Deadly Flu Outbreak: Is History Repeating Itself? [23,000 victims in Madagascar]

Newsmax ^ | Aug. 30, 2002 | Phil Brennan

[2sheep]

Aug 11 report:  Deadly Madagascar Flu Infects Thousands

[2sheep]

Bump.

[DWPittelli]

This certainly bears watching. That said, it sounds like only weakened (old, young, malnourished and poor) people are dying, whereas in 1918 many extremely robust young soldiers died.

[Cachelot]

I've been following this since it started, and it's fairly interesting. First, it took a good while before the outbreak was identified as influenza. Then, at one point, WHO teams in place were suddenly not quite sure it really was influenza. Now it seems to be influenza again.

[DreamWeaver]

Everything is unfolding as it should.... prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes..

[Darth Sidious]

Not too long ago, scientists in northern Canada exhumed some bodies of victims from the 1918 pandemic. The permafrost had preserved the remains to an extent that it was possible to study the effects of the virus on bodily tissues.

There was some concern that the virus was yet present, and could reawaken from dormancy.

[2sheep]

This could be a real WHO dunnit. Dan 12:10.

[2sheep]

There was some concern that the virus was yet present, and could reawaken from dormancy.

I ran across a link a few minutes ago (and now I can't remember where) that says that could indeed be a problem.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

I see no resemblance to the "Spanish Flu" of 1918- this sounds like a fairly normal death rate for an Influenza "A" outbreak, especially in an impoverished country with little access to supportive care.

Read "FLU" by Gina Kolata for the "real thing".

[Prodigal Son]

Interesting read.

[2sheep]

>prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes.

It does appear that the Pale Horse is running.  I wonder if he is being spurred on by globalism or some other beast in the interest of saving the planet by what it determines as excess population and useless eaters.

Re 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

[TBall]

Yikes! I wonder how long before the mainstream news picks up this story?

[Cachelot]

this sounds like a fairly normal death rate for an Influenza "A" outbreak

The death rate now seems far, far lower than in the first weeks. This was on August 7th:

Influenza in Madagascar - WHO Update
------------------------------------
The Ministry of Health has announced that the Institut Pasteur, Madagascar, 
has isolated influenza A (H3N2) viruses from 2 out of 39 samples taken from 
cases in Fianarantsoa province, an area where outbreaks of an 
influenza-like illness have been reported.

The Ministry of Health has updated the epidemiological data: Since Sun 4 
Jul 2002, a total of 1 291 cases and 156 deaths have been reported.

--
ProMED-mail
 

[2sheep]

It looks like it is spreading fast when the numbers infected on Aug 1 were 1,291 and the numbers four weeks later are 23,000.

[ex-Texan]

I heard about this flu epidemic last week. This will travel around the world rapidly if it gets beyod Madagascar.

Health care workers will have tobe carefully screened.

[2sheep]

One of the problems with the flu is that people can be contagious and carriers before they are obviously sick.

[If anyone knows who the FR-doctors are, please bump them in. A little science would be helpful.]

[Cachelot]

It looks like it is spreading fast when the numbers infected on Aug 1 were 1,291 and the numbers four weeks later are 23,000.

Well... one possibility is that the thing that started and went undiagnosed for several week is still unknown, but that they have gotten a flu outbreak in the middle of it. The fatality rate during the first month seems to have been around 12%, four times higher than now. Assuming that the count for the first month is reasonably correct.

[sawsalimb]

Influenza nearly killed me about 15 years ago. I caught a dose of the strain that was going around that year. I thought initially that I had a cold,and went home to sleep it off.

The next morning when I woke up,I was on my back,and there was so much goop in my lungs that my first breath triggered my gag reflex,and I started throwing up. Unfortunately,I was too weak to turn over immediately.

Of all the ignominius ways to check out,drowning in your own puke in your own bed is probably pretty high up on the list-finally I managed to turn over and get some air in my lungs,but I was quite literally a few seconds away from choking to death. The lesson is TAKE THE FLU SERIOUSLY!!!

[maxwellp]

About five years, as antique dealers, we bought some items that were wrapped in old newspapers from the 1900's. I'm a great reader of anything and was reading something from 1919 that spoke of a great flu (or something) outbreak that killed thousands and thousands of folks and one sentence remains with me that went something like this: "This could be nature's way of keeping the population under control". Does anyone on FR know anything about "nature's way of keeping the population under control"?

I live in Central New York State and a few years ago numerous dead squirrels were being spotted along roads. They were not hit by cars - they were just dead - no blood or injuries - laying along side of roads. There never was an explanation for the dead squirrels. I was quite a few of them myself. Too many squirrels and nature took over?

I usually don't take a Flu shot, but may consider one this year.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

If it's like Spanish flu, given modern methods of travel, it's probably too late to contain it.