Pandemic Shmandemic
“At the present writing, October 1976, a group of medical opportunists have taken upon themselves the dictatorial authority to declare the threat of a sweeping epidemic of SWINE FLU which they said was similar to or related to the 1918 epidemic of Spanish influenza which wiped out 20,000,000 people world-wide. This declaration was supposed to scare all the people into their vaccination centers to be shot full of experimental vaccine poisons, while they, the promoters, raked in the profits.” – Eleanora I. McBean, Ph.D., N.D.
When the media started reporting on the deaths in Mexico caused by the swine flu, I admit, I got a little caught up in it and worried about traveling. I even know a few folks who canceled their trips to Mexico because of it. I became a little more concerned as cases were reported on the east coast of the United States. This was mostly because I’m traveling on Friday, to the east coast, with my girlfriend whose immune system is compromised as a result of chemotherapy.
As I started looking into it more, thanks in no small part to my aforementioned friend, who is not at all concerned about any of this nonsense, and neither is her oncologist, I realized this media frenzy was most likely more about distracting us from the problems with our economy and to line the pockets of the drug companies that make vaccines and Tamiflu.
This is, by far, the most in-depth and well-written article I have read on this subject, and it was forwarded to me by my friend, who has also been treated at the author’s clinic….
Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction?
by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Having said all of this, when I started to feel like a truck had run over me this week, and was experiencing flu-like symptoms, I did get just a little nervous. Sinus infections cause the exact same symptoms, and I am prone to them due to seasonal allergies. However, just a small part of me was still a tiny bit nervous that if might be the flu (regular flu or swine flu) just because it’s been in the press so much recently.
I went to my doctor’s office yesterday. It’s a large practice serving much of three counties and at least four different hospitals. They have offices practically everywhere and aren’t known as trend-setters, alternative or holistic. They’re a straight-up traditional practice.
As the nurse was taking down my vitals and symptoms, I mentioned the flu. She scoffed and said that over 43,000 people die from the regular flu each year and that never gets reported. She went on to say that their practice has seen NO cases of any type of flu in recent months. It’s not flu season.
As suspected, I do have a sinus infection so should be feeling much better by Friday when I leave for our girl’s weekend. Yay!
Thanks for stopping by!
cyndi, i am myself a scientist and can tell you it is way too early in this thing to make predictions or scoff at it. and doctors don’t most of them understand the science underlying infectious disease (unless you saw an infectious disease specialist and even then…). the virus bears some of the hallmarks of a true pandemic, and could mutate quickly as it moves through flu season in the southern hemisphere (where flu season is just starting). it is already global and somewhere right now it is flu season. people travel and carry pathogens. think globally not local. check out the articles in science at aaas.org and and nature at nature.com, written by scientists (who are scientific and look at problems with a scientific method and deep knowledge of the biology of viruses) versus doctors (who practice the art of medicine and base their knowledge on anecdoctal and clinical experience — there is a difference).
this is a wait and see — the WHO is doing all the right things, and so is the CDC. in the meantime, people who develop febrile illnesses should get to a doctor and get checked — the CDC and the WHO need all the data they can get.
Stay healthy!
i should mention also that my daughter is on immunosuppressant medication — we are avoiding crowds right now — we have had some outbreaks in our general area, including where she goes to her specialist, and we are playing it safe
okay, now my third annoying comment, just one of the links for the articles i am talking about from the top science journals in the world (rather than the news media) — it references further information if anyone is interested:
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090511/full/news.2009.469.html
sorry to be a nuisance — did i mention i am a “passionate” scientist???
I have mixed feelings about it. On one part, I think it’s sad for the people who have lost their lives to it and the possible threat of it becoming truly widespread. But, the rational part realizes that even if it does become widespread it is a FLU, which like your nurse said, the regular flu kills thousands and isn’t worried about like the Swine Flu has been. Most flu related deaths are the young, the elderly, or those with immune difficiencies. The average healthy American will just experience flu symptoms and be fine.
I think people hear “pandemic” and think of the bubonic plaque, or something wiping out half of the Earth’s population. Pandemic just means widespread. The common cold is a pandemic! The media definitely did take advantage of people’s fears and extort this thing for all it was worth. Instead of non-stop coverage using scary, unfamiliar terms, they should have taken a more calming approach EDUCATING people.
LOL – Lynette thanks for all the info.
Christina – I agree, the media is, as usual, running with a sensational story instead of providing helpful facts.
There are lots of deadlier pandemics in many countries around the world that are not receiving anywhere near this attention in the American media (Malaria, AIDS, etc.).
The day before two cases were announced in Iowa, my ex-husband called me. He’s a medical director of the State of Iowa prison system and had been in a meeting with homeland security about the Swine Flu.
He said this: make sure that your cabinets are stocked well. I have tami-flu in the fridge. He had three doses he said. And I said, “Oh, who are those for, you and my daughters.” He never ceases to exploit a situation.
As for me, all I really know is that if there are a thousand cases in my county, when school gets out, I think I’ll take a camping vacation in northern Minnesota until whenever. Pets, children and me!
Either way I don’t give a damn.
okay, still caught up in this thing… in my professional capacity and in my service as a board of health member in my little town, i receive communications from the cdc and the state dph where i live, and in fact, the newspapers overall are parroting back what they are being told (at least here — i don’t know about where you live). if you want real information, the cdc (www.cdc.gov) keeps things pretty up to date, and it is factual.
the scary thing about the flu in general (vs malaria and HIV) is that it is highly transmissable, through air. we don’t know what the immunity of the global populations is to this virus which has not been seen before, nor how fast it will evolve to become resistant to the only two anti-viral medications that work (tamiflu being one of them) as it spreads. plus the number of people walking around today who are immunocompromised has grown by leaps and bounds in the past thirty years thanks to cancer treatments, autoimmune disease treatments, and HIV.
the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918 killed close to 100 million (not 20 million) — a huge percentage of the world population at the time — mostly young and healthy individuals. most scientists believe it is almost a matter of time before it will happen again — HIV did not fit the bill because of its mode of transmission.
the media DOES sensationalize a lot of things — which is unfortunate because when they need to communicate anything real and do it in a factual way, it’s like the boy who cried wolf.
i do hope that it peters out, and that all the to-do is for nothing. glad to see that we have emergency preparedness put into place, personally, because i think that it is best to be prepared instead of in denial (did i just say that?).