Swine Flu hype....brought to you by TAMAFLU!

[Tmy]

Whos got the most to gain by this flu hype. The drug companies of course. They are talking about the US having enough tamaflu for every american. CHING CHING!!

Talk about hype. The flu kills all sorts of people every year. But the press doesnt cover every case. Now give a cool name like "swine flu", start it up in a 3rd world country like Mexico, and you are good to go!! That will easily get into the US and cause everyone to freak out.

And here I thought the killer bees would kill us all! Turns out it was the killer mexican pot bellied pig!

 

[Erigena]

Whos got the most to gain by this flu hype. The drug companies of course. They are talking about the US having enough tamaflu for every american. CHING CHING!!

Talk about hype. The flu kills all sorts of people every year. But the press doesnt cover every case. Now give a cool name like "swine flu", start it up in a 3rd world country like Mexico, and you are good to go!! That will easily get into the US and cause everyone to freak out.

And here I thought the killer bees would kill us all! Turns out it was the killer mexican pot bellied pig!

There's another thread about this and I am really surprised that people are buying into the media frenzy. An epidemic is an unusual number of cases in a particular area, so I will accept the 152 cases in Mexico as an epidemic because most of the cases appeared within a particular region. It is not a pandemic outbreak, however, as there were two cases in California and 2 in New York. When you compare the population of those states to the number of cases, it doesn't even qualify as an epidemic at this point. As with any other influenza, those who are at a high risk are young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. Every flu season people die from complications related to it, but they are generally people who are at a high risk prior to being infected.

 

[Cl1mh4224rd]

...as there were two cases in California and 2 in New York.

While it's not nearly as bad in the U.S. as in Mexico, it's a bit more than you think: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...l=31.952162,-86.835937&spn=165.231056,360&z=2

 

[AndrewIlluminatus]

Talk about hype. The flu kills all sorts of people every year. But the press doesnt cover every case. Now give a cool name like "swine flu", start it up in a 3rd world country like Mexico, and you are good to go!! That will easily get into the US and cause everyone to freak out.

And here I thought the killer bees would kill us all! Turns out it was the killer mexican pot bellied pig!

The Daily Show was funny on people freaking out.

 

[Erigena]

While it's not nearly as bad in the U.S. as in Mexico, it's a bit more than you think: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...l=31.952162,-86.835937&spn=165.231056,360&z=2

I agree, as I said, in Mexico it qualifies as an epidemic based on the parameters with which an epidemic is categorized. It's possible I didn't make my point very well, but it was that it is not a pandemic or global epidemic at this juncture the way the media is portraying it.

 

[Erigena]

The Daily Show was funny on people freaking out.

We can always count on the Daily Show to put things in perspective.

 

[rwguinn]

There's another thread about this and I am really surprised that people are buying into the media frenzy. An epidemic is an unusual number of cases in a particular area, so I will accept the 152 cases in Mexico as an epidemic because most of the cases appeared within a particular region. It is not a pandemic outbreak, however, as there were two cases in California and 2 in New York. When you compare the population of those states to the number of cases, it doesn't even qualify as an epidemic at this point. As with any other influenza, those who are at a high risk are young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. Every flu season people die from complications related to it, but they are generally people who are at a high risk prior to being infected.

Boy, howdy.
Don't let skeptigirl an mattusmaximus hear you say that!
See what happened when I mentioned that the number of cases (less than 300 coinfirmed worldwide at the time) did not a pandemic make.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=4659858#post4659858
I got my ass chewed, reamed, and was informed that Purdue University and the Dictionary were not the authorities on definitions!
It's a pandemic if one person can give it to another person, and its a flu virus. Why did I not see that? It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!

 

[SRW]

Is it Tamaflu or these guys? http://preview.tinyurl.com/cdby33

Their advice seem a little off:

Our advice regarding Swine flu is that your best protection against disease comes from looking after your health generally and taking simple common-sense preventative measures. There are a number of vitamin and mineral supplements and herbal remedies that will help to boost the immune system...

Isn't that bad advice? Most deaths from this disease are people with healthy immune systems, which go into overdrive to combat the infection.

