21 New Cases Of Influenza 2009 In Pattaya

[Jingthing]

If -- and that is a big IF -- this virus would mutate to a much more deadly flu like in 1918, it would have been probably best to have been infected in the first and much less dangerous wave already, as the body then has antibodies. Just a thought.

That's controversial, but I think it is probably true. The current version isn't that bad, though it will still kill some people. As far as mutation, it doesn't have to be as bad a bug as 1918 to still mutate into a relatively more serious virus.

Of course, a vaccine may be on the way. If so, here in Thailand, the questions would be will it be the right one for Thailand and will it be available to everyone who wants it.

Edited June 12, 2009 by Jingthing

[TAWP]

So what you are saying is that anyone that survives it on their own are unhealthy slobs and should be put down for the long-term benefit of mankind?

It does however sound like a 'fun' headline for the news to run..."being healthy can kill you"!

[warfie]

Bloody Farangs coming here with your desease and destroying our tourists inductry.

I'm not going to insult you because it is probably against the rules of this esteemed Forum, but I deeply despise you and your unfathomable ignorance.

Its been said some people cant detect sarcasm..

sar·chasm ('sär-"ka-z&m) n: The gulf which exists between the wit of a joke and the person who doesn't get it.

[warfie]

Bloody Farangs coming here with your desease and destroying our tourists inductry.

THE FARANGS DIDN'T DESTROY YOUR TOURIST INDUSTRY, THEY MADE YOUR TOURIST INDUSTRY!!! You destroyed it by yourselfs, by being greedy for money, treating many tourists badly, CORRUPT POLICE and RACIST against them, plus all the problems made by your RED and YELLOW shirts these are the facts, NOT FLU.

So dont try passing the blame, when you have only yourselves to blame and your problems are far from over they are just starting best of luck.

AMAZING THAILAND, VERY TRUE!!!

PS, Remember that you are not the only country with sun, sea, sand and cheep prices, not that Thailand is that cheep anymore there are many places much cheeper nearby I dont think I need to name them.

I have lived in Thailand for 20 years so I think I know what I am talking about, but know I am thinking of leaving the LAND OF FALSE SMILES!!!

20 years in Thailand with no detectable sense of humour... impossible!

[WhalerJoe]

what is the symtoms of swine flu...

Edited June 12, 2009 by WhalerJoe

[bkkjames]

what is the symtoms of swine flu...

Not to make light of the seriousness of the situation, but I had a quick look at the diagram. If I went to the Doctor every time I had any of those symptoms....

that being said, I felt like shit for 4 days last week, fever, headache, sore throat ....no fever now, but a bit of a headache.

what should I do... leave the office now and head to the pub or go straight home?

[maimeepom]

No need to cancel your holiday . Do not forget that most countries allready have more then a few cases and probably also the country where you come from . It is not HIV or Hepatitis where there is a lot more infections from in Pattaya and is more dangerous . Get real and do not let the media make you scared . Yes you need to take care , same like with every flu but at the moment it is not a dangerous form .

Re The wearing of protective masks

Masks are fine, as long they are changed reguarly. Maximum wear 3 hours.

[barryofthailand]

This is terrible news............OMB............I will be in Pattaya in 5 weeks. I hope the place isnt deserted. Oh and Ive had the fluvacs this year, then got the flu 2 days later and spend a week off work.

Best to cancel your trip until maybe next year, when hopefully this whole thing will pass. It would be highly recommended not to be kissing anyone of the opposite sex working in Bangkok, or Pattaya, as this thing has started to spread rapidly in these two provinces of Thailand.

Barry

[chiang mai]

No need to cancel your holiday . Do not forget that most countries allready have more then a few cases and probably also the country where you come from . It is not HIV or Hepatitis where there is a lot more infections from in Pattaya and is more dangerous . Get real and do not let the media make you scared . Yes you need to take care , same like with every flu but at the moment it is not a dangerous form .

Re The wearing of protective masks

Masks are fine, as long they are changed reguarly. Maximum wear 3 hours.

So that's eight masks per day times thirty days, times thirty baht each for say six months, figure on Baht 44k for this project plus another 150k in six months time for plastic surgery to remove the permanent lines in your face caused by the masks, Baht 200k all in. Nah, I reckon I'll just get sick for a week or so.

[M8FYU]

W H O C A R E S ?

