Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

Looked at Swine Flu @ CDC website, says 1 in 3 healthcare workers gets infected when exposed. I live here in Houston, & San Antonio is #1 vacation destination for us here in Texas. Just hope CDC is on top of this. Good that
not all exposed to virus gets sick.

Re: Swine flu pandemic?

We are way over due for something like this...

But if two drugs are capable of fighting the disease (taken early) and they have seen cases in the past (mostly pig -> human)... It doesn't 'sound' like a pandemic to me... more like an epidemic right now.

Re: Swine flu pandemic?

Originally Posted by Mmmm Gas

We are way over due for something like this...

But if two drugs are capable of fighting the disease (taken early) and they have seen cases in the past (mostly pig -> human)... It doesn't 'sound' like a pandemic to me... more like an epidemic right now.

everyone is saying "potential" for pandemic, yes it is an epidemic only at moment

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

New York schoolchildren had flu, official says

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25476545.htm

The fact that this sophisticated lab in the NYC Health Department could not subtype this flu is cause for concern. It is an influenza A which they could not subtype, and now they have to send it to CDC. Yes, it probably is Swine Flu in New York City of all places.

The fact that the cases are mild is irrelevant, imo. This is only the first wave.

Originally Posted by /www.alertnet.org

Tests have confirmed that eight New York city schoolchildren had a type A influenza virus, likely swine flu, New York city health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said on Saturday.
Samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing to see if they are indeed the unusual H1N1 flu strain

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

Our hospital is on I85, (one of the big north-south arteries on the East Coast, for you West coasters). No joke, one of our first steps if we do have a serious outbreak is for the sheriff's department to go out to the interstate and take the "Blue H" sign down. 'Course, taking the "Blue H" down doesn't help with folks with GPS....

We stay slammed most of the time just with the locals (we were on diversion 250-ish days last year)-- we start having folks come in off the interstate, we're going to drown. I wrote an article for Disaster Recovery Journal several years ago on Bird Flu, and one thing I brought up is that all the people who usually come to the hospital -- the COPD/CHF exacerbatioiners, the choles, the illeuses, the new onset MI/CVA, along with the "demerol and diet soda" crowd -- are still going to keep coming, whether you're having an outbreak or not. And some of these folks won't come to the hospital unless they bring 50 friends, no matter what you tell them about risk for contracting the never get overs... They sit beside one flu pt, and BOOM, it's in the community.

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

Here we go. It looks like it's in Kansas now.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/

Worries that the new swine flu strain that has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico has “pandemic potential” increased with the announcement that the virus has spread to Kansas, and likely to New York City. On Saturday, two new cases of swine flu were confirmed in Kansas — the first U.S. cases outside of California or Texas.

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

Yesterday, one of the MSNBC links had a headline saying, in effect, "Deliberate release of bioterrorism weapon......"

I sure hope that was from a hacker, especially because the corresponding story mentioned nothing about this.

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

NYTimes updated story about the kids likely having Swine Flu:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/...ork-tests.html

re: Swine flu raises fear of pandemic - Adults and Children

Just as a refresher, the 1918 "Spanish" flu that killed between 20 and 50 million people world wide had 3 stages. The first was a mild outbreak in the spring, then it came back again worse, and then it came back a 3rd time and people were dying within 24 hours of first symptoms. What marks a "bad one" is the age spread. Most of the folks we get with flu are babies, elderly, and those with resp. issues. The 1918 flu hit the 18-35 year olds. This one looks like it's taking aim at the middle of the demographic, too.

Well, think about it. We're due a bad one, and have been overdue for a while...and where I live, with all the trees pollenating, flowers blooming, there could be a lot of folks who think their allergies are "pig flu" and folks who think their swine flu is the normal seasonal allergy....

Re: New Flu Virus raises fear of pandemic

From the MSNBC story:

"It may be too late to contain the sudden outbreak, warned the CDC, which has stepped up surveillance across the United States. "We are worried," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat.

“We don’t think we can contain the spread of this virus,” said Schuchat, Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program. “We are likely to find it in many other places.”"


I really wonder about officials making statements like that right now. People are going to feel really panicky or more panicky than they do already. The CDC must really, really be worried for an official to make a statement like that.