 

[Tandem Thinking]

Whos got the most to gain by this flu hype. The drug companies of course. They are talking about the US having enough tamaflu for every american. CHING CHING!!

Talk about hype. The flu kills all sorts of people every year. But the press doesnt cover every case. Now give a cool name like "swine flu", start it up in a 3rd world country like Mexico, and you are good to go!! That will easily get into the US and cause everyone to freak out.

And here I thought the killer bees would kill us all! Turns out it was the killer mexican pot bellied pig!

While I agree that the press (in general) is being overly dramatic with the virus, I don't think it's a good comparison with other types of influenza that kill people every year.


[Layman Understanding]Since this new virus is something humans haven't typically come into contact with and appears to be very contagious, the worry is that it has the potential to cause many deaths. Of course, if everyone just acts like they're supposed to during flu season (wash your hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze, etc.) then you can prevent yourself from getting sick.[/Layman Understanding]

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

The name sucks, I don't want to be killed by a pig virus! I think they should've named it the STX II NanoVirus. No reason, it's just really cool sounding.

 

[Praktik]

The name sucks, I don't want to be killed by a pig virus! I think they should've named it the STYX II NanoVirus. No reason, it's just really cool sounding.

I just made it 10x cooler!

 

[Tandem Thinking]

I just made it 10x cooler!

I couldn't agree more, we need to submit our findings to the CDC so we can finally get a properly named virus to wipe out humanity with.

 

[SRW]

I couldn't agree more, we need to submit our findings to the CDC so we can finally get a properly named virus to wipe out humanity with.

APNVTWOHW

a
properly
named
virus
to
wipe
out
humanity
with.

Needs some work...

 

[dudalb]

APNVTWOHW

a
properly
named
virus
to
wipe
out
humanity
with.

Needs some work...

Easy.....Captain Trips.
Works for Stephan King, works for me.

 

[Thunder]

all i am going to say is, the normal everyday flu kills around 300,000 Americans every year. this porky flu, has killed 1 American.

food for thought.

 

[aviolet4u]

all i am going to say is, the normal everyday flu kills around 300,000 Americans every year. this porky flu, has killed 1 American.

food for thought.

wow how is it that high a number?

yeah that 1 American was a 22 month old child. I can't imagine what the parents are going through :-(

 

[Thunder]

wow how is it that high a number?

it just is. Google "America influenze deaths 2008". more then 250,000 americans died from the flu last year alone.

 

[applecorped]

all i am going to say is, the normal everyday flu kills around 300,000 Americans every year. this porky flu, has killed 1 American.

food for thought.

Pork?

 

[Robster FCD]

Well, if its Captain Trips and Randall Flagg you are thinking of, you may enjoy some vintage Anthrax.

And the lyrics for Among the Living

Disease! disease! spreading the disease.
With some help from captain trips,
Hell bring the world down to his knees.
Power, yes power! hell show them all his power.
It pulses through his ice cold blood,
A whole world to devour!
Bridgehes seeing, hes calling, his legacy hes spawning.
Hes coming, corrupting, among the living!
Murder! murder! commit cold blooded murder!
Like nazis during world war two, they only follow orders.
Hatred! hatred! a crucifix is your bed,
Once he turns his eye on you, youll be better off dead!

Im the walkin dude, I can see all the world!
Twist your minds with fear, Im the man with the power.
Among the living, follow me or die!
Man, fights man! divided they cant stand!
United, they can battle back, and make him force his hand!
Fear, yes fear! his end is growing near,
He didnt count on mans good faith,
And their will to persevere.

Follow me or die!
Fire! hot fire!! purge the world with fire!!
Damnation is the price hell pay, for an evil mans desire!
Good, versus evil! the stand to vanquish evil!
Man can only live one way, that place right in the middle.

Follow me or die!
Among among among among among among
Among among among among among among!

 

[gumboot]

it just is. Google "America influenze deaths 2008". more then 250,000 americans died from the flu last year alone.

Er... it's only 35,000 for the USA. The global toll each year is 250,000 to 500,000.

 

[Thunder]

Er... it's only 35,000 for the USA. The global toll each year is 250,000 to 500,000.

yup...you are correct sir. 35,000 a year in the USA.