Out of Pod Experience

According to New England Journal of Medicine Journal the H7N9 virus is now jumping between mammals .

Here is a few reason why you should be worried

1.
Infected chickens and other birds don’t show symptoms.
The H7N9 virus will infect chickens with asymptomatic illness, so that it spreads widely through poultry flocks without farmers’ knowledge.
Quote: “H7N9 viruses are a low-pathogenic avian influenza A virus and that infection of wild birds and domestic poultry would therefore result in asymptomatic or mild avian disease, potentially leading to a “silent” widespread epizootic in China and neighboring countries.”

2.
The H7N9 can spread between Humans
Quote: “The gene sequences also indicate that these viruses may be better adapted than other avian influenza viruses to infecting mammals.”
There are signs of the virus spreading between pigs and humans in China.

3.
Vaccines developed for other H7 viruses aren’t effective.
Clinical trials so far have shown that vaccines developed against other H7 strains of influenza are showing extremely limited response against H7N9.
Tamiflu is also shown to be ineffective at later stage of infection.

4.
Existing flu tests in the U.S. won’t detect the H7N9 virus.
Quote: “Since available diagnostic assays used in clinical care (e.g., rapid influenza diagnostic tests) may lack sensitivity to identify H7N9 virus and since existing molecular assays will identify H7N9 virus as a nonsubtypeable influenza A virus, critical public health issue is the rapid development, validation, and deployment of molecular diagnostic assays that can specifically detect H7N9 viral RNA.”

Reassuringly, the researchers go on to say that such a test has already been developed in China and is hopefully on the way here.

5.
No Vaccine for months.
Chinese officials announced yesterday they expect to have a vaccine ready in 7 months.
If the containment fails , the disease will be international and there won't be a cure for months.



Update : 14/04/2013
The H7N9 epidemic continues to spread with now 50 confirmed cases as according to China's media (That means there are hundreds of infected in Chinese)

Sigh, here we go again.

No I'm not worried, if unlike the last 30 panics it turns out to be the next Spanish Flu there is nothing I can do about it, so I am not going waste time worrying about another impending end of the world.

It is China after all. I'm not expecting any credible data until the flu reaches the west.

Questioning official data is more likely to get you killed in China than the flu the data is about.

by eating Brown grain pizzas?

Thats because you are not living in China .
Another one died today , raising the death toll to 11

Also , the plague is in Beijing now .
Its the equivalent of the virus reaching New York or London .
Its the international travel hub , if it goes .. its country wide , if not international

news is on television and television is for entertainment

Yeah. News like this doesn't bother me.

What bothered me was in 1980 when a few men in New York City died. Then they realized they were all gay though. Then they had no idea why. Took years to find out why.

Now that was terrifying, especially to someone 16 yo and gay.

Bad Flu ? Nah.

HONK ! Wrong.

One time with the one wrong activity with the one wrong person can cause transmission.

Edit NM: Misconstrued Krixtals post, didn't know he was speaking to AID's.

All of Europe was conquered. British abandon the French. Only the French are cowards.

The effects of having a bad PR guy at work. They should have got the guy who called the retreat at Dunkirk a Miracle.