Ironically, to be actually diagnosed with the flu, you have to have a culture by either a mouth swab sent to a lab or a blood test. If you test positive, you are prescribed Tamiflu. Problem is, the flu is a virus, much like the “common cold.” Tammiflu must be administered within 48 hours and doctors are not “supposed” to write scripts for it until it is actually diagnosed.
Doctors are cautioning on the safe side and issuing scripts based on the symptons alone. If you go to the doctor with a fever, headache and a cough, YOU WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH THE FLU. You will become a statistic. The swine flu takes additional tests.
Personnaly, I know two people that were “diagnosed with the swine flu.” Neither of them had a mouth swab or a blood test, both were prescribed Tammiflu and both were told it is treated the same way as Influenza A so there was no need to try and distinguish which flu they had.
I am skeptical about this pandemic, as I was with the SARS and the Bird flu.
Which leads me to what I think it REALLY happening.
This virus affects people with compromised immune systems - that would include people who carry the AIDS virus - and the numbers for blacks and gays are much higher than for whites and straights... I think that's what the panic is about and has been about... more democrats are dying from the flu.
I go back and read this every so often.....
http://www.fumento.com/disease/flu2005.html
Pretty much nails it....
Maybe these points will help.
They don’t like to give Tamiflu as a prophylactic because of the potential to create a Tamiflu resistent strain of H1N1.
The state’s conduct random testing (thousands each week) to determine prevalence and type of predominate flu. Almost all tests are coming back H1N1.
If you have flu-like symptoms it is now presumed you have H1N1 based on the sentinel testing (which continues). Treatment for flu is the same regardless — so determining the type is pointless outside of the sentinel testing.
Testing every single person to determine the type of flu would be an incredible waste of time and resources. If they advocated testing every single person FReepers would rightfully be screaming “government waste” at the top of their lungs.
Declaring a national emergency does make sense as far as the rules for hospitals is concerned. Like everyone else, however, the timing is incredibly suspect.
Hope this helps.
I agree with pretty much all you said—my neighbor was saying 1,000 died and that had her concerned. I told her that I thot around 30,000 die annually from flu—just not reported in media and usually very old/ young and sick.
Daughter at college and they are not doing anymore testing unless kids want to go to hosp. for the test. Based on her sypmtoms, fairly certain she has it, but no official diagnosis.
I know one person who has died of the swine flu (at least that was the official word—she was in the hospital for a couple of weeks before she died). I have never known anyone that died of flu before, but I don’t mean that I think it’s more dangerous than any other flu. I just wonder why an apparently healthy middle aged person died from it.
I agree it is a scam. I personally don't trust the governments numbers but even at that "millions" is plural so there must be at least 2,000,000 if not more cases with "over 1,000 deaths" probably means "around a thousand" or the higher number would have been cited. That comes out to a measly .0005%, hardly a pandemic.
A 5 yo girl died in the Austin TX area and it was attributed to H1N1 but stated further test were required to affirm and the results weren't back, at that time.
I don't know if the results were ever published.
I am glad this administration has so sullied its integrity that the American people in generals, and Freepers in particular, are alerted to these possible shenanigans.
And Swineflue has only killed 1,000 and he assumes emergency powers. It's too convenient.
This thing is a bunch of bunk and stupid dog waggin’ the tail stuff.
Less than 1% of people who will come down the “FLU STRAIN” will die. Sad? Tragic? Hell yes but, the mortality rates for this flu and the other strains that show up every year are about the same.
It isn’t even new. They pulled the same crap in 1976 and some 5000 people were paralyzed from the vaccination and never recovered.
Just got off the phone with a friend and I was trying to explain the facts and information that is in the public domain, all the while saying that I understand your fear, but....
She is just went off on my about conspiracies and crap. I told her that in fact this one is and there are huge profits to be made from and we aren’t a part of it.
The pandemic is indeed present. We have seen numerous cases. Fortunately for the vast majority of people, they have little to no symptoms, or something on par with the common cold. However, those that get sick, get REALLY sick. Fortunately it is a small number of those infected. I do not see a national emergency here any more than with the regular cold and flu season.
Mouth swab....nope. It’s a nasal swab and it hurts!
You are absolutely correct. Seasonal illnesses like the common cold and influenza rarely require hospitalization or even medical treatment. The symptoms of the common cold have significant overlap with influenza, and influenza itself (the “normal” flu) is almost identical to H1N1. So, like you said, people who go to the doctor will be prescribed Tamiflu and the doctor will report is as a “likely” case of H1N1.
I am uncertain as to whether the deaths attributed to H1N1 are confirmed in a laboratory or not.
SARS, Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome was a dusty relic in the corner of the etiological closet up until Jim Henson (Muppets) stepped off an overseas airplane and collapsed on the tarmac; even after emergency evacuation to hospital and aggressive treatment he died from pulmonary edema and an autopsy was inconclusive.
Epidemic averted, business as usual for many years until an Asian national developed similar symptoms, followed by others still with no discrete pathogens — at the drop of a diagnosis and a dollop of panic, our current understanding of SARS was born.
We are no more informed now than then but far more certain, and such is the way of worry.
Now, having been caught in the enervating web of worry since 9/11/2001, every sneeze, blown-out tire or sniffling child is enough to send us all running to the nearest corner; it’s become quite crowded and hard to breathe in here.
I want my mommy!!!
What if you’ve got the rockin’ pneumonia or the boogie woogie flu? Can he declare martial law then?