That number is incorrect.

Also, confirmed cases =/= actual number of cases. Confirmed case means that someone took a sputum sample or something and cultured it, which doesn't happen most of the time.

The confirmation process is under way in places like Mexico, but it takes a long time, and so of the 150+ deaths there that are suspected, only a fraction have been confirmed yet. The number confirmed is likely to rise as the process continues.

For cable news, ratings > facts. Calling it the black death gets more people to watch. Or rather, they don't say "It's the black death," they say "Could it be the next Black Death?" and then they interview an expert who says "No." But only after you stay tuned past like 11 commercial breaks.

All information you need:

http://promedmail.org

Don't watch TV. They're spreading propagada bullshit mostly.

A valid point, but Tenochtit'lan ??? is cyberpunk too. NAFTA, Atzlan, Cartels, Human sacrifice... Gibson and Stephenson show cyberpunk's Mexican influenza (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Good recall, it all fits.

i could discuss this but for two reasons:
1) my opinion may be biased

2) that could seriously highjack this thread (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) maybe start another one in the general section?

You are correct. We're up to 360something confirmed cases in Mexico.

Still.

I wouldn't call it a pandemic until we were at 300 thousand cases world wide. Even then if 100% of those died we'd lose less than a tenth of one percent of the world population.

More people die from sharks each year. Ok, exaggeration. Shark deaths are rather uncommon (50 to 70 a year, most of which don't result in death) but you get the idea.

This is utter bulldrek. You and I know that its the Sea Dragon who keeps this information campaign open.
She and her minions kill thousands a month. Keep landlocked lads, its the only way to stay alive.

Land-locked is not safe from the street sharks!

Damn, you beat me to it!

A pandemic is essentially a wide-spread (usually global) epidemic. An epidemic is any disease outbreak larger than expected based on recent experience. Thus, if seasonal flu kills 500,000 annually, it is just a disease. If that increases to 600,000, it is an epidemic. Likewise, if you take a relatively rare disease (say, rabies), with 5 confirmed cases in a single community, it is an epidemic, because it is greater than the norm.

It's what we call the News

Right, which is why I find the whole thing silly. There's roughly 1000 cases around the world compared with "normal" flu at millions. I suppose it's an epidemic/pandemic because it's pig flu and there shouldn't be any at all.
Of course, we can't call it "pig flu" anymore, because the pig factory farmers are upset because it's not THEIR pigs. It's 2009H1N1. *Rolls eyes*



Yeah, that's about right. News used to operate at a deficit because it was funded by the entertainment division. Then this whole idea came about trying to make "news" entertaining. At which point it ceased being "news."

(I can at least get within 1000km of Kabul, if not closer--depends on if I've managed to correctly find the country on an unlabled map and haven't confused it with Pakistan or Iran (yeah, I was having that trouble while playing Globetrotter XL, after about 30 countries I was unfamiliar with down to "correct continent" I started messing up really bad, particularly with the middle east)).

I think they didn't call it pig flu because pig I think is fairly informal, while swine is a technical word. Look at usda.gov for pig and swine and see which gets more (and more appropriate) hits. That's also why it's avian flu, not bird flu.

I haven't heard anything about anyone using not using the word swine flu because of fear of upsetting swine.

WR, what's the difference between an N95 utility mask (like for cleaning up lead paint), N95 surgical mask and a conventional gas mask? Aren't they all N95? Aren't they all absolutely sporting while visiting Firt National to deposit your paycheck?

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/resp...s/respfact.html

Interesting, but doesn't really answer my question. Is one filtered for biologicals while the other for chemicals or something?

Not upsetting swine, upsetting pork factory owners.

And you're obviously not listening to enough NPR.

Respirators protect the user in two basic ways. The first is by the removal of contaminants from the air. Respirators of this type include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles; and "gas masks� which filter out chemicals and gases. Other respirators protect by supplying clean respirable air from another source. Respirators that fall into this category include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source; and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which include their own air supply.

Respirators should only be used as a "last line of defense" when engineering control systems are not feasible. Engineering control systems, such as adequate ventilation or scrubbing of contaminants should be used to negate the need for respirators.

NIOSH issues recommendations for respirator use. Industrial type approvals are in accordance to the NIOSH federal respiratory regulations 42 CFR Part 84. Development of respirator standards are in concert with various partners from government and industry.

See NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84 for further information.

I don't think they did it just because the pork industry wanted it. But I'm pretty sure the WHO and the CDC don't want to accidentally demolish anyone's industry. It's not like swine farmers have used lobbyists to gain control of those organizations, it's just that the name swine flu was starting to cause a lot of collateral damage. Several governments have banned pork imports or even started culling pig herds just because of the name. And no doubt many people are afraid to eat pork for no reason. I understand skepticism of government, but let's give credit where it's due. They changed the name because it was confusing people and hurting an industry for no reason whatsoever. It isn't corrupt to avoid accidentally demolishing industries at random, is it?

When did I say it was corrupt? If anything, I said it was politically incorrect.

SURGE. The cause of all my problems. Fecking mutants.

Not really, but you're not the only one who's commented on it, so I wasn't responding to you only. Implying that government does something that an industry wants is implying causation, that the only reason they did it is because the industry wanted it. Hence, it implies corruption. That might not be what you meant, but I just wanted to throw my 2 yen into the ring in case that's the conclusion people were drawing. Government might be corrupt sometimes, but in this case, they did the right thing for the right reasons.

All I know is that governments do what the corporate council tells them to, or they perish in a revolution. There hasn't been a government I could believe in since 2030.

just how old are you, max? arent you getting a little long in the tooth to be runnin' the shadows? leave it to the young and foolhardy, or are you the J type who doesnt want to get his hands dirty? me? my respirator's painted like a cyber-skull (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I am anceint but not Ancient History. Watch the node so I can raise my boys aware.

Also, because I do a wee bit of fixing work on the side. To buy pretty toys and the like. Maybe save up for a little Leonization.

That is if this new strain of VITAS don't kill me. With all the hype around it, I am starting to look into Horizon as the cause.

BlueMax
/older than dirt.
// Technically a dwarf.
/// Back in my day, you could add any race you wanted to the archetypes in the book.
////struth