WHO plans emergency session over deadly Mexico flu outbreak

[Thor]

Don't worry its just Vaccines that infected these people.

Too soon?

[mike66]

so its called a swine flu?

__________________________________________________ _________
using free westnet wireless downtown calgary wifi, even in stampede park!!

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by AC

Just a heads up. My dad is a infectious disease specialist who was one of the doctors in charge of Alberta's SARS planning committee and he seems genuinely worried about this.

Any more specifics AC? Is it just the potential for further strains featuring more dangerous arsenals that is cause for concern? Is there something specific about this strain (beyond what we know from these articles) that throws up red flags?

I only ask because the article I linked to said something about this strain not being overly dangerous in terms of potential of pandemic. (I don't doubt your dad at all, btw!)

hmm... here it is:

The news is not cause for widespread panic, but people at risk -- those who live in or have traveled to the areas where patients live, or have been in contact with pigs -- should watch out for symptoms and get tested if they occur, Short said.

The three criteria for a pandemic are a new virus to which everybody is susceptible, the ability to spread from person to person readily, and the capability to cause significant disease in humans, said Dr. Jay Steinberg, infectious disease specialist at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. The new strain of swine flu only meets one of these criteria: its novelty.

[AC]

Originally Posted by OBCT

Any more specifics AC? Is it just the potential for further strains featuring more dangerous arsenals that is cause for concern? Is there something specific about this strain (beyond what we know from these articles) that throws up red flags?

I only ask because the article I linked to said something about this strain not being overly dangerous in terms of potential of pandemic. (I don't doubt your dad at all, btw!)

I'll find out tomorrow. All I know is he picked up a naval reserve's worth of flu antibiotics.

[Phanuthier]

Hm. .

[firebug]

If I remember correctly, I believe the 'Spanish Flu' of 1918 was a type of swine flu.

Killed many more people than the war did, and frequently killed the young and vigorous rather the the elderly.

Good times for sure.

~firebug

[NuclearFart]

There's a rumour of two cases that came into St. Pauls (Vancouver) last night. Two travellers who just flew back from Mexico, pretty much went straight from airport to the hospital.

[Bagor]

So am I right in presuming from the articles that it's transmitted both by touch and airbourne?

Or is this just a complete precautionary approach and they're not sure yet?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Bagor

So am I right in presuming from the articles that it's transmitted both by touch and airbourne?

Or is this just a complete precautionary approach and they're not sure yet?

WHO guy on CNN said it appears to be transmitted the same as a normal flu virus.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by fotze

Sounds like an immediate symptoms thing. If I've been back for a week and a half I should be fine eh?

Yup. Unless you're like Typhoid Mary...

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by fotze

Sounds like an immediate symptoms thing. If I've been back for a week and a half I should be fine eh?

Probably, but... I ain't kissing you.


(not making that mistake again.)

[AC]

Apologies for the brevity of this response, but my dad was in the process of leaving for the Neil Young concert when I asked him.

He said that because the flu is a new/mixed strain, we really have little to no immunity from it. In addition, there's a risk of hypersensitivity to it (though I didn't catch the reason why), which basically results in the risk of an allergic reaction of sorts to it.

He's recommending getting a flu shot in the off chance that it will help protect against this strain, though it's unknown if this is the case yet.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by AC

Apologies for the brevity of this response, but my dad was in the process of leaving for the Neil Young concert when I asked him.

He said that because the flu is a new/mixed strain, we really have little to no immunity from it. In addition, there's a risk of hypersensitivity to it (though I didn't catch the reason why), which basically results in the risk of an allergic reaction of sorts to it.

He's recommending getting a flu shot in the off chance that it will help protect against this strain, though it's unknown if this is the case yet.

That's interesting. It's always good to hear specific, honest thoughts from experts in the field. Will be listening closely to the results of the battery of tests they're performing as they are released.

In the meantime, I'ma gonna rethink my stance on influenza vaccines. Maybe they're more beneficial than I gave them credit for. [See the Jim Carrey vaccines thread for context.]

[Cowboy89]

Even here in Calgary authorities are taking this very seriously. My roomate was feeling ill this week and he called the health 411 number and described his symptoms. He mentioned that he did some work with Mexicans last Friday. They rushed him in an ambulance and put him in the quarentine in foothills last night for testing and observation. Turns out he was just fatigued, but they gave him the whole "outbreak" treatment.

[Tower]

Originally Posted by AC

Apologies for the brevity of this response, but my dad was in the process of leaving for the Neil Young concert when I asked him.

He said that because the flu is a new/mixed strain, we really have little to no immunity from it. In addition, there's a risk of hypersensitivity to it (though I didn't catch the reason why), which basically results in the risk of an allergic reaction of sorts to it.

He's recommending getting a flu shot in the off chance that it will help protect against this strain, though it's unknown if this is the case yet.

Which flu vaccine... Isn't there about 120 different strains? So wouldn't you need all of them?

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Tower

Which flu vaccine... Isn't there about 120 different strains? So wouldn't you need all of them?

I don't think it matters. Isn't a flu vaccine giving you the "skeleton" or the 5 most common flu's, except the virus's (?) are dead?

[Tower]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

I don't think it matters. Isn't a flu vaccine giving you the "skeleton" or the 5 most common flu's, except the virus's (?) are dead?

Well, the dead viruses didn't work. That is why all the toxic chemicals are put into the mix. It keeps them preserved and weak for when you are injected. That way your body can fight it without the virus winning and your immune system then knows how to defeat the strand in the future. Now if you are injected with 5 viruses at once. I'm pretty sure your body would be pretty taxed and weak.

"The most common human vaccine is the trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) that contains purified and inactivated material from three viral strains. Typically, this vaccine includes material from two influenza A virus subtypes and one influenza B virus strain." From Wiki.

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by fotze

Oh ya, he sounds like he's shaking in his boots, all the way to the concert. You didn't see any of the doctors in Outbreak going to a concert mid-movie.

I dunno. These outbreaks tend to hit the geriatic population first and hardest. So, monitoring the Neil Young concert totally makes sense.

[Flamesoholic]

I work in health care here in Calgary and we are taking this VERY seriously. This flu has already killed 81 people in Mexico, and 11 in the U.S. WHO has said that it is "a public health emergency of international concern" with "pandemic potential."

[HotHotHeat]

Pig flus don't scare me, unless it's from a spidypig.