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Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:35 am
by Gentleman Jim
Flu virus with 'pandemic potential' found in China
A new strain of flu that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China by scientists.

It emerged recently and is carried by pigs, but can infect humans, they say.

The researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.

While it is not an immediate problem, they say, it has "all the hallmarks" of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring.

As it's new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

The scientists write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that measures to control the virus in pigs, and the close monitoring of swine industry workers, should be swiftly implemented.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53218704

Re: Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:12 am
by shpalman
Gentleman Jim wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:35 am
Flu virus with 'pandemic potential' found in China
A new strain of flu that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China by scientists.

It emerged recently and is carried by pigs, but can infect humans, they say.

The researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.

While it is not an immediate problem, they say, it has "all the hallmarks" of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring.

As it's new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

The scientists write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that measures to control the virus in pigs, and the close monitoring of swine industry workers, should be swiftly implemented.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53218704
'flu researchers feeling a bit left out by all the attention the coronavirus is getting?

It's a new strain of H1N1 which has already infected 10% of industry’s workers in China while "4.4% of the general population also appeared to have been exposed".

The number of lab-confirmed deaths reported to the WHO is 18,449 from the 2009 swine 'flu pandemic. There may have been up to about half a million deaths but that's inline with normal seasonal 'flu. COVID is at more than half a million already and a lot of those are actual "lab-confirmed".

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/ob ... o-oranges/

If people continue with habits of hand washing, face covering, and self isolating when symptomatic, that should work against 'flu too anyway.

Re: Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:22 am
by Bird on a Fire
Next time someone asks me why I don't eat meat, I'm going to try the "pandemic" answer rather than the "climate", "biodiversity", "global food security" or "animal welfare" answers.

Re: Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:23 am
by Little waster
Does that mean I've now got free reign to have a go at Westerners for their disgusting dietary habits; eating filthy animals like pigs and making jokes like one of the symptoms is you get some crackling in your ear and making racist comments about the Danes?.

Copenhagen, Coffinhagen more like 'arf 'arf.

Re: Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:30 am
by AMS
I don't want to trivialise it, but if 4.4% of the population (China's?) have already been exposed before it was identified, it sounds less scary than Covid-19.

Re: Just What We Need!

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:59 am
by Bird on a Fire
Little waster wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:23 am
Does that mean I've now got free reign to have a go at Westerners for their disgusting dietary habits; eating filthy animals like pigs and making jokes like one of the symptoms is you get some crackling in your ear and making racist comments about the Danes?.

Copenhagen, Coffinhagen more like 'arf 'arf.
Definitely, I've been doing it for years ;) (Except for the racism - some of my best friends are Danes)

It does tend to annoy people a bit, though.