Unfortunately, this is all too real. Felipe Solis Olguin, the director for the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, (below) gives President Obama a tour, and dies the next day from "flu-like symptoms." (Name game: Solis = Sun.) That's no joke.
Now let me turn to the further harsh reality via Google Maps, thanks to Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo. See the spread of the pandemic, in real time. Click here.
A screen capture of the swine flu map, from earlier today.
As Diaz says: "Reading the map is very simple: [x-out...We are all going to die.] The pink markers are suspect, the purple markers are confirmed, and deaths don't have a black dot in the marker. The yellow markers are negative, but I don't see any. Have fun watching. While you can."
Mr. Coleman, since one of your area's of interest is biology, I like to ask you a couple of questions.
ReplyDeleteOne news story I read said that the CDC found gene segments they've never seen before. With viruses, is this fairly common? Do genes just pop up out of the blue?
Also, is the stew of different genes, European avian + North American avian + European pig + North American pig + human, a common occurrence?
I have a vague recollection of reading something years ago that said that this is how influenza mutates. Taking bits of genes from everything it contacts until the right lethal combination is reached.
Since I don't remember where I read this, hunting through my hundreds of books would be a fairly futile endeavor.
I'm only asking because much internet speculation is revolving around these two factoids pointing to this being a bio-weapon of some sort.
While I like to believe humans aren't actually amoral and ruthless enough to do something so pathologically homicidal, the history of biological weaponry that I'm aware of demonstrates that humans really are twisted enough to contemplate scenarios like this quite often.
I think that there are even accusations that the CIA used swine flu against Cuba at one point.
Any help you can give would be much appreciated.
My areas of research, field studies, education, and writings have been of large species within biology (especially of mammals), as well as anthropology, cryptozoology, history, and psychology.
ReplyDeleteI defer to those with knowledge in microbiology who may have better answers than me on this one.
It's interesting that the flu would "emerge" out of Mexico - the land of enchantment, pyramids, and human sacrifice. There is a twilight language here, proceeded by media disaster movies and television series using bio-attacks or diseases (I am Legend) as a meme and template. The flu season has long since passed (October and November). Something else seems to be going on here --
ReplyDeleteCNN has just now reported that the death took place a week after Obama's visit and was not related to Swine Flu, although they did not cite a source or provide any actual details as to what he DID die from...
ReplyDeleteI've now heard varying reports that Solis died one day, two days, or a week after the visit. Also, it is now being said that he had flu-like symptoms, and died from a pre-existing condition, the swine flu, or merely pneumonia. Take your pick.
ReplyDeleteThe White House noon news conference today was an exercise in frustration, with tension being exhibited by the White House spokesman who said he'd "answer the question for the 8th time" about the man that gave Obama a tour.
It was one of the first cases I've seen of the new administration completely stonewalling the media about something, specifically this incident.
No matter what the truth, what it appears to look like is that previously released "correct information" is intriguingly being revised to match the needs of a quickly rewritten new script.
Mr. Coleman, I'm sure there's much alteration going on. On Saturday, when the death count was somewhere around 60,the BBC was posting e-mails from healthcare workers in Mexico who said the death count was closer to, if not higher than, 200.
ReplyDeleteA story I read a few hours ago moved back the starting date of the outbreak of this particular flu bug to sometime in February.
There are accusations coming out that a huge hog farm in VeraCruz, partly owned by Smithfield Foods, an American corporation, is the source of the outbreak.
Evidently residents have been complaining about this particular hog farm for quite some time.
No matter how you slice it this story stinks...
ReplyDelete