Swine Flu Pandemic

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Hey guys.. you know I'm paranoid and you know what I'm about to write. This is no laughing matter if the virus mutates to be air borne or even just remains as is but spreads. You should strongly consider buying some dry goods this weekend from your local stores that are high in energy/vitamins. Oates, energy bars, trail mix foods.. and if you don't have a gun then you should consider getting one if this really gets out of hand in the next few weeks. For now I would advise just getting the food as that will be the first thing to go from the shelves. If it does in reality get out of hand.. then you'll need something to keep the food you've got from other people. Stock up on bottled water and any medicine you know that you have a regular need for.. like inhalers or insulin.

Even if this passes.. at least you'd have some food in the event that OTHER people make panic runs to the store for food like during ice storms. Any other suggestions are encouraged. I think this is very serious when they bump up the 'pandemic threat' to level 5 in only 2 days after they raised it to level 4.. I think they know something about the H1N1 virus but don't want everyone to panic by telling it. At least not any more than what they already have told.

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

yes you are extreme paranoid

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

It doesn't change the fact that they raised the threat level to 5. There is only one other level to raise it to.. and that's 6. I hope it's just me being overly cautious..

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

Even a level 6 pandemic doesnt mean the end of the world....36,000 people die anually in the United states alone from the differnt strains of flu. Though it looks like this flu can/will be spread easily(the reason were curently aty level 5). The evidence thats its gonna be a killer is low. Out of 2500 who have already got the disease. only 1300 remain hosptalized. The other 1200 are on the way to recovery. The deaths have all been in Mexico. The 1 Us death was a mexican family that crossed the border into the United states. The death was a infant.... Elderly and infants are the most likely people to die from any strain of flu. Anyway, Mexico doesnt have the medical facilties that we have in the US. the Hospitals in Mexico were rejecting people with swine flu thinking it was only toncilitis. SO the deaths weve seen in Mexico may be more of a lack of proper medical treatment/wrong diagnosis that a killer flu virus. This virus does concern me, dont get me wrong. But I dont think its time to load up our guns and be prepared to kill out neighbors to fight for our lives and feed our families or to stock pile our food in preparation for the Apocalypse. That thinking is just extreme.
When I see this virus is starting to kill 10-50 year olds. I will start to panic.

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Ahem.. I never said to panic. I only say to get dry food stuffs that you should already have in stock for emergencies. I know of all of the evidence you posted, but for the other readers I thank you for listing them. I find it humorous to read your playbook recount of the 'get yer guns and hold out till judgement!' but that's not what I'm saying. Only if it gets to the 10-50 year olds.. that's when!

You know what really seems to be the root cause of this? There is an American pig farming company that's got open air sewage dumping into a huge pond/water way by where the people that first caught this live. So is this what free trade is all about?

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

hehe I know my response would get ya going . You made a very good post. I was actually surprised you took so long..It could of went without the gun part, but it was a good post none the less. I have actuallly taken a few precautions in case this does get out of control and deadly. I have loaded up with about 8 cases of water. I go through a lot of water with the girls running so dont think I went completely overboard.lol. I also wernt and bought some surgical masks. The wild part was. Every Pharmacy in town was sold out of them. The only place I found them was the pharmacy at our local Hospital. ANd even the Pharmacist said he has ordered more becaue there stockpile was getting low. Of course I have no intent on using them unless this virus turns deadly and pandemic and of course reaches our town.


If things get bad and total chaos starts, Me and the girls will drive to Tennessee and we will team up with your family to assure are lives will continue. Ill come locked and loaded.


ANd I see im a 1st lieut in these forums. Screw that.lol. Wheres my 1 damn spinning gold star I asked for all these years.

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/gold-star.html

That's all I can give 'ya for now.

Also, you may not want to come this way.. 1 case confirmed and 1 school shutdown in Memphis already. Also.. 1 case in Nashville too. Yep.. that water is super important.. if the water gets cut off or whatever.. don't forget that you can drain or poke a hole in the hot water tank to get a few dozen gallons of water if necessary. If your neighbors disappear.. you can get theirs too.

