MERGED: Swine flu (A H1N1 Virus)

[r0mm3L]

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so gi isolate d i sila dayon. if suspected pa sya, dapat mag blood test dayon asap

asa kaha to gikan ang airplane? abroad? or mla?

[giddyboy]

Again, I wish to reiterate.

Suspected is not equivalent to confirmed.

Do take note that this post is not out to negate your post giddy--if these events are indeed facts, then they are facts which will be continuously monitored by sensible people who are level-headed and calm at the job of data collection and fact-gathering.

What I'm doing is an (possibly futile) attempt to desensationalize this virus scare, because the less sensationalized it is, the more the general public in Cebu can avoid panic and chaos, which I believe everyone doesn't want.

-RODION

i know...ayaw lang ug over-react bro.

the tv patrol news was discreet in their reporting IMHO. there was no sensationalization to speak of to cause some more panic.

we have to understand that this issue is already sensationalized in the first place when the news broke out in Mexico and nothing can prevent that from happening especially when the WHO has issued already a level 5 alert. Let us remember that we are still hounded by the past scares (SARS, bird flu).

that simply means we have to be more vigilant w/ our surroundings.

the tv patrol news gi klaro gyud nga "suspected" pa. dili man sab bogo ang mga viewers to think that suspected means confirmed na, unless people here will apply John Lozada's principle...LOLs

besides, sa huna huna lang daan that there is this new virus spreading, even if its happening on the other side of the world is something that catches our attention and tingles some spine. we all know naman that some of us have relatives living in the States, particluarly in CA, Texas, New Mexico, and even Mexico...

i understand u r appealing for calm and sobriety. i would too.

[rodsky]

Nods. Speaking of the other side of the world, check the news. For the past five days, the Swine Flu case has been on CNN's front page constantly, almost as if trying to predict a "doomsday" for all mankind. Yet now, the whole hullaballo is zip, nada from CNN's front page, and additionally, latest CNN reports about Swine Flu in Mexico, indicates that Mexico City itself is now gradually gaining normalcy as a city, and that the previous inflated reports are now being deflated, and people are now coming to their senses that, while this is indeed a threat, it's better to deal with it with a calm, and collected mind, rather than embroiled in a streak of panic and anxiety. Thanks for that update and clarification btw, it confirms MicroEngineer's previous post.

-RODION

[Andy99]

Found this on CNN:

Swine flu no worse than regular flu, Napolitano says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The swine flu virus that has sparked fear and precautions worldwide appears to be no more dangerous than the regular flu virus that makes its rounds each year, U.S. officials said Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said swine flu is no more dangerous than the regular flu virus.

"What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain of U.N. is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu -- how sick you get -- is not stronger than regular seasonal flu," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday as the worldwide number of confirmed cases of swine flu -- technically known as 2009 H1N1 virus -- topped 1,080.

The flu has been blamed for 26 deaths: 25 in Mexico and one in the United States, according to the World Health Organization.

Still, Napolitano noted, the seasonal flu results in "hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations" and roughly 35,000 fatalities each year in the United States. There are still concerns that the virus could return in the fall, in the typical flu season, as a stronger strain.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this particular strain will not be more severe than a normal seasonal flu outbreak," Napolitano said. Video Watch Napolitano assess the swine flu risk »

Napolitano acknowledged claims by health officials in Mexico, the epicenter of the H1N1 outbreak, who believe their cases have peaked and said, "I have no reason to think that is inaccurate."
Swine flu no worse than regular flu, Napolitano says - CNN.com

If her statement is true and there are 35,000 fatalities a year from ordinary flu in the US it sounds like we are really a little over reacting since there are only 26 cases world wide!!
Yes, I also think better safe than sorry, but this time it looks like everything is blown out of proportion.

I agree with Rodsky, lets not over sensationalize it. If we don't stay calm we end up arresting people just for having a little fever or a few coughs.

[burnfinger]

CEBU CITY, Philippines -- A 32-year-old returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Hong Kong and his wife were undergoing tests to confirm if they were carrying the A(H1N1) virus.
The couple was held by quarantine officials at the Mactan Cebu International Airport upon their arrival at around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday after the man registered on the thermal scanner with a 38-degree Celsius fever, said Doctor Terence Bermejo, a medical officer at the Bureau of Quarantine.
Bermejo did not identify the couple. He said the husband admitted that he came down with fever and colds in Hong Kong.
The wife was also placed under quarantine because she was in close contact with her husband, Bermejo said.
The couple was brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for further evaluation, the quarantine official said.
It was the first time that an arriving passenger at the Mactan airport was detected by thermal scanners as having a fever.


