The BBC outbreak!

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I don't believe anyone, other then you, ever even brought this up.

Well, me and the scientific experts quoted in the BBC last week.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Oh, f*ck you. I know anti-biotics don't effect viruses my mistake was believing the virus was actually a bacteria. That is a very different matter then knowing nothing.

You didn't know the flu was a virus? Why do you think they have *vaccines*?

[Dinner]

Because vaca means cow and cow pox were the first vaccination. This is simply a case of miscatagorizing a virus for a bacteria but please continue to play this up and pretend it is some big deal.

[Kuciwalker]

Let me rephrase: why do you think they have vaccines for the flu?

[Dinner]

Vaccines can be for both bacteria or viruses so I really don't know where you are going with this.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Alot of scientists are saying it's not a matter of "if," but "when," the bird flu mutates and becomes something that is transmitted between humans.

Sure. The question is when will be "when."

It's also a matter of time that a comet will strike the earth, you know.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Sure. The question is when will be "when."

It's also a matter of time that a comet will strike the earth, you know.

and also just a matter of time until the sun turns into a RED GIANT!!!!

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Scientists recently determined that the 1918 flu which killed millions was actually a strain of bird flu which mutated to transmit human to human instead of bird to human.

I am not a biologist, and I haven't read the report/article. Though I found it strangely possible to have different kinds of viruses in a person's body when he died.

[Dinner]

NPR has an interesting report on Bird Flu. It's saying the US stoke pile is only about 4.9 million doses but there are around 10 million first responders who will need it if (and that's a big if) there was ever an outbreak. I've heard some people are going to Mexico to buy generic knock offs in order to have on hand just in case. The odds are a million to one you'd ever need it but if the long odds to hit then you'd be one of the few to be sure of survival.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Sava
and also just a matter of time until the sun turns into a RED GIANT!!!!

Oh, that's nothing. This universe will either contract into a big crunch or die a heat death.

[child of Thor]

Since Iraq + Dr david kelly, and the then soon after dismantlement of the BBC - i often get the feeling that the BBC is drawing attention away from the real isues; like the slow errosion of our human rights under Tony Blair + new labour or for example that at the polling booths labour lost the last election, but then the first time used postal votes in a uk election tipped the balance..... it reminds me of something.......

Edit: still i'm sure the flu thing is a real story - just the over exposure on the bbc currently is annoying.

[Colonâ„¢]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Sure. The question is when will be "when."

It's also a matter of time that a comet will strike the earth, you know.

Previous cases of influenza pandemics the past century were in 1918, 1956 and 1968.

Previous time a comet struck? 60 million years ago?

Slightly different time scale.

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Oerdin
NPR has an interesting report on Bird Flu. It's saying the US stoke pile is only about 4.9 million doses but there are around 10 million first responders who will need it if (and that's a big if) there was ever an outbreak. I've heard some people are going to Mexico to buy generic knock offs in order to have on hand just in case. The odds are a million to one you'd ever need it but if the long odds to hit then you'd be one of the few to be sure of survival.

It's not a big if, all the top viroligists are saying it's a when.

But your concern about anti-virals is reasonable. The UK government is in the process of building up a 14.9 million dose stockpile of antivirals and we have a fifth of your population.

Latest estimate here from the government's expert on these things is that it's just a matter of when this flu gets into a human with a human flu virus and mutates and then the estimates of additional UK dead because of this flu at 50,000 to 250,000 depending on how severe the brand of human flu it mutates with is. I think we get about 10,000 flu casualties anually normally.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by child of Thor
Edit: still i'm sure the flu thing is a real story - just the over exposure on the bbc currently is annoying.

It's not only the BBC. The French TV and Euronews make a large coverage of it. And considering that there is a danger of pandemics, I agree with them

[MikeH]

Yes. For once it's a real story.

ps. Apparently the French are the best prepared and have the best stocks of antivirals...