http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/24/swine.flu.college/index.html?iref=newssearch
The Swine Flu also known as the H1N1 flu virus is back and on the rise. At the University of Kansas there have already been 41 cases, and school has only been in session for 5 days! The experts expect this year to have a much higher death rate than last year. They anticipate upwards of 90,000 deaths this year alone, compared to 40,000 last year. The elderly and young children are at the highest health risk.
There is a vaccine but it won’t be out until mid to late September and that could be too late. There are a large number of clinical trials being held so they might be able to release it a little sooner but don’t expect it. The bad part is that the vaccine can take up to two weeks to reach full effect and there are two shots to get. The experts say the best preventive measure is to up your personal hygiene. If you do end up getting the flu this year stay home and get plenty of rest.
I really thought that the Swine Flu epidemic was over, apparently it never left. I can’t believe how contagious and deadly the experts expect this flu season to be. Granted, I’m not in the high death rate expectancy because of my age. I still find it significant that they estimate so many losses this year alone with the elderly and young. Hopefully the experienced people in the field of medicine can find a vaccine as soon as possible.
I have to say that I’m glad my semester is solely online. I would really hate to blame one of you for catching the Swine Flu, because I would! Remember to up your personal hygiene and sneeze in your sleeve, I know its gross but who here wants to be known as Typhoid Lloyd? Also remind others of how gross they are and tell them to wash their nasty hands! And DON’T come out of your house if you are sick, stay home!
I will admit that everything that I have read about what the world leaders are expecting for the upcoming flu season is very scary. In my short lifetime I have not witnessed such a pandemic. I think that if the CDC is as worried about is as they are saying, that this needs to be taken into account with schools and places of work as I personally work in a business environment with about six hundred other people and the building I am in is very open. The CDC is saying to stay home, but are peoples employers going to give a little extra time to miss work or is it going to be like getting the flu and you need to stay at home and get better and not spread it or fear for your job.
ReplyDeleteI was also hyped up over this for the last few weeks but a little research helped put me at ease. So the worst flu ever was the Spanish flu that roughly 30% of the population of the world got. That particular virus had about a 3% mortality rate, so you had a 70% chance of not getting it at all and if you got it there was a 97% chance that you would live to tell the tale. All of this was before we knew that washing your hands helped keep you healthy. Also smoking kills over 500,000 people a year and no one is freaking out about that.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you look at the raw data, most of the deaths have been where people who needed it couldn't get immediate, emergency medical care--places where they either had to wait to get a bed in a hospital, or places where a hospital simply wasn't available. Yes, there've been deaths here, but how many people simply thought they weren't as sick as they were?
ReplyDeleteRaw data also suggests that this is far less deadly than the Spanish Flu epidemic nearly a hundred years ago.
There are alot of people who think that if they do not get to close to anyone that everything will be ok. So they walk out of their homes and into work or school and spread the flu. I think that more people need to be truely educated on just how these types of things are spread and just how easy it is to not only get them but how to prevent from spreading them. Good post.
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