What is Digg?94 Comments
- thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -5/+41Think of how many birds there are compared to 757's
- Loannes, on 10/12/2007, -6/+26Because the last major flu pandemic wiped out a third of the human race, and we're not as invincible as we think.
- jetta421, on 10/12/2007, -14/+33Why does my gut tell me that this Avian Flu issue is overrated? My chances of being killed by a falling Boeing 757 jet engine are greater than catching this disease that "could" happen. Sometimes I just roll my eyes at the media. Too bad about the bird though.
- abrann, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23Bird flu is a distraction. It is Natalie Holloway, Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson, Y2K, etc...
- yodaj007, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I think he's referring to the 1918 Flu pandemic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu
Though it didn't kill 1/3 of the human race (not even close), it was still pretty severe. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Yes, the media is probably overhyping this, but there is at least some scientific foundation for the absurdity. There have been pandemics of the flu in the past. Some of these were particularly deadly (read: 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic).
The fact that the avian flu has a high mortality rate in humans means that it, too, could end up being a serious killer. The thing that scientists are most worried about is a transformation of the flu that could result from two versions of the virus mixing in a specimen and resulting in efficient human to human transmission.
In defense of the media, if there is a huge pandemic and they hadn't covered it, they would have some explaining to do.
That said, in my opinion, the likelihood of a worldwide avian flu pandemic is low (but not zero). - cadpo76, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18HA HA! theonlybigboss' educational system has failed him!
On 4 counts actually:
1: Spanish Flu killed tens of millions of people
2: The plural of class is classes not class's. Omitting the final s and adding a noun like 'curriculum' would also be acceptable.
3: Since loannes is proposing a point, the proper word to follow it is you're (as in you are). 'Your' is a 2nd person possessive adjective.
4: Finally, lol is not an acceptable punctuation mark. Try a period. - JamesGlover, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Sigh. The treatment of bird flu (H5N1) by the world health organisation and other health officials is exactly as it should be. They have identified a virus that poses a possible threat in causing a global pandemic and are carefully monitoring its progress and studying mutations. This has two benefits, firstly it will allow a rapid response should the virus mutate or recombine with a human flu virus. A rapid response will hopefully contain an outbreak, reducing the need for vaccines and anti-virals, and will also help the deployment and development of drugs as necessary. Secondly, even if H5N1 never mutates, something else eventually will. The study of the spread of H5N1 will allow better prediction with regard to future outbreaks and also in identifying possible endemic viruses early in their life. This is especially relevant when it is realised that the 1918 flu virus began as a avian strain.
Of course, if the virus does mutate and the WHO is successful in containing the virus, then they will be accused of scaremongering and wasting time.
Of course at the moment H5N1 hasn't mutated, and so now it not the time to run around like headless chickens panicking. (A fault, partly, of the media) Conversely however there is a threat, and it is one worth monitoring. Even if this one doesn't come to anything, one eventually will, and the more we can learn now the better.
Edit to add: As yet it hasn't been confirmed that this is a case of H5N1, but just of the same family of viruses. I also wish to add that even without human risk, this virus is of concern to poultry farmers. (Foot and mouth for example harmed the livestock industry and posed no threat whatsoever to humans.) - Loannes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Common misconception, the bubonic plague took decades to ramp up. Patience young one.
- Dragular, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11I have the solution. Shotguns. You see a bird, you shoot it. Put Dick Cheney on the "Stop Birds: Stop Bird Flu" campaign posters.
Survival of the fittest. Or at least, survival of those with shotguns man.
We don't need birds no way. Coming by, crapping on your cars all the time. I mean, c'mon. Chickens? Why do we need chickens when everything already tastes like chicken? Just eat somethin' else. Swear to god man. - s.lucero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Hey so you know... during WWI, there was a variation of the bird flu that happened to kill MORE people than the entire war did, and contributed to the end of the war itself (it was called the Spanish flu, look it up). It was only around for two years, but it managed to kill as many as 100 million people. The only reason that this has not spread, is that the right variation of the virus has not mutated yet. Just a little something for you to think about.
-Steven (I can send the report I did on this flu upon request) - capn_caveman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I don't know... the threat of bird flu is enough for me to pay attention. Trust me, there is a reason why this gets publicity. I remember reading about the very first case of avian influenza in humans in 1997; it took me by surprise then and still has me concerned. I'm not the only one concerned. UK officials are planning mass graves in case of a pandemic. I sure don't want to end up in a mass grave.
