<p>I’m surprised that they are closing schools. Are they forcing people to stay home? When Singapore closed all the schools during the SARS epidemic, a ton of the high school kids went to Orchard Road to go shopping… thereby increasing the number of people a sick kid could contact.</p>
<p>Yikes! I just saw in the news that a teenager in the next county has a confirmed case of swine flu and she apparently goes to a private high school that’s 1/4 mile from my house! They’ve closed that school for the rest of the week.</p>
<p>Just been reading the latest news for Texas. The ENTIRE Fort Worth school district has closed down until May 11. 80,000 students. more than 120 schools. One confirmed student case. One. One!!!</p>
<p>Yikes!</p>
<p>re: killing all the pigs in Egypt
“They’re raised by the Coptic Christian community.”
Such an easy way for the government to show how much they are doing! Never mind that the virus is only part swine and is being spread person to person… Kill the pigs of the infidels!!! Tread on the rights of the minority. Show that you are on top of the situation…</p>
<p>It’s mentally torturing… I’m a bit prone to the common cold so I’ll keep fearing I’ve got swine flu!</p>
<p>Easy to see why they would close the schools even for one case.
The NY prep school where a cluster was found end of last week had a reunion of past graduates JUST before it was discovered it was swine. Now how many of those adults now also infected bringing it back to their homes/kids/workplaces? Exponential growth of infections.
Schools are utilized by more than just the students.</p>
<p>Three possble cases in King and two in Snohomish County… Guess who is not riding the bus next month! Thankfully, I have not bought a monthly pass for May yet. I might have to invest in books on CD, since I can’t really read while I drive :)</p>
<p>blackeyedsusan - Episcopal High School? A couple of people I went to high school with have kids at Episcopal now.</p>
<p>So I’m curious… anyone know how long it takes to get test results back after one has been tested for swine flu?</p>
<p>teri, the CDC’s test is a PCR test (amplification of viral genetic material with simultaneous detection), which can take anywhere from 1 hr to several hours to run, depending on the complexity of the sample prep and PCR conditions and the lab’s backlog. However, there are many factors that can add time. Typically, PCR requires a specially equipped molecular diagnostics lab and trained personnel, so the sample has to be shipped from a doctor’s office to a lab equipped to do such testing. Some labs do “batch testing”, which means they accumulate samples until they get a few, and then they run all of them at once. Sometimes, if a lab gets a sample after the end of the PCR tech’s shift, the sample might have to wait until the tech returns to work the next morning. There are PCR instruments that combine sample prep and all PCR reagents in a plastic cartridge (sort of a lab-in-a-cartridge), so all one needs to do is to add sample, but as far as I know, this swine flu test is designed for for manual prep and PCR setup. So I would guess that it could take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days to get results.</p>
<p>So probably those in more rural areas are having longer wait times to get test results back, while those in metropolitan areas have a better chance of being near a lab that is fully-staffed and ready to run samples.</p>
<p>I would think that when there is concern for a pandemic that resources would be funneled to providing quicker test results. I also thought I’d heard that some of the diagnostic companies were working to create more user friendly tests… ones that could be done in a physician’s office. But, I wonder if those also wouldn’t be like the diagnostic tests for strep throat… there’s a rapid test that is often used, but doesn’t have the sensitivity of a throat culture, that takes 24-48 hours to grow. </p>
<p>I know just enough to ask questions, but not enough to fully understand diagnostic testing!</p>
<p>This is a tough one. My elderly parents are very afraid of this and have both (divorced) contacted their gp’s to see they need to be on Tamiflu or the equivalent. I have kids all over the place…and we are very near an area that has had confirmed cases. I have told my parents and kids what they should be doing to be safe…but, there is NO way to be sure you won’t catch something like this. The one thing I feel somewhat safe about is that the death rate in the US is very low so far…yes, that can change. I have several very vulnerable people in my family, so we are keeping a close eye on it. I don’t want to panic prematurely, though…because that helps no one.</p>
<p>We are religious in my family about getting a flu/pneu shot…but you cant beat new strains. I may sound like a major pessimist (realist) but, things like this have been happeing since we have records of humans. I don’t think we are at a point yet to think there will be mass deaths with this flu strain, but there is obviously a chance that, that day is coming. Wow…I’m sounding alot more doomsdayish then I want to. I just think that when people get hysterical about things, it makes them worse…panic sets in and people react in bizarre ways.</p>
<p>(Maybe I’ve been watching too many episodes of the Tudors in a row…but…I think if we all take the precautions we’ve been told to take…we’ll be ok…think avoiding plague etc)</p>
<p>All I know is, I can’t stop what is out there…I can try to avoid it though.</p>
