Swine Flu Kills 0.0002% of People At Hajj ! OMG - It's Mutating !

[Techn0Girl]

At the recent Hajj in Saudi Arabia, attended by 2.5 million people this past month, Saudi authorities said that swine flu related illness was responsible for a total of 5 deaths.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/29/swine-flu-kills-5-at-hajj_n_373223.html

OMG! It'a a pandemic! Hide the Children - Inject yourselves!

Al-Rabeeah brushed aside such concerns Sunday, saying some pilgrims have been in the country for almost a month, far longer than the weeklong incubation period.
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"They've had enough time to show symptoms of swine flu, and that hasn't happened," he said.

But he also stressed Saudi authorities will continue to monitor pilgrims unt

Remember the battle cry - "It's Mutating!"

[JonQ]

1. I'm worried about this upward trend

if it keeps up by next week it will be 10, then 17, then 24, then 46, then 6.7 billion.

That's just basic math.

[Techn0Girl]

2. LOL :)

I swear - it seems that's the way some people think :)

[Arctic Dave]

3. I haven't been inoculated, am I dead? OH NOE$S!!11

I have never in my adult life received a vaccine shot unless mandated by my work. How have I lived so long?

[Techn0Girl]

7. It's a wonder isn't it ? :)

Watch out for the mutations !

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

4. It's amazing that so many progressives are illiterate about science.

[Techn0Girl]

8. Actually the word you are looking for...

is "ignorant", Davey, not "illiterate" .
"Ignorant" means a lack of knowledge whereas Illiterate means not able to read or write .
Ignorant is the word that you need Davey.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

10. Ignorant didn't convey what I wanted to say, ignorance can be helped. I have doubts about you.

Somehow it doesn't seem that you are able to understand the science. You seem to be able to read, except apparently when it comes to science. So it's willful ignorance or scientific illiteracy, take your pick.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JonQ]

13. I'd say enthusiastic ignorance

would work to describe quite a few people. They revel in not knowing.

[trotsky]

15. "enthusiastic ignorance"

That's a great little phrase. Very, very appropriate.

[uppityperson]

17. condescend much?

[JonQ]

18. Only to uppity people

[MineralMan]

5. Yet another ignorant post on the subject.

Feh!

[hedgehog]

6. Quite seriously, I wonder now if the "waves" seen in past pandemics

have anything to do with the Hajj. You have to admit, it is a perfect swap meet for various local variations of the influenza virus.

[Techn0Girl]

9. I assume someone would have notice a coorelation with that by now....

My understanding is that many influenza outbreaks originate in far eastern countries (China, Vietnam, etc) because of the huge overcrowding along with a very close physical proximity of the farming class to pigs and chickens.

[hedgehog]

12. It's true that most flu mutations occur on farms in the Far East where

people raise pigs and ducks in close proximity. However, some people trace the Great Influenza to a farm in Kansas where migrating ducks met farm pigs and people. There are also suggestions that the current H1N1 developed on American (American owned?) factory farms.

In the Spring of 1918, there was a first wave of influenza that made a lot of people sick. It died down, then a second, very deadly wave struck in the fall and took about 2 years to finally fade off. I have a vague notion that other, less deadly pandemics have exhibited this behavior of a one-two punch but that normally there is only one flu season in a given place in a given year.


It would seem likely that the troop movements in the summer of 1918 took a relatively benign virus and allowed it to mix with other viruses to create and spread a deadly version. This wouldn't explain the waves in later pandemics. Actually, I have two questions:

Are the pandemic waves of a new virus and its mutation consistently seasonal, Northern Hemisphere spring and fall? If so, then one would have to look for some event that occurs at the same time very year, for example, the annual departure of Parisians to vacation homes every August.

If the pandemic waves appear random, could they correlate with the Hajj? I apologize for my ignorance if I am mistaken, but I believe the Islamic religious calendar is strictly lunar without any adjustments for the difference in number of days between 12 lunar months and a solar year. In other words, no Leap Year. Thus, the date of the Hajji ratchets back a few days each year when compared to the Gregorian calendar.

The Hajj involves people from all over the world meeting in very close quarters and then returning home. The date of the Hajj varies with a lunar calender. If the dates of waves from other pandemics vary and if they correlate with the date of the Hajj in a given year, theremay be some connection.

It's an idle speculation, and I want to emphasize it was inspired by a news report on the efforts of the Saudi authorities to ensure that there is no flu outbreak at the Hajj.

[Techn0Girl]

14. You really bring up a great point...

When you talk about how recent Big Business practices regarding severe animal overcrowding (factory farming) is likely contributing to increased outbreaks and sickness.

That sort of practice isn't merely just inhumane and evil but it is likely contributing to a decline in American health in many ways.

[Prometheuspan]

16. i think i had it. lol

no big deal, but, i'm glad i soaked in the tub and drank a lot of oj.
lol