All joking aside.. there are some things about this to keep an eye on. It's not a real pandemic at the moment as people are not dying from it in numbers. The only things really to keep in mind is if it mutates and that is what I think the CDC is more concerned about. Here is an excerpt of an article I was reading:

What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a form of influenza that originated in pigs but can now be caught by and spread among people. The current outbreak started in Mexico, with cases now confirmed in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, Germany, Austria, Israel, Costa Rica and South Korea. At the time of writing there have been more than 150 confirmed deaths from the infection in Mexico but only one death elsewhere, a 23-month-old Mexican boy in Texas.
Human strains of flu kill a few hundred thousand people worldwide every year, but strains of flu virus that originate in livestock such as pigs or chickens have the potential to kill millions worldwide if they start spreading among people. This is because, unlike ordinary strains of winter flu, humans have little resistance to them.
Swine flu is caused by a type A influenza virus, and the new strain belongs to the most common subtype, known as H1N1. Public health experts are particularly concerned about strains like this one that have spread from pigs to humans, because the animals can act as "crucibles", harbouring several flu viruses at once which can swap genes and become more virulent.
Influenza viruses are made up of only eight genes: the new strain has six genes from a swine flu virus known to have been circulating in North America – itself a mixture of human, pig and avian flu viruses – and two from a swine virus found in European and Asian pigs.

How do humans catch it?
Swine flu spreads to people in two ways. They can acquire the virus after being in contact with infected pigs or areas where the pigs have been – which is only likely to happen in Mexico – or they can catch it from an infected person. The disease spreads in the same way as human flu, by inhaling airborne particles from coughs and sneezes, or by touching a contaminated surface and then touching the nose or mouth.
For reasons that are not yet known, the infection seems to be more severe in Mexico than elsewhere. From published data on confirmed cases, the mortality rate in Mexico appears to be 4% and outside Mexico 1%.

What can I do to avoid infection – and stop spreading it to others?
Virus particles can survive for hours on surfaces such as doorhandles, so it's important to wash your hands frequently with soap and water. You should cover your mouth with a handkerchief if you cough or sneeze. If you don't have a handkerchief, cover your mouth with the crook of your elbow rather than your hand. But if you do use your hands when coughing or sneezing, wash them as soon as possible afterwards.
Avoid touching your mouth and nose with your hands or rubbing your eyes.

Should I wear a mask?
There is little point wearing a mask unless you yourself or someone you are caring for is suspected of having the infection. Masks only work if changed regularly and they get damp easily, becoming an infection risk. Masks that protect against viruses conform to the European standard FFP3 and the US equivalent N95.

What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of swine flu are similar to normal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, headache, aching limbs, chills and fatigue. Some patients infected with swine flu have also reported loss of appetite, diarrhoea and vomiting. In very young children, the warning signs include fast or troubled breathing, a bluish skin tone, a failure to interact with others, and being highly irritable.

As with seasonal flu, swine flu varies in severity, with the worst cases leading to fatal pneumonia and respiratory failure. This was a hallmark of the Spanish 1918 flu pandemic that killed tens of millions worldwide. Younger people were probably hit harder than the elderly by the 1918 flu virus because their immune systems overreacted.

*So.. there's your 10-50 range.. we're in that group.

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE PANDEMIC! At least that's what an email said today.

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

There basing that number totally on the people that died in Mexico. ANd I say you cant use that as a method of determining what group this virus hurts the most. They should'nt even put out numbers like that unless you base it off at least a few thousand deaths. not 150 deaths from a poor 3rd world country.

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

[eric]

That's not stopping my parents from heading to Mexico for a nice vacation next week.

All overreaction IMO but it's good to see that the world governments are on top of their game.

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Well I had to build up for the photo.. but the only thing I'm keeping and eye on (just like the CDC) is a mutation. It's not the stuff that's going around now exactly. I think if it were just about anything other than H1N1 the CDC wouldn't have jumped on it so aggressively.

Eric.. wolf 2 comes out July 30th.. be there or be square. I think I can pony up for the server a couple of months (depending on the cost for about a 20 man server?) and ventrillo. I know the PC thing is something to hold you back possibly.. even if you have to sneak over to a friends house you just gotta play. All of our um.. aging friends just gotta play. It's not normal not to play that. Wolf's in your blood more so than any pandemic.

[eric]

Still a toss up if I'm gonna play or not. I'll probably be too busy with working & studying unless I get a job out in the desert then I'm all game.

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Studying? For CPA? or Masters or what?

Desert! Humm... can't do it.. no real trees.

[{Ru}Lord_Slayer]

I feel a lot more relaxed about the swine flu now thanks to this chick

http://www.viddler.com/explore/ijustine/videos/495/