H5N1 Flu - Scare mongering? Serious threat?

[Neil]

If what we're being told happens, society would collapse! No transport? Failing food supplies? Millions dead?

[Adrenochrome]

I haven't heard anything about it this year.....so far.... Give the media here time.....it's almost Flu season.

[MinionZombie]

First I've heard of it ... ahhh, ignorance is bliss... I'd say half of these epidemics in waiting are scare mongering, something for the media to latch onto, and because you see it all over the news you end up thinking it's some serious sh*t, when more often than not, they just have nothing else to report. That's a problem with this 24/7 news we have these days.

[Neil]

Guess 1918 is a warning... I think that was H1N1 that mutated and killed 50m people... And an event such as that happening today with more people, and more people moving.... Could be nasty! The moment thousands start dying, society will start to unwind... Would you go out? Would you go to work? Would you go and bye food, where anyone you pass could cough and give you a virus that could make you die by drowning in your own blood?

[Eyebiter]

From http://www.birdflubook.com Often it's not the flu itself that will kill you, it's the secondary bacterial pneumonia infection. Essentially in the process of fighting the infection your body's own immune system responds with such vigor that it ends up destroying the lungs. In 1918 people would turn blue from lack of oxygen and start spitting up blood. Autopsy would show lungs full of bloody phlem, up to six times their usual weight due to the amount of congealed liquid. Some peoples lungs would acutally burst internally due to the force of coughing, trapping air underneath the skin. When they would move or turn over it made a sound like the popping of a bowl of rice krispies cereal. The current strain of H5N1 bird flu has a 50% mortality rate among those infected in Southeast Asia and China. So far the infections have been mostly found in relative proximity to poultry. However there HAVE been human to human transmissions of the flu, contrary to what is being reported in the media today. A good science website to track the virus is http://www.recombinomics.com/whats_new.html http://www.avianflutalk.com isn't too bad, lot of discussion about how to prepare for the pandemic. Just expect a lot scare mongering since these vendors WANT to sell their SHTF goods. 1918 pandemic spread in the USA

[Neil]

I think H1N1 had a 1 in 10 mortality rate? And H5N1 is potentially 1 in 2? HOLY F***!

[Eyebiter]

This illustration shows a British soldier displaying the distinctive blue coloration of heliotrope cyanosis. Secrets of the Dead: Killer Flu http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_killerflu/

[Tricky]

Quick!we best pay Gordon Brown & Tony Blair more taxes so they can use their superhuman powers to stop the virus!we're going to be killed to death by climate change,floods,osama bin laden,a giant meteor & flu,not in that order

[Neil]

Are you not tempted to build up stocks/food supplies? Quick!we best pay Gordon Brown & Tony Blair more taxes so they can use their superhuman powers to stop the virus!we're going to be killed to death by climate change,floods,osama bin laden,a giant meteor & flu,not in that order Well... In reality one of those is a minor threat... All the rest merit concern. And I suspect the one I deem the minor threat is having the most money thrown at it... Regarding the 1918 flu, this quite interesting... http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditio...hargica1.shtml

[_liam_]

avian flu? from what i read it's very hard to contract, you need to somehow take infected bird faeces or blood into your bloodstream - what are the chances of that? plus, not to sound like that eamon devalera guy, but there's a fishy connection between that defunct vaccine and rumsfeld's share in roche (? i think) pharmaceuticals.

[Adrenochrome]

Are you not tempted to build up stocks/food supplies? Living here smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley, I have a basement full of MRE's and purification tablets (for water, of course) - (weapons and plenty of ammo in case of a zombie outbreak or unwanted stalkers ) But, I don't know about this Flu thing. I mean, "they" tried to convince us that the world was going to end a few years back with SARS - and, before that, in the US (not sure about worldwide) "they" tried to tell us the world was going to end due to West Nile Virus and to cover ourselves in DEET or bomb all mosquito nests with Napalm (or something like that). Last winter "they" told us that H5N1 COULD be here (United States) by Sept-Oct of 2006.....This thread is the first I've heard of it since last winter. Now, I'm not saying it can't mutate and start killing off humans....But, as it is now, I'm not too worried. avian flu? from what i read it's very hard to contract, you need to somehow take infected bird faeces or blood into your bloodstream - what are the chances of that? Check this out: Clickety click

[MinionZombie]

lol, yes! And then Tony Blair can start up another crusade to save something else ... a practice which ironically costs the nation an incredible amount of money. Now, hopefully we'd be able to deal with such a pandemic better than people could back in 1918, I'd hope that medical practices are a bit more advanced these days ... yes, that does include the NHS!

[_liam_]

aye. stil not scared. although points about the way our globalised society is structured aiding a pandemic's spread are too true. although i often think if al qaeda are so sh*t hot, why not just infect 4 guys with ebola zaire and sent them on a trip around europe? scary thought.

[mista_mo]

Wow....and I thought that Celine Dion was a deadly virus....

[coma]

"Today is a good day to die" Worf