I love me some good fear mongering~.

I'm only concerned because of how easily it is jumping between humans and other species (so far only swine). I'm also worried about how this is a flu strain that has never been seen before. Who heard of three strains of flu that effect three different species coming together into one flu strain? This is a chimera version of the flu.

It started out as as human flu (that nasty flu that swiped through the US nearly two years ago b/c it radically evolved and the flu vaccine makers chose the wrong flu virus strain to use in the vaccine so everyone got sick) then landed up somehow in the swine (which is a mixture of two human flus (one Asian and one North American (the H1N1 that hit us about two years ago)) and bird and swine flu [FOUR genetically different flu strains came together!!!]) and then it found its way into the human population and then it species jumped again back to the swine (because of the pig farmer from Canada that got Swine flu in Mexico).

Right now the thing is a quickly spreading mostly mild flu strain...but this thing can radically evolve and become more potent. It is already resistant to two of the four flu medications - tamiflu and one other are the only ones working against it.

We still don't know why it brought such high death rates in Mexico nor why the younger population is the ones getting sick and dying.

Another thing is that IT ISN'T FLU SEASON YET!!!

So the CDC and WHO are really worried that this thing will go underground and then come back nastier and deadlier than ever in the flu season. Kinda like how the 1918/1919 Spanish Flu did when people underestimated it and then it came back and killed millions of people worldwide.

The only thing we can do is practice good hygiene stay away from sick people and making sure we are getting enough vitamin C and get the damn Swine Flu vaccine when they get it made later on in the year.

Because I bet you two to one this is not the last we hear of H1N1. Not by a longshot.

And this is not fear mongering. This is rational logic.

Chimera version indeed. I read somewhere (correct me if I'm wrong) that the H1N1"swine flu" virus contains five swine flu genes, two avian flu genes and one human flu genes. Apparently the avian genes allows it to spread faster while the surface protein are from the swine flu allowing it to be undetected by the human immune system. And it is from this lack of response/ immunity and the fast spreading that made it seems lethal.

I do agree though that the media overblown the whole situation especially with misleading facts even with the dangerous potential of the virus.

I checked on Wiki and they seem to have a lot of information up on it.



Is it really overblown when no one has ever seen a virus like this before? And we keep hearing of high death rates in Mexico? I think, considering the information we had then, that they were right to spread the alarm. People needed to be aware.

And this thing can still evolve into a deadlier version. The reason being that is that some perhaps most of the healthy youths who died, died of a cyclonic immune system attack. What it means is that the immune system realizes there is a something new that is attacking it that it has never seen before and it hypes up the immune system response to fight it and it causes tissue to build up in the area affected by the new virus and it kills the patient. Since this seems to be a respiratory infection...the people suffocate. So far in Mexico 15 deaths have been attributed to this.

The majority of young healthy people who died by the Spanish influenza died the same way. Their immune systems attacked too much. I think that is why hemorrhaging was associated with the Spanish flu (blood from the eyes and ears, etc) when flu usually don't have symptoms like that.

In the last 100 years we have had three flu pandemics that have killed millions.

The Spanish flu (1918-19) which had the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 infected approximated 500 million and killed about 50 million (it has been reported as low 40 million and as high as 100 million. The case fatality rate was > 2.5%.

In 1957 The Asian Flu with the Influenza A virus subtype H2N2 killed about 2 million people. The case fatality rate was < 0.1%.

In 1968-69 the Hong Kong Flu with the Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 killed about a 1 million people. The case fatality rate was < 0.1%.

The WHO just don't want another one hit us...even though it looks like we are due for one.

Swine flu is nothing more than a regular flu.

Avian flu (Bird flu) has over a 75% mortality rate. I'd be more worried about those birds than those pigs.

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Imo it's an overexaggeration to try to make money off people. Anybody remember when 'Bird Flu' stuck? lol

But is because this new virus seems like a normal flu that is indeed more dangerous

When you get Avian Flu, you get sick, then sicker and then you die

When you get the H1N1, you think is a normal flu and do the regular stuff, cover your mouth when you sneeze, drinks lots of liquids and that Chicken soup your mother does.

BUT, because you think is the normal flu, you don't take that many precautions when you are around your family (If you are in the bathroom and you sneeze in the water faucet lever, you wouldn't even think about clean it), but guess what? your little brother is the next one inline to use the bathroom and guess what he is going to touch before and after he washes his hands? and is dinner time, so that virus is surely going to attack and maybe kill him.

Mortality rate is not what is scary about viruses (if the mortality rate is high is MUCH less likely you will live to spread it) the scary ones are the ones that have the ability to infect you no matter what you do and where you are... even if the mortality rate of a virus is 0.1% if the whole world population is infected with it, that means more than 600 million people would die.

Isn't that more worrisome than a shitty disease that has a 100% kill rate, but can only infect a 0.001% of the population, statistics don't lie

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The CDC and WHO are really worried about a combination Avian Flu and Swine flu hitting. This virus shows that Swine and Avian can be combined and if we get a deadly Avian Flu to pick up the easy contamination of Swine Flue then...we are in serious trouble and that is why the CDC and WHO are really worried about this flu mutating into that direction.

It can still happen. Like I said, the Flu Season hasn't started and this Flu has already spread to Asia where Avian Flu is its deadliest. And this virus has already shown that it is easily adaptable to switching species.

Have you heard this joke about it yet? ;

You know how everyone said that when we got a black president, pigs would fly? Well... Swine Flew!


XDDD I laughed so hard the first time I heard it.

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This one came from Mexico.

Did you hear?
When Mexico sneezes everyone gets the Flu.

Or something like that. I forgot which newspaper I got it from. I think it was the AP.

we really shouldent be making jokes about it . our good friend Loose had it but now hes ok
anyway. i just think that the media flipped out waaayy too much. more people die of heart attacks in an hour than the entire amount of people who have died from swine flu and the media dont give a shit. oh well. just cover yourself in public and wash often

if swine flu really is as worse as CNN is making it..then the big damage wont come till next fall or December

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yea, i agree with you...
i mean how big of a panic was the "nile flu" or "mad cow disease" and look how healthy and kicking we are....
i think people are just paronoid....

West nile needs mosquitoes as its vector. Mad cow can hardly jumps into humans.

Stay close with someone infected with 2009 A flu, you have a pretty good chance (5%) of dying if you're 20-50 years old.


Neither do I. 2009 A flu is contagious while heart attacks don't. One can't blame others when he's diagnosed with heart attack. It's his sloppy lifestyle that caused it, not some ignorant individuals that spreading viruses around.

It is sad to see that the majority of society is under-informed, misled, or simply ignorant about the 2009 A flu.

Last edited by inai at 11:21 pm, May 8 2009

I think we have

________________
"“That's the difference between me and the rest of the world!
Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!” "