I've been reading all reports too Susan. Scary stuff, and I don't think it should be taken lightly. I am genuinely concerned. Other than the simple "lots of hand washing, be careful of kissing and handshaking" advice we all know, I don't know what else we can do to protect ourselves. Have friends that just left for a Mexican vacation last Thursday...their returning this week...hope all is well with them. Read this morn that there could be cases in New Zealand...students returning from a Mexico trip...and the results of preliminary testing in New York are favorable for swine flu. I remember having the Hong Kong flu in 1969....I was young and healthy and I remember how ill I was...scary feeling.

More media hype and gloom and doom...I refuse to go there or dwell on a 'possibility'.

After living through the SARS epidemic in Ontario we should be concerned. It only takes one person to infect the masses. 7 people in California have already died, some in Texas and I believe 1 person in Kansas.

Granlan I don't think it is doom and gloom or media hype at all.

A couple of years ago my cousin and I drove through a cemetery in the what was once the small town of Aurora, Ontario looking at old headstones. Everywhere we looked throughout the cemetery we saw headstones and monuments with 5 or 6 or 10 names on them, infants to adults all with the same year etched into the stones. My cousin was mystified and said it looked like entire families all died in the same year and wondered why. I knew what happened that year. As we left the cemetery I told her the year 1918 was the last flu pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed that year by the flu.

Yes, we do have a reason to be concerned. Mexico is a vacation destination. Thousands of people visit each year and it could take only 1 person to bring the flu back and infect all around them.

The World Health Organization is very concerned and is working on a new vaccine.

I can't forget being in Toronto and seeing people wearing masks or being afraid to be in crowds or go to the mall. SARS was a scarey thing. Even the hospitals here you had to check in at a counter and say who you were going to visit and then had to sanitize your hands entering and leaving the hospital.

Anne

Anne...no deaths reported outside of Mexico as of this morning. Their have been about a dozen cases reported here in the US, all have recovered from mild flu cases. All had visited Mexico recently.

Just to clarify what Cherryfizz wrote above NO ONE in the US had DIED! One person was hospitalized, everyone else is recovering at home.

When the CDC says, "We're worried," I worry, too.

A couple of new bulletins:

WASHINGTON, April 26 -- Twenty cases of swine flu now confirmed, triggering an emergency declaration by HHS. Homeland Security releases 25% of stockpiled antivirals -- oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).

and

Nova Scotia public health official confirms four cases of swine flu in Canadian province.

I'm aware of the problem. If I catch it, so be it. Worrying about it accomplishes nothing but raise my blood pressure.

Sorry, I must have heard it wrong on the news.

Remember, health experts advise the BEST way to avoid getting sick is to wash, wash, wash your hands. As soon as I come into the house, I always wash my hands. Teach the kids to do this and to use soap.

Before you start freaking out about a few dozen cases in the US, check out the annual statistics about flu in the US, from the CDC.

Annually, in an "average" year, 36,000 people die of flu in the US. 5% to 20% of the population get the flu, with about 200,000 hospitalizations from flu and complications.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flu facts in the US

You probably have more chance of getting shot in Mexico than catching the flu.I wouldn't travel to Mexico right now for anything! Mexico is almost on the verge of war,I think.3 more killed here in Juarez yesterday.Killings everyday.And it's not just Juarez...it's a lot of places in Mexico....

I've done a lot of research on flu pandemics. Being a flight attendant I take the threat very seriously.
You asked what you can do? Make sure to have extra supplies in your house in case you can't go out. Have a 30 day supply of water, canned foods you don't have to heat, i.e., tuna, beans, peanut butter, plus diapers, pet food, litter etc. Have a flashlight and a battery operated radio. Have a 30 day supply of medications. The best pill for influenza is called Tamiflu and you need 10-20 pills.
I think the risk of a influenza pandemic is very real.
Donna

i was very picky today when purchasing fresh fruit and veggies, today and will be. we import a lot of things from mexico over the winter/spring season...

what was scary was the mix of human, bird, and swine elements...things the CFDC, had never seen before...

did a small search...check this out...

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/?GT1=43001

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed that year by the flu.

No. More like 100 Million. People were dying from the flu at the rate of one million per week in 1918. The world lost 3-5% of its population in just that one year.

Viruses are very scary and impossible to completely control.

