Swine Flu - Pandemic of dooooom?

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » May 2, 2009, 9:23 pm

Yeah, but it will be intersting to watch that statistic drop as the number of cases rise while the number of fatalities fall (hopefully) due to not only the awareness of the virus, but also how much better the health care is in many of the countries where it has spread. Next week, we could have 1500 active cases, and 23 deaths.

This might be one of those cases where instant news and information could be seen as "too much, too soon".

Of course, there is already talk out the of the virus combining with HIV and other nightmare scenerios. IMO, this will only be used to scare everyone until something bigger comes along.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » May 2, 2009, 10:18 pm

Can't let a good crisis go to waste...

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » May 3, 2009, 9:46 pm

the flu can't combine with hiv ... its not really genetically possible

Edit:

also the whole thing about omg 1 in 40 people die is a extremely poor death rate value. the number of swine flu cases is most likely A LOT higher than the reported number because well, a lot of people don't go to the doctors when they are sick, also they might of thought that they just had the normal flu. in addition the amount of people ill with it is a very very poor sample size for any statistical interpretation. the media is just whipping everyone into a frenzy over nothing.

Also, if you take the seasonal flu (which we have vaccinations and stuff for) and compare it to total exposed population and how often they become ill/die and then compare the swine flu to the amount of people exposed that become ill/die, you'd most likely find that the seasonal flu is a lot more deadly/infectious. thats just a guess though.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 3, 2009, 10:13 pm

also the whole thing about omg 1 in 40 people die is a extremely poor death rate value. the number of swine flu cases is most likely A LOT higher than the reported number because well, a lot of people don't go to the doctors when they are sick, also they might of thought that they just had the normal flu. in addition the amount of people ill with it is a very very poor sample size for any statistical interpretation. the media is just whipping everyone into a frenzy over nothing.

A lot of people who get common influenza don't go to the doctors either.
The number of actual cases is a lot higher than the 40 million reported.
So the 1 in 1100 deaths for the common flu is also a lot lower.

The media has actually been very informative and accurate in their reporting.
The people who are whipping themselves into a frenzy are just idiots.

Also, if you take the seasonal flu (which we have vaccinations and stuff for) and compare it to total exposed population and how often they become ill/die and then compare the swine flu to the amount of people exposed that become ill/die, you'd most likely find that the seasonal flu is a lot more deadly/infectious. thats just a guess though

An incorrect guess.

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » May 3, 2009, 11:46 pm

miir wrote:
Also, if you take the seasonal flu (which we have vaccinations and stuff for) and compare it to total exposed population and how often they become ill/die and then compare the swine flu to the amount of people exposed that become ill/die, you'd most likely find that the seasonal flu is a lot more deadly/infectious. thats just a guess though
An incorrect guess.

do you have any proof, employed in health care field, or pursuing/hold a degree related to infectious diseases? what makes u think my guess is incorrect?

Edit: Also you are able to estimate seasonal flu case data because they have been collecting data on it for the past 100 years, so i am pretty sure that the estimated number of cases of flu per year is pretty accurate.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » May 4, 2009, 8:36 am

Miir is the anti-Midnyte

I will agree that for the most part the US media has been better than usual in this episode.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 4, 2009, 9:04 am

Drasta wrote:do you have any proof, employed in health care field, or pursuing/hold a degree related to infectious diseases? what makes u think my guess is incorrect?

My info is from the WHO website, your's is a (admitted) guess.

The informaiton is pretty easy to find.
You certainly don't need a degree or be working in the healthcare field to find it.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » May 4, 2009, 11:35 am

Also, using a 'u' as opposed to 'you' is pretty fail.

Just sayin'...

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » May 4, 2009, 11:43 am

miir wrote:
Drasta wrote:do you have any proof, employed in health care field, or pursuing/hold a degree related to infectious diseases? what makes u think my guess is incorrect?
My info is from the WHO website, your's is a (admitted) guess.

The informaiton is pretty easy to find.
You certainly don't need a degree or be working in the healthcare field to find it.

The same WHO that shot this up to the OMG level 8009307586 status within a week of seeing it? Let me be the first to believe everything they post on their website.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » May 4, 2009, 12:15 pm

the phases have clearly defined and quantifiable criteria. but i can empathize- its much easier to just assume they are reactionary rather than reading stuff

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 4, 2009, 12:18 pm

Kilmoll isn't very good at math either. Level 5 < Level 8009307586 .

