to be worried about coronavirus part 3

[peridito]

starting this in case ivybush is busy

previous thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3819574-AIBU-to-ask-if-you-are-worried-about-the-new-coronavirus-continued

Oh God, again with the hysteria - always hysteria - the misogyny is dripping.

what happened with bird flu and swine flu.....did they die out on their own? how was it contained/stopped? i can't remember as i wasn't really interested back then!

this feels a bit different

Swine flu lasted around 18 months and affected between 10-20% of the worlds population but the death rate was v low

We have been very lucky with bird flu so far in that it hasn't developed the ability to jump from human to human (or not in a sustained way, there may be question marks over whether a tiny bit happened - I can't remember). If it does then that will be a truly apocalyptic scenario as the death rate is upwards of 60%. Something like that will happen one day but hopefully not in our lifetimes and only after some kind of absolute super-medication against the influenza virus has been invented!

Once you are admitted to icu I wonder what the chances are of recovery at that point

There is a study in the Lancet about the recovery of critical condition (as opposed to merely serious) from a hospital in Wuhan. They defined it as needing oxygen above a certain level or mechanical intervention with breathing. After 28 days 67% were dead. Most who survived were younger than 50. If you needed mechanical help with breathing then you had an 80% chance of death. Again those who survived were in the younger groups.

Long and short if you are over 60 and need mechanical ventilation, it looks like you are more or less fucked.

So in terms of shortages of equipment, arguably you have to allocate on basis of who has the best chance of survival...

132 cases in Italy. 26 serious. 2 in Venice now.

did it just die out naturally?

also, couple in Turin infected after visiting their daughter in hospital YESTERDAY? that seems quick

Come on everyone this is such mass hysteria and overreaction.

I can't help thinking people who say this now (rather than three weeks ago) are surely just trolling? I'd be inclined to ignore...

I almost certainly caught swine flu, as did my whole family. Dds had very high temps for five days, lost loads of weight - I felt really unwell but ok after about two weeks. Dh only had it mildly. (We weren’t tested, but GP made a house call and thought it probable that we had it ) .

Swine flu was scary. There seemed to be a cluster where I lived at the time and one of my friends was heavily pregnant and died.
The football stadium in the town was turned into a make shift innoculation centre. There were people queuing up for it.

School starts back tomorrow after a weeks half term holiday. DD said quite a few people went skiing in Italy during the holiday- I do wonder if people will be bringing the virus back with them.

I am probably over anxious as DS takes immune suppressants.

I am 56, but with two dc under 16, youngest is 12. So I am very worried that if I get this and I am seriously ill, (and I am prone to chest infections anyway), then I might be written off in favour of someone younger, where there are limited resources/beds etc. Our nearest hospital covers a huge area and is overwhelmed at the best of times. Last time we went to A&E there was an eight hour minimum wait, one elderly man had been waiting for six hours for his medication, after being seen.

Yes skiing, lots of people from dd’s school went this half term, to Italy and the French Alps.

@glittercandle my son is immune suppressed too. Go into school on Monday and asked to be informed if anyone is being tested for the virus because the new guidance from the department of health says they don't actually have to.
We are currently informed of other potential viral situations so in my opinion, we should be informed of this too.

i would be cautious of those returning from Italy

I'm in Italy and am not particularly worried. My work has closed as a precaution though so I have next week off!

Can I ask for what reason you aren't worried Seventyone?

I think the chances of getting it are still quite low and the chances of getting it really bad are even lower. Of course I could be wrong! (Plus I am a chronic worrier and I am all maxed out with other worries at the moment!!)

This was last years flu. We heard nothing about that! This was the US.

Trying to attach screenshot...

@Plantpotpot so in your opinion, why do you think the governments in China, Italy and South Korea are taking such "extreme" measures? What would be the benefit, given the cost of locking down entire cities?

I’m a natural worrier (hence me reading this thread) but surely this adds perspective?!

Maybe because doubling the figures would potentially cripple the system?

Also if there’s a ‘chance’ to limit the effect they would? I don’t know - just like everyone else

They are locking down cities because some people ARE dying from it, so of course they want to minimise the spread. They are preventing the spread so there is more time to develop vaccines etc. The flu we know far more about, locking down is buying us time to find out more about the virus and rescue strain on health resources. Any death is one too many so Italy China etc are doing what they can to minimise it and protect others. It’s better to lock down a few towns and take the cost of that than let it get into Rome, Milan, Florence etc as the cost of that would be far higher.

I get the worry and I too am concerned, but thread is a worrier’s porn. Keep things in perspective. Life is short - none of us know when we will die and it’s likely to be the thing we don’t expect to kill us that kills us.

My work (the whole company) have started a new procedure in place. If you go through an airport, anywhere, you now have to be off work for a week and work from home