- mozillaman0, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7When he's referring to 1/3 of the human race being wiped out, he is probably talking about the Black Death.
- quokkapox, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11Exactly. If you're worrying about bird flu, you're probably not thinking about the consequences of preemptive wars and political corruption.
- crazyfan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A lot of you are saying this is overrated but once it actually effects your country internally and or if it effects your life personally, you will again be pointing your finger at your Prime Minister or President to blame.
You care about the environment, you dont care about the environment, hypocrisy rules these days doesnt it
Shows what kind of politicians you people would be if you were in power.
Over a million chicken have been culled, this is a danger which countries are trying to contain, nothing should be taken lightly. - doafhat, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13I agree that it's overrated. Every five years there seems to be some sort of doomsday virus that's hyped up... only to be beaten down by modern medical science, good hygiene, and the test of time. Remember how SARS was gonna wipe us all out? And what about West Nile Virus?
Just look at the facts, viruses like the bird flu are always devastating killers in underdeveloped, third-world countries where medical care, health standards, and sometimes even the culture make people extra-susceptible to such diseases. Are health regulations as stringent in rural southeast Asia as they are in the United States? Of course they aren't. Goodness, people in southern Asia are still dying in great numbers from cholera and other illnesses that have become nearly extinct in the West.
In another five years, people will have completely forgotten about the bird flu; and more than likely, we'll be facing another overhyped doomsday virus. - WMcMath, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4H5 is a family of flu viruses of which H5N1 is one member
taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H5n1
# H1 stands for the first of several known types of the protein hemagglutinin.
# N2 stands for the second of several known types of the protein neuraminidase - Web_Weasel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4SARS - Nobody knows where it went that's the scary part.
West Nile - It's everywhere now. Birds die from it all the time. People just think they have a cold.
Anthrax - Always been there, always will.
Killer Bees - They're moving north. They just entered Kansas this year. If you think they're not a problem ask a Texan.
In 1918 it was a bird flu that spread around the world, again in 1968 it was a bird flu that spread around the world. In 2006...
Normal influenza kills 36,000 people a year in the US. It's damn hard to control because it mutates rapidly. If you're not at least concerned you're uninformed. - B0jangles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4By that I hope you're not taking about people on digg.
- rot97, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm not sold on this flu being a massive killer, but the reason it could be is because of ignorent people like you. There are epidemics that come along and need to be addressed, and lets not just pass this off because recently the other diseases havent effected us. There only has to be one big outbreak and we'll be in trouble. I understand that the media hypes up every bad thing on earth, but lets not get ahead of ourselves and say this will definitely be solved.
- thedonquixote, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9Well when the ***** goes down...I'm going to buy everything I've ever wanted on credit!!! ;-)
- buberfan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4This is deadly serious. So far about half those who have contracted H5N1 have died. The risk is that a person will simultaneously get H5N1 and normal human influenza, and the viruses then get a chance to swap code producing a new strain of virus which is transmissable from human to human. THIS DOES HAPPEN - every 20-30 years. The new form of virus most likely won't have such a high mortality rate, but the 1918 pandemic did kill 2.5 per cent of the population in affected countries (that is also taking into account people who did not get the virus at all). Add to this the knock-on effect of disruption to essential services and food supplies as people start dropping and others barricade themselves in their homes and you can see why there is cause for concern. Most experts agree that it is not a matter of "if" but of "when". Governments are planning for this but there is only so much they can do. There are also things that we can do such as stocking up on face masks, educating ourselves about hygiene and getting fit.
- MAG1CO, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Im in the UK... this is kinda scary. But after reading a few replies from people with brains - I think it should all be under control... At least I hope so.
- mdyoke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Here, read this: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm and then make up your own mind.
- Loannes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Also, there are no more then 8 genetic strains of Swine or Bovine in the US, even less of mass produced poultry per species. Even better news, the US standards are low, and and the requirements of them are met even more seldom then that.
- DafyddLlyr, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Anybody know how Fife got to Wales...? I'm a bit more worried about that than Bird Flu really...
- cadpo76, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I believe H5 is just being used as a shortened form of H5N1. To be classified a flu virus, some type of surface neuraminidase (N) must be present.
