Slashdot Mirror
New Flu Strain Appears In the US and Mexico
Combat Wombat writes with this excerpt from Reuters:
"A strain of flu never seen before has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and also appeared in the United States, where eight people were infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday. Mexico's government said at least 20 people have died of the flu and it may also be responsible for 40 other deaths. [The government] shut down schools and canceled major public events in Mexico City to try to prevent more deaths in the sprawling, overcrowded capital. ... Close analysis showed the disease is a mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the CDC. Humans can occasionally catch swine flu from pigs but rarely have they been known to pass it on to other people. Mexico reported 1,004 suspected cases of the new virus, including four possible cases in Mexicali on the border with California.
Wow, with news at this pace, we would find out about the end of the world a week after!
The flu has (very likely) already hit Queens, NY. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/nyregion/25sick.html?_r=1&hp
The reason why this strain is so bad is because it's transmissible from person to person with ease.
On the plus side, it's not resistant to Tamiflu... yet. Given that strains of Tamiflu-resistant human flu are turning up, I wouldn't be surprised to see this one learn to dodge bullets as well.
That's why this strain is seen as a potential pandemic.
Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
Influenza has killed more people than all fatalities combined from every war.
Before this spreads unnecessarily, this would be an ideal time to limit air flight in and out of the Americas.
We as a species are putting everyone at risk by allowing unlimited, unrestricted, near-instantaneous travel from point to point on the globe.
Shipping cargo can continue of course; if the crew get sick en route, they can always be quarantined off the coast of wherever they arrive.
You mean the US?
The first few known cases originated in the US.
We should have been worried about Man-bird-pig! Curse you Al Gore.
The Stand always had the whole mysticism thing going on with Flagg and Mother Abby.
The only thing that was dragged in was King's typical shitty ending. I'm just hoping he doesn't do the same to the Gunslinger seri... oh wait a minute. He did. =(
Insert witty
news that will make people crap their pants!
zosxavius photography
New Scientist Magazine also has a good introductory article about it:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17025-deadly-new-flu-virus-in-us-and-mexico-may-go-pandemic.html
From the article:
Flu viruses are named after the two main proteins on their surfaces, abbreviated H and N. They are also differentiated by what animal they usually infect. The H in the new virus comes from pigs, but some of its other genes come from bird and human flu viruses, a mixture that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls "very unusual".
====
When people start making comments like this, I can't help wondering if this was someone's science project that got out into the open instead of a strain that occurred naturally.
I'm not worried though.. I have been dreaming of an old black woman so I should be ok...
Don't rush me, Sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
...as this article learns us.
Makes you indeed wonder !
Mental note: beware of Replikins bringing medicine to lethal flu.
And will people in Texas (*cough* Don McLeroy *cough*) believe it, or will they just come up with the usual "well its still a virus" meme.
I have a Macbook Pro. That means I'm immune, right?
I have to disagree there, the Gunslinger ending was right.....what did you expect, Roland to enter the tower and find some mystical Nirvana? I don't see how it could have been much better, if he'd given up finding the tower it would have been worse, if he'd gone in but not shown what happened inside it would have been worse. What exactly could he find inside the tower that would have given him fulfillment? Absolutely nothing. He was chasing a false dream, and he will continue to chase it until he learns to chase something real instead. That's how life works: if you chase illusions, you're never going to catch them.
Qxe4
WTF 'near-instantaneous'? You must have never flown on anything but private learjets.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
At least the TV adaptation could be split into "good tape"/"crap tape" on VHS.
Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
WTF 'near-instantaneous'? You must have never flown on anything but private learjets.
Horses,ships = months. Cars = days. Planes = hours.
Get it now?
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better." - Unknown
Interesting that this pops up shortly after the release of this book.
WTF 'near-instantaneous'? You must have never flown on anything but private learjets.
You must have never taken a boat anywhere.
What? This article isn't about a .1 release of your favorite open source software package?
Despite that fact, it really is Slashdot's purview. Biology, migration, politics, computer models, projections, population studies ...
... on a low. Perhaps a good buy, as Tamiflu is said to help.
Or should I say clever timing?
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
The chances of these proteins from bird, avian flu combining with a swine retro virus that is easily transmittable is astronomical.
Unless of course, it really isn't about chance, and it was engineered that way. Taking the best from Avian flu, and Swine Flu and combining them into a easily transmittable vector for human consumption.
