Posted on 04/28/2009 12:50:11 PM PDT by DCBryan1
CDC: 'Fully expect we will see deaths'
Apr 28 02:29 PM US/Eastern By MIKE STOBBE ATLANTA (AP)
- A U.S. health official said at least five people are hospitalized with swine flu in the United States and deaths are likely. "I fully expect we will see deaths from this infection," as swine flu cases are investigated, said Richard Besser, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control.
He said he did not know about a newspaper report of two deaths in two southern California hospitals in which the victims seemed to be suffering from swine flu symptoms. "I would say I'm very concerned," Besser said.
"We are dealing with a new strain of influenza, we're dealing with a strain of influenza that appears to be moving through our community." Based on the latest lab analysis, Besser said new flu infections are still occurring.
He noted, however, that ordinary human flu accounts for about 36,000 deaths every year in the U.S.
He said hospitalizations nationwide include three in California and two in Texas. Besser said the country has 64 confirmed cases in five states, with 45 in New York, one in Ohio, two in Kansas, six in Texas and 10 in California. At least four other cases have been reported by states.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
So...I could drink my hand sanitizer?
That’s not what the pharmacist said....(they aren’t the painters mask) AND I rather be prepared and if I fail, then so be it...but at least I tried. PS. I never bought duct tape or plastic, if it got to that point, I’d gladly open the windows. :)
And where can a private citizen buy throwaway masks?
This has a long, long way to go to even reach the SARS outbreak in 2003. I remember then, the spread was much faster and the cases far more numerous. So far, this is being way over-hyped.
One of the problems with a flu that takes out people in the prime of life is it kills health care workers first...
This one seems to be killing people in the prime of life - not just the elderly and very young.
This one seems to be killing people in the prime of life - not just the elderly and very young.
That was interesting and informative, thank You.
Not convinced here either! LOL Like we said last night in discussing these theories — it’s a lot of speculation mixed in with what we are assuming to be facts.
Oink !!!
One thing that is causing MORE worries about this new virus among professionals, and us ‘regular folk’ as well are some of the vague similarities with this virus and the 1918 Spanish Flu.
MOST regular flu viruses don’t cause the “Cytokine Storm” reaction in healthy adults “in their prime”. This one appears to do so — and that is what made the 1918 Spanish Flu so deadly, and why it killed healthy adults in great numbers vs. children, and the elderly.
So, Jonny — you are right that regular flu CAN kill people in the prime of life. But, it would appear that THIS virus (similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu) causes this reaction much more readily than “regular flu”.
One must also consider that the genetic markers of this flu and the combination of the strains. Again, this makes it much different than a “regular flu”.
As for the MSM — of course our media, especially due to their horrible lack of accuracy and competency to begin with is going to ‘sensationalize’ ANYTHING. But, the CDC and the WHO don’t just go around making Pandemic warnings for the ‘fun’ of it. Usually the CDC is the one basically telling the reporters to “stop panicking people” and “this isn’t a big deal”.
Sambucol is great stuff.(Tastes good too.)
True enough, but the info at this point does seem to point in the direction of interesting conclusions.
I appreciate the post.
Not for long.
Ping (Thanks, DvdMom!)
This morning idiot talking heads pontificated that this flu is just like any other which kills 35,000+/year, mostly among the elderly, the young, and the sickly.
However anyone paying attention knows this virus targets those aged 25-45, just like the flu of 1918.
OK, here we go. A brief technical explanation of the links between human influenza, avial influenza, and pigs:
The species which different types of influenza viruses are able to infect are determined by different forms of sialic acid present on the virus glycoproteins. In particular, this property depends predominately (but not exclusively) on the amino acid at position 226 of the haemagglutinin protein.
This provides a considerable species barrier between birds and humans which is not easily overcome. However, pigs provide a "mixing pot" - able to be infected by both types of virus & thus allowing the passage of avian viruses to humans.
How did avian flu infect humans?
In May 1997, a three year-old boy died of complications of influenza in the intensive care unit of a Hong Kong hospital. This case was the first isolation of an influenza A subtype H5N1 in a human. Subtype H5 influenza viruses can cause lethal avian influenza, a disease that can decimate flocks of domestic poultry.
Fortunately, this outbreak eventually fizzled out, but not before there had been 18 confirmed human cases and 6 deaths. Why did the outbreak go away? The H5 haemagglutinin has an HA226gln sequence - i.e. was an avian virus poorly adapted to humans. There is clear evidence that between its emergence in 1997 and 2004, H5N1 isolates have become significantly more pathogenic for mammals
There is a cyclical pattern to pandemics that appears to be from 59 to 68 years. Take a look at this historical chart:
Coffee - don’t forget the coffee!
I can’t ride out a pandemic without coffee!
Thank you Polarik! I just read something about how pigs can serve as an “incubator”, and so that combined with your post is making a LOT of sense. My ‘intuition’ has told me this was not a ‘natural’ virus, and somewhere along the way there was a scientist and a “lab” involved - whether on purpose, or accidental.
I actually DO understand what you’ve written here, even if I’m not at the point of understanding it enough to explain it to someone else at that level! [Working on that! LOL I really wish I had listened to my Mom (may she RIP - 12 yrs. today), and that I had gone into medicine! Gives my brain a good work-out but remains fascinating at the same time for me! :)]
One question for you — in your research/reading are you leaning towards the “terrorist bio-weapon” theory, or a “lab accident/mistake” theory? Don’t worry about replying if it’s going to take you away from your research on this or anything! LOL I’m just curious.
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