human and expand outside the agrarian regions that way.
Because of the make up of the virus, it's tempting to say it was engineered but everything else counters the "engineered virus" conspiracy.

They're saying Mexico's death count has increased to 81

'"Reports are starting to pop up the Mexican government knew about this half a year ago and did nothing.

Mexican citizens are starting to express anger at their government.


http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fg-mexico-swineflu26-2009apr26,0,389929.story

"For many Mexicans, initial alarm over the outbreak was giving way to anger over the health crisis and skepticism about how the government was handling it. Mexico's flu season was intense and people were dying long before the government sounded the alarm Thursday"

They're claiming that though the government knew, it did nothing until pressured by the Canadians, US CDC, and the WHO.

"CDC officials cited several possibilities, including inferior environmental and general health conditions in Mexico,"

Mexico doesn't really have any environmental protection laws. Not sure what that has to with the flu.

"Other experts said the flu's virulence could have been exacerbated by the slow response of Mexican health officials."

Coast to Coast AM is claiming it was bioengineered and introduced by Muslims hoping to destroy America by infecting its neighbor. Proving some people are stupid.

Mexico doesn't really have any environmental protection laws. Not sure what that has to with the flu.

Points at your sentence above it:

"CDC officials cited several possibilities, including inferior environmental and general health conditions in Mexico,"

People living close to toxic waste dumps tend to be less healthy. As well as that strange things can thrive in waste of course.

If Jews or Muslims contract swine flu, what happens to them? :confused:

They die?


It's airborne apparently.

Points at your sentence above it:



People living close to toxic waste dumps tend to be less healthy. As well as that strange things can thrive in waste of course.

that and they don't protect their rivers or lakes like other western nations do.

The radio has just qouted someone as saying the virus may been genetically engineered. I hope that's just a conspiracy theory because if someone made this thing and deliberately released it,



that would be an act of war.

(EDIT: or bioterrorism)

Doubtful...

Coast to Coast AM is claiming it was bioengineered and introduced by Muslims hoping to destroy America by infecting its neighbor. Proving some people are stupid.


Ahhh,,, that explains it.

For those unfamiliar, Coast-to-Coast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_to_Coast_AM) is a US radio program catering to the conspiracy nut crowd. If they said the sun was going to rise in the East tomorrow morning, I'd be up bright and early watching for it to rise in the West...

And as far as it being airborne... well duh! It's influenza.

WTF:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6171854.ece

"US scientists said Mexicans had been dying for weeks before the virus - an animal strain of H1N1, the virus that killed 50m in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 - was detected"

Mexicans got F'd by their own government. Looks like they have a reason to be angry.
This raises the possibility of civil disturbances in that country at a time we need them to be fighting the drug cartels.

The UK has been cleared but a group in New Zealand has been moved to quarantine for tests.

The group consists of 22 people and one has been hospitalized with serious conditions. The group had just returned from Mexico.

Isn't this the plot of 24 season 3?

Sorry, I have heard of that show but I've never seen. (I don't watch TV most of the time) I could use some enlightenment.

Birds and sea creatures are migrating farther north because of climate change. Disease can too ya know.

Exactly that.

except the fact the fact that the US has more ethnic groups and more ethnic group mixing than any single European nation.

Not only do we have ethnic mixing constantly going on, but we treat everyone in America the same. We don't have special laws for Muslims and laws for everyone else.

You'll be hard pressed to find an American who is 100% of anything.

Well, only because we've been forced to, and only in the last 40 years. Hell, gay people still aren't treated equally.

You enjoy making all these unsubstantiated claims, don't you? Well, you go on and knock yourself out and keep Chicken Littling this flu thing while you're at it. It's entertaining.

Sorry, I have heard of that show but I've never seen. (I don't watch TV most of the time) I could use some enlightenment.

Too easy.

You see, influenza epidemics like the infamous Spanish Flu of 1918 (Which, frighteningly, is of the same strain varient as the current S.O.B., H1N1) were mainly deadly to healthy young adults.

This is because the H1N1 strain causes cytokine storms in the lungs. Cytokines attract the white blood cells and such. A cytokine storm causes an over-reaction, thus having the body really destroy itself in the end.
Indeed, the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8018991.stm) reports that "most of those killed so far in Mexico were young adults - rather than more vulnerable children and the elderly."

Once it jumps to humans, it can go human to human and expand outside the agrarian regions that way.
Not necessarily, and not immediately. Once the virus jumps to humans, the capability of human-to-human transmission is not immediately acquired. That's why many of the viruses jumping to humans from animals did not reach epidemic proportions and just affected the unlucky few. The fear is, once it gets into humans, it might mutate or genetically reassort with human viruses to make it capable of human-to-human transmission. That's when it can reach pandemic proportions.

They die?


It's airborne apparently.

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

Have you ever heard of a flu that wasn't airborne?

Have you ever heard of a flu that wasn't airborne?

In the sense of one that cannot be transmitted from person to person, yes. Swine flu is not normally transmitted from person to person, rather people get it from animals. Same with Avian flu. If they mutate into a form that can be transmitted from person to person by inhalation then they are likely to spread much faster.

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

Well there are any number of people who have had no contact with pigs yet have the virus...

So it's still basically a non-issue outside of agrarian regions close to pigs.

No.

As a matter of fact, people in agrarian regions are probably safer just because population density is lower. None of the US cases involved people close to pigs, and the Mexican cases seem most prevalent around Mexico City, which is one of the most urban places in the world.

This is not a disease like avian flu that people get from animals. It's passing human-to-human, so only a few initial cases will be from animals, and we're probably past that stage by now.

People living close to toxic waste dumps tend to be less healthy.

By "environmental conditions" presumably they don't mean "pollution" but rather poor sanitation that allows more opportunity for infection.

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

"Human-to-human transmission of swine flu is thought to spread in the same way as seasonal flu - through coughing and sneezing.

"In the latest outbreak it is clear that the disease is being passed from person to person."

Q&A: Swine flu (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8017585.stm)

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

it's in aerosol form.

aerosol=airborne

All anyone needs to do is cough or sneeze in your direction and you'll get it. Especially if you are in the same room.

Exactly that.



Well, only because we've been forced to, and only in the last 40 years. Hell, gay people still aren't treated equally.

You enjoy making all these unsubstantiated claims, don't you? Well, you go on and knock yourself out and keep Chicken Littling this flu thing while you're at it. It's entertaining.



Too easy.

Not true. Gay people are treated equally in everything except the religious institution of marriage.

If you are fired for being gay, your employer gets fined. Also gays can't be discriminated againts in the hiring process nor can you refuse to rent to gays (unless it violates your religious conscious).

It's the same with Muslims. Muslims are allowed to practice their religion as they like, without harrassment from the government. We don't have laws banning articles of Islamic clothing nor do we have bans on religious figures running for office just because they have religious beliefs.

The virus has spread to New Zealand and Israel.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7014934909

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/26/content_11261417.htm

Looks like its gone global.

Not true. Gay people are treated equally in everything except the religious institution of marriage.

If you are fired for being gay, your employer gets fined. Also gays can't be discriminated againts in the hiring process nor can you refuse to rent to gays (unless it violates your religious conscious).


Bullshit last I checked there were 38 states where you could legally fire someone for being gay. Not to derail your fearmongering.

The White House is preparing a press conference regarding the virus.

Bullshit last I checked there were 38 states where you could legally fire someone for being gay. Not to derail your fearmongering.

Which states are those? Link?

Which states are those? Link?

