Swine, Bird & Human Flu combination Emerges.

[TFG]

If anyone is thinking of going to Mexico or Texas for the spring break, Beware.

I noticed a lot of shop staff wearing masks recently in Fitcare Depot, a drug store and asked why.
The told me that they have been ordered to wear masks and wash their hands in alcohol by the Japanese government.
Is this the start of it all?


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dozens of people have died and hundreds of others have been infected in a viral outbreak in Mexico suspected to have been caused by a strain of swine flu.

Seven non-fatal cases of a new form of swine flu have also been confirmed in the southern United States.

A WHO spokesman said 12 out of 18 samples taken from the Mexican victims showed they died from a virus with the same genetic structure as the one found in the US.

In the US, experts say the seven people who fell ill across two states were suffering from a new form of swine flu that combined pig, bird and human viruses.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8016909.stm

[IkemenTommy]

Fuckin pig fuckers

[leitmotiv]

Is this the start of it all?


A key indicator of things getting started will be to see whether the WHO decides to raise the pandemic threat level to 4 (from 3). Japan has some action plans that are tied to this score. WHO is meeting on the issue now.

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/336749f27791097f1.jpg

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090424.wflumain0424/BNStory/International/home

[Greji]

Fuckin pig fuckers
Perverts...
:bukkake:

[FG Lurker]

Is this the start of it all?
According to the Globe and Mail article the virus causing this "shows sensitivity to Tamiflu and Relenza". I'm guessing that the 20 people who died probably didn't seek medical treatment (no money?) until it was already too late or perhaps the hospitals didn't have anti-flu medications available.

Still, a very scary situation. Eventually we're going to see a repeat of the 1918 flu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu) pandemic but in a much more densely populated world...

[TFG]

Yeah, and I wonder just how much Tamiflu there is here in Japan right now.

Also, those thermal cameras at Narita are ok but, how long is the incubation period. Is it possible to get infected then have no symptoms for a couple of days? Just long enough to get on a plane and interact with lots of people.

SHIT!

[FG Lurker]

Yeah, and I wonder just how much Tamiflu there is here in Japan right now.
Quite a lot I would imagine, doctors like to give it out like candy.

[osopolar]

in case anyone wanted to see a global visual..

http://i40.tinypic.com/5cxdt1.png

..via Google Maps.. (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=32.639375,-110.390625&spn=15.738151,25.488281&z=5)

[FG Lurker]

I'd also be a lot more worried if this was happening in November than April.

[dimwit]

The bothersome thing for me is how it will effect my travel plans for the summer. I remember back in 2003 when I couldn't return to Toronto because my students and employers were panicing about SARS.

[FG Lurker]

The bothersome thing for me is how it will effect my travel plans for the summer. I remember back in 2003 when I couldn't return to Toronto because my students and employers were panicing about SARS.
Hmm, I dunno.... Not being able to go to Toronto doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me! :twisted:

[IkemenTommy]

Yeah, and I wonder just how much Tamiflu there is here in Japan right now.

I wouldn't worry about it. From Breibart (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.18f8754dd2a36fa5cbc610cad8f4b79 4.721&show_article=1):
Agriculture minister Shigeru Ishiba appealed for people to stay calm, noting that the flu so far appeared to be confined to Mexico and the United States, and underlining that the drug Tamiflu seemed to provide effective treatment.

"There is no risk of infection now," Ishiba said Sunday, appearing on a talk show on the private Asahi television network. "Should you be infected, Tamiflu is very effective. We have enough stockpiles in Japan."

[leitmotiv]

Quite a lot I would imagine, doctors like to give it out like candy.

This is a likely reason for resistant strains of influenza starting to show up, including avian flus (which can trade genetic info with normal flu strains under certain circumstances - including Tamiflu resistance info). Japan's consumption of Tamiflu is through the roof, even compared to the US. It is so high that extremely rare CNS side effects (severe depression; hallucinations) show up in general use that dont show up in the US (and certainly not in Roche's clinical studies for approval).

Tamiflu (and other anti-virals and antibiotics) are WAY overused in Japan. In the year 2009, it would be expected to have seen a trend towards better use of immunizations in Japan, but I understand that there is a stalwart group of (older) doctors here who will tell you, with a straight face, that vaccines are proven to be ineffective.

Interesting side note, Tamiflu production is utterly dependant on the availability of a certain chinese spice - star anise - from which is extracted the vital starting material shikimic acid. Its too expensive to synthesize from scratch. As a result, star anise is becoming quite rare. If any FGs out there are adept at synthetic chemistry or industrial microbiology and can devise a way to make bulk shikimic acid on the cheap, there is probably a gold mine biotech opportunity awaiting you to supply japans (misguided) Tamiflu appetite.

