It was definitely H1N1 as they were tested specifically for it. The lady that passed away apparently didn't like to go to doctors so it's likely her symptoms were quite bad when she got to the hospital. She was admitted, I believe on a Sunday and passed away on Weds of the same week.

One of the problems with H1N1 is that if affects you and you're not treated quickly, you stand a good chance of it causing pneumonia. Folks die from that all the time, so it's really not something to play around with if you have any symptoms.

An onion consists of many layers, each one more pungent.

I'm gonna leave it at that....

Yes and the Gov will always come up with new ways to do it.

Thanks, I made sure I saved it.

This is a very touchy subject, I'm not trying to 'inject' any drama.

Just a matter of interest for certain folks, and if you have some yourself, do research further.

I just figure something is gonna get us no matter what. Whether that is cigarettes, some special flu, bus, airplane, cancer, etc - when it's time to go, it's time to go.

I don't see this as being any different that smallpox or the plague back in the day. As we get better at curing things, there will be another deadly disease waiting around the corner.

I agree Brian, and the fact is most of us probably should have bitten it anywhere from a hundred to a thousand close-calls ago... :angel:

Are you talking about monoclonal antibodies?

As far as the latter is concerned, animals are common reservoirs to many diseases. Some viruses can move between species quite easily, and may linger in one animal population, fairly innocuously to that animal, then be spread to another species with much more devastating results.

EG. West Nile Virus has a reservoir in birds, and can be transmitted to humans and horses via insect vectors (ticks and mozzies..) WNV has had some human casualties, but it has been much more devastating to horse populations in the US.

Really it looks like we've been quite lucky w/ SF. It could have been much worse, and there certainly have been very deadly flu outbreaks. Considering just how small and interconnected the world has become, as well as far more populated since the last major outbreaks, a truly lethal strain could be extremely devastating. Given enough time, one will emerge.

The media may be over-hyped it, but no one really knew wth was going on, plus the media over-hypes everything. (eg: y2k.) Esp given the time back in March when everyone thought the world was ending, a deadly global pandemic just seemed apropos.

dunno about 1 in 6, I do know that when I was hositalized at the beginning of Nov. that the hospital was overwhelmed with flu cases. I was in for a urinary tract infection, but any movement anywhere in the hospital required a mask, and I was basically quarantined for the first two days until they could prove I didn't have H1N1. Everyone working was overwhelmed by all the flu cases. So, I saw a lot...

I got sick recently and assumed it was H1N1. I got over it in 4 days though, which makes me doubt whether I really had it or not. I did sleep like 12 hours a day though.

ive never had a flu shot in my life and ive never had the flu, yet every one of my friends every year gets the flu some time or another and they all have their shots a month or more before hand......

last needle i had in me was when i broke my back, and before that it was my knees and then when i had blood transfusions when i was 9, i dont mind needles at all but ive always avoided taking any form of common medication and getting any seasonal shots.

Same here. I avoid taking whatever I can unless I really need it.

I never understood why people run to the doctors and get a boatload of antibiotics when they have a small cough, or take a bunch of Tylenol when they have a small headache.

I have terrible allergies (so bad that out of 365 days a year, a good 350 my nose is stuffy), and yet I only reserve taking my allergy meds for the really bad days (days where my eyes get puffy and watery and I literally sneeze every 30 seconds).

My point is you take this stuff when you don't need it, all you are doing is making it less effective when you do need it.

I never had or even heard about the flu when I used to live in Brasil. The moment my brother and I moved to the US and had to get a vaccine to get into the school, yes I stayed home for 2 weeks with the flu.

I know animal's immune system is way better then ours and to hear the viruses comes from them is kind of crazy. Now I know many will carry diseases, but from what I know they might be nature's own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivenom

If animals are used to get us those, then a little virus wouldn't phase them.

Up here in Ontario, Canada, the government with the help of the media are working very hard to scare people into getting this H1N1 vaccine. People are in a panic over it, line ups of 9 hours and more at make shift flu clinics to administer the vaccine. People are sheep. I had a flu shot given to me once in my life, I was sick all winter that year. I never got one again. I don't plan on getting this H1N1 vaccine and no one will inject this vaccine in my boy's blood stream. It's got Mercury in it. And I just don't like the fact that it usually takes around 9 months to develop and test a new vaccine and this one was ready in a third of that time. I don't trust it and I don't trust any info that is forced fed to the public from the governments.

MrCrash- thimerosol has been present in vaccines since day one IIRC, it's used as a "preservative". Was supposed to have been removed, but never really was.

Well, does anyone else fail to see the logic in that?

Pretty well known it's quite an anti- preservative for us!

For some more fun reading, do a search on flouridated water, especially if you have kids...