It's irrelevant which states because sexual orientation isn't protected by any federal anti-discrimination act. It could be any state and is any that wouldn't have state level sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws. So the entire Midwest, South, and Texas-influenced states and the industrial Northeast.

Q&A: Swine flu (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8017585.stm)

Thank you

Can you link to something that substantiates that it has become airborne. I am assuming you mean as a method of transmission.

Sigh. Infuenza is a resparatoy disease spread by coughing. Yes, that means airborne...

Have you ever heard of a flu that wasn't airborne?

Indeed. The utter ignorance of people here is simply amazing.

In the sense of one that cannot be transmitted from person to person, yes. Swine flu is not normally transmitted from person to person, rather people get it from animals. Same with Avian flu. If they mutate into a form that can be transmitted from person to person by inhalation then they are likely to spread much faster.

:::cries:::

I apologise and I do not mean to target anyone specifically, but the utter and absolute ignorance in this thread of what should have been learned in jr. high school biology class is absolutely astounding!!!! It is no wonder that the world's going to hell in an ignorant assed handbasket!

Thank you

Even better info: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/index.htm

SNIP

Yes I was wrong, I have now looked it up and what I was half remembering was the difference between aerosol and large droplets in transmission.

On Yahoo!, they are reporting that people are calling for pork products to be limited or banned.

/facepalm.

What imbeciles. Eating cooked pork is completely safe. When you cook it, IT KILLS THE VIRUS!

The only country that has real reason for worry right now would be Mexico. The United States was fortunate enough to have caught it at its early stages. Same goes for the rest of the world.

Press conference from the White House has begun. It's live on MSNBC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Man's_Greed

"He discovers the middle-class white man's way to cure sickness by utilizing Campbell's chicken noodle soup, DayQuil, and Sprite. The people of South Park all recover."

...I am personally unconcerned, though it's gonna suck ass to live in the third world (as if it didn't already).

MSNBC reports that four cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Nova Scotia.

It's irrelevant which states because sexual orientation isn't protected by any federal anti-discrimination act. It could be any state and is any that wouldn't have state level sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws. So the entire Midwest, South, and Texas-influenced states and the industrial Northeast.

Correct. It can also be done on a local level. It's illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation in Philadelphia, but not in PA as a whole.

Which states are those? Link?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/US_LGBT_civil_rights_August_2008.png

and

http://www.hrc.org/laws_and_elections/enda.asp

"Qualified, hardworking Americans are denied job opportunities, fired or otherwise discriminated against just because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; it remains legal in 30 states to discriminate based on sexual orientation, and in 38 states to do so based on gender identity or expression. As a result, LGBT people face serious discrimination in employment, including being fired, being denied a promotion and experiencing harassment on the job."

Mind you, this only covers employment. Many states that ban discrimination against the GLBT crowd don't ban discrimination in housing. As someone who lived in Texas, I was denied a job promotion simply because I was gay. There was not a thing I could do about it. It was/is perfectly legal there. [/ threadjack]

Please don't hi-jack the thread like that. This is about the Mexican swine flu, not homosexual rights.

It was predicted

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpvD0EqYCoo

Please don't hi-jack the thread like that. This is about the Mexican swine flu, not homosexual rights.

Welcome to NSG. All threads get threadjacked "like that" to one degree or another. Especially when the OP starts the threadjack him/her self.

Enjoy your stay. :D

I apologise and I do not mean to target anyone specifically, but the utter and absolute ignorance in this thread of what should have been learned in jr. high school biology class is absolutely astounding!!!! It is no wonder that the world's going to hell in an ignorant assed handbasket!
Rambhutan is actually correct, in a way. Most, if not all, influenza viruses are airborne. But not all influenza viruses can infect humans. Some influenza viruses can 'jump' between species (ex. birds to humans) but it does not automatically have the capability to be transmitted from human to human. Unless it has already that ability, it has to gain it either via mutation or reassortment with other viruses.

This one, seems to have gained that capability of human-to-human airborne transmission:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Swine Influenza A (H1N1) infection in two children--Southern California, March-April 2009. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2009 Apr 24;58(15):400-2. (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5815a5.htm)
On April 17, 2009, CDC determined that two cases of febrile respiratory illness occurring in children who resided in adjacent counties in southern California were caused by infection with a swine influenza A (H1N1) virus. The viruses from the two cases are closely related genetically, resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, and contain a unique combination of gene segments that previously has not been reported among swine or human influenza viruses in the United States or elsewhere. Neither child had contact with pigs; the source of the infection is unknown. Investigations to identify the source of infection and to determine whether additional persons have been ill from infection with similar swine influenza viruses are ongoing. This report briefly describes the two cases and the investigations currently under way. Although this is not a new subtype of influenza A in humans, concern exists that this new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) is substantially different from human influenza A (H1N1) viruses, that a large proportion of the population might be susceptible to infection, and that the seasonal influenza vaccine H1N1 strain might not provide protection. The lack of known exposure to pigs in the two cases increases the possibility that human-to-human transmission of this new influenza virus has occurred...

EDIT: The above report seems to be the one that started the alarm bells ringing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_H1N1_flu_outbreak#United_States):

The more I think about it, the more I have a feeling this virus was the one in Mexico the whole time; they had one hell of a nasty flu season this year while it was comparatively mild in the US, strange considering how close we are and how much traffic crosses the border.

Add northest Ohio to the list:
http://www.fox8.com/wjw-swine-flu-0425,0,529314.story

"COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Department of Health says a 9-year-old boy who recently traveled to Mexico on vacation with his family has a confirmed case of swine flu.

Health department spokesman Robert Jennings said Sunday the boy is recovering at his home in Elyria, in northern Ohio's Lorain County. The child's name was not released.

Jennings says the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the case, but officials do not know if the child has the same deadly strain of swine flu that has killed up to 81 people in Mexico.

Jennings says the boy displayed typical symptoms of the flu, including a sore throat and body aches. Jennings says the child returned from Mexico within the past two weeks.

Jennings says the boy's relatives are being tested for the disease, but they currently do not have any symptoms.

The list in the OP has been updated.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced an declaration of health emergency and is busting open America's strategic stockpile of vaccines which contains enough vaccine to cover at least 50 million people.
This seems to be the first time that stockpile has been opened for an event like this.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/04/26/ST2009042602832.html

Does president Obama have swine flu?
http://mtdewar.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8EA2AC8312655056!427.entry

Obama was officially greeted upon his arrival in Mexico by an official who died of flu symptoms the very next day!

Oh shit!

Please don't hi-jack the thread like that. This is about the Mexican swine flu, not homosexual rights.

My fault. He was responding to something I said. I was under the impression there state laws covering that stuff or that Barney Frank had a law passed.

Actually you can't get it from eating pig meat. As long as you cook the meat which you have to do anyway.

Wait you are meant to cook the pig? *Starts sneezing and coughing*

Apparently Australia is ready for it, New Zealand has quarantined 10 people who just came back from Mexico who are suspected of having the virus.

If Jews or Muslims contract swine flu, what happens to them? :confused:

They go to hell when they die for touching the unclean.

WHO has confirmed that Mexico is the epicenter for the Mexican flu.

For those who don't know, the US already had a policy of quarantining people returning from Mexico by car for any kind of flu like symptoms. 2 summers ago the US border patrol almost quarantined my brother's friend because he had the sniffles. They don't fuck around with that stuff.

Does president Obama have swine flu?
http://mtdewar.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8EA2AC8312655056!427.entry



Oh shit!

This is why we don't trust blogs...

Obama met in Mexico City with the director of the National Museum of Anthropology, who died a week later. According to Mexico health officials, the museum official had a preexisting condition and died of pneumonia, not swine flu.