<p>teriwtt, KING5, a local news channel, reported that one of our cases is a 33 yr old general practitioner. She might have exposed some people in her office to this stuff, possibly her patients :eek:. Additionally, it was reported that all of the cases so far have been labeled as “potential”, since the local lab has a test that has not been officially validated for detection of this strain (very likely that this test works just fine). The only validated test is the one being done at the CDC, and the CDC is sending their scientists to set up testing here in WA…</p>
<p>Tamiflu is ONLY to be taken under the doc’s orders & supervision. No one, even those of us who are at risk because of chronic respiratory conditions are supposed to take it prophylactically or it won’t be around when it is needed for actual infected patients. It is really important for folks to remain calm and practice good hygiene–cover their cough, keep your distance from people who are or appear ill, rest, keep hydrated, wash hands frequently with lots of soap & water (friction), and REMAIN calm. Avoiding large crowds is always a good strategy as well.</p>
<p>There are vulnerable people in many families but over-reacting is not good for anyone. So far, this flu is mild and has only been serious in Mexico, which has many health issues, including overcrowding and other issues that many other countries are not dealing with. </p>
<p>My nuclear and extended family are particularly vulnerable as we all have lung conditions and other health conditions that have docs concerned even when there is no flu going around. We are all remaining calm, as are most people with severe chronic respiratory conditions I know. There LOTS of Tamiflu in the US and absolutely no need to panic or overreact.</p>
<p>My friend at another college was studying abroad in southern Mexico this semester and is returning about a month early this weekend since classes have been cancelled there. She said just about everything is closed (bars, gyms, restaurants are only doing take-out, etc.) in order to keep the flu from spreading. But where she was was not infected and there weren’t any surgical masks or other protection and no one was really that worried. The general attitude among the local population was calm, but much of the media’s headlines there were frenzied. She said her host’s sister had a conspiracy theory that this stemmed from Obama as his first visit to Mexico marked the start of the outbreaks.</p>
<p>The thing that really worries me is that her school is telling her she can’t return for 10 days to the campus when she comes back, even though she has to complete the courses she started in Mexico. People are overreacting to this I feel like, not only individuals but also informed officials. The letter she got was from her university’s “crisis management team.” </p>
<p>I called home to my parents today saying I had a cold, and the first thing that popped into their minds was swine flu. I reassured them that I only had a mild fever, was not experiencing joint aches, nausea, etc. and that there was no sudden onset of these symptoms. I really think the media has everyone hyped up on this one and it seems as if everyone is already hunkering down as health officials are stating “pandemic is imminent.” Makes me wonder why they don’t publish that for the NORMAL flu every year, as that kills tens of thousands on an annual basis.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m just desensitized to this because of the SARS and bird flu scares that amounted to nothing. Maybe it’s because I don’t normally get the flu, or at least haven’t in recent memory (knock on wood). And from what was written in that Hong Kong flu thread, this doesn’t seem nearly as bad. I just hope this doesn’t interfere with my study abroad plans for the fall. And that I can still eat pork and pork products (gotta love that bacon!)</p>
<p>My friend and daily walking partner teaches at a university that has been struck by swine flu. As of yesterday, ten students had been given a diagnosis of ‘probable’ swine flu. Unfortunately, one of my friend’s students (this student is also her TA) is one of the ten with a ‘probable’ diagnosis. My friend said this student came to school ‘deathly ill’ late last week. When my friend realized how sick the student was, she sent her home. However, this wasn’t until after the student/TA had close contact with my friend and a roomful of students. </p>
<p>Oddly enough, I’m not alarmed at my potential secondhand exposure, but I’ll limit contact with other people until I’m sure I’m not a carrier of the virus. The only time I ever panicked during a flu outbreak was when we were living in Hong Kong in 1997. At that time, a bird flu virus emerged that had a 57% mortality rate in adults older than 17 years. The scary part was not knowing how the virus was being transmitted. When officials finally figured out it was being spread by chickens, they slaughtered almost 2 million chickens and other fowl. The quick action by Hong Kong government officials–in stark contrast to those in Mexico–immediately ended that particular flu outbreak.</p>
<p>[Scientists</a> see this flu strain as relatively mild - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-swine-reality30-2009apr30,0,3606923.story]Scientists”>Scientists see this flu strain as relatively mild)</p>
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<p>I keep wondering what arrangements the Ft. Worth ISD has made regarding AP exams.</p>
<p>mapesy, what state is this university in?</p>
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<p>Source please ?
We do not know that yet.</p>