Ok, someone's gotta ask this -- Why doesn't anyone talk about the Hong Kong flu pandemic?

[skooooo]

That was the worst outbreak of the flu since the 1918 pandemic. Yet, you never hear of it today. It took place during the winter of 1968-69 and kicked EVERYONE's butt.

So what's the deal? You hear about the bird flue and swine flu that never really happened when they were supposed to, but no props given to the biggest baddest flu epidemic America saw in the last 50 years.


What gives??


:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

1. Because after "the sky is falling" fail with the bird flu killing us all....

people are being more careful about crying wolf?

[skooooo]

3. Even so..the only pandemic they make reference to..

..is the 1918 flu. Why don't they cite the Hong Kong flu?

[Mojorabbit]

7. I think because this one is hitting

hardest those between 20 and 45 years of age with the most robust immune systems like the 1918 pandemic did?

[skooooo]

14. dunno....

The HK hit everyone as I remember. Maybe it didn't kill too many tho.

[madrchsod]

2. i smoked pot and hash through that flu.....

it still kicked my ass but i did`t care.....:smoke:

[skooooo]

4. Hard to believe that...

..cause if you started coughing you would have puked. You must not have had it too bad.

[graywarrior]

5. Fuck that...what about fireplace flu?

:scared:

[TahitiNut]

8. ... and the One Over The Cuckoo's Nest flu, too.

:scared:

[DearAbby]

10. The MuuMuu Flu

Seriously :scared:

[graywarrior]

17. And fluids!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

6. Because everyone's too busy

getting hysterical on the basis of far too little information.

And, you know, that history thing - I mean, it's SO over, so who cares?

:sarcasm:

People would much rather do their Chicken Little bit with this latest outbreak, whatever it is, and their immediate flipping-out is all that matters.

I mean, what are they going to do to protect themselves? Stay inside and stop breathing?

Hey, I remember the Hong Kong flu. I got so sick, man, I thought I was going to die. And as soon as I recovered, everyone in my dorm - a co-ed dorm - started getting sick and I ended up taking care of them. Hit hard, hit fast, but people also recovered fast. But, we were young and strong. Now, if people get sick and they're older, that's a whole lot more dangerous.

My paternal grandfather died at the age of 27 in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. My Dad and I used to visit his grave in the small cemetery where so many victims of the Flu were buried, and he told me the stories he'd heard growing up without his father - how his father's best friend, another young man, died just a few hours after he did, and, in their haste to bury the bodies, my grandfather's family forgot to bury him with his hat - the Italian tradition back then.

So, when his friend died later that day, they put my grandfather's hat into his friend's coffin, with instructions to give it to my grandfather when they met up.

Everything carries a story with it, and they're always rich stories ..................................

[skooooo]

11. Wow...

True, the HK hit fast and was over with...

Interesting story.

Still don't understand why everyone disses the HK tho...

[NeedleCast]

9. The 24/7 Media Presence is What Gives

It feeds the panic by constantly bombarding people with these stories every time some new buzz word flu or virus appears.

[skooooo]

13. But there's no one around who remembers the 1918 flu..

...unlike the Hong Kong. Wouldn't it make more sense to talk about something at least people in their 40s and older would be able to relate to?

[NeedleCast]

18. Since when do people make sense?

:)

[Kansas Wyatt]

12. Someone wants to make money on it.

Fear generates wealth for some people.

[csziggy]

15. The Hong Kong Flu of 1968 was a milder outbreak and did not kill as many people

Theories why it was not as fatal are that since there had been a flu outbreak in 1957, many people still had immunity, the timing restricted school kids spreading it and health authorities still remembered the mistakes and successes from the 1957 outbreak and did a good job of controlling it. Even so, three quarters of a million people are estimated to have died from it but 'only' 34,000 in the US.

One of the big worries now apparently is that there has not been a world wide outbreak of a flu similar to swine flu in over a generation so most people do not have any natural immunity. Vaccines take time to develop, produce and distribute, so if this is the beginning of a pandemic, we are behind the curve for that kind of protection.

[skooooo]

16. Thanks for the information...

You knows your flu!

[csziggy]

19. No - I am not an expert by any means - just a few minutes of googling

Plus because I just found out that I may have a herpes infection that has caused major problems for me for 35+ years, I have been reading up on virus infections. I suspect that with my inefficient immune system, if there is a pandemic I will be toast.

[Inspired]

20. I had that flu. I was a young kid and remember it well.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

21. Yeah, I had it also. January of 1968 and I was sicker

than a dog for about 3 days but then recovered pretty fast. Of course I was only 14 at the time and in much better physical shape.

[skorpo]

22. I was the only person in my family that didn't get it..

Spent a week carrying pots from beside beds and making soup and serving it along with flat 7 up and apple juice to 7 people.

[Inspired]

23. Yep, I remember missing a week of school and then it was all back to normal.

[Blue Diadem]

26. My Mom had it, was hospitalized with it.

I don't remember how long but I do remember her hallucinating with a high fever. She was seeing "blue moon dust" sprinkled all over her bed. I must have been about 13 or so. She was the only one who got sick in our family. My Dad, my brother, sis and myself never got it.

[Mike 03]

24. Simple: Ignorance. Never heard of it.

Why don't you educate us rather than chastise us?

That would be helpful.

Where can we learn more?

What was the strain?

What age group was killed in greater proportion?

Thanks for the enormous, brilliant help and encouragement!

[Mike 03]

25. Oh, and kick and rec, for sure! NT