Swine Flu...

[Boober_Gorg]

I'm not worried because:

1) It's only serious if you're an infant or an old person with a weak immune system.
2) Everyone diagnosed so far in the US has recovered.
3) It's not transmitted by eating well-cooked pork.
4) It's easy to avoid catching it.
5) If you do catch it, there's always Dayquil.

 

[Nick22]

i just got back from vacation in mexico, so a lot of people are telling me to stay away from them and i have now adopted the nickanmes "MEXICAN!" and "Mr. Swine Flu" along with my friend ashley who also went to mexico. so its just wonderful. my friends uncke might have it. and i keep getting paranoid and thinking i have it, since i have some symptoms, but i have bad allergies, and they r usually bad t=at this time of year. i hope miss piggy's ok. and link and dr. julius strabgepork and annie sue and all them muppet pigs

 

[Kiki]

It is scary, I do pray for the people of Mexico and hope it gets contained soon. I'm definitely going to wash my hands a bit more. You don't realize how much germs can be spread. People sneeze and then they touch doorknobs, or the "1" on an elevator. So be very careful!

I'm a freak when it comes to those sort of things. I don't mind getting dirty (XP) but I'm constantly washing my hands, esp. after I go to shopping centres where people cough and sneeze in your face. I don't even touch the escolators (sp...?) when I'm on them. *Shrug* That's the way I was sorta bought up, but I'm not a clean-freak. No. Oh gosh, no.

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

Ya know, I was thinking of starting a thread on this yesterday, but you beat me to it. My Mum is a microbiologist, and she gets to read all the journals and stuff, and apparently the current theory is that the really deadly strain, which is ONLY in Mexico, comes from direct contact with pigs. Once the virus makes the hop from a host in direct contact with the pig, they transfer the virus to another person, but once the virus has been through the system of the person in contact with the pig, the virus weakens. In the now Human to human born version of the virus, (aka H1N1) is just as weak as a normal, seasonal flu virus. Hence, why nobody has died in the US yet. And people in the UK have had the virus, they were told to go home, take some pills and get some rest. In 2 or 3 days they were fine.

 

[CensoredAlso]

AOL.com announced that the first death from the swine flu in the US has been an infant, which is obviously very tragic. The baby was living in Texas but actually came from Mexico.

http://news.aol.com/article/swine-flu-outbreak/452130?icid=main|hp-laptop|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fswine-flu-outbreak%2F452130

 

[redBoobergurl]

It is my opinion (lynch me if you must) that the panic caused by the hype is worse than the disease itself...then again I work in healthcare and while we're on a heightened state of alert, I know that we're also very prepared to deal with it and when you compare stats of those who are infected with regular influenza, it kind of puts it all in perspective.

So long story short, I'm just not that hyped up about it, but like I said, that's just me.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I honestly don't even think the hype has been that extreme, people are just pretty naturally concerned. For instance, there was an outbreak among a few students in a Queens school so people are naturally nervous about going near New York City because there's so many people and so many enclosed spaces.

They also said it looks like those students are recovering, which is a good sign. Though that infant dying in the story I mentioned in my previous post is quite tragic. Though actually he was brought to the US from Mexico.

 

[bazooka_beak]

That's too bad We just have to hope things won't get worse.

 

[Baby Gonzo]

For anyone who is not concerned because you aren't a young child or an elderly person, I think it's important to be aware of all the teenagers, young adults, and people who are in their "prime" being struck by the illness.

By no means should anyone panic or blow things out of proportion, but I believe it is critical to practice common sense. Don't go to school or work or to any public places if you are sick and by all means, everyone should wash their hands. That goes for any time of the year, with or without flu. It's just common sense and courteous.

The way I see it, it's pretty serious, but nothing to be too worried about. Just be careful.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Especially if you're a teacher, schools are practically germ factories.