pneumonia

[Roca Wear]

So what is up with this pneumonia spread all of a sudden? It's kind of scaring me because it could be terrorism because it has spread in like 7 different locations and they're all spread out throughout the world so it's not like it's focused on one spot. I think it's killed 10 or so people already!

[Bonos-Girl]

i thought it was flu.....maybe it was 'flu that developed into pneumonia....anyways...i'm kinda scared cos ive had a really bad headache all day (ok...i already know i'm paranoid...no point telling me...)

[Galadriel]

I am not too worried yet. I get pneumonia atleast once a year. Hopefully though no one gets it bad enough that they die.

[Bonos-Girl]

a few people have died in germany where an old au pair of ours lives.....

[Pil]

Poor BG! (abour headache and germany thing)

*pil hugs bg* :cuddles:

But Roca Wear, pneumonia isn't a disease...you cant catch it...or so i believe....so it wouldn't be able to be spread as an act of terrorism... :huh:

[Dawn Noelle]

i hope you feel better BG

[Eowyn]

pil's right pneumonia wouldn't be used in terrorism. pneumonia is an infection in the lung tissue. you get it after a bad cold or smoking etc.... if you have weak immune systems. most people are fit enough not to get it or at least only mildly.

galadriel how come you get it at least once a year?

[Galadriel]

I get it becasue I live in Massachuestts which gets pretty cold in the winter. Plus my school is not the most health friendly place. We don't really have a good heatng system and the air quality is bad. I haven't gottten it this year though(crosses fingers). I uually start out with a cold and the get pneumonia.

[Roca Wear]

yea but isnt it strange that it spread in like 7 diff places all around the world at the same time?

[Tári Celebrindal]

Not really, people do travel a lot, and it isn't surprising that it has spread that fast. The world is a small place...

[Roca Wear]

umm yea u hot a point

[Bonos-Girl]

i'm feeling better now...although that might be to do with the paracetomol i took about 1/2 hour ago...

[Little Devil]

9 people have died, and it's spread through three continants last time I saw the news. It's like a super strong bug, that can't be cured by normal antibiotics. :( It could have gotten to England now, and it only broke out about 4 days ago!, Spreads pretty quickly.

[Gwaihir]

Never heard anything about pneumonia recently here. I'm not scared, or at least not yet. If you get pneumonia you should get to doctor quickly, then it's ok most of the times.

[Bonos-Girl]

i heard on the news that:
a)it is infectious (although they don't know what type of respiratory disease it is yet)

b) they think it came from asia cos in all the cases there was a link with someone from asia.

[Eowyn]

thats what I've heard. and yes people are dying because the bacteria/virus has mutated and become immune to the normal antibiotics. It was bound to happen although didn't expect it now! hoping it might take its time! :huh: oh well they'll figure it out! :) don't stress (that supresses the immune system, be happy! - have a drink. its worked for me!)

[Daisy Gamgee]

It isn't affecting healthy people: its just poeple who are already sick : which sounds a normal thing, although the fact that more people have reported it....but it doesn't mean its a terrorist attack.

Accrding to science, the use of more antibacterial products, etc, is causingn more problems...more people are allergic to washing-up detergent. and etc.

[SindarinGirl]

It's survival of the fittest, those bacteria and viruses that are resistant to the drugs we've come up with to kill them are the ones that survive to reproduce and pass on those resistant traits to the next generation. As each successive generation contains more of those characteristics, more individuals survive. As people hadn't put a lot of effort in developing newer generations of drugs, the bacteria and viruses became stronger than what we had to fight them.
It was bound to happen and will continue to occur. I only hope we can invent faster than they can evolve.

[Eowyn]

oh oh I can explain it really scarily using long words! (it was in our last module I've been revising :grin: ) but I won't. Bacteria and viruses evolve to become resistant to drugs. They do this quicker because they reproduce quicker. Drug resistance is enhanced by increased use of drugs.

They also think they'll be a flu epidemic...like the one in 1918 (killed lots of people because they couldn't treat it!) :huh:

pneumonia is still normally a secondary infection and healthy people don't usually get it. so this would be a good time to stop smoking, excerise and eat healthily! lol

[Bonos-Girl]

do i really have to do the second one...?! lol

[Eowyn]

only a bit! 1/2 an hour a day! not that difficult!

[Bonos-Girl]

lol...i know..i was kinda joking! hehe

[Gwaihir]

My parents told me that this "pneumonia" is not a pneumonia, only it has symptoms very much like it. Do you think that's so? :(

[Bonos-Girl]

yep...it's some kinda respiratory desease but (as far as i know) they haven't found out what yet.....i hope they find out soon and find a cure....:(

[Tári Celebrindal]

It's called SARS (sudden [?] acute respiratory syndrome)