Hallelujah, We're All Gonna Die

[DrVenkman PhD]

We've been waiting all this time for the pigs to fly, and finally, the swine have flu....



Thank you, thank you.

Consider it stolen and used as my own at work.

Edit: God damnit, apparently people who aren't on TSM have this thing about something that "killed hundreds of people" being made into a joke.

 

[2GOLD]

We've been waiting all this time for the pigs to fly, and finally, the swine have flu....



Thank you, thank you.

Consider it stolen and used as my own at work.

Edit: God damnit, apparently people who aren't on TSM have this thing about something that "killed hundreds of people" being made into a joke.

Yet you can make jokes about alcohol which kills more than hundreds of people a year and they will laugh hard. Hypocritical fucks.

Apparently people have bought into the fear big time. Someone called the local radio station today in a total panic because her son woke up with a cough. And I'm sure she is not the only one who has turned into a basket case and dragged their child around with a gas mask to the hospital for tests.

 

[BX]

Well, I woke up this morning with a sore throat and the runny poops...

So, we'll see.

 

[vivisectvi]

Roy's right about who the flu usually kills, though. It's the same as SARS. Most of the people who died from that were either elderly or had pre-existing conditions and/or compromised immune systems. Of course there's little kids and babies too, but I can't remember if SARS got any of them or not. The regular young and healthy schmo who takes care of themselves has nothing to worry about.

I would be interested in seeing the stats on the 150+ that have died in Mexico. If only because clearly it's an entirely different climate when it comes to healthcare down there.

Me, earlier in thread.

Looks like swine flu is mostly killing healthy young adults.

You don't have to take my word for it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30426170/

In Mexico, young adults appear most at risk

 

[Damaramu]

I got a stomach bug over the weekend and had to call into work Monday and Tuesday. I'm back at work today and everyone is afraid I have swine flu and will infect them. I don't think I'd be back at work feeling perfectly fine if I had it.

 

[vivisectvi]

I was coughing earlier today. I think I have Finnish Armadillo Flu.

 

[Twisted Intestine]

I think I almost died from the flu a few years ago. I did nothing but sleep for three days straight, only getting up to puke (sometimes not even getting up to do it). I don't think I ate anything at all. I was going to get to the hospital the next day, but then I woke up feeling better.

 

[bigolsmitty]

DubQ--Mexico is where the vast majority of cases have been. I'm no epidemiologist, but I really don't think the virus is suddenly going to act tremendously different in other parts of the world.

I mostly responded because this...

The regular young and healthy schmo who takes care of themselves has nothing to worry about.

...seems dumb given the actual evidence we have about swine flu at this point.

 

[vivisectvi]

Smitty, have you ever been to Mexico? ..and by Mexico, I mean not a resort destination.

 

[bigolsmitty]

No, I haven't been to Mexico, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the etiology of the disease.

Internationally, Mexico is a middle income, developing country with some modern cities--whose health care system is, by some accounts, "the envy of developing countries worldwide" [http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-womexi164935437oct16,0,6421326.story]. I just don't see how it is supposed to be some glaring outlier with respect to how we should expect the virus to behave in the rest of the world.

 

[vivisectvi]

Yes, they have an incremental healthcare system in their major arteries that is the envy of other developing countries, but their quality of life and healthcare isn't that of major city in the US, let alone a major city in Canada.

I'm not saying that I think they're some shanty town with doctors that operate out of rusty shacks. But there is a difference between the countries and their systems - their ability to provide the care and to treat the diseases, but also their populations susceptibility to a variety of ailments.

You have to take into consideration whether these people dying are rural or urban - as there is a huge difference in terms of exposure, access to quality care, access to purified water, etc. You also have to take into consideration the culture and lifestyle. Areas of Mexico have a ton of health related problems due to their use of pesticides in agricultural work areas.

By no means am I an expert on any of these issues, but I'm also not ignorant. My mother is a nurse. Both of my sisters were in the field as well - but have both moved on to other careers. I've worked in healthcare environments for the last 12 years. Just saying.

 

[stillnaive]

human influenza can and does kill people.

 

[vivisectvi]

human influenza can and does kill people.

No doubt about it. But certain ages, demographics, etc. are more susceptible than others.

 

[King Cucaracha]

human influenza can and does kill people.

That's mostly what I object to with the media, the fact that they insist on labelling it "the killer flu". I mean, I get the need to be alert and the potential threat. But by definition, all flu is a killer flu because it's a disease and it kills people.


Also, this from Yahoo news as regards to Mexico.

MEXICO CITY – Two weeks after the first known swine flu death, Mexico still hasn't given medicine to the families of the dead. It hasn't determined where the outbreak began or how it spread. And while the government urges anyone who feels sick to go to hospitals, feverish people complain ambulance workers are scared to pick them up.

A portrait is emerging of a slow and confused response by Mexico to the gathering swine flu epidemic. And that could mean the world is flying blind into a global health storm.

