Pandemic Pandemonium? Woodhaven Schools Shut down

A student had a flu [or what seems to be one] so the Woodhaven-Brownstown school district is closing down all of its schools until it is determined if the flu is the suddenly famous H1N1 flu aka the Mexican swine flu. This won't be known until Friday.

I understand that this flu appears to be serious but the picture of it is unknown. Many of the deaths attributed to it in Mexico are now being determined to have been by other causes and there have been no deaths from it in the US, other that a Mexican infant brought to Houston for care.

I also understand that due to the incubation length there could be larger infection that has yet to blossom.

Over-reaction? Proper proaction? I'm not sure. How about you?

Overreaction to the point of hysteria, IMHO.

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Originally Posted by Ray1936

Overreaction to the point of hysteria, IMHO.

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Oh... I thought you were talking about the Air Force One photo-op over Manhattan and Statue of Liberty...:rolleyes:

Seriously, it's too early to tell if we really should be panicked about this... a lot of this depends on what's going on in Mexico... just how many people survive versus die from the Swine Flu... as well as age demographics, severity of the influenza strain.

We have to keep this in perspective... annually thousands die in the USA alone due to regular influenza bug... usually the elderly and young children are mostly at risk.

Not to make light of the pandemic, but I always thought swine flu was something you caught from a banker or financial advisor.

Education [[and cleanliness) are your best defense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu

I have worked in the Syndromic Surveillence field for the last three years. Look at this as a dry run, for the real thing, all the while, being concerned that the real thing is already here. Regardless, it's not overblown. It's like looking down the barrel of a gun, wondering if it will go off... knowing the gun is loaded and the hammer is cocked. If the media hype has more people washing hands and taking extra precautions, then that can be nothing but good. If it keeps us on our toes, then that can be nothing but good. If a school needs to close for a few days to be cautious against a full scale outbreak, then that can be nothing but good. If nothing happens, then we all exhale and breathe a sigh of relief.

When you think of the flu from person to person, it's not a big deal. When looked at as a pandemic, then it merits the attention that it's getting. The key is what everyone has probably read, and that's that there is no immunity anywhere.. and that's the biggest problem.

I hope this does not end up like the movie "28 Days Later".

It seems like the Y2K scare for now. You just don't know.

This is a good illustration of some wise advice I once received from an attorney. He pointed out that a common mistake people make is to commit to a course of action prematurely simply because a worst-case scenerio seems so bad. It's far better to plan for all possibilities, hedge your bets and conserve your resources for when they can best be used.

Sure, frequent handwashing is fine because it costs nothing but I think I've already invested more effort in this post than is warranted for this potential problem ... given what is known now.

If I look 'down the barrel' of all the things that could possibly happen, I would have to become an survivalist in the UP woods. This is reminding me of all the fretting that followed 9/11 complete with running around putting fingers in imaginary leaks in the dikes. Instead of the little color codes we have the WHO pandemic index which really seems alarmist.

I really think the emphasis should be on dealing with the actual event after they occur as opposed to trying to guess what might happen and reacting to those guesses with all the waste of money that results in.

Hello all, this is my first post! I lived in the Lahser/Grand River area back during that Hong Kong flu in 1968. It was the only time my dad ever missed work. Mom got it too. I stayed in another part of the house, cleaned everything that was mutual with lysol endlessly and never even sneezed or coughed! I think common sense and cleanliness are the best defense and offense against any contagious diseases. Seems like someone somewhere is wanting people to go bonkers!

I haven't had a chance to really look into this whole Swine Flu thing too much yet, however I was wondering, aside from catching it from a pig, what's the difference between swine flu and your regular run of the mill flu? Seems like the symptoms are the same. The regular flu kills far more people every year, and isn't considered pandemic, nor does it receive the media attention. What gives?

Sincerely,
Still Under Concerned in St Clair Shores

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu

I must say, this whole "swine flue" craze is out of hand. My numbers may be a couple days out of date, but.. we have about 150 - 200 cases in Mexico City [[pop. 10,000,000), 6 cases in all of Canada [[about 4,000,000 square miles), 1-2 cases in michigan [[at least one near southeastern michigan - pop. 4,000,000), we have like less than 20 in all of American [[pop. about 300,000,000).




so, what's the issue? Where's the pandemic?