Regardless, I'm pretty sure they know more than you do about the matter. Perhaps you should, you know, actually look into things.

—Phase 5, human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries in the same region. This is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent, with little time left to finish preparations.

This seemed to fit that definition. So why not raise it? Oh yeah. Because you don't know what you're talking about. Again.

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » May 4, 2009, 4:19 pm

yea you can go and look up information off the internet miir, but spouting facts and crap doesn't mean that you know what your talking about, i could go look up how to hack an xbox and spout all sorts of crap about it that i looked up on the internet, but that doesn't mean that i understand or actually know what i am talking about.

but my guess is an educated guess miir, since i work in health care .... im a microbiology major, who plans on going to graduate school for virology ... i think i know just a lil bit more about viral pathogenesis than you do.... but aside from that, yes it was just a guess and i could possibly be wrong, that is why it is an educated guess. If said swine flu was much more worse seasonal flu, you would have a lot more deaths/sick people by now.

Also, anyone remember when the WHO gave a bunch of people polio in Nigeria?

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » May 4, 2009, 4:50 pm

your know-it-all persona really clashes with your valley girl persona

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » May 5, 2009, 1:04 am

was it something i said?

Nick · Post by **Nick** » May 11, 2009, 9:03 pm

Oh shit? we all alive still? That must mean Winnow was being a reactionary hysterical moron, as per usual!

Enjoy your normal flu guys, and don't forget to tremble in your boots when it comes!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » May 12, 2009, 1:00 am

Nick wrote:Oh shit? we all alive still? That must mean Winnow was being a reactionary hysterical moron, as per usual!

Enjoy your normal flu guys, and don't forget to tremble in your boots when it comes!

I think only right-wing religious nutjobs get scared at this kind of shit.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 12, 2009, 6:22 am

Spang wrote:
I think only right-wing religious nutjobs get scared at this kind of shit.

The right wing likes these things because there are more democrats than republicans. When pandemics roll around, they kill a lot of dumb people. These things help at the polls.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » May 12, 2009, 8:16 am

The paper masks saved us all.

Bagar- · Post by **Bagar-** » May 12, 2009, 9:54 am

Drasta wrote:yea you can go and look up information off the internet miir, but spouting facts and crap doesn't mean that you know what your talking about, i could go look up how to hack an xbox and spout all sorts of crap about it that i looked up on the internet, but that doesn't mean that i understand or actually know what i am talking about.

but my guess is an educated guess miir, since i work in health care .... im a microbiology major, who plans on going to graduate school for virology ... i think i know just a lil bit more about viral pathogenesis than you do.... but aside from that, yes it was just a guess and i could possibly be wrong, that is why it is an educated guess. If said swine flu was much more worse seasonal flu, you would have a lot more deaths/sick people by now.

Also, anyone remember when the WHO gave a bunch of people polio in Nigeria?

Regardless of the swine flu, you've become one of the more obnoxious and annoying people on these forums.

You can tout your supposed qualifications all you want, but the fact that you're a god-damned undergrad student at some halfass college doesn't make you informed on anything, and certainly not more so than the World Health fucking Organization. You're as bad as Kilmoll insisting that because he owns a fucking Smith & Wesson he can take on fifteen fully armed mercenaries. The argument that "I have a mediocre amount of basic experience/knowledge in this field, thus, I'm more intelligent and capable of producing ideas and opinions on it than ANYONE in the WORLD, despite the fact that I do not employ any kind of evidence and I fully lack any coherent logic and refuse to back my statements up with anything other than bullshit and baseless claims." is so fucking trite and absurd that I want to surgically remove my right arm from my body and beat you both to death with it every time either of you goony motherfuckers uses it. Get over yourselves for Christs sake. Want EXACTLY causes EITHER of you mediocre pieces of fecal matter to think you're more qualified to assess the potential for a pandemic than the WHO? Oh wait, they fucked up hat one time, they're completely invalidated.

I hope, sincerely, that you get raped.

