ANNA FONG AND HORACIO NIETO FALL COLLECTIONS

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swine flu 101
By Plug1 | 4/29/09 | what i’m seeing dot com tpburl.com/yct1rj
The current swine flu outbreak is the spread of a new strain of the H1N1 influenza virus
that was first detected by public health agencies late last month. Outbreaks of an influenzalike
illness were first detected in three areas of Mexico, but the new strain was not clinically
identified as such until a month later in Texas and California, whereupon its presence was
swiftly confirmed in various Mexican states, the U.S. and several other Northern Hemisphere
countries. This week, the new strain was confirmed in Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, New
Zealand and Israel and suspected in many other nations, including South Korea and Austria,
with over 2,500 candidate cases, prompting the WHO to raise their pandemic alert level to 4.
By the way, a level 4 warning officially means that the WHO considers that there is
“sustained human to human transmission;” whereas levels 5 and 6 represent “widespread
human infection.”
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
The current outbreak has shown an increased percentage of patients reporting diarrhea and
vomiting.
The CDC recommends the use of Tamiflu or Relenza for the treatment and/or prevention of
infection with swine influenza viruses, however, the majority of people infected with the virus
make a full recovery without requiring medical attention or antiviral drugs.
PhoTos
follow swine flu’s sPread using google maPs
By nicholas deleon | 4/27/09 | Crunchgear tpburl.com/wf73td
This has been a very exciting year for
things-that-could-kill-us. First it was the
economy that could kill us all; then it was
those Somali pirates who posed a threat to
our very way of life; and now we all should
fear swine flu. Why should we fear la grippe
porcine? Well, it seems to be spreading
around the world pretty swiftly, and it’s
doing a pretty thorough job of wreaking
havoc in Mexico. So, here’s a map!
This Google Map shows confirmed and suspected cases of the virus, H1N1 Swine Flu, as
well as deaths caused by the virus.
As always, Twitter is fairly interesting, watching people freak out in real time.
And, if you’d like hype-free news about Swine Flu, may I suggest Science’s blog? Science’s
coverage is less alarmist than the likes of AP, Reuters, etc.
we back
the bid
and you can too
visit chicago2016.org
Michael Rivera | tpburl.com/k68jmv
mexiCo
PhoTos
GOT sOMeTHinG TO sAY? suBMiT YOuR BlOG fOR PuBliCATiOn
TO BlOGGeRs@THePRinTeDBlOG.COM. we wOn’T GiVe YOu MOneY
(ACTuAllY, we will, BuT iT’s nOT MuCH, YeT), BuT we will GiVe YOu
A sweeT HTMl BADGe.
By natch greyes | 4/26/09 | natch greyes for senate 2020 tpburl.com/qs1k9c
Mexico, that country south of the United
States that most Americans think is a poorer
version of Canada with a drug problem. Of
course, with the Swine Flu outbreak and
subsequent media panic, most Americans now
think of Mexico as a massive quarantine area.
This post will seek to cover two major topics:
Swine Flu and Mexico’s Drug Problem. I’ll also
dry to dispel myths about both of those and
Mexico itself.
First, let’s deal with the irrational media
panic over Swine Flu. (Note: Some of this is
repetition from a previous post).
First, if you’ve never had the (normal) flu, never treated anyone with the (normal) flu, or
never heard of the flu you should look at this CDC Post for dealing with the Swine Flu. Note
that the advice is the exact same as for the Normal Flu.
[Edit: This Section Deleted, please refer to this post instead]
Also, watch the video below, see the long lines? That’s the Mexican health care system, it’s
no surprise that there is a high death rate (although we won’t know more for sure until we get
more data).
Further, you need to realize that (generally) the more rapid the spread of a certain strain of
the flu, the less deadly is that strain. (Think about it: would the strain spread very far if it killed
a high percentage of those who got infected?) Right now, the percentage of deaths for Mexico,
which is bound to be higher than in the U.S., is lower than the typical flu in the U.S. And, there
have been no deaths in the United States. So, panicking (besides not accomplishing anything
anyway) is really, really stupid.
But why, you ask, is this disease spreading so rapidly through Mexico and why does it seem
to be cropping up in certain places in the United States? Well, the outbreak started in Mexico
City, which is a densely packed population. All variants of the flu, like the common cold, are
‘crowd diseases.’ They cannot exist and generally do not spread if originating in isolated, rural
populations. That’s why new strains of the flu typically originate in Asia and South America,
where 3rd World conditions allow the propagation of the disease. Further, this variant of the
Swine Flu most certainly originated in a place where pigs and other farm animals are kept close
by humans, i.e. a 3rd World Style Pig Farm, which, as we know from the Avian Flu makes it
more likely for a human to catch a variant of a disease affecting primarily some other species.
It’s a sad but true fact that since the people who live there don’t understand the concepts of
basic sanitation and therefore don’t employ sanitation techniques that theirs is the place where
these diseases originate, rather than say, North America or Western Europe.
This all relates to the War on Drugs because the effect the Drug Cartels have had on the
development of Mexico and the Mexican economy. Half the Mexican economy is made of
informal sector (Black Market) jobs. While this is, in large part, street vendors, the Drug Cartels
rake in an estimated $30 billion a year. This money is dispersed as payoffs to police officers and
other drug enforcement officers, resulting in the military having to be used to combat the drug
trade. This, in turn, puts pressure on the Mexican government to fight them as well as find new
sources of revenue to help combat both the money and guns of the Cartels. Unfortunately, in
most places, the Cartels are more powerful than the government and thus violence breaks out
whenever the government tries to wretch back control.
This affects the Swine Flu because first, all drugs weaken the immune system (cold
medicines simply repress your immune system on purpose) and so the flu can spread more
easily. And, since Drug Cartels smuggle people over the border illegally (as side work) they can
also assist in the spread of the disease to various places in the United States.
Also, since the Mexican government is concerned with fighting the War on Drugs it
doesn’t have the extra funds necessary to improve Mexico’s infrastructure, health care or, really,
anything else. And, it’s not likely that the Drug Cartels are going to improve anything other
than what helps them funnel drugs to North America (primarily the United States).
adverTising Bryan Feir | tpburl.com/h5nksm
The PrinTed Blog is PrinTed By John s. swifT Co., inC. www.JohnswifTPrinT.Com (847) 465-3300
Shane Walsh | tpburl.com/rx47fw