Swine Flu in Your Country

So many deceases going around now a days, why should I worry about this specific one?

I'm more worried about the pigs I work with.

Wow.. You're working with pigs? Then what's your plan to your pigs? Immunized or something?

How many deceases are there so far?

...sorry I meant people/other staff members...

One or two fatalities have been reported with individuals that have had other underlying health issues. Other reports indicate the chances of a full recovery are far higher and many people have.

It is statistically insignificant in comparison with the 9 people or so killed on the road network every day, on average, and three times that many dying from other influenza-related symptoms ordinarily as background.

Beds can be fatal - by far the most deaths that occur happen in bed and no-one has sought to ban beds yet.

my dear friend i agree with you 100% and wish to add un less people learn how to live and allow others to live every disease on the earth will be afrer us ,

crm

The only effect thus far is the temperature checkpoint at the gate of the factory. They've stationed nurses to check our temperature as we come in. If you've got a fever, you're asked to proceed to the clinic for further exam.

My kid's former school (they transferred this year) is closed for 10 days after a student fell ill with swine flu.

Otherwise, same-o same-o.

regards,

Vulcan

There are > 1,000 patients with zero fatalities, and yet the authorities are checking everyone for their body temperatures. Ah well, considering that the disease is originally supposed to come from pigs and the Health Minister is a swine, I guess he's only trying to protect his family.

Since this came up I will ask the QUESTION I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO ASK.

In the U.S. and I assume rest of the world also we are told that H1N1 (swine flu) will be much worse when flu season comes back around. This is supported by the fact that flu does not propogate rapidly in off season and especially in warm weather.

The question...

In the places where it is considered flu season presently what is happening with H1N1? Are you seeing more severe cases than when out of season? Is it still affecting mostly the young? How many out of a thousand or other bas number are coming down with H1N1 now as compared to off season? Do you still plan to vaccinate? What can you tell us who are in out of season flu areas to expect when the season comes around, giving of course H1N1 does not mutate into something seriously deadly to all like past epidemics have done that killed millions world wide?.

Monthow, speaking with my colleagues in Australia and New Zealand, they are having cases, but it is not out of control. Keep in mind that the population of the southern hemisphere, and especially the portion of the southern hemisphere that actually sees winter conditions such that people stay indoors and pass germs, is much much less than in the north.

In Asia there is a general paranoia about the flu that I find irritating. As has been pointed out, it is the flu, people die every year from the flu. People die every day in auto accidents but no one is trying to stop people from driving?

I have been to Russia, China, Korea, and Malaysia over the last couple months and I think the Malaysians are the worst, but all of them have temperature checks and forms to fill up to come through the airports. Russia seemed the least concerned.

When I came home from Russia and Korea a week ago I was met by a dozen Malaysian medical workers completely wrapped up in masks and gloves and surgical gowns including hats. They shot everyone with the thermography camera, and carefully scrutinized their forms, then made everyone use hand sanitizer before they could come through the checkpoint. God forbid if you coughed...

I lost one of my team to quarantine for a week, and the family of one of my colleagues spent the night in airport quarantine because their baby was running a 38 C fever.

The over reaction is really annoying.

Fast reply - THANK YOU!

Excellent observations on overeactions I believe. Almost all of the wearable protections we see poresently being used do little more than offer some a since of being protected when in reality they are not.

One thing that that came to mind is that many if not most of the precautions used by so many countries are not designed to keep one from contracting the flu. This is due to the fact that most of the mask used are not of the type (design) to properly filter the virus and prevent those wearing them from contracting the virus. When you consider that the mask used by the general population we have seen in Mexico and many other countries are of a type designed to help control the spread of bacteria from the wearer to those they are in contact with (a doctor or nurse attending a wound for example). They do a fair job of reducing the atomized spray volume from a cough FROM THE MASK WEARER. They do little to filter small inbound airborne virus or bacteria from entering a mask wearers airways however. To properly filter and protect, one needs to wear a mask that is of the proper type ("N901" may be they type rating), tightly sealed to the wearer with little to no breaks, and that trap (filters) the virus from passing through the material. Gogles must also fit tightly and ear protection would be advised. Gowns and gloves will help but simple and frequent washing hand washing and avoidance of touching ones facial areas will nearly do the same unless you will be in direct contact with an affected person.

Here in the U.S. there is little attention paid to the ongoing H1N1 however I expect that to change if the virus becomes more virulent from mutation. Your point that flu kills every year is fact the only differance is that we can generally prodict the strains expected to be active for a given season early enought to produce vaccination supplies. This is the problem with H1N1 as it is a new strain for which there is no presently developed vaccine.

This will be an interesting flu season upcoming here in the U.S. and I hope there is no mutation so we can begin distribution of the new and not throughly tested vaccine prior to the time when flu is normally in season. If there is any mutation the newly developed vaccines will have a doubtful positive affect in any case.

