WHO Raises Swine Flu Threat Level

Solarch writes "Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, the WHO raised the pandemic threat level for H1N1 "swine flu" to 5. Global media outlets(such as CNN, Fox News, and the BBC) preempted normal broadcast coverage and immediately published stories on their websites. To clarify, the WHO's elevation is mainly a sign to governments that the virus is spreading quickly and that steps should be taken on a governmental level to stage supplies and medicines to combat a possible pandemic. Unfortunately, broadcast coverage focused on phrases like 'pandemic imminent' (CNN marquee). In other news, patient zero, the medical term for the initial human vector of a disease, has been tentatively identified in Mexico."

Comments

I dunno?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who does raise the swine flu threat level?

Re:I dunno?

[nxtr]

It is not the pronoun, but rather a global public health agency with the unlikely name of WHO that raised the pandemic threat level.

Clearly, you are one confused man.

Re:I dunno?

[Anonymous Coward]

WHOosh.

Re:I dunno?

[Bertie]

Thanks for that. We Won't Get Fooled Again.

Re:I dunno?

[againjj]

Who's on first. What's on second.

Re:I dunno?

[PayPaI]

Ob. bash.org

Re:I dunno?

[sootman]

Costello: Well then who sets the swine flu threat level?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: I mean the group's name.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The group that sets the level.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The group that...
Abbott: Who!
Costello: I'm asking YOU who sets the level!
Abbott: That's the group's name.
Costello: That's who's name?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: Well go ahead and tell me.
Abbott: That's it.
Costello: That's who?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: Look, you got a group that sets the level?
Abbott: Certainly.
Costello: Who?
Abbott: That's right.
Costello: All I'm trying to find out is what's the group's name that sets the swine flu level.
Abbott: No. WHAT is the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group.
Costello: I'm not asking you who's the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group.
Abbott: Who sets the level!
Costello: I don't know.
Abbott & Costello Together: Third base!

Re:I dunno?

[johannesg]

You are all making jokes but you are missing the big picture. The WHO is an agency of the United Nations, and they *want* you to panic so they can take over your government! Haven't you people learned nothing from Deus Ex!?

Please let it be!!

[happy_place]

I get the feeling that Media outlets are DESPERATELY Hoping that this will be a Pandemic... as if they're bored or really really really like human suffering... oh wait, what's that saying about if it bleeds it's frontpage news? Sigh. --Ray PS> Would hate to die of Swine Flu, just because of what it's called... and all that it would imply if I caught it...

Re:Please let it be!!

[John Hasler]

> Would hate to die of Swine Flu, just because of what it's called... and all that it
> would imply if I caught it...

Then call it Mexican flu.

Re:Please let it be!!

[V50]

Yeah, there's certainly a section of the media that wants terrible news to happen. I don't think they consciously or overtly want stuff to happen, but deep inside, I do think that part of them does.

I think it's partially human nature though. I've found myself sort of bugged at times by part of me that wants a war to break out, or a pandemic to happen, or the stock market to tank, etc. I think it comes from oftentimes looking at news as fiction that happens far away. And for the most part it's true. If a war breaks out in Africa, for instance, for the majority of North Americans or whatnot, it may as well be fiction for how little it actually affects them.

tldr; When it doesn't directly harm them, IMO, people often look at news as fiction, and want a more exciting outcome.

Re:Please let it be!!

[ring-eldest]

Would hate to die of Swine Flu, just because of what it's called... and all that it would imply if I caught it...

Don't kid yourself, slashdot-netizen, chances are you don't get enough human interaction or even sunlight to risk infection. You're as good as immune.

Re:Please let it be!!

[V50]

I agree with you to a degree, there certainly is a human element that enjoys other people's suffering. Not too complex though, it makes us feel better in comparison. :)

What I meant though, to use an example, is having part of you wish a destructive news event to occur, more for entertainment purposes.

To use an example, back in 2003, (when I was 15) I was a strong supporter of the Iraq war. I made all sorts of justifications based on human rights, WMDs (laugh all you want), Saddam being a dick, etc. The real reason I supported the Iraq invasion in '03 is because I wanted to see a war take place, I wanted exciting footage of missiles hitting Baghdad, I wanted propaganda from both sides, I wanted maps on Wikipedia with how much each side held. Part of me was even disappointed when Baghdad fell quickly. I wanted to see a nasty battle.

Criticise me as a deranged sociopath all you want, but treating the news as entertainment is far from limited to me. Most people dress it up with other reasons though, like I did. The difference is that because I was 15 at the time, I didn't really hide my true motives for supporting the Iraq invasion very far, knowing the whole time I really just wanted a big expensive exciting war drama to be broadcast over CNN.

And for all it affected me at the time, (15, Canadian, knew no Americans, let alone military personnel.), it may as well have been a war movie. Being older, (hopefully) more mature, and knowing several people who have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, perhaps my opinion would be a bit different, but at the time, Iraq may have been a war movie to me, and good entertainment.

Re:Please let it be!!