I would bet for example it already has spread world wide.
The higher its kill rate the more skeptical I will believe this is a natural borne virus which came about through natural events.
We will have to wait for the death toll statistics for the outbreak. But if it is over 30% death it has to be human engineered. Even the Black Death required highly specific environmental factors to come about. Since humans control our environment by a factor of a 1000 more than the dark ages, any virus would have to be thousands of times more virulent.
On top of that it is spread through casual contact?
Sure, its TOTALLY natural.
-Hack
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
Please go visit Mexico City.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Jesus, you haven't been here that long, have you?
This site isn't a technology site.
From a cursory look around the Internet today, there is a lot of advice on what kind of face mask to wear to help cut down on transmission. Apparently even simple surgical masks are good enough for the flu virus (although better version are also available).
This post is more about eye protection: Next to the nose and mouth, your eyes are the next best method for transmission. Are thick, wrap-around glasses or goggles a good idea? I know that people in Japan with allergies have such equipment. Can anyone provide links to them or their medical efficacy?
For a few year ago it was a huge ethical question about growing human organs in pig for transplantation in case of accidents.
The proponents focused upon the saving of lives in the moment
The opposition focused upon the threats this could cause for the entire human race as viruses suddenly could pass the gap and flood us with waves of new diseases we have never known before.
Not that I know if this is due to growing human organs inside porks, but expect many new deadly deceases such as this as animal grown parts turn up inside humans.
The news stories are saying there are suspected cases in California, Texas, New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County now.
Dude, where's my packet?
Nowadays some are spread by companies that make vaccines.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTo3LbhcA75I
Rather strange that the avian flu could end up in a vaccine that's supposed to contain a very different sort of flu.
If they are that careless and sloppy maybe they should be shutdown for safety reasons. How about National Security reasons?
The level of incompetence required is hard to distinguish from evil.
This is not stuff like "Conficker".
What next? Whoops we accidentally sent you a weaponized flu we were working on for the Military. Sorry, we'll give you a discount on your next order OK?
_old_news_
You know, it was calculated that the Black Death was able to spread throughout Europe with the speed of up to 10 km/day (about 700 furlongs per fortnight, in imperial units). This is pretty fast when you consider that it is still believed that Black Death was carried by mice and fleas. Now imagine a disease carrier boarding a Jumbo in Tokyo heading for New York...
Ezekiel 23:20
The experts are saying that this is highly unusual and they have never seen anything like it. Yes, flu mutates, but it usually doesn't mutate simultaneously with so many differing vectors.
That's the odd and suspicious part that people are noting. I just listened to the WHO Q and A press conference and they are taking this pretty seriously, as in emergency mode, a step below full panic mode. You just might want to not be so instantly dismissive and blase about it. If you haven't noticed, the Mexican authorities have canceled all large public events, which they never do. Flu happens all the time, it is seasonal, they don't cancel big events over it, until now. They are on the scene and seem to be a little more alarmed over it than your dismissive "oh bother, happens all the time, p'shaw, plain old flu" internet armchair medical opinion. This is not a usual form of normal mutated flu.
I thought the reason it was so bad is because many of the dead are young adults. That's one of the milestones of a really dangerous pandemic, right?
The only way to be sure you are safe is a total body condom.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
You forgot the avian element, they would be "flying pigfluenza overlords".
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
Damnit, there goes my.... I mean my friends....vacation. Now what are we supposed to do?
Monstar L
... Viruses mix with other viruses now? When did that start happening?
It's not so much the "contents" of the tower I disagreed with, it's the whole Mordred/Flagg/Eddie/Oy/etc etc thing. Of course they were going to die in the end, but I think he could have paid much more attention to such well established characters and sent them to the clearing at the end of their path in a more fitting manner.
Insert witty
For any epidemic with a new strain, there's ALWAYS something that's fairly unusual and something you have never seen before.
In fact, it's unusual NOT to see something unusual. I get suspicious when there's nothing strange with a straight textbook case. Someone's probably not investigating hard enough.
In case you haven't guessed yet, I am by profession an epidemiologist. There's NOT ENOUGH information available to the public to draw any conclusions. I'm sure the guys on this one are up to their eyeballs with conflicting information and are trying to sort it all out.
There's a potential, but until we know better, keep your fearmongering to yourself.
