We're all going to die (swine flu thread)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Calm down darling

It's hardly going to be a pandemic

Worrying is in my nature, love.

[k-onmmunist]

Calm down darling

It's hardly going to be a pandemic

Worrying is in my nature, love.

Aww. You don't need to worry

I can live through anythi-

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Calm down darling

It's hardly going to be a pandemic

Worrying is in my nature, love.

Aww. You don't need to worry

I can live through anythi-

Death by hyphen. Tragic.

[Silent Hunter]

Probably not worth panicking over.

[k-onmmunist]

Probably not worth panicking over.

This.

[Platypus]

Calm down darling

It's hardly going to be a pandemic

Worrying is in my nature, love.

Aww. You don't need to worry

I can live through anythi-

Death by hyphen. Tragic.

HYPHEN FLU HAS 100% MORTALITY.

[Hash]

It seems to come down to this:

1. If you've come back from Mexico in the past 1-2 weeks, you have a chance of being infected.
2. Chances are it's a mild infection and nothing major.
3. That said, in today's society, this sh**t could spread around the world. Without putting much people in outright danger.
4. If you're Mexican, then, uhm. Yeah.

[Hash]

Spain

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/04/26/espana/1240742119.html (in Spanish)

Israel (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3706679,00.html)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

France (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25389073-5001028,00.html)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

These retarded airheads are labelling this as "Two French travellers returning from Mexico suspected of having deadly swine flu". THEYRE GOING TO DIE!!11!!! PANIC!!!!111!!

The case in the United Kingdom is not swine flu.

[Hash]

5 potential cases in Colombia.

[Meeker]

20 in the US now.

The mortality rate appears to be about 6% in Mexico. That may not seem that bad, but 6% of a couple million people is whole lot of people.

[Hash]

Nova Scotia: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090426/swine_flu_090426/20090426?hub=TopStories

Scotland: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8019544.stm

[Hash]

Well, Nova Scotia seems to have 6 confirmed cases. There are also potential cases in BC and Alberta (must refrain from further comments).

But of course, our most competent government and bureaucracy is taking all steps needed to prevent this. For example, the customs in Montreal, have thought it best not to ask incoming passengers from Mexico about this flu. It's nicer to say "Welcome to Canada", I guess. Note to that Inuit lady (if she still exists, since the office is useless and cabinet ministers are forbidden to utter one word due to low IQ) who serves as our "Health" Minister and Canada Customs Fail Agency: this thing is potentially serious. Take precautions, like almost every western country is doing in some way or another. Why, oh why, Canada?

[Marokai Backbeat]

Sounds like Ohio has our first case.

[Marokai Backbeat]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE53P23920090426

[Hash]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE53P23920090426

Good news, I guess. But I don't trust the Mexicans much. After all, they probably knew of this before Spring Break but kept the lid on it in order not to dissuade the flood of American and Canadian gringos from coming down.

In other news, panic grips the Canadian media with the confirmed cases in BC and Nova Scotia. Once again, it's PANIC!!!11one!! time.

[Hash]

Map as of now. Dark red= cases and deaths, red= cases, pink= potential cases. Source: TV, Interwebs, Viquipèdia.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...of course the funny thing is that we will all die, eventually. Which is why panics such as this are so pointless, so stupid.

[Keystone Phil]

I'm in mass last night and notice that all of the people behind me didn't shake my hand during the sign of peace. Now I know more people have become germaphobic these days but I found it odd that so many didn't shake hands last night.

Well, this obnoxious old woman decides to tell the woman next to her (and wasn't whispering either), "Yeah, "they" are telling us not to shake hands anymore...not with this swine flu..." She then went on to repeat two times.

I'm so glad she decided to share that with all of us at such an appropriate time, too.

[Meeker]

14 Texas schools will be closed tomorrow...

[Hash]

14 Texas schools will be closed tomorrow...

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[2952-0-0]

Useful map of the outbreak:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=32.639375,-110.390625&spn=15.738151,25.488281&z=5

[Platypus]

Useful map of the outbreak:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=32.639375,-110.390625&spn=15.738151,25.488281&z=5

Queensland? Huh. There you go.

[The Ex-Factor]

Map as of now. Dark red= cases and deaths, red= cases, pink= potential cases. Source: TV, Interwebs, Viquipèdia.

Clearly this is a secret Al-Qaeda plot intended to destroy all of Western civilization.

[ag]

20 in the US now.

The mortality rate appears to be about 6% in Mexico. That may not seem that bad, but 6% of a couple million people is whole lot of people.

This is 6% of the people who were hospitalized. Nobody knows, what percentage of people who caught it were hospitalized, but probably not too many, until a few days back, when the emergency announcement was made.. I personally know some people around here who have had a flu or smthg like that recently - and none of them bothered going to a doctor. Now, nobody would be able to figure out, what exactly was it was that they had.  So far, about 1600 people hospitalized, about 100 dead (only 20 deaths, though, confirmed to be the swine flu so far; they are waiting for the test results on the rest).

Anyway, the city is noticeably affected. Few people on the streets over the weekend. Buses visibly emptyish (looking from the outside: I prefer using cabs these days). i'd say, about a third of people who venture out wear masks (I felt ridiculous at first putting it on in the supermarket today, but more and more people do it). Going to a cafe for the inevitable caffeine shot wasn't dangerous, probably: besides me, the only person inside was a masked waiter But how long will the cafe survive like this, is another matter. Schools at all levels are closed: we are told to report to the office tomorrow, but all classes and other activities involving students are canceled.

[ag]

Good news, I guess. But I don't trust the Mexicans much. After all, they probably knew of this before Spring Break but kept the lid on it in order not to dissuade the flood of American and Canadian gringos from coming down.

You are, probably, wrong on this one. The gov't might not be too competent, but a) there is lively media here, that would have pounced on it and b) the authorities are more afraid of being accused of cover-up, then they are afraid of anything else in this case.

It seems, the first sign smthg might be wrong was when the usual fall off in flu cases at the end of March didn't materialize. They are now saying, in late March there was a possible outbreak in a small town in Veracruz state (but they don't really know). The first case that brought it to the attention of the gov't was when a man died in Oaxaca state on April 13. At that point they started testing things - but they were afraid of the avian flu, which this one is not (and which they were able to quickly ascertain). About a week ago I noticed the first articles in the newspapers, saying that there is an epidemic in the hospitals, but that this seems to be a run-off-the-mill H1N1 flu type (as distinct from the H5N1 everybody had been afraid of until now). Since Mexico has no labs capable of figuring out what exactly this was (H1N1 is fine, but which H1N1?), they sent the requests for tests to the US and to Canada.  Keep in mind: Mexico still has no capacity of conclusively diagnosing this virus: every single lab test has to be done north of the border (today it has been announced that they'd have a lab installed here within 72 hours).

On Thursday they got the response: this is not the human variety, but a new variety, probably, of swine origin. At 10 PM on Thursday, April 23 (10 days after the first recorded death) there was an emergency cabinet meeting, at 11 PM the Health Secretary was on TV announcing school/university closure as of the very next day (my daughter's teacher called us at quarter past midnight).

If they were covering it up, they'd a) not send the requests to the US and b) they could have chosen the time to announce it that would have made more sense (announcing at 11 PM w/ 1 day left in the school week makes no sense). It's also obvious, how off guard they were caught: the first idea was just to close the schools, it took them another 24-48 hours to figure what else (i.e., theaters, museums, etc.) to close. Even the original school closure announcement was just for 48 hours: it's only been extended till, at least,  May 6 today. Had anybody high up known about this even 24 hours earlier, they'd have planned better.