OT-SWINE FLU-How serious is the global threat?

[Marietjie]

SWINE FLU - How serious is the global threat? ..... go to.............http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swine-flu/AN02000
Winter is on it's way in RSA and I'm a bit worried !?!

[john_dozer]

It depends. In the US, over 60,000 people die from a typical yearly outbreak. I guess the mortality rate is roughly 0.1% but can go higher or lower.

I've heard the unfortunate deathtoll numbers from Mexico, but I'm not seeing any data on how widespread the infections actually are so its hard to see how the mortality rate differs with this flu.

I guess the difference with this outbreak is that the mortality rate is disproportionately higher among those you would expect to just shrug it off. People in their 20's essentially seem more affected. The 1918 pandemic which had a very high mortality rate, also had a high mortality among that age group. However, during the 1918 flu outbreak, WWI was still on and I suspect the combat conditions contributed to the high mortality from the flu in that age group and too much is being made from that similarity.

I guess the short answer to your question is that there isn't enough data, at least public data, to judge yet.

[Muffy]

Right now, the U.S. cases are mild, but the danger is that the virus could morph again (either now or in this coming fall's version of "the flu").

"The" source for information is the CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/?s_cid=swin ... ternal_001

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.

Muffy

[roster]

Peloponnesian Plague — 30,000 dead
Thucycides is credited with recording the first pandemic in history when 30,000 citizens of Athens died in 430 B.C. during the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta. Apart from headaches, a body rash, fever, coughing up blood, stomach cramps, vomiting, some people had such a thirst they threw themselves into wells. Even the “sacred places” were full of dead bodies, according to Thucycides.


The Antonine Plague — 5-million dead
Named after Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a Roman emperor who died in 180 A.D. of the plague, this pandemic was brought to Rome by soldiers returning from Mesopotamia. It decimated the army and spread to Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and throughout the Roman Empire. Estimated to have killed five million over 15 years.


The Justinian Plague – 25-100-million dead
Named after Byzantine Emperor Justinian, this plague originated in 541-2 either in Ethiopia or in the Central Asian steppes and spread along trading routes. Is the first instance of the bubonic plague being recorded. By the time the plague had run its course fifty years later, it had killed somewhere between 25-100-million people, global trade had collapsed, and some believe the plague was responsible for the onset of the Dark Ages.


The Black Death – 25-million+
Also called the Pestilence or the Great Mortality, the Black Death ravaged medieval Europe from late 1347 through early 1351. One popular theory is that it was spread by fleas and rats. Victims died in agony usually within five days of contracting the disease.


Spanish Flu — 20-100-million
Also known as La Grippe, Spanish Flu broke out between 1918-1919 and was a global disaster. While some estimate 20-million died, others believe up to 100-million could have been killed (about nine million people died during WW1). However, no one is quite sure why this particular flu was so fatal.


Asian Flu — 4-million dead
Started in wild ducks in Guizhou, southern China, and mutated with existing human strain. Spread to Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April and U.S. in June, where about 69,800 died. Infection rates were highest among school children, young adults and pregnant women, but elderly had the highest rates of death. Disease abated by year end but flared up in January and February 1958, when there was another wave of illness among the elderly

Hong Kong Flu — 2-million dead
Detected in Hong Kong in early 1968. The same virus returned in 1970 and 1972. Those over the age of 65 were most likely to die. The number of U.S. deaths between September, 1968, and March, 1969, for this pandemic was 33,800, making it the mildest pandemic in the 20th century. Researchers believe exposure to Asian flu might have provided some immunity.

SARS — 800 dead
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by a coronavirus in civet cats in Guangdong, southern China, in the fall of 2002. China’s delay in reporting enabled the disease to spread to Hong Kong. Public alarm was raised in February 2003, when a U.S. businessman died from SARS on a flight home from Shanghai. The highly infectious disease travelled rapidly to Canada, U.S., and elswhere in Asia. Of 8,096 known infected cases, 774 died, a fatality rate of 9.6%.

Flu worldwide — kills 250,000-500,000 every year
Spreads around the world annually in seasonal epidemics, peaking in winter. Health authorities recommend vaccination especially for children and old people, but effectiveness is variable because of the flu viruses ability to mutate. Frequent handwashing and staying healthy provide better protection.

Source: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... e-yet.aspx

IMO, the bird flu is the one to worry about.

[Muffy]

Why It Helps To Be "Over The Hill":

Cytokine Storm

Old folks are too tired to whip up a "cytokine storm".

Muffy

[Marietjie]

Just heard over the news that a young child died of swine flu in Britain and 5-7 people sick with it !

Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.

.........YES, I do ! BUT do the workers in the food industry wash their hands? That's the question and my concern - we often eat out and I'm positive that the workers in the kitchen couldn't care about my health !
Also on the news was that Airport officials are busy discussing the implementation of fever measuring equiptment at airport terminals. I wonder, what can they do to you if, at that moment, you have a high fever? ? ?

[roster]

.........do the workers in the food industry wash their hands? .......

Sure. At least once per week or so. Check it out: http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/sto ... e0779.html

[DreamStalker]

Just heard over the news that a young child died of swine flu in Britain and 5-7 people sick with it !

Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.

.........YES, I do ! BUT do the workers in the food industry wash their hands? That's the question and my concern - we often eat out and I'm positive that the workers in the kitchen couldn't care about my health !

Why bother with the question or having the concern when all you have o do is NOT eat out?

Also on the news was that Airport officials are busy discussing the implementation of fever measuring equiptment at airport terminals. I wonder, what can they do to you if, at that moment, you have a high fever? ? ?

Throw them into the cooler of course!

[sagesteve]

REST YOUR FEARS!! http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... e-Flu.aspx takes a bit to download site.

[Marietjie]

Sure. At least once per week or so. Check it out: http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/sto ... e0779.html

.....OH NO ! why did I ever watched this video ! Sissa !

Most of the kitchen staff have NO toilet facilities or running water at home - that's why I am so concerned.
Okay, we will not eat out - not tonight !

[Paul56]

When you go out and touch items... do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Just keep your hands away from your head until you have a chance to wash them. If you wash them in a public facility use something to isolate your hands from the faucet controls when turning them off and also from the door handle when exiting the facility.

Stay away from other people where you may latch onto something airborne when they cough, sneeze or just release a bit of spit when speaking. Basically limit your contact with other people.

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

[roster]

And once and for all, let's stop this stupid practice of shaking hands upon meeting!

I suggest replacing it with a short bow of the head (similar to the Japanese practice of ojigi).

Talk it up.

Let's begin learning how to bow properly in Japan. Bowing seems simple, but there are different ways of bowing. It depends on the social status or age of the person you bow to. If the person is higher status or older than you are, you should bow deeper and longer. It is polite to bow, bending from your waist. Men usually keep their hands in their sides, and women usually put their hands together on their thighs with their fingers touching. If it is a casual situation, you can bow like nodding. The most frequent bow is a bow of about 15 degrees. You might feel strange to do it, but try to bow in Japan. You will be considered very polite.

[DreamStalker]

But wait! That's not all ... if you act now, we'll send you two suits (additional shipping and handling fees may apply) for just 3 easy monthly payments of $499.95.

[sagesteve]

Add HUGGING to that!!! I can't believe how strangers will even huge...sheep I guess. I HATE shaking hands. High five is another abomination...GEEZ how STUPID Again...SHEEP!!

[sagesteve]

DreamStalker...are those suits for safe sex or the flu??