TheByte

Va Va Voom · 04-29-2009, 12:10 PM

The swine flu virus first detected in Mexico can no longer be contained and countries should focus on mitigating its effects, a top UN official said.
World Health Organization deputy chief Keiji Fukuda was speaking as the WHO raised its alert level to four, or two steps short of a full pandemic.
UN food inspectors are going to Mexico to examine reports that industrial pig farms were the source of the outbreak.
The number of probable deaths from the virus there has risen to 152.

New Zealand confirmed at least three cases on Tuesday, and Israel one.
The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico.

Read full story here at BBC News

BMW_Owner · 04-30-2009, 01:44 AM

Troubling. Virus mutation and anti-boitic resistence. This may just be the beginning.

Rob · 04-30-2009, 01:56 AM

I think we need to put things into perspective. There is no evidence that this flu is any more deadly than normal influenza. half a million people die every year of influenza -- why are we not panicking about that?.

Lets look at some figures I heard on a radio show today:

127 people worldwide have been confirmed so far with having this new flu.

9 million people are infected with Tuberculosis every year -- with 2 billion people infected worldwide.

33 million people have HIV and 2 million die of AIDS each year.

3.3 billion people have Malaria and 1 million die of it each year.

2 billion people have Hepatitis B -- and 60,000 die each year.

3 million people have Hepatitis C.

33,000 people die each year of Yellow Fever.

Tine (Harry Plopper) told me via PM, its not so much the risk of death that makes this flu so serious, but rather its potential to seriously disrupt the very fragile global economy.

Harry Plopper · 04-30-2009, 03:19 AM

Any pandemic in this particular time would be catastrophic for the already damaged economy.

H1N1 is a new virus - therefore it's a risk. It's relatively unknown virus. And nobody knows how it affect humans. Yes, it's similar to any flu virus but ... And no need to mention there is no vaccine for it.

It spreads like any other flu virus ... But due to it's origin (Mexico) it can be spread around the world much quicker then eg. SARS or H5N1 ("bird flu") ... The virus is threatening the Western World. Therefore such a panic! It's already recorded in USA, across Europe, NZ, RSA etc

It's annoying as any other influenza epidemic - it can paralize everyday life in some area. And in pandemic case that area can be huge, and the damage even more devastating. No need to mention the costs.

Regarding the death rate & virus effects ... for now it looks like the H1N1 is as dangerous as any other human flu virus. Not more. So, death rate is not high. Yes, infants, elderly & chronic disease patients are more endangered, but that also the case in any other infection.

But ... since it's a new virus (a mix of swine, bird & human virus) nobody knows for sure if / when this virus can mutate in something more deadly.
Now that's the the risk for the future.

Any chimera virus (eg. H1N1) is a potential huge risk - since the humans are no way immune to it. Therefore can either spread very rapidly, or can do some severe harm to the body.

*****

Of course media like sensations & doom scenarios & hysteria - since all of that creates huge publicity & attracts viewers / readers. It's all about the money. But spreading hysteria & unnecessary panic can be very dangerous! When people are in fear they can do stupid things ...

The Artist · 04-30-2009, 12:45 PM

Meh
i feel for the ones that has died beacuse of this..
but its a huge damn media hype

Gullwing · 05-02-2009, 01:43 AM

OMG PIG FLU!!!
This month one person in the US has died from pig flu and over 850 have died from regular flu. RUN AND HIDE!!!

For a while it was bird flu, whatever happend to that, not much

Mikael · 05-02-2009, 10:25 AM

I have to agree. The hysteria spread by media is much more of a threat than the actual disease. It has already resulted overreaction for example in Egypt where they are going to slaughter all the (250.000) pigs in the country even though WHO says there is no evidence pigs were transmitting the virus to humans.

Quote:

...regular seasonal flus kill about 36,000 people in the United States in an average year and send 200,000 to the hospital.

