franc111s

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8148162.stm

I think this strain is mutating faster than they are letter on. It's a worry for sure!

another bloody yank

But everyone is saying it's the typical media freakout hypefest and there's really nothing to worry about. More people die from the "regular" flu every year etc... etc...

So which is it?

SpoogleDrummer

I'm surprised we're still here, bird flu was meant to wipe us all out.

Bluegrass Lass

IIRC, I think there still are concerns among doctors/scientists etc that this is a more dangerous flu virus because those that are dying are typically not the ones who would normally die from the flu. From what I understand, and I am no doctor, those that normally die from the flu are the very young and the very old, but this virus is killing peeps in the 20s, 30s, 40s, etc that would not normally succumb to the virus.

But to answer your question: who the hell knows. I suppose we'll know more by this time next year, as it's the 2nd wave that hits the following flu season that we need to worry about. (that's what i read about the 'spanish' flu of 1918/1919)

franc111s

Yes, I understand the media hype angle BUT just struck me as VERY strange.... The last Pandemic apparently took hold by attacking the healthy, not the weak...

I am just saying, I think there is more to this, than meets the eye!

The WHO have been saying all along, that the next strain of the thing could be very concerning and it's already mutating to be resistant to the only drug so far that has held it at bay - Tamiflu. And it's killing the healthy!

To read this story, is alarming in the sense, that it's playing out to something predicted but we (and I) scoffed at (Media Hype) when it first hit Mexico!

Dan725

I'm not sure the first bit is right - from my reading of the UK news, they seem to be quick to say that those who actually die "had other medical problems". I could be wrong....it's just the impression I get from casual reading. This latest story seems to contradict that, though.

The second bit about the 2nd wave....I think you're probably onto something there, the real fear is that it could mutate.

I also think a lot of the media hype is because it's got a catchy name and its new; and follows on the heels of "Bird flu", so it generating some hysteria. Regular ol' flu has been around forever - its not new, so they can't focus on it the same.

franc111s

They must have read my post

Study: Swine Flu Resembles 1918 Virus

Rete

Actually while here in NYC they have been young (the term is relative btw), they have been people with underlying medical problems, i.e. diabetes, asthma, etc.

IMHO, we have been lucky that for nearly 100 years we have not had an epidemic that has wiped out a large portion of the world's population. Disease is one of the ways that nature keeps the balance between people and natural resources.

DMDA

They keep telling up not to panic but at the same time they're planning to innoculate the entire country... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6689955.ece

franc111s

Small snippet From the Mail...

"Chloe Buckley, six, died within 48 hours of complaining of a sore throat and just a day before her seventh birthday.

She was not given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu after her doctor apparently misdiagnosed her illness as tonsillitis.
On the same day, it was announced that Dr Michael Day, a 64-year-old GP who had been treating swine flu victims, had died after contracting the virus.

Both the little girl and the doctor are believed to have been perfectly healthy before succumbing to swine flu."

Madelina

well my friend and her daughter both had confirmed cases, and it was relatively mild compared to regular flu she's suffered before.... it s media hyper-fest for sure.

Floridared

I'm going back to Brizzle next month, so I'll find out if it's as bad, or weather they're just whining!!

tonrob

But what happened to the killer bees?

the troubadour

True enough,more do die from the seasonal fly for the moment,but perhaps we should take a look at the demographics also.
Seasonal Flu culls the older population as a rule where Swine Flu is less concerned with age and impacts across the generations.

chartreuse

I thought the Soviets were meant to do that. Remember Protect and Survive?

AFAIK, "Pandemic" just means it's widespread, not that it's deadly.

You haven't seen the latest season of Torchwood, have you?