Practise Makes Perfect-Join the H1N1 Riots!

**Pam** · December-29-17, 07:01 PM

Aww, sad to see Gannon's name on this.

**Dumpling** · January-01-18, 05:05 AM

I was actually thinking of starting a new thread. Still the old classic
threads from DetroitYes are something I really love about this forum.
The quirky back-and-forth - this angle, that angle - Gannon's hand
waving style of writing.

Anyways, this year's flu season was considered by the local newsmedia
back in September, and, of course, the government was pushing flu
vaccines as usual.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...ots/106084630/

Zacha, thank you, handwashing is really important too!

I think Michigan lags sometimes because we think vaccines can be harmful; sometimes because we don't want any part of a government endeavor; sometimes because since we grew up poor and are still poor, we just tough out our various health challenges rather than pay for the fixes. Myself, I was a privileged Generous Motors baby that went for covered visits to the pediatrician early on, but one aunt and one uncle who happen to both be still alive went for decades without visiting a doctor...they have both been to the doctor now, finally.

The CDC site is showing cases in Michigan so far as being three quarters
H3 to one quarter the other strains, mostly B. The infection curve is
still on an upswing.

**Dumpling** · January-09-18, 07:16 PM

Here is a Scientific American article about H3 flu. I did get a flu
shot last year - but in this article, first published in January 2017,
the H3 component of the 2015-2016 vaccine - is said to have been
only 13% effective.

In about 1991 I had H3N2 flu...was really sick, all the symptoms
were bad, had to stay in bed and be cared for.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...rsquo-s-virus/

The aunt referenced in the previous post passed peacefully at a
care facility with a family member and a nurse nearby within this
last week. She'd had a stroke earlier and was improving day by day.
She was a little over 90 years old. The death was as good as
could be hoped for. She lived in California; so far as I know
though, she did not have the flu.

**Dumpling** · February-12-18, 01:19 AM

Weather Underground has an item detailing the role of the
lack of humidity in facilitating an influenza epidemic.

https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/fl...d-its-humidity

UV-C lamps might be used in public spaces to reduce flu transmission
in the future:

http://newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/bl...ead-influenza/

So if a government wants to be ham-handed in preventing an influenza
pandemic it could be more efficient to change HVAC and lighting infrastructure in public spaces such as airports, big box stores, hospitals, assisted living facilities, schools, prisons, and similar public spaces.

**Honky Tonk** · February-12-18, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by Dumpling

So if a government wants to be ham-handed in preventing an influenza
pandemic it could be more efficient to change HVAC and lighting infrastructure in public spaces such as airports, big box stores, hospitals, assisted living facilities, schools, prisons, and similar public spaces.

It's more cost effective, and a lot easier, for the government to use social media to propagate a demand for and distribution of vaccines. Besides, changing HVAC and lighting infrastructure in public spaces doesn't increase the bottom line for the AMA.

**Richard** · February-13-18, 12:13 AM

That is why they finished shutting down the Canadian pharmacys down here,every other country in the world has the exact same drugs as we do at 1/3 the cost,it is all profit driven and we are the little test mice in the cage.

Meh I figure if I keep smoking the toxins in the tobacco pretty much kills everything else.

**Dumpling** · February-26-18, 04:55 AM

The flu epidemic has probably peaked. The warmer wetter weather
is probably helping to curb it.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...is-flu-season/

**Dumpling** · March-24-18, 11:50 PM

This year's flu epidemic is overall declining but at the same
time hanging in there really well. It has affected long term
care facilities the most though others have been affected.

This epidemic really took off after the Thanksgiving holiday
and travel season. The H3 sub-epidemic was at its worst in
January.
In Michigan in March the H3 rebounded a little bit and
B [[no subtype) has a new substantial presence which is
at its worst right now.

**Dumpling** · May-13-18, 11:58 PM

This is a last update for this year's flu epidemic.

The State of Michigan publishes a Flu Focus Weekly newsletter.
The most recent one:

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/M...6_146893_7.pdf

There is flu still around in Michigan but the number of cases is much decreased from the peak weeks in January and March. There is no more H3 flu, only B strains now.

**Jimaz** · May-14-18, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by Dumpling

This is a last update for this year's flu epidemic....

Well, thanks for that. We always hear when the flu is bad but we rarely hear when the danger has passed. It's now safe to sit in a doctor's waiting room. Time for a checkup.

Hopefully the discovery of the miraculous new CRISPR/Cas9 technology will soon make influenza a thing of the past. It's scary what this CRISPR can do. It has been said that it will cause societal changes as radical as did the introduction of the microprocessor.

We have become as gods.

**Dumpling** · May-14-18, 09:55 PM

All I could find from a cursory check for CRISPR versus influenza is that
it seems that we have learned from CRISPR technology that we want to upregulate sialidases [[which would break down sialic acid moieties) to
help prevent flu infections...but yes, CRISPR is the cutting edge, and no,
I don't really understand it well.