Are you worried about Bird Flu?

[PVTCaboose1337]

Well, with a 50% mortality and the way the government makes it seem less dangerous than it is, I believe that within the next 2-3 months, a quarentine will be issued, and we will not be allowed to leave our houses.

What do you think?

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Why do you think that. Do you think the bird flu will hit the US?

[wazzledoozle]

LOL. Looks like someone is buying into the propaganda :rolleyes:

[PVTCaboose1337]

LOL, I know for a fact it will hit the US. I just think that if one person from another country who has it comes, then they will give it to one of us. That is all it takes. Watch and see what happens.

[Thermopylae_480]

H5N1 (Bird Flu): 192 cases and 109 deaths since emergence three years ago. H5N1 carries a mortality rate of less than 50% in human subjects under poor treatment conditions. Mortality rate for Industrialized western nations with proper treatment facilities is unknown do to of a lack cases, but is most likely considerably less. This data represents the human population, cases and mortality rates in the avian population are slightly higher (World Health Organization [WHO])

Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague/Black Death): 1,000-3,000 cases per year on average. Mortality rate when left untreated 50%-90%, and 15% when diagnosed and treated. The U.S. reports 1-40 cases annually with an average of 13 per year. (WHO)

Influenza (Flu): In the US alone ~17,500,000-70,000,000 or 5-20% contract the Flu annually 200,000 are hospitalized and 36,000 die on average. If you extrapolate US data on the world an extremely conservative estimate of infections would be ~300,000,000-1,120,000,000 cases, ~3,428,000 hospitalizations, and ~617,142 deaths. The worldwide estimations represent a lower end best case scenario, actuall numbers would be considerbly higher do to varying rates of living conditons and medical care. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]).


Eboal Haemorrhagic Fever 1,848 cases 1,287 deaths since 1976, with an average mortality rate of 50-90%; the mortality rate is not effected by medical care and is the same for any person whether they are treated at the best hospital in the world or by a nun in a church in the jungles of Zaire. Ebola is representive of the Haemorrhagic fever family of virus which include Hanta, Marburg, Lassa fever, and Crimean-Congo. Hanta virus is commonly found in the western US.(WHO)

Escherichia coli (E. Coli): E. coli causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths in the United States each year. You're more likely to die right now by eating a steak than be contracting H5N1. (CDC)

Cancer: 41.5% of men and women will contract some form of cancer within their lifetime. That's slightly greater than two out of every five individuals. Of the people who contract cancer only about 65% will survive five years. (National Cancer Institute)

Human Immunodeficiancy Virus(HIV): In 2003 5 million new cases of HIV were REPORTED and 3 million died of AIDS. That's 13,698 cases per day, with 8,219 deaths per day. Since 2003 these numbers have increased sharply and these estimates reprsent the latest report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Although HIV/AIDS can be treated death can only be postponed and the disease ultimately causes death in almost all patients.

Just thought since you are so impressionable about the latest hip disease, you might want some more common things to worry about too. I can keep going. Just about every disease causes more deaths right now than H5N1. Water borne diseases are responsible for the majority infant deaths world wide. Will the bird flu reach the US? Maybe. It's been three years now and nothing has happened yet. If it does will it cause significant damage? It could, if it mutates right, that's a large if. Ebola mutates a lot. What if it went airborne? It would be a lot more terrible than a chicken sneeze. Where did you learn for a fact that H5N1 will reach the US? Do you have a secret informant that is letting you in on something, or did CNN tell you so?

[PVTCaboose1337]

LOL, not CNN, just, my friends dad works for the government. We were talking about computers etc, and bird flu came up. I thought, no big deal, who really cares about it, it is never like it will reach the us. Then he talks to me about how his father recieved a letter (from his government employer) that "be prepared to work from home," and "incrimentally stock up on supplies." Also he was saying that "the two remaining utilities are going to be water and electricity. House quarentines will most likely be imposed." This letter was sent by the government. If they think it will happen, it might. Also, I know all those statistics above, and when SARS happened, I was not alarmed. E. Coli also helps digest food... But anywhere else you can die from it blah blah blah.

Thats what I have to say. (And yes, I do see sarcasm in your post (at the end))

EDIT: I am not a conspiracy theorist, I know someone is thinking it. I do not get paranoid easily. I hope some of you take this post seriously. If you don't believe it don't. But if you do, I can tell you my friend is 100% trustworthy. He is probably more wise than some of us will hope to be. And also, FYI, his father does work for the government. He is a programmer who helps protect little programs called "ICBM." (not really ICBM, but something like that.) But at the level he is at, he is important, and the government might be wrong about this, but why take chances, just wanted TPU to know.