By Jhunnex Napallacan
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 18:22:00 05/05/2009

[giddyboy]

Nods. Speaking of the other side of the world, check the news. For the past five days, the Swine Flu case has been on CNN's front page constantly, almost as if trying to predict a "doomsday" for all mankind.

i don't wanna agree w/ that. but if u really think "CNN is as if trying to predict a doomsday scenario", then that is only a matter of your opinion and perspective...even the article posted by @Andy99 implies otherwise.

as for me i don't wanna think it that way. if CNN reports that the WHO gave a level 5 alert, and further says that the virus has already reached the US, Canada, and certain parts of EU, then by all means this is not something that can only be taken in stride. It means we as citizens are already given the info and have to be more vigilant. It also means we have to be part of the solution.

why do u think our authorities took time, cost, and effort just to monitor it? i know that u will see this as over-reacting on their part. but in this case, better overdo than underdo it. Better safe than sorry.

Yet now, the whole hullaballo is zip, nada from CNN's front page, and additionally, latest CNN reports about Swine Flu in Mexico, indicates that Mexico City itself is now gradually gaining normalcy as a city, and that the previous inflated reports are now being deflated, and people are now coming to their senses that, while this is indeed a threat, it's better to deal with it with a calm, and collected mind, rather than embroiled in a streak of panic and anxiety. Thanks for that update and clarification btw, it confirms MicroEngineer's previous post.
-RODION

i somehow agree w/ that. but there are always factors involved. Perhaps they are gaining confidence on how their authorities handle it knowing no more deaths were reported. perhaps they are also very cooperative and acceptable to the appeal for cooperation like avoiding crowds, wearing mask in public, reporting someone with flu-like symptoms, etc...No city in the world wants to regain normalcy on this matter other than Mexico itself.

I do understand ur appeal for calm and sobriety. I am doing that too actually.

[rodsky]

Found this on CNN:

Swine flu no worse than regular flu, Napolitano says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The swine flu virus that has sparked fear and precautions worldwide appears to be no more dangerous than the regular flu virus that makes its rounds each year, U.S. officials said Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said swine flu is no more dangerous than the regular flu virus.

"What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain of U.N. is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu -- how sick you get -- is not stronger than regular seasonal flu," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday as the worldwide number of confirmed cases of swine flu -- technically known as 2009 H1N1 virus -- topped 1,080.

The flu has been blamed for 26 deaths: 25 in Mexico and one in the United States, according to the World Health Organization.

Still, Napolitano noted, the seasonal flu results in "hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations" and roughly 35,000 fatalities each year in the United States. There are still concerns that the virus could return in the fall, in the typical flu season, as a stronger strain.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this particular strain will not be more severe than a normal seasonal flu outbreak," Napolitano said. Video Watch Napolitano assess the swine flu risk »

Napolitano acknowledged claims by health officials in Mexico, the epicenter of the H1N1 outbreak, who believe their cases have peaked and said, "I have no reason to think that is inaccurate."
Swine flu no worse than regular flu, Napolitano says - CNN.com

If her statement is true and there are 35,000 fatalities a year from ordinary flu in the US it sounds like we are really a little over reacting since there are only 26 cases world wide!!
Yes, I also think better save than sorry, but this time it looks like everything is blown out of proportion.

I agree with Rodsky, lets not over sensationalize it. If we don't stay calm we end up arresting people just for having a little fever or a few coughs.

Thanks. I keep shaking my head at the fact that, if you don't spoonfeed people with information pieces such as the one you just posted, some "ill-minded" individuals out there will keep "fanning the flames" of sensationalism, because they think it's "exciting" and "cool" and thus eventually lead the general public into believing there is indeed a state of alarm and concern.

-RODION

[LanCe]

I saw the ambulance of Bureau of Quarantine ganiha, infact gasunod ko niya..oh well ,its just a suspected case but lets keep our fingers crossed, lets hope for the best!..

[rodsky]

i don't wanna agree w/ that. but if u really think "CNN is as if trying to predict a doomsday scenario", then that is only a matter of your opinion and perspective...

It's not a matter of opinion nor perspective. I'm an English major, and I have studied journalism as part of my course's curriculum. The media is just like any other profession--if you don't stir the batter, there will be no bread on the table.

-RODION

[giddyboy]

It's not a matter of opinion nor perspective. I'm an English major, and I have studied journalism as part of my course's curriculum. The media is just like any other profession--if you don't stir the batter, there will be no bread on the table.
-RODION

i already answered that by citing @Andy99's post. besides, being an English major/Journalism does not automatically make one a know-it-all guy who knows the every ins and outs of CNN and qualify for a bonafide critic against an international media like CNN.

still, one does not need an English major in journalism to know the fact that there are some media outlets out there who are over-sensationalizing/over-reacting w/ the issue.

well, don't worry about it.

we are not born yesterday...