Swine Flu in Japan May Trigger Pandemic(Japan has 150 patients)

WebMD ^ | 05/18/09 | Daniel J. DeNoon

[TigerLikesRooster]

Swine Flu in Japan May Trigger Pandemic

In U.S., 8 New York City Schools Closed as H1N1 Swine Flu Spreads Across Nation

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

May 18, 2009 -- H1N1 swine flu appears to be spreading in Japan, pushing the world to the brink of an official flu pandemic.

Japan's cases of H1N1 spiked today with 104 new lab-confirmed cases, raising that nation's swine-flu case count from 25 to 129. Ten schools in the Kobe City area reported 78 of the new cases.

If the new cases do indeed represent "community-level sustained transmission" of the virus in Asia, it would be the second region of the world to have wide spread of H1N1 swine flu. That would meet the official WHO criteria for moving from the current level 5 pandemic alert to the ultimate level 6 alert.

Aside from the emotional shock, the formal pandemic declaration won't mean a lot to the U.S., Anne Schuchat, MD, the CDC's interim deputy director for science, said at a news conference

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[EggsAckley]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!
Yet another gloom/’n/doom report.

bah.

[PapaBear3625]

I have yet to see where swine flu is having any bigger effect than the regular flu (which kills over 30,000 in the US in an average year)

[FightThePower!]

Hahahaha. Fool.

[Free State Four]

We are DOOMED I tells, ya! DOOMED!

[SamAdams76]

Whatever happened to the good old days of global warming?

We were so much more innocent back then.

[Revolting cat!]

Let’s say that the 150 have each infected two, the 300 have each infected two, 600,have each infected two, 1200 have each infected two, 2400 have each infected two, 4800 have each infected two, 9600 have each infected two (my calculator doesn’t go beyond 10000, but you get the ideer!)

[EnquiringMind]

But this is not flu season. Just wait.

[ViLaLuz]

The CDC says there are nearly 40,000 new cases of HIV annually in the USA. Where is the hysteria over this?

[luckystarmom]

Then you haven’t read this:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE54H3QO20090518?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true

As I have 3 kids aged 12-14, and 2 of them are high risk for complications from the flu, I’m concerned.

I’m supposed to go camping with 40 6h graders on Wednesday, and they have regular flu going around their school.

[grey_whiskers]

Check the CDC statistics on flu.

Possible counterexample from Science Daily.

Note that the article is from 2005...

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

The CDC says there are nearly 40,000 new cases of HIV annually in the USA. Where is the hysteria over this?

You don't catch AIDS from doorknobs, but *ssholes. /sarc>

Cheers!

[DTogo]

Certainly the population density and packed commuter trains could help the flu spread quickly.

日本＊ピング＊ (kono risuto ni hairitai ka detai wo shirasete kudasai : let me know if you want on or off this list)

[skinkinthegrass]

thanks, for the ping....and w/ Japan's overcrowding / aging population....a real big problem.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

my calculator doesn’t go beyond 10000

SRSLY?

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

The CDC says there are nearly 40,000 new cases of HIV annually in the USA. Where is the hysteria over this?

AIDS hysteria is politically incorrect. Who's gonna take the heat for quarantining the demographic that has most of the cases?

[verity]

Swine Flu in Japan May Or May Not Trigger Pandemic.

[BunnySlippers]

I thought we had 5,000.

[dsc]

Why are they so eager to have a pandemic?

I’ve been hearing pandemic pandemic pandemic pandemic pandemic pandemic for how many months now, with no signs of a pandemic anywhere. What gives with this?