H1N1 influenza possible pandemic alert!

[Atash Hagmahani]

OK, folks, it appears that Swine Flu is dangerous if you do catch it, but apparently not highly contagious.

Some lessons learned:

1. Whereas countries like China took this seriously, the US government went into hysteria over talking points on the safety of pork products, and keeping the borders wide open.

2. If this had been a real emergency, many of us would have been dead.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Hi Everyone,

Have been visiting this blog for quite a while now and like the discussion and exchange of ideas. Given the subject and the level of concern, this article may prove helpful/put this in perspective.

 http://www.321gold.com/editorials/engdahl/engdahl050109.html

Thank you, Harold. Why don't you jump over to this board and introduce yourself to us?:

The Welcome Board

 

[Mike]

Harold,

I enjoyed your linked article on Swine Flu.  Engdahl zoomed in on what is probably the real problem: industrial pig and bird farms.  The added bonus he offered was noticing how the media blamed bird flu on family farms and not industrial bird farms.

There is an email making the rounds from Dr. Marcus Gitterle stating that the swine flu is much worse than is being reported and that Obama was being urged to declare a state of emergency in 72-96 hours from whenever the email was sent.

Some are saying that the real news is being withheld.  Some report that Gitterle didn't mean for the letter to go public, and that he has retracted parts of it.

I think Engdahl's is the voice of reason here.

[Atash Hagmahani]

I guess that's another lesson learned:

hard to tell whom to believe, or where to find accurate information.

I am guessing that because of WHOs size and bureaucratic inefficiency, it was not a particularly reliable source of information. But I suggest caution regarding rumors too. Take prudent precautions based on the best information you have, don't panic, but do act.

[MountainMeg]

Best advice I've heard (and it was from a media source -- go figure) was "don't panic, but do prepare".  No reason to panic over this, but a little extra prep doesn't hurt.  I've added to my stock medical gloves, some other OTC & vitamins I had forgotten and the like.  I take any and all news accounts with a block of salt, but I am mildly concerned over a second wave ***IF*** this moves like other bad viruses.  But no panic...

[The Future]

Indeed.  To add, there is never a reason to panic.

[Mike]

Matt Stiles has an opinion of H1N1; conspiratorial, but a different kind of conspiracy.

http://futronomics.blogspot.com/

I also wanted to briefly touch on this swine flu "outbreak" that seems to be grabbing much of the media's attention. To me, it appears to be way overhyped for what it actually is. The Flu regularly kills 30,000 Americans per year - 100's of thousands of others die around the world. Often, one strain will kill thousands by itself before mutating itself into something far more benign. So why is this such a big deal? When something as normal as the flu is advertised by the media as the "Greatest threat to humanity," alarms start going off in my head. My internal BS meter redlines.

As is usual in any fear campaign, governments are using this latest episode to their advantage and making power grabs all over the place. And de facto branches of government (the major corporations - in this case the drug companies) are going into overdrive to lobby government for favourable grants or contracts to save us all. "Mandatory vaccinations" they scream.

I don't believe any of it. It all looks like a coordinated fear campaign manufactured to scare us into giving up more of our personal liberties and to enrich a few special interests. I'm not a doctor or a microbiologist, but when one smells BS there is often BS in the area. This wreaks.

[The Future]

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/h1n1_pandemic_phase6_20090611/en/index.html

World now at the start of 2009 influenza pandemic

WHO says "It's on!"

[The Future]

Just a note that the WHO site still does not list the 2 cases here in Bermuda

[opsec]

Yep, WHO raised the flu pandemic to level 6. CNN has picked up the story too:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/11/swine.flu.who/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[The Future]

It took 51 tries but we finally made the list.

[The Future]

We have 4 cases now.  All were "treated and released after recovering".  The govt. offices have started distributing alcohol based hand sanitizers (which are more dangerous that people seem to know - under duress they are useful though)

[offdalip]

alcohol based hand sanitizers .... are more dangerous that people seem to know

How sooo?

[The Future]

Believe it or not there are friendly bacteria that colonize our hands and live symbiotically there.  The sanitizers kill the good and the bad.  (Seperately those anti-biotics do the same thing internally - kill the good bacteria and the bad.  At least there you friendly restock with some good acidopholus, live yogurt etc.)

[The Future]

The WHO has officically warned that swine flu is unstoppable.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8130196.stm