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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2009 6:50:54 GMT
Cases are declining in France, unexpectedly. However, they say that as soon as the weather turns bad, it should be back with a vengeance. But they really don't know. They keep saying "this flu isn't behaving like any other flu in the past." There's something ominous about that.
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Post by tillystar on Oct 2, 2009 13:12:49 GMT
Here they are currently trialing two versions of the vaccine on 1000 children between 6 months and 12 yrs old.
I wonder what is in the mind of the parents who agree to this?
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2009 13:44:22 GMT
Wow. You wouldn't think that would be legal, would you?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2009 17:25:33 GMT
Maybe they get a free box of instant mashed potatoes in compensation or something like that.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 2, 2009 21:30:51 GMT
The killer flu pandemic of 1918 came on similar to this one, a light outbreak in the Northern Hemisphere spring, quiet during summer, returning with a vengeance the next fall. More people died from it than during the Black Death....
The main fear is that it will mutate into something more deadly than it started out as.
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Post by auntieannie on Oct 3, 2009 16:25:43 GMT
Yep, the cases started raising here as soon as the schools reopened. Hopefully, the hysteria that accompanied the first wave won't.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 9, 2009 21:15:41 GMT
Yes, one of our area schools is closed as 1/3 of the pupils have called in sick.
38 of the 50 US states are reporting outbreaks, up from 28 states last week.
The vaccine has arrived, but in nasal spray form that can't be taken by the highest risk patients (pregnant, old, immunocompromised) so it's going to university students.
Injected vaccine is to arrive next week.
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 12, 2009 10:54:27 GMT
We had the first and only death in Germany last week. I was surprised!
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Post by Kimby on Oct 12, 2009 15:28:17 GMT
We've had two deaths in Montana so far. Both had other underlying health problems.
I'm particularly concerned for my BFF whose 10 year old daughter is hospitalized with kidney problems due to Wegener's Disease, a immune-overreaction that is not curable, but can be surviveable. If she comes into contact with the H1N1 virus, it will likely be fatal. This is a kid that was the picture of health 10 months ago...
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Post by spindrift on Oct 12, 2009 22:11:22 GMT
The media in the UK seem to have put SwineFlu on the back burner.....
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2009 5:17:50 GMT
Same in France -- it's mostly out of the news.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2009 10:50:27 GMT
Not out of the news here. 41 states reporting cases here as of yesterday. More deaths particularly of children(don't recall the number). CDC has not produced the adequate amount of vaccines promised for mid-October. People are starting to panic. Someone told me that consuming elderberries helps in the prevention of swine flu. I may be inclined to look further into this and harvest those originally intended for the birds.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 18, 2009 16:50:28 GMT
Three days before departure for Australia I am hale and healthy.
I have not gotten my seasonal flu shot yet because they are given in clinics where sick people are in abundance. I feel the risk of exposure to someone who HAS the flu already is greater than the risk of delaying getting the vaccine. I don't want to get pulled off the airplane for having a fever. (At least not on the way TO Australia.)
H1N1 vaccine is now available here, both in nasal mist form for healthy young adults and in a limited amount of injections for health care workers, which my husband is. His hospital has given him both vaccines over the past few weeks.
I volunteer with school children, so am very wary of my contacts with the little darlings. Dirty looks to anyone who sneezes without covering their mouth. Or better yet, sneezing into their sleeve, to keep their hands germ-free.
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Post by cristina on Oct 18, 2009 17:38:07 GMT
Three days before departure for Australia I am hale and healthy. I have not gotten my seasonal flu shot yet because they are given in clinics where sick people are in abundance. I feel the risk of exposure to someone who HAS the flu already is greater than the risk of delaying getting the vaccine. I don't want to get pulled off the airplane for having a fever. (At least not on the way TO Australia.) H1N1 vaccine is now available here, both in nasal mist form for healthy young adults and in a limited amount of injections for health care workers, which my husband is. His hospital has given him both vaccines over the past few weeks. I volunteer with school children, so am very wary of my contacts with the little darlings. Dirty looks to anyone who sneezes without covering their mouth. Or better yet, sneezing into their sleeve, to keep their hands germ-free. I have to confess that I do not get flu shots. The only one I ever had, some years ago and a live vaccine made me so ill for 2 weeks that I refuse to get another. Yes, I know current flu shots aren't live cultures, but I have come to believe in natural immunity for otherwise healthy people. I'm glad that my 77 year old mother gets her flu shot, for example. I just aim to eat a lot of garlic and slyly expose myself to bits of germs here and there. Its served me well over the years as I rarely get sick beyond the occasional cold. I did have my Dr give me a prescription for both an antibiotic and Tamiflu before I left for Europe, though. Being captive on a ship for 6 days made me paranoid. Besides, the new H1N1 vaccine didn't make it to Phoenix before I left. So I just stocked up on hand sanitizer. That said (about me, anyway), I'm glad to see that my youngest daughter at least pays attention to her school's directions about coughing or sneezing into your arm ( not hand). Apparently it isn't true when I say it. Before I left, her school (of 900 14-18 year olds) had 9 confirmed cases of H1N1. Knocking on wood...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 17:40:10 GMT
The fever dectectors in Asian airports always give me hot flashes, but so far not enough for them to detain me. I already had to walk through those things back in the days of SARS.
