Has flu paranoia hit your area?

[BIG_DADDY]

I have had 3 people hand me flyers this weekend on flu shots. I'm like "I don't get sick" then they try to talk me into getting them anyway. Then I get all loud about not wanting to put that crap inside of me and they get all mad.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Cochise

How does the state of sanitation in 2006 differ from 1917?

What sorts of countries currently experience the most influenza deaths per cap?

I remember hearing in the late 80s/early 90s that AIDS was going to mutate and become airborne, and also that it was going to become pandemic here. But the reality is, that people in the United States who don't engage in high risk behaviors are not at high risk.

Color me skeptical.

When it starts affecting average, healthy, non-elderly or non-infantile people in first world countries then I will be scared of eleventy billion people in the world dying including me. Until then, it will still sound like hysteria over nothing to me. If I were elderly or had an infant child I might be scared and rioting for vaccinations.

oh, that's just the crux--sanitation is worlds better than it was in 1917... however, our ability to spread an infection over large areas of population is MUCH more dangerous than it was in 1917... in 1917, one could only get from europe to america via ship which took several weeks--in several HOURS now, a guy who's infected with virus A (fictional virus for this example), he could have flown from southeast asia, infected about ten people onboard, and infected 10% of the people he comes in contact with via sneezes/etc... by the time he's at his american destination (or in the hospital ER), he's already infected at LEAST a 20-30 people (conservative estimate)

and THOSE people infect another 20-30 people each

all of the sudden, even if THOSE people don't catch another airline or drive somewhere, you've got a MAJOR outbreak on your hands--even worse if it infects stew people (airline steward/esses--supposedly how HIV ran rampant in early 80's)

that's the whole issue with the next pandemic--history tells us that there's generally a major pandemic (be it flu or another virus/bacterium) every century or so--we're due, honestly... and the problem with our sanitation is that even if we have the BEST sanitation in the world, if you dump a few thousand corpses into the best hospital and overwhelm the doctors/nurses of the hospital, they won't be able to contain the infection via the safe 'barrior' methods of quarantine

so all of the sudden, you're going to hell in a handbasket whether it's flu or another virus/bacteria--I've talked with jimnasium about this before (he's the resident public health expert, I'm merely a student)--when it really comes down to it, there's absolutely NO defense against the 'perfect storm'--you do what you CAN do, protect the very young and very old

that's basically where 1917 differentiated from other flu strains--it didn't just run roughshod through the elderly and extremely young, it ran rampant in the 'young adult' and 'middle aged' people--which is what they're afraid Avian flu will do if/when it ever comes

jeesh--sorry for the encyclopedia, this is just a subject (public health) that I'm passionate about

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Apparently H5N1 doesn't understand sarcasm. I have noticed people who get the vaccines tend to just be sicker people in general which may explain their need to get one. As an example I have one guy in my office who is getting the vaccine. He is out sick today. I am going to guess he is out sick 10 days this year, that's about normal for him. I have never taken off a sick day since we started this company.

and apparently big daddy doesn't understand it either--that post was TIC (tongue in cheek)--

you have to remember, I'm in college to go INTO the public health field (hopefully CDC one day)-- you can find examples of people who never get sick a day in their lives whether they have vaccines or not

and you can find examples of people who don't have the vaccines who are sick all of the time--

it's like anything else--you can use the statistics to prove whatever you want in the end

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

The CDC.

http://thinktwice.com/cdc_2001.pdf

2001 stats?? get new info, dude

it's like AIDS

technically, AIDS doesn't kill you--it opens up your immune system so that other infections (called opportunistic infections) can kill you from something as simple as pneumonia

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

What happened to the bird epidemic that was going to the hit the US and wipe out the entire population like the meteors did to the dinosaurs?

Something to ponder over:

In 2003 per the CDC there were 1,792 influenza deaths.
In 2004 per the CDC there were 1,265 influenza deaths.

2004 was the year of the shortage and not everyone that wanted the vaccine was able to get it. If there was a shortage and fewer people vaccinated, why was there a 30% reduction in fatalities?

the upcoming (if/when it ever comes--though as I said before, we ARE due) flu pandemic is like a ticking time bomb--the most obvious flu strain to fear is called, aptly, H5N1--those influenza deaths are NOT deaths caused by H5N1--those are other substrains of the influenza virus

it's like saying 'the chiefs are gonna win the super bowl' and putting our hopes on it every year--we know (HOPE) that one day it'll happen, but if the easter bunny don't come, we're obviously out in the dark/dissapointed

mark my words--we're due for a major pandemic--are we ready to handle it? I don't know for certain--if things go our way, we might be able to keep it from being a 'global' killer like black death or the 1917 flu pandemic--

if it comes unexpectedly because we DIDN'T PREPARE because people like you and BD think it's reeruned to prepare, we're fucked

[Fish]

Originally Posted by H5N1

the upcoming (if/when it ever comes--though as I said before, we ARE due) flu pandemic is like a ticking time bomb--the most obvious flu strain to fear is called, aptly, H5N1--those influenza deaths are NOT deaths caused by H5N1--those are other substrains of the influenza virus

it's like saying 'the chiefs are gonna win the super bowl' and putting our hopes on it every year--we know (HOPE) that one day it'll happen, but if the easter bunny don't come, we're obviously out in the dark/dissapointed

mark my words--we're due for a major pandemic--are we ready to handle it? I don't know for certain--if things go our way, we might be able to keep it from being a 'global' killer like black death or the 1917 flu pandemic--

if it comes unexpectedly because we DIDN'T PREPARE because people like you and BD think it's reeruned to prepare, we're fucked

Wow dude......... [whistle].............out there...............

[Frosty]

Some other thoughts on the flu:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action...ine&aid=469543

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=51913


I don't know for sure if it works for the flu, but I do know that since we started supplementing with Vitamin D, we just don't get sick. I have two kids in school (4th and 6th grade) and a wife that volunteers/works at the grade school, and we don't get the bugs that go around. My youngest has had two colds in the last year but they were just sniffles that lasted a couple of days - no fever or missed school. He also didn't get the cough afterwards like he always did before.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by H5N1

the upcoming (if/when it ever comes--though as I said before, we ARE due) flu pandemic is like a ticking time bomb--the most obvious flu strain to fear is called, aptly, H5N1--those influenza deaths are NOT deaths caused by H5N1--those are other substrains of the influenza virus

it's like saying 'the chiefs are gonna win the super bowl' and putting our hopes on it every year--we know (HOPE) that one day it'll happen, but if the easter bunny don't come, we're obviously out in the dark/dissapointed

mark my words--we're due for a major pandemic--are we ready to handle it? I don't know for certain--if things go our way, we might be able to keep it from being a 'global' killer like black death or the 1917 flu pandemic--

if it comes unexpectedly because we DIDN'T PREPARE because people like you and BD think it's reeruned to prepare, we're fucked

The sky is falling!!!!

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I shit you not.....I just got my flu shot, reading this thread...typing this post.

NICE!!! How does it feel to have that shit running through your veins?

[Adept Havelock]

I don't know about "flu paranoia", but there a lot of people talking about something called "Captain Trips".

I usually get a flu shot, and can't remember the last time I caught it.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

The sky is falling!!!!

no it's not--however, if you choose NOT to prepare for something just because you think the big bad medical community is after you to poison you with mercury, (therefore NOT preparing), you're just plain assinine