A Flu Pandemic?

Pedrito writes "Scientific American is running a story in this month's issue about preparing for a flu pandemic. What this article tries to convey is that a pandemic is definitely coming. Whether it's from the H5N1 strain (which would likely cause hundreds of millions of deaths) or another strain a few years down the road. There have been 3 other flu pandemics in the past 100 years. The 1918 strain being the worst, with 40 million killed. The reason H5N1 is being followed so closely is because it's already spread to people and because it's incredibly lethal (a roughly 50% fatality rate at th moment). Even if the fatality rate dropped to 5% when and if it mutates into an easily communicable form, it would be twice as deadly as the 1918 virus."

It's Captain Tripps!

[DurendalMac]

Randall Flagg is cackling with glee right now. His plan as almost borne fruit. I'm stocking up on Nozz-a-la and heading for the hills. Who's with me?

Re:It's Captain Tripps!

[Anonymous Coward]

M-O-O-N. This spells first post.

Infect al Quaida

[Anonymous Coward]

Make sure those bastards get infected.

A haven't heard anything about this!

[Anonymous Coward]

As I've been living in a cave with a sneezing chicken. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Slashdot.

Re:It's Captain Tripps!

[BattleCat]

Laws, yes ! Tom Cullen likes first posts ! But...

Damn

[Anonymous Coward]

Better save up some sick days. Wish I hadn't already 'had the flu' twice this year.

Re:Sensationalist Journalism?

[BushCheney08]

It's probably been fourteen years since I've had the clue.

Ummm...Not gonna comment on that one... : p

Re:Causing Panic

[Hogwash McFly]

Today's good news:

Boy Crosses Road Unharmed
Apartment Building Completed On Time And On Budget
A Man Loves His Wife And Tells Her Of That Fact
Ice Cream Is Enjoyed By Many
Zero Asteroids Hit Earth

I hope that makes you feel better about humanity.

Little bird, little bird

[0xC0FFEE]

I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window
And in-flu-enza.

Stolen from: http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/uda/ [stanford.edu]

Re:It's Captain Tripps!

[mookie t mookle]

M.O.O.N, that spells 'I'm right behind you!'

It's ok, I know for a fact the virus won't evolve

[Anonymous Coward]

The Kansas Board of Education told me so.

Re:Sensationalist Journalism?

[Simon Garlick]

I don't see what everyone is worried about. Everyone knows that organisms don't change from one form to another, so there's no risk of a human-transmissible strain.

THIS MESSAGE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE KANSAS EDUCATION SYSTEM

Don't worry

[Trikenstein]

Quasiman will save us!
And do it with a vacant stare, and a line of drool hanging from his chin, and a good 30% of his brain phased into some other reality.

Re:Pandemic

[truckaxle]

Ok. Am I the only one, having a somewhat weak immune system, that is not in the least bit worried about a pandemic? ....

Re:There's is a reason

[Anonymous Coward]

No matter what, an important question remains: Should I buy stock in chicken soup?

Re: try giving some proof

[Anonymous Coward]

>It's wrong.

Wow. All those caps, a long quote and then a two word opinion. Try giving us some proof; otherwise, you're just another crackpot spouting his opinion.

p.s. Yes, it's a tad ironic that I'm doing almost exactly what I'm telling you not to do.

p.s.s. Don't use ALL-CAPS subjects. It's like yelling!!! :-)

Re:Discovery Channel

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you hear about the H2G2 variant? It was mostly harmless. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Re:So why is Tamiflu withdrawn from customers?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you see what happened when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans? That only proves the parent poster's point. Free markets are far less bureaucratic than governments are.

And let's all thank the good people at Sears and Dell for the way they handled the evacuation. Don't know what we would have done without them.

There are some places where free markets don't do any good for anybody.

Re:Offtopic?!? Hey Mods, B-O-O-K that spells book!

['nother poster]

OMG, recycled plots? No author would stoop that low. They are artists, and every word comes from their tortured soul. They suffer for their art. They... Huh, what? I can make another 5 Mil if I crank out more of the same? Ok. Give me two weeks. There's a lot that will require more than a quick global find and replace.

Re:Sensationalist Journalism?

[vertinox]

Imaging the economic effects of a spreading flu that was lethal - people would quit going to work, you could see much commerce grinding to a halt.

Then again it might induce a virtual society in which everyone works from home and interacts through only through the internet.

Kind of depressing though... Oh wait...