Bad day for celebrities

[crazycanuck]

The ting about this "swine flu" that bothers me...The media doesn't make a point in first stating the fact that the folks this week in Aust that have died from it..were seriously ill already..One had terminal cancer, etc. Let's get some perspective folks..We're not all going to die from it..

Stupid Stupid media..

[Heifzilla]

The ting about this "swine flu" that bothers me...The media doesn't make a point in first stating the fact that the folks this week in Aust that have died from it..were seriously ill already..One had terminal cancer, etc. Let's get some perspective folks..We're not all going to die from it..

Stupid Stupid media..

I agree about the media. However, this particular flu *is* also killing healthy, young adults unlike the usual flu that mostly affects the old, already ill, or the very young. So, while I don't think we should all run around with our heads cut off, I think we should pay some attention.

[Cataboo]

The fact that old & ill people die of the flu is something we should just ignore & not care about?

The # of people that die from the flu yearly is staggering.. and yeah, a lot of them are old and immunosuppressed, but I really do think we need some method that works of vaccinating them quickly or drugs that work. Because dying of the flu is so last century.

[Zen]

How can you do that with a virus that mutates?
Aren't immunizations made from a preceding virus?

[OakLeaf]

Personally I'd rather not find some new 21st century way to die.

[Fredwina]

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez)

[redrhodie]

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez)

I won't speak ill of the dead, but I'm not going to miss the yelling. Poor guy, though. I heard his last interview where he said he had gotten hit really hard on the head. Brain injuries are amazing. You think you're fine, then...it's too late.

[SadieKate]

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez)

Was he wearing his seatbelt while seated?

[Cataboo]

How can you do that with a virus that mutates?
Aren't immunizations made from a preceding virus?

The current process of making a flu vaccine is antiquitated - not to mention, the antigens being vaccinated against are predicted a year in advance... which doesn't help when there's a new flu right now this second, and growing a vaccine in chicken eggs, you can't produce it fast enough to treat an ongoing epidemic.

Approve recombinant flu vaccines, and it doesn't take so long to produce a vaccine against a new antigen.

Viruses mutate - but there are usually common antigens - things that are required for infection, etc. that are conserved... target those sorts of antigens as much as possible.

And better drugs in general against an existing flu infection would help.

[PamNY]

The ting about this "swine flu" that bothers me...The media doesn't make a point in first stating the fact that the folks this week in Aust that have died from it..were seriously ill already..One had terminal cancer, etc. Let's get some perspective folks..We're not all going to die from it..

If there was no news coverage of the underlying medical conditions, how did you know about it?

[crazycanuck]

WHooops, didn't explain myself well there

What I meant to say is the media reported thier deaths but the underlying fact that they were already ill wasn't part of the first couple of paragraphs in the articles or in the headline..

[Zen]

Whether or not they had other medical issues the cause of death was still N1H1 influenza virus. it's not pandemic at this point but it's lurking.

[OakLeaf]

For "general" news, a couple more -

http://www.democracynow.org/
http://thinkprogress.org/
http://news.yahoo.com/world/oneworld
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

There are a lot of other sites I visit for more focused coverage. I adore Robert Fisk (who is a riveting speaker as well - he's appeared on Democracy Now! several times), but for the most part I'd consider his columns commentary or background rather than up-to-the minute news.

And, H1N1 flu is pandemic as of two weeks ago. Guess that got lost under the celebrity headline du jour.

Real news is out there, slugged with headlines in a regular sized font. I know I have more time on my hands than most, but nobody is forcing anyone to read the celebrity stories.

[jobob]

Hee hee, I love how this thread is going all over the place. I'm likening it to one of those metabolic pathways flow charts.

[jobob]

Anyone read ( the late ) Jerri Nielsen's book Icebound? I thought it was a fascinating read, not just from the human interest perspective (which was very compelling), but it also gave a feel for life on a research station on the South Pole and how the people made it through the long antarctic winter (summer?).