The swine flu has an incubation period of 24 to 48 hours, Gibbs said, meaning Obama would have shown symptoms long ago if he had contracted the disease.

Because he did not show symptoms, Gibbs said, Obama has not been tested for the flu -- the same restraint that the government advises for all Americans.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-obama27-2009apr27,0,2301972.story

Does president Obama have swine flu?
http://mtdewar.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8EA2AC8312655056!427.entry



Oh shit!

They have it the wrong way around. It says that the swine flu epidemic coincided with Obama's visit to Mexico and that the person he greeted died of it.

Well we all know where the epicentre of this breakout is now don't we. The White House, it was a ploy by the Administration in conjunction with the CIA and FBI to stop illegal immigrants from entering the US without the need to pass laws. Obama brought the flu into Mexico in an attempt to kill off the population. The plan has back fired with some of these illegals getting past the border and has now started to spread into the US.

The list in the OP has been updated.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced an declaration of health emergency and is busting open America's strategic stockpile of vaccines which contains enough vaccine to cover at least 50 million people.
This seems to be the first time that stockpile has been opened for an event like this.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/04/26/ST2009042602832.html

And thus, the virus was pwnt by the world. And we lol'd at it.

The White House, it was a ploy by the Administration in conjunction with the CIA and FBI to stop illegal immigrants from entering the US without the need to pass laws. Obama brought the flu into Mexico in an attempt to kill off the population. The plan has back fired with some of these illegals getting past the border and has now started to spread into the US.

Nope. It was a conspiracy by Mother Nature.

Nope. It was a conspiracy by Mother Nature.

Nope I'm sorry the Obama administration is in cahoots with the Aliens who promised him and his kin eternal life and the position of POTUS if he helped them get rid of the smelly Mexicans who they know hate because they stopped their sacrifice of virgins to the two generals of these aliens Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc in the Templo Mayor. This is what happens when you don't sacrifice virgins to your Gods.

Is screaming like a pig a sign that you are infected?

Nope I'm sorry the Obama administration is in cahoots with the Aliens who promised him and his kin eternal life and the position of POTUS if he helped them get rid of the smelly Mexicans who they know hate because they stopped their sacrifice of virgins to the two generals of these aliens Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc in the Templo Mayor. This is what happens when you don't sacrifice virgins to your Gods.

I see you received a shipment of heroin recently.

I see you received a shipment of heroin recently.

Heroin is a tool used by rouge elements of the CIA who are controlled by the Martians who wish to see these aliens leave this planet behind, these rouge elements funnel money out of oil royalties and smuggle money into the golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand) it is these same elements that gave misleading information to the Bush Administration that WMD's were in Iraq.

The martians ensure heroin is shipped around the world in an attempt to dumb us down and make us feeble so we will not give any resistance when they take the entire population to use as slaves in their acid mines on the red planet.

Needless to say I do not take heroin and will be the first to take up arms when the Martians decide to invade.

We are though the looking glass people.

Heroin is a tool used by rouge elements of the CIA who are controlled by the Martians who wish to see these aliens leave this planet behind, these rouge elements funnel money out of oil royalties and smuggle money into the golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand) it is these same elements that gave misleading information to the Bush Administration that WMD's were in Iraq.

The martians ensure heroin is shipped around the world in an attempt to dumb us down and make us feeble so we will not give any resistance when they take the entire population to use as slaves in their acid mines on the red planet.

Needless to say I do not take heroin and will be the first to take up arms when the Martians decide to invade.

We are though the looking glass people.

:eek2:

They're here.


www.bullshitnews.com

:eek2:

They're here.


www.bullshitnews.com

Poster please, this website is nothing more than an attempt by people who have think they know it all and make up crap like this because they don't want to admit the truth, and refuse to accept the facts despite it happening right now. Once you accept what is really happening in this world and the forces that manipulate us everyday for their own selfish gains. Accept the truth and fight them.

Do you really want to work in the acid mines on Mars?

Don't worry everyone, there is a lot of advice from survivalist communities you could search for.

Ohio


Booooom-shakalaka!

Finally, the semi-okay state is in the news.

...is a tool used by rouge elements of the CIA ....

That could leave the US administration with red faces

Exactly that.



Well, only because we've been forced to, and only in the last 40 years. Hell, gay people still aren't treated equally.

You enjoy making all these unsubstantiated claims, don't you? Well, you go on and knock yourself out and keep Chicken Littling this flu thing while you're at it. It's entertaining.



Too easy.

Yet we don't have laws everywhere in the country saying "gays shouldn't be allowed to marry!". Since more and more states are allowing gay marriage. So you FAIL, seeing as there isn't a law saying "you're gay you can't marry". Tbh, they are treated equally in the Court of Law and any other public thing.

Making everything "Green" and allowing gays to marry anywhere seems to be the "In thing". Good Fight.

It's official.
The Mexican Flu is in Los Angeles.

The case is in Claremont. They are announcing that they are closing Claremont schools tomorrow.

Yet we don't have laws everywhere in the country saying "gays shouldn't be allowed to marry!". Since more and more states are allowing gay marriage. So you FAIL, seeing as there isn't a law saying "you're gay you can't marry". Tbh, they are treated equally in the Court of Law and any other public thing.

Making everything "Green" and allowing gays to marry anywhere seems to be the "In thing". Good Fight.

I got something to say about that but for another thread.

It looks like this thing is global.

Yet we don't have laws everywhere in the country saying "gays shouldn't be allowed to marry!". Since more and more states are allowing gay marriage. So you FAIL, seeing as there isn't a law saying "you're gay you can't marry". Tbh, they are treated equally in the Court of Law and any other public thing.

Making everything "Green" and allowing gays to marry anywhere seems to be the "In thing". Good Fight.
Ahem ...


DOMA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_marriage_act)
Colorado Amendment 43 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Amendment_43_(2006))
California Proposition 8 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_8)


To name just three. It's true that this legislation doesn't come right out and say, "You're gay, you can't get married." They're just worded to exclude same-sex couples.

Traditional marriage, my ass.

Ahem ...


DOMA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_marriage_act)
Colorado Amendment 43 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Amendment_43_(2006))
California Proposition 8 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_8)


To name just three. It's true that this legislation doesn't come right out and say, "You're gay, you can't get married." They're just worded to exclude same-sex couples.

Traditional marriage, my ass.
Different thread please.

EDIT: I created one here just for the gay topic.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14744335#post14744335

please take gay discussion there.

Well, I guess it's time for me to be hitting the road. Flagg needs me in Las Vegas...even if society collapses, somebody needs to keep the books in order.

Okay, the question I have is why is everyone shitting themselves when every single case in the US has been extremely mild? If this is the next pandemic, I've got to admit I'm pretty relieved. Hell, I have to put up with this every spring thanks to my allergies...

first recorded case was in fact in California

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/apr2209swine.html

We is be having it in NZ!!1!! Damn Rangitoto College students taking a trip to Mexico.

first recorded case was in fact in California

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/apr2209swine.html

That was the first "RECORDED" case. The epicenter was in Mexico. The reason we got the first recorded cases was because we caught it via our new border control health detection program. Good thing too because otherwise it would a lot worse than it is now.

The reason they're saying Mexico is the epicenter is that you thousands of people with it down there meaning the virus had to be incubating there for a couple of months before entering the US. Otherwise we'd have a lot lot more Americans with the virus than we currently do.

The Americans that have the virus got it while in Mexico City. Same with the Canadians, Australians, French and Columbians. Those people were on flights just returning from Mexico.

