As you read the media reports of the Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico (soon to be in the US and Canada), don’t panic. Seriously, remember that the media exists not to give you information, but to sell you deodorant, cars, and beer.
To that end they now, thanks to the 24 hour news cycle, have to “punch up” their stories to get your attention.
Chances are that this is not The End Of The World As We Know It, but rather a slightly more severe than we usually see outbreak of the flu. Remember also that for all intents and purposes, Mexico is a third world nation so more people are going to die from anything like this than would in say, the US.
There is cause for concern, but not alarm, and certainly not panic. Initial reports are that Tamiflu works. I haven’t been able to check to see if any of the people who have caught this have been vaccinated. Which also makes me wonder what the rate of vaccination is in Mexico.
In any case, keep and eye on the media reports, but take them with the proverbial grain of salt.
Could not agree more.
Um, regarding vaccination: I thought flu vaccines were generally strain-specific. Given that this is apparently a previously-unknown strain, how much protection would any existing vaccine be?
Thanks Tot.We non-medical types read/hear this stuff & typically, are not quite sure what to make of it. We all recognize (thinking folks, I mean), that the media fills us with crap, so whatever comes from MSM sources is immediately suspect.I'll be reading YOU for updates.There, now that the pressure is on…
Well said.
Every year we get a dire warning of the next society-ending epidemic. Yet, we’re still here. Mexico City is not only in a third-world country with third-world medicine by and large, but it’s a city with a huge homeless/poverty problem, even by Mexican standards. Diseases hit the lowest socio-economic classes hardest.-LT
It’s still way too early to know where this is going. If nothing else, it is a good way to test the various Public Health systems and plans in this country. Wolfwalker, the vaccines are always based on the strain of the previous year. It’s an educated guess as to how effective it will be. Still, the odds are always better if you get it. There is also the experience of the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic. Like this one, it started at the end of the historic flu season. The warm weather is not beneficial to the flu virus. However, the virus can lie dormant until the fall and re-emerge. That’s what happened in 1918. If that happens, the vaccine will be well worth it. I’m sure LT or probably any number of other readers can give a better explanation.
I have only briefly read the reports on this. It is customary for the flu vaccine to target 3 strains. They pick the ones they expect to be dominant during flu season, so there is a lot of prediction involved. As far as I know, nobody was predicting this virus for this flu season, which is just ending. They are anticipating a vaccine, that will includ this strain of swine flu, some time in November.The term swine flu is not really accurate. A good sourve of information is Wikipedia – swine flu, another is Emergency Physicians Monthly – they have information in the upper right of the page and White Coat’s Call Room should give good real world updates (located at the same site).
I do not mean to suggest that TOTWTYTR would not give good information, but he has to work the same as the rest of us, so updating can be limited.