Swine flu

[Good Old Neon]

Thanks for the link. That's the first sensible and truly informative article I've read on this whole thing.

 

You're welcome - the following blog has lots of great, soberly reported info as well.

 

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/

[gogo]

Medicine has come quite a ways since 1918.

True, but people weren't traveling in 1918 the way they are now. There are three confirmed cases in Sacramento, traced to a kid who went on a family vacation to Cancun. In 1918, no way that would have jumped across the state from Mexico like that.

 

Also, we're continually chasing the flu. Getting a flu shot at the beginning of the season only protects you from whatever flu the experts think we're going to be exposed to in the coming year.

 

 

The problem with the vaccine was that many more people got sicker from that than from Swine Flu, didn't they?

A massive vaccination program like they did for swine flu in the 70s is an iffy proposition, for a couple of reasons. I don't think the vaccination was ever actually linked to people coming down with real diseases, but anyone who got sick after getting vaccinated was going to assume that it was the vaccine that caused it (and when you attempt to vaccinate the whole country, yeah, some people are going to get sick after they take it).

 

The thing they were looking at back then was Guillan-Barre syndrome, which is diagnosed based on paralysis, and a couple of other symptoms (my understanding is that that's the definition of a "syndrome", there's no real test for it, it's just based on the symptoms). So after a couple of people got tingling in their legs after getting vaccinated, doctors were told to look for GB, which led to more diagnoses... but it's not clear that those problems were actually linked to the vaccine. Doctors looking for a set of symptoms are more likely to find them. Would those same people have been diagnosed with GB if they hadn't taken the vaccine? Or, would they have been diagnosed had their doctors not been told to look for it?

 

Anyway, it's impossible to say whether or not the vaccination caused those problems. There are too many variables with a huge vaccination program.

[dondoboy]

I hope House can figure this out.

[Sparky speaks]

For those too young to remember.......We saw this act before in 76.......Come and get your swine flu shot......

 

 

http://www.vaccinationnews.com/DailyNews/M...sVaxLessons.htm

 

http://healthandsurvival.com/2009/04/26/sw...harm-than-good/

 

http://www.whale.to/vaccines/kalokerinos13.html

 

The government's new plan.....

 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...pBW6AgD97RFGBG1

 

I wouldn't take tamiflu either.....

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/health/1...hoo&emc=rss

[PigSooie]

I had a jumbo BBQ sandwich for lunch.

[futureage1]

Swine Flu Quarantines Planning Memo Sent Out By Department Of Homeland Security

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/04/28/po...ry4975598.shtml

 

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sent a memo to some health care providers noting procedures to be followed if the swine flu outbreak eventually makes quarantines necessary.

 

DHS Assistant Secretary Bridger McGaw circulated the swine flu memo, which was obtained by CBSNews.com, on Monday night. It says: "The Department of Justice has established legal federal authorities pertaining to the implementation of a quarantine and enforcement. Under approval from HHS, the Surgeon General has the authority to issue quarantines."

 

I am inclined to doubt my government and to generally believe they are lying to me. On this issue, it does sound like the over hyped scare from 1976.

Mass vaccinations are great for business and a boon to profits on this one appears to be forthcoming.

 

Obama just announced he wants $1.5 billion for this 'fight'. How much of that will be for vaccines? And of course today we also have tamiflu getting the nod for fighting this brand new disease, with heavy stock investments in the company by Bush, Rumsfeld, Obama and Al Gore.

 

I suppose if the government can continue to get people to believe it is perfectly OK to be ordered around and quarantined, they will take that bonus too.

[futureage1]

The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza outlines a collaborative North American approach that recognizes that mitigating the effects of a pandemic requires coordinated action by all three countries. It outlines how Canada, Mexico and the United States will work together to prepare for and manage outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza and pandemic influenza. At the March 2006 SPP summit in Cancun, Mexico, the leaders of the three countries committed to developing a comprehensive, coordinated, science-based approach to prepare for and manage avian and pandemic influenza. This common approach would be based on the four pillars of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Canada, Mexico and the United States also established a senior-level Coordinating Body on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to facilitate effective planning and preparedness within North America for a possible outbreak. Key Objectives of the North American Plan The North American Plan provides a framework to accomplish the following: * Detect, contain and control an avian influenza outbreak and prevent transmission to humans; * Prevent or slow the entry of a new strain of human influenza into North America; * Minimize illness and deaths; and * Sustain infrastructure and mitigate the impact to the economy and the functioning of society

 

http://www.state.gov/g/avianflu/91282.htm

 

A closer look at the powers of state associated with this agreement might surprise you with what is next now that an emergency has been declared and the level was raised to 5 today.

[HungryHippo]

I think it's just hard for our 21-century brains to wrap around this. It doesn't seem possible that we could be brought down by something like the flu.

 

But yeah, it's definitely possible. Hell, we can't stop lice from spreading through elementary schools.

 

this stuff is pretty scary. a lot of people think the dinosaurs were wiped out by a similar epidemic. when tectonic plate shifting caused Asia and North America to connect, animals were able to migrate around the world with much more ease. they, inevitably, carried disease with them which creatures from other continents were not accustomed to. thanks to our little mosquito buddies, disease spread quite rapidly thus the dinos died.

 

we're more advanced than the dinosaurs, obviously, but with the way viruses can acclimate to their surroundings, this threat is still very real.

 

i seriously need to stop watching the History Channel. thanks to their current programming, i'm convinced that the sun will blow up soon or that ufos will fly out of their secret bases in the ocean and attack us.