Here is a link that might be useful: 1918 Flu Statistics.

there was a post a couple days ago but no one caught it. next to my horticultural expertise is my huge interest in virology (i still subscribe to virology journals lol used to teach it at university) so this has definitely peaked my interest. for anyone unaware this is not regular flu, ie human flu. this is swine flu and unfortunately not just a regular swine flu but a flu strain that has avain segments and a bit of human segments which are also common segments to swine. this type of flu has never been found before (swine w/avain) and for an animal flu to infect humans is extremely dangerous as most modes of transmission of non-human viruses are not airborn. this is definitely airborn. i find it ironic that most experts have been saying this type of pandemic would start in asian areas where they reside closely w/ multiple types of animals in poor sanitation and here it is in our own backyard. shows no matter what experts analyze you can never accurately predict nature... BTW the average death rate for regular human flu's is 2%, the death rate on this swine flu is 6% so far. flu pandemics in the past were the most deadly when they were animal types. even 6% is not that bad considering there was a patient in Denver recently who was treated for Marburg which was brought from Africa. when i read there was a case of that in the US i felt like throwing up, death rate is 90% and it's not treatable at all. it barely made the news, i found it because i read up on virology, very scarey!

keep your immune defenses up, wash hands constantly, use lots of hand sanitizer, eat well, get fresh air etc... are our best defenses. last week i stocked up on chicken soups, Emergen-C, vitamins etc...after hearing about this last weekend from co-workers who have family and vacation homes outside of Mexico City where they have been hit hard. ~ liz

In my previous post, I did not mean to sound flip about the possibilities of a pandemic, just to state the case of the statistics for normal flu in the US.

I highly recommend the book by John M. Barry about the 1918 epidemic, "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History". The book is a fascinating read, and also a great history of the development of medical science in the early 10th century.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Great Influenza

I have to go with Lindakathy who posted, "I'm aware of the problem. If I catch it, so be it. Worrying about it accomplishes nothing but raise my blood pressure."

I never leave the city and have always practiced handwashing and all the other tips to avoid colds, flu, etc. I know how worry can also make you sick...it has me before.

These things are going to get more common,,,we might as well expect them,,,UGH!

Just common sense precautions at this time. Its something to keep an eye on though.

That was interesting Liz. It makes me want to research it even more.

Can't we throw a few billion $$ at it and all will be well?

Last time we had a swine flu epidemic here (1976)...they made a vaccine for it, and a former boyfriend of mine died from the vaccine.

No one I knew died of the flu itself.

I'm starting to feel achy just reading these posts. lol
No, all we can do is what most of us do anyway and keep clean hands and stay away from sick people if we can, as well as prepare to stay home if we have to.
A couple of people in my family who have medical conditions already would not be able to handle getting this flu. They would not survive.
Lu

Have not read today's updated reports. But the thought crossed my mind, on the US's cases being mild as opposed to Mexico's death rate, if it had anything to do with our flu shots. Many of us have been having flu shots for years, different types of flu serum each year. Made me wonder if that is why the state's cases have been mild.

It's even made it here to New Zealand - a number of high school students returned from a trip to Mexico at the weekend and are now in isolation until their symptoms are confirmed. Our Health Department are attempting to contact all the passengers from the flights concerned to advise them to see a GP should they have any flu like symptoms.
Luckily the powers that be were able to swing into action fairly quickly but it's pretty scarey stuff!

I am sure a lot of people will use this as an excuse to take some time off work.

We have a couple of cases in Houston that I've heard about. Scary stuff.

our flu shots have no effect on swine flu, in the last decade there has never been a swine component. i'm willing to bet that the US cases are mild because they have been passerby infections (tourists/business travel), no cases brought from Mexico involve living w/ an already infected person. the mexican govt is also saying (don't know it's true thou) that their death cases involved people who waited too long to go to the doc. we have a much better ability to get emergency info out to the masses via internet, news media etc...this is why areas of mexico often have many more fatalities in hurricane than the US. we also have an excess of medical help avail here. here in orlando you can go to Publix, walgreeens and CVS for quick care, there are tons of centra care's open 24 hrs and w/in 20 miles there are 5-6 hospitals including 2 trauma units. not so in areas further away from Mexico City...

my DH and i are having a debate about the 1918 swine flu and generally if he challenges my knowledge on plants or medical things he knows he's correct lol. anyways apparently some people died initially from the flu, not alot thou and the bulk of the fatalities came after the virus made it's way around the world and hit us again, having slightly mutated. those who survived a mild case were worse off the second time. dh claims it felled mostly healthy people the second pass thru...and the CDC has mentioned the same possibility happening again and the importance of formulating a vaccine ~ liz

i'm willing to bet that the US cases are mild because they have been passerby infections

It's an airborne virus. A virus that contains swine and bird flus, and now has human swine component. When a flu passes to another species, it mutates.
It's possible that many Mexicans were the first human carrier, and probably the second carrier (who would have contracted the mutated form.

