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April 30, 2009 11:00am by David Farrar

Twitter and Swine Flu

Hat Tip: Ethical Martini and xkcd.com.

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swine flu

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Shunda barunda

If I am an uncultured swine, am I more or less likely to contract swine flue?
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April 30, 2009 11:37am
bharmer

You’ve come to the right place – we have lots of hogwash to share with you
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April 30, 2009 11:43am
WraithX

According to the WHO the strain responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak in most cases causes only mild symptoms and the infected person makes a full recovery without requiring medical attention and without the use of antiviral medicines.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/faq/en/index.html

So why exactly is this all over the news and blogs around the world? Is life so boring that we have to freak out over influenza?
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April 30, 2009 11:43am
getstaffed

Time for us to cast pills before swine
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April 30, 2009 11:45am
getstaffed

WraithX – the MSM need sensations to help prop up their ad-bereft, crumbling empires. Politicians like being seen by their faithful. Swine Flu is their saviour.
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April 30, 2009 11:48am
KiwiGreg

“Every year in the U.S., 5 percent to 20 percent of the population gets seasonal flu. The virus affects the nose, throat and lungs, and peaks from late-November through March, according to the CDC. About 200,000 Americans are hospitalized annually from the seasonal flu, and 36,000 die, said the CDC Web site.” – this from Bloomberg.

I think swine flu also gives relevance and meaning to the lives of those who work for WHO and in NZ’s medical establishment. It also helps some countries implement anti-free trade policies.
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April 30, 2009 11:53am
Ratbiter

in a similar vein…

Redbaiter:
Swine Flu is just another fear-mongering rort by the anti-democratic pinko half-educated jackboot-wearing indoctrinated socialist commie scum half-wits. And their lying Sycophants in the MSM.
F*ck off with your climate change and your long march towards world domination. The sooner you scummy commie scum are six feet under pushing up daisies, the better for us freedom fighters.

(With apologies to my old mate, as this is not really an actual quote from the man himself 😉
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April 30, 2009 12:12pm
Ratbiter

Kiwigreg-
Of course many many more people will have died from less-exciting forms of flu in the days since the Swine Flu story broke. (It is a pity no-one in the media has seen fit to report this.)

However I think the main reason the Swine Flu is worth worrying about is because, wthout extensive case histories, new and hitherto-unknown variants e.g. Swine Flu, Bird Flu etc are unpredictable and no-one really knows if they will be a catastrophe or a non-event. Although of course, plumbers, carpenters and Kiwiblog commentators are very quick to formulate their own expert opinions one way or the other!
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April 30, 2009 12:15pm
lyndon

All XKCD comics have rollover/title text:

“Bad flu epidemics can hit young adults hardest because they provoke their powerful immune systems into overreaction, so to stay healthy spend the next few weeks drunk and sleep-deprived to keep yours suppressed.”

“Every year in the U.S., 5 percent to 20 percent of the population gets seasonal flu. The virus affects the nose, throat and lungs, and peaks from late-November through March, according to the CDC. About 200,000 Americans are hospitalized annually from the seasonal flu, and 36,000 die, said the CDC Web site.”

Now imagine something at the high end of that infectiousness and 25 times as deadly. I’m not saying that’s happening now, but that’s what the protections are for.
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April 30, 2009 12:20pm
Murray

Comedy or documentry?

Include the Philippines cancelling an order for New Zealand pork in your answer.
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April 30, 2009 12:21pm
racer

Any suggestions as to what the correct libertarian, small government response to a pandemic would be? I really can’t work it out.
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April 30, 2009 2:00pm
dave strings

Government heath agencies have confirmed a widespread Wine Flu outbreak as a nation of drinkers wait anxiously for further information to be released. Thought to have started as an adverse reaction to the pandemic of substandard wine offers flooding the New Zealand market, Wine Flu is a fast acting virus that makes sufferers unable to stomach cheap, nasty wine again.

Symptoms of Wine Flu include cold sweats, hangovers and nausea but a Government Official reassured drinkers by announcing that simple steps can be taken to stop the spread of the virus.

