First Irish Swine Flu Death

gerky

AARRRGH wrote: »

The public are so stupid.

How many professors needs to come out and say the swine flu is no more dangerous than the normal flu before you'll believe them?

Loads of people die from the flu. It's a normal occurrence.

Can you not see this is just more fear mongering? First it was AIDS, then it was CJD, now it's the flu.

You're thousands of times more likely to die in a car crash tonight than you are to ever die from swine flu at any stage in your life.

While I don't agree with the way some tabloid/trash are covering this your post comes across as extremely arrogant, this pandemic is an unknown that's why there is so much concern it's also the fact that it shows similar patterns to the 1918-19.

Roughly 200,000-500,000 die each year from all other flu's but a pandemic event like this has the potential to kill millions, potential is what its all about, its not how bad it is now its how bad it could become in Autumn/Winter.
The 1918-19 flu started early in the year and was mostly mild but it re-emerged later in the year and decimated populations.

As for people always bringing up "underlying medical conditions" that doesn't necessarily mean as much as people think as a huge percentage of the population have an underlying medical condition of some kind, that could lead to complications.
That's also the reason widespread vaccination is important, its not about protecting the majority of people as most will only get mild doses and survive it, its about people getting vaccinated so they don't pass it on to those who will be less likely to get over it.



It always feels strange posting this seriously in AH.

cherryghost

jumpguy wrote: »

My sister has suspected swine flu (as in, undiagnosed but most/all of the symtoms). I suppose I'm next.

thank feck you're in left orbit, you're not anywhere near ireland.

lostexpectation

AARRRGH wrote: »

The public are so stupid.

How many professors needs to come out and say the swine flu is no more dangerous than the normal flu before you'll believe them?

it is more dangerous, its new.

stovelid

BARRICADE THE DOORS

jumpguy

cherryghost wrote: »

thank feck you're in left orbit, you're not anywhere near ireland.

That means I've exited orbit...I'm on the way to Mars...duh...

AARRRGH

monkeyfudge wrote: »

Yeah. That AIDS thing blew right over... it's not like an entire continent isn't ravaged by it or anything.

You obviously don't remember the 80's. They said we would all have it.

In reality, it's a problem which affects black people (even middle class black poeple are five to twenty times more likely to be HIV+ than a white person), and to an extent the gay community. It's a very minor issue in the heterosexual community.

Also, the figures in Africa are estimates and UNAIDS have admitted they are probably grossly exaggerated.

Anyway, my point is they pulled the same crap in the 80's about you, me and our mother catching AIDS, when in reality it's mostly confined to a small subgroup of people.

The also pulled the same crap with CJD.

Moral of the story: stop believing the media, they want you to be scared.

AARRRGH

gerky wrote: »

While I don't agree with the way some tabloid/trash are covering this your post comes across as extremely arrogant, this pandemic is an unknown that's why there is so much concern it's also the fact that it shows similar patterns to the 1918-19.

Roughly 200,000-500,000 die each year from all other flu's but a pandemic event like this has the potential to kill millions, potential is what its all about, its not how bad it is now its how bad it could become in Autumn/Winter.
The 1918-19 flu started early in the year and was mostly mild but it re-emerged later in the year and decimated populations.

As for people always bringing up "underlying medical conditions" that doesn't necessarily mean as much as people think as a huge percentage of the population have an underlying medical condition of some kind, that could lead to complications.
That's also the reason widespread vaccination is important, its not about protecting the majority of people as most will only get mild doses and survive it, its about people getting vaccinated so they don't pass it on to those who will be less likely to get over it.



It always feels strange posting this seriously in AH.

I'd bet every cent I will ever earn swine flu will come and go without there being a large number of deaths.

The media are constantly trying to scare us. I don't understand why people can't see this.

citizen_p

how many people died of tripping on the street... or the "common" flu in the same time ????

ejmaztec

I had aids once, but the syphilis took my mind off it.

Acacia

minidazzler wrote: »

The Family ask for privacy so we make jokes about it on the interwebs. Nice. This ain't that other top sekkrit forum where this is OK, the family and Meedja have a real chance of reading this.

The meedja maybe, I know if somebody close to me died and it was public news for some reason, the last place I'd look is After Hours.