Foreign tourists are most likely to be the third human carriers, and they don't know what the human mutation has done to the virus. It may even have weakened it.

Until they can identify a fourth human carrier, they really can't say how dangerous this flu may be.
The fact that most, if not all non-Mexicans who have contracted the flu have had mild cases, and that the type of flu was identified post-recovery, and the incubation period is 48 hours....I'm not exactly headed for a sterile bunker.

I'm just saying prayers and trying to keep my mind focused on other things right now. This is very serious and although I go crazy if I know too much, I do want to stay aware of what is happening with all of this.

Just some random thoughts-my Grandmother's first husband died of Spanish Flu in 1918. She remarried and had my mother in 1923, so I wouldn't be here if husband Number One hadn't died. They say Swine Flu is not all that bad- most people who get it survive. You can't get it from eating cooked pork. It is spread person-to-person .Current flu shors give you "a little" immunity. Summer is coming and the threat of flu spreading diminishes greatly-all the fresh air and sunshine kill the virus in the air. Have a nice day!

Liz, I was surprised to read this:

those who survived a mild case were worse off the second time.

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about viruses. But I would have thought a mild case would have provided immunity when the second wave hit. Isn't that how vaccines work (more or less)?

"Admittedly, I don't know a lot about viruses. But I would have thought a mild case would have provided immunity when the second wave hit. Isn't that how vaccines work (more or less)?"

The virus had mutated by then.

Here's something taken from the Yahoo page that Liz's DH is probably referring to-

The new virus is called a swine flu, though it contains genetic segments from humans and birds viruses as well as from pigs from North America, Europe and Asia. Health officials had seen combinations of bird, pig and human virus before  but never such an intercontinental mix, including more than one pig virus.
More disturbing, this virus seems to spread among people more easily than past swine flus that have sometimes jumped from pigs to people.
There's a historical cause for people to worry.
Flu pandemics have been occurring with some regularity since at least the 1500s, but the frame of reference for health officials is the catastrophe of 1918-19. That one killed an estimated 20 to 50 million people worldwide.
Disease testing and tracking were far less sophisticated then, but the virus appeared in humans and pigs at about the same time and it was known as both Spanish flu and swine flu. Experts since then have said the deadly germ actually originated in birds.
But pigs may have made it worse. That pandemic began with a wave of mild illness that hit in the spring of 1918, followed by a far deadlier wave in the fall which was most lethal to young, healthy adults. Scientists have speculated that something happened to the virus after the first wave  one theory held that it infected pigs or other animals and mutated there  before revisiting humans in a deadlier form.
Pigs are considered particularly susceptible to both bird and human viruses and a likely place where the kind of genetic reassortment can take place that might lead to a new form of deadly, easily spread flu, scientists believe.
Such concern triggered public health alarm in 1976, when soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J., became sick with an unusual form of swine flu.
Federal officials vaccinated 40 million Americans. The pandemic never materialized, but thousands who got the shots filed injury claims, saying they suffered a paralyzing condition and other side effects from the vaccinations.
To this day, health officials don't know why the 1976 virus petered out.

Remember the bird flu, have forgotten the real name for it. Everyone was so worried, then someone on TV said it is no more dangerous than the measles, the same death rate. He also said wearing a mask does not protect you, it protects other people from you.

I'm a little worried about it especially since I work in a hospital. Alex is sick today and so am I, headache, sore throat. Neither one of us has a temp but when he asked if he could stay home today, I thought it was a good idea.

I just gave this to my staff here at work. I live in So.California so we are close to the boarder of Baja (San Diego has a couple of cases of this flu) so it's good idea to know exactly what we are facing. I am hopeful that this won't get out of hand and people will more or less panic.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: LA Times Swine Flu

From what I have heard they shut down Mexico City. Even with the chance of catching this virus many Americans are still going to Mexico on vacation. Would I risk that chance??/ Not on your life.

Still with people traveling back and forth you don't know who has it. And worse...those who are sneaking into our country may be infected.