“Sufferers must refrain from buying cheap, low quality wine and switch to cheap good wine immediately. We recommend http://www.antiwineflu.co.nz as an immediate antidote. Anyone who does not have internet access should contact their local hospital for a Wine Flu mask designed specifically for their wine tastes.”
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April 30, 2009 2:08pm
side show bob

Rejoice all, a cure for swine flu has been found. A copious amount of oinkment must be spread over the body for a full recovery.
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April 30, 2009 3:08pm
lyndon

Any suggestions as to what the correct libertarian, small government response to a pandemic would be?

It probably involves the insurance companies. Who, let’s face it, would probably have their own army, so they’d sort it out.
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April 30, 2009 3:23pm
Luke H

Any suggestions as to what the correct libertarian, small government response to a pandemic would be? I really can’t work it out.

Here’s a few ideas.

Short version: Let the market handle it (duh).

Longer version:

* If doctors can charge per treatment (free market healthcare), and charge more for house visits, many doctors will become available to treat patients.

* If we allow nurses to prescribe simple meds like Tamiflu, we won’t even need all those doctors to do house visits.

* Several companies will compete to quickly research, make and distribute an effective vaccine and/or drugs to treat the illness. In a free market, the quickest-produced and most-effective vaccine will win. (This might require changing of intellectual property law, which are essentially government-granted monopolies. Different libertarians have different opinions on this).

* Insurance companies might pay for large quantities of Tamiflu and/or vaccines and supply it to those who have health insurance with them to avoid having to pay out on thousands of life insurance policies. Similarly companies offering health insurance to employees could arrange to have employees and their families treated.
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April 30, 2009 3:24pm
lyndon

In the circumstances I think the insurance companies would be well advised to treat everyone they could, insurance or no.

But if the balance-sheet numbers did not support them trying to control the epidemic rather than the cases, that this might suggest libertarianism is not too good at public health.

Anyway, what you describe is picking up the pieces (which is the way libertarianism seems to deal with group-action problems generally). Any thoughts on initial control?
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April 30, 2009 4:43pm
Steve

Only one thing spreads faster than Swine Flu.
Paranoia.
Someone is making money here?
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April 30, 2009 8:04pm
gladstone

“Someone is making money here”
Swines!
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April 30, 2009 9:17pm
Murray

Wanna buy a paper mask and some tamifloo*

*As good as the real thing but only $9.95**

**Maynotactualyworksideeffectscanincludedeath
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April 30, 2009 9:55pm
jackp

Malaria kills over 3000 people a year. Why don’t the news print that? Companies like Gilead, Roche who make Tamiflu vaccine are seeing a rise in their shares already. I think you guys are starting to get the picture.
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May 1, 2009 8:27am
expat

When do we get the cheap bacon from the herd culls?
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May 1, 2009 8:33am
Murray

jackp you actually have to go to the places where maleria is to get it. swineflu2U is a different ball game.

If our measures are succesfull then everyone will say it was a scam, if they aren’t and we have a rerun of the post WWI influenza then we’ll be lynching our politicians and incompetant fools.

If theres a choice then I’m going to pick an over reaction over an under reaction.
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May 1, 2009 9:08am
Patrick Starr

ratbiter – “in a similar vein”…of course the green response will be;

SARswine2avianK were just captalist scams………………….nice trys, but none of which will ever match our global warming.
Stop showering, lighting, eating burgers and driving cars and listen to us – oh, and equal land rights for gay whales while your at it
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May 1, 2009 9:41am
jackp

Murray your right. So, you don’t have to worry because the maleria carrying masquito won’t fly beyond certain regions. So it is safe. Maleria still has killed more people than the so called bird or swine flu and the fluenza doesn’t seem to be restricted by any region. You can take a cautious approach which most would agree with you. But please look at the bird flu scare. This was only a few years ago. I am sure you remember Bush telling everyone that 200 million world wide will die.. Rumsfield, Bush’s father and a good friend made tens of millions. These people are in a position of authority and have an incredible amount of influence world wide. Cambodia was taken over by the military while their leader was in Paris… a coup which was supplied and financed by the CIA back in the early 70’s. I don’t take that cautious approach because whenever I see things connected to Rumsfield, Cheney, Bush, I know it is a scam.
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May 1, 2009 5:25pm

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