Swine Flu.

[packin-heat]

Guns dont kill, Swine flu does.
Now we have another delima to deal with here in the USA. Wheres the bail out money to combat this problem. Pretty soon we will all be wearing masks like the lone ranger, and the police wont know the good guys from the bad guys.

 

[packin-heat]

Guns dont kill, Swine flu does.
Now we have another delima to deal with here in the USA. Wheres the bail out money to combat this problem. Pretty soon we will all be wearing masks like the lone ranger, and the police wont know the good guys from the bad guys.

 

[BarbC]

On a positive note, this outbreak might even persuade California liberals to strengthen the Mexican/US border.

 

[packin-heat]

I agree.........

 

[bk43]

The border is not an issue. Just yesterday Homeland Security's Napolitano said they are screening at all entry points from Mexico and no cases of flu will get past them.

It just keeps getting better every day doesn't it.

Bob

 

[44forever]

We can't keep drugs and illegals from crossing the border, and we're going to somehow stop a virus? Yeah, riiiight.

 

[Jack Flash]

What's all the fuss about? That virus is just coming across the border to do a job that American viruses won't do.

 

[Andy W]

Originally posted by BarbC:
On a positive note, this outbreak might even persuade California liberals to strengthen the Mexican/US border.

Barb, you're assuming that Ca liberals are capable of using logic and reasoning.

 

[USAF385]

From MSN Health:

What are the symptoms of swine flu?

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of a regular flu: fever and chills, sore throat, cough, headache, body aches, and fatigue. Diarrhea and vomiting can also be present. Without a specific lab test, it is impossible to know whether you may be suffering from swine flu or another flu strain, or a different disease entirely.

What precautionary measures should I take?

The same everyday precautions that you take to prevent other contagious viruses should be used to protect yourself against swine flu. "The best current advice is for individuals to practice good hand hygiene. Periodic hand washing with soap and water, or the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when hand washing is not possible, is a good preventive measure. Also, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, as germs can more easily gain entrance into your body through those areas," suggests Rob Danoff, D.O., an MSN health expert. Covering your mouth with a disposable tissue when you cough and sneeze is also a good practice.

The CDC recommends avoiding contact with sick people and keeping your own good health in check with adequate sleep, exercise, and a nutritious diet.

What should you do if you think you are sick with swine flu?

Contact your health care professional, inform them of your symptoms, and ask whether you should be tested for swine flu. Be prepared to give details on how long you've been feeling ill and about any recent travels. Your health care provider will determine whether influenza testing or treatment is needed. If you feel sick, but are not sure what illness you may have, stay home until you have been diagnosed properly to avoid spreading any infection.

Watch for these symptoms in children. Seek emergency medical care if your child experiences any of the following warning signs:

* Fever with a rash
* Dehydration
* Fast breathing
* Bluish skin coloration
* Slow to wake or sluggish interaction
* Flu-like symptoms improve, but then return and cough worsens
* Severe irritability

For adults, emergency medical care is needed if you experience these warning signs:

* Difficulty breathing
* Dizziness
* Confusion
* Severe or persistent vomiting
* Pain or pressure in the chest or stomach

Remember that the symptoms for swine flu are almost identical to those you might experience with the regular flu. Only your doctor can give you the correct diagnosis.

Are there medicines effective in treating swine flu in humans?

The current strain of the swine flu appears to respond to the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) for those infected. For treatment, these antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within two days of the appearance of symptoms).

 

[Pasifikawv]

Originally posted by packin-heat:
Guns dont kill, Swine flu does...
Wheres the bail out money to combat this problem...

The GOP stripped flu pandemic preparedness from stimulus package. No bailout to prepare the nation against pandemic diseases. Plus, some GOPers in congress are blocking the head of Heath and Human Services from taking her post. Block funds to fight pandemic disease outbreak and keep the "health" QB on the sidelines... Politics over problem-solving. Both parties are guilty; the GOP just got caught on this one.

Here's what one GOP talking head had to say about the issue:

Karl Rove, from his perch at the Wall Street Journal, criticized the possible inclusion of "$462 million for the Centers for Disease Control, and $900 million for pandemic flu preparations." Such expenditures were, to Rove, "disturbing" and an example of President Obama's "lack of engagement and leadership."

By the time the final bill was ready, the GOP had pushed hard during the conference that settled the differences between House and Senate versions to eliminate $780 million in flu pandemic preparedness from the package.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

It is already here in Houston. At one of the prime stops on the way north from mexico, I figured it would get here quick.