SamKaren
your resident DJ

Great,
I just worked a flight on Saturday from Cancun Mexico.
Donna

We are very concerned and paying close attention.

Sheryl

I bought some supplies today, just in case. I ordered a battery operated radio, a flashlight and a old fashioned phone that doesn't use electricity. Then I went to the grocery store and bought six 2 1/2 gallon bottles of water, canned fruit, canned vegetables and beans, peanut butter, crackers, energy bars, 24 cans of wet cat food and cat litter.
Call me crazy, but I'd rather have it on hand. I was at the pharmacy and they said they were sold out of face masks. I'm a flight attendant and I am exposed to everyone's germs. I also take public transportation everyday.
Donna

Good idea, Donna. The latest news spin is that the best way to avoid getting the flu is to stay away from people:

MSNBC says "stay away"

It certainly makes sense, but employment can be the big program. Flight attendants certainly can't telecommute, for instance. Nor can I, and I work in a public place (a library). If things got to a critical point, I could quit my job and hunker down at home, but not everyone can. My son and daughter work in buildings with thousands of employees. Not "public" places, but they might as well be. Each of them might be able to telecommute, though.

In any case, like I said, it's a good idea to keep yourself supplied.

If this or any other virus becomes a pandemic, I won't be flying!
Donna

It amazes me, the number of adults, that do NOT wash there hands at public bathrooms. Everytime, I go into like a Walmart or place like that, and more people walk out of there that didn't wash there hands than did.

One of my preschool families left over the weekend for Mexico. I sure wouldn't be doing it. While I try not to be overly cautious, I am concerned, and I am surprised with those that are not. Especially the person saying that now this will give people an excuse to take time off work. I'm the first person to hope this isn't anything serious, but I am also very aware.

The news media is really good about making too much of something in order to increase viewers. Maybe they're doing it again, it's hard to tell since they've done it so much in the past. This is not to say I'm not concerned, though. It's just that I think we shouldn't panic.

When the swine flu vaccine was offered, years earlier, I felt it had been thrown together too quickly and I didn't think it was wise to get innoculated. It was a wise choice as later I heard people were dying or having severe permanent disabilities because of it. My family and I do go and get a flu shot every year and have for years, though.

My dad was five years old when his father died during the Spanish flu epidemic in Iola, KS. In 1918, people had very little medical care. Dad's dad was never placed in the hospital, because there wasn't one anywhere near, and he was treated with home remedies because there were no medicines. Even at the age of 90, my dad would get tears in his eyes when he would talk about the day his dad died. It was a scarey time, with people burying their loved ones every day. It seemed like the healthiest people were the ones who died. I have read that that particular strain of flu was airbourne and people who caught it were those who were outside the most.

There was a huge flu epidemic in the 1700's in Germany. My German ancestors came to America after losing most of their family to it, thinking they would be safe from the flu if they left Germany. Even less treatment for it in those days, but at least people were further apart from one another. Once it got into your family, though, that was it for many of the other members as well.

Truly, the flu has done a lot to change history. Like was said earlier, had people not died, many of us would not be here. I wouldn't, had my ancestors stayed in Germany. And my Dad's dad was getting ready to move his family to another state. Had they moved, my dad wouldn't have met my mom.

Bottom line is, I'm a Christian and I'm not afraid to die. Death to me is just going to the next stage. Yes, I'll be grieved if I survive but lose my loved ones but life on this earth is a crap-shoot anyway. Death catches up to all of us sooner or later, whether it be flu, war, crime, or crossing the street in front of a beer truck.

Take normal precautions, and stay calm.

Of course I am concerned but there isn't much as I can do right now besides wash my hands and worry and I don't see much point in the worrying. This is a lot like when my older son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. The worry consumed me at first but eventually I got to the point where I was just taking the necessary precautions without the added worry weighing on me all of the time. That's no way to live and it doesn't do anyone any good. There is always plenty to worry about if you really want to.

I will go to the store tonight and get some supplies simply because I have nothing to eat in the house, it's storm season and I work in a medical building.

One school in my neighborhood had 14 children in one 4th grade class either call in sick or sent home yesterday because of flu-like symptoms. 3 are suspected swine flu (one having a relative visiting from Mexico). My grandson attends a school less than a mile from that elementary school. My mother (lives with me) has a weak immune system and my 20 month old grandson is anemic. You can bet that I am concerned. I don't want to run scared, but we will all be avoiding dealing with the public as much as we can. We still have to go to work and school, but Mom's volunteering is out for a while.