Swine Flu

So.... when do we get worried? Also, does anyone know where the two cases were found in Kansas?

A couple in Dickinson County have been diagnosed. The man was recently in Mexico.

i guess we are ok as long as we stay away from recent travelers from Mexico

my husband is pretty concerned......... the va hospital in kc was buzzing today

Ironic how we were just debating influenza in the 1909 verses 2009 thread. And no Celtic, I didn't start a deadly disease just to prove it could still happen.

As I understand it, if they keep on it and keep it isolated, it may not get real bad. Kind of like that bird flu in Asia awhile back. And they still aren't positive why it's causing so many fatalities in Mexico but not here.

I remember that swine flu from years back, and the Hong Kong flu. Nasty bugs those times. The Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968 killed about 1 million worldwide. That one nailed Hays pretty hard and it wasn't pleasant. It was downright wicked. I never got out of bed much, and couldn't hardly stand to eat for a week.

OK, here we have a fantastic reason to need the border closed off to illegal immigrants and yet there have been no steps taken to do so.

Right now they seem to be mostly blaming spring breakers for bringing it to the US, but my first thought on preventing further spread was giving a .308 enema to anyone attempting to cross into this country.

Quote :

And they still aren't positive why it's causing so many fatalities in Mexico but not here.

I have heard two theories. One is that Mexico has inferior medical care. The other relates to overcrowding. I have also heard both of these debunked.

I wonder about natural mutation of the microbe. Influenza mutates easily and quickly. The current version is a mutation of Asian, Swine , and Avian flues. It is possible that it quickly mutates to a less virulent strain.


For the conspiracy theorists:
Obama recently PO'd the CIAby releasing interrogation crap. Cia responds with attempt at change of leadership. By creating an especially dangerous virus and releasing it in a country 0 was visiting. Bad news is that it missed. (bad to CIA) Good news is that man-made strains quickly mutate to a less virulent strain (usually) so they are less of a danger to the rest of the world but devastating in the host country.

This flu is spread too far and wide... and has too long of an incubation period. They won't be able to contain it; the best 'they' can hope for is to slow its progress.

The only questions at this point are how quickly it's gonna spread and what the mortality rate will be (there's no question at this point that it WILL spread). I hope that the numbers we're getting from Mexico are WAY off (7% mortality rate- jesusfuckinchrist!)... and I suspect that they are.

I suspect that the infections are much more widespread in Mexico than we've been led to believe. Possibly ten-fold. That would partially explain the 70 or so deaths in Mexico vs. none (that I'm aware of) elsewhere.

That guy from Dickenson County flew in through the Wichita airport, I'm told. I wonder what the odds are that he infected at least a couple of people on his way through.

LukeTHr wrote:

OK, here we have a fantastic reason to need the border closed off to illegal immigrants and yet there have been no steps taken to do so.

The "swine flu" that has infected more than 1,000 people in Mexico has led a lawmaker on the House Homeland Security Committee to call on U.S. officials to close the southern border.

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) said the border should be closed until the threat is resolved.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmaker-wants-border-closed-over-swine-flu-2009-04-25.html

Rog wrote:

LukeTHr wrote:

OK, here we have a fantastic reason to need the border closed off to illegal immigrants and yet there have been no steps taken to do so.

The "swine flu" that has infected more than 1,000 people in Mexico has led a lawmaker on the House Homeland Security Committee to call on U.S. officials to close the southern border.

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) said the border should be closed until the threat is resolved.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmaker-wants-border-closed-over-swine-flu-2009-04-25.html

The border shopuld have been sealed a long time ago, just as Luke was implying.

From an article on Yahoo:

In February 1976, an outbreak of swine flu struck Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey, killing a 19-year-old private and infecting hundreds of soldiers. Concerned that the U.S. was on the verge of a devastating epidemic, President Gerald Ford ordered a nationwide vaccination program at a cost of $135 million (some $500 million in today's money). Within weeks, reports surfaced of people developing Guillain-BarrÉ syndrome, a paralyzing nerve disease that can be caused by the vaccine. By April, more than 30 people had died of the condition. Facing protests, federal officials abruptly canceled the program on Dec. 16. The epidemic failed to materialize.

Full article here

Classic case of the cure being worse than the ailment.

On second thought, maybe a lot more people were infected than we knew about, and maybe it caused undetectable delirium. That would explain the '76 presidential election results.

The NPRM largely focuses on expanding the reporting requirements on airlines; providing due
process provisions for individuals subject to quarantine and establishing penalties for violation of
the regulations. However, the NPRM also proposes, almost in passing, additional requirements
2
on U.S. airports receiving international traffic, namely that they must provide without cost to the
federal government suitable examination and quarantine space.

...

