New Swine Flu Strain Gives CDC Pandemic Concerns

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   To add to the handwashing bit.  If there is no water around (out shopping, on the bus, etc.) carry a bottle of alcohol gel to rub your hands with.  Cough into your elbow or shoulder, not your hand, to prevent spreading the disease.

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PrairieFarmer Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reliable Friend Joined: 04 October 2006 Location: D. of C. Online Status: Offline Posts: 6959	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 11:58am
	To add to the handwashing bit. If there is no water around (out shopping, on the bus, etc.) carry a bottle of alcohol gel to rub your hands with. Cough into your elbow or shoulder, not your hand, to prevent spreading the disease.
	Trevor Never get a guy named Lizard to set up and maintain a website for you.

AlaskaMAn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Resident Shaman Joined: 22 March 2005 Location: Alaska Online Status: Offline Posts: 17595	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 12:58pm
	An infant from Mexico died this morning from this thing. It appears they came here looking for medical help, very sad. I can't imagine the pain of loosing such a young one. So much for the whole attacking the healthy 15-30 year olds.
	Remember You Don't Stop Laughing Because You Grow Old, You Grow Old Because You Stop Laughing! Rob Interior Alaska

gracekelli Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Pal Joined: 27 January 2007 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 1436	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 1:43pm
	Our local news warned anyone seeking med attention to alert staff ahead so they were prepared and not turned away unneccessarily. Hmmm. There's a potential epidemic. I'm sick. You're a doctor. What the heck else do you need to prepare?
	Kelli "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.

jayBC Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 October 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1034	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 1:59pm
	Hmmm. There's a potential epidemic. I'm sick. You're a doctor. What the heck else do you need to prepare? With the Economic downturn, 45%+ of Americans not having Health Care coverage, etc, clinics and emergency wards are swamped. One public clinic in South Carolina, has gone from seeing patients within the our, to not taking any new patients, and a 22 day wait for existing patients. Needless to say, right now, suspected Flu patients should get bumped up in the queue. So you phone first, get bumped up in the queue, they take you aside to the virology lab, take samples, send you home with the usual advise and maybe a shot of TamiFlu, and stay alert to your progress,..... rather than going in with no warning, hacking and sneezing on the other 200 people waiting, covering every infectable surface, while the Triage staff keep bumping breaks, sprains, gunshots and car accidents ahead of you,.....

gracekelli Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Pal Joined: 27 January 2007 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 1436	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 2:30pm
	Operative here is should get bumped up in the que. I guess I'm suspicious that that's the case. Find an isolation room to put them in at the hospital/clinic whatever and see those patients first. Hell, have someone posted at the front door to divert those suspected into isolation. Either way it's not like anyone's making house calls to keep these people out of the general population. What if they took the bus to get to the clinic? I don't necessarily agree with "call ahead".
	Kelli "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.

AlaskaMAn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Resident Shaman Joined: 22 March 2005 Location: Alaska Online Status: Offline Posts: 17595	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 2:37pm
	Are there enough medical personnel to handle even a moderate pandemic? If I'm a entry level or new hire into the medical field with a family to think about do I even show up? Let’s say this goes Level 5 and Obama orders a mandatory vaccination program (whether or no I comply is another issue) are there even enough people to inoculate 365 million Americans and those are just people in this country we know about?
	Remember You Don't Stop Laughing Because You Grow Old, You Grow Old Because You Stop Laughing! Rob Interior Alaska

PrairieFarmer Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reliable Friend Joined: 04 October 2006 Location: D. of C. Online Status: Offline Posts: 6959	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 2:38pm
	I heard of the radio that there currently is not a vaccine for this strain, and it would take four months just to develop it.
	Trevor Never get a guy named Lizard to set up and maintain a website for you.

jayBC Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 October 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1034	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 2:52pm
	Operative here is should get bumped up in the que. I guess I'm suspicious that that's the case. Find an isolation room to put them in at the hospital/clinic whatever and see those patients first. Hell, have someone posted at the front door to divert those suspected into isolation. Either way it's not like anyone's making house calls to keep these people out of the general population. What if they took the bus to get to the clinic? I don't necessarily agree with "call ahead". One would hope that the Health Care Professionals and dedicated Organisations like the CDC, should be up to speed on handling the initial stages of possible pandemic's. On the other hand, budget cuts of the past 8 years, and being deprived of funds and leadership for political grandstanding, well,..... One would think, that by now, or the next few days, one of the doors at Clinics and Hospitals will be labeled Flu Patients Only, with lot's of signage directing them that way. It would be nice if the Health Care Professionals could go out, house to house, as calls came in, rather than having people have to travel in public, but there simply are not enough Health Care Professionals anymore.