Unless there is a newly developed medicine which will cure or greatly deminuish the virulence of H1N1 we (world population) are in danger of a potential sharp rise in the number of deaths resulting from H1N1 once flu season begins. Let's hope this virus does not mutate into a more resistant and severe from of the present strain.

Over reaction also qualifies the protectives measures against terrorisim in North American airports. It seems to make politicians feel in control of the situation and makes the old ladies feel safer...

The pattern in OZ seems to be after the people with underlying issues, a number of otherwise healthy younger people have died. Apparently opportunistic bacterial infections are hitching a ride through the immune system. According to authorities older generations have seen it before (apparently in the 60s). The state of Victoria is the hardest hit (Cooler than most of the country) and it has frequently travelled North with people returning from Victoria. Direct infection from overseas especially Mexico has also happenned in other states. The media is trying hard to drum up paranoia and some health officials have been stupid but basically it is just spreading like a normal flu. I picked up something on a flight back from Brisbane last Friday (mild so far) and if it deepens I'll reduce my contact with other people until I'm sure I won't pass anything on. Training I have booked for early next month could be in jeopardy as the Rio Tinto site where it is to be held is playing a hard line on anyone with "flu like symptoms".

Today I'm staying out of the office so I don't put anything into the airconditioning, also fresh air is more comfortable in these conditions.

It is a nice winter's day at 24dec C say 64F. Work places with airconditioning and public transport are probably the biggest risk.

Here in India there were around 10-15 case reported but non is fatal. There is vigil at air ports and all passengers are throughly checked.

Suresh Sharma.

Here in Texas, we have had a grand total of TWO fatalities (out of a state who's population rivals that of India), one of whom was actually a Mexican citizen (we have a real problem with our border and the Federal Government doesn't give a damn and won't let US do anything about it ourselves, but we get stuck paying for all of it.). The other was a teacher in a border town who had been exposed to it from illegals and both of them had medical conditions that made them especially susceptible. But then again we (currently, until Obama gets through destroying it.) have one of the best medical care systems in the world too. People come from around the globe to our hospitals here in Houston.

Compared to 36,000 people who die every year from "conventional" flu, this is NOTHING.

If your country has an epidemic of this, I would suggest the problem is systemic to your medical care system trying to be all things to everyone and failing in all because there just isn't enough to go around to satisfy everyone, not the disease. That is what happens in socialized systems, you get 1950's care at 2010 prices.

Uh, the land area of Texas may rival India, but the population of Texas is not even close to that of India. Indeed the population of the USA is not even close.

India: 1,166,079,217

USA: 303,824, 640

Texas: 24,326,974

I stand corrected, it is our economy that rivals India, I was mis-rememebring the stat.

I've see live the problem raise while being in Mexico from end of March till mid June.

I had to be in quarantine ten days at home (It seems nobody worried if my family were affected). Health ministry issued a "protocol" as they like to say (they surely think really important doing such things). The "protocol" was sent to my colleagues and me by the company medical services while in Mexico. The content was really impressive: if you feel ill, go to a doctor.

I had to discuss with the head of the medical services telling that I consider this not as a "protocol" but a stupidity. I don't need a minister to say that!!!!

After the ten days, I lost one of my freelance employs in a University because as I had to be in contact with the students...

Yesterday I heard in the radio news that a group of Spanish students (curiously of the same university) have been taken apart in Beijing because of swine flu. (God blessed me. If I were not fired maybe I will now be accused of such a crime).

I'm with some other colleagues. Any human life is sacred and invaluable, but in this society we live, everyday many people die in a much greater rate due to dozens of causes and nobody claims.

Coming with the specific OP matter: Several days ago died the first woman in Spain due to swine flu. She was an immigrant and pregnant since 7 months. Due to the status, the medical team decided the baby must born through cesarean intervention.

They did so and one day later the woman died. Yesterday the baby died too: He wasn't infected, the nurse give him the feed through a venous injection instead of nasogastric via as specified.

What's really the problem?

The flu?

I'm going to cry a bit outside the forum

Kind regards

One of my good friends has lived here in Malaysia for ten years, and took a short holiday to Thailand. When she came back into Malaysia she was put in quarantined because she carries a Mexican passport.

She had not been to Mexico for years and had a valid Malaysian visa, but because of the Mexican passport she was quarentined...

That is government at its worst...

Steve, I'm not sure that there is such a thing as "government at it's best"

A friend of mine once said that a good method of measuring the seriousness of a disease is to compare the number of deaths it causes each year to the number of deaths caused by deer each year.

Have we surpassed that deer mark yet?

