“Doctors say they’re seeing a lot of cases of Influenza A, the strain this year’s flu vaccine targeted. In good years, the shot can fend off up to 90 percent of bugs. But, the CDC says virus mutation has slashed that number to only 40 percent, this year. Experts say the stats shouldn’t make you skip the flu shot.”

http://www.wjbf.com/midatlantic/jbf/news_index.apx.-content-articles-JBF-2008-02-20-0050.html

Glad you didn’t let it keep you down…!!!

Spraying small amounts indoors has always been legal, and was what Rachel Carson advocated in IPM way back in 1962.

We can’t poison the disease away, however. It will take what we had in the U.S.: Economic development to get poor people into good housing and to kickstart medical care, and screening, either on the windows or around the beds. Bushies also argued that nets shouldn’t be given away because the natives wouldn’t “appreciate” free nets so much as nets they had to pay for. Projects in the past year show 50% reductions with just bed nets, given away free, so everybody has one.

Among malaria’s more pernicious effects is that it knocks workers out of work. Controlling the disease would be a great boon to Africa. DDT can’t control it; bednets and medical care, with or without DDT, can control malaria.

And Lord knows, we have more maladies HERE than we can take care of…

As I said, I always heard it said that charity begins at home, and to be brutally honest GM, I never have give a damn as to what happens to anyone in Africa…

Gotta disagree with you about the malaria issue though. Malaria kills indescriminately. The reason it is such a problem is all of the eco-nuts and lib-tards that have pushed the banning of DDT. A simple spray of a small amount of DDT on house walls and mosquito nets could save tens of thousands of children’s lives a year and NOT impact the environment one bit. And maybe, just maybe, one of those kids would grow up and be the answer to the woes of the continent of Africa. Lord knows that is the same rationale we use for our anti-abortion stance. Aren’t those kids just as innocent?

The FLU is different from cold and rhino viruses. When the flu vaccine is prepared, months ahead of the actual flu season, the manufacturers have to guess/predict which particular viruses they think will attack the US this season, and make their vaccines accordingly. Sometimes they guess right and other times not.

We always take the flu vaccine each year. I had an awful cold that started January 11. Hubby brought it home and gave it to me. We were both coughing our heads off when he had to go and have a HEART ATTACK.

So there we are in St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville on January 18, he’s all fixed up with another stint installed and I sound like I’ve got the plague.

It took four weeks for my ribs to heal up, I think I bruised most of them and maybe cracked one with all that coughing.

We are never safe from those “bugs” my friend.

Feel better and take it easy.