Poll: Swine Flu contact

reply to post by wyleecoyote


maybe it has something to do with GM potatoes used in most fast food redtaurants as I read in another thread... It said scientists reported about this to Vladmir Putin yesterday and it would explain why its hitting harder in countries with bad food habits. (they named McDonald's specifically)

reply to post by Narciso


I don't think the source is very dependable (Sorsha), however it's something to think about. There has to be a reason that so many people in the states are being affected and other countries see very few and or very mild cases. I've heard that the flu negatively affects mostly overweight people and we all know that people in the US on average are mostly overweight.

I guess the next question should be to those who have had the flu, how many of them are at the recommended body weight or under.

Originally posted by zetabeam
let's try and get a feel for how many of us have really had ANY contact (in whatever form) with this Swine Flu.

That's impossible to say.
Many people have it and don't know it because they are not able to be tested.

Nice thought ... but it' can't be done.

reply to post by CultureD


The lack of traffic could also have to do with the economic slow down.

I'm not in the states but from what I'm seeing on ATS you are being far more affected by the flu than anyone else. It could be being under reported because the government doesn't want you to know that the rest of the world is for the most part pretty healthy and not being affected.

Which begs the question... Why only Americans in record numbers? Maybe it does have something to do with the amount of overweight people or maybe the food you eat?

Originally posted by CultureD
reply to post by Romanian

 

I posted earlier this spring that when I went to the doc for my annual physical, two people DIED in the office while I was there. I left quietly, but they wrote me a Tami script- haven't needed it, but there is no doubt this is highly contagious and far more lethal than reported.

Again- I mention (to the boredom, I'm sure, of posters who've read this a million times) that we live in Chicago- and to go from where we live to the city center- about 23-25 miles- usually takes 1.5-2.5 hours EACH WAY, even if it's not rush hour. Now, we can zip in and out of the city in 30 minutes, though there is construction, minimal lanes, etc. No one is on the roads. Are they sick or dead? Are they afraid of being sick or dead and not going to work? In this economy I can't believe people would abuse sick time.....

Would love to know what's happening elsewhere- physical, tangible observations to support the ridiculously under-reported news.

Which makes this Swine Flu all the more mysterious !

As you stated, your area appears to be significantly less active than normal and whether this is a direct consequence of many people either having the flu and not venturing out OR being afraid of venturing out in case they contract it. What are your regular local news services reporting ? Surely there must be media feedback ... even if only the traffic condition reporters ... to explain this period of unusually reduced community activity ?

And yet here in Adelaide, it's business as normal ... no visible reduction of normal activity or people on the streets ... and no sign from my point of view of anyone with the symptoms of Swine Flu.

So how to account for the disparity in our respective observations ? Beats me ....

For those that keep saying this is being over hyped and just like any other flu....you might want to look at the influenza records kept by NYC for example. You can look back many many years and won't see people dying anywhere close to these numbers from flu in June. And the age group it is killing is also not like the normal flu.

There were a lot of sick people here in Vancouver with it, I'm not sure if it's slowing down here or not. I'm pretty sure I had it at the end of April.

[edit on 19-6-2009 by phoenixs1]

[edit on 19-6-2009 by phoenixs1]

Tarrant County Texas gives a good breakdown of what is going on in the county as well as the rest of the US. A good reference as of May30.
Tarrant County Health Dept

[edit on 19-6-2009 by liveandlearn]

reply to post by Sundancer


I agree completely about the US being hit so hard. We have a frighteningly high obesity rate; everyone eats processed food; we have the monsters of GMO produces, like Monsanto, Cargill, etc., and people in the US tend to take more unneccesary pharma drugs than any other nation.

www.cnsnews.com...

This article cites those very topics.

I'm certain that those of us who eat well, exercise, take of our bodies, will be less resistant to ANY infection.

And, you're also correct about what the MSM is telling us. We've gone up to nearly 90 reported deaths- a week ago it was in the 30s. Either the rates are going up quickly or they're finally being reported...either way, I think they are under-reported, based on the grocery carts of garbage people are still buying here, and the level of illness around us.

It's really sad to type this, but it seems there's a bit of Darwinian selection happening here- the outlyers, being of course, those who are ill and dying but otherwise healthy- soldiers in great shape, kids who actually ride their bikes to school, etc. I hope this is a big eye-opener for the US, because, flu or no flu, there's simply NO reason humans should weigh 400 pounds. It's sad and frankly, frustrating and maddening that they pay the same insurance premiums that I do at 5'5" and 120 pounds.......

[edit on 20-6-2009 by CultureD]

My next door neighbor's kids have just been quarenteened after someone in their school has been diagnosed with swine flu. This is in oxfordshire uk. i'll be keeping an eye on these kids, if i see them make one step out of their front door, I may be forced to train my catapult on them until they return to the quarenteened area

reply to post by Sundancer


Your point about he economy re: traffic is a good one; however a 10% unemployment rate in Illinois can't account for a nearly 50% or more reduction in traffic.