And I know this post is completely irrelevant, I don't give two squirts of piss about the swine-flu, I merely wanted to express my extreme disdain for both of you ignorant motherfuckers and your strawman arguments that the both of you spout on a regular fucking basis.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 12, 2009, 10:06 am

Winnow wrote:
Spang wrote:
I think only right-wing religious nutjobs get scared at this kind of shit.

The right wing likes these things because there are more democrats than republicans. When pandemics roll around, they kill a lot of dumb people. These things help at the polls.

How does a killing off a lot of dumb Republicans help Democrats? Oh yeah I see now! Not sure why the right wingers would like that though.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » May 12, 2009, 12:46 pm

Bagar- wrote:
Drasta wrote:yea you can go and look up information off the internet miir, but spouting facts and crap doesn't mean that you know what your talking about, i could go look up how to hack an xbox and spout all sorts of crap about it that i looked up on the internet, but that doesn't mean that i understand or actually know what i am talking about.

but my guess is an educated guess miir, since i work in health care .... im a microbiology major, who plans on going to graduate school for virology ... i think i know just a lil bit more about viral pathogenesis than you do.... but aside from that, yes it was just a guess and i could possibly be wrong, that is why it is an educated guess. If said swine flu was much more worse seasonal flu, you would have a lot more deaths/sick people by now.

Also, anyone remember when the WHO gave a bunch of people polio in Nigeria?

Regardless of the swine flu, you've become one of the more obnoxious and annoying people on these forums.

You can tout your supposed qualifications all you want, but the fact that you're a god-damned undergrad student at some halfass college doesn't make you informed on anything, and certainly not more so than the World Health fucking Organization. You're as bad as Kilmoll insisting that because he owns a fucking Smith & Wesson he can take on fifteen fully armed mercenaries. The argument that "I have a mediocre amount of basic experience/knowledge in this field, thus, I'm more intelligent and capable of producing ideas and opinions on it than ANYONE in the WORLD, despite the fact that I do not employ any kind of evidence and I fully lack any coherent logic and refuse to back my statements up with anything other than bullshit and baseless claims." is so fucking trite and absurd that I want to surgically remove my right arm from my body and beat you both to death with it every time either of you goony motherfuckers uses it. Get over yourselves for Christs sake. Want EXACTLY causes EITHER of you mediocre pieces of fecal matter to think you're more qualified to assess the potential for a pandemic than the WHO? Oh wait, they fucked up hat one time, they're completely invalidated.

I hope, sincerely, that you get raped.

And I know this post is completely irrelevant, I don't give two squirts of piss about the swine-flu, I merely wanted to express my extreme disdain for both of you ignorant motherfuckers and your strawman arguments that the both of you spout on a regular fucking basis.

You could make better points if you used any factual information at all in your rebuttal instead of making it all up and ranting like an imbecile. As of right now, the swine flu has been confirmed by the CDC to have 2600 cases in the U.S. and there have been 3 deaths. At least one of those deaths was someone from Mexico that came here with it and was in poor condition and died in Texas. So it has not been the massive killer people thoguht it was...at least not any more so than the regular flu.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 12, 2009, 1:35 pm

How is the death toll really related to his point?

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » May 12, 2009, 2:15 pm

Aslanna wrote:How is the death toll really related to his point?

I think this stopped being about the swine flu and more about a dick waving contest about a page ago.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » May 12, 2009, 3:46 pm

Aslanna wrote:How is the death toll really related to his point?

Oh I would say maybe because that dumbass is ranting about Drasta not knowing shit and not being qualified, even though the educated guess Drasta put forth was more accurate than the WHO and the Chicken Little media sites. Other than that it has no relevance.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 12, 2009, 4:17 pm

So yeah it has no relevance. Got it!

Tyek · Post by **Tyek** » May 13, 2009, 1:33 am

All I know is I got the stupid seasonal flu and it is kicking my ass. I am tired of being sick this year.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » May 13, 2009, 12:06 pm

Kilmoll the Sexy wrote:
Aslanna wrote:How is the death toll really related to his point?

Oh I would say maybe because that dumbass is ranting about Drasta not knowing shit and not being qualified, even though the educated guess Drasta put forth was more accurate than the WHO and the Chicken Little media sites. Other than that it has no relevance.

