Wonder how many people died today in car accidents while dialing their cell phones...?  How many per month...how many per year?

Steve G

Grandma_Sweet_Boy wrote on Apr 29^th, 2009 at 8:11pm:

What company would that be, Carol? The one that you own? Because I seem to remember you retired a little while back....

Hmmmm.....

run for the hills, well i would if it wasn't reported there were cases in Derbyshire.Are there any more hills out there,
"Swine flu", pigs fly, they're not kidding us??
Last time I saw pigs fly was at the end of a bottle
Shouldn't joke should I.

jon019 wrote on Apr 29^th, 2009 at 9:12pm:


Like the antibiotic resistant staph infections found mainly in hospitals . . . . . scary indeed!

Not to be snide, but isn't ALL soap by its very nature anti-bacterial?  I've never heard of one that was purported to be pro-biotic . . . .  

Well I just learned all kinds of stuff tonight. Gonna go wash my hands.

Looks like the students picked a bad time to go to Mexico on spring break.

Mosaicwench wrote on Apr 29^th, 2009 at 6:53pm:


Really?  That is what you took from that?

You mentioned people don't give a hoot.  I was pointing out that people actually do give a hoot, but they are probably making a bigger deal out of this for the reasons I already mentioned.  

You are taking one line out of my statement, and using it out of context.  You were the one that implied nobody gave a hoot, Right?

Whatever happened to Mad Cow disease or the Bird Flu?
Why do we sit around worrying ourselves sick over something we have no control over?

              Potter

So far here in Finland we can feel quite safe: two suspected patients, no panic and the government has promised that we already have the plenty of necessary treatments in stock.

But we are, naturally, following what is going on around us and hope that the two current "maybe" patients will have only regular flu.

I, for one, am down with regular cold and allergies - for the first time since Spring 2000. Although this has been the worst flu I've ever had, it's nothing in comparison to the swine flu, so my thoughts certainly are with those who suffer from that.

Sanna

Quote:


Any data to back the bolded statement up?  Yes, young *healthy* (and how do we know that they were healthy) people are getting the virus, but dying?  Where did you find this information?  BTW, in any particular flu season, young healthy people can get the flu if they are not immunized.

WHO has not raised the alert to pandemic as of this morning.  They are now at stage 5, which is still one level below being pandemic.

Hand sanitizers do work.  The hand sanitizer I use has aloe in it and does not cause drying or chapping.  Hell, I'm a merchandiser in Wal Mart, there is no possible way that I can stop every few minutes and go wash my hands.  BTW, overwashing of the hands will also cause dry, chapped hands.

And I stand corrected about adding the vaccine to the currect flu shot.  If developed in time, it probably would be added.  PL259 was kind enough to correct my misassumption  .

First, let me just say, I don't think anyone here is "panicking", or "buying into" anything.  I do think, however slanted the media may be, it's important to pay attention and stay on the alert to what is being said, filter at your own discretion if you will.

As far as what Icedragon said (Thomas), there are many reports, on radio and internet that allude to what he suggested, here are a few:

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Also, this year's flu vaccine offers no protection against swine flu, to which people have no natural immunity. And unlike seasonal flu, which typically affects the very old and very young, initial reports from Mexico suggested that swine flu was affecting young, healthy people.

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Investigators also want to know why the disease has killed young adults, who should have the greatest resistance.

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That’s what investigators from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control are investigating very actively, because a lot more needs to be understood about the deaths before we can understand the threat. The age of the victims has been reportedly been people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, which is one of the most frightening things about it, because flu usually strikes and kills the very old and frail, and sometimes the very young. In 1918, the ultimate pandemic we know about killed healthy young adults. That’s one of the reasons why this outbreak is potentially frightening. We still have to understand more

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Swine flu and deaths in healthy adults--cytokine storm?
Category: General Epidemiology • General biology • Infectious disease • Influenza • Outbreak • Public health • Various viruses
Posted on: April 26, 2009 9:00 AM, by Tara C. Smith
Over the last 24 hours, I've received a few comments and even more emails asking about or discussing the possibility of a "cytokine storm" triggered by the H1N1 swine flu reassortant. Is this what's happening in the cases from Mexico? Discussion after the jump...
Let me begin with a bit of background on what's meant by a "cytokine storm." In response to infection, the body has a number of ways to fight back against the invading microbe. Cytokines are one part of this defense. These are molecules produced by a number of different types of cells in response to infection that act as signals to other cells in the body--telling them to divide, or to produce certain proteins, or to cease their production. They assist, basically, in orchestrating portions of the immune response. A "cytokine storm" occurs when this regulation goes haywire--the very molecules that are supposed to be protecting the body end up causing it harm by responding too strongly to the infection. (Note that this is quite over-simplified; the cytokine response itself is incompletely understood, and other players in addition to cytokines are also involved).

[See each link for the complete stories]

This last "story" from a science blog, was also brought up in completely separate radio report by 1010WINS in NY this morning.  Interestingly, my daughter is studying this in science class, and wondered a theory on it last night.  There seems to be a combination of factors that are being discussed in ref. to why the Mexican citizens are being affected more severely.  

By the way, it wasn't college students that went to Cancun, St. Francis Prep is a Catholic Preparatory High school.  

Pepp

Potter wrote on Apr 29^th, 2009 at 11:35pm:


Mad Cow disease was brought under control after it induced fatal CJD in 164 Brits.  We actually do have control over that - not as individuals, but as a society.  Culling infected animals and ending cow cannibalism ended that episode.

Bird flu is still simmering - might go pandemic any time. Again, as individuals, we can't do more than not kissing parrots (whenever possible). But as a society, research and changes to agriculture (including vaccinating poultry on farms) ... that can save lives.

Either - soap or gel - beats the livin' shit out of that guy in the public restroom who does his thing and doesn't wash his hands.

And believe me, ladies - more of that guy exists than you would even want to think about.