The CBOE (Chocago Board of Exchange) is up and running; the new Trump building is still being built; downtown Chicago is full of shoppers, etc. There ARE people out and about, working, going to hair salons, clubs, restaurants, etc. But it's literally half the normal amount. with the surrounding suburbs, we're at 15 million or so, and we live on a direct route to the City.
The majority of unemployment here (at least) is in the trades; white collar employment is still functioning and we're even bidding on the 2016 Olympics, which would cost Chicago billions. Where are the cars?

I'm not suggesting it's not a combo of both; merely that this is a HUGE metro area, and it's unsettling to be able to transverse it so easily...

reply to post by zetabeam


I WISH the local news would say something. Normally the morning traffic report is 10 minutes long, every 30 minutes, or so- now, it's just skimmed by- 15 minutes into the city on major highways that normally fill to 1.5 hours or more by 6 am.

I can't explain it, except to say it's really unsettling. The only news I find about my own city is from other cities. Even reports out of New York or Philadelphia- where ERs are overrun and deaths are happening quickly, report on Chicago deaths.

I found out about a most recent death about 5 miles from home- a 29-year old, healthy guy- by reading Bloomberg from NYC!!!!! Finally, about a day later the Chicago Tribune picked it up. It has not been mentioned on the local news.

Either many people are ill or dead, or the MSM has a gag order. Either way, it just tells me- from human observation- to buy more beans and bottled water...............

reply to post by zetabeam


I live in Maine USA, and I personally do not know anyone here that has the swine flu, as I don't know anyone in Maine. I do know from the news that there are now 44 confirmed cases in Maine, mostly around Portland and south and north of the city. 8 of those cases were from people who lived out of town. Sucks huh?

I'm from Kentucky, USA.

Three college-aged young men I work with came down with something in March or April...can't remember for sure which month it was. Both of them said they've never been so sick in their entire lives with the flu. Both of them said they had high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, and the rest of the flu symptoms. One guy, who's already a small fellow, said he lost 10 pounds during one week because he couldn't keep food down. The other guy said he lost weight too but I don't know how much. I don't know what caused their illness...whether it was a virus or bacteria. I don't much know about the third guy's illness...only that he had fever and had vomiting.

A fourth man I work with in his late 40s pretty much collapsed at work, and this happened the same month that the two college guys got sick. This man had a horrible cough, and he also lost weight. He's also very skinny. He was off work for over a week...said he had pneumonia.

A fifth man I work with in his early 40s (again back in March or April prior to news about swine flu) was fine one day at work. He told me later that he felt fine all day on Sunday while we were working, went home, and then suddenly developed a very high fever (102 or 103...can't remember for sure). He said he was also having problems breathing and developed a cough. He had to go to the emergency room that night. Within a two week period, I believe he told me he had to go to the hospital about 3 times. His cough never did seem to improve. He was fired about 2 weeks ago so I don't know how he is now, but from the time he got sick in the spring, he never seemed to recover...always coughing and feeling bad. He's normal weight. The only thing I know about his health is he has asthma. I don't know what they diagnosed him with.

A young lady I work with who's in her late 20's was sick for about 3 weeks, starting at the end of May. She was coughing a lot and said she had fever on and off that she could never get to go completely away. She said her energy has been down a lot, and she had other symptoms like sore throat and runny nose.

I have no idea if any of my co-workers were infected with H1N1, but they were all pretty sick.

[edit on 20-6-2009 by cornblossom]

I live in Columbus, OH and so far do not know anyone who has been sick. None of my co-workers or our frequent customers (I work in a store where most of our customers come in once every week or two weeks) have been sick.

As for the traffic in Chicago being strangely absent, I have to disagree. My husband and I took a trip there three weeks ago and there was TONS of traffic.

I did, however, get the flu in March and it was the worst one I have ever had. I could barely walk I was so weak. 2 other co-workers got the same thing and said it was just as bad. It seems like this flu has been around for much longer than we are being told.

reply to post by rhizomes


Rhizomes- You must have been here on a normal Chicago day! My husband is in and out of the City 3x/week- normally a 3 hour round trip- more if in rush hour- and e has been returning in an hour, hour and a half.

I've seen busy traffic days, to be sure- but the OVERALL picture here, traffic-wise is utterly bizarre. We have a major highway behind our house, leading to the main inlets to Chicago- and some morning we've sat and watched- literally counted cars going past at 8:30, 9 am, or 5:30, 6 pm. On a busy day- maybe 100 cars each time- when normally, it takes 20 minutes to go down our access road of about 4 miles/

My docs are 8 miles away or thereabouts- used to take me an hour to get to them. Now I get there in 10-15 minutes, regardless of the hour.

This has been going on since early May.