It's in Sacramento.

Nearly everyone in Cali who has it, got it while in Mexico.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53Q5B120090428

"Three other students, at least one of whom had recently traveled to Mexico,"

"A school in the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont also canceled classes through Thursday, saying that a girl and her mother developed flu-like symptoms after a trip to Mexico."

The common link here is that all the victims outside of Mexico, had just been to Mexico before developing their symptoms.

Maybe they need to consider quarantining Mexico but how do you quarantine a whole country.


EDIT: The United States government is warning its citizens against any nonemergency travel to Mexico for the duration of the health emergency.

That could leave the US administration with red faces

Didn't you see how I said they were being used by the aliens from the red planet? :)

Nah I did fuck up. :tongue:

BREAKING NEWS:

WHO has raised the alert level from 3 to 4. This means that the virus is definately spreading from person to person. This is a major step toward declaring a global pandemic.

Cases in Scotland and Spain have been confirmed to be the Mexican flu.


There have been 150 deaths in Mexico so far.

"The U.S. government is urging travelers to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico because of the swine flu outbreak"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/27/swine.flu/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

"Officials in North Carolina and South Carolina are also testing suspected cases, including 22 suspected cases from a South Carolina school's spring break trip to Cancun, Mexico."

"Meanwhile, Andorra Vassiliou, the European Union's health commissioner, on Monday urged people "to avoid nonessential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the center of the clusters" of a swine flu outbreak. "

The EU is basically telling its people not to travel to Mexico either.

Canada has also warned its citizens against traveling to Mexico.

I don't understand what all the panic is about. People are dying in Mexico, I understand that. How many of those people have proper health care though? Every case in the US is pretty weak, just a regular flu it seems.

What the hell is the issue? It's the flu, Oh god help us!

I just ordered a Spicy Hawaiian, which has both Ham and Bacon....


wish me luck, lol...

I just ordered a Spicy Hawaiian, which has both Ham and Bacon....


wish me luck, lol...

Pineapple is a natural cure for swine flu, you should be alright.

But your taste in pizza toppings is something you should look at. :tongue:

What is up with the world today, where 1 = 1,000,000?

In 1918, there was a 30% infection rate.

In Mexico, there is a 0.0015% infection rate.

The only reason the flu keeps "popping" up, over the globe, is because they realized that the flu actually started over 4 months ago, and so they are doing tests on old patients.

8 people out of 300 million, and world trade comes to a halt... give me a break!

Yay for scare tactics!

8 people out of 300 million, and world trade comes to a halt... give me a break!

Yay for scare tactics!

In 1918, the flu affected the young and healthy in developed countries most severely due to the induction of a cytokine storm. In 2009, despite literally bordering the source of the "epidemic", all young patients in one of the most developed countries on Earth have suffered at most a mild disease hardly more severe than a run-of-the-mill cold. So, obviously, the flu has gotten pretty damn lazy in recent years...it couldn't even pull off a decent season last winter, and now it's trying for round two with a lame-ass cold.

The last time people shit their pants over "swine flu", we wasted billions of dollars and ended up giving a few thousand people Guillan-Barre Syndrome. It's lamer than SARS, and that bad boy had an almost 10% mortality rate. Holy shit, time to start canning tomatoes and digging out my survival shelter...

Seriously, if this wasn't "swine flu", nobody would pay attention. I guess swine, like birds, trigger some primordial fear of filth and minorities that makes people panic.

8 people out of 300 million, and world trade comes to a halt... give me a break!

Yay for scare tactics!

You must see it in perspective. Soon the yearly death toll of swine flu will surpass the yearly deaths caused by international terrorism*. Clearly we must throw buckets of money at it.

* On average about 550 IIRC.

Only a matter of time before the zombies come out.

Alright, to get to the bottom of why this seems to be hitting everywhere at once, and popping up seemingly randomly all over the US, we need to figure out correlating factors.

First, where is the epicenter? Mexico. Check.

Second, how long ago was Spring Break for most colleges? A couple weeks ago. Check.

Third, where is one of the biggest Spring Break spots for US students? Mexico. Check.

Huh.

Second, how long ago was Spring Break for most colleges? A couple weeks ago. Check.

That's a pretty long incubation period for a flu virus.

That's a pretty long incubation period for a flu virus.

Given how mild the infection is in the US, it's quite possible that it simply remained under the radar. Remember, the flu season in Mexico was already pretty damn bad long before "swine flu" became a new panic word.

That's a pretty long incubation period for a flu virus.

As Vetalia said, it could have gone under the radar. A handful of people come back with the flu, and are sick as hell. They spread it unwhittingly to a few more, who each spread it to a few more, and now it's starting to become noticed.

Japan is shutting its borders to Mexican tourists and immigrants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/health/29flu.html?ref=global-home

"But in a possible precaution to be taken by other nations, Japan said Tuesday it would no longer allow Mexican travelers to obtain a visa"

"China was tightening land border checks as well"

5 persons have been tested in Sweden who had been to Mexico and had the symptoms, not one actually had it.

Right now it feels like it is a very low risk of a pandemic.150 people have died in Mexico, in a city of 20 million. How many dies of the common flu each year?

5 persons have been tested in Sweden who had been to Mexico and had the symptoms, not one actually had it.

Right now it feels like it is a very low risk of a pandemic.150 people have died in Mexico, in a city of 20 million. How many dies of the common flu each year?

It's late, I'm lazy, so I'm using Wikipedia.

They say 500,000. Which I don't doubt in the least, and actually would have thought would have been larger. People don't really realize that garden-variety influenza can actually kill you. But it can. On a fairly constant basis to. Influenza technically is a pandemic every freakin' year.

It's late, I'm lazy, so I'm using Wikipedia.

They say 500,000. Which I don't doubt in the least, and actually would have thought would have been larger. People don't really realize that garden-variety influenza can actually kill you. But it can. On a fairly constant basis to. Influenza technically is a pandemic every freakin' year.

Actually I meant it as rhetoric question but thanks for answering :) I will be worried when:
1. It affects a large proportion of the population.
2. It actually start to kill a high proportion of healthy humans.
3. It start to effect my daily NSG surfing.

Dr Jian Han is on the case:
http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-researcher-virus,0,1004933.story
April 27, 2009

HUNTSVILLE - A Huntsville researcher is working to create a test to speed up the process of detecting Swine Flu. That'll will give doctors a leg up on giving a patient a diagnosis sooner.

Dr. Jian Han is a Faculty Investigator for Hudson Alpha, a Huntsville company that develops special tests to help identify outbreaks.

The tests help target viral and bacterial infections like SARS and the Bird Flu.

When the SARS outbreak happened in China about 10 years ago Han created a test that could identify multiple infections at one time.

The results were ready in a matter of hours, and sped up the process of getting the right treatments to patients.

"So that when patients come to the hospital, if they don't have flu if there's some other virus and bacteria causing same syndrome they can get an answer and that will certainly make patient and physician at ease," he said.

Han clears up confusion about whether or not to call the swine flu an outbreak or pandemic.

" Outbreak you have a series of patients with the same illness that's caused by the same infectious agent, and pandemic is all over the place."

He goes on to explain that this is an outbreak and this particular flu virus is a mixture of pig and human viruses.

"The virus re-combines, they shuffle around it's like different genes...like a deck of cards," he said.

Dr. Han said viruses change their genetic sequencing constantly and he works just as fast developing tests.

"We are working closely with the CDC and New York State Department of Health are collaborators try to have access to the sample so we can test them."

And once a new test identifies a problem a solution can be made to fix it.

