I'm surprised no one beat me to the punch on this.
What are your thoughts?
I say the media has blown this out of proportion, like it does many things.
There are under 800 cases worldwide
The regular flu kills over 30,000 people a year
Blah >:(
Cars kill more people than swine flu.
Don't ride in a plane, train, or automobile.
Until everybody is infected and I start seeing what looks like Left 4 Dead in real life, I'm not concerned. ::)
Quote from: nintendodork on May 03, 2009, 05:03:06 pm
The regular flu kills over 30,000 people a year
Actually, the CDC says it's 36,000 deaths per year from influenza, but the number isn't really valid because none of the cases are confirmed because influenza isn't listed on death certificates and influenza testing isn't performed on most patients. 36K was an estimate derived by the CDC in 2003 using statistical modeling. Before this, the number of annual deaths attributed to the flu was at 20,000. Their estimate is probably pretty close to accurate, but unfortunately it's commonplace for people to throw around numbers they don't fully understand, especially the news media.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r030107.htm
Quote from: nintendodork on May 03, 2009, 05:03:06 pm
I say the media has blown this out of proportion, like it does many things.
This is exactly what I think.
Media need some shocking news to earn some money and attention again.
I'm not worried. Coincidentally, my entire family (including me) got fevers right when this started. But me and my dad are better, and my mom and brother are recovering.
Luckily I live in one of the few places where swine flu hasn't been reported.
Swine flu is not currently on Long Island. It is in Queens, though.
No cases have been reported in Iowa, or any of the neighboring states as far as I know, but then again, I don't really care ::)
Our school gave us these little papers to take home that told the symptoms of the swine flu and how to properly care for it....
It's same as the one we got during flu season..but with swine flu added in the title ::)
I think one of the funniest things about the swine flu is how people are wearing the N95 masks thinking that they're protecting themselves from being infected. Those masks are to prevent the wearer from infecting others. Sometimes I wonder if people can really think anymore. ::)
Are you sure about that? I thought they worked both ways. They're usually marketed as helping protect the wearer from contracting the flu, etc.
Yeah, N95s rule. Surgical masks OTOH only work as ericj said.
Oops, swine flu just reached Islip. Now I'm slightly ocncerned. Slightly.
Media madness as always. Be glad when it's all over.
Who said 'swine flu' ?
It's not like it has anything to do with swine?
The correct term is H1N1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_A_virus_subtype_H1N1).
It has to do with swine. The virus was transmitted from pig to human
The first case was, all others were transferred from human to human, so I don't think "researchers" are exactly clear yet, but pork producing companies sure are! ;D
I was going to ask this topic's name to be changed to " The H1N1 Virus", but whatever, I don't care :D
My mom just came home from work with diarrhea. 0_0
Is that a symptom?
Yes.
Just keep her hydrated, it's probably food poisoning.
Did they already kill all those pigs in Arabia? Poor pigs...
What if the pig in Mexico got the flu from one of the dudes on the ranch there. I've heard some strange stories about those Mexican pig farmers. lol.
(http://www.randomfunnypicture.com/pictures/1314this-little-bastard-killed-us-all-swine-flu.jpg)
I don't like the caption, but that pic is epic! ;D
That pic is ugh!
I don't think everybody should be worried about it. Remember a few years ago when the media made a big deal about the bird flu? And remember what happened with all that? Yeah. Same with SARS.
Well another person died yesterday.
If Swine Flu was actually a big deal, you wouldn't have to say that.
I guess...I'm not sure how things in Mexico are, I hope they are fine.