Anyone else sick a week after the protests?

[shadowknows69]

<http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/Health/story?id=1174699>

Normally only 200 human cases a year. Why was it in the air filters?

<http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/tularemia/faq.asp>

[liberalitch]

1. I was sick before so.....?

Rabbit fever..... COOL!

[crispini]

2. Anything that's in the air...

is gonna get caught in the air filters, FWIW....

[leesa]

3. Oh get real. Any time you test vents you can find all sorts of stuff.

Quit falling for this propaganda.

[shadowknows69]

5. 3 no answers

thanks for playing. Now anyone who this thread is directed towards want to answer?

[shadowknows69]

7. Excuse me but this is my health

so screw your assumptions that I'm falling for propaganda.

[converted_democrat]

9. I'm not saying that this was done purposely to hurt demonstrators, but

have you read up at all about this stuff? It isn't something you would typically find in a vent under normal circumstances. It was found in 6 sensors, and the Washington Post is telling anyone that was in the area and is sick, should go get looked at. Regardless of where it came from, it is potentially very dangerous if left untreated.

edit for my awful grammer

[Catchawave]

30. LBN has some great posts on this subject.....

Especially by a veterinarian/micro-biologist (Kestrel :hi:)

I'm watching this subject closely, maybe FEMA will pay for my impacted molar oral surgery ?!? (Yes, I had a nasty toothache, and why I missed the DU parties :( )

[converted_democrat]

32. I just finished reading those posts by Kestrel in LBN.......

Kestrel is one smart cookie, the posts were very informative.

[Catchawave]

41. LBN w/Kestrel thread

Informative reading !

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1819039&mesg_id=1819039

[kestrel91316]

53. Thank you for your kind remarks...........

[Boo_Radley]

4. Seems sensible.

"One law enforcement official said drought conditions in Washington and heavy pedestrian traffic may have sent particles airborne."

Makes sense to me. Not that I'd put anything past the quazi-fascist government we have these days. But, no, I feel fine, and I had a great time at the rally :)

[shadowknows69]

6. I had a great time too

but I get the flu once every 10 years or so. I had it a week before the march and just got it suddenly again a day and a half ago. Doesn't make sense.

[meganmonkey]

10. It could be that your body was still vulnerable after your flu

and you had a relapse because of the stress/excitement/physical exertion of the rally.

I have a cough/sore throat, but I really think it is just from so much yelling. A little bit of sniffles, but the seasons are changing, and my lungs feel pretty clear. My energy level is okay. I am trying not to panic :P

[shadowknows69]

14. I was perfectly healthy right up until thursday night though

and this hit me like a ton of bricks. Look folks I'm not trying to be alrmist and help the propaganda machine but it warrants gathering some numbers on. I found at least 7 people that got sick since the march on another thread.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

26. You were also

exposed to germs from around the country, as well.

[shadowknows69]

19. anyone who is sick and has the means

please get checked and have them test for this as the washington post suggests.

[Mnemosyne]

13. Count me in shadow,

I got a bad sore throat, am still hoarse and am suffering respiratory symptoms with extreme fatigue. So is the friend I traveled with. I never get sick and as far as I know he doesn't either. Just seems strange.
And no one seems to have mentioned the drizzle.

[Samantha]

35. The seasons are changing in DC (which is erected on a swamp)

I do not know if Ragweed Season has ended, but your symptoms sound exactly like those someone from out of the area would experience should they visit here this time of the year -- especially, if the person has any allergies. That extreme fatigue, coupled with hoarseness and respiratory problems, suggests allergies morphing into a bad sinus infection, which could become sometime like bronchitis if left untreated.

If you have a bacterial infection it is not going to get better without an antibiotic. Get a prescription if you can, and if this is your problem, you will start to feel better within 24 hours. The first thing you will notice is the lifting of the fatigue.

I have this problem right now, I get it every year at this time, I live right outside of DC and I started my antibiotics yesterday.

[shadowknows69]

39. I have alergy problems every year too

this is a completely different thing.

[Mnemosyne]

51. I forgot to include

low grade fever and 5 days (Mon. to Fri.) of diarrhea (brought our own food too).
I live in very rural NW PA, the middle of ragweed, goldenrod allergy area and have never been allergic to anything before in my life, not even poison ivy or oak. I have had sinus infections/bronchitis, this is not that. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm going to give it another couple days then see my doc if it hasn't run whatever it's course is.

[babylonsister]

8. Boo! Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Boo_Radley]

12. Thanks!

:hi:

[Mnemosyne]

11. But it wasn't dry, it was drizzling

part of the day, off and on.

[Boo_Radley]

17. Humm.

True. It was. It had been reasonably dry around here for a while, though, and there was certainly a lot of foot traffic. A whole lot :) Plus scores of people coming in from everywhere and anywhere, all carrying any manner of dust and debris on them. I mean, large public gatherings are necessarily dirty events from a biological perspective.

I'm just saying that I wouldn't worry too much unless something else shows up to create more suspicion. There's little left this group of criminals in the government could do that would surprise me, but I'm not personally going to lose any sleep over it just yet.

Hopefully, there weren't any illnesses caused by it, and it was just a natural consequence of high pedestrian traffic in a realatively confined area, coupled with increased monitoring from the Department of Homeland Paranoia.

[Mnemosyne]

25. I have been a bit ill and

usually am not ever. I'm aware of occasions where our dear gov has spread flu in the NY subways. I am not worried about death or anything serious, just minor temporary effects that they could follow. Anything is possible with this gov, and has been for many years. The tularemia is puzzling a bit though. Think I'll email a friend that may know the odds, before grabbing my foil.

[Kailassa]

46. you'd trust one anonymous policeman on a health matter?

