Jackson Free Press

On Friday, the Mississippi State Department of Health released a statement responding to reports of swine flu in Texas and California.

"At this time, there have been no cases identified in Mississippi," the agency said in the release. "The symptoms of swine flu in humans are similar to those of seasonal flu, causing fever, respiratory symptoms and body aches.

Mississippi's flu activity this season has been low with no confirmed cases reported by the surveillance system since March. MSDH will continue to monitor flu activity in the state and report any unusual findings to the healthcare community and to the public."

This morning, President Barack Obama told the Associated Press that the flu is a cause for concern, "not a cause for alarm," although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency as a precaution.

Five states have reported 20 mild cases of the flu strain as of this morning, with New York, Ohio and Kansas joining Texas and California. Nova Scotia has reported four cases, also mild.

Mexico, however, is reporting larger outbreaks, with approximately 1,600 cases and as many as 103 deaths, causing the government there to close schools and other non-essential activities to contain the illness. Officials suspect Mexico to be the source of the current outbreak.

The European Union advised against nonessential travel to the U.S. and Mexico this morning, according the CBS News.

"Our capacity to deal with a public health challenge of this sort rests heavily on the work of our scientific and medical community," the president told reporters this morning. "And this is one more example of why we cannot allow our nation to fall behind."

Previous Comments

ID

146334

Comment

A new panic? Guess I can stop worrying about global warming now...

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-04-27T09:25:07-06:00

ID

146336

Comment

I presume they won't waste this crisis either.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-04-27T09:41:07-06:00

ID

146341

Comment

Oh yes, never waste a good crisis!

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-04-27T10:26:05-06:00

ID

146345

Comment

Is this the Zombie flu? Because, I'm only going to get really concerned if this is FINALLY the Zombie Flu!

Author

Lori G

Date

2009-04-27T12:55:21-06:00

ID

146351

Comment

I personally am still waiting for the Boogie Woogie Flu. Already had the Rockin' Pneumonia.

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2009-04-27T14:46:05-06:00

ID

146355

Comment

Thankfully, I don't have to give up my bacon. And really, zombies are about the only thing that could get between me and my bacon. And that would only happen if I were, for some reason, left without a weapon. But if there's a zombie outbreak, trust that I'm packin' heat. But ultimately it's ok. Because this "panic" makes about as much sense as a zombie outbreak. (Watch me be the first documented case of swine flu in Mississippi...)

Author

vince

Date

2009-04-27T15:52:40-06:00

ID

146356

Comment

I think we've already had the zombie flu: Obama got elected, didn't he? :D

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-04-27T16:13:12-06:00

ID

146357

Comment

LOL good one Iron.

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-04-27T16:32:39-06:00

ID

146487

Comment

The myths and metaphors that surround disease, whether drawn from folklore, popular culture, the media, the medical community, or religion bear import. They can kill. By instilling shame and guilt in the sick or by dehumanizing them, such images can materially hinder persons from seeking treatment. One has only to look at early clinical reports describing AIDS. These first reports had a science fiction flavor, tacitly supporting the notion of an alien takeover of the body by invader cells. Descriptions of AIDS called forth metaphors of plague, and characterized it as a scourge from the Third World. AIDS was seen as judgment. It did not strike at random, the way cancer does. It made the patient feel guilty, complicit in the disease, struck down for willful sexual activity. The patient became seen not as victim, but as pariah. Such metaphors stigmatized AIDS patients while spreading misinformation and panic. Media images of schizophrenia have contributed, in similar fashion, to the ongoing stigma and misunderstandings of psychotic illness. Whether linking the disease to “split personality”, violence, or weirdness, these negative portrayals have made it increasingly difficult for those who have the illness to seek treatment.“ Zombie Flu”, as a metaphor for the A H1N1 virus, calls forth images from folklore or popular culture of a reanimated corpse or a mindless human being. Officials have identified Edgar Hernandez, age 5, of La Gloria, Mexico, as the first person to contract the virulent strain of swine flu. He succumbed to it because pig waste tainted the water that he drank. As the A H1N1 virus reaches from this Mexican child, living in impoverished conditions, to the far corners of the globe, will journalists move beyond words like “Zombie Flu” and find other, more illuminating, images that honor the humanity of those who contract the disease?