OK I agree the WHO seems to have been "overly cautious" at this point but anyone who has been paying attention from the outset has heard them say from the outset that the disease seems to be mild in most cases and the danger is in it possibly mutating into something stronger... like happened in the last pandemic. And yes the WHO should have known that their press releases would whip some retards who can't read or reason into frothing lunatics. Saying Drasta's guess that the common flu is more virulent, isn't correct because the H1N1 (or whatever the fuck they're calling it now) has shown itself to be more lethal (.1% chance of dying is greater than .0001) but less wide spread than more common strains of influenza, but it doesn't occur at anywhere near the frequency. I'm not trying to bag on Drasta's level of knowledge or any such but the admitted guess is directly contradicted by the best numbers available on the subject. You can question the credibility of the source if you like but in the absence of any other publuished numbers, its what we have to go on.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » May 13, 2009, 12:24 pm

I think H1N1 is a medical term:

Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, also known as A(H1N1), is a subtype of influenzavirus A and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans, including the strain(s) responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic which killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Less virulent H1N1 strains still exist in the wild today, worldwide, causing a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a large fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused roughly half of all flu infections in 2006.[1] Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs and in birds.

In March and April 2009, hundreds of laboratory-confirmed infections and a number of deaths were caused by an outbreak of a new strain of H1N1.[2]

Influenza A virus strains are assigned an H number and an N number based on which forms of these two proteins the strain contains. There are 16 H and 9 N subtypes known in birds, but only H 1, 2 and 3, and N 1 and 2 are commonly found in humans.[4]

The Source

Drasta · Post by **Drasta** » May 14, 2009, 12:57 pm

the H1N1 standing for hemagglutinin 1 and neuraminidase 1. which are the surface proteins expressed by the flu. There are ... 16? types of H if i remember correctly and 9? types of neuraminidase. Hemagglutinin has to do with the attachment of the virus and neuraminidase has to do with the budding (release) of the virus.

flu's are classified by type A,B,C. type A being the most likely to cause disease, Then B being less likely, and C being almost never. Then followed by the surface proteins expressed by the virion your #H#N ie. H3N2 etc.

Also, in birds there is high pathogenic and low pathogenic flu. Which has to do with if it uses a specific enzyme(low-path) or if it uses a enzyme found through out the entire body(high-path).

also wulf, im not going off of raw data ... what i was suggested would require stratifying the data for lots of crazy factors which i doubt we would be able to do.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » June 12, 2009, 11:07 am

omg defcon phase level alert 6. We're all going to die!

Siji · Post by **Siji** » June 12, 2009, 5:06 pm

Drasta reminds me of the Fabio wannabe at the bar in Good Will Hunting trying to impress people with his vast knowledge.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » June 12, 2009, 5:23 pm

They think a guy in my group had swine flu, he can't come back to work until they get negative test results, the Dr. clears him, whatever. He's been over it more than a week at this point.

Great fun is being had by all with pork jokes, we'll be able to milk this out for years

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 12, 2009, 9:23 pm

Siji wrote:Drasta reminds me of the Fabio wannabe at the bar in Good Will Hunting trying to impress people with his vast knowledge.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM CHOPS?

Spang · Post by **Spang** » June 12, 2009, 9:31 pm

Kaldaur wrote:HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM CHOPS?

Do you like apples?

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 13, 2009, 4:15 am

They're okay. I'm more of a per pearson.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » June 13, 2009, 9:20 am

Kaldaur wrote:They're okay. I'm more of a per pearson.

Well I got her numbuh.

How you like dem apples?

Kaldaur · Post by **Kaldaur** » June 13, 2009, 11:59 am

This is how you got it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D0555EtAZ4

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 18, 2009, 6:19 pm

It's baaack!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 18, 2009, 6:45 pm

Co Worker that I come in close contact with got the Swine Flu along with her husband last week. She was coughing and sneezing Thursday and Friday, Went home halfway though the day on Monday, was diagnosed with Swine Flu, called out on Tuesday, was back at work on Wednesday and seems fine.

Swine Flu is overrated!

laneela · Post by **laneela** » October 18, 2009, 6:59 pm

One of the kids at the school I work at got Swine Flu. I hope the parents get paranoid, pull their kids for a week and they give me a paid week off. THANKS SWINE FLU.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » October 19, 2009, 9:49 am

Our local highschool was closed for 2 days when 41% of the students called in sick. My co-worker was out for 6 days with the swine-flu. He said it wasn't your normal nausea and squirts but more of massive body aches. He said it was far worse than the normal flu.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » October 19, 2009, 11:04 am

Office worker in the cube next to mine told me his son and their entire soccer team had it. No one else in his family has come down with it.

