This is an example of why I really, really dislike partisanship. How ridiculous to take a position on such a serious issue based on political preference! I'll bet if we took a poll we'd find those who pooh-pooh the idea of a pandemic are those who are opposed (for whatever reason) to our present administration in Washington. That seems pretty clear from here.

This is the latest we received from WHO, it came in yesterday afternoon. According to them there have been 7 CONFIRMED deaths from N1H1.

Here is a link that might be useful: WHO Update

The president of Mexico just shut down Mexico City last night saying "only essential businesses such as supermarkets, hospitals and pharmacies should stay open, and only critical government workers such as police and soldiers would be on duty from Friday through Tuesday."

The Mexico City Chamber of Commerce estimates it will cost the their economy a loss of 57 million dollars a DAY.

I think that's a little more than a distraction.

I agree with tally and maddielee. I highly doubt the World Health Organization is in cahoots with the current administration to pass a health plan. If the virus mutates even more so than it already has (which viruses do), it could become much worse than it already is. Just because most people in this country, haven't become that ill from it yet, doesn't mean it won't happen.

If the president passed it off as no big deal, then people started dying, people would be critisizing him then for not warning people to be careful of crowded place and public transportation.

Better safe than sorry.

I agree with those who say it certainly is a big deal. I'm pretty sure that if we'd been around in 1918, we'd all take this very seriously indeed.

Itsmesuzq has a valid point when she compares it to the AIDS crisis. Right now, the ones who have died have been "others" (people from Mexico),and therefore many people elsewhere aren't worried. How sad.

Sign my name to what Alisande said. This is a health issue, not a political one. Better safe than sorry.

Linda

I heard something on the radio today and tried googling it when I got home... It states taking the supplement NAC (N Acetyl Cystein) can supposedly lessen the severity or prevent. I am not in any way suggesting everyone should take.. just thought it might be of interest to some out there... try googling, I found a couple websites ...
I was quite surprised... I already take this daily so I was actually quite pleased... I actually order from IHERB for any of those interested... if you use the code LAS313
you get $5.00 off your first order for any of those interested.. Again, I am not pushing anything or suggesting.. I just thought it was interesting for those that are into this kind of stuff. I figure some of your might like to read as I had never heard this before.

So many of these modern day pandemic flus seem to originate in the usually over-populated "other industrialized nations that have universal health care". (I put that in quotes because that's the phrase so commonly used in the promotion of USA national health care.)

And, why do the media, strategists, PR people, etc. think they have to jump in and show us how the Swine Flu is affecting the stock market? If it even is!

Leslie/KS

I agree that it's a medical issue and not a political issue. Unless someone wants to make it into one!

janemarie, just curious, why were you taking the NAC? I have been taking flaxseed for years and keep hearing of new benefits. Funny that you should experience it with your NAC. I was just curious why you originally took it.

As for this flu being different, I did hear one cause for concern was that it was being spread to younger, healthier adults when the flu generally is cause of concern for the elderly or very young. But that is something they ARE telling us, not keeping from us.

I agree with all who say it is better to be safe than sorry!

I actually started taking this supplement after I found out I was B12 deficient and had found a website that suggested several things that could help get my energy back, so I take a bunch of stuff everyday, you are supposed to take NAC with vitamin C by the way... But I have spent some time today googling nutritional supplements and swine and there is a mix of things they suggest.. Vitamin D is a biggie, selenium.. and some other stuff.. I realize not everyone is into this stuff, but for those that like to read about this stuff, just google and you can get a bunch of articles... I am concerned and would like to be proactive. Obviously a healthy person will be able to fight the symptoms better than someone who is perhaps already battling some health issues, or the elderly, very young. Anyways, sorry to ramble but thought some would be into this stuff.... I like IHERB myself only because some of the stuff I take I can't find in a drug store.. but whatever works for the individual.. I hope I haven't offended anyone..

Pretty much what Tally said.

I always take precautions during "flu" season anyway. I try to avoid crowds, public transportation and buffets. I just look at this as an extension of flu season.

