Flu Pandemic

[trophyshy 7084]

@Stevie

 

/spits tea on colleague

Edited April 30, 2009 by trophyshy

[Fop 1]

Fops a cunt

 

Cunt Flu.

[trophyshy 7084]

spamdemic.

[Kid Dynamite 7173]

A kiddies school teacher may have caught it apparently. Uh oh!

[Fop 1]

A kiddies school teacher may have caught it apparently. Uh oh!

 

That's just kiddie flu.

 

 

 

Old woman flu could be about to take a terrible toll however.

[Tom 14013]

I've removed that image fop.

 

For fucks sake, nobody needs to see that.

[Fop 1]

I've removed that image fop.

 

For fucks sake, nobody needs to see that.

 

Your call, but you see worse than that at Blackpool.

[Tom 14013]

Aye you can but it's whether you'd want to

[The Fish 10970]

when do we start making up rhymes and choreographed dance moves to ward off the evil spirits?

[Tom 14013]

I've got the guitar out but nowt yet.

 

There's a farm with pigs on it about 100 metres away, I hope the fuckers can hear

[The Fish 10970]

On the bright side, cheap sausages just in time for BBQ season

[Park Life 71]

Germans are saying the Mexicans didn't know what they were doing and actually no one need die from it.

[Tom 14013]

[Park Life 71]

[Toonraider 0]

Confirmed case in the Toon now

 

I dont feel so alone now

[Lazarus 0]

[Happy Face 29]

Confirmed case in the Toon now

 

I dont feel so alone now

 

 

Proctor and Gamble at Cobalt business park.

 

I was in a meeting there today.

 

 

[Happy Face 29]

A case of swine flu has been confirmed in a woman sharing a house with three students in Newcastle.

 

Newcastle University registrar Dr John Hogan said the woman had recently returned from Mexico.

 

He said the students had been given anti-viral drugs. The woman is not a student or university staff member.

 

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said it brought the number of confirmed UK cases to eight. The two other most recently confirmed cases are in London.

 

The HPA said all had mild symptoms and were responding to treatment at home.

 

'Unlikely to spread'

 

It said any close contacts of the three were being offered anti-viral drugs as a precautionary measure.

 

The woman works for Procter and Gamble at its Cobalt offices on Tyneside.

 

The virus was found in Mexico

 

In a statement, Procter and Gamble said: "We can confirm that an employee at our offices in Cobalt in Newcastle has contracted the virus whilst holidaying in Mexico.

 

"She has been seen by a doctor and is at home recovering from the illness.

 

"None of our other employees have shown symptoms and we have been told by public health officials that, as the incubation period has past, it is unlikely that the virus will spread."

 

It said employees had been given information and any showing symptoms should seek medical attention.

 

Quickly informed

 

Dr Hogan sent a letter to all students and staff at the university on Thursday.

 

He said none of the students in the house had shown flu symptoms.

 

"The students have received the antiviral Tamiflu and they and the university have been advised by the Health Protection Agency that there is no need for the students to isolate themselves from the community unless they show symptoms."

 

Second year student Philippa Goymer told BBC Newcastle there had been a mixed reaction from students.

 

"Some of my friends are really concerned and they are whipping out the anti-bacterial hand gel and others have been quite laid back about it."

 

She added: "When I first heard about it I was quite worried but after discovering that the symptoms can be quite mild and that they can be contained and controlled I am less so.

 

"But generally speaking I am actually quite concerned, especially with exams coming up."

 

She said she thought students would continue to live their lives as normal.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8027200.stm

[Tom 14013]

It's found it's way to the web

[Happy Face 29]

Fortunately the two antiviral drugs the UK have stocked up on seem to be very effective against this strain.

 

Hilariously, neither tamiflu or relenza actually work. Just ask Rents.

 

 

The experts can't agree.

 

 

 

Thank fuck for Glaxo and Roche though eh fop?

 

 

So it will work?

 

Don't play with my emotions. I've got a runny nose.

[Fop 1]

Fortunately the two antiviral drugs the UK have stocked up on seem to be very effective against this strain.

 

Hilariously, neither tamiflu or relenza actually work. Just ask Rents.

 

 

The experts can't agree.

 

 

 

Thank fuck for Glaxo and Roche though eh fop?

 

 

So it will work?

 

Don't play with my emotions. I've got a runny nose.

 

[Happy Face 29]

"99 percent of cases this year are resistant to the drug"

2009-01-09

 

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-scienc...tive-2009-01-09

 

 

[Happy Face 29]

Like a recording that skips, the CDC has once again conceded that the main pharmaceutical line of defense against influenza has proven useless against this year's strains of disease. The antiviral drug Tamiflu has a long record of failure, but this one is the grandest of all, with a 99 percent resistance rate against virtually all prevalent flu strains. Tamiflu is supposed to help alleviate flu symptoms after the disease has set in, unlike the flu shot, which is supposed to prevent you from getting the flu.

