Comments | uisge_beatha: Oink! Oink!

uisge_beatha

Oink! Oink!

Apr 30, 2009 13:29

Seems that Swine Flu (although the Swine lobby really wants us to call it the H1N1 Flu) has hit Maryland.

Oh, yeah!

However, some things to keep in mind:

Swine Flu PerspectiveAn estimated 300 Americans have died this week--and hundreds more will likely be dead by the weekend. The death is sure to continue for weeks, months, with no one safe, and ( Read more... )

Comments 17

kazzy_cee April 30 2009, 17:50:12 UTC

I'm so glad you are on my f-list - you have perspective :)

uisge_beatha May 1 2009, 14:52:31 UTC

Why thank you!

jobsies April 30 2009, 18:01:04 UTC

ROFLOL..I love you!!

uisge_beatha May 1 2009, 14:52:49 UTC

Right back at ya, babe!

copykween April 30 2009, 18:07:19 UTC

Excellent point. I'm sooooo tired of the media blowing this out of proportion.

uisge_beatha May 1 2009, 14:56:55 UTC

That and people running around the office every five minutes announcing "new cases"....where is my car when I need it?

zinke April 30 2009, 18:10:35 UTC

Honk If I'm Paying Your Mortgage

It's possible I laughed out loud upon reading this.

uisge_beatha May 1 2009, 14:57:32 UTC

Oh, I know I did and I think some Sprite Zero might have shot from my nose. Reminder to self: clean dashboard of car.

gorengal April 30 2009, 18:12:34 UTC

It's true that regular flu is deadly...and we don't really care much about regular flu...but there are some things to be concerned about with swine flu.

Apparently swine flu isn't usually transmitted from human to human this quickly and easily. Also, flu generally hits infants and the elderly the hardest, but this flu is killing otherwise-healthy young people. The strain of swine flu in the US is extremely mild compared to the strain in Mexico...another oddity.

Animal viruses mutate as they are passed from human to human, because most humans have no antibodies to them. This makes them harder to treat and more resistant to antiviral drugs we do have.

My kid is 12, right in the middle of the "young and healthy" population targeted by this virus, and she sits in an incubator with 800 kids plus staff for 7 hours every day. As you said, perspective is good...we shouldn't panic. However, staying informed is never a bad thing.

uisge_beatha May 1 2009, 15:02:41 UTC

I think the key here is to be informed but not panic...something the news is NOT helping with. Everyone just needs to calm down and be practical. Also from what I understand young and healthy is precisely what these type of flues target....their immune systems are so strong that they actually end up being counter-productive. However, dead is dead, and I hate to see the very young and elderly die with regular flu...but again, take precautions (wash your hands, don't go out if your sick, cover your cough, etc.) and don't freak. Freaking gets us no-where. I wish THAT was the message the media was projecting. Not "RUN, the sky is falling!"