Swine flu raises fear of pandemic - Adults and Children

Nurses COVID

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I don't know about the rest of you..but I would like to tell the media to stop scaring the general population! Enough about the swine flu already! Ok, yeah, we have no immunity, but it doesn't sound like ebola! There is treatment. Everywhere I turn, ABC, NBC, even beloved NPR..Swine flu Swine flu Swine flu...ahhhh! I can just see the people pouring into our ER now..sniffle sniffle..I have swine flu, doc, you gotta help me.

:twocents: Puhlease.

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Specializes in ED.

I agree, I hate the media in general. My favorite was the duct tape to protect us from anthrax. Personally, I don't think the "swine" flu is anything to worry about. We already know that swine flu is transmitted from swine to humans, and that's when it is more virulent. The studies done back in the 80's showed that it was virulent when transmitted from pig to human, but mild when going from human to human. Personally, I think this is why the people who died were all in Mexico, probably because they had some contact with these pigs. As far as I know, only one person has been hospitalized here in the US. I just had to argue with people on another thread who claimed that the flu was "airborne." It's "airborne" in that my sneeze-bugger can fly through the air and get you, but not in the sense that most people think of when they say something is "airborne". It doesn't fly through vent systems like TB or other truly airborne viruses.

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Specializes in Emergency.

well its on the news right now. and Richardson Elementary is shut down this week because a boy came down with swine flu. i think they should know what is going on especially since its relatively close to where you live. richardson is what umm 20 mins from my house. so i think its good.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

They just took a passenger off of a plane at Philadelphia Airport....I'm going to keep watching the news.We have a large population of Mexican immigrants in this area and they frequently travel back and forth.We have a mexican woman on our unit-she has something like a dozen children-some here and some there.Who knows if any of them have traveled in the past few weeks? If people start dying here like they have in Mexico you are going to see a panic and that's what I'm most afraid of...

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Specializes in ED.
well its on the news right now. and Richardson Elementary is shut down this week because a boy came down with swine flu. i think they should know what is going on especially since its relatively close to where you live. richardson is what umm 20 mins from my house. so i think its good.

If a kid at the school had RSV would it make the news? Would you care?

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If a kid at the school had RSV would it make the news? Would you care?

Having watched bird flu evolve over the past several years in Asia, it is interesting that North Americans pay little attention to health issues in far away foreign lands. But there are now 40 confirmed A/H1N1 swine flu cases in the USA. High schools in Texas have been closed down as has St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens in NY because 28 students have been infected.

Perhaps when it is your children or grand children, spouse, siblings, other relatives, or friends and neighbors that are infected and need professional health care, you might be more inclined to follow the news.

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Sure, I could get avian flu or swine flu...or ebola, or diabetes, or become obese. Or, I could be hit by lightning, or in a car wreck...the world is full of dangerous, frightening things that could eventually kill us all. Mexico City has what..20 million people..and how many people got sick? How many people die daily from car accidents, etc?

Obviously it's good to be informed and aware, I just hate the hype and obsession. Enough already.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
If a kid at the school had RSV would it make the news? Would you care?

Not an accurate comparison,IMHO

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Specializes in med/surg, cardiac.

All of this.......and my hopsital in upstate Ny has yet to put out any kind of public message to visitors at my facility. I was asked today by a visitor..."what do you folks do to prevent the spread?" I lied and said the standard, no one should visit if they cold or flu symptoms.

What the H are we all waiting for?

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So, about 2000 people sick in Mexico out of 109,000,000...about .002%

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Even if it's 0.002%....to the sick person and their family it's a big deal.

However, the news media here told people if they have flu like symptoms to see their doctor and get tested, that might be over kill as there are no reported cases in Florida. Perhaps it should be "if you've been to Mexico and have flu like symtoms get tested..."....and we all know not everyone has a doctor and they will be flocking to ERs.

Balance however is not something the media is good at.

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Specializes in ED.
Not an accurate comparison,IMHO

You're right, RSV kills about 4500 people per year, the "swine" flu has killed 149, if that.

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