So that means it's less bad, does it?
I agree with you on one point - it hasn't reached epic levels of badness - yet. But it could - the WHO doesn't upgrade to pandemic status lightly, and I'd suggest they know more about it than any of us.

Just because Swine Flu hasn't killed a load of people yet, it doesn't define it as 'not serious'. Bird flu has a vaccine, swine flu doesn't. Bird flu tends to ony kill people who are frail, swine flu is most likely to kill people aged 18-54. So, returning to your OP, the doctor was doing his job.

And your point about it STILL being a 'flu? Flu kills millions of people around the world every year. Just thought you'd like to know, as you seem to judge something's seriousness by how many deaths it causes.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:37, 1 reply, 17 years ago)

well yeah I do actually - for some diseases yes.
For diseases such as MS and Cystic Fibrosis - no. They're horrible in their own way.

A flu can be, for the most part, thrown off. We live in a priviledged era where we CAN cope with diseases - we're not in the 1920's or the 1800's. We know about containment and we know about letting diseases run their courses when they should. We have so much technology and as far as the flu goes, while it makes you feel horrible and like you're about to die, it generally doesn't kill everybody it touches. We're not living in an era where doctors are helpless - we have technology on our side and we can and are finding ways to treat it.

So no - while I agree that it is undoubtedly a virulent disease which is making a lot of people very unwell, I am not hugely worried about it.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:41, Reply)

There. Is. No. Vaccine. For. Swine. Flu.
You can't compare MS and Cystic Fibrosis as they are genetic and not viral.

The year that we are in also has nothing to do with it. I tell you what, the plague was stopped by the great fire of London, so shall we set the world on fire?

No-one said that the disease will kill everyone it touches - but it does have the potential to kill a lot of people. There were 3 major pandemics in the 20th Century, responsible for millions of deaths - each of those pandemics caused by a new strain of the virus in humans. Which is what is happening now. Once again, we are not running around in a state of panic, but we also have to be aware of what can happen. This is not seasonal flu.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:55, Reply)

Urban myth
The plague had already run its course and was effectively over well before the Great Fire.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:15, Reply)

I take the point on the urban myth
PUT OUT THAT FIRE!!!

Everyhting else I mean, though.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 13:30, Reply)