There was no "cure" for it then,
And there isn't a "cure" for Swine 'Flu.

I'm not running around screaming in panic, but I'm acutely aware of the potential for trouble.
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:45, 2 replies, latest was 17 years ago)

yes but again - look at how far we've come,
not only technology wise, but hygiene wise too! Hygiene standards are far higher then they were back then AND hospitals are scrupulous in throwing away/deep cleaning used or damaged equipment.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:47, Reply)

Come on...
You know about basic Biology.
What's the main difference between a virus and a bacteria outside of the host?
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:49, Reply)

I know, I know
but I wonder if he/she does
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:49, Reply)

viruses can live longer and have no cellular bodies because they are, in effect, a protein coat around DNA which locks onto a cell wall ...
then releases the DNA into the Cell. It effectively commandeers the cell, whereas a bacteria is a cellular organism.

But just because it commandeers a cell doesn't automatically make it undefeatable. There are antivirals out there and I'm pretty darn sure they'll be able to come up with one for the swine flu.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:00, Reply)

Excellent copying out of a textbook, here.

(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:15, Reply)

golly is it really so hard for you to believe I do actually have some intelligence?
I don't need a text book to remember the difference between virii and bacteria.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:53, Reply)

And yet, it still manages to spread itself.
The only reason there's not more cases in the UK is because it's summer, apparently.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:50, Reply)

yes - because, shock horror, it's a new strain, oh my fricken god.
Bugs spread. That's a plain and simple fact. Colds spread. Ebola spreas. The Flu, every single variation of it, spreads. All diseases spread in some way or another. They have to in order to survive.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:56, Reply)

But you just intimated that it won't have a huge effect because our standards of hygiene are better these days.

(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:59, Reply)

Hygiene will simply make it harder for the virus to spread,
I never said it would stop it completely. But still - if you look at hygiene standards from the 1920's and compare them to now - you'll see a marked difference.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:01, Reply)

There were many fewer people in the 1920s too
and they didn't travel as much either.

So there is a far, far greater chance for diseases to be spread more rapidly than they can be isolated and cured. That is why it is potentially so very serious.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:03, Reply)

Yeah.
The standards then may well have been better. In hospitals, at least.

/Momentary Daily Heil blog.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:10, Reply)

You pick up on this one as it's contradiction?
You've missed plenty
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:01, Reply)

I just prefer to keep it simple...
Then maybe, maybe, she'll get the point.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:08, Reply)

Dont bank on it
she's on a losing streak, but is failing to heed that.
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:13, Reply)

So you can therefore be certain that you don't have anything more serious than an infection then.
Because you live in a hermetically sealed bubble where bugs can't get you and strains of viruses bounce off you like rubber on glue.
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:01, Reply)

My lovely, please go back and read over what I said,
I never said that at all. But as an interesting fact, did you know that's exactly what your skin does? it's like a massive external shield against bugs and viruses can't get through! Amazing!
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:03, Reply)

Apart from those holes where you breathe, look, shit and piss

(Bazongaloid, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:04, Reply)

*awaits hilarious "they're all in your face" comeback*

(Bazongaloid, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:04, Reply)

ahah you're so not funny Al.
We have Cillia and Mucus in our nasal and tracheal passages to trap microbes and pathogens. Our tearducts only open one way. Same for our Urethras. Vaginas and Rectums aren't anywhere near as clean and you *can* get infection through those areas. But generally, our skin does a pretty good job of keeping out the nasties. :)
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:07, Reply)

So really, 'does a pretty good job'
isn't quite the same as a shield.

Can you please pick a standpoint and stick to it
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:10, Reply)

it acts, for want of a better description, as a shield.
Please note that while I am at least attempting to put forth a coherent argument, I've yet to see you do the same. Please try, it's no fun when you don't.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:13, Reply)

I would do, but having done so in the past
and been faced with an argument that has more holes than logic in it, I prefer to use this tact instead now.
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:18, Reply)

Except you are ill at the moment, so your bodies defences didnt work did they?

So what the hell are you talking about?
(Bazongaloid, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:11, Reply)

with a bug my body obviously hasn't seen before.
I'm sure you get ill as well Al. Everybody does. The human body is not immortal and immune to everything.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:14, Reply)

*facepalms*
That's my first one, ever. Well done.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:16, Reply)

Er...
We're straying from the topic here slightly.
But what you're saying is that under normal circumstances, the body is pretty much a fortress again pathogens?

I disagree. If that was the case, how would your symbiotic gut flora get in? Is all food you eat, and all liquid you drink completely sterile?
You know that the human mouth has a hell of a lot more bacteria present than the human anus?
It's actually "cleaner" for you to eat a nugget of shit than to kiss someone.

So no, the human body is an open houseparty with free booze.
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:13, Reply)

But say we had no skin, kaol.
If we had no skin, we'd be leaving our bodies open to infection and pathogens like a cheap whores legs to cock.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:16, Reply)

That's a totally pointless statement.
Say we had no hearts. We'd be dead, so unable to catch diseases?
...
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:17, Reply)

it's not pointless at all.
I said earlier our skins acted as a major part of our immune system. It's true - without them - we'd be fucked.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:21, Reply)

If we didn't have skin we'd be dead.
Not due to infection either.
Due to dessication and blood-loss.
And lack of homeostatic function.

So it's a pointless statement.
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:25, Reply)

I know you're a bit inexperienced
but people don't have sex with whore's legs. They ususally use their vaginas or mouths.

*insert hilarious "you would know" comback*
(Bazongaloid, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:19, Reply)

Nah you wouldn't in all likelihood,
probably too stingy to pay.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:22, Reply)

^ this
Edit: You forgot sweat glands
(Buckminsterfuller Bring out yer meat puppets, it's time for some fun, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:05, Reply)

You know that the human body is
Technically a tube?
The "hole down the middle" is, in theory "the outside".
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 11:07, Reply)

Thank fuck for you, Kaol.
This is exactly what I was saying, just succinct and better.
(Slip Digby is a meat puppet, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:48, Reply)

Yeah?
I'm just awesome, I know.
Science for the win.
( Cawl, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 10:57, Reply)