[guyinthailand]

1,000 paralyzed from swine-flu vaccine

see below for why the current excitement over 'swine flu' is just the latest in a long line of scare- mongering from the virus-hunters. Amazing how they can cry “Wolf!” over and over and still people believe them. Disease happens in a context and if your immune system is compromised because you are malnourished and/or living in a toxic environment--as many of the people in 2nd and third world are--then it much easier to get sick from microbes.

If people want to worry then worry about the toxic air, water and food, especially in places like Thailand where environmental laws are practically non-existent and where I read that 16 environmentalists were murdered in recent years and where none of the murders were ever solved.

“The swine flu fiasco of 1976 is an example of the damage that can be done from fear of a mutated virus that can theoretically affect us. More than 1,000 cases of paralysis occurred from a rushed vaccine given to more than 40 million people in response to a pandemic that never came.

“Why provoke the public to see a potential pandemic in end-of-the-world terms? A pandemic simply means people in several areas having a disease at the same time -- but it may be hundreds rather than millions. The last flu pandemic, in 1968, killed 33,800 Americans, which is about the flu's toll in an average year. We don't need to panic in advance for that kind of pandemic.

“Cooking poultry kills any flu 100 percent of the time, yet the fear of H5N1 bird flu is already so out of control in Europe that 46 countries have banned French poultry exports after a single turkey was found to be infected. France, fourth in the world in poultry exports, is already hemorrhaging more than $40 million a month.

“Imagine what would happen if a bird in the United States gets H5N1 bird flu. At the rate we are going, the fear of birds will be so great that our own poultry industry, number one in the world, is likely to be in shambles. We already have this problem with mad cow disease, where a single sick cow that is not even in the food chain makes people very nervous, despite the fact that it is almost impossible to get mad cow disease from eating beef.

“Flu is worthy of our concern. But concern can lead to long term preparation whereas panic can be far more virulent and costly than the bird flu itself.”

Dr. Marc Siegel, associate professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine, is author of ''False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear."

Excerpts from: The cost of bird flu hysteria, March 17, 2006

MARC SIEGEL, M.D. © Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

Dear Jim,

The reason why the Flu was so successful in 1918 was primarily the "terrain", namely the millions of immuno-deficient hosts and hostesses starved and stressed by 4 years of war.

Secondarily, one can speculate that the 1918 flu strain may also have been a "new" recombinant to the 1918 population and thus more successful than a more established seasonal strain may have been. As I found in 1968, flu, unlike practically all other animal viruses, has multiple RNA segments, equivalent to multiple chromosomes and thus can readily form new recombinants - the reason why we have seasonal flus, but have measles, mumps, polio, pox etc. only once in a lifetime.

Thirdly, the odds that the Centers for Disease Control alias World Health Organization ever predicts an epidemic prior to its arrival are not good: They have predicted in past several years numerous epidemics or "pandemics" such as the flu, the hanta-virus, anthrax, the rotavirus, the Ebola virus, the West Nile virus, "mad cow" epidemic, the Sars-virus epidemic, an epi-pandemic of "random, eg. heterosexual non-drug user-AIDS" - but none of these ever materialized (see, Inventing the AIDS Virus, Regnery publishing, Washington DC, 1996). The last one that came close to an epidemic was polio in the 1950s and that was not predicted by American public health scientists.

Fourth, the currently hyped prospective Flu pandemic has long missed its chances. It has been hyped almost daily in the San Francisco Chronicle since November. But all that happened was a dead chicken in Nigeria, a hamster in Germany, two sick (dead?) kids in Turkey, a euthanized swan in Sweden, several dead or euthanized chicken in Iraq (Yes Iraq!!) etc. That is not the pattern of a potential killer microbe. All "new" killer viral or microbial epidemics of the past have spread exponentially within weeks to months and then declined exponentially owing to the induction of immunity or death of susceptible hosts - take Albert Camus' "Plague" as a classical example.

The current Flu propaganda is thus a mix of ignorance and self-interest and an exploitation of general ignorance by the CDC, WHO, the vaccine, pill and test-kit manufacturers of our universities and pharma companies, and of our "science" journalists, who need to fill their daily columns - and must sell their aging vaccine stocks before they decompose and their Tamiflu pills before the summer.

But despite hyping in dozens of microbial Godots - no Godot has come since polio.