[Good Old Neon]

The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza outlines a collaborative North American approach that recognizes that mitigating the effects of a pandemic requires coordinated action by all three countries. It outlines how Canada, Mexico and the United States will work together to prepare for and manage outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza and pandemic influenza. At the March 2006 SPP summit in Cancun, Mexico, the leaders of the three countries committed to developing a comprehensive, coordinated, science-based approach to prepare for and manage avian and pandemic influenza. This common approach would be based on the four pillars of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Canada, Mexico and the United States also established a senior-level Coordinating Body on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to facilitate effective planning and preparedness within North America for a possible outbreak. Key Objectives of the North American Plan The North American Plan provides a framework to accomplish the following: * Detect, contain and control an avian influenza outbreak and prevent transmission to humans; * Prevent or slow the entry of a new strain of human influenza into North America; * Minimize illness and deaths; and * Sustain infrastructure and mitigate the impact to the economy and the functioning of society

 

http://www.state.gov/g/avianflu/91282.htm

 

A closer look at the powers of state associated with this agreement might surprise you with what is next now that an emergency has been declared and the level was raised to 5 today.

 

Dude, assuming the worst, quarantining folks is the only viable way to contain the spread of a virus. As for the avian flu, its mortality rate hovers around 60% - think about that, 60-fucking-% - what would you have the government do in the (unthinkable) event that it evolves into a strain that jumps readily from human to human?

 

Christ, and I thought I was cynical.

[dondoboy]

this stuff is pretty scary. a lot of people think the dinosaurs were wiped out by a similar epidemic. when tectonic plate shifting caused Asia and North America to connect, animals were able to migrate around the world with much more ease. they, inevitably, carried disease with them which creatures from other continents were not accustomed to. thanks to our little mosquito buddies, disease spread quite rapidly thus the dinos died.

 

we're more advanced than the dinosaurs, obviously, but with the way viruses can acclimate to their surroundings, this threat is still very real.

 

i seriously need to stop watching the History Channel. thanks to their current programming, i'm convinced that the sun will blow up soon or that ufos will fly out of their secret bases in the ocean and attack us.

I thought the dinosaurs were all wiped out by that big hole in New Mexico.

[Analogman]

I will be surprised if this is the only one:

 

Officials confront first US death from swine flu

[isadorah]

our media is the modern day chicken little.

[austrya]

For all the people who are seriously worried that they will die from this, keep in mind that you have more of a chance of dying in a car accident the next time you get in your car than you do from the swine flu.

[Guest Speed Racer]

our media is the modern day chicken little.

 

For the most part, it's the television media. The newspapers are blowing it up, yeah, but I get much less "DOOMSDAY!!" from the newspaper sites I visit than the network news I was watching last week.

 

One mask at Harstfield in Atlanta yesterday, and I saw one flyer about it in a very inconspicuous location.

[froggie]

apparently there's been one death in australia and about 20 others quarantined

[Good Old Neon]

For the most part, it's the television media. The newspapers are blowing it up, yeah, but I get much less "DOOMSDAY!!" from the newspaper sites I visit than the network news I was watching last week.

 

One mask at Harstfield in Atlanta yesterday, and I saw one flyer about it in a very inconspicuous location.

 

Last night, Geraldo Rivera was referencing Steven King

[dondoboy]

Last night, Geraldo Rivera was referencing Steven King

[quarter23cd]

Should I survive, I

[bjorn_skurj]

our media is the modern day chicken little.

Well, people don't react as strongly to "Everything's gonna be fine."

[John Smith]

Good lord he's an idiot.

 

Steven King or Geraldo?

 

Anyhow the press and the government are in a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. If they keep reporting and reacting to the situation as they are and it fizzles then they get hammered for overreacting. Yet if they do minimal or no reporting and minimal or no CDC type work and the flu explodes they would get hammered for not notifying and safeguarding the public. What is showing the Press seriousness about covering this story is that Brittney Spears ex crashed his car the other day and that story did not make a dent in the flu coverage.

 

The best flu story so far has got to be Michelle Bachman noting that the last Swine flu scare occurred during the Carter era. Of course she is wrong, as always, and the last swine flu scare was during the Ford era where he ordered that the entire country be vaccinated. She is an idiot of the highest order.

[bjorn_skurj]

Steven King or Geraldo?

What is showing the Press seriousness about covering this story is that Brittney Spears ex crashed his car the other day and that story did not make a dent in the flu coverage.

See? Our priorities are TOO in order!

[austrya]

My 3 year old had his tonsils out yesterday and the day before, we went on a tour of the operating room and they gave him some masks, a blue hair net thing, and those little slipper things that doctors wear over their shoes. On the way home we stopped at Target to get him some special pajamas for the big day and he INSISTED on wearing all of that stuff into Target.

 

I think people thought we were paranoid he was going to get the swine flu or something.

[Good Old Neon]

I don't think you really have to worry about this pandemic unless you start finding some strange kid following you around constantly repeating "M-O-O-N, that spells moon!" That's a sure sign that we're all f****d.

 

Does that Sham Wow guy repeatedly barking at me w/r/t the benefits of his steroidal paper towels on my channel 13 this morning count - ? - like a broken record that guy.

[bjorn_skurj]

My 3 year old had his tonsils out yesterday and the day before, we went on a tour of the operating room and they gave him some masks, a blue hair net thing, and those little slipper things that doctors wear over their shoes. On the way home we stopped at Target to get him some special pajamas for the big day and he INSISTED on wearing all of that stuff into Target.

 

I think people thought we were paranoid he was going to get the swine flu or something.

That's funny. How's he doing, btw?

[isadorah]

My 3 year old had his tonsils out yesterday and the day before, we went on a tour of the operating room and they gave him some masks, a blue hair net thing, and those little slipper things that doctors wear over their shoes. On the way home we stopped at Target to get him some special pajamas for the big day and he INSISTED on wearing all of that stuff into Target.

 

I think people thought we were paranoid he was going to get the swine flu or something.

 

 

I love it!!!