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Originally Posted by dcmorrison12

I must say, this whole "swine flue" craze is out of hand. My numbers may be a couple days out of date, but.. we have about 150 - 200 cases in Mexico City [[pop. 10,000,000), 6 cases in all of Canada [[about 4,000,000 square miles), 1-2 cases in michigan [[at least one near southeastern michigan - pop. 4,000,000), we have like less than 20 in all of American [[pop. about 300,000,000).




so, what's the issue? Where's the pandemic?

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There was a swine in my flue once. Had to take a blowtorch to the damn thing. Not a fun way to spend an afternoon.

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Instead of the little color codes we have the WHO pandemic index which really seems alarmist.

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Speaking of alarmist, check out this coloring book about 9/11 created by FEMA. They had to take it off their website because of all the complaints from parents. :eek:

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Originally Posted by atl_runner

I have worked in the Syndromic Surveillence field for the last three years. Look at this as a dry run, for the real thing, all the while, being concerned that the real thing is already here. Regardless, it's not overblown. It's like looking down the barrel of a gun, wondering if it will go off... knowing the gun is loaded and the hammer is cocked. If the media hype has more people washing hands and taking extra precautions, then that can be nothing but good. If it keeps us on our toes, then that can be nothing but good. If a school needs to close for a few days to be cautious against a full scale outbreak, then that can be nothing but good. If nothing happens, then we all exhale and breathe a sigh of relief.

When you think of the flu from person to person, it's not a big deal. When looked at as a pandemic, then it merits the attention that it's getting. The key is what everyone has probably read, and that's that there is no immunity anywhere.. and that's the biggest problem.

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What I can't understand is the WHO is calling this a "pandemic". One source states the outbreak is mild. Exactly when does this "outbreak" turn into a bonfide pandemic complete with all the horror we've been warned of these past few years? At this point, I'm trying not to panic. However, with all the coverage, I'm becoming nervous.

On the plus side Lodger, no one has caught any kind of flu from posting on DetroitYes, the offical swine-free zone.

Never had the swine flu myself, but I've found myself in a few places with colera outbreaks. That ain't no party neither.

I suspect there are certain technical aspects of transmission that have the WHO a little spooked. Something along the lines of animal-to-human-to-human to mutation. versus the usual type of flu that affects the infirmed, the very young and aged ... from the sounds of things, young people are getting this new line of flu.

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Originally Posted by gnome

On the plus side Lodger, no one has caught any kind of flu from posting on DetroitYes, the offical swine-free zone.

Never had the swine flu myself, but I've found myself in a few places with colera outbreaks. That ain't no party neither.

I suspect there are certain technical aspects of transmission that have the WHO a little spooked. Something along the lines of animal-to-human-to-human to mutation. versus the usual type of flu that affects the infirmed, the very young and aged ... from the sounds of things, young people are getting this new line of flu.

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True, Gnome. If it's hitting the very young, I'm safe. 8-/

SARS, West Nile Virus, Swine Flu, it always seems whenever the media catches the next bigest threat, everybody starts to panic. As stated above, many people die each year of the garden variety flu, yet you rarly hear about it. Hell, more people die each year in car accidents, should we outlaw cars?

Just take an ounce of prevention and do simple measures like washing hands frequently, and all should be fine.

On another note, I think we should be concerned about the fact that many viruses are becoming immune to antibiotics due to overuse.

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Originally Posted by xstigmatax

To the person who said there is only a couple hundred confirmed cases right now, that is true. However over half of the cases at the moment are in the US [[more then mexico) but there are about 1500 more suspected. Why would you not want to play it safe with a disease that kills the healthiest people? It only takes one mutation for the disease to easily spread from human to human. If that happens you could have a similar problem just like in 1918 and 1919.

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I never said I wasn't playing it safe, I just feel that until there is a larger outbreak that people shouldn't panic and think this is the end of the world.

I'm starting to hear people call this the NAFTA flu


http://www.narconews.com/Issue57/article3512.html

Attachment 949

A little something I made last night.

Got an e-mail today which stated:

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It has been said, "A black man would be President when pigs fly". Needless to say, 100 days, "Swine Flu".

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Originally Posted by Ray1936

Overreaction to the point of hysteria, IMHO.

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Couldn't agree more, Ray. According to the CDC, about 36,000 people die each year in the US from influenza and its complications [[with global estimates of 250,000-500,000). Those numbers don't create any hysteria at all, much less the type that is now occurring.

This is all to reminiscent of the mid-1970s, when there was also going to be a swine flu epidemic.