Also, I am NOT stocking up on supplies. If it comes to the US, I will let fate take its course.

[Urlyin]

*cough*... *cough* ... a...a...a choooooooo .... I'm not feeling so good :ohwell:

[wazzledoozle]

LOL, not CNN, just, my friends dad works for the government. We were talking about computers etc, and bird flu came up. I thought, no big deal, who really cares about it, it is never like it will reach the us. Then he talks to me about how his father recieved a letter (from his government employer) that "be prepared to work from home," and "incrimentally stock up on supplies." Also he was saying that "the two remaining utilities are going to be water and electricity. House quarentines will most likely be imposed." This letter was sent by the government. If they think it will happen, it might. Also, I know all those statistics above, and when SARS happened, I was not alarmed. E. Coli also helps digest food... But anywhere else you can die from it blah blah blah.

Thats what I have to say. (And yes, I do see sarcasm in your post (at the end))

EDIT: I am not a conspiracy theorist, I know someone is thinking it. I do not get paranoid easily. I hope some of you take this post seriously. If you don't believe it don't. But if you do, I can tell you my friend is 100% trustworthy. He is probably more wise than some of us will hope to be. And also, FYI, his father does work for the government. He is a programmer who helps protect little programs called "ICBM." (not really ICBM, but something like that.) But at the level he is at, he is important, and the government might be wrong about this, but why take chances, just wanted TPU to know.

Also, I am NOT stocking up on supplies. If it comes to the US, I will let fate take its course.
Do you remember 2-3 years ago when the government was loudly voicing the announcement of the alert level changing? I remember them telling everyone to have supply kits, be ready for disaster, tape every crack in your home etc. and be ready to be self sufficient for a week or more. The government just wants everyone to constantly be off their ass and on their toes about imminent disaster, it helps the war.

[PVTCaboose1337]

Do you remember 2-3 years ago when the government was loudly voicing the announcement of the alert level changing? I remember them telling everyone to have supply kits, be ready for disaster, tape every crack in your home etc. and be ready to be self sufficient for a week or more. The government just wants everyone to constantly be off their ass and on their toes about imminent disaster, it helps the war.

This is not loudly saying tho. This is more subtle. FYI, your point is valid. I might be right, you might. We will see the outcome.

[Urlyin]

*cough* ... hack! ... Hack! .... *cough* ...

[PVTCaboose1337]

Ok Urlyin, I get it. Thats ok.

[Urlyin]

:D .... sorry PVT, I couldn't resist ... regardless of the posted humor, being prepared is something we should not take lightly... I live on well water and just a summer thunderstorm can knock out power for a day. Which means no water for me and my family, in turn no water for drinking, cooking, bathing and that goes for flushing too... so water and some other basic needs are always stocked piled... natural disasters also dictate ones need to be prepared so it's a reminder to all regardless of any threat on the horizon...

[Azn Tr14dZ]

If it does hit the US, there is one major con and two pros(for me at least).
Con:
Stay home, parents might not be able to get money for a while.
Pro:
My parents are always stacked up on food and are always ready.
More gaming for me!:cool:

[PVTCaboose1337]

If it does hit the US, there is one major con and two pros(for me at least).
Con:
Stay home, parents might not be able to get money for a while.
Pro:
My parents are always stacked up on food and are always ready.
More gaming for me!:cool:

Yeah, but if there is no phone service, and dsl is down, no WoW for you!

[Thermopylae_480]

I'm sure that letter doesn't mean anything more than a precaution. Depending on the position your friends father has it may be of more vital interest to caution him. It's impractical to send similiar letters to the ~350,000,000 people in the US, they usually try to use the media and posts at the CDC website to convey the same message that is in your friends father's letter; and they have been doing that. Similiar things are often done when there is a possibility of such and inicident. e.g. during the Cold War, after 9/11, the postal service anthrax thing. Sorry for the sarcasim, I'm bad about that, it's just even if you ask a epidemiologist they will honestly answer that any pandemic of H5N1 is based on extrapolation of a possible mutation of the virius. The virus in it's current state just doesn't have potentacy to cause wide scale problems. Look where it occurs, crowed underdeveloped regions of poorer nations where medical care is extremely limited and people live in close proximity to livestock. The disease doesn't even spread all that well to humans under these conditions. For now it's more worrisome for the poultry industry than humanity. It could mutate, but will it? Predicting the future of chaotic processes has never been humanities strong point. It's just a little early yet to duck and cover hiding in a hole and hoarding food. Let's see what time tells. Which of course I think you said already :p .

