quite ironic that they thought bird flu was going to kill us all and it's probably going to be from pigs...

it is very scary, especially where there is so much tourism & people bringing it home with them

Or not. That's part of the scary factor: You never know which potential pandemic to take seriously.

yup. and anyway, it's not as tho we can do anything about it anyway - it's up to our "leaders" who can't be arsed as long as they're ok.

a little extra hand-washing can't hurt (too much).

, too, how anything mildly immuno-suppressive would come into play.

apparently they don't have a vaccine yet but strong doses of an antiviral may work. if you're on immuno-suppressive drugs you're as good as

dead

except that most people killed are young adults, i.e., those with the healthiest immune systems.

The theory she's read is that the immune response itself is strong enough to kill.

so your body kills itself ... that would be a good episode of house

i'd not heard that. the immune response is what causes allergies so it's certainly powerful enough. and it would explain young adults as

House would have this cured in an hours time, counting commercial breaks!

they're usually the last to go. how odd. would be a much more serious problem if it does.

ooh, bugger

it's quite interesting that all this is happening while i'm reading a book about the plague in the 1340s, they're v similar

Doomsday Book?

just as a bit of light bedtime reading

Doomsday Book

i'd find a review to link to but i don't want to spoil the story

Seriously? The same book?

this?

interesting way to deal with the grandfather paradox.

no it's not the same mine isn't time travel, it's all set in the olden days

i did wonder....

Good. I was beginning to get worried about us both reading the same not-so-famous book.

that would be amazing! www.amazon.co.uk/Company... doesn't have a wikipedia entry

dealing with the plague, as envisaged by monty python:

if only i were prime minister...

give it a year and you can try - this lot won't be there then

i'm not sure i'd get many votes, i'd have to sieze power

a bit of excitement then! anyway, if the flu takes hold there you may not have many subjects..

i have loads of tins and a few blunt objects, i'd make it through

it appears we may not be the only ones thinking about this: twitter.com/dutchcloggie...

i just saw on twitterfox it's spreading!

according to wikipedia we've 6 unconfirmed cases.

well, we have 6 people with flu-like symptoms, they're not really zombies yet

ah, i didn't really read it closely. at least it's not the winter - imagine if all the people who get "normal" flu had to be checked!

i'm not even going to read about it, i'm far too much of a hypochondriac. plus i have pretty much everything already

you'll be ok, i'm sure the government will swoop down before you know you've got it! - i've never actually had the flu.

i get the flu at least once every winter, and in summer i have hayfever; in between i'm allergic to dust and cats

that's unfortunate hang on, allergic to cats?! you have a pet one...

i know! i'm not so allergic that i'm really poorly, i just sneeze. i didn't realise until we got them

it's worth it though!

i get hayfever from certain plants but not all. the only illnesses which ever had a real effect were meningitis (resulted in a severe

headache and the doctor panicked) and septicaemia (which was nearly fatal apparently)

you've been properly poorly!

apparently. in both cases i walked into the doctors expecting nothing. the meningitis was due to having a headache for days and a rash

appeared suddenly. the blood poisoning was due to feeling shit for about a week then coming out with red streaks on my skin. apparently

i should have been dead by that point. i ended up with so many antibiotics i wasn't ill for about 6 months afterward!

cool! you're probably indestructible then. my only proper poorliness was a throat infection which triggered psoriasis

yet another thing to add to my list of skin complaints!

aww . i'm not sure about indestructible - just obstinate. my doctor is an arse who i avoid as much as possible.

i've had tons of doctors, but i like my latest one and my dermatologist

that's good then. mine always gives the opinion that you're wasting his time - something he's been known to be vocal about. pillock.

i've had that before, i always think they won't believe me

you have to wonder how or why some of them actually become doctors - surely you've got to actually want to help people to do the job...

the world would be a better place if docs were more inclined to listen to her.