LodeStar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Wizened Sage Joined: 29 July 2004 Location: woods and water Online Status: Offline Posts: 36125	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 2:57pm
	I rec'd this email from a friend who lurks and reads threads here...I'll attribute it to him when/if he gives me permission: Hey Bruce...I've been reading the swine flu thread in GH over at HS.ORG.. Do me a favor.. Post this for me, because I'm afraid some folks are heading down a very dangerous path by trying to "boost" their immune systems ahead of this wicked, wicked flu. The first thing everyone needs to understand is that there's no such thing as "the" immune system when it comes to the human body. The human body has two immune systems -- humoral immunity, and cellular immunity. First, let's talk about the humoral immune system. It's also known as the TH2 immune system. The TH2, or humoral, immune system creates antibodies from pieces of killed virii that the cellular immune system has already destroyed, and those antibodies stick with us pretty much forever. Next time our body sees that virus signature, it releases a bunch of signature-specific antibodies to eat them and you don't get sick (or, perhaps not as sick). When you get a vaccine, you're basically pre-loading your humoral immune system with a viral signature. Since this "swavian" flu is very likely something that no living human has ever seen before, your humoral immune system isn't going to do squat for it.. That leaves the cellular immune system to tackle it. The cellular immune system is also known as the TH1 immune system. It basically attacks all "non-self" entities in the body (though, sometimes it attacks 'self' in the case of autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus, mixed-connective tissue disorder, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc..). If you get a splinter in your finger, it's the cellular immune system that attacks it and causes it to swell, fester, and eventually rupture, thereby expelling the splinter and setting you on the course to healing. If you happen to have stray cancerous cells floating around somewhere (which we all do), it's the cellular immune system that says "Hey, you're not supposed to be here!" and takes action by latching on and releasing Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha) to kill the tumor cells. There's another tool in the cellular immune system's arsenal called Interferon Gamma (IFN-gamma) which is supposed to prevent viral cells from dividing, should you get a virus that you've never had before.. Then there are the pro-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-3, IL-6, etc... Generally, when things are advertised as "immune boosters" or say they "strengthen the immune system," they're referring to TH1 immunity. HERE'S THE THING: There's really no such thing as "boosting" your immune system. All you're really doing by "boosting" your immune system is DISREGULATING your immune system toward a stronger TH1 profile. You shouldn't ever really want to disregulate your immune system, but you especially don't want to disregulate your immune system toward a strong TH1 profile ahead of this particular virus.. Why? Because this one appears to be very, very good at killing people with their own TH1/cellular immune system. See, it's not this "swavian flu" virus, per se, that's killing people... What's killing people is the "cytokine storm" this virus induces. A "cytokine storm" is basically an extremely acute autoimmune condition resulting from a DRAMATIC shift into a hellatious TH1 profile...a shift so hard that it literally starts hitting everything with TNF-Alpha and releasing so many pro-inflammatory cytokines that everything in your body becomes inflamed. Your organs begin to shut down... The inside of your lungs become inflamed, begin sloughing off, filling with fluid, and the next thing ya know...you're dead. Do a google on "cytokine storm" and you'll find a lot of information on the Spanish Flu, since that's what the Spanish Flu did to kill people. Incidentally, the Spanish flu also killed younger people with "stronger" (TH1 profile) immune systems....and it started in the Spring, which is not the "correct" time for the flu. So, people...please. Think twice before you pre-shift yourself into a strong, TH1-activated profile ahead of this flu. Don't be fooled into disregulating your immune system, thinking you're "boosting" your immune system. You may only be doing the flu a favor and pre-conditioning your immune system to its advantage. Do things to REGULATE your immune system.. Eat better. Get good sleep. Exercise. Something that's really, really, really important, IMHO, is to get your circulating Vitamin D3 levels up...consider asking your doc for a 25-hydroxyvitamin-D3 test, and shoot for a minimum of 40ng/ml. 50ng/ml is better.. Anyway, based on what I've learned, I can't stress D3 enough...it's something we're most all lacking, since most of us spend very little time naked in the mid-day sun...especially coming out of winter. Fact is, D3 isn't actually a vitamin at all.. It's basically a hormone, and it's an anti-inflammatory hormone at that. If you are lacking in cholecalciferol (stored D3) and can't convert enough of it knock down some of the pro-inflammatory cytokines in the wake of a flu like this, you've got one foot in the grave already. I'm going to have a test done soon, and if I'm low...I'll start taking 5,000IU supplements twice a day...10,000IU total. The FDA daily recommendation is 400-800IU, but scientists who know D3 disagree with that recommendation vehemently....you be your own judge. Bear in mind that all this immune system talk isn't something I've read in the last three or four days, either.. I've been looking at -- practically obsessing over -- this stuff for months now, on account of something totally unrelated to the flu. After learning what I've learned about the immune system, when I saw the phrase "cytokine storm" in relation to this swavian flu, my heart came up in my throat.. Seriously, people...this bug is not to be trifled with. Let me also say this...if I personally find myself on death's door with swavian flu, I'm gonna DEMAND cyclosporin A and about 100mg of prednisone. These two drugs -- especially cyclosporin A -- might seem counterproductive to someone with an active viral infection, but look deeper...do your homework. I'm not a doctor, so that's all I feel comfortable saying about that. Go read. Frankly, since we've been warned about this flu ahead of time, our cognitive abilities are probably our strongest defense at this point...that is to say, think of ways to avoid catching it. Wash your hands a lot. Wash and cook (and grow/kill) your own food, instead of letting someone else handle it. Avoid crowds when possible. There's actually a lot you can do, when you think about it... And, if you're the praying type, PRAY PRAY PRAY that they get a vaccine together before the fall. My money's on an outbreak lull here over the next few months, followed by a true pandemic this Fall. That's what happened in 1918-1919. So, that's all.. I'm going to crawl back into my hole now. Good luck.
	I feel as if I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe! Lost in the woods in Northern Minnesota

Zinnia Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Pal Joined: 26 March 2007 Location: New York Online Status: Offline Posts: 3383	Quote Reply Posted: 29 April 2009 at 3:49pm
	Thanks Bruce, it confirms what I've been reading. Common sense tells me to stay as healthy as I can be, get lots of sleep, avoid crowds, wash my hands a lot, stop rubbing my face (which I have a bad habit of doing!), and I won't be trying to boost my immune system if I become symptomatic. I eat well anyway... and maybe I won't stop taking my vitamin D3 just yet ( I usually take it from 9/21 - 3/21)!
	" make hay while the sun shines"