I've seen little effect of swine flu in the Mid-Atlantic states of USA. A few months back we had a US Navy ship return from deployment with 22 Sailors ill from the disease; but after about one week in the sick bay, they all recovered just fine. To date, any deaths from swine flu have been people with underlying medical conditions or immune systems that were already compromised.

Swine Flu: just one more version of an influenza, no worse at present than many other strains, and less dangerous than some. Possibly manufactured and accidentally mutated strain that infected workers at Mexican hog production facilities being used for vaccine studies. You know, the H3N2 mystery that has recombined to form H1N2 and newer H1N1 type A strains. What happens when a few AIDS patients get it, and the RNA mutates further? who knows, but all agree there is at least a "potential" threat growing in the future from *any* of these viruses...someday.

Affect: Political.

Effect: "Crisis" used as an "Opportunity" to excuse greater measures put in place to monitor/control populace.

iFect: genomes of public to be entered into electronic government databases along with medical history for data mining and "other uses as allowed by law."
(by whom? politically connected pharmaceutical companies? for what? research without consent? tying innocent people to crimes via some random DNA sample at a crime scene you visited a month earlier, or after you sneezed on a criminal in an elevator on his way to the scene? hmmm...)

HERE is just one recent example (this very morning's headlines)
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91520

Swine Flue Hype de jur? - now THERE is lipstick on a pig if I've ever seen it.

Update:

I just found out that three more schools have closed due to the flu.

At first I thought that they were over-reacting but one of my subordinates had to take his kid to the hospital due to a high fever. He said that the hospital was full of people, all complaining of high fever! There were no vacancies in that hospital as well as in three other hospitals. Man! What an epidemic!

I wondered how much of this was real and how much was imagined by people, something like mass-hysteria.

The weather here in my place right now (occasional rain, hot days, rain again) usually results in an increase in flu cases. This is the first time that things have reached this level though.

Thank God my family is unaffected.

regards,

Vulcan

We had three campuses closed here in KL. Not because of confirmed cases of H1N1, but because people were getting sick with coughing and sneezing. They closed the schools just in case.

So now were are closing schools and isolating people for the common cold?

What is the HIV death rate per year vs the swine flu? The only country I know that requires an HIV test for a visa is a Russia...

I understand your point however... What is typed below may explain why governments are not so concerned over HIV. HIV can be avoided easily FLU cannot.

HIV is spread through blood contamination as I understand it. Addicts with needles and sexual contact will spread HIV. Given this HIV is a disease that one some what chooses to contract. You cannot catch HIV from simple human cantact.

FLU on the other hand is spread thru the mist from a cough and direct contact with an infected person making it much easier to pass from person to person. FLU is being passed to those around an infected person without thier knowledge.

I certainly agree that some governments are overreacting to H1N1. This still is not reason enough for me to simply blow off the fact that this is a pandemic. People should not be on the verge of panic because of H1N1 but they should prepare by doing what they can to prevent spreading or catching the virus. If they feel that wearing a mask is one of those things I would direct them to the center for disease control website, or the world health organization where they can search for the correct type of mask to wear. Those mask we have seen on TV are not the right type. If your in a country that will have a vaccine ready and you have not contracted the virus then you should get the vaccination. In the U.S. the recommendation is to be vaccinated for the normal annual flu as well as H1N1 (2 shots).

Here is the transcript from the CBS show 60 Minutes aired November 4th, 1979 concerning the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine administered to prevent a potential pandemic.

http://projectworldawareness.com/2009/07/next-time-many-more-will-die-swine-flu-vaccine/

Hello Premium,

Here are the Canada stats as of July 8th, 2009 for cases of H1N1 Virus:

9,429 confirmed cases with 37 deaths (as of July 3rd) in all of Canada

Most Provincial Cases:

Ontario: 3,464

Quebec: 2,192

Alberta: 1,176

Other influenza strains death tolls in Canada annually: 4,000 - 8,000

There have been a few hundred new cases at summer camps in Northern Ontario since July 8th, but all are reported to have been or be mild cases.

I noticed a report on TV that a case of swine flu has been identified that resembles closely the swine flu that was so deadly in the 20's or 30's. can't remember the year or decade of the past pandemic that killed millions.

H1N1 has begun to spread more rapidly with new deaths and new case reported within the past week in Florida alone. The bad part is we are just beginning a hot summer. Nothing like flu season at all.

Is the world in for shock and awe? If this thing hits hard all of us who blew a few deaths from H1N1 off may find ourselves rethinking our thoughts.

Forgive an old cynic who sees this swine flu as another in a long line of "follow the money" scams which have no provable outcomes.

If there is a true pandemic then "not enough money was spent" by the hard hearted pols. But if the outbreak is small the answer is "see what the far sighted WHO has prevented?"

I put global warming, ah, excuse me, global climate change in this category as well.