You would think if this really is the big one that more deaths would've been reported by now ...

As of this moment of personally tracking the H1N1 flue virsus for the last six days ...
all deaths have been in Mexico except for the 25 month old child that came across the border already sick and died in Houston.

Could be mutating the other way to a less sever strain after running into healthier people (reads richer).

Could be :yep:

Sure. Look, between 30,000 and 50,000 people die of flu in the US every year.....mostly the old folks who are already sick. The only issue with this variant of swine flu is that we don't yet have a vaccine for it. Because of that, people are scared of catching it.

When the dust settles, this swine flu will have killed far fewer people than the panicking masses are predicting, and there will be thousands of garage sales of face masks that were never needed. :)

And this I have to agree with 100%:up:

Time to buy shares in face mask manufacturing companies then I guess :DL

Right time to make plans for a vacation in Madagascar. :rotfl:

This is a boom for San Diego for those short 3 day cruises out of Long Beach/LA. We have three cruise ships in port at the same time. :up:

So, let's look at the actual data instead of the hysterical ratings grabbing headlines.

So far, the total number of confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus stands at 331 people according to the World Health Organization. Not bad out of a world population of 6.77 Billion!

There has been 1 death from the virus in the US.....a baby that contracted the disease in Mexico and was then driven to Houston, Texas.

A further 108 people in the US have the virus. A California teenager I saw on a news report yesterday, contracted the virus 7 days ago, went through all of the usual flu symptoms and was then released from hospital yesterday fully fit.

Since January, there have been more than 16,000 deaths from the regular old flu that we see every year. That figure will reach about 36,000 by the end of the year.

Bottom line......The swine flu is no more potent, infact it looks less potent, than the flu we see every year, we just don't have a vaccine for it yet. History shows us that the second wave of the virus in the Fall might be more potent than this one, but a vaccine offering significant protection will be available by then.

Ignorance of the facts is much more dangerous than this variant of the swine flu.

That is why the huge media hype and mass hysteria is occurring. We have no protection against this current strain and this is also why the WHO is classing this as a potential pandemic.

Apart from the lack of vaccine, this flu strain is no different to any serious cold or flu that any of us can and do contract.

What I want to know is what the Mexicans were doing the their pigs to get this strain to jump species. Considering it can only pass to different species through breath, saliva and faeces and will only remain viralant for up to 4 mins when exposed to air.

I'm not sure which is scarier. The closing of a local school, or the fact that the officials at that local school seem to lack some elementary spelling and grammar skills. Maybe the kids are better off at home. :doh:

http://media.bonnint.net/seattle/2/202/20287.jpg

Strange, I just heard on the news that the virus does respond to current vaccines and 'tamaflu' which are being shipped out to the states as we speak.

Stunning amount of mis-information, hysteria, and hyperbole.

Nope, Tamaflu attacks and reduces the effects of the illness within the body of the individual, giving that person a better chance of recovery. It does not attack or kill the virus itself. Therefore, a person being treated is still contagious, which is why they are being isolated.

According to the director of UK GP's on GMTV this morning.

I agree though, every media resource should be reading from the same script. They do nothing but panic the public.

Here is an extract from an all points email circulated by my employers HQ yesterday:

You may have heard this afternoon that a case of swine flu has been confirmed in Newcastle. The person involved has returned from a visit to Mexico. It is important to remember that
Apart from in Mexico, all those infected with the virus have experienced mild symptoms and made a full recovery.

Testing has shown that human swine influenza H1N1 can be treated with two anti-viral drugs called Tamiflu® and Relenza®. Tamiflu is proving effective and people who received the anti-virals early are recovering.

The World Health Organisation has stated that the United Kingdom and France are the best prepared countries in the world.

Not necessarily. There are some signs to show that this strain is similar to the 1918 Spanish flu, which was definitely NOT your average influenza. But there's not enough data on that right now.

:up: Nice bit of info there.

Although I really wish everyone were more specific when reporting or issuing details.

Both those anti-viral drugs listed in Jims post are used to subdue the virus' effects on the individuals immune system so the the infected persons body can defeat the virus. Like I said before, and just like every other case of flu virus, there is no drug or medicine that will kill the H1N1 (or other flu strains) virus outright.

What do you all think the Flu Jab is? It's a mild strain of influenza injected directly into your system so that your immune system is prepared and has the antibodies to battle it.

Unfortunately, the media calm the ill informed public but at the same time infuriate the informed with misinformation.:damn:

Too true Dan....I've always found it odd why so many people end up bed-ridden after receiving the jab but admit they have it done every year :DL