[jesser]

Just make sure you don't get caught downloading the iraq war. With all the money they put into it, I don't think they'd be happy to find it being torrented.

Re:Please let it be!!

[Bitmap0023]

whats strange is the original outbreak of the 1918 spanish flu started at a Kansas army base. As the WW1 soldiers were deployed to Europe the virus went with them.

The who

[thedogcow]

""Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, the WHO raised the pandemic threat level for H1N1 "swine flu" to 5."

Wow. I knew they had good music but I did not know Peter Townshend was in charge of changing pandemic threat levels.

Re:The who

[Sponge Bath]

If Spinal Tap was in charge the pandemic threat level would go to 11.

Doesn't scare me at all

[mcrbids]

The media can do what they will with this non-story.

I'm safe - I don't believe in that e-vo-lution crap, so this new disease could not have evolved from swine! It's all just pig nonsense.

I'm going back to prepare a round of raw bacon sushi!

Re:Semi-Pandemic

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the virus strikes people with healthy immune systems, and the causes of death are an immune system overreaction. Translated: People with excellent immune systems are more likely to die than those with weaker ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

I'll repeat what I heard elsewhere

[Sycraft-fu]

"Citation needed."

Seriously, I see Internet doomsdayers saying this, but I don't see the CDC saying this. So, can you provide a link to a reputable source for this? I'm genuinely interested in reading one. If not, then perhaps you should stop spreading it.

Re:I'll repeat what I heard elsewhere

[Estanislao Mart�nez]

With the grand WHO total of deaths being caused by H1N12009 being EIGHT, and the most well documented death so far being a 23 year old, the whole idea that this is killing otherwise healthy (a BIG assumption, this is Mexico, not the US, the health care system and environmental conditions in Mexico City is not very good in the former and absolutely terrible in the latter case) adults is isn't founded at all.

The WHO grand total of confirmed deaths is low because confirmation of which strain was involved in each specific case is slow. The actual number of deaths so far by the strain is almost certainly significantly higher. To put it more precisely, a large proportion of the cases that have been labeled as suspected swine flu deaths will turn out to be so.

Also, I don't think your Mexican health care and environment objection holds. Given no other data, you would expect that to increase the number of deaths, but not the distribution of deaths across age groups. You need a stronger hypothesis: that the poor health care in Mexico increases the risk of death from H1N1 disproportionately among young adults and middle-aged adults will die from H1N1, compared to children and the elderly.

The one thing that's sure at this point is that our information is quite likely to have very serious holes yet, however.

And some just don't understand.

[Nethead]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egypt-orders-slaughter-of-all-pigs-over-swine-flu-1676090.html

Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu... Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza told reporters that farmers would be allowed to sell the pork meat so there would be no need for compensation.

Yeah, what's the price of pork in a vastly flooded market. Other stories on the subject report riots by the pig farmers and also note that the WHO says that you can't catch it from eating pork. This is more a case of the non-pork eating religious majority using this as an excuse to crap on the pork eating religious minority (and 'unclean' pig farmers.)

From a Hot Zone

[mathx314]

Allow me to explain my bias before embarking on this rant: I currently attend University of Delaware. At present there are 10 unconfirmed cases among the student body. Not a big number (total student number is ~13,000), but diseases do have a tendency to spread quickly among student populations.

What bothers me about this isn't that people are overreacting, which they are to a large extent. I don't feel the need to wander around with a surgical mask and I'm right in the middle of a hot zone. Rather, what bothers me is that people are underreacting. There seems to be a knee-jerk reaction that says that swine flu won't cause any sort of devastation; that it's not something to worry about.

The fact of the matter is that while they're probably right, there's no reason not to take simple precautions. So long as this is going on, I'll make sure to was my hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, to try to avoid sick people, and to go to health services if I start showing flu-like symptoms. On the other hand, I hear plenty of people at school saying that they don't care, that if they get it it's "just the flu." I see a lot of people here on /. saying that this is just a media circus and just for drug companies to capitalize on. Maybe you guys are right, but what if you aren't?

As I said, I'm biased since I'm in a hot zone, but I'd rather be safe about this than contract it.

Re:From a Hot Zone

[FatFreeCelery]

So long as this is going on, I'll make sure to was my hands with soap and water after using the bathroom

I hope that you continue your newly found routine even after this has gone on.

Governments are already taking huge action

[scourfish]

For example, Madagascar has just closed its seaport. And here I was, so close, to winning :(

This is how it always starts....

[macraig]

This is how it always starts...

CDC says bacterial secondary infection was killer

[billstewart]

If you look at that CDC search, one article that jumps out is this one, which says that based on later research, it looks like the big killer wasn't actually the influenza itself or related cytokine storms, but secondary bacterial infections causing pneumonia among people weakened by the influenza. That's actually fairly good news, because it's much more likely that we can treat those in a hurry with existing antibiotics (as opposed to waiting 6 months to get a newly-tuned H1N1 vaccine or using the increasingly-ineffective antivirals like Tamiflu), and because quarantine also reduces the spread of bacterial infections so people who do get the flu are less likely to get the secondaries.