That said, the jokes are distasteful, but complaining about distaste on AH is a futile exercise, that will result in bawing from the regulars.

Riddle101

AARRRGH wrote: »

The public are so stupid.

How many professors needs to come out and say the swine flu is no more dangerous than the normal flu before you'll believe them?

Loads of people die from the flu. It's a normal occurrence.

Can you not see this is just more fear mongering? First it was AIDS, then it was CJD, now it's the flu.

You're thousands of times more likely to die in a car crash tonight than you are to ever die from swine flu at any stage in your life.

(1)At the moment the only thing people are listening to is the news and unfortunately with all these deaths going on over the last couple of months you can't really be surprised at panic it has caused. I'm not sure about whether there are professors saying that the Swine Flu ''is no more dangerous then a normal flu'' but you can't take chances at a time like this.

(2)You say loads of people die from the flu and that it's a normal occourance but I doubt you'd be saying that if Swine Flu affected anyone in your family. Regardless of whether or not you think it's common, it's still a dangerous thing to catch and since there's a pandemic going on at the moment, all cases have to be looked at carefully.

(3)Fear Mongering? I guess you'd be better off not knowing that there are cases of Swin Flu in Ireland and that you might actually catch it yourself one day. It may not make any difference that we know about it, but at least we know it's here so we can be prepared.

My name is URL wrote: »

Here we go :rolleyes:

People have been dying from this for months, should we not be allowed to talk about it now just because an Irish person has died?

I would imagine that because of the selfish nature of human beings and the belief that as long as it's not my country being infected by Swine Flu it's not so bad. But now that a Swine Flu death has been reported in Ireland, people are now going to start wondering about whether it's going to continue, which it will.

AARRRGH

But can you not see the amount of fear out there is insanely over the top?

If you spend a moment to put things in perspective, you will see hardly anyone is dying from swine flu.

It's not something we need to worry about, or at least, we should worry more about being killed by a car.

If you're not worried about being killed by a car, you really need to ask yourself why the hell are you worrying about swine flu so?

The public's reaction worries me, as it makes me realise how much control the government and media really have.

K-Ren

Hold me.

procure11

AARRRGH wrote: »

The public are so stupid.

How many professors needs to come out and say the swine flu is no more dangerous than the normal flu before you'll believe them?

Loads of people die from the flu. It's a normal occurrence.

Can you not see this is just more fear mongering? First it was AIDS, then it was CJD, now it's the flu.

You're thousands of times more likely to die in a car crash tonight than you are to ever die from swine flu at any stage in your life.

You have a valid point that death occurs always...it is natural for death to occur.

I strongly object to your assertion about Medical practitioners pointing out the dangers of this particular flu..AFAIK....it is not a common flu like the Cold flu.It would be their prerogative and duty to sensitize the public about the nature of the threat of this strain of flu .

You mentioned Aids,Cjd...are you honestly with a straight face telling people that those diseases were not serious enough to educate the public on how to protect themselves ....you would probably take that stance because due to the methodical and careful planning by this same Professors ..the disastrous effects have been curtailed in this country.

The truth is that the Swine flu would have claimed far more lives in Ireland and worldwide if not for the publicity and the awareness it has generated.
The fact that people die from various kinds of flu and other forms of diseases for that matter does not mean we should have a lackadaisical approach towards any potential threat.

P.S If there wasnt any effort by Governments or health practitioners ,I bet people would have complained about their inaction and inertia about the issue.

AARRRGH

procure11 wrote: »

The truth is that the Swine flu would have claimed far more lives in Ireland and worldwide if not for the publicity and the awareness it has generated.

If you got swine flu, and had never heard of it, you would have just assumed it was the flu and would have treated it like the flu.

I don't believe the fear mongering has prevented anything.

procure11 wrote: »

The fact that people die from various kinds of flu and other forms of diseases for that matter does not mean we should have a lackadaisical approach towards any potential threat.

I am all on for educating people about the flu, but we need to keep our heads and not lose perspective.

For example, AIDS. It is extraordinarily difficult for a heterosexual person to catch HIV. This is the reason we don't have a HIV epidemic in the heterosexual community. It has nothing to do with our use of condoms, which contrary to popular belief is very low.

