SCI: THE official swineflu thread

[Okie Medicvet]

Just thought I would make it official, that way there is one place for it, and if others want to know what the latest developments are they can come here.

I will start out with the press briefing from the CDC..this mad me sit up and take notice, and the rest of the story can be found at the link at the bottom.

Dan Jernigan: Oh, yeah, throughout the summer, yeah. So there are a couple things. One is that we normally don't do the type of surveillance that we do right now during the summer. We have systems that continue to monitor for viruses through the summer. And we find very low levels of influenza. And in the past we've attributed that to influenza that has been introduced from the southern hemisphere, or might be in small pockets of disease in the U.S. But generally during the summer, very low levels of activity. The fact that we're seeing ongoing transmission now indicates there is something different. And we believe that that may have to do with the complete lack of immunity to this particular virus among those that are most likely affected. And those are children. The areas of the country that are most affected, some of them have very high population densities, like Boston and New York. So that may be a contributor as well. Plus the temperature in that part of the country is cooler, and we know that influenza appears to like the cooler times of the year for making transmission for effective.

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090618.htm


more 'paranoid rantings' can be found here: http://market-ticker.denninger.net/a...-Rantings.html

[Infotainment]

I think we've had two people die in Boston from the Swine Flu... given the fact there's at least a couple hundred thousand kids in the boston metro area, I don't find that too bad. This is the next big thing that people will hype up that will kill us all and end up killing nearly no one.

[NoGravitas]

Latest devlopment: SWINE FLU IS STILL BEING DECLARED A PANDEMIC DESPITE CAUSING NO PANIC AND KILLING A STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE!

Seriously people need to learn not to fall for the media over dramatising this kind of shit.

[Okie Medicvet]

I think the time will come in the near future when people will be upset and wonder why they weren't told how bad swineflu was so they could take precautions and will blame everyone but themselves. What we are seeing is the beginning of something really bad.

and here is some of the latest news..this is NOT going away:

Swine Flu Dominates in U.S. Where 98% Test Positive

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu is responsible for about 98 percent of the influenza cases tested in the U.S., overshadowing other strains in a population with little natural resistance to the new virus, a U.S. study found.
The new flu, H1N1, is widespread across 11 states and circulating in parts of 19 others, according to a report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists presented today in Atlanta. The number of seasonal flu cases has declined as swine flu spread after it was first identified in April.
Scientists have used laboratory tests to confirm 27,715 cases of swine flu in the U.S., and as many as 1 million people may have been sick and not had testing, the CDC said. Widespread flu is unusual in the U.S. at this time of the year.
“We’re all tightening our belts -- there isn’t anybody that does not anticipate that we’re going to be dealing with this virus in a serious way this fall and winter,” said William Schaffner, an influenza expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, in an interview at the conference.
A swine flu vaccine may not be available until mid-October, and health officials are trying to figure the best way to distribute a two-shot immunization, Schaffner said. The seasonal flu shot will be available as early as August, he said.
No Decline
“So far it doesn’t look like transmission is declining at all,” Lyn Finelli, a flu researcher at the CDC, said today in a presentation.
Swine flu hasn’t shown resistance to Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu or GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Relenza, antiviral medicines that lessen the severity of the disease when administered in the first few days. Last flu season, about 95 percent of the seasonal H1N1 virus was resistant to Tamiflu.
Flu season in the U.S. typically lasts from November through March, according to the CDC. The seasonal virus strikes 5 percent to 15 percent of the population and kills 250,000 to 500,000 people a year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aJgM8Q9Incs8

[Okie Medicvet]

New York City swine flu case tally could be as high as 500,000, CDC says


New research estimates that half a million New Yorkers have been infected by swine flu - casting doubts on the city's claim that transmission of the H1N1 virus has declined.
The alarming data was released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimated there have been 50 times more cases nationwide than have been reported to health authorities.
"We're saying that there have been at least a million cases of the new H1N1 virus so far this year in the United States," said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"Reported cases are really just the tip of the iceberg."
"City health officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday. Schuchat added that the number of infected Americans may actually be higher than 1 million.
The CDC study was not based on laboratory evidence.
Instead, researchers relied on mathematical modelling of surveys conducted in areas, like New York City, that have had high levels of H1N1 infections.
There have been about 28,000 confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) strain nationwide. Roughly 3,000 people have been hospitalized due to the strain, with 127 reported deaths.
In New York City, there were 804 recorded hospitalizations and 32 deaths attributed to swine flu as of June 23, the most recent date for which data was available on the city Health Department's Web site.
On June 12, the city Health Department issued a statement that said H1N1 transmission appeared to be on the decline, since lower numbers of people were showing up at hospital emergency rooms with flu-like illness.
The new CDC study suggests that swine flu infections are far higher than reported cases.
The CDC study found that 6.9% of city residents had flu-like illness during a three-week period in May.
Based on virologic testing, the researchers "knew that most of that influenza-like illness was based on this new H1N1 strain," Schuchat said.
"And from that," Schuchat continued, "they estimated that around half a million New York City residents may have been infected with this new virus and had flu-like illness without necessarily seeking care."
Schuchat echoed a previous warning that the new swine flu bug could come back in a more severe form during the fall flu season.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/06/27/2009-06-27_new_york_city_swine_flu_case_tally_could_be_as_ high_as_500000_cdc_says.html#ixzz0JgELnMRm&D

[Genius]

You're the only person who has even the slightest giveafuck about this. I get way more pissed at the media when they tell me thousands will die, and then no one does. I'm actually pretty happy with the way they handled this one, compared to West Nile-Avian Flu-Mad Cow-MRSA-SARS-Killer Bees.

[nothingman]

Originally Posted by Okie Medicvet

I think the time will come in the near future when people will be upset and wonder why they weren't told how bad swineflu was so they could take precautions and will blame everyone but themselves. What we are seeing is the beginning of something really bad.

and here is some of the latest news..this is NOT going away:



http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aJgM8Q9Incs8

I agree with Okie on this one, simply put, better safe than sorry. The fact that some people have died from this is proof enough for me that it is an issue.

[Satan]

Swine flu is so last month.

[WET HOT MESS]

GODDAMNIT OKIE

[hatepoppy]

this conversation's been...Dead! on! arrival!

[VoxAngelikus]

Wake me up when someone here gets Swine Flu and can add something factual to the conversation.

[NoGravitas]

Originally Posted by nothingman

I agree with Okie on this one, simply put, better safe than sorry. The fact that some people have died from this is proof enough for me that it is an issue.

Probably more people have been killed by allergic reactions to peanuts than swine flu since it first showed up. Are peanuts an issue? No. Ill only dignify a disease with the term "pandemic" when i see fucking rage zombies running down my street.