Pandemic panic

Well it does seem that they have gone into overdrive, especially compared with other Situations.
I’ve almost gone into conspiracy mode, ?what are they trying to hide/ get away with !

I don’t remember the 1957 flu and don’t know what they did, but I think the issue with Covid19 is that it’s completely new and no one has any immunity, which means it could hugely affect the world’s population. Apart from the burden on health services, there will be the effects on manufacturing and commerce, with a possible later recession to deal with.

It seems that most people will only have mild or unnoticeable symptoms but, depending on which figures you look at, the numbers who would require hospitalisation could be between 2.25 and 6 million patients in the UK alone. That’s massive.

I’m not given to hysteria and I’m not panicking about this but I think it does need to be taken seriously.

Because it's highly contagious. Because the mortality rate for those with complications is high. Because if lots of people become ill at once the NHS can't cope, healthcare workers are at a higher risk of contagion. Doctors are already saying that ICU beds will be given to those who have a good chance of survival. I know many people who won't make the list. Is that enough to be getting on with?

The advice is that parents should consider childcare arrangements should they become ill. This is a serious situation.

I still don't understand how they know it is completely new. It has certainly been recently identified, but does that mean it never existed until now? Isn't it perfectly possible that it has actually been around in a milder form? And that people ha.ve had it without identifying it and just thought they had the 'flu. If someone can explain to me how they are sure it is new I would appreciate it

I remember having Asian Flu in 1957. I was very ill and only 10 years old. The doctor came to my house but there wasn't much she could do. None of family caught it, though they had all been in contact.
Covid19 is clearly lethal for some people and can make others very unwell so I think it is good to take precautions.

I had a cousin die of the Asian flu in the 50’s. He was about 30. We hear about how many new cases there are, but not much about when, hopefully, they recover. When it was 15 cases in UK, 8 of these had got better. So surely some of these more recent cases are recovering. Do they have some immunity then? I would think they will.

Daisymae All your examples could equally be applied to cases of flu which occur every winter.

Yes the Coronavirus is potentially serious for some but then so is flu without all this fuss.

It’s said that some people could have such mild symptoms with the Coronavirus that they aren’t even aware they are ill.

trisher my thoughts as well. We’ve all had the flu jab but early Jan my Dgs caught a virus (presumably from school) which resulted in most of our family catching it. We were all ill in varying degrees but all fully recovered after about 2 weeks. What was the virus?? Well I have no idea because we self medicated, didn’t go near a drs surgery and it was just “one of those bugs we get in winter” I suppose. So is this a new virus or has it just been identified. Anyone seen any research?

Jennifer - while that is true, this is a new virus which no one has any immunity. Add that to the fact that its highly contagious, some people are mildly affected so spread it to others who may suffer more serious effects and then you have a perfect storm of infection spread. It's properties are unknown, there is talk of re-infection and some people testing negative who are infected. Plus of course there's no cure/immunisation.

Trisher I think if it had already circulated in humans it would show up, as some people would have antibodies. Afaik no one has antibodies unless they’ve had CV in this recent outbreak.

I agree with you trisha. I believe this virus has been around in China since at least December if news reports are to be believed.

Sorry trisher, typo .

The head of the WHO says this is a unique virus and that it is not like the flu. It is the ease with which it transfers that is different.

Trisher the virus isn’t new in that it existed in animals and didn’t have the ability to infect humans.
But viruses mutate and this one mutated to a form which could do. Cross-infection occurred in a market in Wuhan where live animals were being sold. At least that’s my understanding.
Here is some practical advice which appeared on my Facebook page yesterday, some of which was new to me.

“ Simply put, if you develop symptoms
1. Take a cold remedy to stop the sneezing eg Sudafed and First Defence nasal spray
2. Take antihistamines to dampen the inflammatory response and protect the lungs
3. If you are asthmatic make certain you have your inhalers
4. In the evening it is likely you will have an elevated temperature so take Paracetamol as an anti pyrittic
5. You can only fight a virus when you are asleep so when your body tells you to sleep then rest preferably away from everyone else nicely tucked up but with the window open to reduce the number of airbornes in your room
6. Plenty of fluid and vitamins especially Vit C Zinc Vit D”
And here is a good article from The Conversation which explains how we can all help to develop herd immunity

theconversation.com/coronavirus-how-behaviour-can-help-control-the-spread-of-covid-19-132247?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%201%202020%20-%201549714807&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%201%202020%20-%201549714807+CID_e7b6906ea5806c30b3d08c640705fc73&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Coronavirus%20How%20behaviour%20can%20help%20control%20the%20spread%20of%20COVID-19

Correct me if I m wrong but wasn’t Bird Flu, SARS, MERS, Swine flu, mad cow disease AIDS all NEW in their time I seem to have lived through so many NEW viruses but never seen so much fear and panic around any of them before

Yes they were Bluebelle.
I think the reason for the panic this time is that the epidemiologists don’t yet know how virulent Covid-19 is, or what the true mortality rate is.
I think there was panic around HIV and BSE, they both resulted in much more stringent cross-infection control in clinical procedures.

DD has just sent me this pic of the train carriage she is travelling home in. It's rush hour. It's London and she normally can't get a seat!

I have heard several stories about where this virus came from, that it has crossed over from animals (specifically pangolins), that it escaped from a lab in China and that it was deliberately released to halt China's emerging economy. Unless you test 100% of the population SueDonim how do you know no-one has anti-bodies?

I remember the 1957 Asian fu epidemic. Schools, businesses and factories closed for a few days to several weeks because so many teachers/children/workers were affected they could no longer operate properly. My own school closed for 2 weeks.

AIDS and Mad Cow disease were not diseases like the rest which go from person to person by touch and air. They both required a specific set of actions leading in one case to blood to body infection and in the other eating food from an infected animal.

However there were, in both cases forecasts of many 10s, if not 100s, of thousands of people dying from them. In fact, so far only about 200 people have died from BSE. The death toll for HIV is higher, thousands, possibly 10s of thousands, but is now no longer life limiting in most cases.

Its hard not to get swept along by the hysteria around stockpiling food and ordering hundreds of loo rolls from amazon. I suppose there are several stands to this panic. One is that such a contagious disease, while mild for the majority, will cause mass disruption to health, education, industry etc. there comes a point where essential services may be unable to function if the number of newly sick and recovering employees reaches a tipping point.
Another is social media. The number of people who seem to be stockpiling and planning to self isolate and then advertising these facts on social media is massive. It makes my own stockpile of a 4 pack of tuna and a tin of corned beef a bit pathetic

another strand is the section of the population who love a conspiracy theory. A friend of mine is convinced this has been created by Big Pharma in order to destabilize the population and to make money out of an eventual vaccine, which she wont have due to the levels of mercury likely to be in it(she has a very fanciful imagination). I'm working on a tin foil hat for her as a gift in these difficult times.
So who knows. Even if we have been told the truth, many of us don't believe it anyway.
But I have my stockpile of four tins of tuna. I may just get an extra bottle of gin then I'm all set. Tuna sandwiches and a G&T while the world sneezes.

I'm not sure I'm taking this virus as seriously as I should!

Petunia I am on my way round, sounds like my kind of diet!!

ha ha grannygravy-you are welcome. and if you stay for dinner i can do you a mean corned beef hash.

Coronavirus is a viral pneumonia.
The breathing difficulties that some victims experience are frightening and potentially deadly.

It is vital that we all take precautions and we really shouldn’t underestimate how potentially dangerous this could be.

I think we all know someone who is vulnerable.

Keep calm and wash your hands.