Author

anne mayeaux

Date

2009-04-29T21:40:02-06:00

ID

146504

Comment

You know, I never thought I'd be the one to say this, but... We're joking, Anne. Honest.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-04-30T08:28:02-06:00

ID

146511

Comment

It's non-productive and somewhat silly to live in fear of disease; fear produces many of the distortions you cite, Anne, whether through popular culture or the media (which reflects the culture in many cases). Ignorance, combined with rumor and fear-mongering, is crazy-making. On the other hand, it's also silly not to take basic hygienic precautions, as outlined by the Health Department, such as washing your hands. Those interested should go to the Centers for Disease Control Web site. Knowledge is power, y'all. No one can predict if you'll get sick, but you'll reduce your chances through understanding.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-04-30T09:25:48-06:00

ID

146512

Comment

Just the simple act of washing your hands thouroughly can prevent the spread of multiple illnesses. It's advised to sing Happy Birthday twice through while scrubbing: that way, you know you've scrubbed for an appropriate amount of time. But if you're sure the swine flu is going to eradicate the world, I'll advise you to get a face mask quickly, because they're running out of stock!

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2009-04-30T09:39:30-06:00

ID

146517

Comment

Officials have identified Edgar Hernandez, age 5, of La Gloria, Mexico, as the first person to contract the virulent strain of swine flu. As the possible first person. That can never be 100% confirmed. He succumbed to it because pig waste tainted the water that he drank. And he LIVED! Imagine that! Probably without a face mask, antibiotics or anything. Amazing!

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2009-04-30T09:46:57-06:00

ID

146541

Comment

It's important to keep this situation in perspective. The CDC estimates about 36,000 people in the U.S. died of non-swine flu-related causes last year, I've read. This illness hasn't risen (yet) to the threat level that the media is hyping it to be, which is why some of us (myself included) are being flippant about it.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-04-30T12:02:37-06:00

ID

146543

Comment

Thank you for those numbers, Jeff. Obviously, it's a threat, but panic is not in order. Neither is dumb-ass bigotry.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-04-30T12:16:41-06:00

ID

146544

Comment

It's important to keep this situation in perspective. Absolutely, Jeff. Part of the problem is caused by using poorly understood words like "pandemic" which simply means a disease has been positively identified in several countries, not that it's suddenly more deadly than before. Many people equate "pandemic" with the bubonic plague and just go nuts. The World Health Organization's "Phase 6 Alert" sure sounds scary without a context, too, but here's what the WHO says about it: Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way. Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-04-30T12:25:22-06:00

ID

146548

Comment

Since *I* originally brought up the Zombie Flu, I thought I would come on here and say my life is currently EATEN UP with this "hog flu". (that's what we're calling it around the office) Our business is currently writing a disaster response plan and people are just FREAKING OUT. As a previous poster said, using humor in no way belittles the ill and dying. I'm sorry but that is just taking it a LITTLE too far. There are around a hundred cases in the US. For this thing to actually BE a "pandemic" there would have to be roughly a hundred MILLION cases of this. I hope this puts it a little more in perspective. I'm in no way condoning rubbing noses with strangers and such (unless that is how you pay your bills), but PLEASE don't take this thing and continue to blow it out of proportion. Or assume that because we joke about it we are belittling the chronically ill. That's just stupid.

Author

Lori G

Date

2009-04-30T13:00:50-06:00

ID

146590

Comment

Anybody else hear confirmation that a case of the swine has been diagnosed in the Jackson metro area?

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-04-30T17:32:53-06:00

ID

146593

Comment

Poor pig. I hope it gets better. ;)

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-04-30T19:15:03-06:00

ID

146602

Comment

With respect to how we characterize the A H1N1 virus, my point stands. The metaphors and euphemisms that we apply to illness, to the dying, and to the dead shape the way that we the living now see our connection with the dead. Our metaphors can sanitize the profound pollution posed by a decaying corpse and assuage the profound moral guilt of collective murder during times of war. They can reaffirm the meaningfulness of the deceased’s life (“She lives in our hearts”) or degrade a people's very existence (“The vermin were whacked”). In sum, metaphors and euphemisms for disease and death are employed as both shields and weapons, to cover the unpleasant or distasteful aspects of mortality, or to apply the power of death to reinforce the significance of certain events among the living.

