Why all the "hype" on the flu

[MERCMAN]

Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.

This is a good read (though long) and I have great concerns about a possible outbreak. There are many things that are similar to the flu pandemic of 1918. The death figures are phenominal and shocked me. This article explains why there is such a great outcry in the media. Remember,in 1918 there was no air travel, it was spread by people traveling by ships.


http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+did+the+1918+flu+vir us+spread%3F&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fvirus.stanford. edu%2Fuda%2F

[SC Cheesehead]

Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.

This is a good read (though long) and I have great concerns about a possible outbreak. There are many things that are similar to the flu pandemic of 1918. The death figures are phenominal and shocked me. This article explains why there is such a great outcry in the media. Remember,in 1918 there was no air travel, it was spread by people traveling by ships.


http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+did+the+1918+flu+vir us+spread%3F&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fvirus.stanford. edu%2Fuda%2F

True, but we've also made huge advancements in medical technolgy (diagnostics as well as pharmacuetical treatments) since then, and I truly believe this whole thing is going to be another non-event, like SARS, the "epidemics of 1976 and 2001.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518578,00.html?sPage=fn c/health/infectious

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518747,00.html

[Mike Poore]

True, but we've also made huge advancements in medical technolgy (diagnostics as well as pharmacuetical treatments) since then, and I truly believe this whole thing is going to be another non-event, like SARS, the "epidemics of 1976 and 2001.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518578,00.html?sPage=fn c/health/infectious

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518747,00.html

Yeah, but what if you're/they're wrong? Do the consequence(s) of a mistake outweigh the cost in lives and blow to the world's economy make doing nothing, worth the risk?

Hoping something bad doesn't happen when the stakes are this high, and spending to stop it, pales in comparison to the final cost in Dan's scenario, keeping in mind that air travel has made the world, truly a global village.

Frankly, it scares the poop out of me. Like my Broker said when asked what are you buying these days: "canned goods and ammo".:eek:

[SC Cheesehead]

Yeah, but what if you're/they're wrong? Do the consequence(s) of a mistake outweigh the cost in lives and blow to the world's economy make doing nothing, worth the risk?

Hoping something bad doesn't happen when the stakes are this high, and spending to stop it, pales in comparison to the final cost in Dan's scenario, keeping in mind that air travel has made the world, truly a global village.

Frankly, it scares the poop out of me. Like my Broker said when asked what are you buying these days: "canned goods and ammo".:eek:


Mike, for me I guess it's like to old parable about the Boy Who Cried Wolf Too Many Times.

We had the same panic and mindset over SARS, and the supposed epidemics of 1976 and 2001. Those were non-events.

Over 30,000 people die annually from regular flu strains, the N1H1 strain has lead to what, 150 -200 fatalities world-wide, and I'm supposed to panic? Sorry, I just don't see it. :dunno:

[Phrog_gunner]

Mike, for me I guess it's like to old parable about the Boy Who Cried Wolf Too Many Times.

We had the same panic and mindset over SARS, and the supposed epidemics of 1976 and 2001. Those were non-events.

Over 30,000 people die annually from regular flu strains, the N1H1 strain has lead to what, 150 -200 fatalities world-wide, and I'm supposed to panic? Sorry, I just don't see it. :dunno:


I agree Cheesehead, I say we catch a flight or two and cough a lot and talk about our trip to Mexico, just to watch ppl freak out over it. And we might even get some free drinks to keep us from coughing...

[guspech750]

dont foreget how the media blew up y2k. and that was just computer related jaugernaught blah blah blah. once the tempertures rise we will be fine i think. its next fall and winter i would be a little more cautious.

[SC Cheesehead]

I agree Cheesehead, I say we catch a flight or two and cough a lot and talk about our trip to Mexico, just to watch ppl freak out over it. And we might even get some free drinks to keep us from coughing...

When do we leave? :D

[Haggis]

Swine flu the other white meat.

[Bluerauder]

Mike, for me I guess it's like to old parable about the Boy Who Cried Wolf Too Many Times.

I tend to agree Rex. Sure seems like media overkill to me over 100-150 cases of H1N1 "Swine" flu and one death (in the US) when the seasonal flu kills some 36,000 people every year and MRSA contracted inside the health care system due to inadequate sanitary precautions where an estimated 93,000 died last year. Sure seems like alot of people want to focus on rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic when there are much bigger issues of more immediate danger.

[MM03MOK]

At Church yesterday, they asked us not to shake or hold hands - even put poster boards up stating the same. We've been asked this in the past, during the Winter flu season.

[MERCMAN]

Same here. The disturbing thing about this flu is that is happening now, not during the regular flu season.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

seriously, more people die from chokin on ham sandwiches than this.

[Go Mifuni]

I tend to agree Rex. Sure seems like media overkill to me over 100-150 cases of H1N1 "Swine" flu and one death (in the US) when the seasonal flu kills some 36,000 people every year and MRSA contracted inside the health care system due to inadequate sanitary precautions where an estimated 93,000 died last year. Sure seems like alot of people want to focus on rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic when there are much bigger issues of more immediate danger.

