The Swine Flu thing...

[DandyDon]

Even though it might have come a little late, it sure as heck sounds to me like Mexico is doing a lot more than even the US to stop the spread now.

Not well supported. Mexico faces criticism over swine flu response Some info is out of date today. Excerpting...

A portrait is emerging of a slow and confused response by Mexico to the gathering swine flu epidemic. And that could mean the world is flying blind into a global health storm.

Despite an annual budget of more than $5 billion, Mexico's health secretary said Monday that his agency hasn't had the resources to visit the families of the dead. That means doctors haven't begun treatment for the population most exposed to swine flu, and most apt to spread it.

It also means medical sleuths don't know how the victims were infected — key to understanding how the epidemic began and how it can be contained.

Foreign health officials were hesitant Monday to speak critically about Mexico's response, saying they want to wait until more details emerge before passing judgment. But already, Mexicans were questioning the government's image of a country that has the crisis under control.

"Nobody believes the government anymore," said Edgar Rocha, a 28-year-old office messenger. He said the lack of information is sowing distrust: "You haven't seen a single interview with the sick!"

The political consequences could be serious. China was heavily criticized during the outbreak of SARS for failing to release details about the disease, feeding rumors and fear. And Mexico's failed response to a catastrophic 1985 earthquake is largely credited with the demise of the party that had ruled the country since the 1920s.

"That is foremost in the minds of Mexican policymakers now," said George Grayson at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. "They're thinking, 'We don't want another '85.'"

Indeed, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova was defensive at a news conference Monday as he was peppered with questions about why Mexico took so long to identify the outbreak, attempt to contain its spread and provide information.

Armed soldier turning away citizens at hospitals...?

No admitted cases in the Yucatan? We're supposed to believe that...?

 

[1KWIK_69]

Not well supported. Mexico faces criticism over swine flu response Some info is out of date today. Excerpting...


Armed soldier turning away citizens at hospitals...?

No admitted cases in the Yucatan? We're supposed to believe that...?

Their health care community may not be as advanced as in the US but they seem to be taking a lot of action to isolate those that have it so it doesn't spread.

I haven't heard anything about flights in and out of Mexico City. Are they restricting flights to other parts of the country and screening passengers? Are they restricting travel in general? I would think they would since they've taken so many other steps like closing the schools and parks. I would say it's a safe bet that if a US city had a major outbreak, you would see armed guards at the swamped hospitals to maintain order.....

 

[UnderwaterOffice]

I'm just saying it's not common sense to worry about traveling somewhere that doesn't have any confirmed cases when we have two that are close to our home.

It seems common sense to worry about it if you care about what type of health care you would end up with if the bug mutates for the worse and your get it. Unless, I guess, if you think there are no relative differences in the health care between the two locations. Which is something I asked about earlier in the thread and got essentially no response.

 

[UnderwaterOffice]

WHO just released "update 5".
WHO | Swine influenza - update 5

Confirmed:
148 cases / 8 deaths

 

[1KWIK_69]

It seems common sense to worry about it if you care about what type of health care you would end up with if the bug mutates for the worse and your get it. Unless, I guess, if you think there are no relative differences in the health care between the two locations. Which is something I asked about earlier in the thread and got essentially no response.

Last I heard, it doesn't much matter what health care you have when exposed to a flu virus. Antibiotics won't touch it but will help with secondary infections.

Truth be told, modern medicine has NEVER cured a virus. We have drugs that can help slow their spread or replication, but as of now the only cure for a virus in humans is the human immune system. If I bring Tamiflu with me, I've already covered everything an American doctor can do for me anyway. In other words, I doubt I'll have much better odds in the hands of an American doctor than a Mexican one if I catch this flu.

There's a serious lack of knowledge among the general public about how medicine works. Immunizations don't cure anything. They only ramp up our own immune systems by simulating a living virus exposure so it will be better equiped to fight it off if we're actually exposed. Getting immunized after exposure and symptoms have begun is useless. People going to the doctor every time they have the sniffles when there isn't a serious health threat as there is now, has only made things worse because doctors LOVE to prescribe antibiotics to people they know it won't help. Because of this, new breeds of bacteria that are resistant to our current batch of antibiotics are born.

To sum it all up, Mexico has all the same antibiotics available as America and if I get sick with the flu and get a secondary "Bacterial" infection, a Mexican doctor can give me antibiotics. If I get h1n1 in Mexico and I already have tamiflu that I brought with me, between that and antibiotics I can get from a Mexican doctor, I've covered all the bases. Add bed rest, lots of fluids, and maybe some chicken soup and I'm as well off as I would be here.....

Again, if a lot of little red pins show up in Cozumel on that google swine flu map and there still are none in Kansas City, then I'll re evaluate my plans.....

 

[geokr]

Do any of the Cozumel locals know if Tamiflu is available in town and is a prescription required there? Will they honor a prescription issued by a US doctor? Can you trust the efficacy of the drugs purchased there? Inquiring minds want to know....just in case....

