H1N1

[Violet]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_A...btype_H1N1 Here's our strain. Here's what wiki says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic

Newspapers are overdramatizing it... but it is a potential threat.

---

The initial outbreak received a week of near-constant media attention. Epidemiologists cautioned that the number of cases reported in the early days of an outbreak can be very inaccurate and deceptive due to several causes, among them selection bias, media bias, and incorrect reporting by governments. Inaccuracies could also be caused by authorities in different countries looking at differing population groups. Furthermore, countries with poor health care systems and older laboratory facilities may take longer to identify or report cases.[137] Dr. Joseph S. Bresee (the CDC flu division's epidemiology chief) and Dr. Michael T. Osterholm (director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research) have pointed out that millions of people have had swine flu, usually in a mild form, so the numbers of laboratory-confirmed cases were actually meaningless, and in July 2009 the WHO stopped keeping count of individual cases and focused more on major outbreaks.[138]

---

We shall see.

Here's all the people it has been noted by wikipedia to have killed so far: 6,255. I'm not worried... to be honest.

Guess how many die from the seasonal flu each year? 250,000–500,000 per year. How many months has H1N1_2009 affected humans again? 7 months. If in 7 months, it has only killed 6,255 people... whereas the seasonal has killed at least ~250,000 in the last 12 months: which do you think should be given more attention?

/sigh at the media... anything to cause a ruckus. I'll be getting the vaccine when it comes around again... but I really can't be to worried about it. This is just another 'avian' flu blow-over (granted, that was a much more dangerous virus... more so for birds than for us ). Because you know... nobody wants to read about good news.

for your thoughts?

Edit: interesting, perhaps it has been going on even longer

The outbreak was first observed in Mexico, with evidence that there had been an ongoing epidemic for months before it was officially recognized as such.[5] The Mexican government soon closed most of Mexico City's public and private offices and facilities to contain the spread of the virus. As the virus quickly spread globally, clinics were overwhelmed by testing and treating patients, and the WHO and the CDC eventually stopped counting all cases and focused instead on tracking major outbreaks. On June 11, 2009, the WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic

Yes, lots of people catch this flu... but as I noted above: few of us die. Of course, i am only using Wiki... if anyone else has any other information: go to it