Does anyone else think this has been blown out of porportion???
I live in the town of scotland where its been found, you cant get moving for press :mad:
SBBB - Next Clue - Let's be having you. Just once a week though.
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Does anyone else think this has been blown out of porportion???
I live in the town of scotland where its been found, you cant get moving for press :mad:
SBBB - Next Clue - Let's be having you. Just once a week though.
I was thinking about you when I heard it was Airdrie.
No, I don't think it is blown out of proportion by the responsible media. It is an important, worldwide threat.
However, some of the tabloid press - the Express in particular are totally irresponsible in their reporting.
Some people get the wrong end of the stick and come out with the biggest load of horse manure imaginable. Have you have a look at the Talking POint on the BBC news website on the subject? It is shocking how ignorant and stupid some people are.
My hubby is in Texas at the moment (working with a Mexican crew on a job). I am concerned that he has to fly two planes home. He is always catching stuff on planes (he travels long haul at least twice a month).
At some point there will be a flu pandemic, whether or not this is it remains to be seen.
I think that the public is fed up being scared by AIDS, SARs, CJD, Bird Flu - and assume that every new scare is going to end in the same way. A big talking point on the news but nothing in real life.
Unfortunately we are not talking about a dead swan being washed up in a remote scottish village. We are talking about a new flu virus that has jumped the species barrier and can now be transmitted from human to human.
So far, out with Mexico, the virus seems mild, but in Mexico it isn't and we need to know why this is.
At least the bird flu scare has meant that most developed countries have stock piles of anti viral medication.
Well, 5 confirmed cases in UK, a school shut in Devon and the first confirmed death outside of Mexico - a 23 month old child from Texas.
This could be the tip of the iceberg.
A couple from the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is about 3 miles from were I live have been quarantined in their home. They have returned from honeymoon from Cancun the same time as the couple from Falkirk.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8024611.stm
The five people in the UK are responding well to treatment. All of them have recently returned from Mexico, where they aren't closing the borders. Mexico have to stop people going into and out of the country, it's the only way to prevent further spreading of it to other countries not affected yet.
We can't prevent it spreading in the countries it's already arrived in but we can stop people leaving Mexico and passing it on to other people. Stop international travel, it only takes one person to infect the other hundred or so passengers on a plane who then pass it on to others.
I'm not expert on swine flu but it's pretty obvious that controlling the source goes some way to controlling the spread.
Would it shock and surprise you to know that 30000 to 40000 deaths occur due to the flu each year in the United States? Mainly with old and young.
This doesn't shock me, obviously the flu is a killer, and that is why old and vulnerable people have annual vaccinations against it.
The flu virus mutates readily, and the worry of a new strain is that is transferable human to human is that there is no natural immunity in the population.
If this virus (which, it has to be said, seems at the moment to be more benign that normal seasonal flu) were to mutate into a more viralent strain then we would all be in trouble.
It hasn't happened yet, but it is still sensible to keep an eye on this as it develops. If it isn't this strain, then there will be another one at some time soon.
My mates become quite obsessed with this and keepsgiving us updates from what he's read on the Internet. It scares me how quick it can spread.
A girl in my class, her brother has just returned from America and has been advised to stay at home as he is suspected of having swine flu. He has returned and has all the symptoms and is currently being tested.
Quite worrying really!
Double post, sorry!
Quotes taken from very recent BBC article.. Man I am getting soooo worried now! :(Quote:
The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over the spread of swine flu to level five - one short of a full-blown pandemic. WHO's Dr Margaret Chan: 'All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans'.
My form tutor said this afternoon if it they announce it as level five it will be level six in no time! I feel so lost?! :(
All you can do it be extra careful with hygiene. Washing hands etc. Apparently masks aren't that useful for protecting yourself though. The UK has plenty of stockpiles of antiviral drugs (and I expect other developed countries will do too) so when people get sick they have a good chance of survival.
