Swine Flu Email

I got this email from a family member who received it from a bunch of other friends that work in various medical fields. So at face value this looked real.

Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:55:31 -0500

Subject: Flu Update from Dr. Marcus Gitterle


After I returned from a public health meeting yesterday with community
leaders and school officials in Comal County , Heather suggested I send
an update to everyone, because what we are hearing privately from the
CDC and Health Department is so different from what you are hearing in
the media.
Some of you know some or maybe all of this, but I will just list what
facts I know.


- The virus is infectious for about 2 days prior to symptom onset

- Virus sheds more than 7 days after symptom onset (possibly as long as
9
days) (this is unusual)

- Since it is such a=2 0novel (new) virus, there is no "herd
immunity,"
so the "attack rate" is very high. This is the percentage of people
who
come down with a virus if exposed. Almost everyone who is exposed to
this virus will become infected, though not all will be symptomatc. That
is much higher than seasonal flu, which averages 10-15%. The "clinical
attack rate" may be around 40-50%. This is the number of people who show
symptoms. This is a huge number. It is hard to convey the seriousness of
this.

- The virulence (deadliness) of this virus is as bad here as in Mexico ,
and there are folks on ventilators here in the US , right now. This has
not been in the media, but a 23 month old near here is fighting for his
life, and a pregnant woman just south of San Antonio is fighting for her
life. In Mexico , these folks might have died already, but here in the
US , folks are getting Tamiflu or Relenza quickly, and we have ready
access to ventilators.
What this means is that within a couple of weeks, regional hospitals
will likely become overwhelmed.

- Some of the kids with positive cases in Comal County had more than 70
contacts before diagnosis.

- There are 10-25 times more actual cases (not "possible" cases --
actual), than what is being reported in the media. The way they fudge on
reporting this is that it takes 3 days to get the confirmatory nod from
the CDC on a given viral culture, but based on epidemiological grounds,
we know that there are more than 10 cases for each20"confirmed" case
right now.

- During the night, we crossed the threshold for the definition of a
WHO, Phase 6 global pandemic. This has not happened in any of our
lifetimes so far. We are in uncharted territory.

- I expect President Obama will declare an emergency sometime in the
next
72-96 hours. This may not happen, but if it doesn't, I will be
surprised.
When this happens, all public gathering will be cancelled for 10 days.

- I suggest all of us avoid public gatherings. Outdoor activities are
not as likely to lead to infection. It is contained areas and close
contact that are the biggest risk.

- Tamiflu is running out. There is a national stockpile, but it will
have to be carefully managed, as it is not enough to treat the likely
number of infections when this is full-blown. I don't think there is a
big supply of Relenza, but I do not know those numbers. If I had to
choose, I would take Relenza, as I think it gets more drug to the
affected tissue than Tamiflu.

- You should avoid going to the ER if you think you have been exposed or
are symptomatic. ER's south of here are becoming overwhelmed -- and I
mean that -- already. It is coming in waves, but the waves are getting
bigger.

- It appears that this flu produces a distinctive "hoarseness" in
many
victims. The symptoms, in general, match other flu's; namely, sore
throat, body aches, headache, cough, and fever. Some have all these
symptoms, while others may have only one or=2 0two.

- N-Acetyl-Cysteine -- a nutritional supplement available at the health
food store or Wimberley Pharmacy, has been shown to prevent or lessen
the severity of influenza. I suggest 1200mg, twice a day for adults, and
600mg twice a day in kids over 12. It would be hard to get kids under 12
to take it, but you could try opening the capsules and putting it on
yogurt. For 40 pounds and up, 300-600 mg twice a day, for less than 40
pounds, half that.

- Oscillococinum, a homeopathic remedy, has been vindicated as quite
effective in a large clinical trial in Europe , with an H1N1 variant.
You can buy this at Hill Country Natural Foods, or the Wimberley
Pharmacy.

I will try to keep everyone posted if I have any new information.
Meanwhile, don't be afraid just avoid infection. The fewer people
infected the easier it will be for our public officials to manage it.

Marcus

These types of forwarded emails are notorious for being fake. However, I did some research it turns out the doctor is for real, but I was still skeptical since anyone can create a legitimate email from what you can find online.

It appears the email is for real according to this article. But the doctor's credibility is in question.

I really hate this type of bulls**t because it just does not help the situation we are in since more gasoline is added to the fire and instead of duck and roll people panic and keep running around.