Archive for September, 2009
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen a rise in tendancy to move swine flu to the virtual world. I don’t just mean the millions of academic articles and media report to be found on websites worldwide. I’m talking about swine flu moving from inside the body and the lab to various other media.
We were given the online swine flu pandemic game where players select a level of difficulty and spend up to €2 billion trying to prevent their chosen “flu” from spreading around the world. Often with grim results. It’s quite an eye opener in regards to what national health authorities have to deal with regularly – and not just as a result of swine flu.
Following on in the games category is the Swine Flu Pandemic Game, a role-playing game with dice created in the UK and aimed at helping employers understand the potential impact to their businesses in the event of swine flu really taking hold.
Kids are able to play too. GiantMicrobes.com has been swamped with orders for its fuzzy swine flu stuffed toy – widely believed to be this year’s must-have Christmas gift. Indeed no doubt to be shared amongst sniffly kids. The White House went a step further this week by joining forces with Sesame Street character Elmo to teach kids the importance of handwashing and to avoid rubbing eyes and noses if their hands are dirty. I suppose this also balances against the shock of 90,000 projected deaths caused by swine flu in that country.
Older people who have iPhones as their “toys” can now download the free “Outbreaks Near Me” app which helps users learn where the latest outbreaks are of any flu – not just H1N1. This builds on HealthMap which searches official, media and personal accounts online to help determine where the latest disease outbreaks are. (Incidentally, of the range of swine flu maps this is probably one of the best I have seen to date).
Further 360° Reading:
What’s fuzzy, pink, and just plain cuddly? The Influenza A H1N1 virus, of course… or at least, the stuffed toy crafted in the pathogen’s likeness. You can get your very own swine flu toy made by GIANTmicrobes online or, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta.
Comment on No Swine Flu in the Philippines Yet by Electronic Cigarette – Big thank to god for saving us from Swine Flu.
Swine Flu & The Housing Crisis: A “Perfect Storm” – Reported/potential H1N1 Swine Flu cases as of … Image by pixelfrenzy via Flickr. It’s always something! Just when there are some small (real small) signs that the US economy may be on the mend, a new, never before seen type of swine …
SWINE FLU PANDEMIC AND WORK FROM HOME JOBS – With the swine flu scare going on right now, people who are lucky and have home jobs have to be feeling just a little bit safer than the rest of us. It is times like these that it is great to be able to be a little more self sufficient …
Swine Flu Maps – The origins of these animal-to-human diseases remain for me shrouded in “I don’t want to know.” But like others I’ve watched the Swine Flu story develop over the past few days. This evening Om Malik pointed out a Google Map showing …
Natural remedy for Swine Flu? – Is there a natural remedy for Swine Flu? Can the world heave a big sigh of relief? When Madras is running out of Swine Flu testing kit; When Bombay has shut down schools and shopping malls; When India is considering more drastic …
cryptogon.com » Archives » Exposed: The Swine Flu Hoax – If the current H1N1 swine flu virus does become abnormally lethal, there would be three leading explanations: first, that the virus was accidentally released, or escaped, from a laboratory; second, that a disgruntled lab employee …
Wentzville, Fort Zumwalt report first suspected swine flu cases of … – Nearly all type A influenza viruses that are currently circulating are the H1N1 or swine flu subtype, but the state health departments are no longer doing detailed flu testing on every specimen because the treatment for any flu is the …
Swine Flu School Closings: Fort Worth ISD, Lewisville, Ponder … – I’ve been paying close attention to the Swine Flu school closings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, especially since I live in Plano TX myself. Swine Flu (H1N1) concerns has lead Fort Worth ISD to close all schools in the district, …
Get Some Flu-Fighting Foods in Your Diet – I have been sniffling and coughing off and on for a week now and it seems that no matter what medicine I take or how much time I spend “taking it easy” in bed or snuggled up on the couch with bad TV and great movies, the runny/stuffy …
Thermal Scanners Used to Screen for Swine Flu as Countries Race to … – hot-for-swine-flu. There is NO panic but countries are rushing to contain the Swine Flu outbreak. Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine. …
Comment on No Swine Flu in the Philippines Yet by Electronic Cigarette – Big thank to god for saving us from Swine Flu.
Swine Flu & The Housing Crisis: A “Perfect Storm” – Reported/potential H1N1 Swine Flu cases as of … Image by pixelfrenzy via Flickr. It’s always something! Just when there are some small (real small) signs that the US economy may be on the mend, a new, never before seen type of swine …
SWINE FLU PANDEMIC AND WORK FROM HOME JOBS – With the swine flu scare going on right now, people who are lucky and have home jobs have to be feeling just a little bit safer than the rest of us. It is times like these that it is great to be able to be a little more self sufficient …
Swine Flu Maps – The origins of these animal-to-human diseases remain for me shrouded in “I don’t want to know.” But like others I’ve watched the Swine Flu story develop over the past few days. This evening Om Malik pointed out a Google Map showing …
Natural remedy for Swine Flu? – Is there a natural remedy for Swine Flu? Can the world heave a big sigh of relief? When Madras is running out of Swine Flu testing kit; When Bombay has shut down schools and shopping malls; When India is considering more drastic …
cryptogon.com » Archives » Exposed: The Swine Flu Hoax – If the current H1N1 swine flu virus does become abnormally lethal, there would be three leading explanations: first, that the virus was accidentally released, or escaped, from a laboratory; second, that a disgruntled lab employee …
Wentzville, Fort Zumwalt report first suspected swine flu cases of … – Nearly all type A influenza viruses that are currently circulating are the H1N1 or swine flu subtype, but the state health departments are no longer doing detailed flu testing on every specimen because the treatment for any flu is the …
21st Century Outbreak – “…references to swine flu in the blogosphere are far surpassing the actual spread of the virus itself. As the government tries to get in front of the rapid spread of information, it’s learning some important lessons about how social …
Plant substance triggers cancer cell death, keeps healthy ones intact – CM NEWS – A substance of popular Chinese herb huang qin (Scutellaria radix, 黃芩) triggers the death process in tumour cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells, according to a new discovery of this selective function of …
Swine Flu School Closings: Fort Worth ISD, Lewisville, Ponder … – I’ve been paying close attention to the Swine Flu school closings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, especially since I live in Plano TX myself. Swine Flu (H1N1) concerns has lead Fort Worth ISD to close all schools in the district, …
Get Some Flu-Fighting Foods in Your Diet – I have been sniffling and coughing off and on for a week now and it seems that no matter what medicine I take or how much time I spend “taking it easy” in bed or snuggled up on the couch with bad TV and great movies, the runny/stuffy …
Thermal Scanners Used to Screen for Swine Flu as Countries Race to … – hot-for-swine-flu. There is NO panic but countries are rushing to contain the Swine Flu outbreak. Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine. …