Its the third world countries that will suffer. If the virus gets over there they may not be able to get afford the treatment, and places like Africa where there is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS (wrecks the immune system) well, it could just wipe them out! :(
Dont worry about the Swine Flu anymore folks I have found the cure
My nephew has bought a load of tamiflu for the family, he bought it when Bird flu was doing it's rounds. just remember to keep your fingers out of your hooter but if you sneeze or cough wash your hands for 20 seconds, that's two verses of Happy Birthday.
Michael Jackson has reportedly abandoned plans to visit Britain over fears that he might catch swine flu.
According to the Daily Express, the 'Thriller' star had hoped to travel to the UK within the next few weeks in order to find a suitable home to live in during his residency at London's O2 arena.
"Michael wanted to come over for viewings... because he wants to make sure the property is just right - after all he will be renting it from now until February next year," The Daily Telegraph quotes a source as saying.
"But that is off for the time being. We are going to send him videos. Michael doesn't want to travel because of the worry surrounding the flu outbreak."
He usually wears a face mask anyway, he could wear a couple now :lol:
Singer Tulisa Contostavlos, from pop band N-Dubz, is being tested for swine flu after falling ill on board a flight to Greece, her manager has confirmed.
The 20-year-old from north London was taken to hospital in Athens.
Miss Contostavlos has undergone tests to determine if she has the virus, which has now been confirmed in 15 cases in the UK.
The band's manager Jonathan Shalit has told the Press Association her band mates are "all very worried about her".
He added that he had "no idea how she got ill" but "the nature of being a singer is that you meet and shake hands with a huge amount of people".
The three-piece, which includes Miss Contostavlos's 21-year old cousin Dino 'Dappy' Contostavlos and their childhood friend Richard Rawson, 22, have enjoyed huge success this year.
They currently occupy the top spot in the singles chart, featuring on Tinchy Stryder's hit, Number 1.
The band are also due to play Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon next weekend but the appearance could be in jeopardy if tests prove positive.
He started it all :lol:
Sorry Im late with all my replies that child who died, I was watching Sky News when It was confirmed the child wasnt from Texas, but from Mexico, the child had travelled their for help with treatmentQuote:
Originally Posted by Trinity
I think to some extent it has caused a large panic that needed
The population of Mexcio is something like 100 million, or that might be one of the cities where it is over populated
Now of course it horrible that people have it and died but if you compare it to the population of these countires and infact the world population that percentage is very tiny.
Also people forget that nowadays the heathcare system is better no matter how much people complain about it, out technology is better
Oh, and I believe one of the last pandemic was years ago, I read one was in 1918, where malnuaturiton was high, we had poor diets, no matter what people might say, ours is better these days,so we are healthier compared to last time, idicating why it is poor countires that will ssuffer the most
Even Winnie the Pooh is not safe
They once said that a black man would be president when pigs fly.
His first 100 Days and wham!! .......... Pigs Flu!
A pregnant woman who was admitted to hospital in Scotland after contracting swine flu has given birth prematurely.
The baby was born on Monday afternoon, at 29 weeks' gestation, in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. The child is stable in intensive care.
The 38-year-old mother, who is said to be critically ill, is one of several people in hospital with the virus.
The total number of swine flu cases in the UK reached 508 after another 49 cases were confirmed on Friday.
The other people in hospital with the virus include a 44-year-old woman from Renfrewshire who is in intensive care, a women aged 23, and two men aged 45 and 37.
The condition of the 37-year-old man has improved and he has been moved from intensive care to a high-dependency unit.
Of the new cases confirmed on Friday, 27 were in England and 22 in Scotland.
Of those in England, 14 were in London and five were in the South East.
Of the cases in Scotland, 16 were in the Highland health board area, five in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and one in Forth Valley.
The second case in Wales has been revealed to be a 66-year-old GP from Neath Port Talbot, who is recovering after contracting the illness on holiday in the US.
The virus is now in 66 countries, with the majority of cases - including 117 deaths - in Mexico and the US.
The World Health Organization warned it was "getting closer" to declaring a global outbreak.
It was on the local news that the newborn baby does not have the swine flu virus and is in a stable condition, which is good news to hear.