BMW_Owner · 05-03-2009, 01:33 AM

In numbers, yes this virus pales in comparison to other disease states. This virus is only in the very early stages of development. This virus has both the capacity and the potential to be devastating on human life. The virulence factors are poorly understood at the moment and their even early signs of mutant strand of the virus appearing. We understand very little about the machinery within viruses due to their sub microscopic size but they fundamentally are acellular and can only propogate, the ultimate goal of a virus, by hijacking a cell and using its machinery for the process of reproduction, replication, transcription and translation. This cell hijacking is what makes viruses difficult to cure as they become part of the cell they invade and their protein products are considered to be of host nature by the immune system. If this virus, H1N1 reaches the global spread of other, more dominant diseases, then the potential for human disaster are high. Yes, the common Rhino virus kills more people per hour than H1N1 has in its known existence, but this virus has neither the genetic diversity nor the same scope of virulence factors. If the spread continues and it does reach the levels of diversity and spread of other, more common virsues than we MAY have a serious worldwide problem.

Mikael · 05-03-2009, 07:57 AM

Some encouraging signs.

Quote:

Slowdown of swine flu reported

'No reason to react with fear'

By Sara Olkon and James Janega | Tribune reporters
May 3, 2009

Confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu virus passed the 150 mark Friday, and Illinois' first confirmed cases were announced, but there were encouraging signs that the outbreak would fall short of the killer flu feared a few days ago.

The death Monday of a Mexican toddler in Houston remains the only confirmed fatality outside Mexico linked to the disease.

Local emergency room staffs were told to employ a new swine flu testing policy: Don't do it so much. Doctors had new guidelines for prescribing antiviral drugs: Save them for people with underlying medical conditions, and use them within 48 hours of symptoms, when they would do the most good.

In Mexico, where the flu originated, the signs were positive. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said public hospitals that cover about half the country had admitted 46 patients with severe flu symptoms Thursday, down from 212 on April 20. "This is encouraging," he said.

Quote:

Swine flu virus could be mild strain, scientists say

The swine flu virus which has spread around the world threatening a global pandemic could turn out to be a mild strain, experts now believe.

...

Mexico's health minister, Jose Angel Cordova, said that it was becoming clear that the new strain was less dangerous than the H5N1 form of bird flu which caused concern around the world in recent years – although more contagious.

"Fortunately the virus is not so aggressive – it's not a case of avian flu, which had a mortality rate of nearly 70 per cent," he said.

Gullwing · 05-05-2009, 08:07 PM

The last Pig flu outbreak was in 1976. One person died in the US. The government flipped out and vaccinated 42 million people. Over 500 people were paralized from the vaccine.

04-29-2009, 12:10 PM	#1
Va Va Voom Moderator Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: England Posts: 811 Thanks: 596 Thanked 411 Times in 258 Posts	US reports first swine flu death The swine flu virus first detected in Mexico can no longer be contained and countries should focus on mitigating its effects, a top UN official said. World Health Organization deputy chief Keiji Fukuda was speaking as the WHO raised its alert level to four, or two steps short of a full pandemic. UN food inspectors are going to Mexico to examine reports that industrial pig farms were the source of the outbreak. The number of probable deaths from the virus there has risen to 152. New Zealand confirmed at least three cases on Tuesday, and Israel one. The US, Canada, Spain and Britain confirmed cases earlier but no deaths have been reported outside Mexico. Read full story here at BBC News

04-30-2009, 01:56 AM	#3
Rob Aficionado Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 4,618 Thanks: 892 Thanked 719 Times in 401 Posts	I think we need to put things into perspective. There is no evidence that this flu is any more deadly than normal influenza. half a million people die every year of influenza -- why are we not panicking about that?. Lets look at some figures I heard on a radio show today: 127 people worldwide have been confirmed so far with having this new flu. 9 million people are infected with Tuberculosis every year -- with 2 billion people infected worldwide. 33 million people have HIV and 2 million die of AIDS each year. 3.3 billion people have Malaria and 1 million die of it each year. 2 billion people have Hepatitis B -- and 60,000 die each year. 3 million people have Hepatitis C. 33,000 people die each year of Yellow Fever. Tine (Harry Plopper) told me via PM, its not so much the risk of death that makes this flu so serious, but rather its potential to seriously disrupt the very fragile global economy. Last edited by Rob; 04-30-2009 at 02:25 AM.

