New Sub-Forum

[Reasonable Rascal]

It has been requested by a member here that we establish a sub-forum devoted specifically to news and discussion centering around what may be the start of the next pandemic, that being the new swine flu that has been recently identified and which is spreading internationally at a very rapid rate.

So, here it is. i'll be moving all swine flu related articles, etc here as appropriate.

RR

[tangent]

It has been requested by a member here that we establish a sub-forum devoted specifically to news and discussion centering around what may be the start of the next pandemic, that being the new swine flu that has been recently identified and which is spreading internationally at a very rapid rate.

So, here it is. i'll be moving all swine flu related articles, etc here as appropriate.

RR

YEAH TEAM!

-t

[mtm]

I'm on a survivalist board. I'm starting to catch a little flak for calling BS on rumors there. I've been responding to honest questions with quotes and links. But, really, seems to me people WANT to panic about this.
Funniest question I got so far: If an infected bird drinks from my dog's water dish, can my dog catch the H1N1 flu?
mtm

[Reasonable Rascal]

Just goes to show that some people don't have a clue, and could care less whether they did or not.

RR

[mtm]

In all the excitement I forgot to thank you folks for the birthday wishes last Sunday. Thank you. Now, back to business...

[mtm]

What did we learn from this scare? We already know that we will rush into places a prudent person will run away from. (It's just what we do.) We already know that we can be caught unawares and therefore unprepared. (This wasn't the first or last time.) We already know that it takes time - too much precious time - to dissect the new bugs. We already know that our EMS is easily over-whelmed. (This was just a reminder.)
I learned that people will hoard items which I can only hope they will share. The shortage of hand-sanitizer and masks caught me by surprise. I didn't think to check on the availability of gloves.
I learned that some people seem to want to panic. I don't know what to do for them.
I learned to share my 'gallows-humor' only with other medics. I should know this already. I hope I can curb that in the future.
Everyone ready for round two? mtm

[mtm]

"Bird flu is endemic in parts of Asia and Africa, and cases of swine flu have already been confirmed in South Korea and Hong Kong..."

"My great worry is that when this H1N1 virus gets into the epicenters for H5N1 in Indonesia, Egypt and China, we may have real problems," he told The Associated Press. "We have to watch what's going on very diligently now."

"This H1N1 hasn't been overblown. It's a puppy, it's an infant, and it's growing," he said. "This virus has got the whole human population in the world to breed in — it's just happened. What we have to do is to watch it, and it may become a wimp and disappear, or it may become nasty."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090508/ap_on_he_me/med_swine_flu_bird_flu

[mtm]

Asian countries agreed on Friday to boost drug stockpiles, share essential supplies and tighten surveillance against an H1N1 flu virus that posed an "imminent health threat" to the region.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090508/wl_nm/us_flu_asia_5