And you're using the word "vector" wrong. Depending on what you believe, your understanding might not even be wrong.
It's not pigfluenza, it's La gripe carnitas.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Marvel beat them to it: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham
You know, it was calculated that the Black Death was able to spread throughout Europe with the speed of up to 10 km/day (about 700 furlongs per fortnight, in imperial units). This is pretty fast when you consider that it is still believed that Black Death was carried by mice and fleas. Now imagine a disease carrier boarding a Jumbo in Tokyo heading for New York...
But, Brain...
How are we going to come up with the money for a flight from Tokyo to New York? Narf!
Deus Ex was not a documentary. NATO forces will arrive soon to control the situation, not UN forces.
--
Toro
I would guess that if a serious flu comes through, you will not be able to avoid it.
However, if I understand correctly, flu typically kills by filling the lungs up with mucus, and preventing breathing -- a fatal pneumonia, if you will. However, such a symptom is entirely (and easily) treatable. The treatment is called PP &D, and it takes about 20 minutes to drain the lungs. In other words, in the time it would take the ambulance to get you and get you to the hospital, you could be in good enough condition to walk out the door.
I've done this on my kid, and it does greatly improve breathing function.
Therefore, my advice would be to simply be prepared to do PP & D on others, the price being that they learn to do it, and do PP & D on still others in a 2:1 ratio until the need is gone. That way, if you do get sick, you will have someone to do it on you, and the flu wonâ(TM)t be fatal.
Here are two good sources on how to to PP&D.
http://www.phoenixchildrens.com/emily-center/child-health-topics/handouts/CPT-55b.pdf
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/kbase/as/ug1720/how.htm
Stephen King has a thing for letting people die in ways he considers natural. He also likes to mess with his reader's emotions, and bother them a bit, like when Eddie died, it went from happy hugging family, to dead man. Total emotion switch there. In the book it even had a picture of them all hugging. And it was something that could in fact have happened, so you can't escape from the uncomfortable nature of it by saying, "oh, that wouldn't happen." It's an uncomfortable reality that you need to deal with. King likes uncomfortable realities.
On the other hand, I'm kind of interested in your ideas. How would you have ended it differently?
Qxe4
Yeah, go to Madagascar and get hemorrhagic fever instead...
Baxter nearby when this took place, me wonders????
Citizen bhima, I believe they already may have. So there may actually be "competent" biotechnologists out there.....
The Prime Minister of Madacasgar, Monja Roindefo, has ordered the ports of this African island nation closed. Advisors to the Prime Minister informed him of some instances of disease in Mexico. "Someone was coughing," they said. Mr. Roindefo is reported to have responded with an order to "shut down everything."
Slashdot is a pretty cool guy eh posts dupes and doesn't afraid of anything.
Sounds like a job for Dr David SandstrÃm of NORBAC.
Good one, but probably over the heads of all those Nortenos out there.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Bird flu, pig flu, what's next?
- Dan
Sure. I just will continue, to never open the door of the basement, and irradiate all my food while it gets trough the lock.
I also guess, we on /. wouldn't even notice this, if it weren't for those moles from the outside, bringing in such news as this. ;)
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
So basically this strain is one that was only expected to emerge "when pigs fly"?
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
What do you mean the Americas? Try North America.
Chile where I live has already implemented screening at the airports for all international flights and anyone with fever or symptoms is being taking to the hospital for evaluation before they allow entry in to the country.
Living in Chile
Is anyone trying to test this method of tracking flu outbreaks by watching search engine result trends to see if it really works in this case?
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7232/full/nature07634.html
Living in Chile
http://turnerradionetwork.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-flu-outbreak-traced-to-missing-us.html
I always wonder how close to the truth Steven King's The Stand would be with regards to this kind of thing happening (minus the supernatural element).
Minor correction P&PD
Xavier Rabourdin for president 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN25473389
An unusual new flu virus has spread widely and cannot be contained, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Saturday.
"It is clear that this is widespread. And that is why we have let you know that we cannot contain the spread of this virus," the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters on a conference call.
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
Unfortunately this isnt a typical flue, and if it's the same killing method as with the Asian bird flue (also a mix of human, bird and swine afaik), it causes sepsis.
The reason people with good immune systems died was because their immune response triggered a massive death of flue virus in the blood, causing blood poisoning. Not a whole lot of good PP&D will do you.
