Swine Flu

[Barbossa]

We now have 6 cases of the Swine Flu confirmed in Canada, 4 in Nova Scotia and 2 in BC. Scary stuff. I hope they can find a way to contain it.

[kelly]

Oh really I nver heard that, but then living in vegas (us) i dont hear much that goes on in my home country unfortunatly

[Barbossa]

Originally Posted by kelly

Oh really I nver heard that, but then living in vegas (us) i dont hear much that goes on in my home country unfortunatly

I just saw it posted on the CBC and CTV News websites. And there's about 20 cases in the US right now.

[PretzelSouls]

I heard it on the news last night, scary stuff. I hope that they are able to contain it - we don't need anything else to worry about!

[Ride Warrior]

Didn't realize it the virus has gone multinational. Hope they contain it before it inffects the masses. This is potentially frightening.

[kelly]

Originally Posted by Barbossa

I just saw it posted on the CBC and CTV News websites. And there's about 20 cases in the US right now.

thats right I can look at CTV and CNC web duh kelly

thanks for reminding me

[kelly]

what i dont understand is
what is the difference between a epidemic and a pandemic...

[elly]

i posted this in the Debate Lounge, but feel its good advice to post here where everyone can see it:

my best advice is really wash your hands, that means warm water, soap, friction while using the soap and washing for at least 20seconds. best way to gauge the 20seconds is to sing Happy Birthday to yourself. then rinse and dry, then use a DRY paper towel to turn off the water at the sink. if you use your bare hand to turn the water off, you might as well not bother washing your hands at all

and i'm not exactly sure on the difference between epidemic and pandemic but i do believe it has to do with how widespread across the entire planet a disease is active

[kelly]

Originally Posted by elly

i posted this in the Debate Lounge, but feel its good advice to post here where everyone can see it:




and i'm not exactly sure on the difference between epidemic and pandemic but i do believe it has to do with how widespread across the entire planet a disease is active

thanks elly

[penguinsoda]

Originally Posted by kelly

what i dont understand is
what is the difference between a epidemic and a pandemic...

Epidemics and pandemics refer to the spread of infectious diseases among a population. The difference between an epidemic and a pandemic is two-fold. First a pandemic is normally used to indicate a far higher number of people affected than an epidemic, and a pandemic refers to a much larger region affected. In the most extreme case, the global population is affected by a pandemic.

An epidemic is defined by an illness or health-related issue that is showing up in more cases than would be normally expected. However, in the case of a pandemic, even more of the population is affected than in an epidemic.

Source:
What is the Difference Between an Epidemic and a Pandemic?

[kelly]

Originally Posted by penguinsoda

Source:
What is the Difference Between an Epidemic and a Pandemic?

thanks Jody I understand it now

[Imag1neer]

They really need to shut down the US-MEXICO border during this.

[TheGrimGrinner]

I've been out of town for awhile with no connection to news sources and just got back today... (No, I was not in Mexico). I've been trying to find an article detailing what the "Swine Flu" is for the last half hour but have come out empty handed. All I can find are articles detailing statistics of deaths and what to do if you get the virus. But how do I know if I get it!?

Anyone seen a good article about how it started and what it is? I'm anxious to know!

[penguinsoda]

Originally Posted by TheGrimGrinner

I've been out of town for awhile with no connection to news sources and just got back today... (No, I was not in Mexico). I've been trying to find an article detailing what the "Swine Flu" is for the last half hour but have come out empty handed. All I can find are articles detailing statistics of deaths and what to do if you get the virus. But how do I know if I get it!?

Anyone seen a good article about how it started and what it is? I'm anxious to know!

Remember, Google is your friend.

Here's a good place to start with an article from the CDC:

CDC - Influenza (Flu) | Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

The virus itself has probably been around for millennia in some form or another, even though this version was first identified in the 30's. But virus are also dynamic organisms and are constantly changing and mutating. Every so often, they will mutate to a form that can cross the species barrier, and apparently this is the case with this one. It is however, not the first time a swine virus has caused flu in humans.

The symptoms for this virus are like any other flu... fever (100.5 degrees or more), possible cough, sore throat, muscle ache and pain, general malaise and possible diarrhea or vomiting or both. The only way to know for sure if you have swine flu or regular flu is to go to a doctor to be tested to see which version of the virus you carry.

Currently the swine flu can be treated with antiviral the meds Tamiflu and Relenza but treatment has to be started within 48 hours of the first symptoms.

[StickyWicket]

Honestly, I don't plan on doing anything different. I guess if I had a trip planned to Mexico I'd probably cancel it, but I'd be more scared of the drug warlords than this.

The hard thing about things like this is that the more often the public gets all worked up and afraid and nothing really comes of it (Mad Cow, SARS, avian flu, Y2K) the less likely I am to really care. Granted, for the people that were directly affected by Mad Cow or SARS it was a big deal, but it was not the global pandemic that everyone feared.

I know that health officials have to alert the public in order to cover their you know whats, but it just gets a bit tiring to hear about some new huge threat every year.