While I am typing this I am sneezing all over the keyboard. Pig Flu anyone. :ninja:
A guy in the exam last week asked for a tissue cos he has cold and the teacher well invigulator (sp) made a comment about him better not having swine flu, still the jokes carry on
glad the babys ok. i havent really heard anything about swine flu recently
UN health officials are expected to declare the first global flu pandemic in 40 years, after holding emergency talks on the swine flu crisis.
The World Health Organization called the meeting after a steep rise in the number of cases in Australia.
Hong Kong on Thursday announced it was closing all its nurseries and primary schools for two weeks after 12 students tested positive for the virus.
The last global flu pandemic came in 1968 over the Hong Kong flu.
That pandemic killed about one million people.
A disease is classed as a pandemic when transmission between humans becomes widespread in at least two regions of the world.
The latest virus emerged in Mexico in April and since then thousands of cases have been confirmed throughout North and South America.
The H1N1 strain has spread to 74 countries but the WHO has so far resisted labelling the outbreak a full-blown pandemic.
WHO chief Margaret Chan talked to officials from eight countries with large flu outbreaks on Wednesday in an attempt to confirm the spread of the disease.
She said she believed the situation could be regarded as a pandemic but wanted clear evidence before making an announcement.
The WHO's move follows Australia's confirmation of more than 1,200 cases - a four-fold increase in a week.
All primary schools and nurseries in Hong Kong are to shut for 14 days from Friday in a bid to contain the virus, the territory's chief executive Donald Tsang said.
It follows confirmation that 12 secondary school pupils have contracted the illness. Secondary schools are not yet being ordered to close.
At least 50 people are now confirmed to have the virus in the territory.
The head of the WHO's global influenza programme, Keiji Fukuda, said the situation had "evolved a lot" in recent days.
"We are getting close to knowing that we are in a pandemic situation," he said.
Although most sufferers experience normal flu symptoms and make a full recovery, the WHO has confirmed 141 deaths from 27,737 cases.
The BBC's health correspondent, Jane Dreaper, says classifying the virus as a pandemic does not mean that the virus has suddenly become more deadly.
But it does send a clear signal to health officials and businesses to continue planning for the possibility of large numbers of people catching the virus, she says.
The move may speed up the production of vaccines and prompt national governments to impose measures such as travel bans.
The WHO's emergency committee in Geneva began at 1000 GMT.
I thought that this had all died down since there were no reports about it....
The health organisations are warning that it will become really bad in the coming autumn/winter period and they are urging for vaccines to be stock piled.
I am worried :(
We did have a scare here in Milton Keynes when it first came out and another person was suffering from it in Northampton. But I really believed because it was not in the mainstream news that everything was fine- I guess not :(
Often in a pandemic there are several 'waves.' The first one is widespread and affects lots of people. During this time there's time for a vaccine to be produced.
Then it dies down for several months, few cases reported and vaccines are stockpiled. After that comes a second wave, which is worse than the first and often in the winter.
It's already been seen in Australia, the number of cases has increased four fold in the last week because it's their winter flu season.
Well I hope that they have stocked up on the supplies here!
There's 800 reported cases in the UK. Most people are able to fight it off, there's only a handful that are seriously ill in hospital and no deaths as of yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by ladypink
I'm not worried at the moment. My concern is for the second wave in ~6 months time. There should be a vaccine by then. How many shots available is another matter. At this stage I would hope GSK & Pfizer won't be too concerned with profits and competition and work together to produce it.
I am not worried about now.
I am worried for the winter months.
It's been declared
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8094655.stm
:eek:..............
i heard on the news over the weekend that someone in scotland has died from it, although apparently they did have some other health problems or something as well
The swine flu virus has claimed its first victim in the UK, after a female patient died in a Scottish hospital.
The victim is understood to be a woman aged 38 who gave birth prematurely while being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
More
Her baby died todayQuote:
Originally Posted by Abigail
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...st/8101997.stm
This is very tragic :(
It would seem that not even Celebrities are safe from this virus
And we all know who gave it to hm