[Kuang_Grade]

I'd also be a lot more worried if this was happening in November than April.

This might be only the opening round....The 1918 pandemic also opened in the spring and then really took off in the fall...although it is an open question if it will, over time, mutate up or down the lethality ladder.

[nottu]

Hmm, I dunno.... Not being able to go to Toronto doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me! :twisted:
Osaka.......Toronto?
Is that even a question?

...If any FGs out there are adept at synthetic chemistry or industrial microbiology and can devise a way to make bulk shikimic acid on the cheap, there is probably a gold mine biotech opportunity awaiting you to supply japans (misguided) Tamiflu appetite.
FG Lurker and I will be getting on this right away, converting previous unproductive, yet enjoyable chem operations.

[nottu]

World gov'ts race to contain swine flu outbreak

DCPM107, DCPM106, LON801, DCSA113, GFX451

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Governments are racing to find and contain pockets of swine flu around the globe, seeking to stem both the threat of a pandemic and public panic.

``We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size or seriousness of this outbreak is going to be,'' U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday.

In Mexico, the outbreak's epicenter, soldiers handed out 6 million face masks to help stop the spread of the novel virus that is suspected in up to 103 deaths. Most other countries are reporting only mild cases so far, with most of the sick already recovering. Cases have been confirmed in Canada - six - and the U.S. - 20 - and other countries from Spain to New Zealand were investigating whether other people with flulike symptoms really have this new swine flu or something else.

There is not a global pandemic yet, but waiting until scientists know if the new virus is going to spread rapidly and easily would be too late.

The U.S. declared the health emergency amid confusion about whether new numbers really mean ongoing infections - or just that health officials had missed something simmering for weeks or months. But the move allows the government to ship roughly 12 million doses of flu-fighting medications from a federal stockpile to states in case they eventually need them.

A spokesman for the World Health Organization, Peter Cordingley, said the virus was spreading quickly in Mexico and the southern U.S. and has the potential to become a pandemic and a global threat.

President Barack Obama is set to address the health crisis Monday in remarks to a meeting of the nation's top scientists. His administration sought on Sunday to strike a balance, informing Americans without panicking them.

``We do think this will continue to spread but we are taking aggressive actions to minimize the impact on people's health,'' said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Bank said it would send Mexico $25 million in loans for immediate aid and $180 million in long-term assistance to address the outbreak, plus advice on how other nations have dealt with similar crises. Mexico officials say the flu strain may have sickened 1,614 people since April 13 but laboratory testing to confirm that and how many truly died from it - at least 22 so far out of the 103 suspected deaths - is taking time.

Worldwide, attention focused sharply on travelers.

``It was acquired in Mexico, brought home and spread,'' Nova Scotia's chief public health officer, Dr. Robert Strang, said of Canada's first confirmed cases.

A New York City school where eight cases were confirmed will be closed Monday and Tuesday, and 14 schools in Texas, including a high school where two cases were confirmed, will be closed for at least the next week.

China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to quarantine travelers arriving from flu-affected areas if they have symptoms. Italy, Poland and Venezuela advised citizens to postpone travel to affected parts of Mexico and the U.S.

Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines were checking for signs of fever among passengers arriving at airports from North America. In Malaysia, health workers in face masks took the temperatures of passengers as they arrived from a flight from Los Angeles.

Travelers with flu-like symptoms would be given detailed health checks.

Multiple airlines, including American, United, Continental, US Airways, Mexicana and Air Canada, are waiving their usual penalties for changing reservations for anyone traveling to, from, or through Mexico, but have not canceled flights.

Officials along the U.S.-Mexico border were asking health care providers to take respiratory samples from patients who appear to have the flu. Travelers were being asked if they visited flu-stricken areas.

The U.S. hasn't advised against travel to Mexico but does urge precautions such as frequent hand-washing while there, and began questioning arriving travelers about flu symptoms.

Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson and Olga R. Rodriguez in Mexico City; Frank Jordans in Geneva; Mike Stobbe in Atlanta; and Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.

[Takechanpoo]

According to Zakzak (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/200904/t2009042733_all.html), One gaijin bitch from Mexico was displayed red in her face in thermography in quarntine gate in Narita. But this bitch broke thuogh the gate in spite of staff's claim.

This bitch must be a agent of NWO!!!
:devil2:

[Mulboyne]

According to Zakzak (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/200904/t2009042733_all.html), One gaijin bitch from Mexico was displayed red in her face in thermography in quarntine gate in Narita. But this bitch broke thuogh the gate in spite of staff's claim.