I never get flu shots and never will. All the sheeple line up every year to be vaccinated against a virus they "guess" at every year. Then we get hit with new strains. Bird flu, swine flu...it's all flu.

Janemarie I don't see how anyone would be offended by your post. That said I would like to offer my opinion. It's your money, spend it as you wish but most supplements only line the pockets of those who sell them. The rest are expelled through your urine and the worst are stored by your body where they could add to your health problems down the road.

Some students from Park City UTAH were in Mexico ten days ago and are showing symptoms.
Not only will the schools be closed for ten days the Junior Prom has been cancelled.

Common sense precaution will protect us as much as anything. Staying home if you are ill is one of the most sensible things we can do with any kind of flu and it's something many people won't do. Parents send snotting, coughing kids to school and snotting, coughing people go to work. THIS will spread the epidemic as much as international and public transportation....

This week the cook at the senior center has been ill.
Does this keep her home?
Oh no.
She wore a mask until the boss showed up and stayed all day Monday. Then she took it off. I guess she was afraid he'd send her home? *Grrrrr*

Lori

Janemarie, there was nothing in the least offensive in what you shared.

The right supplements make a world of difference in how I feel. As always, it's an individual thing. For instance, MSM is recommended for joint and muscle pain (and I know several people who swear by it), but it actually causes pain with me. I've had years of trial and error with supplementation, and it was time and money well spent.

I think a lot of people would be wise to look into supplements in this current situation. I like iHerb, too, but do most of my ordering through Vitacost.

I think it is an experiment

I think it's the media selling news papers and getting ratings.

I just researched this and this is the first site I pulled up. I don't think there has been any study done on this, it's to soon, but there is a lot of common sense in this report.

Here is a link that might be useful: Truth about Swine Flu ?

"Fortunately we have medicines that can fight this particular virus, but what happens when we don't? We have abused antibotics so much over the years they don't work anymore on many infections."

Actually, what the news is saying is that we DON'T have anything to fight this new virus. That is what makes it scary. There is no vaccine for this strain.

Antibiotics have nothing to do with this. Antibiotics only work against bacterial infections - NOT VIRUSES. They only way antibiotics are going to be needed for a flu pandemic is to fight secondary infections that a victim may acquire while knocked down with the flu.

People always complain that the warnings and precautions taken at the outset of an outbreak were "unnecessary" because "the whole thing turned out to be nothing" not realizing that if adequate steps were not taken immediately, then the pandemic probably would have come to fruition.

"I remember the AIDS virus back in the late 70's and 80's...that virus was deadly and no one talked about it. Because it only happened to gay men."

Actually the AIDS virus started in Africa in the 1950's(and some scientists theorize the 1920's). The infection is and always has been equally distributed between men and women there.

"People always complain that the warnings and precautions taken at the outset of an outbreak were "unnecessary" because "the whole thing turned out to be nothing" not realizing that if adequate steps were not taken immediately, then the pandemic probably would have come to fruition. "

Exactly, Dilly Dally!

I've heard that Tamiflu can help treat this flu (probably the symptoms), but you are definitely right about there not being a vaccine and the antibiotics. Antibiotics are for bacterial illnesses only and don't do a thing to viruses.

What kind of experiment do you think it is Minnie? Do you think the whole world is in on it?

I think something got loose or out that wasn't supposed to. Many years back (can't remember exactly, something went wrong with a sample of something that affected a Western American Indian Tribe but they got it in time.
I don't think I'd put terrorism on the back shelf either JMHO

One of the best things I've heard a public health official say is that the 'pan' in pandemic merely means 'widespread'.

People hear that word pandemic and leap to connect it with The Black Death! The 'Spanish' Flu! Whatever!

Yes, this is a 'new flu' and it's got a new virus combination that includes aspects of 'swine flu'. So far it doesn't seem to be very LETHAL though. Only Mexico is reporting an unusual (?) number of fatalities. (Mexico City is the second largest city in the world: 20 mil. Is the percentage of fatalities from this flu surprising?)