Added bonus: did someone use any of those antivirals lately to fight the common cold? You're in for a treat: good chance they wont work on you as well as they should when the flue gets here.
Unless someone at CDC or your state health laboratories have cultured your virus, there's no way to be sure what you had. Actually, I bet they'd like to hear from you...
I've never read the Tower series though I am familiar with it. I'd planned on holding off until he finished the damn thing and then I heard it was a disappointment. I know King likes to write without an outline and this can be both exhilarating and frustrating. The Stand was an amazing book but the ending was a total deus ex cloaca.
I've found that pattern in his books over the years, they're fun journeys but disappointing endings.
The fan reaction to Galactica seems to be very similar to the fan reaction to the Dark Tower -- some people think the ending was perfect but many more are screaming about how it made no sense and didn't hold up. I think this is understandable because King and the BSG writers worked the same way; no outlines, just going where the muse took 'em on a given day. I know there were retcons in both the Tower and BSG that had people wanting to throw things against the wall.
So, what' your take?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I liked it, and enjoyed the ending. When I read, I try to see it from the author's point of view. If you are trying to impose your own view of what should happen onto a story, you will not enjoy it. I suspect people who didn't like the ending either didn't understand it or had a preconceived notion of how a story should end. That is my take.
Qxe4
Swine, avian, and human transgenic flu? Hmm. Kinda like the flu epidemic of 1918 which killed millions, isn't it?
I wonder if this has anything to do with the same strain of flu which was recently (2003 IIRC) re-engineered, or recovered, by a scientist from a sample (or something like that) of the 1918 pandemic.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Interesting thought - it's quite possible, I suppose. I seem to recall hearing/reading about the impact of the 1918 flu in North Dakota on the family that lived in the house we were staying in (small town, so it was easy to find the records). The mid-20s couple died, but the grandmother and child survived. I seem to recall something about it being respiratory related: the lungs filled up with fluid resulting in the person drowning.
If that was the primary cause of death in 1918, it seems like it'd be pretty "easy" to deal with the flu symptoms today: just siphon fluid from people's lungs until they defeat the flu. On the other hand, if people live longer with the flu, and the flu runs its course, an additional, more virulent strain might develop.
Wouldn't it be supremely ironic if this were to become a pandemic, and the only people who survived in the 'healthy adult' age group (say, 16-40 or so), or those with a higher survival rate, were smokers? I wonder if any correlation could be drawn between the 1918 pandemic casualties and smoking - I doubt such information is available due to how drastically that flu impacted societal advancement.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Their numbers seem too low. A friend that works at a local hospital in Mexico city said that only at her hospital 40 people died already.
It's not pigfluenza, it's La gripe carnitas.
Mmmm... Carnitas.
For those poor, uninitiated mortals, carnitas is the ultimate bacon porn, a taco in which you pick and choose your favorite pig components fried in a lard-filled vat, such as buche (stomach), cuero (rind), cachete (cheek), tripa (tripe), corazon (heart), costilla (rib), etcetera, the most hardcore item being zurrapa, all the bits and pieces that broke away and sedimented at the bottom. Add grain salt, chopped onion and cilantro, freshly squeezed lemon, salsa, and... well, pork away!
Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty
I've had a hard time sleeping well as I've been having recurring dreams about some old black lady telling me to come visit her in Hemmingford Home, Nebraska. And now comes news of a new flu. Screw this, I'm gonna go listen to some Larry Underwood and get drunk.
Pft who needs all that. If your lungs are filling with fluid, just get someone to turn you upside down and shake you while you cough.
Kids these days don't even know gravity when they see it. Get off my lawn!!!
How would I have ended it differently... an excellent question, and one I hadn't put too much thought into other than, "Oh god not like this."
Ok, ask and I'll try to deliver. Well, not really, I just took an Ambien and started on a glass of wine. This may be terrible, but hopefully it won't be any worse than King's ending.
Roland and company are resting up near the tower, preparing for tomorrow morning: their long final walk into the unknown. Roland awakes before the others, and decides either one of two things: "If they follow me, they will die - so I will go on alone without them." Not a very Roland-like thought, so "They'll be in my way. This is MY quest, and I'll finish it on my own." The party is unaware of Flagg and Mordreds location and status.
