H1N1 (Swine Flu) spreads worldwide= Is declared a Pandemic

[Dionne]

Hillsborough county, FL now has 6 confirmed cases. Manatee has 1, and Sarasota, Co has 2. All confirmed newly today.

A friend of mine went to Borders to get his mom a gift card for Mothers Day, He has allergies and coughed into his hand. A man that was in the cafe came running over and cursing at him. He had a young child and my friend didn't want to continue the cursing but he has this wierd sense of humor and coughed on purpose and didn't cover his mouth. The man had a mask around his neck and not over his face and was acting really wierd so my friend went and notified the manager. Paranoia and hardly any disease. I can't imagine how people are going to react if and when their is a pandemic. Will we be assaulted or lynched for coughing or sneezing in the grocery store?

Sounds like your friends "weird sense of humor" aggravated an already tense situation. The deliberate cough was a mistake. If his allergies are that bad and he is residing in an area with confirmed infections......the smart thing to do would be to wear a mask. Unless of course your friend enjoys conflict.....

[wyq614]

China (mainland) confirmed one case yesterday

[Dionne]

China (mainland) confirmed one case yesterday

Bummer. Not good. Sorry to hear this news.

[somethingfunny]

Hillsborough county, FL now has 6 confirmed cases. Manatee has 1, and Sarasota, Co has 2. All confirmed newly today.

A friend of mine went to Borders to get his mom a gift card for Mothers Day, He has allergies and coughed into his hand. A man that was in the cafe came running over and cursing at him. He had a young child and my friend didn't want to continue the cursing but he has this wierd sense of humor and coughed on purpose and didn't cover his mouth. The man had a mask around his neck and not over his face and was acting really wierd so my friend went and notified the manager. Paranoia and hardly any disease. I can't imagine how people are going to react if and when their is a pandemic. Will we be assaulted or lynched for coughing or sneezing in the grocery store?

Wow, I'm amazed to hear of people still freaking out over this. Nobody I've encountered in Texas is at all concerned about this anymore. It was scary for a time when the disease was new and seemed to be both spreading and killing very quickly, but now we're mostly concerned with ongoing flooding.

Apparently a rather major outbreak is occurring in the Chicago area, as Illinois and Wisconsin far and away have more cases confirmed than any other states (including the inital vectors of California, Texas, or New York) Also, three more deaths have been confirmed - one in Costa Rica, one in Alberta, and one in Washington State. All of them apparently involved pre-existing medical conditions.

Countries where H1N1 seems to be spreading human-to-human based on the number of cases: (per Wikipedia)
Mexico - 2,062 confirmed cases
USA - 2,883 confirmed cases
Canada - 330 confirmed cases
Spain - 98 confirmed cases
UK - 65 confirmed cases
27 other countries have confirmed 15 or fewer cases of swine flu.

Every U.S. state except Mississippi, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Alaska have confirmed cases, notably:
Illinois - 487 confirmed cases
Wisconsin - 414 confirmed cases
Texas - 208 confirmed cases
New York - 196 confirmed cases
California - 193 confirmed cases
Arizona - 186 confirmed cases
Washington - 176 confirmed cases
Michigan - 135 confirmed cases
The rest are below 100 according to the Wikipedia chart which used several references, including but clearly not limited to this one... http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

I wonder, if H1N1 had turned out to be more serious, could and would we have done a better job of containing it? Despite the initial precautions, it's basically spreading unchecked out from every city with a major airport, particularly the Chicago/Milwaukee metro area.

[Dionne]

30 countries.......5251 confirmed infections.

[lurkey]

I wonder, if H1N1 had turned out to be more serious, could and would we have done a better job of containing it? Despite the initial precautions, it's basically spreading unchecked out from every city with a major airport, particularly the Chicago/Milwaukee metro area.

I think once it was considered a mild version of the flu, there was less of an effort to stop the spread.


Question: does exposure to the mild version confer immunity or stronger resistance to the a more viruelent version of flu?

[Cryomaniac]

Question: does exposure to the mild version confer immunity or stronger resistance to the a more viruelent version of flu?

I'm guessing that it would depend on how much the virus mutated. Of course, there is a risk that this H1N1 combines wiht H5N1.

[lurkey]

If true, just freakin' fantastic

Swine Flu May Be Human Error, Scientist Says; WHO Probes Claim

[Brent]

If true, just freakin' fantastic

Swine Flu May Be Human Error, Scientist Says; WHO Probes Claim

I am so over all this nonsense.

[Dionne]

6 PM CST and WHO has not updated since early today. ?????? Prior to today the reports have been vigilant.

[angelwing]

I had seen a RSS feed from the CDC that they couldn't keep up with the cases (wish I kept it now it was on my work PC), maybe WHO is doing the same thing.

[abajan]

Question: does exposure to the mild version confer immunity or stronger resistance to the a more viruelent version of flu?

I'm guessing that it would depend on how much the virus mutated. Of course, there is a risk that this H1N1 combines wiht H5N1.

Just FYI, that would be different to what obtains in the case of Dengue Fever: From my understanding, there are 4 types of Dengue Fever and if you've already had (say) type 2, you're more susceptible to become seriously ill if you get either type 1, 3 or 4 than if you never had any type of Dengue before. However, immunity to type 2 is boosted by your having already had that type. So you would have to get all 4 types to truly build immunity - assuming you survive your bouts with all 4!

Anyway, comparing Influenza to Dengue Fever is somewhat akin to comparing apples with oranges, I think.

[HurricaneBill]

Countries with confirmed cases:
U.S.A
Mexico
Canada
U.K.
Spain
Israel
Germany
Austria
New Zealand
Guatemala
Brazil
South Korea
Australia
France
Denmark
Switzerland
Colombia
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Norway
Ireland
Netherlands
Thailand
Italy
Argentina
Poland
Hong Kong
Japan
Panama
Portugal
Sweden
Finland
China
Cuba

[Dionne]

It would appear that the U.S. is now in first place.

CDC......3009 confirmed infections in 45 states.

WHO......5728 confirmed infections worldwide. The text on the WHO website is not currently available in English.

EDIT:....It is now available in English.

[southerngale]

There have been a few confirmed cases in Jefferson County, including in Beaumont. I'm hiding out in my bomb shelter until further notice.

[Dionne]

I've always enjoyed winning. Nice to see we're in first place. Kind of like winning an alpine downhill.

[abajan]

Passengers aboard the Carnival Victory which docked here yesterday morning were not allowed off the ship until our medical authorities gave the okay because a crew member had flu symptoms and was quarantined since the previous day.

Read the full story

EDIT - It has since been learnt that the crew member's sample has tested negative for H1N1.

[Dionne]

WHO....7520 cases in 34 countries.
CDC.....4298 cases in 47 states.

[WeatherLovingDoc]

Most disconcerting that a middle school administrator in Queens NY is so very sick from H1N1. On a respirator and in renal failure. The principal worked 2 miles from the Queens NY private school involved with the first area breakout, where students had recently returned from Mexico. Something about this virus....many eyes toward South America's winter season now to observe.

I'm sure you all join me in keeping him in our thoughts. He has three children and a wife keeping vigil.

[Stephanie]

That is very sad and very scary. Everyone is in my prayers.