 

"It's quite shocking," said Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, who directs infection control at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "We've never lost an antimicrobial this fast. It blew me away."

 

But while experts like Dr. Septkowitz were flabbergasted at the news of Tamiflu's failure, long-time readers visitors to this website may experience an "I told you so" moment. In fact, in my blog of February 8, 2008, I wrote, "I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but from my perspective, increasing resistance to Tamiflu is as predictable as rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles." Even earlier, in 2005, I predicted the ultimate failure of antivirals like Tamiflu because of their one-dimensional approach to wiping out pathogens.

 

As I've explained previously, "...viruses and bacteria are very simple structures that can mutate easily. Antibiotics and antivirals work by attacking a single structure in the pathogen, leaving the rest of the pathogen intact." Those viruses with natural resistance to the drug manage to survive the assault...and then replicate without constraint. It's a process of natural selection accompanied by optimum growth potential. Antibiotics and antivirals literally "breed" the strains of viruses and bacteria that are most resistant to them. In addition, those viruses and bacteria can then mutate to become even more resistant, creating super strains of the pathogens that ultimately render the drug completely useless.

 

According to the report, last year's H1N1 strain of flu developed an 11 percent resistance to Tamiflu -- enough to alarm the medical community. But this year, spontaneous mutations have caused the H1N1 virus to become virtually impervious to the effects of the drug -- causing widespread concern among medical practitioners who depend on the drug as their best, and in many cases, only weapon against the flu.

 

Although other antivirals do exist, the front-runner, Relenza, causes serious side effects, including lung spasms, disorientation, and suicidal ideation. It's also hard to ingest as it comes in powdered form, and it isn't recommended for children. There's an older drug, rimantadine, which at one time was the drug of choice, but as with Tamiflu, the strains of flu prevalent at the time developed resistance. Oddly, rimantadine seems to work somewhat against the current flu strains, and so now doctors are recommending a combination of Tamiflu and rimantadine. The problem here is that it's a total crapshoot whether or not the combo will work, and meanwhile, the patient runs double the risk for experiencing the side effects that come with these drugs, including nausea, vomiting, sleeplessness, dizziness, breathing problems, respiratory infection, headache, increased risk of kidney and liver disease, severe allergic reactions, and psychiatric symptoms.

 

Because it's been a light flu season so far this year, panic hasn't set in, but physicians have voiced concern that if Tamiflu isn't working against the H1N1 strain, it may also stop working against bird flu. In addition, they note that it's early enough in the season that a more dramatic outbreak could still occur, and so, according to most in the medical establishment, you should rush out and get a flu shot in order to avoid getting influenza in the first place.

 

"If you are really worried about the flu, vaccination [by the flu shot] is the best option," said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, of the Seattle Department of Public Health. But though the public health establishment insists that the flu shot is a good thing for all kids over age six months, all adults over age 50, as well as for pregnant women and those with weak immune systems, I've written before about the overblown claims in this regard. The CDC says that this year, the vaccine is a good match for the flu, but in the past, its effectiveness has been marginal at best, and potentially dangerous side effects include severe headaches, fatal allergic reactions, Guillain-Barr Syndrome, and autism. And when it comes right down to it, it doesn't necessarily work all that well even when it is a good match.

 

So what should you do to protect yourself? Your best bet is to take natural antivirals that attack pathogens on many fronts. As I've written before, naturally occurring organic compounds have a complex chemical composition that may consist of over 100 components (as with garlic), unlike one-dimensional pharmaceuticals that target a single weakness in a pathogen, which provides an easy bypass for mutation. Because of their complex structure, natural agents can attack pathogens on multiple fronts at once, while at the same time providing no opportunity for the pathogens to mutate around them because of their complexity.

 

Meanwhile, some in the medical community seem to have twigged the concept and are essentially headed in the right direction, though they're moving in the wrong vehicle. For instance, Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health commented, "The bottom line is that we should have more antiviral drugs. And we should be looking into multidrug combinations." He's right about the need to create complex, multidimensional attacks on pathogens -- but why do it using side-effect laden pharmaceuticals when you can instead take natural substances that do the job more effectively and with far greater complexity? See my blog of February 8, 2008, for specific recommendations.

 

http://www.healthiertalk.com/tamiflu-no-go-again-0316

 

I'm doomed.

[ChezGiven 0]

Fortunately the two antiviral drugs the UK have stocked up on seem to be very effective against this strain.

 

Hilariously, neither tamiflu or relenza actually work. Just ask Rents.

 

 

The experts can't agree.

 

 

 

Thank fuck for Glaxo and Roche though eh fop?

 

 

So it will work?

 

Don't play with my emotions. I've got a runny nose.

 

They only work on certain strains and are only useful if you take it early enough, as Rents said.

 

The article above is fair to an extent as the old adage is true, there aint no cure for the common cold. Or piglet sneezes.

