Swine Flu Outbreak Could Become 'Pandemic'

Swine Flu Outbreak Could Become 'Pandemic'

MEXICO CITY — A new swine flu strain that has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico has "pandemic potential," the World Health Organization chief said Saturday, and it may be too late to contain the sudden outbreak.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the virus has spread widely and cannot be contained, Reuters reported.
"It is clear that this is widespread. And that is why we have let you know that we cannot contain the spread of this virus," Reuters quoted the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat.

The disease has already reached Texas and California, and with 24 new suspected cases reported Saturday in Mexico City alone, schools were closed and all public events suspended in the capital until further notice — including more than 500 concerts and other gatherings in the metropolis of 20 million.
SOURCE: FOXNews.com - World Health Organization Chief: Swine Flu Outbreak Could Become 'Pandemic' - Infectious Disease
 
Thanks .... I am following it and it brings to mind a few years ago when I worked and we had the Sars .. Pandemic . I will never forget that . I had to be isolated for 10 days because I worked in one of the hospitals that had Sars . . My friend could only come to my door and drop my groceries. I don't want to live through that again .I felt like a leper .
 
We need to keep posted on this and be certain that we, or anyone we know, who becomes ill with flu-like symptoms is seen by a physician. As of last night, it was in New York, Kansas, California, and Texas as well as the terrible outbreak in Mexico.
 
The couple who have it in Kansas can't be very far from us. They live in Dickenson County, that it the county immediately next to ours.

According to the news, "HE" who shall remain nameless, went to Mexico, contracted the swine flu, came home, and now his wife has it too. (She had stayed here.)

That is all the police will tell anyone. No names, and no location more specific than "Dickenson County"
Here's the thing, they could live as close as 4 miles to me, and no farther than 30 miles, out here, that means that we will very likely be visiting the same stores or places of business.

They did say that he went through the Wichita airport to get back from Mexico, so that would have put him in contact with who knows how many people and where they went, but while he has been back, I would think they have gone to the store, maybe gone out to dinner when he arrived back home, etc.

It was days before the symptoms started to appear, so where does the "Right" to privacy begin and end?

There are some people who are extremely upset that no one has told any of us where these people have been, and others who do not want that information being given out due to privacy rights and the damage it would do to the businesses they have been in.

Myself, I think the family should step forward and at least let the community know what stores and such they have been to since he got back.

Tough call. :confused:
 
Myself, I think the family should step forward and at least let the community know what stores and such they have been to since he got back.

Tough call. :confused:


I will agree with you, just out of respect for others being that this is highly contagious!

It seems so far that noone has died in the US as in Mexico, probably because of the large amount of families there can easily spread it, most unsanitary living conditions and medical help available in Mexico.

I have well informed my children (although no outbreak in Fort Worth area) not to drink or eat after anyone, do not borrow someone's jacket or belongings, cover their mouth when coughing/sneezing and get away from those who sneeze, wash their hands a few times in the day and keep that sanatizer on hand.

I worked in bio-medical research on flu vaccinations for over a year and never once had a vaccination with swine. They were all bird flu vaccinations, so this will be interesting on what they come up with.
 
It seems so far that noone has died in the US as in Mexico, probably because of the large amount of families there can easily spread it, most unsanitary living conditions and medical help available in Mexico.
That and Mexico is still for the most part a 3rd world country. "State of the Art Medical Facility" down there means it doesn't have a dirt floor, so you probably won't see many deaths from this in the United States, but still children and the elderly can and often do die from a serious dose of the flu.

The thing is, when it hits home like this, If I knew that these people were in a particular store, I would tell my wife not to shop there until this was over. I think most people would do the same just to be safe, but then what we have is really an overreaction.

Panic is the last thing anyone needs, we (people) are our own worst enemy, and a panic leads to a mob rules mentality. In my opinion, that is far more frightening than the flu.

I have well informed my children (although no outbreak in Fort Worth area) not to drink or eat after anyone, do not borrow someone's jacket or belongings, cover their mouth when coughing/sneezing and get away from those who sneeze, wash their hands a few times in the day and keep that sanatizer on hand.
Good advice. Washing your hands several times each day is best with any flu. I suppose one other advantage is that this is not the flu season, so anyone catching the flu this time of year will tend to be a little suspicious to begin with and likely seek medical treatment sooner.
 
First fatality in the US, a 23 month old child. Sad.
Yes, I understand the baby lived in Houston.

The good news (If you can call it that.) is that I read they expect to have an innoculation for this in early May.
36,000 people die in the United States every year from other strands of the flu, obviously our children and elderly people will have the most difficulty fighting it off, but in a few weeks there should be better treatment available.

I also read this morning that Egypt is going to slaughter all of the pigs in the country??? :confused:

Okay,...... that will do about as much good as a rain dance, but whatever.
 
Panic is the last thing anyone needs, we (people) are our own worst enemy, and a panic leads to a mob rules mentality. In my opinion, that is far more frightening than the flu.

Good advice. Washing your hands several times each day is best with any flu. I suppose one other advantage is that this is not the flu season, so anyone catching the flu this time of year will tend to be a little suspicious to begin with and likely seek medical treatment sooner.
I agree.

Any idea how many die in a typical flu season? 36,000.

Please don't get caught up in news channel hype. They tend to blow things out of proportion to make a story where none really exists.

This type of flu does have tragic consequences. People have died and will die, but calm heads should prevail to prevent overreaction.
 