Author

anne mayeaux

Date

2009-04-30T22:01:53-06:00

ID

146607

Comment

Iron, I was so looking forward to ribs this weekend. Oh well...

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-05-01T07:32:15-06:00

ID

146608

Comment

Jeff: Sorry, bud! There's always beef ribs! I don't think there's any Mad Cow Disease running around right now...

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-05-01T08:15:06-06:00

ID

146620

Comment

For this thing to actually BE a "pandemic" there would have to be roughly a hundred MILLION cases of this. Actually, no definition, including the World Health Organization's, mentions numbers of cases when describing a pandemic. WHO defines it as a disease has been identified in three or more countries in two or more WHO areas. Overall, the definition describes it as a disease which has spread to "many" or "several" countries. By any definition, the A H1N1 virus has reached pandemic proportions, however, WHO reports that official worldwide cases total 331 cases in 11 countries as of today. To put that into perspective, about 500,000 people die annually from complications of all kinds of flu, including 36,000 in the U.S., according to Pandemics in Perspective on MSNBC. So is it a pandemic? Yes. Is there cause for panic? Absolutely not. Should you take normal hygienic steps to prevent illness? Always.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-05-01T10:20:19-06:00

ID

146623

Comment

Ronni-I'm trying to find the sources we used for our organization's report that state there must be a thirty percent infection rate of the population to actually BE a pandemic. The WHO's definition, as you said, is just that it is easily transmittable between humans and currently in more than one country. It may be the CDC that defines using a per population rate and also uses a "death ratio" for the virus. But, when doing the report, we couldn't find the information that made the "death ratio" valid. Like, if we currently have 141 cases with one dead in the US, does that fit the .5-1 % death ratio required to raise the alert level? Or, do we have to have a thousand confirmed cases until that one percent ratio kicks in? Its basically clear as mud. Let me get the original report and get the source for where my one million people came from (it was basically a rough estimate of a thirty percent infection rate) This is the issue I have with the media hype around it. The WHO's phases seem to scare the crap out of you until you realize they are just interested in transmission rate, not actual cases. There are three agencies using three DIFFERENT "phases" that are publishing information. Some of them put it into better perspective than the World Health Organization.

Author

Lori G

Date

2009-05-01T10:45:10-06:00

ID

146627

Comment

Lori, I agree that "pandemic" pretty much puts the fear of God into people. It's not rational, but based on some imagined criteria. I'll be interested to see your alternate sources. Maybe we can come up with a better word/descriptor for what's actually happening. :-) Anne, lighten up. Please. People deal with death and dying in many ways, including humor, euphemisms and metaphor. Granted, it's not all appropriate, but it is behavior that helps people deal. You don't, by the way, have the corner on the "right" way to deal with the subject of death and dying, nor do you hold the only "correct" connection with the dead. Many cultures celebrate death as a transition to the next "level" or "sphere" of being. At least some Buddhists treat a person's death day as western cultures treat birth days. Yogis say that fear of death is an affliction, not death itself. Many philosophies essentially say that grief over death is the result of our inability to deal with the transitory nature of life, and our holding on to illusions of permanence. Grief has been described as arising from our unsaid and undone acts with the deceased. As to "moral guilt," that, too, is treated differently in different religions and cultures, and is not even conceptualized in many of them. People can agree or disagree with your particular take on the subject. It's all highly subjective, and given the billions of people on the planet, there should be room for all kinds of reactions, opinions and viewpoints.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-05-01T11:46:44-06:00

ID

146628

Comment

Anybody else hear confirmation that a case of the swine has been diagnosed in the Jackson metro area? Yes, I heard there was a case in Flowood.

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-05-01T11:55:58-06:00

ID

146630

Comment

WMartin: Confirmation, not rumor. :)

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-05-01T12:01:48-06:00

ID

146631

Comment

NO CASES IN MISSISSIPPI reports the Mississippi Department of Health.

Author

Ronni_Mott

Date

2009-05-01T12:08:48-06:00

ID

146634

Comment

I was going to say I hadn't seen Dr Ed on TV yet...

Author

Ironghost

Date

2009-05-01T13:23:42-06:00

ID

146996

Comment

Apparently you and I get our rumors from the same mill, WMartin.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-05-07T09:58:32-06:00