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Post by cristina on Oct 18, 2009 17:45:56 GMT
The fever dectectors in Asian airports always give me hot flashes, but so far not enough for them to detain me. I already had to walk through those things back in the days of SARS. You had hot flashes? Please explain.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2009 11:27:14 GMT
I too do not get flu shots. The last one I got was many,many years ago and I became very sick as well. I do not think I will get another one,probably ever.
Fever detectors? Never heard of. At what temperature do they go off? My body temperature always runs high.99.1. 'Tis why the mozzies love me.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2009 13:25:04 GMT
The fever dectectors in Asian airports always give me hot flashes, but so far not enough for them to detain me. I already had to walk through those things back in the days of SARS. You had hot flashes? Please explain. I start heating up the moment I see I have to walk through one of them! They were using them in Bangkok when I was there last month.
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Post by spindrift on Oct 21, 2009 13:37:30 GMT
I will be in Bangkok at the end of the month! Please don't tell me how to recognise the fever detectors or I'll panic and might have a hot flash/flush I wouldn't want to be delayed as I'll be rushing for a connecting flight to Phuket.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2009 13:57:10 GMT
There's no way you can miss them with the big sign on them!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 21, 2009 14:00:28 GMT
Uh, Spindrift?
Wear loose clothing. They are rectal thermometers.
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Post by spindrift on Oct 21, 2009 15:09:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2009 11:29:42 GMT
I was alarmingly struck by how casually on the news this a.m. they said,"oh,if you have swine flu,you may want to consider staying home an extra day as researchers are now saying the flu lasts longer then they originally stated". They might as well have been saying,"if you're going outside today,you may need an umbrella".
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 23, 2009 5:44:42 GMT
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Post by cristina on Oct 24, 2009 4:58:38 GMT
I came home after 2 weeks out of the country (and worrying about swine flu and me) to find out that my son's best friend had been hospitalized with swine flu and pneumonia. He is 26 years old and has been in a medically induced coma for the past 9 days. His condition was featured in last Sunday's newspaper, in fact. As I read the article, I learned that the median age of those hospitalized for swine flu is an astonishing 23 years old.
Everything we read about the flu and vaccines points to the vulnerability of the older population, babies, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Yet the young and strong, presumably young adults, are at a lesser risk. And now I see that these young adults are more likely to be hospitalized.
I am a big believer in exposure, in small doses, to as many viruses as possible over ones lifetime, as a way to build immunity. I held to this philosophy as I raised my own children and they have not been sick often. But my son's friends illness really frightened me because by the time of the Sunday article, he was in very critical condition.
He's improving now, but still on a ventilator and still in the medical coma. Watching this young man's mother and sister, who have been keeping vigil in the hospital all this time, I'm rethinking my my thoughts about the vaccine. Young adults are supposed to be strong and healthy. This young man does not deserve this.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 24, 2009 5:16:29 GMT
How terrifying. His family must be beside themselves. How is your son?
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Post by cristina on Oct 24, 2009 5:31:37 GMT
How terrifying. His family must be beside themselves. How is your son? My son is quite shaken. At 24, his life has been more roses than thorns. But he has a good heart and has been devoted to his friend and his family during this ordeal. I am always an optimist and am sure his friend will pull through, however I am still trying to plan in the event that he does not. Death, especially of a contemporary, is not a familiar concept for my son (who, btw, in looks anyway, could be K2's nephew's twin.) I am hoping that I can visit over the weekend. The hospital has restricted visitation for anyone due to the flu so I'm not sure if it will happen yet. I'll post more as it unfolds.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2009 5:50:12 GMT
The swine flu is very big in Egypt, which even delayed the start of the school year because of it. The airport has not been able to afford the installation of fever detectors, so everybody had to fill out a health card upon arrival with the flight number and seat number, so that they can track all of the people sitting near anybody sick. I can imagine the job of sorting through all of these probably useless cards.
The hotel is full of hand sanitizers at the reception desk and next to the elevators.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2009 10:42:18 GMT
Wow, this is all very alarming.
Cristina,hope all bodes well with your young friend.
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Post by imec on Oct 24, 2009 16:30:53 GMT
Wow cristina! That is clos to home! Hope everything resolves itself soon.
The vaccination program was rolled out in Manitoba last week. Available to everyone in the province but high priority given to the most vulnerable and to healthcare workers first.
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