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Swine flu now a "full-scale pandemic"

1337m4n

Alphanumeric Anonymous Stick Man
1337m4n
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/06/11/DI2009061102547.html

The World Health Organization today declared the global outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus to be in Phase 6 -- a full-scale pandemic. The announcement essentially warns WHO's 194 member nations to expect the arrival of the new flu strain, which is likely to infect up to one-third of the population in the first wave and return in later waves over the next several years.
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This disease has killed how many people so far?
 
Read up the definition of pandemic used by the WHO. It does not rely on lethality but on spread.

They should have raised this to level 6 over a month ago but did not want to cause panic.
 
I've survived the Anthrax Scare of '01, the SARS Plague of '03, and now I'm probably going to survive the Piggy Pandemic of '09.

Perhaps not something to joke about until we know what will happen when a large percentage of people fall ill.
 
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It is quite serious because if this strain mutates slightly it could turn into a mass killer and it has show itself to spread quite well considering the time it hit. Also there is no vaccine. And if it is still around when regular flu season hits (almost guaranteed) there will be plenty of chances for it to mutate into something much more severe and even more contagious. Remember that is similar to how the 1918 pandemic started. A spatter of mild cases in the off season followed by a mass killer.
 
The more it spreads the greater chance it has to have it mutate, and possibly mutate into something more dangerous.

1918 is a good example of this, where the flu appeared in the spring but no one too much notice, then it came back in the fall and killed tens of millions of people world wide.

At this point it could go either way, however, we should prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
 
The announcement of it becoming a pandemic has garnered far less media attention than the first actual death in the U.S from the virus. Right now it's much more important to analyze and dissect a joke that David Letterman told. Ye gods.
 
ChrisC said:
I've survived the Anthrax Scare of '01, the SARS Plague of '03, and now I'm probably going to survive the Piggy Pandemic of '09.
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T'would really be a shame to slip and break your noggin before you even had the chance to give it a test drive, right? Take care...
 
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1337m4n said:
This disease has killed how many people so far?
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95, exactly, many unexpectedly young, but as Pax pointed out it's not how many but how wide. 48 countries, according to the CDC (57 reported elsewhere, CDC site seems to be a little behind): http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm , and every state, including DC and Puerto Rico: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_27a/en/index.html ; in other words, it's in a location near you. Not too shabby for an infection detected 22 weeks ago in Mexico City, during an off-season. Those who shrug may want to reconsider. It's not the Black Death, but it's not a head cold, either.
 
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shadron said:
T'would really be a shame to slip and break your noggin before you even had the chance to give it a test drive, right? Take care...
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Oh ow. Burn. :rolleyes:
Yes, it was an inappropriate joke, but so what? I'm quite aware of the seriousness of a flu pandemic. Perhaps it's my way of dealing with the fact that I actually find it somewhat frightening.

This is my official apology for offending anyone offended. Sorry.
 
I wasn't offended by your tasteless joke. But I am offended by the use of the obsolete term 'swine flu'. Pigs are still good to eat, if you wash them first.
 
shadron said:
One bad joke deserves another, as my sainted mom says.
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We can certainly agree on that. No hard feelings. I realize that a lot of people are (rightfully) concerned about the potential impact this could will have and it's probably a pretty touchy thing to make light of.
 
shadron said:
95, exactly, many unexpectedly young, but as Pax pointed out it's not how many but how wide. 48 countries, according to the CDC (57 reported elsewhere, CDC site seems to be a little behind): http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm , and every state, including DC and Puerto Rico: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_27a/en/index.html ; in other words, it's in a location near you. Not too shabby for an infection detected 22 weeks ago in Mexico City, during an off-season. Those who shrug may want to reconsider. It's not the Black Death, but it's not a head cold, either.
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who.org says 144 dead and 28,774 infected in 74 countries as of yesterday. The deaths are almost exclusively located on the American continent, with the vast majority in Mexico.
 
PogoPedant said:
who.org says 144 dead and 28,774 infected in 74 countries as of yesterday. The deaths are almost exclusively located on the American continent, with the vast majority in Mexico.
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And despite the reporting (and some ChickenLittles), having more to do with insufficient medical treatment or other conditions and not the inherent lethality of the disease itself.
 
Just think. The flu virus can practice on Australians and other countries in the southern hemisphere over winter and then have the real deal in the new year in the northern hemisphere. I hope you have your plans for dealing with a major infectious disease ready.

Then the virus will leave Australia alone as we are immune to it from the this year.

I only hope I am wrong. I fail to see why any other flu virus could not mutate into something deadly. Yet they have not. At least not since 1918.
 
Tens of thousands die from influenza every year (often with secondary pneumonia infections). What makes this strain so different from previous ones?
 
Policenaut said:
It is quite serious because if this strain mutates slightly it could turn into a mass killer and it has show itself to spread quite well considering the time it hit. Also there is no vaccine. And if it is still around when regular flu season hits (almost guaranteed) there will be plenty of chances for it to mutate into something much more severe and even more contagious. Remember that is similar to how the 1918 pandemic started. A spatter of mild cases in the off season followed by a mass killer.
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CSL is currently testing a vaccine, it should be ready within a month.
 
lionking said:
Tens of thousands die from influenza every year (often with secondary pneumonia infections). What makes this strain so different from previous ones?
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It is new and not a mutation of a prior one?
It appeared in spring and is still going on in summer?
It had some markers that led investigators to suspect virulence?
No vaccines produced protect against this strain?
There was no known native immunity to this strain?

Now we know that not all of this is true actually. There is some resistance seen in folk over 50years old for some reason. Perhaps it shares some similarities to a prior strain that appeared decades ago. Antivirals are pretty effective against this strain.
 
lionking said:
Tens of thousands die from influenza every year (often with secondary pneumonia infections). What makes this strain so different from previous ones?
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What makes it different is the rate it has spread, the danger doesn't lie in its current lethality, what is worrying is if it mutates into something that IS more lethal.

Imagine a flue that is highly lethal and spreads across the world in 22 weeks.
 
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