So it wasn't education and fear mongering which prevented the mass spread of AIDS in Western Europe, it's the fact that it is so hard to catch.

procure11 wrote: »

P.S If there wasnt any effort by Governments or health practitioners ,I bet people would have complained about their inaction and inertia about the issue.

Probably, but that doesn't make it right.

mike65

And Lesbos never get it.

Thoie

procure11 wrote: »

I strongly object to your assertion about Medical practitioners pointing out the dangers of this particular flu..AFAIK....it is not a common flu like the Cold flu.

WTF is "the Cold flu"?

I have often had colds, sometimes I've had bad colds, I've been unlucky enough to have had the flu 3-4 times in my life. But I have no idea what this cold flu is.

procure11

AARRRGH wrote: »

If you got swine flu, and had never heard of it, you would have just assumed it was the flu and would have treated it like the flu.

I don't believe the fear mongering has prevented anything.




I am all on for educating people about the flu, but we need to keep our heads and not lose perspective.

For example, AIDS. It is extraordinarily difficult for a heterosexual person to catch HIV. This is the reason we don't have a HIV epidemic in the heterosexual community. It has nothing to do with our use of condoms, which contrary to popular belief is very low.

So it wasn't education and fear mongering which prevented the mass spread of AIDS in Western Europe, it's the fact that it is so hard to catch.




Probably, but that doesn't make it right.

I totally disagree with you about your assertions about AIDS.

Yes..its far easier to get it from male homosexual sex ...as opposed to heterosexual sex...but the reason why it has being curtailed in Europe is because of the level of education/public awareness/easy availabilty of condoms.Are you suggesting that victims of Aids in African countries like Uganda, South Africa ,Malawi etc do not practise Heterosexual sex...WRONG.
You would be so surprised if you knew the number of people in this country and Europe that have contracted the HIV virus....it is no longer a major problem because there are lots of Drugs that can not only prolong their lives but make them live a near normal life.

In Medical Science...the best practice is prevention before cure.If you think that educating the public about the dangers of a disease is fear-mongering.........arrrrrgh...that is wrong .

mike65

edited cos the original post I responded to was deleted.

AARRRGH

procure11 wrote: »

I totally disagree with you about your assertions about AIDS.

Yes..its far easier to get it from male homosexual sex ...as opposed to heterosexual sex...but the reason why it has being curtailed in Europe is because of the level of education/public awareness/easy availabilty of condoms.Are you suggesting that victims of Aids in African countries like Uganda, South Africa ,Malawi etc do not practise Heterosexual sex...WRONG.

No, it has been proven over and over that black people can be up to 20 times more likely to catch HIV than a white person. It doesn't matter if the black person is poor, middle class, rich, gay or straight, the statistics are consistent.

There is a lot of research as to why this is, but the general theory is that white and black people have slightly different immune systems. Note there are already a number of diseases which black people are more prone to, and which white people are more prone to. This is because our immune systems (Africa v Europe) evolved differently.

If you think people in Europe commonly use condoms (i.e. they force all their partners to get tested for HIV before they stop using a condom) you are mistaken I'm afraid.

procure11 wrote: »

You would be so surprised if you knew the number of people in this country and Europe that have contracted the HIV virus....it is no longer a major problem because there are lots of Drugs that can not only prolong their lives but make them live a near normal life.

Drugs don't stop you from catching HV.

procure11 wrote: »

In Medical Science...the best practice is prevention before cure.If you think that educating the public about the dangers of a disease is fear-mongering.........arrrrrgh...that is wrong .

Listen, I don't want to argue with you, but if you really want to think the mass hysteria over something which so far has been no more dangerous than the common flu has been worth it, by all means believe that.

Personally I do not want to live in fear over insignificant risks.

kumate_champ07

monkeyfudge wrote: »

Yeah. That AIDS thing blew right over... it's not like an entire continent isn't ravaged by it or anything.

San Francisco isnt a continent!

Goose81

AARRRGH wrote: »

You obviously don't remember the 80's. They said we would all have it.

In reality, it's a problem which affects black people (even middle class black poeple are five to twenty times more likely to be HIV+ than a white person), and to an extent the gay community. It's a very minor issue in the heterosexual community.

Also, the figures in Africa are estimates and UNAIDS have admitted they are probably grossly exaggerated.