This bitch must be a agent of NWO!!!
:devil2:
According to that link, she didn't break through. The staff manning the sensor wasn't paying attention and called after her too late so she didn't turn around. It's not clear why, if they thought it was important, they didn't just walk up to her while she was queuing at immigration.

It also doesn't say she was Mexican. Since they didn't stop her, they can't know what nationality she was.

This all assumes, of course, that ZakZak isn't just making it up.

[IkemenTommy]

According to Zakzak (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/200904/t2009042733_all.html), One gaijin bitch from Mexico was displayed red in her face in thermography in quarntine gate in Narita. But this bitch broke thuogh the gate in spite of staff's claim.

This bitch must be a agent of NWO!!!
:devil2:
Japan is now fucked. It's the end of the world as we know it. :twisted:

[dimwit]

I dunno about in other countries outside of Mexico but the cases in Canada are reported to be very mild i.e. a case of the snuffles and it has been posited that maybe the really shitty air quality of Mexico City may have made people especially vulnerable.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090426.wflumain27/BNStory/National/home

Hmm, I dunno.... Not being able to go to Toronto doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me!

Personally, but I like my summers to be sweater free watching the Blue Jays live and yet at the same time being comfortable enough to be able to spend the majority of my time outside unlike most of western Japan in August.

[Midwinter]

According to Zakzak (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/200904/t2009042733_all.html)
This bitch must be a agent of NWO!!!
:devil2:

BWAHAHAHA you fucking fruit. SSHHHH Takepooinyourmouth, the ILLUMINATI might hear you BWAHAHAHA.

In other news, we're all doomed. More as it develops. :D

[Bucky]

The pushpins seem to be increasing 12:30 p.m. PDT
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/263349f60f33a3743.jpg

in case anyone wanted to see a global visual..

http://i40.tinypic.com/5cxdt1.png

..via Google Maps.. (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090296685271.0004681a37b713f6b5950&ll=32.639375,-110.390625&spn=15.738151,25.488281&z=5)

[Iraira]

Think they"re gonna quarantine me this weekend when I try to come back through Narita from LA with >150 tortillas in my suitcase?

[2triky]

Think they"re gonna quarantine me this weekend when I try to come back through Narita from LA with >150 tortillas in my suitcase?

Corn or flour?

[Iraira]

Corn or flour?

I want to bring back both...depends on the expiration date when I do my final trip to Ralphs before I tell the cultists trying to solicit money at LAX to fuck the hell off. Sucks that all this is happening so close to Cinco de mayo.

[2triky]

I want to bring back both...depends on the expiration date when I do my final trip to Ralphs before I tell the cultists trying to solicit money at LAX to fuck the hell off. Sucks that all this is happening so close to Cinco de mayo.

Might as make a run to King Taco and bring back some Tacos al Pastor and some Tortas.

[Bucky]

I want to bring back both...depends on the expiration date when I do my final trip to Ralphs before I tell the cultists trying to solicit money at LAX to fuck the hell off. Sucks that all this is happening so close to Cinco de mayo.

Just tell them they are beef or chicken tacos. No pork!

[pheyton]

Think they"re gonna quarantine me this weekend when I try to come back through Narita from LA with >150 tortillas in my suitcase?

Costco in Japan doesn't sell tortillas anymore?

As for the flu, starting to get a little nervous now with all the fear mongering on the tube and radio. Especially having kids, or as Jim Ward would say, Germ wagons.

[Mike Oxlong]

ASibLqwVbsk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_Flu#1976_U.S._outbreak

[Greji]

According to Zakzak (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/200904/t2009042733_all.html), One gaijin bitch from Mexico was displayed red in her face in thermography in quarntine gate in Narita. But this bitch broke thuogh the gate in spite of staff's claim.

This bitch must be a agent of NWO!!!
:devil2:

That's a shame Take. She read about you and your love for blondes and was coming to J-land to give you that long hoped for ride, but now you've insulted her, she flew out for home last night. I guess you're back to the wank wagon...
:cool:

[FG Lurker]

ASibLqwVbsk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_Flu#1976_U.S._outbreak
:rofl:
"But Dottie had a heart condition and she died."

[Samurai_Jerk]

That's a shame Take. She read about you and your love for blondes and was coming to J-land to give you that long hoped for ride, but now you've insulted her, she flew out for home last night. I guess you're back to the wank wagon...
:cool:

That limp dick faggot couldn't even get a piece of pussy if the supermarket sold calico cold cuts.

