New strain of Flu causing concern, panic

[MTR Admiralty]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/20/2009-05-20_swine_flu_did_not_kill_baby_jonathan_zamora_real_cause_of_death_unknown.html

The father is right, people should not freak out and go into the streets shouting: "OH MY GOD, THE WORLD IS ENDING". It's a flu. It's not as virulent as the Spanish flu. You won't see corpses littering the streets. There won't be a shortage of coffins. You won't hear emergency vehicles screaming in the middle of night every hour because someone was mortally ill of the thing.

It may mutate, but there's no reason for widespread fear.

[R32 3348]

I am so happy right now. Because people in my school don't know when they're too sick to go to school, a LOT of people in my school are sick with the flu (not swine, there is actually other types of flu other than swine flu contrary to popular belief) so all work has been suspended by the administration until Wednesday. This means EPIC SLANT HUNTING ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

(BTW, my school has no reported cases of swine flu)

[MTR Admiralty]

I am so happy right now. Because people in my school don't know when they're too sick to go to school, a LOT of people in my school are sick with the flu (not swine, there is actually other types of flu other than swine flu contrary to popular belief) so all work has been suspended by the administration until Wednesday. This means EPIC SLANT HUNTING ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

(BTW, my school has no reported cases of swine flu)

Your school is not the only case.

There are a lot of people sick on our school. I know it is not swine influenza, but these symptoms people are experiencing are flu-like. Just Monday, my school's boy's gym locker room smelled like vomit. Everyone was commenting how awful it is, this and that. 10% of the students were absent that day, a good amount of teachers were absent that day too. Today, when I was taking the AP Calculus exam, I heard coughing everywhere. For my own sake, I put on a mask. A friend of mine complained that he was sick, he had a slight fever. I told home to go to the hospital, but he's like "no...".

I don't know what this phenomenon is, but people should really consider staying home if they are sick, regardless of the fact that it is not swine influenza.

Bronx Science is still staying open, despite what I've presented to you guys.

[MTARegional Bus]

The father is right, people should not freak out and go into the streets shouting: "OH MY GOD, THE WORLD IS ENDING". It's a flu. It's not as virulent as the Spanish flu. You won't see corpses littering the streets. There won't be a shortage of coffins. You won't hear emergency vehicles screaming in the middle of night every hour because someone was mortally ill of the thing.

It may mutate, but there's no reason for widespread fear.

 

yup it goes to show you that the media well do anything for a story,even if a meteor strikes the earth they still want rating.

[SubwayGuy]

Drama sells. and it's pathetic.

[R32 3348]

Yeah, today in school (we weren't allowed to learn anything rofl) we watched a documentary on the 1918 pandemic. People need to stop bitching on how this is the worst thing ever. Back then thousands of people were infected every day, and guess what? PEOPLE ACTUALLY DIED EN MASSE! Hospitals were filled. Patients on the floor waited for the guy next to them on a bed to die so that they could get a bed. There was even a shortage of coffins. People need to stop acting like we have it bad today.

[Forest Glen]

Your school is not the only case.

There are a lot of people sick on our school. I know it is not swine influenza, but these symptoms people are experiencing are flu-like. Just Monday, my school's boy's gym locker room smelled like vomit. Everyone was commenting how awful it is, this and that. 10% of the students were absent that day, a good amount of teachers were absent that day too. Today, when I was taking the AP Calculus exam, I heard coughing everywhere. For my own sake, I put on a mask. A friend of mine complained that he was sick, he had a slight fever. I told home to go to the hospital, but he's like "no...".

I don't know what this phenomenon is, but people should really consider staying home if they are sick, regardless of the fact that it is not swine influenza.

Bronx Science is still staying open, despite what I've presented to you guys.

 

Not to sound racist but there's no way a student at a hyper-competitive high school is going to take a day off. The Regents exams are weeks away. Some students are so obsessed with GPA that they'll probably travel to school with IV's attached to their arms.

[metsfan]

Not to sound racist but there's no way a student at a hyper-competitive high school is going to take a day off. The Regents exams are weeks away. Some students are so obsessed with GPA that they'll probably travel to school with IV's attached to their arms.

 

Sadly, those students do exist & seem to live only to be better than everyone, just to end up in a $$$$ job & not care about anything.

 

They are not just in a few NY schools either, they are everywhere, just in varying numbers.

 

I got news, i'm 28 & people who i graduated high school with that went on to university, they all most all still live in bucks county or nearby, and more than i thought work retail or flipping burgers....

 

Life is not a contest you can plan out, no matter how much planning you do, something is going to change that you didn't see happening & make it impossible for the plan to remain intact.

 

- A

[Joe]

Life's nothing but a free taxi ride through the rolling green meadows. Take some photos.