The NPRM Is Extremely Vague Regarding the Airport Requirement
The NPRM contains little discussion on the proposed airport examination and quarantine
requirements. There is no indication of what might be involved in providing examination and
quarantine space and related services. There is no indication of whether CDC is seeking to
commandeer existing facilities or requiring the construction of new facilities for examination and
3
quarantine space. There is minimal explanation about who might be quarantined in the space
which is supposed to be provided by the airport. There is no analysis of the potential costs to
airports, airlines and their passengers of providing examination and quarantine space and
whatever services might be associated. The lack of discussion and information in NPRM makes
it difficult for ACI-NA to provide complete comments outlining all of our potential objections and
concerns.
Airports Are Inappropriate Places to Quarantine Passengers
The NPRM articulates no rationale for requiring U.S. airports that receive international traffic to
provide suitable quarantine space. It appears to add the requirement as an afterthought with
little or no consideration of whether sites other than airports would be more appropriate for CDC
to obtain quarantine space.
ACI-NA recognizes that there might be cases where airports should provide space where air
passengers and crew (subsequently referred to as passengers) could be held separately for a
few hours while CDC and other public health authorities decide on next steps when confronted
with a potential quarantine situation. However, we strongly object to the notion that airports
should provide quarantine space to the federal government without charge or for a period of
time beyond a few hours. As discussed below, under the NPRM as currently drafted, it is
conceivable that air passengers could be confined for days, weeks or even three-four months at
the airport.
While the NPRM discusses the distinction between quarantine and isolation, the term
“quarantine” for purposes of the regulation is defined as “holding on a voluntary or involuntary
basis, including the isolation, of a person or group of persons in such place and for such period
of time as the Director deems necessary or desirable to prevent the spread of infection or
4
illness” (emphasis added).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/nprm/comments/2006Mar1_ACINA.pdf

lol

The sanitary measures
applicable to carriers, animals or things
include detention, destruction, seizure,
disinfection, disinfestations,
disinsection and any other measures
deemed necessary to prevent the
introduction, transmission or spread of
communicable diseases.

page 12

Rog wrote:

The sanitary measures
applicable to carriers, animals or things
include detention, destruction, seizure,
disinfection, disinfestations,
disinsection and any other measures
deemed necessary to prevent the
introduction, transmission or spread of
communicable diseases.

page 12

so should we shoot them as they try to run across the border???

Justoo wrote:

Quote :

And they still aren't positive why it's causing so many fatalities in Mexico but not here.

I have heard two theories. One is that Mexico has inferior medical care. The other relates to overcrowding. I have also heard both of these debunked.

I wonder about natural mutation of the microbe. Influenza mutates easily and quickly. The current version is a mutation of Asian, Swine , and Avian flues. It is possible that it quickly mutates to a less virulent strain.

A Mexican woman told me that they do have inferior medical care there in comparison. They are also less sanitary in Mexico and especially Mexico City which has some nasty slums. That can account for the fast spread, but what exactly triggers a virus to mutate for the worse, or weaken is harder to figure.

If it were just the elderly and very young dying I'd agree with Bighead, and I still do in that I think it's far more widespread in Mexico than they know. Thousands die from flu in the US each year, but are usually high risk to begin with. Lots of youth and young adults have died in Mexico that normally would not have. I'd be curious to know if all the dead in Mexico were tested for HIV or other possible contributing diseases. Parts of Mexico City are just open sewers.

Ratzilla wrote:

A Mexican woman told me that they do have inferior medical care there in comparison. They are also less sanitary in Mexico and especially Mexico City which has some nasty slums. That can account for the fast spread, but what exactly triggers a virus to mutate for the worse, or weaken is harder to figure...Parts of Mexico City are just open sewers.

Absolutely. Even Puerto Vallarta, which caters heavily to tourists, has slums in the city that made me cringe.

As for medical care, let me tell you a little personal story. I was stepping off of a boogie board one morning while we were there and stepped right onto a small stingray. It wrapped itself around my foot and stung me. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch and bled a lot, but I wasn't too concerned until one of our company owners told me that it should be looked at because of the bacteria in the water there and the possibility of the stinger being still in my foot. Well, that and Oz's insistence. So I went to the emergency room. The doctor looked at it, told me that everything was fine, no stinger in my foot, and gave me five antibiotic pills. Curiously, he told me that it was okay to drink alcohol while on these pills. Two hours later, I was out playing basketball with my crazy boss who decided we should play every day at 3pm while we were there. I was okay, but over the next several weeks it kept turning red and would hurt, then would go away for a while. We were in Mexico in February. In early May, I had a routine check-up in Hays. While there, I asked the doctor to look at my foot. She looked, grabbed a pair of tweezers, and pulled the stinger out of my foot.

The bottom line is this: the Mexican doctor was very inexpensive. The charge for the ER, the doctor and the antibiotics was 400 pesos, or about $37. However, the fact that he didn't know what he was doing more than offset the cost.

The government does not want us to call it the swine flu. They want us to call H1N1 flu.

Seems some higher up government officials were insulted by the flu being named after them.

I understand the threat level has been raised to 4, highest ever.

35,000 people per year die from the "regular" flu every year. What are we up to? One?

I think I'll wait till I panic..