Regardless of reason "why", Roland abandons his party and proceeds on alone. When morning comes, the party discovers he's gone and decides to chase after him. They leave, and soon Mordred and his new pet, a very confused/lobotomized Flagg, catch up.
Now what to do with our characters... We can play some deus ex machina and have an older Jacky Sawyer (and maybe a few wolves) show up and brutally dispose of Flagg and Mordred, and "save" the others, perhaps scattering them across the territories as sorta "knight errants" (keeping Jake and Oy together of course). Or, we can just kill them. No Jacky Sawyer crossover, but at least they get to die with their boots on. Not a little death either, a big long "this fight gets it's own chapter" type of battle. Alternatively, since our villains and heroes are all still more or less intact, spin off a separate book about just them and whatever their disposition turns out to be. If we let them die, they need to die honorable and valiant deaths.
Now we have Roland marching on to his tower, minus his horn.He gains entry and slaughters (not erases) the Crimson King in some fashion, with some great Client Eastwood style one-liners. He looks around, and his horn is there on a pedestal. He proceeds to the balcony, blows it, and cries out the names of all of those he left behind. Now, he marches on up to the top. At every room he learns some new truth, and usually a terrible one that he would rather not know. And when he reaches the pinnacle?
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
Insert witty
Added bonus: did someone use any of those antivirals lately to fight the common cold? You're in for a treat: good chance they wont work on you as well as they should when the flue gets here.
Antivirals don't work very well in any case. Tamiflu is considered effective because it was shown to reduce the symptoms by about a day. This means that instead of 10 days, you're only sick for 9.
People who take it for a common cold are seriously not thinking clearly, as it works by inhibiting the synthesis of a protein in the flu virus. This protein isn't present in other viruses, so you're only taking a placebo with real side effects.
Even more important: wash your goddamned hands. Scrub your hands properly numerous times a day, using a nailbrush, and you will significantly improve your chances of avoiding picking up anything. Don't touch your face if you can avoid it. Yes, this is an airborne strain we're talking about, but even airborne viruses are usually transmitted by touch.
[FUCK BETA]
No, they aren't. They make you look like an idiot and can't stop you from getting infected. If this turns into a pandemic, the very air will be saturated with viral particles; you cannot avoid breathing some, or eating some with your food or water.
Your best bet is to ensure that you get enough sleep (to keep your immune system up), aren't overly stressed, eat healthily and are in decent shape. Also wash your hands; it won't stop the flu, but it will lessen the chances of some other nastiness from distracting your immune system at the critical moment.
Beyond that, you either can resist this thing or you can't. If you can, fine; if you can't, you'll die. It's genetic, and there's nothing you can do about it. You either make your Fortitude save or you won't, so just chill and wait for the dice to fall. Besides, worrying about it will cause stress, which will weaken your immune system and give you a penalty, thus lessening your chances.
Seriously, people, this breathing mask and goggles nonsense is just the viral equivalent of airport security theatre, and just as effective. If you have to go, go without looking like idiots.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
a mixture of swine, human and avian viruses
Could be it's paranoia on my side, although mixing genetic engineering with swines and the gap is closer to such kinds of mixtures...
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
Oh, that immune system going nuts thing is called a Cytokine Storm.(Although it sounds more like a video game I would have played as a kid.) More on that for anybody who cares http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
The flu virus can be fatal by setting off what is known as a cytokine storm, which is essentially the immune system ramped up to the point where it kills the host as well as the pathogen. There are bodily chemicals that are supposed to limit the release of cytokines so that this does not happen, but sometimes they fail to stem the tide.
I don't completely understand it, but I suspect that is why healthy adults often succumb to flu pandemics while children and elderly people survive. The healthy adults have more robust immune systems and they respond more strongly to the virus.
Cytokines produce an inflammatory response (which fights the virus but also produces all the unpleasant symptoms), so I would think that a good anti-inflammatory would help, but I'm not sure. There is a ton of good info on it at wikipedia, though. I suggest everyone read up on it before panicking.
No one in the U.S. has died yet, and I suspect that this flu outbreak has actually been going on for many months before the papers got wind of it. No one in the U.S. has died yet. I think it's a bit premature to start handing out surgical masks.