Breaking News where I am in Maryland about the "Swine Flu"

3 cases reported in Ann-arundel County
3 cases in Baltimore county

The three in Baltimore County are related: three elementary school children that had not been to Mexico but someone in the household has been to Mexico.

There are asking people to not shake hands, get the sanitizer for the hands and keep the hands washed, when you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth. This seems to be growing in elementary and High schools. If your area is affected, get a box of masks and if you are able, wear them.

Symptoms:
Flu like systems fever over 100 degrees with a cough and sore throat.

Go to the Health department website

Call the hospital ahead; because this is contagious, do not go to the emergency room unannounced.

Additional symptoms may include:
severe body aches
nosea, vomiting and diarrhea

Godbe4me
 
This is getting absolutely rediculous.
(Though anticipated)...

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.

Lets be clear, the only deaths have been in Mexico.
The "ONE" death, technically in the US was a Mexican child who was brought up here to get to an American hospital, it was just too late to save the child.
FOXNews.com - Swine Flu Outbreak One Step Closer to Full Pandemic - Infectious Disease

Also, you are all going to begin to hear about the "Miracle cure" TAMIFLU.

Before anyone goes to your doctor and asks for this medication, please educate yourselves thoroughly as to it's side effects...

Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug manufactured by the Swiss Roche Holdings, has been linked to abnormal behavior, with most of the incidents involving children. Deaths have resulted from falls from windows and balconies and by running into traffic, possibly because of hallucinations. Patients have also suffered from delirium and some have committed suicide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently required the manufacturer to add a warning that patients taking Tamiflu should be carefully monitored for this kind of behavior.


Tamiflu has also been linked to serious allergic reactions that have resulted in at least three deaths in adults in the United States. The reactions have included the serious skin reactions of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and erythema multiforme, and anaphylactic shock. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include:
  • rash
  • itching
  • swelling
  • dizziness
  • trouble breathing
  • diarrhea
  • bronchitis
  • stomach pain
  • headache
  • angina
  • colitis
  • pneumonia
  • pyrexia
SOURCE: Tamiflu Side Effects – Suicide and Other Abnormal Behavior

And the very BEST you can hope for, if TAMIFLU doesn't kill you is that it will reduce the duration of your flu by one day or so.

:)
 
6 States to my knowledge have reported infections. Panic is not in order but concern and caution are.
 
6 Sates to my knowledge have reported infections. Panic is not in order but concern and caution are.
Yes.
Education and preventative care. :)

(Not the medias "Sky is Falling" knee jerk reactions.)
What we do not need are entire countries slaughtering every pig in sight, China, the worlds biggest pork consumer banning ALL US Pork products and the American people being fleeced out of another 1 and a half billion.

I'm still trying to pay off the last 3.5 trillion in free money handouts.
 
If the pigs are tainted kill them and burn them if not then no problem.
Personally I would close every school system in an effected area and limit large public gatherings for at least the gestation period of the virus to see who may be a carrier. That would be just common sense.
 
Mike that last time something like this was "wished away" it was called the great pandemic of 1918. The lethality of a virus that the general public has had no exposure to (and thus no immunity) can be devastating. In many cities coffins were piled up 2 and 3 high the length of the sidewalks and there was hardly a family who did not loose at least one member.
I am a student of history so this is a familiar subject- one that was lost in the background of WW1.
They say those who "do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". The mistake made then was not isolating this plague before it spread to the masses.
These mistakes need not be repeated now and there is no reason to panic but measures should be taken asap to isolate this. This was successfully done with the Avian or bird flu. If that bug had gotten out there would have been a terrible price to pay but due to the slaughtering of the infected animals and the isolation of infected humans this was handily contained.
 
If a pig does have the virus, it is best to slaughtetr it because it is going to die of the flu. But there is no need to destroy it, they can be safely consumed as the virus cannot be transmitted through ingesting the meat.

H1N1 is nothing new, we eradicated it here in the United States 40 years ago. That's the big problem. As far as humans are concerned, this is just another flu. As far as Hogs are concerned, if they catch it, they die, and they can catch it from us.

Also, this particular virus can be aresolized. In other words it can very easily be transported undetected, and spread over farms, states, countries...

Personally I would close every school system in an effected area and limit large public gatherings for at least the gestation period of the virus to see who may be a carrier. That would be just common sense.
that would be wise to shut the schools.
It's a shame the two of you aren't making the decisions. That, and closing the borders, (days ago) or at least immediately would be a very wise thing to do.

But I have a feeling, the people making these decisions know about as much about farming as the man in the moon.

Before very long, the real impact of this virus will be evident in the agricultural impact that it will have on the Mexican economy. We do not want that problem to spread to other countries.
 
6 States to my knowledge have reported infections. Panic is not in order but concern and caution are.

That's what I am thiinking too . This too will pass . Just as long as every one does hand washing and coughs into their sleeve or a kleenex . I think this is just another flu and they had to put a name on it to scare every one .

I also think it was us who set the prescidence after Sars for all this panic.

Now any flu epidemic will be tagged by the WHO .
 
It is precisely this "over reaction" by federal agencies that can be credited to us not having a true pandemic. Just think if they kept it quite and you decided to take your family to Mexico city for a vacation. Not only could it cost your life but could spread to all your close friends- I would not want to be responsible for that. Good work folks!!!
 
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