The Swine Flu thing...

[DandyDon]

Oh, contraire dandy don. Viruses are not sloppy at all. They are very efficient opportunistic machines that have evolved over millions of years, much like the shark.

Oh? Science seems to say otherwise - since sharks have changed little, reproduce sexually, etc vs viruses that change constantly, reproduce asexually, etc. They barely even qualify as life forms biologically, but then are efficient at doing what they do - reproducing as parasites to their hosts.

 

[ggunn]

Oh, contraire dandy don. Viruses are not sloppy at all. They are very efficient opportunistic machines that have evolved over millions of years, much like the shark.

I have heard immunologists refer to viruses as being "sloppy" because they don't replicate their own DNA very accurately and sometimes pick up and incorporate chunks of it from their hosts. It's one of the things that make them so dangerous and hard to target with vaccines. I read that the mutation that made the horrifically deadly outbreak of "Spanish flu" in 1918 so lethal happened when it passed though a population of horses that were being bivouaced in Oklahoma at the end of WWI.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks again Gordo! ".."sloppy" because they don't replicate their own DNA very accurately and sometimes pick up and incorporate chunks of it from their hosts" is indeed correct, but I haven't been up long. :blush:

 

[lamont]

it looks like the virus is picking up steam in Australia, which will be interesting to see if it replaces seasonal H3N2 flu. Seems like there's still a lot of hysteria over cruise ships and air passengers carrying swine flu.

A guy I work with just got sick with flu-like symptoms along with his kids. I skipped a party he threw yesterday, not so much because I'm worried about swine flu, but because I don't want to get any flu-like illness right before heading down to mexico for vacation.

 

[tedgarner]

That would just be great the island has no flu and the cruise ships bring it to us.
That raises the question is safe for cozumel to let the ships come back.

 

[DandyDon]

That would just be great the island has no flu and the cruise ships bring it to us.
That raises the question is safe for cozumel to let the ships come back.

I doubt that it'll be reported.

This has been a good wake-up call for me, reminding me to take extra cautions, opening the public bathroom door with the paper towel I'd just dried with, washing hands more often especially before eating and after handling money, getting into habits of limiting exposures. Hopefully I'd acquire just enough of any bug when I do to update my immunities but not enough to make me ill. Hand sterilizer is cheap, I carry a few 2-3 oz bottles in my pickup, cargo pants, etc. and use it daily.
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[DandyDon]

Level Six Soon Likely WHO considers move to pandemic phase 6 for H1N1 virus

(CNN) -- The World Health Organization announced Tuesday it is still considering increasing its pandemic alert level to phase 6 because of growing worldwide cases of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu.

"Globally, we are at phase 5, but we are nearing phase 6," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's Assistant Director General. "As this continues to spread internationally, some countries are moving from isolated to sustained community spread."

Phase 6 is a declaration that many member countries have long feared could mean economic disaster. It is the highest on the WHO's pandemic alert system, and is described by the organization as a global pandemic.

Fukuda was quick to remind journalists that the designation does not reflect the severity of the disease, but how widespread it is.

"Our overall assessment of severity is moderate," he said, "because although the overall number of serious and fatal cases is relatively limited ... we really don't have a full handle on the number of people with serious illness."

Fukuda said nearly 19,000 cases of the H1N1 virus have been reported in 64 countries, resulting in 117 deaths.

 

[lamont]

It looks like it is going to at least spread in Australia like seasonal flu. Australia is upping the pandemic alert, but ratcheting back the restrictions as they simply lose control over its spread:

SWINE flu is now officially out of control in Victoria, prompting health authorities to abandon testing all but the most severe cases.

School closures will cease and home quarantine restricted to suspected cases, but not their close contacts.

As the number of confirmed Victorian cases hit 521, the Federal Government put the state on a higher pandemic alert than the rest of Australia.

reference: Victorian health authorities abandon pig flu testing | Herald Sun

That would just be great the island has no flu and the cruise ships bring it to us.
That raises the question is safe for cozumel to let the ships come back.

Its becoming apparent that swine flu is going to become the seasonal flu, so you're going to either have someone fly in or a cruise ship docks and give to everyone else, just like normal flu. Hopefully you won't see it until fall though.

The biggest problem to cozumel would probably be a cruise ship docking with 20-40% of the people onboard sick due an isolated outbreak. That could overwhelm the local medical facilities. Hopefully in that case the ship would get re-routed though.

 

[DandyDon]

"Now where did we put the ship's cholera flag...?

 

[ggunn]

One thing to remember in a global *demic is that it's always flu season somewhere.