Mexican authorities report they have found the original source of the virus.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fg-mexico-flu28-2009apr28,0,1701782.story

"The boy lived near a pig farm run by a U.S.-Mexican company, Granjas Carroll, in the municipality of Perote, in Veracruz state on the Gulf of Mexico. He contracted the disease on April 2, Cordova said, one of a group of residents who came down with what was at the time labeled a particularly bad case of the flu."


But it may have started before April:

"In Perote, residents of the hamlet known as La Gloria have complained since mid-March that contamination from the pig farm was tainting their water and causing respiratory infections. In one demonstration in early April, they carried signs with pictures of pigs crossed out with an X and the word "peligro" -- danger. Residents told reporters at the time that more than half the town's 3,000 inhabitants were sick and that three children under the age of 2 had died."

"The Mexican government has given out information on the outbreak and its victims only in bits and pieces, refusing to provide details on who the dead are and where and when they died."

Looks like the government in Mexico is getting ready to collapse. Symptoms showed in early March but they're claiming a migrant worker brought it with him from the US recently and it spread from there. Their propaganda does not fit the facts.


The Mexican government continues to clamp down on information. What are they hiding? That they knew about this at least as early as 2 months ago or longer?

5 persons have been tested in Sweden who had been to Mexico and had the symptoms, not one actually had it.

Right now it feels like it is a very low risk of a pandemic.150 people have died in Mexico, in a city of 20 million. How many dies of the common flu each year?

The population of Mexico City is the upper side of 8 million. The average death rate from the annual flu is .1% so every year, in Mexico City alone, around 9000 people die from the flu using those numbers. Though now is everyone is freaking the fuck out because supposedly healthy young people are dying instead of old or young people. Despite it being only in Mexico where there are likely other factors involved.

All this media hype is leading to our hospitals to being swamped by hypochondriacs and idiots.

The population of Mexico City is the upper side of 8 million. The average death rate from the annual flu is .1% so every year, in Mexico City alone, around 9000 people die from the flu using those numbers. Though now is everyone is freaking the fuck out because supposedly healthy young people are dying instead of old or young people. Despite it being only in Mexico where there are likely other factors involved.

Hey when it is young children and old people no one really cares but when it comes to healthy young people like myself well then we need to care and get our pollies to infiltrate the media because it provides a good distraction.

All this media hype is leading to our hospitals to being swamped by hypochondriacs and idiots.

I will second this

No one should waste a chance to be offended... I heard a report that the Israelis are unhappy with the name "Swine" flu...


JERUSALEM - The swine flu outbreak should be renamed “Mexican” influenza in deference to religious sensitivities over pork, an Israeli health official yesterday.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both Judaism and Islam and “we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu.”


I guess there is no one to be offended if we call it "Mexican" flu, huh?

I have a better name - People-are-tired-of-war-so-let's-make-up-a-new-imaginary-crisis Flu

Mexico is announcing they are out of vaccines. That means we can expect more deaths unless people give up their lunch money and their credit card numbers. J/K


But seriously, the US probably has some excess vaccines they can send down there.
Pretty shortsigted of the mexican government to choose not stockpile vaccines. No wonder their people are dropping like flies.

pretty sure Australia and a few other countries on that list don't have confirmed cases yet, though they have some possibilities.
And America's healthcare system is definitely a large part of why there have been less deaths in the States. Hopefully there have been enough medical advances since 1918 that this won't turn into another pandemic. At this point, I'm not about to put a mask on to go down to the shops...

Mexico is announcing they are out of vaccines. That means we can expect more deaths unless people give up their lunch money and their credit card numbers. J/K


But seriously, the US probably has some excess vaccines they can send down there.
Pretty shortsigted of the mexican government to choose not stockpile vaccines. No wonder their people are dropping like flies.
This is one of the things that GWB prepared for... We stockpiled things like Tamiflu for this exact purpose -- fighting fires in other countries before they got out of hand. Will Obama use these reserves? Will Tamiflu work? Beats me, but the resources and planning are there.

Now if there was just someone in charge of HHS...

Mexico is announcing they are out of vaccines. That means we can expect more deaths unless people give up their lunch money and their credit card numbers. J/K


But seriously, the US probably has some excess vaccines they can send down there.
Pretty shortsigted of the mexican government to choose not stockpile vaccines. No wonder their people are dropping like flies.

I understand what you mean, but just to be clear, a "vaccine" is soming that is still being tossed around in think tanks. Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) are "treatments".

The virus was created in a sesspool near a village in Veracruz and the corporation responsible is trying to cover it's a^^

Turns out that company has been dumping feces and other waste materials in to the villages drinking supply.

This is what happens when your country has lax environmental laws. I hope the Mexicans force their country to clean up its act after this.

The virus was created in a sesspool near a village in Veracruz and the corporation responsible is trying to cover it's a^^

Turns out that company has been dumping feces and other waste materials in to the villages drinking supply.

This is what happens when your country has lax environmental laws. I hope the Mexicans force their country to clean up its act after this.

While I wouldn't be at all surprised, you wouldn't happen to have, you know, a little linkette for this?

This is one of the things that GWB prepared for... We stockpiled things like Tamiflu for this exact purpose -- fighting fires in other countries before they got out of hand. Will Obama use these reserves? Will Tamiflu work? Beats me, but the resources and planning are there.

Now if there was just someone in charge of HHS...

You mean Bush actually did something good for the country??

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFlu/wireStory?id=7444907

Cuba is banning travel to and from Mexico.

The death in LA was not due to the Veracruz flu.

How could the mexican government be prepared? This was unexpected. Every country was caught off guard after a better than average flu season.

This kind of scares me, I don't recall there ever being a pandemic in my lifetime.

Gov Swarzcheneggar has declared a state of emergency throughout the state of California in response to the increase in Veracruz flu cases there.

I'm still reading what the action means for Californians.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFlu/story?id=7446222&page=1

How could the mexican government be prepared? This was unexpected. Every country was caught off guard after a better than average flu season.

This kind of scares me, I don't recall there ever being a pandemic in my lifetime.

The US was preparing for it. I'm sure the Europeans were preparing. It's called forsight which Mexico's currently government seems to lack.

Good governance requires good forsight.

EDIT: BREAKING NEWS

The United States Senate has confirmed Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the Veracruz flu crises.

pretty sure Australia and a few other countries on that list don't have confirmed cases yet, though they have some possibilities.
And America's healthcare system is definitely a large part of why there have been less deaths in the States. Hopefully there have been enough medical advances since 1918 that this won't turn into another pandemic. At this point, I'm not about to put a mask on to go down to the shops...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFlu/Story?id=7446222&page=2

The United States Senate has confirmed Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the Veracruz flu crises.

Obviously that will make it magically disappear :rolleyes:

The US was prepared for the seasonal flu. Although they were on the look out for a new flu outbreak the fact that it happened so late in the season caught many health officials off guard.

The US was preparing for it. I'm sure the Europeans were preparing. It's called forsight which Mexico's currently government seems to lack.

Good governance requires good forsight.

EDIT: BREAKING NEWS

The United States Senate has confirmed Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the Veracruz flu crises.

Is this the new media term or just one you are using yourself?

It's time for some hard decisions. If a few million people die, it will be a disaster.......But so would shutting down world trade. Were not there yet and might not get there but if...........?

The radio has just qouted someone as saying the virus may been genetically engineered. I hope that's just a conspiracy theory because if someone made this thing and deliberately released it,



that would be an act of war.

(EDIT: or bioterrorism)

You'd think that if it was engineered, it would either be a stronger strain, or a stronger virus. Why not the Black Plague?