Anyway, my point is they pulled the same crap in the 80's about you, me and our mother catching AIDS, when in reality it's mostly confined to a small subgroup of people.

The also pulled the same crap with CJD.

Moral of the story: stop believing the media, they want you to be scared.

So you are saying that a white person is less likely to contract aids than a black person? :rolleyes:

AARRRGH wrote: »

No, it has been proven over and over that black people can be up to 20 times more likely to catch HIV than a white person. It doesn't matter if the black person is poor, middle class, rich, gay or straight, the statistics are consistent.

Proof?
I have never read such ****e.

Tea_Bag

lostexpectation wrote: »

it is more dangerous, its new.

actually, its not. they had an outbreak of swine flu in 1976..

Tea_Bag

Goose81 wrote: »

So you are saying that a white person is less likely to contract aids than a black person? :rolleyes:




Proof?
I have never read such ****e.

i dunno, im inclined to believe the man on the simple basis that the black people i how have a MUCH bigger sex drive than myself for instance.

that leads to more casual sex and higher chances of AIDS. also africa, a mostly black continent, is somewhat infested with AIDS, so the statistics stand...

Goose81

Tea_Bag wrote: »

i dunno, im inclined to believe the man on the simple basis that the black people i how have a MUCH bigger sex drive than myself for instance.

that leads to more casual sex and higher chances of AIDS. also africa, a mostly black continent, is somewhat infested with AIDS, so the statistics stand...

I would agree that black people are more likely to have it but not because they are black.

Africans generally have no money,education and rape and no contraception are huge issues,couple that with sharman tales of raping a virgin rids you of aids etc.

Also most black people in America and elsewhere are in lower income and poor circumstances,less education.All this would contribute to it.

Its more circumstancial that race related.I dont believe for a second they are more likely to catch aids because of their colour.

indough

its due to cultural differences rather than anything genetic

AARRRGH

Goose81 wrote: »

So you are saying that a white person is less likely to contract aids than a black person? :rolleyes:

Yes, the statistics consistently show this is true. I repeat, it doesn't matter if the black person is rich or poor, educated or uneducated, they get HIV 5 to 20 times more frequently than white people.

Google it. The CDC have reported on this many times.

Just because you never heard of it doesn't mean it's wrong. I've been reading HIV stats for about 10 years, it's a morbid hobby of mine.

That_Guy

MagicMarker wrote: »

I also have ''suspected'' swine flu, the job sent an email around saying anyone with symptoms should stay home. Of course when I called in sick I was told to come in.

Such is life. I now hope everyone in work catches it and dies, that'll learn em.

That's the spirit. :rolleyes:

tallaght01

I say this in every swine flu thread, and I'll say it again. People are making a big mistake if they dismiss this thing as scare mongering. We have it ad here in Oz coz it's our winter. We're not working twice our normal hours for nothing. Some places are running out of intensive care beds.

We can vaccinate against normal flu, though we can't yet vaccinate against swine flu. It's affecting people with underlying disease particularly badly. ut don't get too complacent...this includes people with common illnesses such as asthma and diabetes.

It's affecting pregnant women badly too. But about 20% of deaths from this thing are in previously healthy people where I am.

Bear in mind Oz has a MUCH milder winter than Ireland, as well as a much better health system.

People shouldn't panic, but this is not just doctors having a laugh with the public.

As for the stuff about black people just being more likely to catch HIV?? WTF??? I dunno what it has to do with swine flu, but it's bolix!

antodeco

So far, I know of 6 people who have gotten swine flu. All have said that the symptoms are bad for 3 days, but then it starts to lift. I know myself that if I got "normal" flu, Id be in a bad way for around a week or 2.

The media have really sensationalised swine flu. In America every year, over 15 million people get the flu (5% of the population). Over 200,000 are hospitalised. Around 36,000 die from it. So based on that, your chances of death from "normal" flu (which is seen as a stronger more aggresive version of swine flu, but has been documentated and 'curable') is 0.002%. Seeing as "normal" flu is more dangerous than swine flu, the chances of dying from it are very low (but will still happen).

To put into perspective, around 25000 people die every day from hunger/hunger related problems. Around 5500 people die every from AIDS.

I know im putting US stats versus world stats, but the whole point is to show that swine flu (whilst potentially dangerous) is nowhere near as dangerous as the media make it out to be.