My only hope is that it does convince a few folks that closing the border is a good thing.

The key problem I see is that we don't have all of the detection stuff that say China or Japan had for SARS. I remember coming into Signapore and they had full body thermal scans and nurses checking everyone before you could enter the airport terminal. Pretty impressive.

 

[bk43]

Originally posted by Pasifikawv:
The GOP stripped flu pandemic preparedness from stimulus package. No bailout to prepare the nation against pandemic diseases.

Here's a clue for you Sherlock. Contingency plans and funding for a flu pandemic were put in place by the Bush administration in 2005. That is what is being activated now by the current regime. The Annointed One's push for more funding is just another typical case of using a crisis to further their agenda.

I have no expectation that Bush will get any credit for his foresight of course.

Bob

 

[NCTexan]

My wife tells me that I'm looking like I may be coming down with it!

What do ya think???

 

[Mr. Tree]

Only one Mexican who shook hands with Obama has died ---- so far.

 

[jonnyringo]

Originally posted by Mr. Tree:
Only one Mexican who shook hands with Obama has died ---- so far.

That there was funny.

 

[Lt JL]

It's the Type A Swine Flu, which has been around a while. We already know how to make a vaccine. there are two antivirals that work. The only extraordinary thing about this one is the virus seems to spread faster. It is emminently treatable. Lots of us have probably already had a version in the 70's.

 

[gunsmith11]

Every year there a flue,,,I just can not get worried at this point

 

[guntownuncle]

Originally posted by Lt JL:
It's the Type A Swine Flu, which has been around a while. We already know how to make a vaccine. there are two antivirals that work. The only extraordinary thing about this one is the virus seems to spread faster. It is emminently treatable. Lots of us have probably already had a version in the 70's.

I wonder if some of us haven't already had some this year. I work in the Texas county were 3 kids in one school had it and they have shut down the district. Last month I missed two days of work and screwed up a weekend because I had what felt like the flu. Other people in my office have had something similar in the last month and a half. From the way they discribe it, I don't know how you would tell it from any other flu. When I have the flu I generally feel too crappy to go sit in a doctors office for two hours, so I just stay home and get better. Nobody else I know goes either. Maybe we've already had it.

 

[GatorFarmer]

I first posted about this several days ago, when it first hit the news (see page 3 or so). The death rate, for now, seems to be significantly higher than the 1918 flu pandemic which was a real mess yet only 2.5 percent of those who got it died. This flu may be 3 to 4 times as deadly. It's killing mostly otherwise healthy adults and not the elderly and infants like a typical flu.

This particular version is new/novel. The current flu vaccines do not work, nor do variants made for past swine flus. Any type of vaccine is six months off. While anti viral drugs may be of use, they aren't available in sufficient quantities for a true pandemic.

The CDC has already declared a public health emergency and the WHO has increased their pandemic level.

There's some suggestion that the death toll in Mexico is far higher (1000+) than has been reported. Serious steps are being implemented there.

Owing to the Just In Time (JIT) model of food and fuel distribution of food and goods in the United States, and the possibility for instability in Mexico to drive a horde of refugees (many of them infected) north, this bears watching.

If someone hasn't already done so, now is a good time to obtain N95 or better masks, electrolytes, bleach, and canned goods. The average U.S. hospital, even after grants from the Feds post 9/11 to ready itself for an emergency, only has sufficient gloves, masks and other basic gear for 48-72 hours of "maximum/pandemic" level use before they'll need a resupply that might or might not be available.

Wear your mask if you're out in public, or at least don't touch your nose or eyes.

 

[bk43]

Originally posted by GatorFarmer:
If someone hasn't already done so, now is a good time to obtain N95 or better masks...

Airborne transmittion is on relatively large droplet nuclei which are easily filtered by about any mask out there, even one you pick up at the hardware store to use while mowing the grass.

Do not expect those selling N95 masks at $2 to $4 a pop for swine flu to share this fact with the public.

Bob

 

[n4zov]

Just wait until the flu reaches pandemic levels in Mexico and a few million folks flood across the border to escape and/or seek treatment in U.S. hospitals. Then the fun really begins!

 

[GatorFarmer]

Originally posted by bk43:
Airborne transmittion is on relatively large droplet nuclei which are easily filtered by about any mask out there, even one you pick up at the hardware store to use while mowing the grass.

