We're all going to die (AKA Flu thread) MERGED

Weathercheck

Weathercheck wrote: »

Scary Reading here;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

bad reading...

I'm a specialist doctor in respiratory diseases and intensive care at the Mexican National Institute of Health. There is a severe emergency over the swine flu here. More and more patients are being admitted to the intensive care unit. Despite the heroic efforts of all staff (doctors, nurses, specialists, etc) patients continue to inevitably die. The truth is that anti-viral treatments and vaccines are not expected to have any effect, even at high doses. It is a great fear among the staff. The infection risk is very high among the doctors and health staff.
There is a sense of chaos in the other hospitals and we do not know what to do. Staff are starting to leave and many are opting to retire or apply for holidays. The truth is that mortality is even higher than what is being reported by the authorities, at least in the hospital where I work it. It is killing three to four patients daily, and it has been going on for more than three weeks. It is a shame and there is great fear here. Increasingly younger patients aged 20 to 30 years are dying before our helpless eyes and there is great sadness among health professionals here.
Antonio Chavez, Mexico City

I think there is a real lack of information and sadly, preventative action. In the capital of my state, Oaxaca, there is a hospital closed because of a death related to the porcine influenza. In the papers they recognise only two people dead for that cause. Many friends working in hospitals or related fields say that the situation is really bad, they are talking about 19 people dead in Oaxaca, including a doctor and a nurse. They say they got shots but they were told not to talk about the real situation. Our authorities say nothing. Life goes on as usual here.
Young people are going to schools and universities. Buses and planes go and come from Mexico City as frequently as before. Even with two people dead locally, last night the local baseball stadium was full, mainly with young people. What's really happening? I know vaccines are good for nothing, and if you take care, maybe you won't die, so, why not acknowledge the real situation? I know that the economic situation is not the best, and it will worsen with panic. But panic comes from a lack of information. Many people travel for pleasure or without any real need. Stopping those unjustified trips can help a lot to ease the situation. We must do something!
Alvaro Ricardez, Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico

I have a sister-in-law from San Luis Potosi state in Mexico and we were told that in San Luis Potosi there have been at least 78 deaths, just in that city alone, not 68 in all of Mexico, as is being reported. Schools have been closed until 6 May in this state and in other areas in Mexico. Also, many public venues are being closed, so this makes it more deadly and dangerous than has been stated.
Migdalia Cruz, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

CreepingDeath

Ah sure what's the worse that can happen ?

Let's all relax and check up on this again "28 Days Later"

CreepingDeath

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Ah sure what's the worse that can happen ?

Let's all relax and check up on this again "28 Days Later"

hmm....

leitrim lad

well if its anything like the bird flu disaster in 2006 that wiped out 3/4 of the worlds money,

then it will be another big hit, time to hide again

johnnyskeleton

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

There are now suspected cases in France and New Zealand.

Or is it possible that they have, for example, ordinary flu?

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I see someone said it's not very deadly but a lot of flu strains start out like that and evolve to be more deadly. Spanish flu in 1918 started like that and killed more people than WW1

You have to remember as well that the Spanish influenza of 1918-19 arose in a time of very poor sanitation, nutrition and health care. Millions of people had been living in trenches for years and the civilian economies were stripped to the bone. So its not surprising that it was not controlled.

As with everything, if this is dealt with early it will be no big thing. Another poster has commented that in the states it is easily treated. Perhaps if other countries help the Mexicans out then it will just be a footnote in epidemiological history.

Wertz

Weathercheck wrote: »

Scary Reading here;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

God I love trolling the bbc comments pages. Tell people you're a mexican doctor (or several different ones ) and you can scare the sh*t out of half the internet with a few keystrokes...

Wertz

Wertz wrote: »

God I love trolling the bbc comments pages. Tell people you're a mexican doctor (or several different ones ) and you can scare the sh*t out of half the internet with a few keystrokes...

people are dying in mexico and it's spreading to other countries. i havn't had a vaccination in 10 years i'd say and there's gonna be people from all over the world in galway in a few weeks.

TPD

Suprised nobody has made the 'time to start cracking open peoples skulls and feasting on the goo inside?' reference yet.

Also, whos ever seen a pig sneeze?

Wertz

Ah yeah I know, I just have a thing for inappropriate humour. Obviously I don't masquerade on a foreign news website as various people posting comments about serious issues. Well not since I was banned :pac: . I've already made a couple of boring and non-humourous posts in this thread before I decided to go all schadenfreud with it, so I think I'm entitled to post in jest; the bar had already been set.
I've never had a flu jab. I haven't been to a damn doctor in almost 7 years. I have several elderly relatives who would be unlikely to survive a dose of normal flu, so I don't relish the prospect of this thing arriving on our shores anymore than you do...