People are just too well nourished these days, and thus have optimally maintained immune systems, for microbes to attack more than just the fringes of the ever growing human herd. That in fact is their historical share. The 150 million+ Flu pandemics are hype for fund raising by the ever more costly science/health armies in search for real enemies. Their success is based on the invisible monsters of the microbial epidemics of the times, when nutrition lacked vitamines, proteins and sanitation or was lacking all together - and on the never failing microbial and viral horror phantasies of our science writers, politicians and Hollywood producers.

And now I have given you a lecture, although I had intended to feed you just a few convenient lines...

Hope you like it and don’t mind that I cc it several colleagues who have asked but didn't get a good answer, because I was too "busy" to write.

Regards,

Peter

(Peter H. Duesberg, Ph.D. is a professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and is the author of the book, “Inventing the AIDS Virus”).

[chiang mai]

W H O C A R E S ?

ABOUT?

[Texpat]

The world health organization reminds me of my grandmother.

She was born in 1919. She started dying about 1980. She's still with us and could probably beat me in a 100-yard dash, arm-wrestle me for a shot of Jack Daniels and out-cuss a sailor.

After a few decades, I just started tuning out all the gripes and moans. Someday she'll pass along. So will I and so will you.

Edited June 12, 2009 by Texpat

[OldgitTom]

"The reason why the Flu was so successful in 1918 was primarily the "terrain", namely the millions of immuno-deficient hosts and hostesses starved and stressed by 4 years of war."

"Regards, Peter (Peter H. Duesberg, Ph.D. is a professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and is the author of the book, “Inventing the AIDS Virus”)."

A very useful post It proves you don't need to be an ignorant redneck to talk rubbish, you can be a highly qualified ignoramus. Eg., '4 years of war': the US troops who died in droves in 1918 only entered hostilities in later 1917, & the Euro war finished in 1918.

Far from immuno-deficit, most were, young, strapping fit & well-nourished. A troop ship arrived in Europe where many of the dead were still in their bunks - not enough able-bodied left to bury them at sea. According to latest thinking, the flu virus strain turned their efficient defence mechanisms against the victims, often killing the poor devils in the space of one day.

So you just don't care if you live or die? Your privilege, I'm sure I don't either. But please don't disseminate falsehoods. Old Git Tom

[animatic]

Odds are pretty good that LOTS of us reading this are going to get this, either in the first wave or later waves.

The announcement essentially warns WHO's 194 member nations to expect the arrival of the new flu strain, which is likely to infect up to one-third of the population in the first wave and return in later waves over the next several years.

Washington Post

If -- and that is a big IF -- this virus would mutate to a much more deadly flu like in 1918, it would have been probably best to have been infected in the first and much less dangerous wave already, as the body then has antibodies. Just a thought.

That is a real consideration.

But not so good for that 0.5~% that die in wave one of course...

Having just been through Dengue fever, I don't want ANYTHING at the moment.

[Bagwan]

The alarm that this strain of influenza has generated brought to mind a conversation I had with a doctor at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital after my annual checkup a few years back.

Do you smoke?

Yes. I have done so for 58 years.

How many cigarettes per day?

About 20.

You shouldn't smoke. It is dangerous.

So I've been told many times by doctors. They're all dead now and I'm still here. Perhaps you have signed your own death warrant?

But smoking is dangerous.

And you've just told me that I am in perfect shape and have the condition of one 15 to 20 years younger. Listen doc. I have driven 8 kilometres along Sukhumvit Road on a motor bike to get here. When I leave I'll drive 8 kilometres back home. THAT IS DANGEROUS! Do that for every day for 58 years and see what your survival chances are.

You are very funny.

I'm being bloody serious!!!

Survive swine flu and an 18 wheel truck will get you. You've got to go sometime. Just after Rochdale win the FA Cup will do for me.

[NanLaew]

Funny how the Star Dice Disco was instantly discounted by our esteemed farang disco hopper as not popular with tourists, just because it's frequented by Asian (non-farang) tourists.

Also strange that some 'local' clubs chose to ban farangs (non-Asians) for a few days because of this flu outbreak.

I really can't tell which of these opinions and attitudes is more steeped in ignorance.

[dangersnake]

i'm going to bangkok trip on AUG , dont know what to do.. should i cancel my trip or not.. but lets see. more careful

I'd cancel the trip. Its not worth the risk. I doubt the country ur coming from will have problems with this virus?

if you doubt to coming here because of the swine flu better cancel your trip..

[animatic]

1,000 cases of paralysis occurred from a rushed vaccine given to more than 40 million people

Lets see that's a '40,000 to 1' chance of getting a bad reaction causing paralysis.