200,000 people are hospitalized with flu in the US every year. 35,000 (mostly elderly) patients die from it every year -- many from pneumonia, long called 'the old man's friend'.

I'm just 'waiting and seeing'.

So far it doesn't seem to be very LETHAL though.

What's scary is an article on cnn about timelines for past pandemics:

"In each of the four major pandemics since 1889, a spring wave of relatively mild illness was followed by a second wave, a few months later, of a much more virulent disease. This was true in 1889, 1957, 1968 and in the catastrophic flu outbreak of 1918, which sickened an estimated third of the world's population and killed, conservatively, 50 million people.

Lone Simonson, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health, who has studied the course of prior pandemics in both the United States and her native Denmark, says, "The good news from past pandemics, in several experiences, is that the majority of deaths have happened not in the first wave, but later." Based on this, Simonson suggests there may be time to develop an effective vaccine before a second, more virulent strain, begins to circulate."

The CDC is estimating 6 months to develop a vaccine for this new strain.

Stay tuned...

Here is a link that might be useful: Scientists dig for lessons from past pandemics

Snip: JMHO but how else can you push a health plan unless you have a crisis making everybody think it's in their best interest to take on one health system?........Snip: I think it's the media selling news papers and getting ratings......Snip: It's a distraction, plain and simple. To keep our minds of other, more important issues.

You people are joking, right? It's the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION calling the alerts, not the president or the VP, not the media, not a political agenda, the WHO!!! I hope you're not seriously this misinformed.

Snip: 35,000 (mostly elderly) patients die from it every year Since they're mostly elderly, they should DIE? Surely you didn't mean that!

You people are joking, right? It's the WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION calling the alerts, not the president or the VP, not the media, not a political agenda, the WHO!!! I hope you're not seriously this misinformed.

Apparently it doesn't matter if I am or not, I'm obviously not ALLOWED to have an opinion if it's different from yours! What a crock!! for your informations some of us don't blindly go along with the crowd, some of us don't want to turn into salt if we look back!

Heard something today that I thought was interesting. Mexico City (interior) does not get exposed to alot of virus that other cities do, by that I mean ---look at the number of visitors that come to the US to visit places like Disneyland, Sea World and all the other BIG attractions, including Las Vegas and Laughlin. My DH got sick in Laughlin, and the Dr. said in his experience lots of known germ was or will be there--so our immune system gradually gets built up over a period of time, and of course we get flue shots every year (most of us), but comparing to how many people actually visit Mexico city for a period of time and wonder around the city, or visit around. There immune system is lower that most others. Just an interesting theory. Look around you and see how many visitors come to the US and Canada.

I completely agree with Tally, Dilly Dally and Jennmonkey. They make a lot of sense.

Do any of you know what the flu is and I mean the cold type flu not stomach flu? I don't take the flu shot because of the aluminum that is in it. My heart doctor shrugged and said don't worry about it. He said the flu is nothing but a cold that goes into Pneumonia. He said they had nothing to treat it with back in the 1920's We do now.

"Snip: 35,000 (mostly elderly) patients die from it every year Since they're mostly elderly, they should DIE? Surely you didn't mean that!"

She never said or even implied that Shermann. She was stating a fact,plain and simple. Don't put words in peoples mouths that they didn't say.

He said the flu is nothing but a cold that goes into Pneumonia.

Stargazzer, I think your doctor needs a refresher course. That statement implies that everyone who has the flu has pneumonia. That's not true at all.

Probably many of us here have had the flu. I know I have. It's most definitely not a cold. It comes with a fever, severe body aches, and a terribly sick feeling. Dave Barry, the humorist, has called it the Martian Death Flu. That sums it up nicely. One is not functional with the flu. Even watching TV took more energy than I had when I had the flu. Reading was out of the question.

The last time I had the flu I couldn't work for two weeks. I had night sweats five nights in a row as my fever broke and rose again. My boss was understanding because practically everyone in the office got it and was home for a long time.