Unpossible

thelordofcheese wrote: »

From what i understand when a flu virus like this (a H1N1 variant) jumps from say, pigs to humans, it mutates and becomes very agressive. We will start to build an immunity over time, but in that time it's possible that millions would die.

That's the potential problem with this, as it has an incubation period of a few days, and you don't become incapacitated for anything up to week. Up to that time, people can wander around, spreading the virus like crazy.
The Avian flu from a few years back had an advantage of making people lethargic quite early on, limiting the spread.

The CDC said yesterday that containing this thing wouldn't be possible and it looks like they were right, with possible cases springing up in canada, the US, new zealand and Isreal. Over the next few days it's going to be pretty interesting as to how this plays out and just how effective western medical systems are.

Still, it's no Captain Trips

ah ok, thanks

maninasia

Unpossible wrote: »

I thought it works the other way around, something is deadly then it lessens and we build up a little immunity or we make vaccines.

It usually works that way yes. But in some cases 'virulence' or stability and contagiousness can be gained by mixing with existing flu strains, turning an epidemic into a global pandemic. Basically these things are extremely hard to predict (I experienced the SARS crisis first-hand), when you are in the middle of the epidemic you don't know if it is going to get worse or get better and there is not enough information at the time to make clear judgements.

IvyTheTerrible

Unpossible wrote: »

I thought it works the other way around, something is deadly then it lessens and we build up a little immunity or we make vaccines.

It can work that way as well. But it also happens with viruses that for example, something that once just past between one species of animal evolves to be more deadly, or evolves to pass to other animals, then to be deadly to that animal. It can sometimes happen quicker than the host can evolve immunity. Of course, it can evolve slowly too and get wiped out when we evolve immunity (like the different strains of flu that circulate each year). It's mostly a matter of chance!

in the space of a weekend, members of boards.ie have become experts at biology aswell as economics.. mind-blowing what we could achieve if we pooled our resources.

Elessar

Americans are being advised to wear face masks. Swine flu confirmed in New York school.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6173927.ece

EDIT: On a lighter note "Several of those affected in the US have made full recoveries".

IvyTheTerrible

Deleted User wrote: »

in the space of a weekend, members of boards.ie have become experts at biology aswell as economics.. mind-blowing what we could achieve if we pooled our resources.

Well, I have a biology degree so I knew something about this before the weekend...

IvyTheTerrible

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Well, I have a biology degree so I knew something about this before the weekend...

and i've an economics degree so i knew something before the recession...


where did all the fakers come from?!

Highsider

More on the news there about the outbreak. Reports say the numbers of dead will reach hundreds in Mexico before the month is out.

galwayrush

Deleted User wrote: »

in the space of a weekend, members of boards.ie have become experts at biology aswell as economics.. mind-blowing what we could achieve if we pooled our resources.

World domination, but be patient, our time will come.;)

Sierra Oscar

Just some updates:

The US authorities have declared a Public Health Emergency.

The Spanish authorities have stated that a number of suspected cases are being investigated.

Two people in Scotland have been admitted to hospital and are suspected to have human swine flu. They recently returned from Mexico.

Also, the HSE has released the following statement yesterday:

HSE and DOHC monitoring USA and Mexico cases of human swine influenza

I feel so re-assured that the HSE are monitoring the situation . . . :rolleyes:

galwayrush

So we'll expect a statement from our HSE sometime next year then.:rolleyes:

Highsider

galwayrush wrote: »

So we'll expect a statement from our HSE sometime next year then.:rolleyes:

lol :pac:

the_syco

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055537121

dresden8

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055537121

People, we're through the looking glass here!

Chardee MacDennis

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055537121

whats this now? i dont seem to be able to view it....

the_syco

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055537121

I think I'll leave that one with the "doubledecker bus found on the moon" stories!

nyarlothothep

Elessar wrote: »

Americans are being advised to wear face masks. Swine flu confirmed in New York school.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6173927.ece

EDIT: On a lighter note "Several of those affected in the US have made full recoveries".

I read that all those cases were kids. In Mexico the cases were adults.

nyarlothothep

Apparently the Mexican government knew about it and didn't do anything

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6171854.ece

galwayrush

nyarlothothep wrote: »

Apparently the Mexican government knew about it and didn't do anything

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article6171854.ece

Our's have heard about it as well, but i don't expect them to do anything.:rolleyes:

Tchaikovsky

We should expect our iodine tablets in the post any day now.....

thelordofcheese

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055537121

Chirst almighty.

I'd forgotten that place even existed, nuttier than squirrels shit....