Swine Flu Info Blog

4 comments:

lets do it said...

it's being watered down
soon it will be nothing just depends on where you are i guess
remember the bird flu?
nothing came of it now did it

May 11, 2009 at 7:12 AM

dukemack said...

• Mortality rate in mexico was much higher. We don't understand why it is so less severe elsewhere. There is no natural immunity and the flu shots wont protect. Initially we didn't even know if there would be any effective treatments due to resistance factors. - so its a little like - why be concerned if terrorists put an atomic bomb in town - hasn't killed anyone yet --- because it could be devastating

May 11, 2009 at 7:12 AM

twoforth said...

At this point in time an ordinary strain of influenza would be normal in NZ. I've seen an interview with a young woman who was quarantined in NZ and she was convinced she only had a cold and was devastated that she couldn't see her family after so long because of that scare.
I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry, but if you look at it; of all the tested possible cases in NZ, only 3 turned out to have the current strain that caused the mass-hysteria. That is close to nothing and even though it is contagious, all there is to do is to give them medication to stop the virus growth, then let our own immune system do the rest.

May 11, 2009 at 7:12 AM

Silverbu said...

A little paranoia can be a good thing.
Remember that there is an incubation period of maybe a week, and once people go to the doctor, there is a few days delay for test results to figure out whether it is swine flu or something else. Also, most people just gut it out without seeing a doctor. The confirmed number of cases is a week to ten days behind the reality, and reported cases is probably a small fraction of actual cases.
There are many varieties of flu virus affecting humans and animals, and they are constantly mutating. There are a couple of factors that determine whether a flu outbreak will become dangerous: vector and virulence. This swine flu has already passed the first by transferring human to human. If it were to mutate or combine with another more virulent strain now that its rapidly spreading, there could be a very serious public health problem. So while its not serious now, the odds are increasing that it could be.

May 11, 2009 at 7:12 AM