The Warning about a Coronavirus Pandemic

News & Current Events
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I can’t help but to post about this flu virus that the news keeps pushing. The headlines on Drudge the past 3 days are nothing but news about it.

From what I have read there is less than a 2%-5% mortality rate, which is just slightly higher than what happens in a standard flu season.

China is blockading cities, stopping all transportation, cancelling their big new years event, closing Disney and other gathering events.

Is there something they (CDC, China, Health officials) are not telling us? I’m not going all Alex Jones here but it just seems way way over blown?

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@Fizbin I agree. However, most public health agencies normally take this “extreme” avenue because of the global aging population and they are not sure how this virus will infect the general population (outside of China). Normal precautions (handwashing, covering cough and other measures we take to reduce the spread of microbes is the same here). My recommendation to my family and friends are stay away from crowded areas ( shopping malls, nightclubs, etc.) until there is better understanding of the etiology of this virus.

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On the lighter side, I think it needs a more user friendly name. How about we call it the Kung Flu! All the doctors are Kung flu fighting, It’s spreading fast as lightning…

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Exactly. For the past 12 hours I was fearful it was a Mexican beer thing. Thank God it originated from exotic animal consumption…

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This virus’ situation sounds much like the beginnings of the Spanish Flu. Be safe, everyone.

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See, I still just really don’t get it. 56 dead out of 1975 cases. That’s 2.8%. Ebola is way way more than that. China quarnatines 56,000,000 people because 1975 people are sick with the flu. That’s .00352%.

I’m reading the articles and not just skimming them. Plus I’m reading INTO the articles and making sure they aren’t BS.

So it must be 1 of 2 things?

  1. Either there are way way more infected and dead then we are being told, or
  2. This virus is way way more deadly than we are being lead to believe.
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IMO…

Flu viruses claimed an estimated 61,000 deaths in the US from 2017 to 2018 (CDC). Related symptoms, such as dehydration, as well as complications such as severe inflammation and pneumonia are dangerous if not treated. Additionally, those with compromised immune systems, i.e. elderly, cancer patients, etc. might be at a higher risk of longer infection times, thereby increasing the risk of complications.

Like any infections, it is advised that you speak with your doctor when you feel sick, and AGAIN if the conditions persist or worsen. When I was younger, I went to the ER for what they said was a cold, and was released. I went back later, and they found I had pneumonia and gave me the proper treatment.

If you study or have experienced the living conditions in some of these countries, as well as access to medical care, treatment options, personal hygiene, cultural traditions, etc. it’s not that surprising when an outbreak of something like the flu becomes an issue.

Personally, I’m worried more about the bacteria that was resistant to all forms of antibiotics that started popping up in China a couple years ago (with the mcr-1 Gene). The news seemed to drop that story quickly.

IMO, the best source for updates on the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is the CDC website.

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@Patrick47 Exotic animal consumption?

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Taken from several sources:

Chinese scientists say the latest coronavirus outbreak appears to have spread from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the central city of Wuhan. Despite its name, the market was selling a huge variety of wild animals for consumption, including live cats and dogs, turtles, snakes, rats, hedgehogs and marmots.

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@Patrick47 I wrote a ZA book about the NKs kicking off a new virus by eating Racoon Dogs…

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While not being alarmist, I never really understood the issues with the flu.

Then I read “ The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.”

A fascinating book that really goes into how and why the actual flu, and not what people complain about when they get a bad cold, can be so deadly.

The doctors try and get the vaccines to work,but if they don’t, and the flu is virulent, the results may be catastrophic.

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It’s still a above the fold! I really just don’t get it. Driving a car is more dangerous and has more fatalities every year. Same with living in Chicago or Baltimore.

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We were just talking about the Coronavirus with one of our team who works remotely and flew in the for the week. He’s sick… We’re debating quarantining him. (Not really, he’s just got a cold.)

True.

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Well, if he does have it there is a 1.4% chance he will die from it.

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That may true. However, when you get in a car, you know you are in a car. When you contract a virus, you don’t know it right away. Ergo, it can be more dangerous overall - you can pass it along to others before you know you are sick. That’s how a tiny % of a large population that gets sick and possibly dies can blossom into a large absolute number. If 100,000,000 were exposed to the corona virus, that would be devastating. We still don’t know the extent of the problem. We’re probably not getting accurate information out of China.

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The flu only kills the weak ones!

The dirty air in Beijing China probably kills or harms more people…

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Just a side note about hand sanitizers if you use them:
FDA sends hand sanitizer brand Purell strict warning

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So, starting tomorrow there are now some restrictions here in the US.
Any new thoughts?
It still seems to spread very fast but is not overly lethal.

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Trying to keep this in context with flus in general, it is healthcare and CDC’s responsibility to make the public aware of the increased potential for exposure and to reduce the spread.

On the flip side, IIRC, the problems and fatalities from these outbreaks are usually caused by something else, like dehydration (caused by an infected person not knowing to drink enough water when feeling sick), and different infections that happen (like pneumonia) that people don’t know to get treatment for. In some communities around the world, sitting all together, living in one room, sharing food and food containers, etc. is common and increases the infection rate.

Similarly, many places in the world don’t have hospitals, or use Western medicines, and don’t have the same hygiene standards as other areas/communities. These areas are high risk, as not getting medical attention when sick or continuing with normal daily activities can reduce recovery times and increase the risk of the iIlness spreading.

For most of the US, if you are an adult with a normal immune system, any detrimental affects may just result in feeling sick, calling in sick, getting rest, and going to the doctor (as many times as necessary) until you feel better. Pretty much what one would do for any illness.

However, IMO, the increased awareness and warnings are really for people with reduced immunity. This includes the elderly, cancer treatment patients, HIV patients, babies, etc. Babies in particular cannot intelligently describe their needs to those around them, and needed care, monitoring, and treatment could be significantly delayed if they were to contract anything. Also, homeless areas might have greater risk of spreading disease and other issues because of the disconnect of sanitary conditions and limitations on medical care (including self imposed reductions in medical care).

If you are one of those with increased risk as stated above, it is important to be very vigilant on monitoring your health, washing your hands, limiting you exposure to large public events temporarily, and communicate with your doctor whenever you feel the signs and symptoms of a viral infection:
2019 Novel Coronavirus Symptoms

Edit: I guess I should add, that another high risk situation is people having surgery (as in currently being under the knife) and recovering from surgery…

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