[MTR Admiralty]

Yeah, today in school (we weren't allowed to learn anything rofl) we watched a documentary on the 1918 pandemic. People need to stop bitching on how this is the worst thing ever. Back then thousands of people were infected every day, and guess what? PEOPLE ACTUALLY DIED EN MASSE! Hospitals were filled. Patients on the floor waited for the guy next to them on a bed to die so that they could get a bed. There was even a shortage of coffins. People need to stop acting like we have it bad today.

These people need to grow the f*** up. If the swine flu was as bad as the Spanish flu, people will be dying on the streets. You will see city streets adorned with corpses. The city will literally be brought to a halt. Why? Public transport will be closed, all public facilities closed, the workforce will be diminished.

 

It is spreading, but doesn't mean people should freak out.

[R32 3348]

 

Not to sound racist but there's no way a student at a hyper-competitive high school is going to take a day off. The Regents exams are weeks away. Some students are so obsessed with GPA that they'll probably travel to school with IV's attached to their arms.

Well, the Regents aren't exactly hard. They're just like a normal test to us. Anyway, almost everyone was absent today since we're at the point of the year where there's the most work and we all just need a beak. If it wasn't for track I wouldn't have gone either.

[MTR Admiralty]

Not to sound racist but there's no way a student at a hyper-competitive high school is going to take a day off. The Regents exams are weeks away. Some students are so obsessed with GPA that they'll probably travel to school with IV's attached to their arms.

Just an honest question, how is that racist?

[MTR Admiralty]

P.S. 130 closes with 76 possible flu cases

 

P.S. 130 on Baxter St. this week became the first Manhattan school to close because of concerns about swine flu.

 

The 1,081-student elementary school closed Wed., May 20 and will reopen next Tues., May 26. Seventy-six students at the school had flu-like symptoms over the past week, but there are no confirmed cases of swine flu at the school, the city said.

 

The P.S. 130 Parents Association blog emphasizes that the city closed the school “as a precaution due to a high level of kids being out sick,” not because anyone has swine flu.

 

Principal Lily Woo and other staff were still at the school Wednesday morning, though students were not. Woo’s staff declined to comment.

 

So far, the city has closed 24 public schools, mostly in Queens, and some schools have closed voluntarily. The city has not drafted a standard procedure for closing schools but is acting on a case-by-case basis.

 

P.S. 130, also known as the Hernando Desoto School, draws mainly from Chinatown and last year sent more than half of its graduates to middle school programs for advanced students. Many of the school’s incoming students come from low-income families who do not speak English, but the school posted an “A” two years in a row on the city’s new report card evaluation.

 

— Julie Shapiro

[S78 via Hylan]

These people need to grow the f*** up. If the swine flu was as bad as the Spanish flu, people will be dying on the streets. You will see city streets adorned with corpses. The city will literally be brought to a halt. Why? Public transport will be closed, all public facilities closed, the workforce will be diminished.

 

It is spreading, but doesn't mean people should freak out.

 

Thank you for saying that. People are just being stupid and afraid for no reason. All we need to do is just bring hand sanitizer, cover our mouths when sneezing or coughing and that's it.

[metsfan]

The problem with H1N1 is that it could all the sudden mutate & become very deadly. It could combine with H5N1 bird flu & kill half the world's population.

 

It could cause secondary issues with changed genetic stuff in humans, it could be way worse with a few things different.

 

People who hear a warning & ignore/act contrary make it worse.

 

This is a very serious situation.

 

Is it the end of the world? No.

Did news media over-react? Yes.

Do we need to be concerned & aware? Yes.

 

I personally am not worried now, but i am worried about regular flu season combined with this, as that's how bird flu (spanish flu is a misnomer & more to do with anecdotal information & not scientific evidence of actual origins) struck before. It was this odd off season flu then killed a lot of people during the next season.

 

- A

[Y2Julio]

I've never taken a flu shot since before I was in High School and I'm still alive. All these shots due is make our immune system weak and not ready to attack new illness.

[metsfan]

Actually vaccinations do the opposite, and ready the immune system to fight things off. Humans have natural defense against flu, but it takes up to 2 weeks to kick it out of our bodies. Immunizations can lessen that impact to nothing at all, to a day or 2. I always get a flu shot, because if i can avoid getting all miserably sick i don't mind getting poked by needles.

 

The things that weaken immune systems are stress, drug & alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, bone marrow problems, steroids, and depression. Also being too sanitary can weaken the response ability of the body, so you can get a mild cold or a bacterial related thing, and it take longer than if you trusted your own immune system a lil more.

 

Humans have lived for a few million years now, if we can make some vaccines that keep exotic stuff at bay, then it will allow for a less fluctuating population & gene pool. You ever wonder why humans look so alike & often you see someone who looks very similar? It's because thousands of years ago humans were reduced to a population of only maybe 10,000 individuals, and the genetic makeup of all of today's humanity is derived from those surviving people.

 

Vaccines for things like colds would in my opinion be a waste, since it's a naturally encountered "bug". Avian flu and some of the other more exotic "bugs" need a vaccine because until recently we were never exposed to it, and since globalization & fast travel a vaccine is the only real protection.

 

- A