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WHO expects explosion in swine flu - 8/21/2009 8:32:45 AM
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fiery
Posts: 5730
Joined: 11/4/2007
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Don't assume because the news has been quiet that this has gone away. It's just not hit our flu season yet. Today the World Health Organization had this to say.
quote:
Many countries could see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, once cold weather returns to the northern hemisphere, said WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo. "At a certain point, there will seem to be an explosion in case numbers," Shin told a symposium of health officials and experts in Beijing. "It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths." The WHO says the swine flu virus — also known as H1N1 — has killed almost 1,800 people worldwide, and has declared a pandemic.
Article
I was reading the other day too that there's not going to be enough vaccine to go around nor will it be ready as soon as they needed it to be. So there will be a choice for governments to make on which age groups get it. The general consensus seems to be that hospital personnel will be top of the list.
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RE: WHO expects explosion in swine flu - 8/21/2009 9:09:35 AM
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ChristineB
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I know it's bad, but isn't any flu deadly? I guess I still don't get why this one is getting so much press. I had the flu last year and I thought I was going to die, for real. It's awful, of any kind...
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RE: WHO expects explosion in swine flu - 8/21/2009 9:30:59 AM
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fiery
Posts: 5730
Joined: 11/4/2007
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The reason it is is because it's a pandemic. This time it can and did spread far faster globally. The more it spreads, the more it kills. Read about the 1918 one. This is the one this new pandemic is most compared to and at its height it had killed 50 million people and infected one third of the world's population (500 million) in under two years.
And remember that was all before we had such easy ways to travel like frequent and affordable commercial airlines. That's why it's a big worry - it's far easier for it to travel thousands of miles that it ever was.
Think about what happens as more get sick and stay home or sadly die. Businesses close because there's not enough staff to operate them -so you can't get into the store. Amenities can't be maintained - so your power or water goes out. No one answers your 911 call because the operator, ambulance driver or policeman aren't there to attend...etc, etc. Lack of staffing causes huge logistical problems alone.
Apathy is going to be the biggest reason this kills a lot of people, I guarantee you.
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WHO warns new severe form of swine flu requires intensi... - 8/29/2009 4:10:00 PM
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fiery
Posts: 5730
Joined: 11/4/2007
Location: in front of my computer
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quote:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Doctors are reporting a severe form of swine flu that goes straight to the lungs, causing severe illness in otherwise healthy young people and requiring expensive hospital treatment, the World Health Organization said Friday. Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 percent of patients hospitalized with the new H1N1 pandemic virus need intensive care, further straining already overburdened healthcare systems, WHO said in an update on the pandemic.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090829/hl_nm/us_flu_pandemic
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