Swine Flu (Chicago, Elmhurst, Geneva: unemployment, schools, closing)

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by hamiltonra25

You clearly know nothing about the stock market, this is ever evident. The stock market isnt crashing because of the housing market. If anything we have recently seen a bull market because the housing market is starting to see an increase. Mainly because of the $8000 tax credit incentives. Secondly you will be thanking Obama in a few short months now that Hugo Chavez is not an enemy of the United States. Venezuela has a plethora of crude oil. People are panicking because this pandemic could infect everyone, not just old and young.

Nah, I was just trying to join in the fun with everyone else on the internet and their panicky, inaccurate analysis on everything. But you're taking everything seriously and ruining the fun!

[MyssaTx]

This is off topic but how do you make your photo albums private without making your profile private

I set my albums to private but people can still see them.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by hamiltonra25

You clearly know nothing about the stock market, this is ever evident. The stock market isnt crashing because of the housing market. If anything we have recently seen a bull market because the housing market is starting to see an increase. Mainly because of the $8000 tax credit incentives. Secondly you will be thanking Obama in a few short months now that Hugo Chavez is not an enemy of the United States. Venezuela has a plethora of crude oil. People are panicking because this pandemic could infect everyone, not just old and young.

Ever heard of sarcasm?

[ERS-One]

I have a feeling everything will be OK.

[skipcromer]

Swine Flu closes Rogers Park school :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

Swine Flu possibility closes elementary school in Rogers Park.

[MyssaTx]

Thanks yall!

[bulldawg1594]

a kid at my school got swine flu. and our school closed down until monday.

[binarybelle]

Originally Posted by long101

The regular flu causes thousands of deaths every year. Everyone is just freaking out cuz they put 'Swine' in front of flu and they think its an outbreak. In the past couple days I have seen much more people walk around with there masks, I want to go sneeze on them.

While I agree that there's no need to panic, we're dealing with something very different than the regular flu here, and it's much more serious than simply being preceded by the word "swine."

Humans have no background immunity to this virus because we're dealing with a new mutation which we haven't been exposed to before. Previously the virus only infected people with direct contact with pigs -- now it's capable of spreading human to human, which is why the potential for a worldwide pandemic exists. Outbreaks of regular flu normally only cause death to those with weakened physical states (i.e. babies, the elderly, & those with autoimmune deficiencies). Now that we're seeing a new virus with no known antibodies, everyone's fair game. That's why we've seen an influx of deaths among the normally healthy.

So yes, the WHO has a right to be cautious and isn't just fluffing everyone up for sensationalism's sake. Should you walk around with a mask on? Probably not. But you should continue to monitor the news and act accordingly.

[long101]

Originally Posted by binarybelle

While I agree that there's no need to panic, we're dealing with something very different than the regular flu here, and it's much more serious than simply being preceded by the word "swine."

Humans have no background immunity to this virus because we're dealing with a new mutation which we haven't been exposed to before. Previously the virus only infected people with direct contact with pigs -- now it's capable of spreading human to human, which is why the potential for a worldwide pandemic exists. Outbreaks of regular flu normally only cause death to those with weakened physical states (i.e. babies, the elderly, & those with autoimmune deficiencies). Now that we're seeing a new virus with no known antibodies, everyone's fair game. That's why we've seen an influx of deaths among the normally healthy.

So yes, the WHO has a right to be cautious and isn't just fluffing everyone up for sensationalism's sake. Should you walk around with a mask on? Probably not. But you should continue to monitor the news and act accordingly.

Im definetly not an expert on this (far from it)... But after reading in the US there are on average 20,000 deaths from the flu and or its complications. Thats like 55 people a day... I think there has only been one death in the US linked to Swine flu. I think we should be more worried about the regular flu then swine flu. Once again not an expert

[binarybelle]

Im definetly not an expert on this (far from it)... But after reading in the US there are on average 20,000 deaths from the flu and or its complications. Thats like 55 people a day... I think there has only been one death in the US linked to Swine flu. I think we should be more worried about the regular flu then swine flu. Once again not an expert

That's precisely why you should be worried. Even with background immunity and vaccinations among the population, the 'regular' flu still causes a large amount of deaths per year. This new strain is only just beginning to hit our population, and we haven't any defenses. Furthermore, now that it's capable of spreading directly from human-to-human, it can continue to mutate making it harder to treat as we search for a vaccination that could potentially elude us for quite some time.

Make no mistake -- the only reason there has been only one death in the United States is because the outbreak initially started in Mexico last month. It will continue to spread. Comparatively, the particular strain of 'regular' flu which we have some immunity to has been around for almost 100 years.