Another flu pandemic. Are you kidding me!?

[nova18]

If they start charging for immunisation then Im probably going to skip it.
Im healthy as it is and as far as I can tell, even this "mutated swine flue virus" is only doing damage to people with underlying ailments.

But if they offer the public free shots then I'll get it.
Why?
Because it will be one less thing that can kill me in a world where MOST things can kill me.

 

[Finnboghi]

it is all media fearmongering,

Why can't we all just live in totalitarian government-controlled newspaper states? We'd stop getting panic-inducing news for a start! We would be told how, for once, absolutely everything is going right! This is perfect!

No, Akjay is right.

The news isn't about information anymore, it's about entertainment and getting the most viewers.

If one station claims to know more about how dangerous something is than the other stations, it's going to get a lot more viewers.

OT, the reason H1N1 is a 'pandemic' is because our bodies don't recognize it; they don't have a ready-made battle plan.

But, just like every other virus we encounter every single day we figure out how to make the correct antibodies, and kill it.

Unfortunately, the very old and those with significant health problems (such as something as simple as low blood pressure or diminished white blood cell count) aren't able to kill the virus, and it slowly destroys their system. (All virii do this. If left completely unchecked, any virus will kill you, because of how they reproduce; infecting cells and changing their genetic coding to cause them to produce more of the virus until they literally explode because they're so packed with the little critters, each of which then infects another cell and the cycle repeats.)

 

[asinann]

H1N1 is the Swine Flu, OP...

H1N1 is the general designation for the flu. Period.

That said, the flu in 1918 was really light and killed few people in the early flu season, then came back and killed millions in the late flu season (sept-jan.)

 

[Gerazzi]

Another flu pandemic thread. Are you kidding me!?

Scare tactics, ahoy!

 

[Blanks]

Swine mutated i guess?

 

[asinann]

Yy...yyyaaaaAAAWN!

I think that AIDS has killed more people than the influenza.

http://www.yale.edu/yaw/world.html aids related deaths per year (aids itself has yet to kill anyone, they usually die of something like the flu or pneumonia because they have no immune system to fight it.)

http://www.theblogofrecord.com/2009/04/28/regular-flu-kills-36000-americans-every-year/

And for the flu.

Aids related per year: 800,000
Flu deaths: 250,000-500,000
Some of those cross over (the flu can kill someone with aids easily.)

I don't think aids has been around long enough to catch up with the flu yet though, and it won't for a long time.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

On topic here, my country, the UK, boasts of being the most thoroughly prepared for this. This really confuses me, as apparently our medical system is "slowly dying and will soon be burning in the depths of medical system hell".

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

No, Akjay is right.

The news isn't about information anymore, it's about entertainment and getting the most viewers.

If one station claims to know more about how dangerous something is than the other stations, it's going to get a lot more viewers.

OT, the reason H1N1 is a 'pandemic' is because our bodies don't recognize it; they don't have a ready-made battle plan.

But, just like every other virus we encounter every single day we figure out how to make the correct antibodies, and kill it.

Unfortunately, the very old and those with significant health problems (such as something as simple as low blood pressure or diminished white blood cell count) aren't able to kill the virus, and it slowly destroys their system. (All virii do this. If left completely unchecked, any virus will kill you, because of how they reproduce; infecting cells and changing their genetic coding to cause them to produce more of the virus until they literally explode because they're so packed with the little critters, each of which then infects another cell and the cycle repeats.)

Would it scare you if I told you I was actually being serious? I don't like the newspapers. They annoy me. I'd prefer optimistic ones at the very least, and maybe just one specialised one for everyone who wants to read terrible things all the time.

 

[Goldbling]

swine flu is not deadly, its just the fact in mexico had really bad living conditions and i refuse to here any more about this

Why all the deaths in countries with great living conditions then.....?

Like China right? Jk, I live in Texas and there was a baby that died from it in Newbrownsville or Brownsville, whatever, she was from Mexico and had H1N1. I heard some people in Canada...

 

[walkingdead127]

Oh no only 98% of people with it will live how will humanity survive.

 

[Mad Maniac with axe-firing chainsaw]

I'll add in some official statistics I heard on the news.

Normal flu: 1 death out of 1000 cases.
Swine flu: 5 deaths out of 1000 cases.
Spanish flu: 20 deaths out of 1000 cases.

Now, normally flu isn't considered that dangerous, but it still kills people, particularly the old or young. However, Spanish flu was considered to be a major killer, and indeed, did kill millions during its height. Swine flu's fatality sits at about a quarter of Spanish flu. So while it is dangerous, its not a threat of plague standards.

Very unlucky people will die of this, but this is not going to turn into the plague, or even Spanish flu. Its serious alright, but don't start preparing for the apocalypse. However, if you do get flu symptoms contact a doctor immediately. (Yeah I know I'm stating the obvious.)

 

[Finnboghi]

No, Akjay is right.

The news isn't about information anymore, it's about entertainment and getting the most viewers.

If one station claims to know more about how dangerous something is than the other stations, it's going to get a lot more viewers.

OT, the reason H1N1 is a 'pandemic' is because our bodies don't recognize it; they don't have a ready-made battle plan.

But, just like every other virus we encounter every single day we figure out how to make the correct antibodies, and kill it.

Unfortunately, the very old and those with significant health problems (such as something as simple as low blood pressure or diminished white blood cell count) aren't able to kill the virus, and it slowly destroys their system. (All virii do this. If left completely unchecked, any virus will kill you, because of how they reproduce; infecting cells and changing their genetic coding to cause them to produce more of the virus until they literally explode because they're so packed with the little critters, each of which then infects another cell and the cycle repeats.)

Would it scare you if I told you I was actually being serious? I don't like the newspapers. They annoy me. I'd prefer optimistic ones at the very least, and maybe just one specialised one for everyone who wants to read terrible things all the time.

It would not.

The idea is interesting.

Although I don't think news that was always good is necessarily wise; I just think news which is balanced, educational, and which presents both sides in a fair, unbiased and straightforward manner would be a refreshing change to the fear-mongering, ratings-hunting rabble we have now.

 

[bob-2000]

3. Swine Flu's not crap, it's killed people.

Yeah? Normal flu has killed people. If you're relatively healthy, you will recover from swine flu no problem. It's not even any more dangerous than, say, stomach flu.

yea, the normal flu kills way more people yearly then the Swine Flu. This fear mongering shit is really pissing me off.

 

[Abedeus]

Yy...yyyaaaaAAAWN!

I think that AIDS has killed more people than the influenza.

http://www.yale.edu/yaw/world.html aids related deaths per year (aids itself has yet to kill anyone, they usually die of something like the flu or pneumonia because they have no immune system to fight it.)

http://www.theblogofrecord.com/2009/04/28/regular-flu-kills-36000-americans-every-year/

And for the flu.

Aids related per year: 800,000
Flu deaths: 250,000-500,000
Some of those cross over (the flu can kill someone with aids easily.)

I don't think aids has been around long enough to catch up with the flu yet though, and it won't for a long time.

I know that AIDS doesn't kill, it makes regular cold and flu kill. But they wouldn't kill without the AIDS.

I'm just saying that AIDS is a bit harder to catch if you know what you're doing and it STILL kills more people that the influenza.