Health officials concerned about swine flu outbreak

[Tuberski]

We live 10 minutes from 3 of the US victims.

I'm thirsty.

ACK!

[EPW]

It was my poor attempt at humour Sloww. Sorry.

If I die from Ham flu you won't be laughing.

or maybe you will...

[SlowwHand]

EPW! Make me a trade in fantasy baseball before you, uh, well, uh, before you become distracted.

[SlowwHand]

Yikes!

NEW YORK – Students at a New York City high school could learn as early as Sunday if the flu that sickened them was the same strain of the human swine influenza that has killed people in Mexico.

Preliminary tests of samples taken from sick students' noses and throats confirmed that at least eight had a non-human strain of influenza type A, indicating probable cases of swine flu, city health officials said. The exact subtypes were still unknown, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was conducting further tests.

So far, there have been at least 11 confirmed cases of swine flu in California, Texas and Kansas. Patients have ranged in age from 9 to over 50.

Health officials are concerned because people appear to have no immunity to the virus, a combination of bird, swine and human influenzas. The virus also presents itself like other swine flus, but none of the U.S. cases appear to involve direct contact with pigs, Eberhart-Phillips said.

Aaaaaah HA! No contact with pigs. I knew I read it.

[Wezil]

If I die from Ham flu you won't be laughing.

It is a combination of bird and swine.

Did you store the ham next to any birds (living or dead)?

You might survive this yet.

[Docfeelgood]

US declares public health emergency for swine flu!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_swine_flu_emergency

[Docfeelgood]

Obama was guided through a Mexico City museum by Felipe Solis, who passed away a week later and reportedly had flu-like symptoms.



http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/...ap6338774.html

[DaShi]

Don't worry about it, Doc. Zk says we'll be ok.

And an anonymous source from someone claiming to be a doctor says we're not. I'm more worried about the people who believe this than the flu.

[Wiglaf]

Is swine = bird? Why change the name, if so, and what is its interrelationship or, as the case may be, lack of interrelationship to the SARS?

[asleepathewheel]

There are going to be some pretty amusing conspiracy theories based on all this, I can see, particularly with the Obama visit coinciding with the transmissions. Perhaps I should not watch this season of 24.

....

I'm a bit disturbed by comments such as:

The United States is not testing airplane travelers from Mexico for the swine flu virus that has heightened fears of a possible pandemic, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Sunday.

"Right now we don't think the facts warrant more active testing or screening of passengers coming in from Mexico," she said at a White House briefing.

Great! Thanks. How much longer is she going to be on the job.
...

I wonder what the effect of this is going to have on the state of Mexico, will this embolden the cartels even further?

[DaShi]

The plan is that the flu will wipe out the cartels.

[Docfeelgood]

The plan is that the flu will wipe out the cartels.

The nasty thing about bio weapons is that they know no borders.

[SlowwHand]

Maybe you nay-sayers will be lucky enough to go into rigors with a smile on your face. Like that.

[Docfeelgood]

I'm going to go on record here and state this is either mass hysteria or a biological weapon attack.

[Zkribbler]

I can't remember if it was in this article or not, and I'm not going to read up.
Officials are saying that contact with swine isn't required.

That's true. This makes it different the previous swine-flus.