Do not expect those selling N95 masks at $2 to $4 a pop for swine flu to share this fact with the public.

Bob

2.73 for a box of two at Walmart, same as always for N95 masks. The "surgical" style non N 95 masks come in a box of 10 for the same price. That's if you get them down the medical aisle. The ones down the painting aisle actually cost more usually. Great stuff to have when sanding, working about pollen, etc.

N95 masks, or better, properly fitted are what is generally suggested for infection control and protection (of a certain level) against disease.

Shrug. The main purpose for most people is keep them from touching their mouth and nostrils with dirty and possibly contaminated hands.

 

[MR .44 Spl]

Originally posted by Lt JL:
It's the Type A Swine Flu, which has been around a while. We already know how to make a vaccine. there are two antivirals that work. The only extraordinary thing about this one is the virus seems to spread faster. It is emminently treatable. Lots of us have probably already had a version in the 70's.

If this is true, and I'm not saying it is or it isn't as I haven't done any research, it looks like the Big O is keep true to the doctirne of never letting a good crisis go to waste. I try not to be a paranoid about what the goventment is up to, but sometime they just make it too darn easy to worry. Watch for what new govenrmental controls are put into place in the name of preventing the spread of this "dread disease", and then think about how else those controls could be used. Meantime I'll just sit in the corner and mutter to myself "They're not out to get us." over and over while rocking slowly.

 

[rburg]

Recheck your number of deaths. We've had 50 confirmed cases here in the US (a first world country - for now). We've had no deaths. And common sense (where'd we find that?) says if we had the death rate of Mexico, we'd have had 3 or more. If we've confirmed 50 cases, we probably have hundreds. In Mexico, for whatever reason, the death rate has been pretty high, up over 6% last time I saw the confirmed cases and deaths attributed to it. Might be a bunch of factors involved. One is we take better care of our sick. We have a limited number of emergency rooms, but they're not overflowing with sickie's, yet.

This is the end of flu season, traditionally. Both here and in Mexico. The time to worry is about October. I would think the know-it-alls at the CDC will be pushing to include the swine flu in the soup for next fall.

How do you tell if you've got a cold, the normal strains of the flu, or the now celebrity swine flu? If you wallow in the flower garden and grunt a lot, its the new one.

 

[Bob R]

This particular strain is a lot like the great flu pandemic of 1918. It doesn't seem to kill people right away, it is after the "flu" has passed and then a second bout of flu like symptoms appear, mostly in seemingly young and healthy people, between the ages of 20 and 40.

This is known as a cytokine storm. It makes for some good reading if you want, if not, just remember the phrase if you do get the flu, get better and then get sick again.

This is from wikipedia, so there are much better articles out there about the whole process, but this will give it to you in a way that is understandable.

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

bob

 

[bk43]

N95 masks, or better, properly fitted are what is generally suggested for infection control and protection (of a certain level) against disease.

N95s are only used for Respiratory Isolation, or "this clown probably has infectious TB, batten down the hatches".

In other situations where respiratory protection is indicated, a regular isolation mask is acceptable. This is healthcare industry standard practice.

The N95 stuff is an OSHA requirement that grew out of the infectious TB scare in the early nineties. It started as OSHA HEPA workplace rules and morphed into OSHA N95 workplace rules a few years later. No real scientific basis as TB is a large rod carried by large droplet nuclei. Real easy to filter and no challenge for practically any mask.

Bob

 

[glypnir]

Interesting information wrapped in lots of politics. I think I'll go by Home depot and pick up some paint masks today.

I've already got lots of food and toilet paper.

 

[Onomea]

During the bird flu scare I had people who were afraid to travel to Asia. I observed to them that maybe 70 people worldwide, or whatever it was at that point in time, had died of bird flu. 20,000 people -- mostly elderly and infants -- die regularly of the flu in the US every year.

My feeling is that swine flu dangers are being overhyped. Better odds of getting killed in your car on the way to work, I betcha.

 

[Jack Flash]

... In Mexico, for whatever reason, the death rate has been pretty high, up over 6% last time I saw the confirmed cases and deaths attributed to it. Might be a bunch of factors involved. One is we take better care of our sick. ...

When I took a trip to Mexico in the early '70s, hygene and sanitation were practically non-existent, especially in the poorer and rural areas. Pockets of squalor here in the US looked like Beverly Hills by comparison.

Maybe it's better now. If not, then there's a reason right there.

 

[Jim Shugart]

Avoid this: