Swine Flu - General Discussion and how it affects Disney

[ms mouse]

If you go I would drive. Airplanes are cestpools for viruses just a thought

I agree, if you get to the world and become ill, you are stuck, you wont be able to get back on a airplane to get home. I would want my car if at all possibile.

 

[praline3001]

I don't see why that matter's , if someone has the swine flu they have it , if they don't they don't. They might not be sending in the samples because they already know what the strain looks like. Sending in 1000 of the same thing isn't going to change anything. The labs in the city's people are going to can test them them self.

just my option. i really dont think this is that big of a deal, the media always makes things seem worse then they are, The stock market is up again so now they need something new to talk about, you cant stop living your life because of a flu, now it if was a flesh eating virus they id see people being worried but more people die from the regular flu a year then a lot of other things....

That's my whole point. No, I am not scared over the flu BUT WHAT DOES SCARE ME are these policies. Think of this as a test and they are failing big time. Had this been an ACTUAL flesh eating flu they would be following the same set of procedures.

I am totally amazed that people are counting on the government to give them the best advice about their health. By the time a flu case is confirmed, about a week has passed. The numbers we are being given are meaningless, since they are so old. The Orange County, FL health director was quoted in the Orlando paper. He said to act as if the flu was in the area and it could be assumed that it was. Results that were to be announced yesterday were put off until today, after they had a meeting. While I agree there is no need to panic about this, much is still unknown and some concern should be shown. Do you really think that Central Florida is going to advertise they have a confirmed case of swine flu? It all comes down to money!

no need to say more! Granted this is just the flu but if it were a flesh eating flu more people would be asking the same questions we are and pin pointing the problems with the current system.
In times of pandemics the choice of testing and informing the public needs to be taken out of the hands of the local leaders and placed at the Fed level.

Oh my...

the thread exploded.

thanks for merging them!

I know Now I am totally lost

IMO its a bunch of media hyped chicken little approach much like the past avian flu scare the media perpetrated. News is fine, hype thats just vomit.

I am not disagreeing with you BUT you might want to see this map.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109496610648025582911.0004686892fbefe515012&ll=26.115986,-9.140625&spn=144.408712,283.007813&t=p&z=2

 

[Toad_Passenger]

CNN.com has a live feed of an emergency House of Representatives hearing about the swine flu. If anyone is interested in tuning in.

I've found these hearings to be a great source of information. In fact one of the health officials (CDC, I believe) just stated that they do not see any reason why these would be as bad as 1918. She said that due to the anti-viral medications, as well as antibiotics which treat the secondary infections we are much better prepared to avoid what happened in 1918.

 

[lenshanem]

The CDC has now confirmed a case in my state of Georgia.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I would be interested in reading this...do you have a link? Is this something I have already read? I am confusing myself!

Here's the link to the letter (it is in .pdf format):

Comal County Letter to Residents

 

[Toad_Passenger]

The CDC has now confirmed a case in my state of Georgia.

Do you have a link for this? They must have learned of it after 10:30 am, because they don't show it as part of the morning updates on their website.

ETA: Nevermind I just found the information. It's a shame they didn't hold off on their update until they verified this, but they definitely confirmed it.

 

[praline3001]

The CDC has now confirmed a case in my state of Georgia.

Shan, do you have a source link? The reason I am asking is there are no reports of them testing in Ga yet. I checked the CDC website and they don't have it up yet.

There is so many mixed reports and I am trying to find out if the different state confirmations VS CDC confirmations VS plain old TV rumor.

 

[praline3001]

OKKK

Everyone STOP~~~~~~ GO wash your hands, rinse your mouth with listerine ~ then come back and debate some more ~ this has been a DIS public message

 

[ms mouse]

I just want to clarify something from an earlier post about testing. All local labs can test for type A flu, but just because it is type A doesnt mean its swine flu. Local labs cannot test for swine flu specifically. This is why it is taking so long to confirm reports. Once the test is positive for Type A, the healthcare provider decides if the individual meets the criteria for sending it to one of 2 labs in the United States that can test for Swine Flu. They are not sending all positives because of the large number but there is a list of questions for the patient and if they answer yes to any of these, the test is sent out. It may take a week after the initial postitive to determine if it is swine flu. The reason many are considering all postitives as swine flu is that we are so late in the flu season it is unlikely to see "regular" flu. The CDC and WHO is only reporting postitive swine flu tests.

 

[arjones31]

The CDC has now confirmed a case in my state of Georgia.

Are you referring to the rumored case in LaGrange (fifteen minutes from me right across the AL/GA border, or the cases in south Georgia?? Our administration had meetings with the local EMA which stated those were suspected, but could not be confirmed until next week.... yet, we were all also handed big tubs of clorox wipes and cans of Lysol to disinfect our classrooms.

 

[lovemyguys]

BTW-a local high school here was closed yesterday because they had a band trip to WDW a week ago and between 16-18 of the 70 students have flu like symptoms. I think this has caused many of my concerns.

WOW! Well I have not gone through all the 50+ pages b/c before they were merged I was reading the different threads about this flu. I am sure that I missed a bunch of posts but wanted to put my thoughts out there. Again, these thoughts may have already been talked about and if they have just ignore my post.

We leave for WDW on May 30th. Of course we are hoping that by then things will either have stopped or that Disney will have a plan be for travelers that were supposed to be vacationing during this crazy time. But anyway that was not my point for posting.

I know some people are not concerned about getting sick and others are. But lets remember. This does not just hit tourists. What happens when workers at WDW start getting ill and can not come to work. Will you be upset if your room can not be cleaned everyday b/c they are short staffed. If the waits at Restaurants are loooong and service slow b/c they are under staffed? I understand that everyone feels and does what they think is best for their family but I hope if you travel to the World and service is not up to par b/c of a shortage of workers you do not come back mad and yelling about the waits, uncleaned rooms and slow service. You know that this is going around so hopefully IF alot of workers end up sick ~since they are there day in and day out being exposed~ you are understanding about the situation.

 

[CarolA]

Yet there have been reports of earlier reports of Swine coming back "regular" so.... the flu is still out there. It's late in the season, but it's actually "seasonless" just kind of less agressive at certain times.

The whole reporting system in the US is kind of screwed up. One of the ways the CDC tracks flu... prescription databases. So if you don't get a prescription then your "case" may never be reported.

 

[dizfan]

4 schools in Milwaukee WI have been closed indefinitely.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Interim Guidance on Case Definitions to be Used For Investigations of Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Cases*
April 30, 2009 10:00 AM ET

This document provides interim guidance for state and local health departments conducting investigations of human cases of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV). The following case definitions are for the purpose of investigations of suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of S-OIV infection.

Acute febrile respiratory illness is defined as a measured temperature 100 degrees Fahrenheit and recent onset of at least one of the following: rhinorrhea or nasal congestion, sore throat, or cough.

Case Definitions for Infection with Swine-origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus (S-OIV)
A confirmed case of S-OIV infection is defined as a person with an acute febrile respiratory illness with laboratory confirmed S-OIV infection at CDC by one or more of the following tests:

real-time RT-PCR
viral culture
A probable case of S-OIV infection is defined as a person with an acute febrile respiratory illness who is positive for influenza A, but negative for H1 and H3 by influenza RT-PCR

A suspected case of S-OIV infection is defined as a person with acute febrile respiratory illness with onset

within 7 days of close contact with a person who is a confirmed case of S-OIV infection, or
within 7 days of travel to community either within the United States or internationally where there are one or more confirmed cases of S-OIV infection, or
resides in a community where there are one or more confirmed cases of S-OIV infection.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Orange County officials are currently holding a press conference about the flu in Central Florida. There are still no "confirmed" cases, but the health officer there says they have it, and are going forwards as if it is already there.

 

[disneyfan55]

The CDC has now confirmed a case in my state of Georgia.

I didn't hear the whole update, but FOX just said that there is a case in GA. I think at 11:30 (EDT) there will an update. I think a lot of this is hype, but we all have to be careful about it. We will be in WDW on Sat for a week and hopefully all will be fine. We are leaving in a few hours (driving from NJ)

 

[Montclairmom]

Whatever happened to the confirmation of the case in Disney and why is it taking so long to reveal the results?

Umm. . . because Disney is doing its darndest to suppress this info, fearing a panic just like what is happening here.

Can you tell I'm a conspiracy theorist??

 

[edillen1]

I am leaving for disney in 2 days with my wife and daughter and we are flying. I have chosen not to have the "sheep" mentality and run with the herd out of fear. Maybe I will get the swine flu. If I cancel now and reschedule for later I might get cancer or struck by a car before I get to go.

I choose to live life in the now. Not in the what if of the future or woulda/shoulda of the past. Every moment is fleeting.

If locking yourself in your house and toiling over the waht ifs is what satisfies you deep down inside then great.

Just remember, politicians are where they are because they won popularity contests, not because they passed some rigorous test of their knowledge.

The media is a popularity contest too. Fear sells and very well.

 

[Brenle]

The information being put out there by news outlets (such as your article from Yahoo) does not appear to correspond with what the World Health Organization is posting because the WHO is looking at confirmed deaths while others are putting out suspected numbers. It makes it confusing for us all. Hopefully things will start to look up soon so that we can all go on our vacations worry-free! All the best.

Worry-free vacation sounds nice to me. I hope you have a great vacation, too.

 

[Disney Debbie]

Georgia has its first confirmed case of swine flu
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The state health chief said Thursday that Georgia has its first case of swine flu — in a 30-year-old woman from Kentucky who was visiting the state.

The woman, whom officials would not identify, is in a hospital in LaGrange in Troup County, said Elizabeth Ford, head of the state Division of Public Health.

“The 30-year-old woman was traveling in Georgia and has a history of traveling to Cancun,” Ford said. Cancun is a resort in Mexico.

She added, “We expect that we will have more cases.”

Swine flu has symptoms nearly identical to regular flu, including fever, cough and sore throat and spreads like regular flu through tiny particles in the air when people cough or sneeze.

People with flu symptoms are advised to stay at home, wash their hands and cover their sneezes.

Ford said there has been no discussion of closing schools in Troup County.

“I do not believe schools should be closed,” she said.

She said that the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that the swine flu is the same strain, H1N1, as has been detected in Mexico and which is spreading across the U.S.

She said the Kentucky woman left Cancun on April 21 and was hospitalized April 26. She was in Cancun for about a week.

“She was traveling with others, and they have been contacted, and they are well,” Ford said.

The woman came to Georgia for a function, she said.

Ford added, “I want to make sure we’re not setting off a storm of panic.”

The World Health Organization has raised its alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest, indicating a pandemic may be imminent.