That one US death, btw, was a 23 month old pre-me mexican national sent here for treatment.

-Tin foil hats on now please-
Interesting thing about this "swine" flu is that it's made up of pig, bird, human and insect DNA. The experts I've been listening to say this sucker was absolutely made in a lab. I'm guessing this is just a betta test to see how the sheeple will react so the elite can move forward with their plan for the elimination of 80% of the world's population and global enslavement. Go to infowars.com for more info.
-You can remove your hats now- :D

[rayjay]

The administrators closed a elementary school in the Syracuse City School District for the week for a "suspected" case. Another DISTRICT, yea the whole district, is closed for two weeks for a as yet unconfirmed case, one freakin case. :shake:

Better start digging a burrough in the ground to live in if this H1N1 actually morphs into something to really worry about...

[ctrlraven]

This is only Phase One of the flu, several months down the road Phase Two will show it's ugly face.

Several schools have been closed down her per their emergency outbreak plans, they close down for 14 or 15 days, scrub the school down and urge all parents to have their children tested before returning.

[knine]

Media hype. I'm a little tired of it myself. More people died from the flu outbreak from 97 then this. Media hype.

[Go Mifuni]

From a Dr.'s blog I subscribe too:

It is important to note that nearly all suspected new cases have been reported as mild.

Personally, I am highly skeptical. It simply doesn't add up to a real pandemic.

But it does raise serious questions about where this brand new, never before seen virus came from, especially since it cannot be contracted from eating pork products, and has never before been seen in pigs, and contains traits from the bird flu -- and which, so far, only seems to respond to Tamiflu. Are we just that lucky, or... what?

Alongside the fear-mongering headlines, I've also seen increasing numbers of reports questioning the true nature of this virus. And rightfully so.

Could a mixed animal-human mutant like this occur naturally? And if not, who made it, and how was it released?

Not one to dabble too deep in conspiracy theories, I don't have to strain very hard to find actual facts to support the notion that this may not be a natural mutation, and that those who stand to gain have the wherewithal to pull off such a stunt.

Just last month I reported on the story that the American pharmaceutical company Baxter was under investigation for distributing the deadly avian flu virus to 18 different countries as part of a seasonal flu vaccine shipment. Czech reporters were probing to see if it may have been part of a deliberate attempt to start a pandemic; as such a "mistake" would be virtually impossible under the security protocols of that virus.

The H5N1 virus on its own is not very airborne. However, when combined with seasonal flu viruses, which are more easily spread, the effect could be a potent, airborne, deadly, biological weapon. If this batch of live bird flu and seasonal flu viruses had reached the public, it could have resulted in dire consequences.

There is a name for this mixing of viruses; it's called "reassortment," and it is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created in the lab. Some scientists say the most recent global outbreak -- the 1977 Russian flu -- was started by a virus created and leaked from a laboratory.

Another example of the less sterling integrity of Big Pharma is the case of Bayer, who sold millions of dollars worth of an injectable blood-clotting medicine to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries in the mid-1980s, even though they knew it was tainted with the AIDS virus.

So while it is morally unthinkable that a drug company would knowingly contaminate flu vaccines with a deadly flu virus such as the bird- or swine flu, it is certainly not impossible. It has already happened more than once.

But there seems to be no repercussions or hard feelings when industry oversteps the boundaries of morality and integrity and enters the arena of obscenity. Because, lo and behold, which company has been chosen to head up efforts, along with WHO, to produce a vaccine against the Mexican swine flu?

Baxter!!! Despite the fact that ink has barely dried on the investigative reports from their should-be-criminal "mistake" against humanity.

According to other sources, a top scientist for the United Nations, who has examined the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, as well as HIV/AIDS victims, has concluded that the current swine flu virus possesses certain transmission "vectors" that suggest the new strain has been genetically-manufactured as a military biological warfare weapon.

The UN expert believes that Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the current A-H1N1 swine flu virus are biological warfare agents.

In addition, Army criminal investigators are looking into the possibility that disease samples are missing from biolabs at Fort Detrick -- the same Army research lab from which the 2001 anthrax strain was released, according to a recent article in the Fredrick News Post.13 In February, the top biodefense lab halted all its research into Ebola, anthrax, plague, and other diseases known as "select agents," after they discovered virus samples that weren't listed in its inventory and might have been switched with something else.

[SC Cheesehead]

Tom Clancy, "Executive Orders."

Where's Jack Ryan when you really need him?

[BurpyTurtle]

This wave of the flu is a non-issue. Somebody with an agenda is pushing the media response. Bad news sells for a lot longer than good news. Look for who has something to gain from the panic. Follow the money or look to who needs attention diverted from elsewhere you won't be too far from the driving force behind the panic mongering. Invest in aluminum foil as a prophylactic measure against thought control. Remember: shiny side out. The nonstick side goes against your head.