Posted on 05/01/2009 10:24:46 AM PDT by Scythian
Q: Dr. Manny: The reason that this flu pandemic seems to be less deadly than what we saw in Mexico is perhaps that the American population has some passive immunity to some portion of this new virus — and that indeed — one of the unintended benefits of the regular flu vaccine we have been administering over decades is that it’s created some protection — even from this latest virus that has popped up. Is there any truth to this?
A: Dr. Gross: In the flu vaccine — for more than the past 30 years — we’ve had an H1N1 strain in the standard flu vaccine that everyone gets… at least since 1976 when we had the last swine flu scare. So the theory goes that if you’ve had a vaccine that has a N1 in it... when you encounter a slightly different H1 (which is what the swine flu is) that you will be protected from severe illness and death, but not from getting a cold or a bad cold from that flu strain.
The other thing is we haven’t seen reports of a lot of older people getting H1N1 influenza A… so they must certainly be immune. An educated guess here would be that these older people may not be coming down with this new strain because most of them – particularly if they got the standard vaccine — would have some degree of immunity.
Click on the link for the rest of the story
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
None.
So talking about rates, etc is just foolishness.
As an RN, you might find this interesting. Elsewhere I was reading of an OTC drug combination that might work in reducing the dangerous Severe Respiratory Distress associated with influenza, possibly even for use in a cytokine storm event. If you could make some inquiries, this might prove to be a lifesaver.
(Rx) Ace-2 Inhibitor (unk dose), or 10,000 IU Vitamin D for a similar effect.
Histamine-1 Blocker, such as Benadryl, Claritin, or Zyrtec. (unk dose)
Histamine-2 Blocker, such as Tagamet, Zantac or Pepcid. (unk dose)
Ibuprofen. (unk dose)
Importantly, all ingredients are essential for reducing the SRD.
Sounds like a wild rumor frankly .... Towns in Mexico burning bodies? I highly doubt it.
1) My cousin, she has the sniffles
2) I know this girl who is terribly sick
3) This girl, she has swine flu and comes from this crazy backwoods town
4) I hear in the backwoods town they are burning stacks of bodies in the street
and so it goes ....
Interesting. when I was going in for a gallbladder operation the anesthesiologist remarked “you probably won't ever get cancer” when he saw how many medications I was allergic to. Is that true?
Like you, I also see mucho folks who get the shot and still get the flu.
Still, thousands die of the flu each year...Wonder how many of them had a shot...Have never seen a stat on that.
I am sure not going down there to find out.
It makes sense. These pandemics tend to be worst in backwards areas.
When I feel myself coming down with something, I go to bed early and rest. I let my body use all its available energy to fight off the infection while I sleep. I generally wake up the next morning feeling fine, but make sure that I get some more rest to ensure the last of the infection has been fought off. With a viral infection, really the only thing you CAN do is rest and let your immune system operate.
In Mexico, it's more likely to be the case that somebody who doesn't show up for work will not get paid. So people show up sick, exhaust themselves trying to work while also fighting off infection, and the infection is thus able to strongly take hold of their bodies.
I say we dose up Geraldo Rivera with Tamiflu and send him into Mexico as an embedded reporter with a heavily armed red cross team, think of the ratings !!! Come on FoxNews, we’d be glued to the screens, think of the ratings, the advertising money you could charge. Are towns burning bodies in the streets? Who knows, get on it ....
That's also a consideration: your immune system is better able to fight off one infection at a time. When it is continually having to deal with stuff that comes in from an unsanitary environment, it's unlikely to have enough spare capacity to deal with an aggressive viral infection.
That study is more than twenty years old and I never saw follow up studies. However, the theory is reasonable and it is a great conversation starter.
LOL! That doctor kind of shut down the conversation with his drug mix and I never saw him again after I woke up.
Using new and improved statistical models, CDC scientists estimate that an average of 36,000 people (up from 20,000 in previous estimates) die from influenza-related complications each year in the United States. In addition, about 11,000 people die per year from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a virus that causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections primarily in young children and older adults. The study demonstrates that most deaths caused by RSV occur in the elderly.
Is it true that we still have only one confirmed death so far in the US?
I have never had a flu shot, and the last time I even had a sniffle was in 1996, so I am not a good test subject for this theory.
I'm not doubting your words but don't you think that burning bodies is a little extreme? Mexicans are for the most part catholic and I doubt the families would allow "burning of bodies" over traditional catholic burials............
” just finished browsing the CDC’s website. That number is 36,000 or appr. 100 deaths per day on average. Something’s afoot here and it ain’t good!
Hold on a sec while I blow my nose. “
Thank you for the correction.
What’s bad about this is if a real pandemic shows up, people will pay no attention to it.
“Actually, the drug companies have tried to get OUT of the fluvax business, but the gummint won’t let them. Tain’t a money-maker...”
I’ve seen you post enough over the years ... so I’ll take your word for it.
:)
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