So I've been doing a lot of thinking about this whole swine flu thing since I have a morbid fascination with pandemics. I think at one point I had polished off 4 books consecutively on either the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic or the Black Death. This is the guy who was giddy the day he saw that google had a map application plotting all the known cases of H1N1.
Most of my most vocal opinions on the subject of widespread infection have been, for the most part, downplayed by friends and family. However, I had a pretty in-depth discussion last night with a friend who is a biologist and works in the infectious disease field (and on this issue directly). Turns out, she's, in her words "a little freaked out." This in turn, freaks me out even more.
My plans at this moment are to continue to keep my apartment well stocked and connected in case our offices and stores start closing down or a significant part of the population falls ill at the same time.
...and really, the plan is not much different than preparing for a widespread zombie uprising, is it?
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Still haven't seen anything to make me think it's anything other than a less dangerous version of the regular flu. And Fox News panic alerts do not count!
ReplyDeleteH1N1 is either more or less serious than seasonal flu, depending on the individual's immune systen and level of antibodies. It's truly quite complicated.
ReplyDeleteThis flu season has been the closest I've seen to a full activation of a pandemic plan (inital stages). Communications on everything from proper hand-washing and coghing/sneezing technique, to a notification of the (would-be-required) pre-screening tent outside of the building for access within, have been flying out of corporations left and right. Still, as widespread as it's going to get, it's doubtful that this strain will produce any more hospitalizations or deaths per capita affected than a normal flu season. The real misery will be the line at you GP's office or your local Doc-in-a-Box. Now is the time to pay your physician's green fees in exchange for favorable treatment!
ReplyDeleteAs for the zombie uprising? I'll substitute a sawed-off and a chainsaw for a couple of sanitizers and a Desert Eagle for that box of tissues. The rest is more or less the same--pack the truck, get out of town, run over everything! ;)