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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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 Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: Korea to stop counting swine flu infections |
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Korea has now decided to stop counting swine flu infections, because... quite frankly... they've reached a point where it probably looks bad to report them:
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2009/07/18/0601000000AEN20090718001500315.HTML
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(LEAD) S. Korea confirms 92 more flu cases
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, RECASTS lead, UPDATES with details throughout)
SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities said Saturday that they have confirmed 92 more cases of influenza A and will discontinue counting the total number of flu infections here amid the rapid spread of the virus.
The new patients, including 28 people from a high school, an elementary school student and a staff member with an international choir competition, tested positive for the H1N1 virus after showing flu-like symptoms, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in an emailed statement. |
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Milwaukiedave
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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I think the more it is reported, the more people are parnoid about it.
My hope is they have stopped quarantining people. Does anyone know? |
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phoenixstorm
Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Where do you go get tested? How long for results? has anyone gone? |
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Jane
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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fiveeagles
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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I just had two job openings shut down because of this!
Are the parents really that paranoid about this? In Canada...it's no news...right now. |
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scorpiocandy
Joined: 27 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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I just returned from 2 weeks in South Africa and I had to go to the clinic ion campus to check my temperature.
Apparently I have to go back every day for 7 days. No other tests required so far (maybe because my temperature is normal for now) |
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Changwon Charlie
Joined: 22 Aug 2009
Location: Changwon
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| Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:08 pm Post subject: Re: Korea to stop counting swine flu infections |
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Korea to STOP counting????
Why is it they know that there have been 3000 confirmed cases now, with 1000 in the last week???
Bring it on......more people will die from riding in cars than any swine flu epidemic. |
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Koharski
Mod Team
Joined: 20 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:08 am Post subject: |
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| The UN has asked countries to stop reporting each case to the WHO and only report mass-outbreaks. Every country has "stopped counting." |
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BrianInSuwon
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:39 am Post subject: |
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I got back last Tuesday from my vacation. Had a stuffy/runny nose on Thursday. Decided to play it safe. Went to the nearest hospital on Friday. Within 10 minutes, I saw the doctor and had the test performed. (The stuck a cotton swab 6 inches down my nose. Yes. It hurt.) Within 30 minutes the results were back. Total cost was around 20,000 won.
Did some reading on the internet. Seems like the media is sensationalizing it. It's no more dangerous than the common flu.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090506211255AAiMN1Q |
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piratebryan
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Location: Nonyeon
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:51 am Post subject: |
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yea the common flu has killed more people...
but if this virus mutates into something resembling spanish or bird flu, and still maintain its current rate of spread, then it would only burn itself out once it had killed most of the human population.
yes, the media is sensationalizing it...but this is a serious pandemic. maintaining personal space and washing hands are the easiest methods of countering the spread...neither of which are very popular here in seoul. |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| piratebryan wrote: |
yea the common flu has killed more people...
but if this virus mutates into something resembling spanish or bird flu, and still maintain its current rate of spread, then it would only burn itself out once it had killed most of the human population.
yes, the media is sensationalizing it...but this is a serious pandemic. maintaining personal space and washing hands are the easiest methods of countering the spread...neither of which are very popular here in seoul. |
If it mutated into something like the Spanish Flu then it would not kill most of the human race. The Spanish Flu killed off 5% of the world's population and much less than that in countries like the US and UK. In some isolated Pacific island communities it wiped out over half the population but overall it killed 5%....that is in a world with a much less developed body of medical knowledge and no World Health Organisation and in a Europe devastated by war and with a malnourished population.
If it swaps genetic info with bird flu then yes theoretically bird flu has a 60% mortality rate.....but it would essentially have to mutate into bird flu, it is much more likely to only absorb some genetic material from that virus....if it does at all. This is the far less likely to occur possibility...it is more likely that A(H1N1) will exchange genetic info with the seasonal flu which could definitely make it more deadly but nowhere near as deadly as bird flu.
We could be looking at a mortality rate of 5% (in the most likely worst case scenario) but probably less. Hell, if Ebola somehow makes the jump to an airborne virulent contagion then we are all f'ed....it has a mortality rate of up to 90%.....that's been a possibility for a long, long time and nobody has talked about that (I'd be more worried about Ebola than swine flu if you really want to be worried about anything....however why waste your life worrying about the ifs and maybes). |
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piratebryan
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Location: Nonyeon
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:03 am Post subject: |
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spanish flu also killed young adults with seemingly normal immune systems, population densities were lower, and it was easier to isolate people due to the relative difficulties of travel. modern travel patterns make pandemics much harder to control.
and swine flu has already started to mutate and jump species as they found a turkey in chile (i think) infected.
as to your ebola example, its much more difficult for a disease to mutate to a completely new method of transmission. and ebola is so virulent that is incapacitates victims before they can really infect alot of people...which is why none of the outbreaks have really killed many people. the disease burns itself out before it grows too large.
but i do agree with you, most of this is over blown media crap...i'm more worried about general antibacterial resistance caused by the over prescription of drugs. cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands, maintain a healthy diet and drink lots of water...that will help far more than any pill a doctor will give you. |
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