World Health Organization: Swine flu could spread globally

number of cases today was smaller than yesterday so maybe the epidemy is already on it's way out.

Yeah I think this is looking better... this section in a recent TIME article really makes this whole thing seem like a big scare. *sighs*

  Quote

Two critical factors should prevent the current outbreak from spreading much further. The first is the sophisticated monitoring systems set up by the CDC in the United States, similar authorities in other countries, and the WHO on a global basis. The SARS outbreak in 2002 ended up killing less than 800 people, in part because of a near shutdown of world travel and minute-by-minute tracking of the progress of the disease around the world.

 

Secondly, there are several theories about why flu viruses do not spread with the rapidity and scale that they once did. One of the probable reasons is is that flu vaccines diminish the spread of the disease in general by cutting down on the spread of specific strains. This even extends to the vaccinations of animals that are the primary carriers of the infectious viruses. In addition, the CDC said that two major flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, appear likely to diminish the severity of symptoms for the new strain, if taken in the first 48-hours of this Swine flu infection. That may be one of the reasons that public health officials, epidemiologists, and infectious disease specialists have indicated that people should not be overly concerned. One expert told NPR, "We've seen swine influenza in humans over the past several years, and in most cases, it's come from direct pig contact. This seems to be different," said Dr. Arnold Monto, from the University of Michigan. "I think we need to be careful and not apprehensive, but certainly paying attention to new developments as they proceed."

 

The odds that tens of thousands of people will die from the flu are low. Advances in medicine and public health policy have made a big difference in the ability to monitor emerging serious illnesses. The fact that the new disease seems not to be terribly virulent outside of Mexico is another factor that supports the opinion that this will not be a major epidemic. However, in the minds of some analysts, the world can still look forward to trillions of dollars in financial losses and an economic depression.

sauce?

ok you are definitely going to die.

*swine-flu boner*

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE NOW!

  chaosmachine said:

LOL! If you only pay attention to the audio it sounds like a porn video.

  kaini said:

  countchocula said:

  kaini said:

i'm gonna go with 'mutates', for five points johnny.

 

How ya feeling?

 

So what did the doctor say?

just a badass regular flu

he gave me the week off work, which is nice

  kaini said:

just a badass regular flu

 

he gave me the week off work, which is nice

That's a relief. I was genuinely concerned.

hahahaha this whole thing is a load of bullshit

  theSun said:

hahahaha this whole thing is a load of bullshit

9/11

AREA 51

anyone tuned into any cable news channels in the states recently? it's all swine flu all the time, apparently every other worldly event is meaningless as we attempt to quell this horrible epidemic.

  theSun said:

anyone tuned into any cable news channels in the states recently? it's all swine flu all the time, apparently every other worldly event is meaningless as we attempt to quell this horrible epidemic.

took them awhile, first few days it was hardly mentioned. Leave it to Glenn Beck, master rabble raiser, and noble fat head.

the doctor today asked me "if i knew any mexicans or had been near a sick pig"?

she was young enough to recognize that it was a somewhat south-parkesque moment.

we shared a secret lol, it was awesome. no, watmm, she wasn't particularly hot.

edit: when i think about it a bit, this is not a particularly effective test for swine flu.

but! she also:

felt my belly

did the stethoscope thing

looked in my ears and mouth

took my temperature in my ear,#

asked me about the clarity of my snot

asked me about the solidity of my shit

so when i think about it, she was pretty worried about this swine flu.

So cows can catch swine flu?

i can't help but feel we would be more financially prepared for this if it wasn't for the republican's pork barrel spending!

you truly can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, canya?

Is this Civilization Phase III (where everyone turns into either pigs or ponies)?

  Quote

John: If we could either move the smoke or if we turn the cold light on it and shrink it so they can't even salute it . . .

Spider: It's . . . it's really . . . It's sort of the opposite event. You see it was a long time ago when Pigs and Ponies used to inter-breed with people on farms . . . and they reached a state where . . . where like the pigs were . . . communicable. They brought 'em in and tried . . . tried to teach them things. They're just as likely to live in the ocean as anywhere else . . . Wouldn't get rid of them, really. Just means that the ocean would be just as unsafe as every other place. That's what happened. Ya know, they tried to put 'em places where they wouldn't make it, but they made it anyway.

here the people is sad

this disease is causing so many problems with their daily economy :unhappy:

Apparently the World Health Organization has raised the threat level from three to four which is one short of global pandemic. This is the most current update from them released just today:

  Quote

29 April 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 18:00 GMT, 29 April 2009, nine countries have officially reported 148 cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 91 laboratory confirmed human cases, with one death. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.

 

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (13), Germany (3), Israel (2), New Zealand (3), Spain (4) and the United Kingdom (5).

 

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

 

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

 

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

raised to 5 you mean