

New Strain of HIV - ptn
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8175379.stm

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asdlfj2sd33
The patient allegedly had no contact with bush meat, but got it from someone
who did. Am I the only one concerned that sooner or later an entirely
different virus will come out of bush meat and that one will be airborne? It's
pure luck HIV is not easily transmissible and Ebola kills too quickly.

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cwan
I'm sure you're not the only one but what is there that we can really do about
it? Worrying about it seems somewhat counterproductive - though with nasty
bugs like H1N1 (and its future mutations), SARS and some form of avian flu, I
have bought a few boxes of N95 face masks and hand sanitizers just in case.
Some days I figure it's excessively paranoid, on others, I figure that an
insurance policy for something catastrophic that costs under 50 bucks is a
pretty good deal.

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sfphotoarts
N95 masks are made to protect others, as in surgeons wearing them to protect
those they operate on. Not the other way round.

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cwan
Apparently, according to the CDC, it works both ways.
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/respirators.htm> \- N95 respirators were the
only masks recommended by the CDC to mitigate the risk from SARS

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mahmud
Yes, and in the 50s, school desks where "recommended" as safety bunkers for
kids in case of a soviet nuclear attack.

Government safety prescriptions are often panaceas, but they serve the purpose
of making the masses feel like everything is under control be calm.

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HalcyonMuse
Do you have a better recommendation?

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khafra
I thought that we were meant to lie down or put a paper bag over our head or
something.

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mahmud
HHGTG references go ungotten around here it seems.

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yannis
Alas, it is becoming safer to make war than love! (Slogan for the new
millennium?)

~~~
joubert
Condoms don't protect you from missiles or even a (prehistoric) knife.

