Bird Flu says, "I'm back, baby!"

[bathsheba666]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, as does the trip down to the corner shop.

 

[LucyDuke]

There's a difference between hearing about it and everybody panicking because some guy in China died. When there are actually some major fatalities, or it's spreading towards our area, I'll care, but when one guy in China dies of flu..... meh. Sorry, but it isn't something worth going wild about in an area as far away from there as we are.

Yes, panicking is stupid and pisses me off too.

According to the article, they killed a bunch of chickens and shut down some chicken movement. I just checked four major news sites - only two even mention this on their front page.

Where's this panic?

 

[NickyJ]

Nicky is more interested in Plan B, which is, "die".

There's a difference between one Chinese bus driver dying of flu, and a major pandemic.

This is the last thing the media need, another excuse to terrorize simple people with exaggerated dangers and panic them with non-existent crises.

Precisely.

Yes, panicking is stupid and pisses me off too.

According to the article, they killed a bunch of chickens and shut down some chicken movement. I just checked four major news sites - only two even mention this on their front page.

Where's this panic?

It's the media, they'll create panic where there is none. Currently, they're just warming up. Trust me, they're not going to let this go by without sufficient drumming up. I mean, look at what happened with the Japanese power plants. Remember how the jet stream was supposed to carry radioactive particles to the U.S., and that we'd all have to get Geiger counters? That's going to happen with this story too.

 

[LucyDuke]

What about reporting news? Is that allowed?

 

[Zelig]

"In other news, a 97-year-old man in the U.S. died Thursday from what appears to be a contagious strain of old age. WHO suggests that everybody acquire gas masks because the pandemic is killing thousands every day."

Old age doesn't kill people, cancer and heart disease kills people.

 

[CavLancer]

Flew through HK in November and there were still people wearing dust masks. I thought they were silly...

 

[holy king]

Old age doesn't kill people, cancer and heart disease kills people.

as well as pneumonia and the flu.

 

[Fr8monkey]

I mean, look at what happened with the Japanese power plants. Remember how the jet stream was supposed to carry radioactive particles to the U.S., and that we'd all have to get Geiger counters? That's going to happen with this story too.

Well there is the (shushed) story that soon after, many towns started shutting off radiation alarms soon after the accident to prevent a panic...

 

[NickyJ]

Well there is the (shushed) story that soon after, many towns started shutting off radiation alarms soon after the accident to prevent a panic...

Yeah, because those towns bought into the panic.

 

[LucyDuke]

What kinds of responses are not panic?

 

[NickyJ]

What kinds of responses are not panic?

Perhaps not going hysterical with hypotheticals about how we're all going to get radiation poisoning? Perhaps reporting facts in stead of opinions?

 

[LucyDuke]

Not going hysterical is not panic. Is a response. Thank you.

 

[NickyJ]

Not going hysterical is not panic. Is a response. Thank you.

Your welcome.

 

[Cheetah]

Flew through HK in November and there were still people wearing dust masks. I thought they were silly...

That's usual in East Asia though. Either to be polite if you have a cold (or the flu, etc.) or to protect oneself against other people sneezing. It doesn't have much of an effect of course, since most people touch and adjust their masks too often anyway.

Perhaps not going hysterical with hypotheticals about how we're all going to get radiation poisoning? Perhaps reporting facts in stead of opinions?

I know a network you can trust with that...

But seriously, it does seem like adequate measures have already been taken concerning this event, if there are more incidents I guess we might start hearing more about it.

But considering that some people were already infected with the previous bird-flu strain, shouldn't they at least have a better resistance to this one?

Also, on the swine flu: Is the general scientific consensus that there wouldn't have been a pandemic even without all the flu-shots being distributed? I was under the impression that all the people taking the shots actually increased the heard immunity sufficiently for the situation to go over.

 

[LucyDuke]

Your welcome.

Is it my sarcasm detection failing here?

 

[NickyJ]

Yes, it is.

 

[LucyDuke]

So... are there any responses that aren't panic?

 

[NickyJ]

Yeah.

 

[CavLancer]

That's usual in East Asia though. Either to be polite if you have a cold (or the flu, etc.) or to protect oneself against other people sneezing. It doesn't have much of an effect of course, since most people touch and adjust their masks too often anyway.

I was under the impression that the common dust masks had holes big enough for viruses to float right through...

 

[Incodcito]

::sigh::

All I can do is watch the news for the warning signs and stock up when it becomes apparent to me that "The Big One" is spreading out of control