Not taking the hypothetical vacine.

40,000,000 x 0.5 = 200,000 dead of A(H1N1) if not treated.

40,000,000 / 200,000 = 200 to 1 chance of dieing

Is my math right?

Hmmm, which way do those odds look better?

201 cases of A(H1N1) in Thailand today

Heart Disease odds: 1-in-5

- Take a 81 mg aspirin daily, eat healthy foods, exercise in moderation.

Cancer odds: 1-in-7

- Don't smoke, drink purified water, avoid living near or around chemical plants.

Stroke odds: 1-in-23

- Take a 81 mg aspirin daily, eat healthy foods. Don't have long discussions with people who disagree with you politically.

Accidental Injury odds: 1-in-36

- Don't do anything, ever. Sit in a non-folding chair.

Motor Vehicle Accident odds: 1-in-100

- Stay away from moving cars, airplanes and other motorized vehicles.

Intentional Self-harm (suicide) odds: 1-in-121

- Talk to someone, a professional, not a peer.

Falling Down odds: 1-in-246

- Stay in a chair, or lie on the ground.

Assault by Firearm odds: 1-in-325

- Stay away from guns, and keep people with guns 400 or more yards away from you.

Stay five miles or more away from tanks, or stay right inside of the tank.

Fire or Smoke odds: 1-in-1,116

- Avoid being near paper, wood and flammable things.

Natural Forces odds: 1-in-3,357

- Avoid places effected by weather.

Electrocution (accidental) odds: 1-in-5,000

- Use only low level kinetic or mechanical energy products.

Drowning odds: 1-in-8,942

- Stay away from water, don't look up open-mouthed when it is raining.

Air Travel Accident odds: 1-in-20,000

- Don't go on airplanes, continually check the sky for incoming aircraft.

Flood odds: 1-in-30,000

- Live on a mountain, or on the "other side" of river flow.

Legal Execution odds: 1-in-58,618

- Don't kill anyone while committing a crime, even accidentally.

Tornado odds: 1-in-60,000

- First off, NO TRAILER PARKS. Living in a big city,

or wearing a PopCultureMadness.com "Anti-Tornado" T-shirt seems to offer protection.

Lightning Strike odds: 1-in-83,930

- Stay indoors, be grounded, or live in your car.

Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting odds: 1-in-100,000

- Body armour works, also: venomous creatures don't like the cold either.

Earthquake odds: 1-in-131,890

- Life in a hot air balloon can be fun.

Dog Attack odds: 1-in-147,717

- Having a well trained and well fed dog for yourself offers reasonable protection.

Make sure he/she likes you, however.

Asteroid or Meteor Impact odds: 1-in-500,000

- We have found that anyone wearing a Pop Culture Madness.com

"Asteroid Protection" T-Shirt has never been struck by an asteroid.

Tsunami 1-in-500,000

- "Anti Tsunami" T-shirts are not effective.

Living on or near a mountain, or even deep under the sea offers reasonable protection.

Fireworks Discharge odds: 1-in-615,488

- This one is easy, and just four words:

Armored asbestos body suit

SOURCES: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC; American Cancer Society;

National Safety Council; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies;

World Health Organization; USGS; Clark Chapman, SwRI; David Morrison, NASA; Michael Paine,

Planetary Society Australian Volunteers

Edited June 15, 2009 by animatic

[marsteele]

We now have one confirmed case in Chiangmai A Thai national who has just returned from a study trip in the USA. Was informed by a local doctor here.

[cyborg22]

1,000 cases of paralysis occurred from a rushed vaccine given to more than 40 million people

Flood odds: 1-in-30,000

- Live on a mountain, or on the "other side" of river flow.

Animatic you forgot to include the odds of falling off a mountain.

Or is that included in the falling down odds?

Edited June 16, 2009 by cyborg22

[cyborg22]

Thought you might like a bit of a laugh.

[animatic]

Had that for a bit so far, it IS very funny.

They missed bathroom accidents and such also.

I figure I have a better chance dieing on Koh Samui on the motorcycle

than most ALL those listed causes....

[sezze]

Had that for a bit so far, it IS very funny.

They missed bathroom accidents and such also.

I figure I have a better chance dieing on Koh Samui on the motorcycle

than most ALL those listed causes....

Chances of death on motorbike on Samui ... hmm well pretty high . Chances of death from swine flu or better Mexican flu ( swine flu gave people the strange idea you get it from eating pig ) probably close to 0 . All deaths on this moment are people with severe health problems allready .