[Renton 22002]

Like a recording that skips, the CDC has once again conceded that the main pharmaceutical line of defense against influenza has proven useless against this year's strains of disease. The antiviral drug Tamiflu has a long record of failure, but this one is the grandest of all, with a 99 percent resistance rate against virtually all prevalent flu strains. Tamiflu is supposed to help alleviate flu symptoms after the disease has set in, unlike the flu shot, which is supposed to prevent you from getting the flu.

 

"It's quite shocking," said Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, who directs infection control at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "We've never lost an antimicrobial this fast. It blew me away."

 

But while experts like Dr. Septkowitz were flabbergasted at the news of Tamiflu's failure, long-time readers visitors to this website may experience an "I told you so" moment. In fact, in my blog of February 8, 2008, I wrote, "I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but from my perspective, increasing resistance to Tamiflu is as predictable as rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles." Even earlier, in 2005, I predicted the ultimate failure of antivirals like Tamiflu because of their one-dimensional approach to wiping out pathogens.

 

As I've explained previously, "...viruses and bacteria are very simple structures that can mutate easily. Antibiotics and antivirals work by attacking a single structure in the pathogen, leaving the rest of the pathogen intact." Those viruses with natural resistance to the drug manage to survive the assault...and then replicate without constraint. It's a process of natural selection accompanied by optimum growth potential. Antibiotics and antivirals literally "breed" the strains of viruses and bacteria that are most resistant to them. In addition, those viruses and bacteria can then mutate to become even more resistant, creating super strains of the pathogens that ultimately render the drug completely useless.

 

According to the report, last year's H1N1 strain of flu developed an 11 percent resistance to Tamiflu -- enough to alarm the medical community. But this year, spontaneous mutations have caused the H1N1 virus to become virtually impervious to the effects of the drug -- causing widespread concern among medical practitioners who depend on the drug as their best, and in many cases, only weapon against the flu.

 

Although other antivirals do exist, the front-runner, Relenza, causes serious side effects, including lung spasms, disorientation, and suicidal ideation. It's also hard to ingest as it comes in powdered form, and it isn't recommended for children. There's an older drug, rimantadine, which at one time was the drug of choice, but as with Tamiflu, the strains of flu prevalent at the time developed resistance. Oddly, rimantadine seems to work somewhat against the current flu strains, and so now doctors are recommending a combination of Tamiflu and rimantadine. The problem here is that it's a total crapshoot whether or not the combo will work, and meanwhile, the patient runs double the risk for experiencing the side effects that come with these drugs, including nausea, vomiting, sleeplessness, dizziness, breathing problems, respiratory infection, headache, increased risk of kidney and liver disease, severe allergic reactions, and psychiatric symptoms.

 

Because it's been a light flu season so far this year, panic hasn't set in, but physicians have voiced concern that if Tamiflu isn't working against the H1N1 strain, it may also stop working against bird flu. In addition, they note that it's early enough in the season that a more dramatic outbreak could still occur, and so, according to most in the medical establishment, you should rush out and get a flu shot in order to avoid getting influenza in the first place.

 

"If you are really worried about the flu, vaccination [by the flu shot] is the best option," said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, of the Seattle Department of Public Health. But though the public health establishment insists that the flu shot is a good thing for all kids over age six months, all adults over age 50, as well as for pregnant women and those with weak immune systems, I've written before about the overblown claims in this regard. The CDC says that this year, the vaccine is a good match for the flu, but in the past, its effectiveness has been marginal at best, and potentially dangerous side effects include severe headaches, fatal allergic reactions, Guillain-Barr Syndrome, and autism. And when it comes right down to it, it doesn't necessarily work all that well even when it is a good match.

 

So what should you do to protect yourself? Your best bet is to take natural antivirals that attack pathogens on many fronts. As I've written before, naturally occurring organic compounds have a complex chemical composition that may consist of over 100 components (as with garlic), unlike one-dimensional pharmaceuticals that target a single weakness in a pathogen, which provides an easy bypass for mutation. Because of their complex structure, natural agents can attack pathogens on multiple fronts at once, while at the same time providing no opportunity for the pathogens to mutate around them because of their complexity.

 

Meanwhile, some in the medical community seem to have twigged the concept and are essentially headed in the right direction, though they're moving in the wrong vehicle. For instance, Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health commented, "The bottom line is that we should have more antiviral drugs. And we should be looking into multidrug combinations." He's right about the need to create complex, multidimensional attacks on pathogens -- but why do it using side-effect laden pharmaceuticals when you can instead take natural substances that do the job more effectively and with far greater complexity? See my blog of February 8, 2008, for specific recommendations.

 

http://www.healthiertalk.com/tamiflu-no-go-again-0316

 

I'm doomed.

 

Hmm. Interesting article, the bit at the end where the author reveals he's a herbalist is a bit telling though, and nonsense, of course. The 99% resistance in US seasonal influenza to oseltamivir is news to me, I'll have to get my RA on that. Cheers HF.