Yeah, but now people are afraid of going outside in public without a mask, the President of Egypt is ordering a massacre of all pigs, and Mexico has a state of "no kissing policy"... c'mon people.

Most of the people in my family including me and my baby have asthma so all kinds of flu virus scares us. So naturally we are worried about this new swine flu

This is a good read.Its very informative.
CDC H1N1 Flu | Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)

There are deaths from flu every year, and this particular one will not be an exception.

But, is the increasing panic really necessary?

Here is some info with additional links on the side on this newest scare.

TheStar.com | Opinion | 1976 swine flu story swung from fear to farce

I don't see a panic thing happening but I know it is wise to be prepared and educated.
New York where I am from has the highest cases in the U.S.

That gives me pause .

One of our local high schools is closed.There is two cases in my small community and it's a teenager so you know he went to the mall.

The potential for allowing it to kill is dependent on our response to stop it.

That what happened in Mexico,the Gov.failed to act and the result was thus far I believe 150 deaths.

Our V.P. said don't travel in planes or subways if you can avoid it. What does he know that I don't know ?

I believe in the old boy scout motto *be prepared*. I also like this one :)
A stitch in time saves nine!

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.

I've read that the cases here were all mild.

One part of me says, pandemic, the other side says, what's the panic all about.

Being Gemini, I'm naturally confused at the best of times. :confused:

LOL... artlady... I am the same... but then I occasionally read both and pick which one I like best and go with that one... ;)

I'm taking a wait and see approach. Yes, I understand that this is a mutated strain... but it is not new.

Right now I am thinking we are more aware obviously because it is something "new"... waiting to see what direction it takes, but odds are it will be similar to SARS and the bird flu... a fair number of people will get it, some will die, it will always be around to some degree, whether active or dormant. Will it become a major, widespread, health concern? I don't know, but don't think so... at least at this stage.

If the majority of people who become infected, or a large number, were to die because of it, I would be more concerned, but right now it seems the majority have basic flu symptoms, feel lousy for awhile, take meds, and get better, and that is the extent of it.

As with anything new, the media will be all over it... and the constant attention will naturally put some people into panic mode.

Look what happened to mad cow, bird flu, SARS, etc. they are major news for awhile, but quickly slip away when other news takes its place. They are all still around... but didn't become the major concern as the hype made them out to be.

Be smart... take the precautions you normally would with a flu virus, but I'm not overly concerned at this point. Will wait and see if more needs to be done.

It's not all the government. Mexico has a far less developed health care system than does the US or Canada for example. A lot of it in Mexico is due to the lack of education on the part of the people as well as a lack of medical care.

I agree, those people would have likely died from the regular everyday flu variants that we deal with seasonally.

I wish people would not freak out. This is the FLU people. We get it every day. The people who are at the highest risk of death are the very young, the very old, immunosuppressed and pregnant women. No different than the everyday flu that goes around every year.

The only difference here is that most of us don't have an acquired immunity to this strain, but that still does not mean we will die. More people die from the yearly winter flu than have died at this point. It actually may be good for our immune system to be exposed to this strain so that our bodies have a heightened sense of immunity for the next strain that comes around.

The thing is...

My Mom is absolutely freaking out.

Last time we had something like this (SARS), I was living in China and actually contracted the disease. SARS was awful, but I'm still here!

The only thing we can do about swine flu is be aware of what's going on around us. I work at a college where I am constantly hearing about outbreaks of flus, stomach viruses, mono, etc. We just make sure that we keep our hands clean, take vitamins, and do what we can to prevent getting sick.

I'm with J_9 and Sneezy on this one... considering they are the resident medical professionals! :)

HC, I'm sorry you had to suffer through SARS. I hope that there was no permanent damage done.

Now, SARS and N1H1 influenza A are completely different. SARS infiltrates the respiratory system where N1H1 doesn't so much.

Guys, Girls... It's just the flu, not the Bubonic Plague. The flu is a virus... no antibiotics will kill it. It's not going to wipe out half the population like the 1800's.

Now, we want to take precautions, sure, but to freak out over it is ridiculous... Unless of course you are in one of the high risk groups.

We NEED exposure to various viruses to build our resistance to other viruses.

While I agree with the closing of schools, etc. so that we can contain this, I'm not going into a full blown panic mode, and my son is high risk.

Thanks J_9. It was awful and left permanent scarring on my lungs, but I just have to be aware of respitory things.

When I returned from China, my parents were living in Baltimore. Got all checked out from Johns Hopkins and the a-ok, thumbs up from a really good doc... also a "be careful"...

I'm wondering if they are going to close the borders. I am scheduled to leave for a three week trip to China in 11 days - hopefully that will still happen.

It's doubtful that they will close the borders at this point. Don't know what's going to happen in 11 days though. It's probably best to try to contain this as much as possible though.

I'm sorry to hear that you have permanent damage HC. Hopefully it is manageable.

It most definitely is. I just have to be aware.

I think it's almost better - I don't take "cleanliness" for granted. When we take care of ourselves by guarding our cleanliness, it pays off. I guess that's why I'm not too worried about swine flu at this point.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! Is everyone really scared of this that much? There are 109 people who have it and there are 400,000,000 people in the US. Please I have actual problems to deal with.

My sentiments EXACTLY!!

Had to spread the love, but this deserves a greenie! :D

I didn't have to spread the love and gave him a greenie!! :D:D

THANKS HC and J_9! I had to talk my wife off the ledge last night she would not stop scaring herself with the news. So I put some pepper in my nose and went on a sneezing fit. Oh man I thought she was going to have a heart attack.