Despite an annual budget of more than $5 billion, Mexico's health secretary said Monday that his agency hasn't had the resources to visit the families of the dead. That means doctors haven't begun treatment for the population most exposed to swine flu, and most apt to spread it.

I also read that the first confirmed case was sent home by the doctor and told he didn't have influenza at first. Obviously take this with as much of a grain of salt as the rest of the news regarding all this.

 

[BX]

Oh no, now my stomach hurts

 

[Big Green]

It's in New England now......

FUCK!

 

[Fartsauce]

They just raised the alert level to 5. 6 is the highest.

 

[vivisectvi]

Where's Gorilla Monsoon when you need him...

 

[Gary]

Where's Gorilla Monsoon when you need him...

Here.

 

[THE KEELEDOVER KID]

A girl completely lost her shit on me for making a joke about this yesterday. People need to fucking chill.

 

[samoarowe]

It's in New England now......

FUCK!

Ugh, that didn't take long. I'm going to go wash my hands again.


And in regards to the jokes, yes, people need to chill.

 

[Loaded Glove]

I think I almost died from the flu a few years ago. I did nothing but sleep for three days straight, only getting up to puke (sometimes not even getting up to do it). I don't think I ate anything at all. I was going to get to the hospital the next day, but then I woke up feeling better.

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. Got really sick all of the sudden - sore throat, cough that wouldn't go away, diarrhea, lightheadedness, fever, night sweats. My energy was completely sapped. I couldn't walk around for more than a minute or two without getting really tired.

I thought for sure I had something REALLY bad, but I was too tired/lazy to pull myself out and get to the doctor. After about two weeks, I had decided on going to the doctor but a day or two after I decided that, I felt a lot better and it went away.

 

[KOAB]

smoke screen

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

I once thought I had mono for an entire year. It turned out I was just really bored.

 

[Twisted Intestine]

I think I almost died from the flu a few years ago. I did nothing but sleep for three days straight, only getting up to puke (sometimes not even getting up to do it). I don't think I ate anything at all. I was going to get to the hospital the next day, but then I woke up feeling better.

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. Got really sick all of the sudden - sore throat, cough that wouldn't go away, diarrhea, lightheadedness, fever, night sweats. My energy was completely sapped. I couldn't walk around for more than a minute or two without getting really tired.

I thought for sure I had something REALLY bad, but I was too tired/lazy to pull myself out and get to the doctor. After about two weeks, I had decided on going to the doctor but a day or two after I decided that, I felt a lot better and it went away.

Yeah, I remember I lost almost 20 pounds in the 3-4 days I was sick.

On a similar note, yesterday I called in sick to work (I work nights) and slept pretty much from 8AM-8AM this morning, save for about an hour last night when I got up to call in to work. Uh-Ohs! The swine has gotten me!

 

[Twisted Intestine]

I think I almost died from the flu a few years ago. I did nothing but sleep for three days straight, only getting up to puke (sometimes not even getting up to do it). I don't think I ate anything at all. I was going to get to the hospital the next day, but then I woke up feeling better.

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. Got really sick all of the sudden - sore throat, cough that wouldn't go away, diarrhea, lightheadedness, fever, night sweats. My energy was completely sapped. I couldn't walk around for more than a minute or two without getting really tired.

I thought for sure I had something REALLY bad, but I was too tired/lazy to pull myself out and get to the doctor. After about two weeks, I had decided on going to the doctor but a day or two after I decided that, I felt a lot better and it went away.

Yeah, I remember I lost almost 20 pounds in the 3-4 days I was sick.

On a similar note, yesterday I called in sick to work (I work nights) and slept pretty much from 8AM-8AM this morning, save for about an hour last night when I got up to call in to work. It's weird that I could sleep so long, as the only real sickness I have is a cough. Uh-Ohs! The swine has gotten me!

 

[Red Baron]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anywhere/Swine-Flu/163907835276?sid=e6ddac25d61aedb93b364e31b1f304ce&ref=search

Good for a laugh.

 

[KingPK]

The swine flu outbreak that has alarmed the world for a week now appears less ominous, with the virus showing little staying power in the hardest-hit cities and scientists suggesting it lacks the genetic fortitude of past killer bugs. President Barack Obama even voiced hope Friday that it may turn out to be no more harmful than the average seasonal flu.

You mean the media and local governments overhyped something that turned out to be nothing different than usual? NO! I read about how ONE KID was tested for this thing and they shut the whole fucking school down. Whatever happened to getting some facts and knowing what the actual story is before pushing the panic BUTTon?

 

[Kinetic]

I'm going to be hiding under my bed until this thing blows over. Tell you what, I'm not going to so much as think about pigs when I'm down there, either. Every time I'm tempted to think of pigs, I'm going to think of cows instead. I'm going to beat this thing. I am going to live through it.

 

[KOAB]

I'm gonna try to rob a bank with some uncooked pork chops... wish me luck