Bird Flu

[importaku]

On the news earlier they had a map of Britain with coloured dots representing how fast the infection could spread then in the same sentence they said they know very little about how fast it will spread!

Still, if I run into crowds between my and the bar this weekend I'm just going to sneeze and say loudly I'm just back from Mexico, then watch the crowd part allowing my easy passage to the bar!

LOL so evil but potentially a handy trick

You lot are lucky, thanks to me working in microbiology/virology any samples we get for potential oinkflu will come straight to us so i'll be potentally exposed more than most. Working in a building that looks like the umbrella mansion dosent really help it's like im in a real life version of resident evil hehe

[Kieran76]

I have got to give a talk to the kids in my class about the importance of hygiene and using a tissue etc. From next week we are also going to have hand sanitizers in the class and at the end of each lesson we have to spay some onto every child's hand.
I must admit I was quite hoping that someone in the borough would get it so our school would shut down, but I got told that if the school was shut down then the teachers would still have to come in.

[Stormtec]

but I got told that if the school was shut down then the teachers would still have to come in.

And do what...? 0_o

[fuse]

Still, if I run into crowds between my and the bar this weekend I'm just going to sneeze and say loudly I'm just back from Mexico, then watch the crowd part allowing my easy passage to the bar!

I've still got a bit of a cough right now, so I figure if I get myself a poncho and a sombrero this weekend I should have some nice spacious commutes to and from work next week.

[Dirty Sanchez]

And do what...? 0_o

Lesson plans, marking, training - all the stuff they kid on that they do in the evenings/weekends/long holidays when trying to squeeze another payrise out of the tax paying public

[VR46]

Amazing how quickly this is spreading in the UK now, really starting to snowball, up from 850 to 1160 confirmed cases in the last 48 hours.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8095846.stm - end of Thursday
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8098895.stm - end of today

[Malc]

I've just finished my exams, so if the hit count is rising rapidly then i'm going to be out of contact of nearly a thousand people for a couple of months.

Makes myself feel happier about the pandemic/epidemic or whatever it's now been named.

[kryss]

ALL the staff in shops in Japan are now wearing masks.

I'm going to start selling squirts of alcohol gel on the street for 50yen a go. I'm going to make a fortune.

[Spatial]

First person in the UK dies from it!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8099832.stm

->Open Spoiler<-

They had an underlying medical condition

edit: oh and is this in bad taste? Tough, I'm posting it anyway

http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html

[Skull Commander]

The thing that worries me is that at this time of year there are loads of music festivals. Large amounts of people from all around packed together. I reckon it will spread like wildfire at these events.

[Supergoal]

Have any of you had the flu before? It seems here in Japan it's fairly uncommon to have had the flu. Whereas I've had it twice in my life, when I was 16, and when I was 25.

I remember both those times I felt like I was going to die, but after about 5 days, all was well. I also remember not taking any medication at all both times. So I just naturally got over it. With that in mind, this new strain of flu isn't any more dangerous than both of the types of flu I had caught before, which means if you were to catch it, you're unlikely to die.

So what's the panic the media seem to be stirring. Don't thousands of people die each year from the flu anyway?

[abigsmurf]

I've had it twice. Just completely saps your energy and makes even walking around the house really tough. Last time I got it, I got it on the plane back from the vacation from hell (went to Cyprus for the millenium... Everything was closed and on new years eve the awful band rung in new years 20 minutes early. Best part of the holiday was going back to the hotel room and watching all the other countries). Everyone in our family got it, went to bed thinking I just had a cold, woke up next morning and couldn't get out of bed.

I do hate when people (sorry to say this, it's usually women) who say they have flu when they have a cold. If you don't have a fever, it's a cold.

Swine flu isn't significantly more dangerous than regular flu, it's just people don't have the antibodies for it so they're more likely to catch it. Flu is only dangerous for people with existing conditions (and for people who don't rest) or weakened immune systems.

Non-sensationalist estimates I've read have said that by the end of the year 30&#37; of people will have contracted the disease (that doesn't always mean they'll have symptoms, just that they'll have had contact and fought it off).

[toythatkills]

Forget Swine Flu, guys. The Black Death is back!

[ChrisF]

Unclean! Unclean! Surely they have a vaccine for that by now? They've had long enough.

[Spatial]

It's the Apocalypse!

Looks like Pestilence is sorted. Expect War, Famine and Death within the next few days (they're probably running late because Death's cars been in the garage for the last week due to problems with the ignition).