[Taro Toporific]

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/12949f6f09b24664.jpg
... (http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fU6cffeQ6b9S?q=japan)quarantine officers wearing a protective masks... checking the body temperature of passengers at Narita International airport in Narita...
via daylife.com -- April 28, 2009 (http://www.daylife.com/photo/0fU6cffeQ6b9S?q=japan)

[IkemenTommy]

These eses know how to roll in style
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3360&stc=1&d=1240928488

[2triky]

These eses know how to roll in style
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3360&stc=1&d=1240928488

Emiliano Zapata?

[Doctor Stop]

Juan Valdez.

[IkemenTommy]

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3366&stc=1&d=1240947480

[2triky]

Likely Porcine Plague carrier

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/201949f792df1508b.jpg

[sillygirl]

Eeeuww...




qKiQA5e-fPg

[Bucky]

It's beginning to look like a Risk board with the Swine Flu armies attacking
Updated as of 18:00 PDT
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/263349f90211937d1.jpg

The pushpins seem to be increasing 12:30 p.m. PDT
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/263349f60f33a3743.jpg

[canman]

But basically there is really not a thing you can do for this right? The gov't isn't going to start mass vaccinations, are they? Anybody planning on heading to NA for Golden Week? I wonder if your insurance company would cover you if you headed to Mexico even though there was a level 5 WHO warning posted.

[Greji]

But basically there is really not a thing you can do for this right? The gov't isn't going to start mass vaccinations, are they? Anybody planning on heading to NA for Golden Week? I wonder if your insurance company would cover you if you headed to Mexico even though there was a level 5 WHO warning posted.

As Leno said, I just ate a raw Mexican pig whole, and it was delicious...
:cool:

[FG Lurker]

But basically there is really not a thing you can do for this right? The gov't isn't going to start mass vaccinations, are they?
It will take 6 months or so to develop a vaccine and grow it in significant quantities.

This probably gives us enough time as the current outbreak will likely drop off soon as weather warms up but could come back in the autumn when things cool down again.

[FG Lurker]

Personally, but I like my summers to be sweater free watching the Blue Jays live and yet at the same time being comfortable enough to be able to spend the majority of my time outside unlike most of western Japan in August.
I missed your reply.

After 15 summers here I have adapted to the tropical weather. I enjoy summer now, and get out to the Inland Sea whenever I can:

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/151249f92c6c01c54.jpg

Heading there from Saturday actually. :)

I can think of many better things to do than waste my money watching the Jays lose game...after game...after game.....

[FG Lurker]

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/images/vbimghost/151249f96b48cfcc2.gif (http://xkcd.com/574/)

[GuyJean]

The strain of flu which really scares the living shit out of me is 'the' flu. :p

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza#Epidemic_and_pandemic_spread
.. Typically, in a year's normal two flu seasons (one per hemisphere), there are between three and five million cases of severe illness and up to 500,000 deaths worldwide, which by some definitions is a yearly influenza epidemic..When swine flu starts killing 1,300 people daily, like 'the' flu, I'm train jumping; joining the 3.3 Japanese people every hour who commit suicide.

This brings back fond Avian memories..

125217

GJ

[TFG]

NHK just announced that a JAPANESE who arrived at Narita today is suspected of having this New strain of virus.
They also said that health officials are taking swabs from people sitting within 2 Meters of her seat on the plane and are going to monitor them!!!

How fucking crazy, anyone knows a single sneeze can travel 50 meters or more.


They also said that ALL the virus reisitant masks in Tokyo have been sold out.

Here we go.


I stocked up with enough fresh meat vegetables, rice, flour& most importantly beer for 3 months.

Once the panic starts you will have a hard time finding food. get some extra in now. And more importantly, if you are out amongst crowds looking for food, the virus will be looking for you.

Some kind of news flash on NHK right now about this virus and the Shinkansen being stopped in Tohoku?????

[FG Lurker]

It's just sheeple panic and will pass.

If it returns in the autumn then there might be something to worry about. It should be possible to develop a vaccine by then though so I really don't think this is warrants anywhere near the attention that it is getting.

[TFG]

May well just be,
However when they anounced on Asahi TV the other night that once it starts here, the worst thing you can do is go out looking for food , the panic will start.

The trick is to get stocks in before it happens.

Hey, it is only food whic you are going to need anyway.

[GuyJean]

May well just be,
However when they anounced on Asahi TV the other night that once it starts here, the worst thing you can do is go out looking for food , the panic will start....I don't remember this happening during the Bird Flu global, deadly, mutated, zombie, necro, nuclear, pandemic in 2006.. Maybe I slept through it. :p

GJ