Wash your hands folks!!

Well, maybe WB wasn't overreacting... ;D This is starting to spread pretty fast...

I keep boosting my immune system once a week.... I eat dirt... ;D ;D ;D


Jerry

Disease like this can spread exponentially due to the "small world" created by technology and rapid transportation ( forgetting illegals coming across from Mexico).
Also, there's a bird component in it. Oh Great -- The birds are migrating back from down south :-(

Mike

Something similar to the 1918 flu coming up again would be terrifiying and destroy the world economy as well.  :-X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was an influenza pandemic that spread to nearly every part of the world. It was caused by an unusually virulent and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus.[1] Most of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. The pandemic lasted from March 1918 to June 1920,[2] spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. It is estimated that anywhere from [highlight]20 to 100 million peopl[/highlight]e were killed worldwide,[3] or the approximate equivalent of one third of the population of Europe,[4][5][6] more than double the number killed in World War I.[7] This extraordinary toll resulted from the extremely high illness rate of up to 50% and the extreme severity of the symptoms, suspected to be caused by cytokine storms. The pandemic is estimated to have affected up to one billion people: half the world's population at the time.[8]

Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system) which explains its unusually severe nature and the concentrated age profile of its victims. The strong immune systems of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults caused fewer deaths.

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My answer to every problem lately has been to get a laser or work on a build. Don't think lasers would help against a virus though. You could always buy one of those suits that HAZMAT uses.

I wouldn't worry just yet to be serious. Makes me wonder anyway: what is the necessary nm,  time, and, mW required to "kill" a virus (damaging its DNA to be precise)? Doesn't matter too much because a virus won't last long outside of the host.

wohoo... the regiments newest panic tool \o/ whats next, H2N1? will they put in hexadecimal chars when they reach a 9?

As of yesterday, the swine flu has killed 8 people. The regular flu kills ~36,000 in the US alone every year.

media hype

Cyparagon said:

As of yesterday, the swine flu has killed 8 people. The regular flu kills ~36,000 in the US alone every year.

media hype

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Out of those 36,000, how many are children?

Old thread, but its getting scary in T.O Canada. This thing is killing kids, very sad to see.
The lineups for the vaccine in both the USA and Can. are crazy.

wannaburn said:

Out of those 36,000, how many are children?

Old thread, but its getting scary in T.O Canada. This thing is killing kids, very sad to see.
The lineups for the vaccine in both the USA and Can. are crazy.

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The children who died all had underlying medical conditions that made them more vulnerable to serious complications from the flu.

Also, (I'll have to look up the article again) this new strain of H1N1 has developed a lipoprotien that allows it to lie "flat" against the skin. Hand washing is not very effective in fighting it. Use hand sanitiser.

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

Also, (I'll have to look up the article again) this new strain of H1N1 has developed a lipoprotien that allows it to lie "flat" against the skin. Hand washing is not very effective in fighting it. Use hand sanitiser.

Peace,
dave

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Oh my! It's evolving into a SUPER ULTRA MEGA FLU!

Guys, twice as many people this year alone, will die from the regular flu, than any other strain.

The flu doesn't kill, its the complications that kill.

Things like pneumonia and such...

HumanSymphony said:

Oh my! It's evolving into a SUPER ULTRA MEGA FLU!

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Are you ready for the REALLY frightening part?

Microbes such as virii have the ability to pass on such adaptations to other microbes they meet in the wild. They touch and swap a bit of DNA to "teach" each other what defenses they have developed.


Ghia has a way for dealing with overcrowding. She is just not very kind when she acts to "balance" the populations again

Peace,
dave

daguin said:

Ghia has a way for dealing with overcrowding. She is just not very kind when she acts to "balance" the populations again

Peace,
dave

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Dave..
you sometimes scare me with all the Ghia talk

daguin said:

Are you ready for the REALLY frightening part?

Microbes such as virii have the ability to pass on such adaptations to other microbes they meet in the wild. They touch and swap a bit of DNA to "teach" each other what defenses they have developed.


Ghia has a way for dealing with overcrowding. She is just not very kind when she acts to "balance" the populations again

Peace,
dave

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Yes it's all coming back to me now. I believe it was 9th grade, environmental science, Mr. Ford's class. The oh-so-silly T4 bacteriophage:

daguin said:

The children who died all had underlying medical conditions that made them more vulnerable to serious complications from the flu.

Also, (I'll have to look up the article again) this new strain of H1N1 has developed a lipoprotien that allows it to lie "flat" against the skin. Hand washing is not very effective in fighting it. Use hand sanitiser.

Peace,
dave

Click to expand...

CBC News - Canada - H1N1 confirmed in Toronto teen's death


"A 13-year-old Toronto boy, described as "healthy as can be," has died of the H1N1 virus.

Evan Frustaglio, who played in a minor hockey league, died Monday night at St. Joseph's hospital.

"Toronto Public Health is confirming the death of a … Toronto resident from H1N1," the department said Tuesday in a news release. Public health officials held a news conference later in the day to announce that flu clinics for priority groups would open earlier than planned in the city.

"We're in pretty big shock here losing a 13-year-old boy who was as healthy as can be," Evan's father, Paul Frustaglio, told CBC News.

Evan went from having minor cold symptoms to dying within 48 hours, his father said.

"It just happened real fast. We don't know what to do. We don't know what to say."

Visited clinic
Frustaglio said Evan initially complained of a sore throat and dry cough on Friday night while away at a hockey tournament in London, Ont.

By Saturday night, he had developed symptoms that were more flu-like in nature and when over-the-counter medication wasn't helping with a fever, the family went to a walk-in clinic on Sunday afternoon, Frustaglio said.

"The physician listened to his lungs and assured us that everything is fine," Frustaglio said. "He is breathing normally, continue to give him the med … and keep his fever down and everything should be fine. Less than 24 hours later, my son is gone."

Evan collapsed after taking a bath on Monday and was taken to hospital.

"It hit my son like a lightning bolt," Frustaglio said.

There has been an outpouring of support and condolences from the community, and family members are still trying to collect their thoughts before making funeral arrangements, he said.

Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's medical officer of health, said Evan had a mild case of asthma, but his father disputed that.

"Evan didn't have asthma," the Winnipeg free Press quoted Frustaglio as saying. "He had been prescribed puffers a few years ago when he had a cold."

'You will be missed'
A Facebook memorial page has been set up for Evan and had close to 4,000 members by Tuesday evening.

Posters on the memorial page remembered Evan as a fun-loving, helpful young man, a well-liked student and a skilled hockey player with the Greater Toronto Hockey League's Mississauga North Stars minor bantam AA team.

"R.I.P. Evan. Im so sorry that this happened, you will be be missed so much that it cant be expressed in words. You were a great kid," Masha Petrasinovic wrote on the memorial page.

Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed sympathy for the family, calling Evan's death a "terrible tragedy."

Health Minister Deb Matthews called it a "very, very sad case" that emphasizes the importance of getting swine flu shots.

Matthews said Tuesday it's important for both Evan's parents and their children to get vaccinated against the swine flu.
"

"Get a flu shot" they said

So, was that from the normal flu shot, or the H1N1 flu shot?
I already got my flu shot and I'm going to get my H1N1 flu vaccine on Thursday or Friday. It's probably going to be the nasal vaccine. Does anyone have any opinions on this?