I suppose there is something not being told about this flu mainly because it is a bit of mystery to the experts, therefore, they have nothing difintive to report. WHO (World Health Organization) has said that this flu is peculiar in that it is killing people mainly in Mexico. They have been pouring over the numbers wondering why this is so, and find no conclusion, but did speculate why the numbers appear as they do' Speculation is rare for WHO - They don't like to report 'maybes', only factual evidence. To explain the numbers, they think that there has been many more people infected than reported, since many who were infceted did not get very sick and recovered quickly. Those cases did not make the cut or get noticed. The other peculiar item is that there is a disporpornate share of the very young who have died compared to the aged. Again, this could be explained if thousands of people had been infected, but recovered, and these cases were not included in the statistics.

They have said that it is a 'new' virus made from snippets of older viruses, and that 75% of the genetic makeup is from a known virus. Becasue it is different, it takes a while to develop a vaccine. A new vaccine must be made and tested. The earliest expected date for the vaccine is late this fall. By that time, this virus outbreak could be over, or have spread to pandemic porportions, which in any case, the vaccine would be too late to maximum benefit. However, they feel that it is not as threatening as the epidemic of 1918 when millions of people died the world over. This epidemic was particularily harsh since it came in the closing years of World War 1.

at therapy today the owner said one of his patients was from Mexico,she called home to see whats going on and was told its really bad there,alot of people have it alot are dead,she doesnt understand what our people are saying.She says its bad.

Tally, I agree with you 100%. I am so surprised at those who are making light of this.

Sheryl

Posted by stargazzer: "He said the flu is nothing but a cold that goes into Pneumonia. He said they had nothing to treat it with back in the 1920's We do now."

Find a new doctor. If he works at a hospital or clinic, report him. A 10y/o could learn more than he knows just by using Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu_virus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_virus

------------

I am curious as to why there are so many more deaths in Mexico City. Could it be because there is more of a chance to be exposed to opportunistic infections? Or is it just a numbers game? Has the virus mutated already? Questions........

I can't believe people actually believe this is political. Like the WHO issues warnings for nothing. It is very serious ,and it will be until fall that a vaccine will be available. The flu of 1918 was horrific. My uncle was made an orphan. He died a few years ago at 92. He watched his mother , father, grandparents, and sister carried out one by one when they died. Anytime a disease jumps from animal to human , it's serious and Joe Biden was saying it like it is. I wouldn't get on a plane, a subway, or crowded bus now either.

The majority of people seem to be getting this flu in a very mild form. Here in Canada and in the States, we have many different ways to treat those that get it severely with oxygen, inhalers, ventilators. I worry more about those people in overpopulated underdeveloped countries getting this as there isn't the necessary means to treat them.

I have to laugh everytime I see people wearing masks. Masks are only good for a short period of time because once they get wet from moisture that we breathe in and out, they are no longer effective. They should be changed frequently. I've also seen on TV where people aren't wearing them properly over their noses and where people will lift them off to talk to other people.

Using common sense is what we should all be doing. Here is Ontario, 3 people had the flu and didn't stay home.....they went to the Casino! One lady, whose daughter is sick in a room upstairs runs a day care and kept it open. Joe Biden was saying it like it is to some extent. In areas where the flu is prevalent, I wouldn't get in crowded situations unless absolutely necessary.

I will worry more if the N1H1 virus mutates to a more deadly form. I am respiratory compromised to begin with so I know if I get this virus, I probably will get a more severe case than most but I refuse to spend time fretting and worrying about it. I wonder how many people have actually had it already and never knew about it.

Just wanted to explain a couple of terms for people:

epidemic: the occurrence of any disease at a frequency that is unusual- compared to baseline data or unexpected.

pandemic- an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.

Syndemic- refers to the concentration of two or more diseases or other health conditions in a population in which there is some level of biological interaction among the diseases and health conditions that magnifies the negative health effects of one or more of the co-present diseases or health conditions.