Even the one US death is a Mexican. There's a good conspiracy theory. Our governments secret answer to Immigration. A genetically engineered virus that only kills those of Mexican descent.

And the Caucasians just get sick of it.

Raised to a five.

WASHINGTON — The
World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu
to the second highest level, meaning that it believes a global outbreak
of the disease is imminent.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan made the decision Wednesday to raise the
alert level from phase 4 — signifying transmission in only one country
— after reviewing the latest scientific evidence on the outbreak.
...
Phase 5 alert
means there is sustained human to human spread in at least two
countries. It also signals that efforts to produce a vaccine will be
ramped up.

WHO has confirmed human cases of swine flu in Mexico, the United States,
Canada, Britain, Israel, New Zealand and Spain. Mexico and the U.S.
have reported deaths.


The change comes as the fast-moving flu spreads to at least 10 U.S. states from coast to coast Wednesday and swept deeper into Europe, extending its global reach as President Barack Obama mourned the first U.S. death, a Mexican toddler
who had traveled with his family to Texas. Total American cases have
surged to nearly 100, and Obama said wider school closings might be necessary.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518320,00.html

If it spreads here, where do you think the first Ellis Co. cases will be? I'm guessing Señor Washington Grade School in Hay Ceety.

You don't think it will start with roofers?

I'm shocked you'd say such a thing, justoo!

I think I may have misquoted myself.

Justoo wrote:

You don't think it will start with roofers?

Some of the school kids might be theirs.

It was once said that a black man would be president when pigs fly. Lo and behold, 100 days into his presidency, swine flu.

Ratzilla wrote:

Ironic how we were just debating influenza in the 1909 verses 2009 thread. And no Celtic, I didn't start a deadly disease just to prove it could still happen.

As I understand it, if they keep on it and keep it isolated, it may not get real bad. Kind of like that bird flu in Asia awhile back. And they still aren't positive why it's causing so many fatalities in Mexico but not here.

I remember that swine flu from years back, and the Hong Kong flu. Nasty bugs those times. The Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968 killed about 1 million worldwide. That one nailed Hays pretty hard and it wasn't pleasant. It was downright wicked. I never got out of bed much, and couldn't hardly stand to eat for a week.

The 1918 pandemic had a fatality rate of about 2.5%, so far the fatality rate for this flu is 7%. I do believe that's why the alarm over the particular strain we're seeing right now.

WHO confirmed 331 cases worldwide with 10 confirmed deaths.

Quote :

In addition to the 160 deaths, the virus is believed to have sickened 2,498 people across Mexico.

Link here

I've been feeling kind of flu-like myself the last couple days with feverishness, mild respiratory distress, and some aches and fatigue. So far nothing too drastic. Maybe instead of swine flu I just got piglet flu.

suzyr wrote:

WHO confirmed 331 cases worldwide with 10 confirmed deaths.

I give up, who?

The hogs look fine at thr farm. What is all the hubbub?

NPR was talking like it was over hyped. Seems it is over reported and less severe than expected.

Or is that just what they want us to think.

I wore a mask at the mall today. Talk about being treated ;ike a goddamn freak!

Just wear a T-shirt that says "Souvenir of Mexico City" and everyone around you will want their own masks.

CelticDragon wrote:

The 1918 pandemic had a fatality rate of about 2.5%, so far the fatality rate for this flu is 7%. I do believe that's why the alarm over the particular strain we're seeing right now.

Up in Osborne County I've seen where almost entire families were wiped out. One cemetary up there has like 7 kids graves all from the same family. The 1918 flu could hit you at noon and kill young healthy individuals by midnight of the same day. It was crazy. I don't think any of my family died in that one, but not sure how they avoided it. Maybe like Mexico it had something to do with sanitary practices and poor living conditions.

400 hundred schools closed for the H1N1 virus

Fw: Kermit the Frog just died of Swine Flu. His last words.... That fuckin pig told me she was clean!!!!! LOl

jessks75 wrote:

400 hundred schools closed for the H1N1 virus

It's still ok to call it swine flu here. It's hard to insult a Kansas pig farmer and anyone that eats pork here just don't give a shit.

jessks75 wrote:

400 hundred schools closed for the H1N1 virus

Yours will be the first one to close in Hays!!

supermom75 wrote:

jessks75 wrote:

400 hundred schools closed for the H1N1 virus

Yours will be the first one to close in Hays!!

I think I got it, I feel like POOP!!!!

Jess!!! Thats not even funny!!! We've got 3 weeks left DO NOT let those kids get sick now! I already feel like shit, and it's not Swine Flu!!!

They arent sick, its me, I feel like crap!!!! BUT I dont think its the swine flu. I havent been anywhere...and I havent been in contact with anybody out of my normal peeps.
Hey supermom, maybe Im feeling for you!!!! wink wink!!!!

I've felt like crap ever since they started putting the new additive in cigarettes.

This may be a dumb question... but my excuse is that I rarely smoke these days.

What new additive?