It seems a recurring story hearing about this with sports teams.

And... my wife's BFF from HS in California has it as well.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 19, 2009, 7:59 pm

Ashur wrote: It seems a recurring story hearing about this with sports teams.

Would be interesting to see a NFL team comedown with Swine Flu.

Wulfran · Post by **Wulfran** » October 20, 2009, 11:49 am

Kids teams pass around all kinds of bugs because they all share water bottles and don't squirt from a distance, but stick them into their mouths. Thats an instant transmission mechanism for a lot of diseases. You don't see it as much because as they get older everyone a) brings their own water/juice/thirst quencher and b) tend to squirt into their mouth from a couple inches back. An NFL or any pro sports team that got the flu should fire their training staff for being a bunch of incompetant jackasses.

Psyloche · Post by **Psyloche** » October 20, 2009, 2:06 pm

Wulfran wrote:Kids teams pass around all kinds of bugs because they all share water bottles and don't squirt from a distance, but stick them into their mouths. Thats an instant transmission mechanism for a lot of diseases. You don't see it as much because as they get older everyone a) brings their own water/juice/thirst quencher and b) tend to squirt into their mouth from a couple inches back. An NFL or any pro sports team that got the flu should fire their training staff for being a bunch of incompetant jackasses.

When I used to play High school football, our "water" was a hose to a metal pipe on the fence near the practice field. There were holes drilled in the pipe. Some kids put their lips on the pipe itself instead of drinking from a distance (mouth breathing, out of shape linemen). I can totally see how things get passed easily across kids.

The swine flu really isn't bad, it's just another power play by our socialist nazi President and his buddies trying to scare us into wanting Health Care reform. IT IS ALL A GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FLU TO STRIKE FEAR INTO OUR HEARTS AND STEAL OUR GUNS.

::HIGH FIVE::

I'm just kidding about the second paragraph.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » October 20, 2009, 4:26 pm

Psyloche wrote:The swine flu really isn't bad, it's just another power play by our socialist nazi President and his buddies trying to scare us into wanting Health Care reform. IT IS ALL A GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FLU TO STRIKE FEAR INTO OUR HEARTS AND STEAL OUR GUNS.

I actually heard something similar from a caller on the radio today. He tied Copenhagen & global warming in as well.

The discussion topic had been on revitalizing brownfields.

Stonie · Post by **Stonie** » October 21, 2009, 7:15 pm

Winnow wrote:Would be interesting to see a NFL team comedown with Swine Flu.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_ ... hhbW1lcg--

Partial story:

Browns hammered by flu

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
39 mins ago

BEREA, Ohio – Just when it couldn't get any worse for the woeful Cleveland Browns, it got worse.

The team has been sacked by the flu.

On Wednesday, 12 players, including Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers and five other starters, missed practice with flulike symptoms as the team began installing the game plan for Sunday's matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Eric Mangini scaled back the workout in hopes of keeping his healthy players from getting sick. He's also emphasizing preventive measures to stop the virus from spreading deeper through the team. If players are showing any symptoms, the Browns are sending them home.

"We're being really aggressive preventatively," he said. "If there's any sign of it and we think it's heading that way, we'd much rather try to minimize the effects on the player and also possibly the exposure to the rest of the group."

Mangini implied the sick players had not yet been tested for H1N1 virus. He said some of the cases were new, and he might not be able to reveal any test results because of medical privacy laws.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 21, 2009, 7:49 pm

Stonie wrote:
Browns hammered by flu

I meant a real NFL team : )

jk, it will be interesting to see how this develops.

Gonzoie - Luclin · Post by **Gonzoie - Luclin** » October 27, 2009, 5:59 am

Half of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team has the flu currently.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » October 27, 2009, 11:32 am

They started innoculations yesterday in Ottawa. The lines in the 6 clinics around the city were 400 people+ deep. They were turning away people that had showed up but wern't in the priority demographic.

The media has done an effective job. Mass panic has set in quite nicely. Helped that the lead story in the city's papers yesterday morning were of a girl that died from it over the weekend that had no prior medical history.