Ahhh,,, that explains it.

For those unfamiliar, Coast-to-Coast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_to_Coast_AM) is a US radio program catering to the conspiracy nut crowd. If they said the sun was going to rise in the East tomorrow morning, I'd be up bright and early watching for it to rise in the West...

And as far as it being airborne... well duh! It's influenza.

Yea, never trust Alex Jones, on anything. I was listening to that same program.

Is screaming like a pig a sign that you are infected?

Nope, it's a symptom that you are on a rafting trip in Georgia and met some locals who wants you to squeal like a pig.

You can add North Carolina to the list.

http://wake.mync.com/site/wake/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/33129/officials-working-overtime-to-track-swine-flu-in-north-carolina

How could the mexican government be prepared? This was unexpected. Every country was caught off guard after a better than average flu season.

This kind of scares me, I don't recall there ever being a pandemic in my lifetime.

Why does this scare you?

Are you old?
Are you very young?
Are you infirm?

Or are you healthy young adult to mature adult?

Sucks the flu is killing people, but I'm not worried.

Why does this scare you?

Are you old?
Are you very young?
Are you infirm?

Or are you healthy young adult to mature adult?

Sucks the flu is killing people, but I'm not worried.

As I have been reading it this flu has been killing the young healthy adults in rather large numbers.

As I have been reading it this flu has been killing the young healthy adults in rather large numbers.

Bah.

Fuck the flu.

Bah.

Fuck the flu.

Don't forget to wrap it before you tap it!

As I have been reading it this flu has been killing the young healthy adults in rather large numbers.

7 deaths is not a large number. And that is the total current number of people of whom we know they died of this flue for certain - which no doubt is not just "young and healthy people".

152 is a slightly bigger number, but still nowhere near worrying. And those are merely suspected.

While I wouldn't be at all surprised, you wouldn't happen to have, you know, a little linkette for this?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-flu-victim29-2009apr29,0,5477506.story

"La Gloria is near a huge pig farm, and residents have complained that the agribusiness is contaminating their soil, water and air."

Notwithstanding that the government claims that not only did they inspect the grounds but supposedly the virus came from New York or Chicago. We need to keep in mind that when the government makes these claims, it is clamping on the release of information and the fact is the WHO has stated that the origin of the virus was in Mexico.

Apparently the death toll is stablizing in Mexico. Does that mean that's it?

I mean, I'm happy if it is done, but I don't think that was "The big one" everyone was working about.

I'm not going to call the swine flu a "fail" yet, but it's getting there.

Is this the new media term or just one you are using yourself?


You can't use swine flu or you'll be sued by the pork industry. Israel and others are using Mexican flu which I started with, but Mexico is a big place and since flus tend to be named after place of origin and that place of origin now appears to be Veracruz, it is most accurate to refer to it as the Veracruz flu.


The name used by the media varies country to country.

It's time for some hard decisions. If a few million people die, it will be a disaster.......But so would shutting down world trade. Were not there yet and might not get there but if...........?

Fortunately world trade is already shut down.

Swine flu is what it's being called.

I don't quite know where you got the fanciful idea that the "pork industry" can sue anyone for calling a bug what it is, but it was amusing.

This would be cool:

all the young adult males in Mexico die from the flu. That leaves the young adult females.
I poke them and then my progeny inherit the earth.


j/k

Swine flu is what it's being called.

I don't quite know where you got the fanciful idea that the "pork industry" can sue anyone for calling a bug what it is, but it was amusing.

Yeah, they really can't, but I understand their fustration. You can't even get the flu from eating cooked pork products, and the f-ing morons that lead Russia and China are banning U.S. pork.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew you can't get it from eating cooked pork, but just wanted to put some pressure on the U.S.

Swine flu is what it's being called.

I don't quite know where you got the fanciful idea that the "pork industry" can sue anyone for calling a bug what it is, but it was amusing.

Its the Mexican flu because that's where it's from and that's where the epicenter is. Officials involved have said they are in talks with the pork industry to drop the word swine from it.


The only people who have gotten sick are either Mexicans or people who have recently been to Mexico. WHO and CDC and everyone except the incompetent Mexican government is saying it originated in Mexico.
More specifically they are starting to say it originated in Veracruz a Mexican state.

Hence, it is the Mexican flu. Just like the flu of 1918 was the Spanish flu.

Yeah, they really can't, but I understand their fustration. You can't even get the flu from eating cooked pork products, and the f-ing morons that lead Russia and China are banning U.S. pork.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew you can't get it from eating cooked pork, but just wanted to put some pressure on the U.S.

Not just US pork but all North American pork. They won't import Canadian or Mexican pork either.

Swine flu is what it's being called.

I don't quite know where you got the fanciful idea that the "pork industry" can sue anyone for calling a bug what it is, but it was amusing.

The beef industry sued oprah for patent infringement or something. She's lost weight since then though.

It's time for some hard decisions. If a few million people die, it will be a disaster.......But so would shutting down world trade. Were not there yet and might not get there but if...........?
personally im not convinced either of those would be such a bad thing. of course at my age, if people do start dropping like flies i DON'T expect to survive. be one hell of a trip if i did. but i mean, so far, how many fatalities? 8 did someone say? even with "under reported" that would make what? double that? somehow i don't think this is going to do much to reduce human overpopulation.

if enough of us DO keel over, maybe a few more who survive will start thinking twice about how wonderful thy've been assuming oil, coal and the car are as ways of providing technology.

yes global climate change, as in places that have been cooler getting warmer is likely to produce a lot more spreading of airborn and other communicable diseases.

so far though, its probably a bit too premature to come to any rock hard conclusions.

i still think it would be a good idea to accelerate transitioning from combustion based energy generation to integrating the many and diverse noncombustion based ways of generating energy and propelling transportation that we have and have had for decades the technology for and lacked, so far, only the political will.

if something is actually beginning, it will be interesting to see. my condolances to mexico, who'se screwed upness has largely been do to american forign and domestic policies, especially the american southwest appropriating the water that before there was a u.s. once flowed to that regeon.

Strange how all this started not long after the NSG trip to Mexico. Now I am not saying there is a connection but...

Apparently there has now been one death in the US attributed to the swine flu. Of course it was a 23 month old (why are children referred to by months until they are like 5?), so the "freak the fuck out of everyone" media reaction is entirely unnecessary because I am pretty sure 23 months is pretty far up the scale for possible deaths from your annual flu.

Thank you very much WHO, the flu is out of control IMHO. I might as well diagnose myself with H1N1. I told my doctor today to do it... I mean, how long this is going to last.

You can't use swine flu or you'll be sued by the pork industry. Israel and others are using Mexican flu which I started with, but Mexico is a big place and since flus tend to be named after place of origin and that place of origin now appears to be Veracruz, it is most accurate to refer to it as the Veracruz flu.


The name used by the media varies country to country.

Source for the bolded part? Somebody better tell the Australian media.

And Isreal is only using it because somehow it offends them. WTF? Some people are to uptight.

Thank you very much WHO, the flu is out of control IMHO. I might as well diagnose myself with H1N1. I told my doctor today to do it... I mean, how long this is going to last.

I saw today on Journal (A German news broadcast) that the WHO has downgraded this and is stating that this isn't likely to become a pandemic.

What a way to spread fear and misinformation, mixed with borderline racist theories and 100% certified BS. :mad: We are fine, thank you...