Your best bet is to ensure that you get enough sleep (to keep your immune system up)
Except that this appears to be one of the varieties, like the 1918 pandemic, where the flu is only moderately irritating and the deaths are caused by the immune response, so weakening your immune system slightly (maybe go and catch a bacterial infection too and give it two things to worry about...) will be more likely to increase your chances of survival.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Alright, I'll admit this is bad. But why the "panic" over something that so far only has the "potential" to do massive harm? What about HIV and other STD's that are roaming free across the land infecting hundreds of thousands of people a year?
Speaking from my nursing background here (20+ years as Registered Nurse in Intensive Care, Emergency Room, and medical wards).
Postural drainage and percussion (PD&P) are appropriate when the "fluid in the lungs" is in the bronchial tree, as in cystic fibrosis and some kinds of bronchitis. It will do no good in pneumonia and may cause greater harm.
In pneumonia the dangerous fluid is not within the lumens of the bronchial tree where it could be coughed out; it is the walls of the tree that are swollen with excess interstitial fluid that is the danger. The swelling increases the distance between the air sacs and blood vessels, and as it progresses, it collapses the air sacs. So you don't have gobs of stuff blocking the lungs; you've got less working lung area.
If you start to come down with the flu a good plan would be to avoid exercise or any activity that would increase your O2 demand and your CO2 production. Spend your awake time mostly sitting, and rest in a semi-recumbent position rather than flat in bed. Do deep breathing exercises every half hour or so to help keep airways open. Go with sedentary activities like reading, watching tv, working on improving your slashdot karma, and so on. And remember that the hardware of your mind is now compromised by the illness, so you are not as sharp as usual, your judgment may be bad, and there are going to be more bugs in your code and logic.
Will
I've always wondered just how effective those paper masks are. They do not seem to seal well against the face. I would think at least 20% of the air you breath in bypasses the filter. Do these things actually do any good?
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
This isn't genetically engineered, it's a side effect of bad farming practices.
In the same way we've managed to infect our pigs with MRSA http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/opinion/15kristof.html I think we've managed to kick up yet another variant..
Signs are pointing to a Smithfields Farms hog-farm in Veracruz where the outbreak originated. http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-25-swine-flu-smithfield/
I'm not arguing for us to go back to sticks and weeds for our food supply, but if you set up a farming environment where the only way to guarantee survival of your animals is continual, therapeutic antibiotics, you're doing it wrong.
Except that inflammation doesn't weaken your immune system, it causes it to switch to "war mode", which means that any pre-existing infection increases the chances that the total response is out of proportion and will kill you.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
Although I get your point the main difference between Aids/HIV is that your can't catch it just by being near one of 'the infected'. Also the speed of transmission will be much faster so will the speed of death. Just heard someone in Scotland is ill after getting back from Mexico - time to rebuild that wall........
After reading this, I am seeing how it could be a perfectly good ending, and I'm wondering why King didn't make the ending this way. I'm sure he could have if he'd wanted to, so I will assume he chose not to. Why exactly did he make that choice?
Why did he choose to erase the crimson king instead of a violent exciting battle, which Roland had done at least twice before in other books? Maybe Roland wasn't strong enough to defeat such a powerful character alone? Maybe the fight like that highlighted some aspect of the character of the Crimson King that wouldn't have been shown otherwise. These are my thoughts.
Qxe4
Reminds me of a joke from a prof. in virology back in the days:
An untreated flu makes you sick for a week. A treated one for 7 days.
Ni.
Fish flu would seem the next logical step.
Just wait until you catch a fatal flu next time you go swimming in the ocean!
Since these guys have the best Avian Flu test, they might be able to make a variant for this one too..
Amazing biotech on this test btw..
-- Robi
Originated in the US? It is well documented that the first few known cases were from Vera Cruz Mexico. http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-25-swine-flu-smithfield/ http://www.mydd.com/story/ http://www.google.com/search?q=swine+flu+veracruz&afid=5052&s=&search=. Although the pig farm it may have originated on is owned by a U.S. company and is reported to have deplorable conditions.
Mans living in close proximity with foul and swine - usually under conditions of extreme poverty and in China, is what cause flues to cross the species barrer and become zoodemic. Airplane travel causes them to go pandemic.
You don't need labs to create new and deadly flu viruses when the poor have been crowdsourcing this for eons.
Need Mercedes parts ?
I'm norteño you insensitive clod!!
I'm positive, don't belive me look at my karma
Yeah, me too. But I live in San Diego so I know what carnitas are.
This ain't rocket surgery.