Posted on 04/24/2009 4:17:52 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MEXICO CITY A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.
The worrisome new virus which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.
"We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

Centers for Disease Control Acting Director Richard Besser, M.D. answers questions regarding the swine flu at the Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia April 24, 2009. A strain of flu never seen before has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and has also appeared in the United States, where eight people were infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES HEALTH ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TRAVEL)
Now I’m concerned because they are already concerned. Something is odd here. Maybe the numbers are higher than admitted b/c remember we’re talking Mexico and I don’t think they have the same high standards as we do for reporting things like this.
Meanwhile, I’m going to be avidly watching the ProMed site.
Can Muslims get swine flu?
A nasty combination never seen before which has killed dozens of people is a bit more than "worrisome." Here's a novel idea to slowing it down - close the borders!
I suppose it’s too late to seal the border now!
Yes, and I’d suggest staying far away from anyone that speaks Spanish (or its derivative).
Thanks for the Promed site. Looks like good info.
Newsflash - I, in no way, will support The Usurper in the Oval Office! Biden can gird his own loins.
Oh, oh! I better add face masks and rubber gloves to my deployment bag. And hand sanitizer and baby wipes, too. It’s going to be an interesting summer. Obummer is going to call us up, I just know it, to try to seal the border.
The oldest captain in the TX state guard
Great, a manbirdpig virus.
Just wondering if a Muslim dies of swine flu will they get their 72 virgins?
So, I'm kind of hoping that there might be some cross-immunity available from the H1N1.
.
Do you happen to know if food handling gloves provide the same protection to the wearer as the gloves in my doctor’s office?
Genetic material from pigs, birds, and humans sounds a lot like a human creation to me - am I being paranoid? Or is it a just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you kinda thing . . .
Only if you dip them in tequila
It is excellent. I’ve been checking on there for years - everything is on there and I’m not kidding. It’s the site the epidemiologists use.
A treatise on flu prevention/prep for epidemic:
http://www.survivalblog.com/asianflu.html
Main site has excellent advice on all kinds of survival stuff.
bump to myself.
I have 2 or 3 bags of food handling gloves. I guess they’d be better than nothing.
The worrisome new virus which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before
- - - - - - - - -
What are the possibilities that this is a created form of Bio Terrorism or at least a “trial run”?
sh!t... 0goatse wouldn't close the border if it was the BlackPlague itself.
On the count of three all registered Democrats need to breath deep and.............
Puh-leeze! Just the mere mention of Biden's loins is enough to make one barf!
Did you happen to see the article earlier this week about parasites limiting the body's autoimmune response ?
If ( this is purely speculative) that is true, then the best thing for a healthy adult between the ages 20-45 ( especially those with bad allergies) to do would be to go out and get a case of body lice, or pin worms.
The immune response would be suppressed, and I think it's the overactive response that actually does the killing in these cases.
Yuckky, but safer.
Thanks. I know it may sound crazy but a few years back I did buy a box of masks - not an alarmist but I figured it couldn’t hurt to have them in case some weird new epidemic showed up - maybe this is it. I hope it fizzles out.
I have some masks from the “bird flu scare” still.
I hope I don’t have to use them this time, either.
Just checked on Drudge. Supposedly there are at least 1,000 cases in Mexico that we know of right now....
They need to close the borders. They say it’s too late b/c it’s shown up in Texas and California but I say it’s never too late. They could contain it if they want to - but maybe that’s the point.
I remember working with some Japanese people back when that happened and one of the guys went to Japan and came back wearing a mask - he wore it for a week at work and just said he had “ a cold” but he never had worn one before when he had “a cold.” One of my friends and I kept joking, “bird flu.” I still think we were right. THAT’S when I bought the masks. They were cheap.
I think it’s time to stock up on some supplies. Honestly, it’s the smart thing to do anyway - disasters can come in many ways and preparedness is a good thing. I wish my husband was a little more of a planner - he’s the worst (worst) procrastinator and very unorganized. Drives me crazy.
If it gets bad there, we will be inundated with infected illegals trying to get to free medical treatment here.
I can see your hypothetical scenario having a great deal of potential credibility.
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