- siliconglen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The BBC now has an updated news story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4882070.stm - Loannes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3though there is concern inherent is potential epidemics, wouldn't you agree, scientifically speaking I mean, fear mongering is wrong, however fact mongering is needed, so lets be objective.
- ChuyMatt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3try this: Agricultural exports!
The US exports a crapload of chicken and turkey (ok, not much turkey, but some) to other countries. If the F5N? strains get here there will be mass culling. Another bad thing, there are pig farms and chicken farms in the SE US, right next to eachother. If it can mutate to swine, it will have an easy time mutating to humans. - kazsymonds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No, i think you'll find is far far less likely you'll be hit by a 757, besides this thing IS spreading and they say it may have crossed species.
- BobbyOnions, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Yes, I'm afraid you're going to die. The hard part it telling exactly when.
- Phyltre, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6My toothbrush is a bigger threat.
Until the thing mutates (which any strain of flu could) to a superkiller, I'm not too worried. - Loannes, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Wow, that spamming makes you that much cooler.
- NicePaul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm not worried about getting bird flu. I am worried there will be no birds in 5 years.
Either they will die of flu or we'll kill them as a precautionary measure. - critic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I predict this will make it to north American Shores and jump to people before it's over.
They've been working on this for a long time. - B0jangles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Protected animals. Leave them alone!
- ZenTaff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"Most likely a vaccine will be found before it gets over..."
You can't create a vaccine until you know which variation of a virus you're dealing with.
Flu viruses mutate rapidly, thus rendering existing vaccines useless.
It's what makes flu so dangerous. - hayden.evans, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1damn birds.
- Dragular, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I'll have you know that I actually ripped this off from a Winnie the Pooh episode, thank you very much.
- Netweb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"The work by Nature Magazine Senior Editor Declan Butler to share Avian Flu Outbreak data using Goolge Earth was enhanced this weekend. Declan has announced a network link which will automatically reflect his weekly updates. The underlying data is now based on ESRI's ArcGIS software, and converted for Google Earth using Arc2Earth."
"This is the new beta of an operational service designed to provide Google Earth maps of avian flu spread on a weekly basis for the first time. As well as mapping human cases and poultry outbreaks, the maps also provide additional data on each event, and additional datasets, such as poultry densities worldwide, to let you explore avian flu."
http://declanbutler.info/blog/?p=34 - dime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1
I've been pretty neurotic about this the last few months... mainly because germs make me crazy, and this is one goddamn big germ ;p
I read this article today, though... and it made some very good points...
http://www.dailyreckoning.co.uk/article/040420062.html
Specifically the death rate. If it's true that thousands of workers have been infected and only a tiny proportion have gotten that sick, then it's really not as deadly as it seems - it's just skewed because we are only presented with hospital cases.
eh... - Hawkeye2, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1A distraction???? What a sick, no nothing phuk you are.
- wiu_life, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone needs to create a UK Widget for this
http://widgets.yahoo.com/gallery/view.php?widget=39190 - sirplus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2all this hype about bird flu serves only to divert attention away from the very serious problem of spontaneous combustion.
- plosfas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3my father is a general surgeon and within the medical community withing the last while people are starting to speculate that the bird flu is going to be the scientific equivalent of Y2K. It is true that if the virus mutates to humans that it would kill more people than the black plaque, but there is almost no scietific proof that it is going to mutate
- Dragular, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Nah, he's on Linux so he can't get a virus.
LOL OMG NERD JOKE FTW! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I think there is a group of EU scientists, working on something
People must realize that they should not stop eating poultry, as long as it has been cooked properly
Look out for sick birds, if you see any don't touch them, report it immediately, we should be able to contain this if we work together
It goes for everyone around the world really - iliketurtles2, on 11/20/2008, -4/+5It's H5, not H5N1 - so not deadly to humans. Damn chickens.
- crazyfan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1So in real life, you rather have no investors sponser companies?
How do you think small startup companies stay afloat or even big ones, by investors.
Without investors, then their is no vaccine and well I am sure you know the rest.
This is how business work, I saw V For Vendetta (horrible movie) too but dont go into histarics when people are trying to sponser businesses, products/services wouldnt cant be created unless there are sponsers etc unless you want to live under Communist regime....... -
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