04-30-2009, 01:44 AM	#2
BMW_Owner Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 180 Thanks: 36 Thanked 71 Times in 33 Posts	Troubling. Virus mutation and anti-boitic resistence. This may just be the beginning.

04-30-2009, 03:19 AM	#4
Harry Plopper Oinky Wizard Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,482 Thanks: 11 Thanked 137 Times in 80 Posts	Any pandemic in this particular time would be catastrophic for the already damaged economy. H1N1 is a new virus - therefore it's a risk. It's relatively unknown virus. And nobody knows how it affect humans. Yes, it's similar to any flu virus but ... And no need to mention there is no vaccine for it. It spreads like any other flu virus ... But due to it's origin (Mexico) it can be spread around the world much quicker then eg. SARS or H5N1 ("bird flu") ... The virus is threatening the Western World. Therefore such a panic! It's already recorded in USA, across Europe, NZ, RSA etc It's annoying as any other influenza epidemic - it can paralize everyday life in some area. And in pandemic case that area can be huge, and the damage even more devastating. No need to mention the costs. Regarding the death rate & virus effects ... for now it looks like the H1N1 is as dangerous as any other human flu virus. Not more. So, death rate is not high. Yes, infants, elderly & chronic disease patients are more endangered, but that also the case in any other infection. But ... since it's a new virus (a mix of swine, bird & human virus) nobody knows for sure if / when this virus can mutate in something more deadly. Now that's the the risk for the future. Any chimera virus (eg. H1N1) is a potential huge risk - since the humans are no way immune to it. Therefore can either spread very rapidly, or can do some severe harm to the body. ***** Of course media like sensations & doom scenarios & hysteria - since all of that creates huge publicity & attracts viewers / readers. It's all about the money. But spreading hysteria & unnecessary panic can be very dangerous! When people are in fear they can do stupid things ...

04-30-2009, 12:45 PM	#5
The Artist Shaolin Shadow Boxer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Sweden Gothenburg Posts: 9,171 Thanks: 41 Thanked 334 Times in 242 Posts	Meh i feel for the ones that has died beacuse of this.. but its a huge damn media hype

05-02-2009, 01:43 AM	#6
Gullwing Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 361 Thanks: 19 Thanked 82 Times in 67 Posts	OMG PIG FLU!!! This month one person in the US has died from pig flu and over 850 have died from regular flu. RUN AND HIDE!!! For a while it was bird flu, whatever happend to that, not much

05-03-2009, 01:33 AM	#8
BMW_Owner Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 180 Thanks: 36 Thanked 71 Times in 33 Posts	In numbers, yes this virus pales in comparison to other disease states. This virus is only in the very early stages of development. This virus has both the capacity and the potential to be devastating on human life. The virulence factors are poorly understood at the moment and their even early signs of mutant strand of the virus appearing. We understand very little about the machinery within viruses due to their sub microscopic size but they fundamentally are acellular and can only propogate, the ultimate goal of a virus, by hijacking a cell and using its machinery for the process of reproduction, replication, transcription and translation. This cell hijacking is what makes viruses difficult to cure as they become part of the cell they invade and their protein products are considered to be of host nature by the immune system. If this virus, H1N1 reaches the global spread of other, more dominant diseases, then the potential for human disaster are high. Yes, the common Rhino virus kills more people per hour than H1N1 has in its known existence, but this virus has neither the genetic diversity nor the same scope of virulence factors. If the spread continues and it does reach the levels of diversity and spread of other, more common virsues than we MAY have a serious worldwide problem.

05-05-2009, 08:07 PM	#10
Gullwing Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 361 Thanks: 19 Thanked 82 Times in 67 Posts	The last Pig flu outbreak was in 1976. One person died in the US. The government flipped out and vaccinated 42 million people. Over 500 people were paralized from the vaccine.

Search Cloud

TheByte

US reports first swine flu death