A Conversation for The Campaign to Promote Respect for Microbes: An Awareness Program

Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 1

arwen, doing nasty essays. being a student should *not* involve work!

Yes! I would like to join the Campaign!
dont know v much, but it sounds good!


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 2

Farlander

welcome to the campaign, arwen!
hang on, lemme get that inoculation loop and alcohol...
smiley - scientist
BABOOM!
the badge is still being forged. have patience! smiley - winkeye


rerouting connections

Post 3

Farlander

let's hope i don't get the wiring tangled up... here goes


rerouting connections

Post 4

Farlander

oh, and arwen, the badge is up on the page itself (A1001854) - wear it with pride!


rerouting connections

Post 5

arwen, doing nasty essays. being a student should *not* involve work!

thankyou v much! but how do i get the badge from the page to my personal space?


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 6

2legs - Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side...

Yes! I would like to join the Campaign!

Microbes hold a particular place in my life.
How vague our understanding of genetics would be if not for the might workhourse of the microbiological lab; E.Coli, probably one of the most studied creatures on the plannet.
Let us not forget the mighty fungi, without whom life would be so much duller. Sparkling up our lives, and those protoctista and slime molds, wonders to behold...
It is the microbes that have proved to be almost imortal, as I think of that found locked in salt crystals, and restored to life in a petri dish, or those microbes that live in the solid rock, forging an existance in the depths of the plannet...

Wonderous, marvelous, and incrdibably useful on one hand, whilst causing death illness and sociological change on the other... smiley - wowsmiley - magic


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 7

Farlander

welcome to the order of the microbes, 2legs! i hereby knight you with my rusty inoculation loop smiley - scientist, and here's your yoghurt smiley - milk - share and enjoy!
let us also not forget that bacteria aren't half as stupid as most people think - the quorum sensing phenomenon, if anything, indicates that they're capable of some serious stuff!
let us toast to microbes smiley - milk


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 8

Farlander

the news says that scientists have reported that the sars culprit is a paramyxovirus (about 18 people are dead, i think). any news yet regarding *which* paramyxovirus, or if it's a new one?


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 9

arwen, doing nasty essays. being a student should *not* involve work!

wheres' that?


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 10

Farlander

golly, haven't you been getting all that in your local news? there's been this outbreak of atypical pneumonia... singapore was pretty hard hit (i think they're devoting one hospital to this sars thing... the schools have been closed), although there were similar cases in hong kong, china and canada... and i think maybe one or two more places. check out the cdc website.


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 11

arwen, doing nasty essays. being a student should *not* involve work!

well not in my local news; we're getting news about south west england!! and with all the other stuff going on at the mo, i havent seen it on national news either. doesnt sound good tho.


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 12

arwen, doing nasty essays. being a student should *not* involve work!

i saw it on the news last nite, it doesnt look good. they called it an asian killer or something like that, and said it was spreading fast.


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 13

2legs - Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side...

The idea they had identified it dropped out of the news pretty quickly... Probably because of the need to have constant repeats of the war news smiley - groan Hay, lets hear a big chear for Lacto Bassilis!


Microbes deserve recognition!

Post 14

Farlander

yeah, they taste pretty good too! it's one of the microbes i plan to feature in the pet shop...


Microbes deserve recognition! (an original thread title)

Post 15

Rho

Self plugs work. smiley - winkeye I'd like to join! smiley - biggrin

RhoMuNuQ


Microbes deserve recognition! (an original thread title)

Post 16

Farlander

welcome to the campaign, rho! smiley - cheers now, would you like to be *knighted* or *branded* with the inoculation loop? smiley - winkeye

- hands out smiley - milk -


SARS

Post 17

Farlander

there was a talk on sars at the hospital yesterday. thought i'd just share the 'advisory for doctors' it with you guys...

1. what is severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars)?

since february 2003, the world health organisation (who) has reported outbreaks of severe forms of pneumonia in guangdong province of china, hanoi and hong kong. since then, similar cases have been reported in many other countries. this pneumonia is nw known as sars. the illness is characterized by the initial flu-like symptoms (rapid onset of high grade fever more than 38.5 degrees c, muscle ache, sore throat, cough and headache); followed by difficulty in breathing and may progress to a severe form of pneumonia and even death. the illness is associated with travel to the above affected areas or close contact with persons who had been diagnosed with sars.

2. what is the cause of sars?

(the advisory doesn't say, but the latest report is that it's a coronavirus, determined by pcr and microarray, and not paramyxovirus as previously reported. this virus has been reported to be viable for 3 hours in the air)

3. is it contagious, and how is it spread?

yes, it is contagious. it is spread through close contact (history of having cared for, having lived with, having had face to face contact with or having had contact with respiratory secretions of a probable case)

4. how soon will someone become ill after getting infected?

at the moment, the exact incubation period is unknown, but based on current available information, the most probable period is within 2 weeks.

5. who are at risk?

persons who have recently visited the affected areas or have been in close contact with cases of sars.

6. which are the high risk countries?

according to who report, these are guangdong province (china), hong kong and hanoi (vietnam). recently, similar cases have been reported in singapore, thailand, philippines, indonesia and canada.

7. how is sars diagnosed?

diagnosis is based on clinical illness, history of recent travel to high risk areas or history of close contact with persons with sars.

8. can it be treated?

at the moment, there is no specific treatment.
_________________________________________________

these are the latest statistics (2 april 03):

about 18 countries are affected
76 deaths as of 2/4/03
singapore: 95 affected (4 dead)
thailand: 7 affected (2 dead)


badge

Post 18

Farlander

oh, by the way, rho, you can collect your badge at the campaign page!


badge

Post 19

Rho

Will do, Farlander smiley - smiley

*sighs and waits for a pandemic...* smiley - erm

RhoMuNuQ


badge

Post 20

2legs - Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side...

smiley - erm How do you get the code for the badge? smiley - ermsmiley - weird


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