Mystery Illness Thread (press Conference @ 1pm est.)

15 March 2003 | KickRightRudder

[KickRightRudder]

MSNBC reports mystery illness in Asia-kills every one infected so far. Hundreds more infected. Airlner to Toronto with infected man has been quarentined-- all passengers.

CDC is "EXTREMELY concerned". If these hundreds who are infected die in the next couple of days, we might have the beginnings of a panic. After sophisticated test doctors don't know what it is. Like flu or Pnemonia symptoms, except everybody dies. Press conference at 1pm.

[GirlShortstop]

"and authorities have specifically stated they do not believe the outbreak is terrorism related."

"...but keeping an open mind about it"

[Domestic Church]

"The passenger is a surgeon from Singapore who treated one of the earliest cases there, and who flew to a medical meeting in New York City"

Why was a surgeon treating infectious disease? That doesn't sound right.

Brazell on NBC just said gestation(?incubation would be better term) is 2-7 days and one of the patients in Canada had passed through Atlanta.

[John H K]

From the same people who said flt 587 wasn't terrorism before the fires in Rockaway were even out...

This is a lie, of course, but one impossible to kill.

They said (accurately) that at the time they had no indications it was terrorism.

And they still don't.

[Catspaw]

My daughter has a compromised immune system because she's got rheumatoid arthritis & she's on a ton of drugs to get her immune system back on an even keel. This could be absolutely deadly for her.

And I am NOT going to read "The Stand" ever again.

[Dog Gone]

You're not having dreams telling you to go to a cornfield in Iowa like the rest of us are?

[RightWhale]

how firm our public health laws are

If the disease spreads and sufficient alarm is raised, the fed gov't should act. Airlines grounded, Interstate highways closed, whatever. The effect on the economy would be massive, a terrorist's worst nightmare. The sooner they act the better: nip it in the bud if this is a real danger. But perhaps it isn't as bad as they said, where everyone dies if they get it; interesting to watch and judge the degree of panic over this.

[null and void]

They said (accurately) that at the time they had no indications it was terrorism.

And they still don't.

Dude, I heard the report that it wasn't terrorism with my own two ears. It was only said once. The very next report said they had no indications it was terrorism. I guess they realized just how stupid it sounded, and promptly added the weasle words...

[Dane]

Why was a surgeon treating infectious disease? That doesn't sound right

He's a doctor. He works in a hospital. He sees patients. He gets asked by nurses and collegues for his opinion all the time about conditions to find out what is wrong with a patient.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

I read somewhere (and this story is no exception) that all flus start in China. Speculation runs that because large segments of the population live with farm animals in their houses, germs spread freely back and forth among them and the humans through direct contact. Pigs are especially suspect for generating flu germs, and the Chinese farmers do live with real pigs in the house (the Chinese character for happiness is supposedly a pig under the roof of a house).

For tin-foil hat types, it would be extremely easy to spread a new laboratory-created deadly flu from China to start a world epidemic, especially now that Hong Kong is open to the Red Chinese.

[null and void]

You're not having dreams telling you to go to a cornfield in Iowa like the rest of us are?<P You too??? Oh dear...

[Catspaw]

You're not having dreams telling you to go to a cornfield in Iowa like the rest of us are?

....Nebraska...I keep having these dreams of an old Negro woman...and cornfields....and a swing.....it's Hemingway, maybe Hemingford...I can't quite see it, but I'm to keep moving east....

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I don't know about you, but my dreams keep feeding me visions of wealth, fame and hedonism in Las Vegas.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Its the density of people with domestic animals that feeds it.

[null and void]

(the Chinese character for happiness is supposedly a pig under the roof of a house).

Islam is not going to be good to them...

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Just don't get in my way, and keep that old woman away from me......

[jammer]

A terrorist's worst nightmare or a terrorist's wildest dream?

[Catspaw]

I don't know about you, but my dreams keep feeding me visions of wealth, fame and hedonism in Las Vegas

Did you set any fires around Gary?

[altura]

Where is that cornfield exactly?

Could you give me a Mapit link?

[Eastbound]

"WHO officials said tests by leading laboratories in four countries have failed to find a cause and the illness is responding to neither antiviral nor antibiotic drugs."

Nor does 'Valley Fever,' -- fungal pneumonia. Ketakonozol [sp?] may help if treatment started early enough. I think the Germans came up with this medicine years ago. People are still dying of Valley Fever in this country because of wrong diagnosis. Treating with antivirals or antibiotics exacerbates lung fungus. Biopsies needed for diagnosis. Just a possiblity, and I'm sure this new sickness may not be fungal-based, but who knows?

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Puh-leaze. You must have me confused with one of the FR paleocons - only they would be so whacked out that they'd burn old lady Semple's check, besides, its not time yet.

We'll just say that I'm much closer to the Walkin' Dude than that.