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SWINE FLUE

hakunamatata

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Clair Newbie

Clair

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[quote user="hakunamatata"]The news reports that we have now got the virus in France [...][/quote]

The

Director of the Institut National de Veille Sanitaire has indicated that there were four suspected cases to

investigate in France, "concerning people returning from Mexico. These include "a

family of three from the north of France and a woman in the

Paris area, who are all very well. These are cases of mild flu."

For official info, see http://www.invs.sante.fr/derniere_minute/default.asp (in Googlese here)

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Ron Avery Newbie

Ron Avery

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Its confirmed here in France chez Ron, not even been to Mexico.  Got a runny and wet nose and hairs growing out of it and my ears.  I'm waiting for the vet now.[:P]

PS Am I the only one who wishes that one of those in Scotland that has got it opens a window and coughs all over the hacks assembled below???

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Pierre ZFP Newbie

Pierre ZFP

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I think I've caught swine flu, I've just come out in a nasty rasher...

The Centre for Disease Control said the symptoms of swine flu include fever, aches, and an uncontrollable desire to roll in the mud.

Typical like everything Mexican even their flu's are sneaking across the border!!!

All these Swine Flu jokes are starting to Boar me...
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Weedon Newbie

Weedon

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Having just returned from my first trip back to the UK in ages, I am a little concerned about this talk of the pig virus.

What exactly are the symptoms.  Does it make your body inflate to alarming proportions, as a good percentage I saw whilst I was there seemed to be huge? In fact I felt quite small by comparison.  Do the sufferers have to have their heads shaved and have strange coloured markings on their skin as everybody seems to have them.  Even the females have clearly put on so much weight they have grown out of their clothes.  The amount of belly showing was quite upsetting, those poor people.

In my old age my hearing doesn't appear to be quite as acute as it once was but I did hear something on the radio this morning about Texaco and as I bought some fuel from a Texaco garage whilst I was there could that be contaninated with this pig virus.  Is that where it comes from?  Should I drain it out or could I top it up from my village garage to dilute it?  As my French isn't so good I don't think that I will say anything about the pig virus in the fuel although if I see the charming young man suddenly start to put on weight over the next few weeks I shall have to find another garage.  Incidentally as it happens, my English isn't so good either as I hardly understood a word that people were saying.  Some words I overheard were..."bruv"..."stuntin"..."piff"...and "innit" and "right" were in every conversation.  I am so glad I am back.  Oh! One other thing, how about the price of a coffee on the P&O boat....£3.  £3 for a cardboard carton of milky foam with a half inch of coffee drained into it.  The cardboard carton had "Costa" printed on it and it doesn't surprise me at all to see that.  Luckily it was bought on the way back, by which time I had learned how to say "yer avin a larf int ya bruv"

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Weedon Newbie

Weedon

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I kept away from Spain for ages because of  La Grippe in 1918 and I have never been to Asia due to their problems in 1957.  I also have to admit to keeping clear of Aveyron where the last flu epidemic started.  But I am simply not going to worry about this pig flu as nothing is going to keep me away from enjoying the pork sausages I brought back from Tesco's.

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Sprogster Newbie

Sprogster

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The one thing that has always worried me about a flu pandemic in France, are the very lax food hygene handling laws, as compared to other countries like the UK, where the Health and Safety police run riot! The amount of times I have been into a French shop and the assistant has handled uncovered ready to eat foods with their bare hands and then taken your money, although tongs are provided, makes this seem common practice in France. Whereas plastic gloves, head coverings,cling film wrapped ready to eat foods and a seperate assistant working the till, seem to be more the norm in the UK.

One person handling money and uncovered ready to eat food is one of the best ways to pass on infection and partly I am sure why France has such a bad food poisoning record compared to countries like the UK. 

 

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Btuckey Newbie

Btuckey

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[quote user="Sprogster"]

The one thing that has always worried me about a flu pandemic in France, are the very lax food hygene handling laws, as compared to other countries like the UK, where the Health and Safety police run riot! The amount of times I have been into a French shop and the assistant has handled uncovered ready to eat foods with their bare hands and then taken your money, although tongs are provided, makes this seem common practice in France. Whereas plastic gloves, head coverings,cling film wrapped ready to eat foods and a seperate assistant working the till, seem to be more the norm in the UK.

One person handling money and uncovered ready to eat food is one of the best ways to pass on infection and partly I am sure why France has such a bad food poisoning record compared to countries like the UK. 

[/quote]

Check your facts!!!  In the last reportable year, the UK had 2 million cases (3,400 cases for 100,000 inhabitants) and France 750,000 cases (1,210 cases for 100,000 inhabitants).  The truth is that if you handle infected crap with tongs it is still infected crap...

Brian

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Cat Newbie

Cat

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 I caught an interesting interview on TV last night, with a French pneumonologist (sp???).  Among the things that he said was that we should not really be calling it Swine flu or gripe porcine, as the virus does not affect pigs.  It's a virus carried by birds, pigs and humans, but is transmitted between humans. 

He also said that in over 40 years as a pneumonologist, he had never known anyone to die from flu.  Fatalities are due to secondary infections, such as pneumonia.  In the 1918 outbreak of Spanish flu, antibiotics to combat secondary infections were not available, nor were antivirals, such as Tamiflu.

His view was that, if a pandemic should occur, those in developed countries would not be in great danger, but that (as with AIDS) it would be those living in 3rd world countries that would suffer the greatest losses. 

Having said that, if I had a trip to Mexico booked I would probably cancel it, but when they start reducing pork in supermarkets due to a decline in sales, I shall be stocking up the freezer.

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Iceni Newbie

Iceni

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[quote user="Cat"]

 His view was that, if a pandemic should occur, those in developed countries would not be in great danger, but that (as with AIDS) it would be those living in 3rd world countries that would suffer the greatest losses. 

[/quote]

As I suspected, a great deal of fuss about not much - I have just checked Exodus and swine flu is not mentioned.

IF the suspected sniffles are such a big deal why is anyone who has been in Mexico allowed to return to his/her homeland ?

John - who is far more more worried about the lake that is supposed to be a veg garden

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andyh4 Newbie

andyh4

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[quote user="Iceni"]

IF the suspected sniffles are such a big deal why is anyone who has been in Mexico allowed to return to his/her homeland ?

John - who is far more more worried about the lake that is supposed to be a veg garden

[/quote]

 

Because it is already too late John.

 

Cases now in USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand and probably many more countries.  I think we can be fairlyc ertain that each of these people has returned from Mexico by plane.  This means that potentially every person who travelled with them or who was at the departure or arrival airport(s) is now incubating the virus.

 

Ring fence Mexico today and next week ban all travel.

 

Also stopping people returning does not stop the virus for continuing to multiply.  So ringfencing Mexico just means that those there can never leave because they will likely be harbouring the virus for the rest of time.  Remeber also that the US has been trying to stop Mexican migration for 100 years.  Ban travel and you can be sure that in panic, the number of Mexicans wanting out will go up enormously.

 

Given the apparent effectiveness of antivirals, better to let the virus spread in a semi controlled fashion, so that the population can buld a natural immunity and produce the necessary vaccine for immunisation (6-12 months) to help protect the more vulnerable memebers of society.

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Sprogster Newbie

Sprogster

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Cat, in 1918 the Flu mutation caused an over stimulus of the immune system, where young adults were especially vunerable and many young victims drowned in their own lung secretions.

The Professor whom you quote is correct with regards to his experience over forty years, but the the flu pandemics over that period were far more benign than the 1918 pandemic.

 

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