By the way, the one responsible for spreading the swine flu has already been identified, and he is from the USA.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XyBPUUNhKaI/SffefM7sQRI/AAAAAAAAAGY/LWeS5mCVc2s/s1600-h/image001.jpg :p

That damned Red X really gets around.

personally im not convinced either of those would be such a bad thing. of course at my age, if people do start dropping like flies i DON'T expect to survive. be one hell of a trip if i did. but i mean, so far, how many fatalities? 8 did someone say? even with "under reported" that would make what? double that? somehow i don't think this is going to do much to reduce human overpopulation.

if enough of us DO keel over, maybe a few more who survive will start thinking twice about how wonderful thy've been assuming oil, coal and the car are as ways of providing technology.

Well keep in mind. No matter what we do, this thing will cover the globe over the next 36-48 months. Nerfing the shipping industry would only make things much worse.

http://imgur.com/27K39.jpg

The real cause of the outbreak...

but i mean, so far, how many fatalities? 8 did someone say?.

8 confirmed last time I checked. Including 1 American of 2 years old.
And over 150 deaths that are suspected to have been caused by this flu.

Places where the North American Flu has been confirmed:

Add England to that list.

The first death in America was actually a child from Mexico. Don't know if that makes a difference or not tho.

Finland also have one confirmed case now apparently.

Hence, it is the Mexican flu. Just like the flu of 1918 was the Spanish flu.
Incorrect. The 1918 flu was called the Spanish flu because Spain was one of the few countries where news about the disease was being reported; the WWI and its aftermath prevented news from coming from other countries.

Incorrect. The 1918 flu was called the Spanish flu because Spain was one of the few countries where news about the disease was being reported; the WWI and its aftermath prevented news from coming from other countries.

Spanish flu < Spanish Fly. *nod*

Why does this scare you?

Are you old?
Are you very young?
Are you infirm?

Or are you healthy young adult to mature adult?

Sucks the flu is killing people, but I'm not worried.

As I have been reading it this flu has been killing the young healthy adults in rather large numbers.

Bah.

Fuck the flu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

" Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) which explains its unusually severe nature and the concentrated age profile of its victims. The strong immune systems of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults caused fewer deaths. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

I haven't kept up with what they have been finding out about this flu in the past few days. But when it first broke out they were talking about how it was killing young healthy people (25-35) in Mexico. This came to mind immediately.

Trollgaard .. You seem to be under the impression that if one isn't old and feeble, already sick .. or an infant they have nothing to worry about if they get any flu.

You must see it in perspective. Soon the yearly death toll of swine flu will surpass the yearly deaths caused by international terrorism*. Clearly we must throw buckets of money at it.

* On average about 550 IIRC.

btw, as I understand it, terrorism isn't about death tolls, it's about intent, disorder, disruption of daily life, and moral outrage.

has been killing the young healthy adults in rather large numbers.

There is nothing large about the numbers at all!

List edited to include Germany and the alert level edited to 5 after WHO raised it.

Odd that they raised it to 5. Seems to me that they way they have it set up is broken.

EDIT: Americans who were hospitalized have now been identified as immigrants or tourists from Mexico. This information could change as more facts come out.

It was a matter of time. As long as they treatment quickly they should be safe.

Apparently there has now been one death in the US attributed to the swine flu. Of course it was a 23 month old (why are children referred to by months until they are like 5?), so the "freak the fuck out of everyone" media reaction is entirely unnecessary because I am pretty sure 23 months is pretty far up the scale for possible deaths from your annual flu.

The infant was a Mexican national whose family had just crossed the border, according to news reports. It died because it got to the hospital too late.

What a way to spread fear and misinformation, mixed with borderline racist theories and 100% certified BS. :mad: We are fine, thank you...


By the way, the one responsible for spreading the swine flu has already been identified, and he is from the USA.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XyBPUUNhKaI/SffefM7sQRI/AAAAAAAAAGY/LWeS5mCVc2s/s1600-h/image001.jpg :p

That's patently false. You need to stop listening to government propaganda. WHO and the UN have confirmed the source of the flu was in Mexico. They've pinpointed it to a young boy in Veracruz who has never been to the US who was visited by a Mexican government census worker who spread first spread it to other people in Mexico who then spread it to the US.

Also, if you are going to refer to the virus designation it's A/H1-N1.

8 confirmed last time I checked. Including 1 American of 2 years old.
And over 150 deaths that are suspected to have been caused by this flu.

Third time i've corrected false information. The 2 year old was not an American. He was a Mexican national whose parents recently entered the US, last week, to visit relatives in Texas. The reason he died is his parents waited too long to take him to the hospital.

Officials have confirmed that the baby got the virus while he was in Mexico and brought it into the US with him.

List edited to include Germany and the alert level edited to 5 after WHO raised it.

Odd that they raised it to 5. Seems to me that they way they have it set up is broken.

EDIT: Americans who were previously resisting the virus quite well are now being hospitalized.

Source, please. There are, as of today, anyway, only 5 reported hospitalizations in the US.

That's patently false. You need to stop listening to government propaganda. WHO and the UN have confirmed the source of the flu was in Mexico. They've pinpointed it to a young boy in Veracruz who has never been to the US who was visited by a Mexican government census worker who spread first spread it to other people in Mexico who then spread it to the US.

Also, if you are going to refer to the virus designation it's A/H1-N1.

:$ did you too a look at the picture I posted?

The first death in America was actually a child from Mexico. Don't know if that makes a difference or not tho.
Despite the evidence and statements from actual scientists and health professionals some people are intent on insisting it didn't originate in Mexico and that it's Americans dieing.

People need to pay attention to the facts.

Despite the evidence and statements from actual scientists and health professionals some people are intent on insisting it didn't originate in Mexico and that it's Americans dieing.

People need to pay attention to the facts.

Why should we pay attention to the facts?

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

:rolleyes:

Why should we pay attention to the facts?

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

:rolleyes:

I wondered what that was outside the window.

any further updates on a projected mortality rating?

any further updates on a projected mortality rating?

...

http://xkcd.com/500/

Nothing since this morning.

I really think they raised the level to fast. That shows a problem with the system.

A pandemic would have to mean millions have it. But right now it's still less than 200 globally. Something wrong with how the rating system works.

Nothing since this morning.

I really think they raised the level to fast. That shows a problem with the system.

A pandemic would have to mean millions have it. But right now it's still less than 200 globally. Something wrong with how the rating system works.
Level 5 means that there is evidence of human-to-human transmission in two countries of the same region. Right now the U.S., Mexico, and Spain reported human-to-human transmission. ;)

A pandemic does not necessarily mean that millions should have the disease, but rather it is an epidemic of infectious disease over a widespread region. And an epidemic "occurs when new cases of a certain disease occur in a given human population, during a given period, substantially exceed what is "expected," based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during a specified period of time is called the "incidence rate")."

Has there been any human to human transmit ion between people who have been to mexico and people who haven't? I haven't heard of any evidence of that yet.

I just thought that with the rise in human population the number of people infected during an epidemic would rise as well.

The US and WHO really needs to do more in Mexico if we are going to beat this thing. Quarantining a entire nation won't work and smacks of paranoia.

Has there been any human to human transmit ion between people who have been to mexico and people who haven't? I haven't heard of any evidence of that yet.
That's because other countries are doing a good job of quarantining ill travelers arriving from Mexico.


Egypt will now kill every single pig in their country. Talk about paranoia.

That's because other countries are doing a good job of quarantining ill travelers arriving from Mexico.


Egypt will now kill every single pig in their country. Talk about paranoia.

