Posted on 07/15/2009 9:24:01 AM PDT by Star Traveler
The World Health Organization declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years, even as it stressed there are no signs the H1N1 virus has turned more lethal as it spreads across the globe.
The declaration Thursday by the United Nations agency requires countries not yet exposed to the new influenza strain to roll out pandemic-prevention plans and step up monitoring efforts. It also will likely accelerate efforts to develop a vaccine, expected to take several months.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan said the "overwhelming majority" of people diagnosed with the virus since it surfaced in Mexico in April experienced mild symptoms and recovered quickly without medical treatment.
But Dr. Chan warned that the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, is likely to continue to spread and that it could turn more virulent or affect populations differently. "This early, patchy picture can change very quickly," she said.
Public-health authorities worry that the new flu strain could prove more dangerous in undeveloped countries with fewer health-care resources and higher rates of chronic diseases that weaken immune systems.
The Geneva-based agency had kept its global pandemic alert level at phase 5 since late April, one level below a full-blown pandemic. A pandemic is declared following significant outbreaks in at least two regions of the globe.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
WHO?
Hey, some more news about the first flu pandemic in over 41 years...
I remember my grandmother telling me about how people were “dropping like flies in the street” back when she was around for the 1918 flu pandemic. All her neighbors lost kids in that pandemic but our family didn’t.
What? When? Where? :-)
What do Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend have to do with this?
Never let a crisis go to waste.
I question the timing (healthcare reform outted today !)
Nothing. It's all Keith Moon's doing.
We’re all going to die, I just knew it.
Actually, the article is dated June 12th...
Well, I wouldn’t say that we’re all going to die, but perhaps more will die than died in the last flu pandemic on this level, back 41 years ago.
And the big concern, is also, whether as many will die in this one, as did in the 1918 flu pandemic, which my grandmother told me about, and where they were “dropping like flies in the street”...
As always, there are always some flies left to propagate, so no..., the human race will continue...
Well, if it is dated the 12th, that means that we are already dead.
Hu
I have the proof right here, WHO with the mess crew and the strawberries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CWJa9yK7I
You said — Yep. Star Traveler on Obambi’s payroll.
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I don’t know where you come up with that one... LOL...
I’ve actually posted on the 1918 flu pandemic several times in the past, long before Obama ever came around. That’s a fascinating topic for me, since my grandmother told me about it from her own direct experiences and the fact that her neighbors all lost children, but our family didn’t.
If it reaches the levels of the 1918 flu pandemic, we’ll be in far more troubles than considering who is President... LOL...
I mean, when I heard my grandmother saying that people were dropping like flies, I thought she was using colorful language, but I found out later that people would go to work in the morning, feeling okay, and be dead by the end of the day, some even dropping in the street, dead... (and that they had carts going around picking up dead bodies, too...).
I’d say that’s something well-worth considering... :-)
You said — CRISIS!!!! PASS THE NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE NOW!! SURELY THAT WILL SAVE US ALL!!! /sarc
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I don’t know about you, but I’m talking about the flu pandemic that could be related to the 1918 flu pandemic. And considering that it’s the only one that has qualified for this designation in the last 41 years, I would say that it’s something for people to pay attention to, since we’re going to be entering a flu season pretty soon.
These kinds of things tend to go in spurts and phases, and it’s definitely not over by any means...
You said — Well, if it is dated the 12th, that means that we are already dead.
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These kinds of things actually take a lot longer than just a month... :-)
But, considering that this is something that seems to be so virulent and it’s not even into the flu season yet, I would say we’re in for some big stuff coming up with this flu season...
It’s been a “pandemic” for a month, and still no one I know has gotten it, which is something I can’t say about regular flu. So it doesn’t seem terribly significant to... well anybody.
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