These terms have nothing to do with the actual raw number of cases. It is a ratio of the current number of cases compared to what is "normal". If a case of smallpox was diagnoses, that single case could be defined as an epidemic simply because smallpox has been "eradicated" and no cases are expected. (make sense?)

All that said. My "public health" opinion (for what it is worth). Yes we should keep an eye on it, no we should not panic yet. My brother works at the Atlanta airport- he should be much more concerned than me because I am 60-100 miles from the nearest international airport and am around fewer transient/traveling people. I should be more concerned than my next door neighbor because I am on a college campus with many students who have recently returned from spring break trips and my neighbor is seldom around people who have traveled further than 30 miles from Clarksburg. Levels of concern are all relative.

Hope this helps people.

This is the mask you need to prevent you from getting the flu from airborn particles. They are sold out and on backorder.
Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: n95 respirator mask

Considering that the new chief of staff was quoted as saying "we will never waste a good crisis" or something to that effect, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think that politicians will find a way to use the Swine Flu scare to their advantage. In other words, I don't think Zipper was wrong in stating what she did. That's not to say that the pols are CREATING the crisis, just that they might use it to their advantage when it comes to other issues.

I think it's wise to be cautious and pay attention to what's going on around you. I think it's way too early to panic. I was talking to a doctor friend yesterday and she's not much more concerned about this strain of influenza than she is any other strain, influenza kills a lot of people on any given day. (After my last bout with it many years ago, I realized how people would die from it, I was so sick that I would have died if Woody hadn't been taking such good care of me.)

I bought a couple of those N-95 respirator masks back when they were talking about bird flu. My son and I ended up using them when we cleaned out a very dirty and moldy area of the barn.

I had no idea how uncomfortable they would be to use! Hot, hard, and terribly confining.......I couldn't wait to get the thing off my face. This is not to say I wouldn't buy (and wear) one again in a dangerous situation, but I doubt people realize that it's not such a simple matter to wear a mask.

Yes,
I've read that it's difficult to breath with the mask. I would only wear one if this flu becomes a huge pandemic.
Donna

(heavy sigh) I had several things to say, but why bother. I see now the question "Is our children learning?" is a moot point. What difference does it make when the adults don't or won't learn?

Go wash your hands.

LOL, Cynic!

This is exactly why i haven't posted until now.

Please, everyone, go wash your hands.

Maybe I'm dense (or just tired), but I don't understand Cynic's point. Or Mary's.

But I do understand that they sound condescending.

Well, Alisande, during a flu outbreak, every one should wash their hands multiple times a day.

But I do not think this administration engineered a swine flu outbreak to push a health care bill, as has been suggested. Nor do I believe this was some sort of terrorist attack. That was suggested up-thread.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been totally transparent in their tracking of this disease.

Case zero has been discovered - we know where it came from. It was a child living near a pork factory in Mexico. He got ill and recovered, but not before passing the virus on to others. No conspiracy.

Oh.....so your hand-washing suggestion was directed at the OP and those who agree with her. That makes sense.

If you saw my first post in this thread, you know that I am not one of them.

Thanks for the clarification.

CDC has found that this flu is not as virulent as was first suspected.

But...it's hard to quell a panic once it's started.

Well, I just heard they've found a cure for the swine flu...

Oinkment.

What panic?? I certainly have seen nothing like panic where I live (nor. Cal.) Perhaps "The Panic" is only media hype? Yes, I know that's been mentioned.

*snorking out loud at Tally's comment*

roflmao

My husband travels on business weekly and said the only thing he has noticed is that the airlines (Alaska and American) have removed all pillows and blankets due to the Swine flu. He was at 3 different airports this week and only saw a handful of people wearing masks.

Thanks for the many replies. I'm suspicious as to what all this hype was about. It all seems pretty fishy. Was it a slow news week for the media? Or have they all become *that* irresponsible?

Something about all this just doesn't add up.

Thanks again for the comments.

Rose