# NT/OT Swine Flu info



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

I went to the doc this morning, been feeling like crap for the last three weeks.

While I was talking to him, I asked, "Have you seen many Swine Flu cases yet?" He said, "No, just two or three. Anyway, IF YOU WERE BORN BEFORE 1956, YOU ALREADY HAVE THE ANTIBODIES FOR IT." _Caps added._ 
Nowhere on the news have I heard that. While this doc's not infallible, he's doing a fair-enough job of keeping me and my 90 yr-old MIL ticking.

Those news folks just don't let up on this panic-mongering, do they?

Les


----------



## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Les, I heard the same thing on the radio this morning (WBT radio 1110 am out of Charlotte) They were interviewing a doctor.


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

hmm. I wasn't.


----------



## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

I've heard the same thing on a number of news reports, that it doesn't hit the older folks as hard. Guess I'm glad I'm an "old fossil"!!

Ed


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Torby on 25 Aug 2009 06:43 AM 
hmm. I wasn't. 






Listening to the radio, or born before 1956?









Vulp


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Jeff and all:

Well, it's good to hear independent confirmation.









Les


----------



## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Does that mean we're old enough to know better? (than get sick)


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Listening to the radio, or born before 1956?

Neither


----------



## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

CNBC had an interview yesterday. The Doc said swine flu is actually very mild compared to the regular flu(s) that go around. Doc said wash your hands regularly, take care of yourself, eat right, exercise and stay home if you don't feal good. The only thing unusual is the time of year it happens. They are watching Australia as they come out of winter and into swine flu season.


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 25 Aug 2009 08:44 AM 
Does that mean we're old enough to know better? (than get sick) 


That means we're tough ol geezers.


----------



## 3lphill (Feb 22, 2008)

Some light reading on the subject. 
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr58e0821a1.htm 
You old folks were probably exposed before I was born. So much like the Spanish Influenza it affects the young disproportionally. (Is that a word?) this one seems to be very hard on pregnant women and infants, a population that is resistant to getting vaccinations. I guess that means I get to get 3 flu shots this year. 

Phillip


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By 3lphill on 25 Aug 2009 04:38 PM 
Some light reading on the subject. 
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr58e0821a1.htm 
You old folks were probably exposed before I was born. So much like the Spanish Influenza it affects the young disproportionally. (Is that a word?) this one seems to be very hard on pregnant women and infants, a population that is resistant to getting vaccinations. I guess that means I get to get 3 flu shots this year. 

Phillip 



Phillip,

'Disproportionally' is a good word, and used correctly.

I have no idea how old you are, but I do have some good news for you from a long-ago college biology class: "Usually, in any given population (of anything from rodents to people, etc) about 30% will die, 30% will be damaged for life to a greater or lesser degree (weakened), and about 30% will show little or no effect." (Immune, in other words.) The worst plague in history was the Black Plague, ca 1340 AD, which actually consisted of two different plagues simultaneously, the plague itself, and a virulent form of something like cholera, though I forget exactly what it was. The two managed to kill not more than 30 to


----------



## 3lphill (Feb 22, 2008)

Les 

I am 43, Diabetic and there fore higher risk, with small children (3 and 9) and married (14 years) to someone who works for the state health department in immunizations. Even if I cared there is no way I could not get the shots for H1N1 and seasonal flu. 

Phillip


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Phil,

I'm sorry to hear of the diabetes.

I can't take the 'mass produced' version of any vaccination because I've got an egg allergy. When the first 'flu shot' came out ca 1960, I was a teenager and my parents insisted I get one. I spent a week in bed, sicker than from a dose of the flu. In '57 or '8, when I was in grade school I got the Asian flu of thta era and darn near didn't make it. Never had a severe case of the flu since, though I've had a couple different bouts with it they were all 'relatively' mild.

I hear they're working on some sort of pancreatic genetic technique where they insert cells or something that kicks the pancreas back into operation. (Talk about an informative sentence!) Anyway, maybe one of these days they'll have something for you. I certainly hope so.









Les


----------



## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

because I've got an egg allergyGood thing you're not a chick then eh? hehehe


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Posted By Dwight Ennis on 26 Aug 2009 03:26 PM 
because I've got an egg allergyGood thing you're not a chick then eh? hehehe 



For the right price, I can be any_thing_ you want, Big Guy.










Ol' Vulp


----------



## barnmichael (Jan 2, 2008)

Swine flu... 

When pigs fly


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)




----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

That's cool, Gregg!

Les


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Really, we should be more worried about the H1Z1 strain that has shown up in Europe as reported then removed by the BBC. Professor Robert Smith of the University of Ottawa just published a paper titled "When Zombies Attack: Mathematical Modeling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection." that touched on this very subject....but there is the problem of the "dead" population not really being dead. 

Whatever you do, just be sure to aim for the head....


----------



## nkelsey (Jan 4, 2008)

Just remember not to open the email about swine flu and canned pork....... 






It's just Spam! 



Sorry, could not resist.


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

Nick

Oh, no problemo here: I have _antivirus_ software on my computer.









Ol' Vulp


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Garrett, 

> When Zombies Attack: Mathematical Modeling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection 

Zombie Plan Rule #7: Always have house and car keys on your person. 

Best, 
TJ


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

TJ,

My house is kinda hard to carry. Keys for car, can do.









Garrett,

I've already lived through a Zombie attack. It was called High School.

Ol' Vulp


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Les- 

That, among many of your one liners would make for a good signature line!


----------



## jlyans (Jan 2, 2008)

Make no mistake, influenza is a serious disease. But the yearly media circus as they quote "health experts" about the importance of getting your flu shots, especially if you are a child, over 60, a health care worker, or a pregnant woman,etc, etc., is nothing short of a joke. At best flu shots are a placebo and at worse they may have long term detrimental effects on your health. This was referred to in the Los Angeles Times a couple of years ago:

“Early predictions were that flu vaccines would save the lives of about half of those vaccinated. Based on U.S. mortality rates from 1968 to 2001, the study by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found no correlation between increasing vaccination rates and declining death rates in any age group." The Archives of Internal Medicine (Arch Intern Med 2005;165:265-272) reports that influenza vaccination coverage among elderly persons (> or =65 years) in the United States increased from between 15% and 20% before 1980 to 65% in 2001. Unexpectedly, estimates of influenza-related mortality in this age group also increased during this period.” 

Bottom line - the number of flu related deaths has increased as vaccination rates have increased. Kids fare no better:

January 10, 2004: NY Times, Lawrence Altman, the dean of American medical writers, reported that 93 children have died from the flu this season in the US. Alltman states: “Thirty-three of the victims had not been vaccinated.” 

So…sixty of the deaths were in vaccinated kids, right? I'll take my chances among the non-vaccinated.


----------



## Les (Feb 11, 2008)

JL,

That has been my position since 1960 on flu shots. I also believe the media hype it instead of working to find real news.

When they bellow that "525 people have died of the flu so far this year'' or whatever the number is, bump that against the number of traffic deaths, bee stings, etc to date and it starts looking like what it is: a few unfortunate deaths out of a large population.

Les


----------