So , what's the symptoms ... same like normal flu , it's flu ... and for the moment not a strong 1 either . It can be potentially dangerous , but that chance of evolving in something very dangerous is close to 0 also . If however you get in contact with it now .. your body makes antibodies ... nice , very nice . worst case scenario :

1 this flu becomes a very deathly , before vaccine is made .

2A you haven't been in contact with this type of virus so you get sick very fast and your body still needs to make antibodies . Chances of being killed are very much possible .

2B : the option i prefer above 2A , i've been in contact with it and been mildly sick because the virus was weak , and i still am a young and healthy guy . i come in contact with the deathly variant and because having a previous infection with the mild virus my body still got antibodies and recognises it and kills the virus before i get very sick .

Why don't they infect everybody right now ... well same like with every other disease , you do not want to kill people b4 having a vaccin . That is exactly whata vaccin is . A very weak form of the same viral strain , so your body has no problem of killing it and recognising it when the strong form comes along .

[cyborg22]

Chances of death on motorbike on Samui ... hmm well pretty high . Chances of death from swine flu or better Mexican flu ( swine flu gave people the strange idea you get it from eating pig ) probably close to 0 . All deaths on this moment are people with severe health problems allready .

So , what's the symptoms ... same like normal flu , it's flu ... and for the moment not a strong 1 either . It can be potentially dangerous , but that chance of evolving in something very dangerous is close to 0 also . If however you get in contact with it now .. your body makes antibodies ... nice , very nice . worst case scenario :

1 this flu becomes a very deathly , before vaccine is made .

2A you haven't been in contact with this type of virus so you get sick very fast and your body still needs to make antibodies . Chances of being killed are very much possible .

2B : the option i prefer above 2A , i've been in contact with it and been mildly sick because the virus was weak , and i still am a young and healthy guy . i come in contact with the deathly variant and because having a previous infection with the mild virus my body still got antibodies and recognises it and kills the virus before i get very sick .

Why don't they infect everybody right now ... well same like with every other disease , you do not want to kill people b4 having a vaccin . That is exactly whata vaccin is . A very weak form of the same viral strain , so your body has no problem of killing it and recognising it when the strong form comes along .

Did you stop to think before you made that post?

when a virus mutates it takes on a different form to it's earlier form, Therefore your bodies immune system will not recognise it as you incorrectly stated. If what you stated was true then flu would be extinct

Edited June 18, 2009 by cyborg22

[Nam Plah]

The worry about this particular "novel" flu virus (H1N1) at pandemic levels in LOS is the fact that nearly 1.5% of the country's population is immuno-compromised due to HIV infection.

The availability of cheap over-the-counter antibiotics has also encouraged drug resistant strains of bacterial infections to proliferate (MRSA) due to improper dosage and incomplete administration terms of the medications.

The combined effect is a public health environment rife for serious illness associated with an influenza outbreak.

These issues add fuel to a potentially devastating communicable disease which otherwise might be nothing more than a nuisance.

[cigarchuck]

Bloody Farangs coming here with your desease and destroying our tourists inductry.

We're destroying the tourist industry which we created!

Everybody knows that the swine flu started in Mexico and crossed the border into the US. The first two cases of swine flu in Thailand were two thai's returning to thailand from the US. I have not seen any reports of deaths in Thailand. Have there been any in Asia?

[cyborg22]

Everybody knows that the swine flu started in Mexico and crossed the border into the US. The first two cases of swine flu in Thailand were two thai's returning to thailand from the US. I have not seen any reports of deaths in Thailand. Have there been any in Asia?

This has the information you require.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic

[Carib]

A Pandemic indicates if " something" is spreading over the world.

The level if that happens is indicated by a number.

Level 6 tells us that it has spread the world over.

It is NOT an indication of " something" ( swine flu in this case) being deadly or not.

That is where a lot of people go wrong.

[cyborg22]

A Pandemic indicates if " something" is spreading over the world.

The level if that happens is indicated by a number.

Level 6 tells us that it has spread the world over.

It is NOT an indication of " something" ( swine flu in this case) being deadly or not.

That is where a lot of people go wrong.

That is true, At this moment in time swine flu is only deadly or should i say can be deadly. Where somewhat poor health or health care is evident. Swine flu may or may not become more deadly ( there are no hard and fast rules as to what it will mutate into) when it mutates which it most certainly will at sometime. Be it 6 months or a few years into the future.