It is not only paranoia, is a well taken chance to screw the Christian minorities there which, unlike the Muslims, eat pork.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

" Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) which explains its unusually severe nature and the concentrated age profile of its victims. The strong immune systems of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults caused fewer deaths. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

I haven't kept up with what they have been finding out about this flu in the past few days. But when it first broke out they were talking about how it was killing young healthy people (25-35) in Mexico. This came to mind immediately.

Trollgaard .. You seem to be under the impression that if one isn't old and feeble, already sick .. or an infant they have nothing to worry about if they get any flu.

I don't worry about the flu. I haven't gotten it since I was a child- even then I was sick for a few days and then right back on my feet. I don't fear the flu, or any other disease, really (except for STDS, AIDS, and ebola).

Somehow a few hundred people getting sick doesn't scare me. The regular kills more people every year than swine flu has. Forgive me if I sound a little, belligerent on the subject, but most diseases just don't scare me.

Has there been any human to human transmit ion between people who have been to mexico and people who haven't? I haven't heard of any evidence of that yet.
United States
Kansas
TOPEKA - Two cases of mild swine flu were confirmed Saturday in a married couple in Dickinson County after the man returned recently from Mexico, the state's health officer said.

Jason Eberhart-Phillips said the man traveled to Mexico via Wichita on April 16 and spent four days there for a business conference, becoming ill after he returned home. His wife became ill a few days later.
Source (http://www.kansas.com/localnews/story/787413.html)
New York
About 150 students were sent home from St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens on Thursday and Friday after developing flulike symptoms, officials said.

The Health Department was testing students to rule out whether it was a strain of swine flu that has killed 60 people in Mexico.

"Whatever it was moved quickly through the student body," Assistant Principal Patrick McLaughlin said.
Source (http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/04/25/2009-04-25_150_kids_sick_at_queens_school.html)
(The strain was later confirmed to be the same as the Swine flu in Mexico)
and so on.

The U.S. And Mexico makes two countries in one region, the Americas.

Spain
In Spain, the government said the first person to contract swine flu without having travelled to Mexico was the boyfriend of a young woman who had recently returned from there.

Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said such cases were to be expected.

In total, the number of confirmed cases in Spain rose from two to 10 on Wednesday. None of the patients is seriously ill.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8025931.stm)

With the shortage of mouth cloth we, the always creative Mexicans have come with new option to stop this GLOBAL THREAT TO HUMAN KIND!!!!

http://www.elcerebro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/influenza1.jpg

http://www.elcerebro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/influenza2.jpg

With the shortage of mouth cloth we, the always creative Mexicans have come with new option to stop this GLOBAL THREAT TO HUMAN KIND!!!!

http://www.elcerebro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/influenza1.jpg

http://www.elcerebro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/influenza2.jpg
'course, when the pharmacy runs out of face masks, you can always use your grandmother's underwear! :p

'course, when the pharmacy runs out of face masks, you can always use your grandmother's underwear! :p

no no BnN... I'm surprised you don't recognize it.Those are your sister's panties. :p

no no BnN... I'm surprised you don't recognize it.Those are your sister's panties. :p
I... don't have a sister. :p

I... don't have a sister. :p

:( I should have gone with the "your mom" joke instead... but I really don't like old fat women.

Interesting, so in Spain and Kansas it could be an std, but in new york, that is just weird, cause I have only heard of 50 people having the flu in all of new york, not 150...

I'm just waiting for a case of "so and so was in the movie theater, and soon after 10 other people got sick"

Connecticut. Trust me, when we get in the news, we're all thrilled. That was the whole reason we did the gay marriage thing.

2 possible cases in North Alabama.
http://www.whnt.com/whnt-swine-flu-madison-county-schools-closed,0,1233079.story

list updated

For US and Mexico, the list is going by states. I'm trying to do the same with UK.
The same for Canada.

2 possible cases in North Alabama.
http://www.whnt.com/whnt-swine-flu-madison-county-schools-closed,0,1233079.story

Confirmed. I'm surprised it was this county, I thought it would be those idiots who had just got back from a band trip a few days ago.

EDIT: They are acting like it is confirmed.

One confirmed case in the Netherlands.

WHO Level has gone upto 5 - Pandemic is imminent apparently.

WHO Level has gone upto 5 - Pandemic is imminent apparently.

No worries, Alabama is freaking the fuck out enough for everyone. Two suspected cases at one school have led to every school in the county being closed (including the big city schools in their own separate system) and a large number of day care centers.

list updated as the virus has spread in Europe.

latest update: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=14751152

"The EU ministers will also try to agree on how to refer to the virus.

The European Commission has been calling it "novel flu", replacing the word "swine" to avoid prompting a fall in demand for pork and bacon.

On Wednesday, Egypt began a mass slaughter of its pigs - even though the WHO says the virus was now being transmitted from human to human."

Israel and others refer to it as the Mexican flu. The virus is a A/H1-N1 virus but that is not its name. Even the Secretary of Homeland Security didn't know what to call it. The thread title calls it North American flu. Some people wrongly insist on swine flu. I've called it Mexican flu and then Veracruz flu based on its origins. (If it had happened in the US, I would be calling it the American flu, then the Virginia flu then the Richmond flu depending on its origins. But it didn't originate in America) It could also be called the La Gloria flu or the Smithfield flu because the company has a pig farm in La Gloria where the flu got its start.

What the media calls it is irrelevant because the media are not experts. Once a name is designated they'll jump aboard and start using it as will everyone else.

The question of how to refer to the disease is not just a matter of debate among European ministers as this thread attests.



There are rumors it was engineered by Al Qaeda. But there are multiple problems with that hypothesis. If it was Al Qaeda, they hit the wrong country.

There are rumors it was engineered by Al Qaeda. But there are multiple problems with that hypothesis. If it was Al Qaeda, they hit the wrong country.

Well of course the terrorist boogeymen have something to do with this. Anything bad that happens in the world is clearly caused by terrorists. Thus, more security is needed and the US should be under martial law right now.


Duh.

The European Commission has been calling it "novel flu", replacing the word "swine" to avoid prompting a fall in demand for pork and bacon.


...but causing book sales to plummet?

[QUOTE=Holy Paradise;14736186]Manbearpig?[/QUOTE

:eek: the horror!

...but causing book sales to plummet?

Its the electronic books industry that is behind all this! :p

Well of course the terrorist boogeymen have something to do with this. Anything bad that happens in the world is clearly caused by terrorists. Thus, more security is needed and the US should be under martial law right now.


Duh.

I'm actually surprised no one has tried to invoke 2012 on this yet.

EDIT: Oh, I spoke too soon. (http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/swine-flu-pandemic-spreads-dec-12-2012-doomsday-prophecy/17231250)

And then there's Joe Biden's advice (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30471035/) to his family..."I would tell members of my family — and I have — that I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said on NBC's TODAY show Thursday.

Of course, the VPs office backtracked on that, saying he didn't really mean it.

I'm actually surprised no one has tried to invoke 2012 on this yet.

EDIT: Oh, I spoke too soon. (http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/swine-flu-pandemic-spreads-dec-12-2012-doomsday-prophecy/17231250)

HAHAHA Countdown to hell. That's rich.

Thanks :)

I... don't have a sister. :p

... so you're saying... they're yours then? :D

So when do we start looting?

So when do we start looting?

When the nation of Petoria is granted international respect!

*sings badly and softly*
Riot loot not give a hoot
and . . . .
*tails off*

So when do we start looting?

start???


I finished my looting days ago!

A vaccine will be available in six months. Mexicans are becoming more and more suspicious of their government.

Seems to me this is pretty close to being Mexico's Katrina.

The official name for the disease is Influenza A.

http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSN30119940


That is what everyone is required to call it now.