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Author Topic: Swine flu  (Read 30320 times)

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lisafx

« Reply #25 on: August 12, 2009, 11:52 »
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so swine flu + avian flu = flying pig flu?  ;D

LOL! :D

My daughter recently got back from spending a month living in the dorms and attending a summer program at a college in Florida.   They had to shut down early because so many kids had become infected with "type A influenza".  It was later confirmed to be swine flu.    

My daughter said that out of 160 kids attending she was the only one she knew who wasn't sick.   I make her get a flu shot every year.  Wonder if that has some slight preventive effect on swine flu?  Old people don't seem to be getting very sick from this and they are normally the ones who get the shots.

ETA that although they weren't sure if it was swine flu at the time, it has now been confirmed that it was.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2009, 12:12 by lisafx »


« Reply #26 on: August 12, 2009, 12:20 »
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Dont want to scare you, but Im less inclined to joke about flu. Last time a combination of new virus/aggressive virus/ fast spreading virus roamed this planet (shortly after WorldWar I) it killed more people than all weapons of that war together. And it were the young people, not the old ones, who died.

Im old enough to remember some epidemics which have vanished with vaccination. (Or at least they seem to have vanished, but they still exist, waiting for their chance). Maybe having a first-hand experience with the damage some infections can do makes me a bit paranoid.

« Reply #27 on: August 12, 2009, 13:16 »
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   ???
« Last Edit: February 10, 2010, 23:23 by Digital66 »

lisafx

« Reply #28 on: August 12, 2009, 13:58 »
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Dont want to scare you, but Im less inclined to joke about flu.

I admit, it is a serious problem, but worrying never kept anyone healthy. 

In fact, to some extent it is the opposite.  Studies seem to suggest that there is truth in the old saying "laughter is the best medicine". 

« Reply #29 on: August 12, 2009, 14:03 »
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 The real problem with swine flu or any pandemic is not the loss of life, as with the flu of 1918, but the loss of productivity and services.

For instance, let's say 40-60% of the work force goes out with a flu that lasts 4-6 weeks. Just for giggles, let's say .20% die. For those 4-6 weeks (rolling) there are 40-60% less bus drivers, food service workers, trash collectors, public health workers, to do the services that you take for granted.

Ponder for a moment. There are, for instance, only 40% of the workers available to service your power outage.

Most of them will be back, when they are well. So, another for instance, your isp will get to your problem in a week or two.

We saw this in a small way in Denver during the blizzards a few years ago. There was very limited supply of produce, etc. because the drivers simply could not get through to deliver.

One snow season in Denver, they could not get ambulances through and had to use plows for er care.  What if 1/4th of those care givers were out sick?

-Cora, part time crazy person.  :D

« Reply #30 on: August 12, 2009, 16:16 »
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I make her get a flu shot every year.  Wonder if that has some slight preventive effect on swine flu?  Old people don't seem to be getting very sick from this and they are normally the ones who get the shots.

That's exactly the case here, Lisa, and some doctors believe there may be some protection from regular vaccine.  I had my yearly check-up yesterday, and the doctor said there is a lot of unjustified panic. People are getting swine flu (75% of the current flu cases here are believed to be swine flu), but they are treated and recover like most people do from flu.

« Reply #31 on: August 13, 2009, 00:38 »
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I'm surprised nobody posted a link to this article yet: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/29/Swine-Flu.aspx

« Reply #32 on: August 13, 2009, 02:36 »
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The article mingles facts, wishful thinking and a deep mistrust against pharmaceutical companies. While I understand this mistrust (who doesn't?),
wishful thinking has never been a good method to keep people safe. I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Yes, vaccinations can have very bad side effects. But what of diseases themselves? When I was at school we were routinely vaccinated against smallpox. All of us. That was a vaccination with some really nasty side effects. It made several children seriously ill, one or the other even died. Everybody knew about that danger. Nobody canceled that vaccination, because  parents remembered all too well how much lives smallpox used to take.

Nowadays so few people have experienced a real epidemic that fears run low and people trend to underestimate possibly lethal germs (and that goes for more than just flu).

Now you dont have to panic, of course, but try to really evaluate the risks before you judge whats right or wrong. Remember, you see so few of these dangerous infection diseases because a certain part of the population is vaccinated. As long as there are enough of them, you are relatively safe. If the number of vaccinated people falls under a certain percentage, these diseases will magically resurface.


 

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