Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hui zhou who wrote (194)	4/22/2003 8:45:54 AM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4232

SARS fatality rate is only 5%. I don't know how much for the common flu. A fatality rate of 5% is estimated to be higher than the Spanish 'Flu epidemic of 1918-1920 that killed more than 20 million people world wide. Regular 'flu has a fatality rate more like .1% (But I concede that 'flu is likely much more infectious than the average SARS infection, but perhaps not more so than the infection potential of a SARS "superspreader."). The SARS story is close to an end IMHO. Much closer to a beginning, in my view. It's probably only a matter of time before we get a single outbreak on a cruise ship, and there would go the cruise industry. How comfortable would you be going to a movie and sitting in the same room as several hundred other people any one of which could be infected and could potentially kill you or your family? There goes the movie business... My guess is that once the genie is out of the bottle (and I suspect it is in China), it is only a matter of time before it spreads to the rest of the world. Canada is a good test case - they still have a shot at containing it. Peter

To: hui zhou who wrote (194)	4/22/2003 8:57:10 AM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4232

Yeah, totally agree, WHO does act more like a political mouthpiece than an international health organization. hehe, Tommy Thomson is the administrator of the Federal Health Care Financing Administration and now it is called Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). you have demoted him<g>. and he was WI governor for 3 or even 4 terms (15+years) and left at a glorious time, and a huge budget deficit for WI. $3.2+ Billions of deficit for the next 2 fiscal years, and now the new governor has to do the dirty job to clean up the mess he left. And now I think, he, along with Bush, are thinking to mess up Medicare. what can I say. This time, CDC is going to spin the SARS situation as much as possible, and use it to test the preparation of the US health system for the possible bio-chemical attack. Have you read this following article? I actually buy the theory of this US vet about most of US people already immune to SARS. And who knows? maybe that is why SARS has not been spreading out in the US, although it may be too early to tell. forbes.com I do not know about the death rate of flu, but in terms of number of deaths, it will be low 6 figures annually, I think. Although there is a little difference bet. SARS and flu. flu victims are usually dominantly elders, very few younger people get it and dead, even if treated late. While in SARS, both younger and elder people might die if treated late. And SARS, although not as easy to pass on from one person to another as flu, but could have much longer dormant period than flu. Yeah, I do agree that SARS will stay with us for a long time, perhaps, with or without vaccines.

To: hui zhou who wrote (194)	4/22/2003 12:54:06 PM
From: semi_infinite	Respond to of 4232

You must be a true believer in the People's Daily and the Chairman's quotations. SARS is actually a secret Chinese biowarfare weapon intended to succeed where the single-child policy failed.