17 June 2009

Pig sniffles hit Bimberi

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times reports that the Bimberi youth detention centre’s got two of it’s ten inmates testing positive for the H1N1 swine flu.

When one thinks about the controls on access to Bimberi I think it’s now safe to assume the swine flu is completely endemic and it’s time to stop wasting money on it.

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Skidbladnir said :

I’m with Jb on the better confirmation testing and reporting than in say, Mexico (or frankly, the United States).
However, I think we might be using positive presumption on inconclusive results (which is fine, if you’re using this as a test for a more virulent future pathogen), which would further inflate numbers.

The fact that it seems to be speading this well through the population, given all the hype, would indicate that the Pandemic Prevention\Containment\Sustain Plan failed to sufficiently fit the disease behaviour, though.

(PS: Endemic pathogens have a stable infected population, Jb. They’re not about to call it endemic after only a few weeks, especially in the middle of the winter flu outbreak peak)

the problematic of this piggy sniffle outbreak is the damage that it is doing to the population from a psychological perspective. some people are dismissing it, whilst others are panicking.

I am worried that the next time I get the flu and trot down to the GP, it will turn out to be far worse than i surmised. I am not concerned for my personal health, but, rather, for the people I come in contact with – I have several friends with young children, and although my hygiene practices are great, what if i have this damn thing, and pass it to someone who has a lower tolerance than I?

Holden Caulfield11:07 am 17 Jun 09

canberratowie2 said :

Why are there only 10 inmates there ??

I’m glad we spent millions of dollars on this all singing all dancing fancy new youth detention center to only have 10 people in it !!

Yeah, we should make sure there is a waiting list to get in!

If the illness had proven to be more serious, the phases of the pandemic plan would have been accelerated (school and public event closures, compulsory curbs on interstate travel, right up to closing the country’s borders).

It might still happen. You can be sure the world authorities are watching the disease’s activity in the southern hemisphere winter… their interest will be on what it happens as it gets colder up north come October.

I’m with Jb on the better confirmation testing and reporting than in say, Mexico (or frankly, the United States).
However, I think we might be using positive presumption on inconclusive results (which is fine, if you’re using this as a test for a more virulent future pathogen), which would further inflate numbers.

The fact that it seems to be speading this well through the population, given all the hype, would indicate that the Pandemic Prevention\Containment\Sustain Plan failed to sufficiently fit the disease behaviour, though.

(PS: Endemic pathogens have a stable infected population, Jb. They’re not about to call it endemic after only a few weeks, especially in the middle of the winter flu outbreak peak)

canberratowie210:16 am 17 Jun 09

Why are there only 10 inmates there ?? I’m glad we spent millions of dollars on this all singing all dancing fancy new youth detention center to only have 10 people in it !!

I have suspicions that the higher incidence in VIctoria is due to more efficient public health simply identifying more people as being infected.

Weaselburger9:56 am 17 Jun 09

hahahahah yeah agreed, and where’s all the sergical masks that governments of countries not as badly affected as us have been handing out to their populations for free

I bet that even if you paid for one and wore it poeple would look at you like you’re a paranoid moron.

It just goes to show how useless our quarantine measures have been. I hope someone is taking notes for improvements if we get a serious plague disease.

I mean Melbourne is the world hotspot for swine flu, and yet we haven’t even had a travel recomendation to suggest people not go there on holidays, or Victorians not visit us – wouldn’t want to upset the tourism numbers.

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