betterdaze wrote: 

No vaccine, but it seems to be susceptible to two antiviral drugs,oseltamivir and zanamivir. Thorough handwashing will be the best prevention. Pay attention to areas often missed- between fingers, entire nail areas, and the palm pad opposite the thumb side. Also, stay more than the normally recommended 3 feet from people with flu symptoms.

 glassbuteo wrote: 
Drs. are recommending frequent usage of hand sanitizer.

 evenso wrote: 
According to the CDC: "The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses."

and

"The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses."

 cc_rider wrote: 
 I've had the same P38 on my key ring since 1977.

 oldviolin wrote: 
I was gonna try and find a P51 demo, but you beat me to it. Dig.

Like they weren't having a bad enough week already???
A strong earthquake struck central Mexico on Monday, swaying tall buildings in the capital and sending office workers into the streets.

The 6.0-magnitude quake was centered near Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of Mexico City or 50 miles from the resort of Acapulco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

TheTelevisa television network quoted Mexico City officials as saying there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake rattled nerves in a city already nervous about a swine flu outbreak suspected of killing as many as 149 people nationwide.

"I'm scared," said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker standing outside her office building moments after it hit. "We Mexicans are not used to living with so much fear, but all that is happening - the economic crisis, the illnesses and now this - it feels like the Apocalypse."

Coworker Harold Gutierrez, 21, said the country was taking comfort from its religious faith, but he too was gripped by the sensation that the world might be coming to an end.

"If it is, it is God's plan," Gutierrez said, speaking over a green mask he wore to ward off swine flu.

 USGS earthquake analyst Don Blakeman said the quake was felt strongly in Mexico City because the epicenter was relatively shallow and the ground under the capital - which is built on a former lake bed - tends to intensify shock waves.

Televisa television network quoted Mexico City officials as saying there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

 dionysius wrote: 

Geesh, if only I'd had a couple more minutes to be serious.

Wasn't it pneumonia that was Warhol's undoing?

So let me see if I can round it up for us.

It is treatable if not ignored.

It is possibly preventable with existing and special vaccines. (It has been proposed that the reason elderly and younger people are less effected is that they are more likely to have gotten the general flue vaccine.) But the jury is out on that one.

It responds well to antivirals if treated in a timely manner.

It does not come from pigs or pork although it does have swine DNA along with bird and human DNA, indicating that it has already successfully jumped more than once species.

But the jump is done. It spreads between humans quickly and with facility, even late in the season.

It is following patterns and speeds that are reminiscent of infamous flue epidemics of generations past.

It is the sort of thing we have been concerned about coming out of Asia for some years now.

Resultantly, the CDC is somewhat prepared.

The CDC has been activated.

Mexico is taking good measures but maybe to late.

WHO is still catching up with the extent of what is happening. So we don't fully know the extent of the situation or the danger.

It is the kind of thing that will drive TV news into a frenzy.

It would be foolish, in the U.S. to either fear or be unprepared for this.

Corrections, additions?  

 melissab wrote: 
Useless without a can-opener!

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 

 oldviolin wrote: 

 samiyam wrote: 

Fear the Noodlers...

 dionysius wrote: 
Great minds think alike? 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
  Andy Warhol as flu treatment? 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Warhol fights disease?

 oldviolin wrote: 

 oldviolin wrote: 
Well, no vaccine, I should have said.

From HuffPost:

A single sneeze propels 100,000 droplets into the air at around 90 mph, landing on door knobs, ATM keypads, elevator buttons, escalator railings, and grocery cart handles. In a subway station at rush hour, according to British researchers, as many as 10 percent of all commuters can come in contact with the spray and residue from just one sneeze (or sternutation). That means as many as 150 commuters can be sickened by one uncovered achoo.

No wonder health officials are extremely concerned about the new strain of swine flu that has infected at least 20 Americans in five states, killed some 80 people in Mexico, and has traveled to the other side of the world in New Zealand. Understandably, US authorities - following the lead of the World Health Organization (WHO) - have declared a "public health emergency."

"This virus has, clearly, a pandemic potential," says Margaret Chan, director general of WHO. Why? The virulent new H1N1 swine flu strain spreads quickly and efficiently from human to human. It's "a completely novel virus," says the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This latest variant is a mixture of human virus, bird virus, and pig viruses from all over the world. Experts say it's particularly worrisome because people are getting sick without any encounters with pigs. Even worse, young, healthy people (ages 20-40) are dying at a striking rate, a telltale sign of the worst flu epidemics.

 hippiechick wrote: 

Fully treatable if caught early.