Oh. Orginal question. I don't think it would be possible to forcibly quarantine A) Citizens of the US and B) the US as a whole. We can't even control our borders now and the infrastructure needed to completely block all human traffic would take several years to complete. We lack the troops to declare martial law and local law enforcement isn't up to the task of enforceing a nation wide quarantine. Most people however, in and actual pandemic would choose to voluntarily quarantine themselves out of fear of infection.

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Well, if there's no T1 for me, then that's a good time to beat all my single player games. get a chance to play with myself(not that way;) )

[bigboi86]

If it comes to some crap like that I'd just lay down and die..

I'm not one bit worried bout this ... I've never even heard of the "Bird Flu", however I do remember when the west nile virus was killing all those birds and horses.

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Maybe one reason you haven't heard of it is because it's in the Asia region. But when it's summer, the birds move to a different are, like the US region, or around here. And if one person gets it, everyone else can have it just by slight contact.

[bigboi86]

Maybe one reason you haven't heard of it is because it's in the Asia region. But when it's summer, the birds move to a different are, like the US region, or around here. And if one person gets it, everyone else can have it just by slight contact.

Oh well, if it happens it happens. I'm ready to die....

..... always ready....

......

:wtf:

....

[PVTCaboose1337]

Cool, ABC is having a movie about this... "Bird Flu in America"

[Polaris573]

And if one person gets it, everyone else can have it just by slight contact.

Hardly. Even family members of the people that have been infected usually manage to avoid becoming infected themselves.

[Cybie1111]

How do people actually get the bird flu out there? From eating infected birds?

And about the bird flu coming to America, I believe that California and New York will most likely get nailed first since there are lots of people traveling to those states that are from the infected countries (some stay) and if we end up finding out that the virus is mutated and it can be transmitted from other people....... :banghead:

[Polaris573]

How do people actually get the bird flu out there? From eating infected birds?

No, cooking would destroy the virus. People become infected from handling infected birds and from bird feces. It's spread from person to person just like any other strain for flu virus (Touching contaminated surfaces, coughing, sneezing, etc.).

[Solaris17]

No, cooking would destroy the virus. People become infected from handling infected birds and from bird feces. It's spread from person to person just like any other strain for flu virus (Touching contaminated surfaces, coughing, sneezing, etc.).
im glad i dont touch alot of bird shit my chances just dropped a bunch.

[KennyT772]

you are still more likley to be eaten by a bear in the rain forest during july then to catch the bird flu...

[PVTCaboose1337]

you are still more likley to be eaten by a bear in the rain forest during july then to catch the bird flu...

Where did you get that fact?

[KennyT772]

general knowledge. i do know for a fact that you are more likly to get aids from a car accident, get hit by lightning, and then bitten by a snake (in that order) then to get the bird flu, or was that sars...

[PVTCaboose1337]

Well, logical, but I am saying ONCE bird flu strikes... Now I totally agree, and AIDS from a car accident, yeah, Im not getting bird flu now.

[KennyT772]

if theres anything we should be worried about as americans it should be aids, obesity, heart failure, or diabities...

[PVTCaboose1337]

Obesity above most, how hard is it to not eat. "Put down the fork!" Anyway AIDS above all. Stop having promiscuous sex lives!

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Obesity above most, how hard is it to not eat. "Put down the fork!" Anyway AIDS above all. Stop having promiscuous sex lives!
But how come scientists have the worst explanation for AIDS. The say that someone in/near Africa had sex with a monkey! Seriously, is this the best these inteligent scientists can come up with? No one does that to monkeys though!

[Polaris573]

No one does that to monkeys though!

Don't be so sure. Many people "do it" with sheep. Why not monkeys as sick as it is? There is another virus very closely related to HIV called SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) that was discovered in monkeys. It is highly possible that it could have mutated into HIV.

[Azn Tr14dZ]

But... would you do it with a monkey, sheep, etc.?

[markkleb]

ENJOY YOUR LIFE AND DONT LET CRAP LIKE THIS KEEP YOU FROM SLEEPING...

tell the people you love , you love them, help people that need help, learn new stuff, meet new people, go new places and enjoy good food.

Every few years its something. GET BACK TO ENJOYING LIFE!!!!!!!

[Migons]

Hmm, I'm not so worried... Few months ago news were telling about it every second hour, but for a few weeks I haven't heard anything about it.

And hey, Finland even has counter agent injection for all citizens! :toast:

[Polaris573]

But... would you do it with a monkey, sheep, etc.?

I never said I would do it :shadedshu . I thing that's beyond sick and anyone that does should seek help for their mental problems. I was merely pointing out that some people do. The rationale that it doesn't happen simply because you wouldn't do it is severely flawed.

[KennyT772]

you also forget another way it is transfered... any bodily fluid (saliva, sperm, blood, ect)carries hiv in some concentration...