I'm not being paranoid- I merely began noticing as I have a neck injury and traffic kills me- now it's a breeze.

We also have a good friend who sold a downtown condo, moved in with his parents (in the 'burbs, near us); used to leave at 5 am for work downtown. Now he leaves at 7 to be there by 8 am. Big changes.

I'm NOT saying everyone's dead or sick- merely that a major metro area is changing a lot- and I've lived here since I was 10.

BTW-

Just down the road from my house are Dell Computers, Panasonic, FedEx, 3 major banks, a mall and about 4 major restaurants-- and many other large industrial campuses.

When I worked for one of them (last year) it would take me 20-30 minutes to go to work 3-4 miles away. The lots are relatively full at present, yet the traffic is nil to them (i.e., the traffic loading onto the higways to the city, which are about another 3 miles from the above sites).

reply to post by CultureD


CultureD - I'm really amazed (and shocked) that you're seeing such an incredible reduction in the number of people out and about in Chicago. What a contrast with the routineness that I see around me day to day here in Adelaide - even though we have (apparently) the 2nd highest number of confirmed cases here in Oz. Life goes on here the same as always.

If you're seeing such a reduced number of people on the highways, that makes me wonder if you're seeing anything out of the ordinary in your street and suburb ... less people about ? What about at your local shopping centres ... looking empty of people ? Anything unusual from your relatives or friends ? What about where you work ? Surely less people driving would be reflected in fewer people on the streets and stores ?

reply to post by zetabeam


Zeta-

I'm a scientist- about as objective as they come- I try to just watch and to not draw conclusions.

Our grocery stores are odd. There are prople there, but with two and three cart-laods of food (frozen, canned, etc)--without their children. Our gas stations are nearly empty. There are few people on the road.

The other side of our subdivision is a wetlands/bike trail normally full of people- it's empty.

The churches have lots that are 1/3 full at most on Sundays. I have a spinal injury and go to the pharmacy often- normally it takes 30 minutes to fill my meds- now- about 5 minutes--few else are waiting.

My husband does IT consulting and travels a lot (as I did before I was injured). He gets to places that would normally take an hour in 15-20 minutes.

My neighbors (we live on a cul-de-sac) DO NOT come outside, as they did.

The movie theatre is empty. Our local butcher (killer, organic, kosher meat) is generally a small slice of New York- now, 3 or 4 people are there.

Whole Foods, and other stores are half-full at best.

We were invited to a party a month ago and it was meant to be about 100 people- maybe 25 were there- the club afterwards was about 1/4 full.

It usually takes me 3 weeks to get into see my neurosurgeon: I can call and get a next-day appointment.

A few days ago my husband and I were freaked out enough to go out and COUNT CARS at rush hour. We usually plan on 1.5 hours MINIMUM to get into Chicaog (about 23 miles away). We can do it in 20 minutes if it's off-peak- 30-35 if it's rush hour-- we counted about 35 cars- normally the road is PACKED between 5 and 9 am, and again between 4 and 6pm.

I don't know what to think at all. AGAIN- I'm not saying people are sick or dead, but with all of the major corporations here; the young population; the proximity to the city- it's not right.

We were at my mother's a few days ago- 12 miles away and 45 minutes in traffic. Were there in 10 minutes. Took her EVERYWHERE (as she can't drive) and the roads were like a major holiday- no one on them. Starbuck's is empty. The bars and restaurants are empty- beautiful weather and no one's sitting outside- no kids.

What SHOULD I think? I don't know what's going on- we live in a wealthy community (we're not- we rent ))) and all the BMWs etc., are still here.

There have been 4 CARS in an HOUR drive by- just now-on a Sunday morning--at least 5 or 6 leave for church about now from our neighborhood, alone.

Honestly, and I feel like a baby, but I'm getting scared.

What would you think???

And, as an additional note- all of our friends are chatting on Facebook, etc., but NO ONE's going out- our single, well-off friends. And there are no summer bb-q's- no calls to "hang out". Nothing. It's really, really unsettling.

Nothing on the news- but a 29-yr old man died a few days ago about 5 miles from our house. 2 days. No prior illness.

CultureD - I really don't know what to say ... I'm just surprised that no media attention has been given to such a radical change in the social environment. I'm more than certain if there was such a significant and noticeable reduction in traffic and shopping patterns around here, that someone would sit up and take notice and ask what's going on !
Also why would there be so little media attention ? One would assume this would be MAJOR news !

You mentioned that your neighbours no longer seem to be out and about as much ... why is that ? I assume that they're still there. Have you spoken to them about the changes you're seeing ?

If you're getting virtually no media feedback and no one seems to be saying anything, I'm assuming the changes you're seeing in your local area and Chicago in general are not unique and possibly also occuring in other communities/cities ?

[To other readers]
Anyone else corroborate what CultureD is saying is happening in Chicago?
Any other cities similarly affected ?