Flu "pandemic"

[normajeane]

On the beeb: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

Maybe they will close the mega city like Mexico city?? Ever hopeful!

But to be serious, "Conficker" worm is out there.. Is this the end of the computer?? I am on Facebook and the worm can crack into my account as i type it after I have been into a supposed safe link and follows me around e.g. bank accounts etc. SCARY!

But the swine flu - you have to breathe and I may have just missed the crucial age group!! Hopefully we don't have too many in our area of positives as there is going to be some sick people around.

[The Stranger:Me]

Medicine has moved a very very long way since 1918.

Yes, however we still can't cure a viral infection, which is what influenza is.

[pete376403]

Contrary to popular opinion (and experience), influenza is death on a stick.
Tamiflu does nothing. Expensive Placebo dressed up in marketing speak and packaging.

Au contraire - for it's time tamiflu was a wonderful product that made millions for the owners of the company that developed it, Gilead Sciences. Tamiflu is so good it was specifically recommended by US Congress, at the urging of Dubya.
(Major stockholder - Dubyas old mate Donald Rumsfeld)
http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.ne...u/tamiflu.html

[Mikkel]

The only way you can achieve immortality is not to grow old in the first place

[Edbear]

Hang on a minute, just how do you "prepare"?

If you catch it, your body's immune system either deals with it or it doesn't and you need medical intervention for secondary infections, which you may not get if you it truly is a pandemic situation.

Our ability to deal with viruses isn't any better than 1918. You guys still get colds right (and call it 'flu)? Tamiflu simply doesn't work and never has. Placebo is better than no response though.

Virus immunization programmes are really hit and miss. If you have a relatively slow mutating virus like smallpox you can take a decade or three to eradicate it. Chicken pox vaccination on the other hand doesn't work very well at all, thanks to the way it works through human DNA.

Living with a medical professional who has just had a briefing on the topic gives a different perspective on the situation. If you catch this particular strain, you will either successfully fight it off (the majority of people) or you will succumb to probably a secondary infection, usually caused by bunging you into a hospital crawling with MRSA and respiratory disease, both bacterial and viral. The very young, and the very old are at risk from these types of virii, simply because their immune systems are either under developed or under performing. You can't do a thing about that. I have a child who runs very close to being neutropenic. If he catches this 'flu he'll probably die very quickly.

There's nothing you can do to avoid that outcome. Immunisation could easily spark the very problem you're trying to avoid in cases like that.

INteresting post. When you say "very close" how close? It's not a condition I'd heard of so looked it up.

I'd say, by the news coming out that this could be quite serious, in light of the demographic dying. ONe would expect the old and frail or the babies but when fit strong healthy types are dying it kinda makes you think.

Against that is the fact that, (so far), cases outside Mexico seem to be mild.

[James Deuce]

The only way you can achieve immortality is not to grow old in the first place

Unfortunately the aging process starts at cell division. Best remain a ovum. Which tend to get expelled from the host and die on a regular basis.

See? That doesn't work either.

[Edbear]

The only way you can achieve immortality is not to grow old in the first place

Growing old is fine, it's the dying bit that causes the problem...

[Eurodave]

Heres an entirely different & far more sinister take on current world events:
http://www.openureyes.org.nz/blog/?q=node/1374
Maybe its time we all woke up to reality

[Edbear]

Unfortuantely the aging process starts at cell division. Best remain a ovum. Which tend to get expelled from the host and die on a regular basis.

See? That doesn't work either.

Yeah, and you can't ride a bike either...

[Edbear]

Heres an entirely different & far more sinister take on current world events:
http://www.openureyes.org.nz/blog/?q=node/1374
Maybe its time we all woke up to reality

So they really are out to get us...

[Eurodave]

Mock all you like buddy, do some more research & youll agree that we should be really thankfull that we're not in America at the moment.....

[James Deuce]

INteresting post. When you say "very close" how close? It's not a condition I'd heard of so looked it up.

I'd say, by the news coming out that this could be quite serious, in light of the demographic dying. ONe would expect the old and frail or the babies but when fit strong healthy types are dying it kinda makes you think.

Against that is the fact that, (so far), cases outside Mexico seem to be mild.

Very close - neutrophil count is approx 2% above being labelled neutropenia, is completely in keeping with his underlying genetic disorder, and is why there is a tendency to leukaemia amongst his people.

The strong and fit die with Influenza A strains because there is often a bacterial component, as there is with swine flu. The transmission vector can be infectious bacterium which is taken deep into the lungs. Swine 'flu works best in healthy lungs.

One reason that the old and very young may appear to suffer less is that they don't associate with that demographic much.

There's a simple way to keep 'flu at bay. Wash your hands properly. 20 seconds minimum. Dry them for just as long. My boughts of Influenza A were caused by a Strep infection picked up in hospital. If you can avoid living in a hospital, do it.

[Winston001]

Medicine has moved a very very long way since 1918.

So have viruses.

The unique thing about viruses compared to bacteria is that science has NO cure. Antibiotics work against bacteria but there is nothing to kill or cure a virus. Which is why we all still suffer from the common cold.

Immunisation is the only defence against viruses, and its very effective. However there are many many viruses which affect humans and we are not immunised against most of them.

On the positive side, this particular strain of swine flu appears only mildly contagious and not particularly lethal.

[Maha]

Swine Flu didn't do alot of harm in 1976, why should it be any different today?
Has it mutated beyond controll?...I dont think so. If the slum dwellers of Mexico City cant afford to get to a doctor then that is sad for them. The unfortunate thing is, it gets passed on easily (as does any Flu) and because its an aggressive virus, by the time you visit a Doc, in some cases, it could be to late, that has been proven (by those that have died already) ....get onto it early and chances of living are very good.
I am no expert on the subject, but that what I get of the News reports.

[Edbear]

Very close - neutrophil count is approx 2% above being labelled neutropenia, is completely in keeping with his underlying genetic disorder, and is why there is a tendency to leukaemia amongst his people.

The strong and fit die with Influenza A strains because there is often a bacterial component, as there is with swine flu. The transmission vector can be infectious bacterium which is taken deep into the lungs. Swine 'flu works best in healthy lungs.

One reason that the old and very young may appear to suffer less is that they don't associate with that demographic much.

There's a simple way to keep 'flu at bay. Wash your hands properly. 20 seconds minimum. Dry them for just as long. My boughts of Influenza A were caused by a Strep infection picked up in hospital. If you can avoid living in a hospital, do it.

So that's why anti-biotics are used? How dangerous is the virus on its own? Is it purely that it weakens the immune system or are the symptoms themselves an issue?