 

[UnderwaterOffice]

Last I heard, it doesn't much matter what health care you have when exposed to a flu virus. Antibiotics won't touch it but will help with secondary infections.

Truth be told, modern medicine has NEVER cured a virus. We have drugs that can help slow their spread or replication, but as of now the only cure for a virus in humans is the human immune system. If I bring Tamiflu with me, I've already covered everything an American doctor can do for me anyway. In other words, I doubt I'll have much better odds in the hands of an American doctor than a Mexican one if I catch this flu.

There's a serious lack of knowledge among the general public about how medicine works. Immunizations don't cure anything. They only ramp up our own immune systems by simulating a living virus exposure so it will be better equiped to fight it off if we're actually exposed. Getting immunized after exposure and symptoms have begun is useless. People going to the doctor every time they have the sniffles when there isn't a serious health threat as there is now, has only made things worse because doctors LOVE to prescribe antibiotics to people they know it won't help. Because of this, new breeds of bacteria that are resistant to our current batch of antibiotics are born.

To sum it all up, Mexico has all the same antibiotics available as America and if I get sick with the flu and get a secondary "Bacterial" infection, a Mexican doctor can give me antibiotics. If I get h1n1 in Mexico and I already have tamiflu that I brought with me, between that and antibiotics I can get from a Mexican doctor, I've covered all the bases. Add bed rest, lots of fluids, and maybe some chicken soup and I'm as well off as I would be here.....

Again, if a lot of little red pins show up in Cozumel on that google swine flu map and there still are none in Kansas City, then I'll re evaluate my plans.....

I don't think that anyone is claiming that there is a cure for a virus. I will claim however that I may be considering more possibilities than you. There is a lot more to treating advanced cases of pneumonia than popping some antibiotics.

What is this about doctors loving to prescribe antibiotics anyway? I am not sure how that relates to my comparison of health cares facilities, and realistically who would be more capable of handling the possible worse case load.

 

[hyperbaric_1]

This is precisely my concern. I don't worry about being at the resort, I worry about what the airplane is carying. But since I have to fly tomorrow to get home I'm already putting myself at risk.

I intend to use plenty of purell, and follow common sense procedures like wash often etc. what else can we do?

You are right to worry about being on the plane. I'm leaving for Coz in the AM and I'll be wearing my mask for the duration of the flight. In case you missed my earlier post - decline maid service at the resort. They'll be moving room to room with no way to know what they're carrying on the cleaning rag.

 

[airstream]

1. If I were in COZ right now I wouldn't be worried, it's the travel to and fro that concerns me. As with any airborne contagion the flight is probably the most risky endeavor. I fly direct ATLANTA-COZ, imagine how many people converge in Atlanta, or any other airport for that matter, to get on a Regional Jet for 3 hours breathing recircultaed air.

2. I ABSOLUTELY DEFINITELY would not bring my 7 month pregnant wife on a plane swine flu or not. Ask your OB/GYN, I am sure that they will agree that it is not worth the risk of even flying at this stage in the pregnancy. My wife delivered at 7.5 months, she was healthy and in a modern american hospital. I work in hospitals everyday in cancer centers, Cozumels medical infrastructure is not bad, but it is not near the abilities of many areas in the US.

3. I would definitely use my own regulators ,which is not unreasonable in any circumstances.

4. I have a trip booked May 31st-June 5th. I would love to get together with some of the SB'ers. I will be teaching at SCC.

 

[1KWIK_69]

I don't think that anyone is claiming that there is a cure for a virus. I will claim however that I may be considering more possibilities than you. There is a lot more to treating advanced cases of pneumonia than popping some antibiotics.

What is this about doctors loving to prescribe antibiotics anyway? I am not sure how that relates to my comparison of health cares facilities, and realistically who would be more capable of handling the possible worse case load.

If left untreated, any case of the flu can turn to pneumonia. With our present hightened awareness of this flu, and getting immediate treatement in the form of tamiflu, it would be far less likely to do so.

Yes doctors in the US prescribe antibiotics to people with the sniffles on a regular basis even though they know damn well it won't help with the patients viral infection. It happens all the time. Doctors like to maintain their image as a savior and they want to keep their client base, so they are not crazy about telling patients that they can't do anything for them and that they'll get better in a week or ten days, once their own immune systems gets it under control. So instead they write out a prescription that might as well be a placebo. This fact is reported over and over again. the CDC is very concerned about it because our current stock of antibiotics aren't effective against more bacterial infections every year.

My point is that if I have access to tamiflu and I come down with the start of flu symptoms, I'm going to take it right away and do all the other things one does to try and get over the flu like getting rest and drinking lots of liquids. I would also try and cut my trip short to get back to the US asap, just in case it gets worse.

In other words, I'm not changing my plans to go to Cozumel in July unless it gets a whole lot worse and Cozumel looks like it has a lot more cases than where I already live. I think this is a reasonable plan with the appropriate precautions taken. What's wrong with that?