What would we have done if swine flu hit during a regional?

[BradMello]

Direct everyone to www.doihavepigflu.com

[AlexD744]

Originally Posted by Richard

N1H1 influenza? I recall reading a fascinating book about the pandemic of 1918, in which many millions of people were killed by a flu strain of that name. The book is really about heroes of science. I highly recommend it.

That'll calm people down. Good thing it's actually H1N1.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

That'll calm people down. Good thing it's actually H1N1.

Sorry, my mistake -- just repeating the transposition that an earlier poster made. See the nicely detailed explanation by Vikesrock a few posts further down. The virus that caused the 1918 flu pandemic described in the book I cited was H1N1. However,

Viruses with the H1N1 subtype, including descendants of the 1918 Spanish Flu, cause about half of all influenza infections so the connection between the subtypes of the two flus is fairly inconsequential.

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I heard that we're supposed to call it "N1H1" instead of "swine flu," because a lot of people think they can get it from eating pork

People these days...

It's actually H1N1 which is a subtype of the Influenza A virus. This virus is a descendant of the Spanish flu of 1918 that Richard mentioned, it was also an H1N1 subtype. Flu subtypes cover a broad range of different genetic makeups. Viruses with the H1N1 subtype, including descendants of the 1918 Spanish Flu, cause about half of all influenza infections so the connection between the subtypes of the two flus is fairly inconsequential.

The main thing causing people to freak out about this flu is that it is a "novel" flu strain that will allow it to spread even to those who have been vaccinated and who have a built up immunity to other strains. Also a number of the initial cases in Mexico caused death in people not usually killed by influenza (healthy adults). Another factor is confirmed human-to-human transfer. These factors are what lead to the WHO pandemic level changes, the various "state of emergency" declarations, and the widespread media coverage. These "state of emergency declarations are part of a process to prepare resources in case something does happen, they do not indicate that an emergency is imminent.

So far, the vast majority of reported deaths (7 of 8) and all deaths of healthy adults have been in Mexico. There has been one reported death in the United States, a toddler in Texas. Most of the steps being taken by various organizations and governments right now are preventative and/or preparative measures, at this point this virus is not a pandemic, nor has it been proven that it is any more virulent than normal strains of influenza.

The media is definitely over-hyping this issue. A number of media members have already been cited as saying that the media is creating fear because it cause people to tune in.

At this point it is a good idea to keep yourself informed and follow the advice listed above regarding basic, normal disease prevention practices. Getting yourself all worked up or buying into the fear the media is trying to spread does not help anyone.

PS. Those respirators linked by that Do I Have Pig Flu site will do a decent job of limiting the spread from an infected person wearing one by containing the virus from being expelled during coughing or sneezing, but will likely not provide significant protection to the wearer, the most common manner of flu transmission is through touching of the eyes nose and mouth.

[ChrisH]

I am more concerned about press induced panic than I am about the disease itself.

But to answer the questio of the original poster, FIRST does have some contingency plans in place. They were made during the last "flu panic". Remember Bird Flu?

While a country-wide ban on large assemblies would certainly put a damper on FIRST competitions, by the time things got to that point people would be concerned about things other than robots.

More likely is that the trucks with the field and other equipment would get caught in a city that is quaranteened. There exist plans for a wood field that can be built in about a day by a small crew of carpenters. Each year they are modified for the current game. So if your event's truck got stuck, you would have a smaller event with house lighting (unless they could scare up light locally) but the show could still go on.

[Nathan]

Oops, you're right. It's H1N1, my bad

[JesseK]

I don't see why this is an issue. Robots are immune to the N1H1 virus.

[GeorgeTheEng]

The Major concern FIRST has had with this type of pandemic is what effect it would have on teams. If Schools force teams to avoid large gatherings or cancel school/sports/extra curricullar activities (like Texas is doing now), teams might not be able to participate.

In large enough numbers, that could seriously effect FIRST's finances and might prevent a season from occurring. There are folks who always have that in thier minds. Even though they are a non-profit they have employees, suppliers, and contractors to pay. Missing a season could cause some serious problems for FIRST.

This type of thing falls under disaster planning. The potential impact is in the same category as a major terrorist attack, or significant natural disaster.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by GeorgeTheEng

This type of thing falls under disaster planning. The potential impact is in the same category as a major terrorist attack, or significant natural disaster.

Right now, at best, it is a confusing situation in areas of Texas. People are scratching there heads, asking questions, and wondering at the craziness. The instant communications resources and easy access being used by the media and by the general public is helping create/drive the confusion and anxiety. Right now for many students, it is a time of finals, TAKS, preparation for APs, never mind the social and extracurricular aspects such as proms and sports competitions. The teams have to comply with the decisions of the school districts and private schools.

[Akash Rastogi]

One thing I wanted to correct people on is that its the H1N1 virus, not N1H1

This is actually a big thing people don't understand the meaning of. Contact with the flu will not make you drop dead. You have 2 days to get treatment within the more urgent symptoms and because the "swine" flu has a strain of regular human influenza mixed in, it is very treatable and preventable.


People need to keep things in perspective in the media, just from January to May this year, over 20,000 Americans died of the regular human pathogen flu. To ease everyone's tension, think about it, the people who normally find the regular flu fatal, are the same people who are threatened by the H1N1 strain of the flu. There is not much difference. Just relax and stay clean.

[Tyler Hicks]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

It's actually H1N1 which is a subtype of the Influenza A virus. This virus is a descendant of the Spanish flu of 1918 that Richard mentioned, it was also an H1N1 subtype. Flu subtypes cover a broad range of different genetic makeups. Viruses with the H1N1 subtype, including descendants of the 1918 Spanish Flu, cause about half of all influenza infections so the connection between the subtypes of the two flus is fairly inconsequential.

Hey, don't dis 1918 like that!
just kidding

[Rick TYler]

To go back to the thread title, the swine flu panic was just getting rolling in the days before last weekend's Vex World Championships in Dallas. What IFI did was respect the wishes of the various schools. Since students in Mexico were forbidden to participate in sports or extracurricular events (were all the schools closed, too? I don't remember), IFI asked them not to come. They then extended an automatic invitation to World Championships 2010 to all those teams. Some individual schools in the rest of the world decided not to allow their teams to participate, including a few from the US. I believe that around 25 of 285 registered teams did not attend. The event itself went fine, with little bottles and various dispensers of alcohol hand cleaner everywhere, and only a handful of people wearing gloves and/or masks.

Of course, our club had an outbreak of a nasty viral infection (including me), but it wasn't the flu. It was some other non-specific viral head-cold thing with low fever, nasty stuffiness, coughing and sore throat. I hate getting sick on a trip, and I blame my son. The good thing is that it allowed me to take today off and get caught up on my robot forum reading.

[kapolavery]

http://onemorelevel.com/game/pandemic_2

i think we should learn how to think like a virus/parasite/bacteria in order to prevent these types of things haha!