What the hell is a copper going to know about it? If you don't know better than to trust an anonymous source on something of this magnitude ...

Try using your own brain and google or yahoo to see what the presence of this organism implies, what regions it's found in and how rarely it shows up in air testing data.

The government has a history from wayback of testing airborn diseases on its own population, and this one is relatively safe to the area as sunlight kills the bacteria in just 30 minutes. However this doesn't help anyone who is exposed at the time, as sources vary on whether it takes 100 bacteria or just one to make you ill. The death rate of people who catch it from airborn bacteria and do not get treated is 40%.

Perhaps it's all scaremongering lies, I certainly hope so. But people who were there and get sick cannot afford to take that chance.

[brainshrub]

15. I am sick, and I was at the protest.

But to be fair, in a crowd of people, germs do spread a lot faster. It doesn't mean there was some nepharious plan to hurt the pro-America peace activists in DC.

[shadowknows69]

16. doesn't mean there wasn't

[brainshrub]

21. Occam's Razor

What is more likely?

1) NeoCons decided to punish hundreds of thousands of American citizens for protesting by attempting to give them a mild cold.

2) Thousands of Americans caught a mild cold during a massive protest on a cloudy, brisk day in DC.

As much as I distrust the batch of crooks in this government, I'd still give more weight to probability #2.

[shadowknows69]

22. who's to say it was the neo-cons

be a good chance for some homegrown right wing terrorism. And frankly braishrub I've seen too much bizzare shit in my day for ths most likely answer to always be the one I believe in.

[Boo_Radley]

29. Been to a doctor?

Regardless of the cause, if this is a public health risk, it's going to be addressed more effectively if people see a doctor and confirm the cause quickly. By chance or malice, if there was a contamination, there needs to be a medical alert.

[Horse with no Name]

31. The weather had less to do with it than the thousands of Americans

You won't catch a cold by running around naked in your yard in cold weather, though you may well get arrested. Catching cold from the cold is just an old wives' tale. You catch a cold only one way: from other people. The risk of catching a cold is extremely high. The cold virus is spread through drops of secretion that fly out of the mouth when someone sneezes or coughs. So one good way to catch a cold is by standing downwind of an infected person. Or you might shake hands with that person, then rub your eyes or touch your lips, allowing the virus to get into your system. Want to avoid colds? The best defense is to wash your hands frequently and don't play with your face.

[Kailassa]

47. What's this "mild cold" business?

"Although tularemia is less lethal than some agents discussed here, death rates for those infected with the inhaled form of the disease can still climb as high as 30 to 60 percent if left untreated."
http://cfrterrorism.org/weapons/otheragents.html

If Francisella tularensis really has appeared on 6 different sensors, then it was in the air, and people catching it will have this serious, inhaled form.

[KG]

18. i was there. i am just fine.

[DancingBear]

20. I have a really bad sore throat/cough

Got it the day after the D.C. march -still have it.

Went to the doctor yestrday, and was prescribed medication for it.

We'll see what happens.

[qanda]

23. My son is sick

And he was there.

[alarcojon]

24. It is best to be cautious

but I see this post as providing meaningless data. For starters, do you know how many people were at the protest who post here? And how many people in a similar demographic would fall sick at this time of year? Otherwise, anecdotal evidence like this can only serve to make people more anxious than they need to be.

I hope all of you who are sick feel better soon.

[LeahD]

58. Hope you don't WAIT to feel better, but you see a physician NOW! n/t

[Boo_Radley]

27. By the way . . .

. . . sorry. I've made three posts and forgot to tell you I hope you start feeling better.

[shadowknows69]

28. thanks Boo

and welcome to DU. Great name obiviously.

[Horse with no Name]

33. You can't discount anything from this government

But people are getting sick everywhere--even people who didn't go to the protest. I would get yourself checked out to be certain that it ISN'T Tularemia if you have the resources available, but otherwise would just write this off to a normal viral syndrome that you more than likely were exposed to while in DC.

[shadowknows69]

34. either way I'm probably doomed

can't afford health care. anyone have any spare anti-biotics they could mail me? lol.

[Horse with no Name]

40. antibiotics do NOT help with viral syndromes

and they actually can hurt by building up a resistance to bacteria if you were to subsequently get sick.
Rest, drink plenty of fluids, take Tylenol or Motrin to ease your fever and/ or aches.
Most of the time--unless you have a secondary infection--this will run it's course in a couple of days.

[Kailassa]

48. Rabbit fever is not a virus.

Rabbit fever/Tularemia is not a virus, it is caused by a bacterium and anyone with it should be on antibiotics.

[Horse with no Name]

50. I understand that

BUT without a diagnosis...it is truly best not to self-medicate...read upthread where I was talking about what to do about the REGULAR flu.

[Kailassa]

56. agreed

I would never suggest anyone self medicate for something serous like this, or for anything else needing a course of antibiotics.

[libnnc]

49. the emergency room at a public hospital can't turn you away

for lack of means. Go to the ER.

[Misunderestimator]

36. I just this morning woke up with a lot of congestion...

And spent yesterday sneezing. Could be allergies... I feel fine.

[MaggieSwanson]

37. Yes.

But I'd do it again tomorrow!

Peace,

Maggie

[rbajai]

38. Keep the fear going, remember 9/11, remember we are still not yet

safe, remember that they could strike us anytime, remember we have to be prepared, yada yada.

This admin THRIVES on creating a climate of fear in order to control the masses. They just can't let us be. They have to constantly make up crap in order to keep us scared into submission and ever looking to our fearless leader for protection.

FASCISM

[Catchawave]

42. I survived New Year's Eve in Times Square!

Just thought I'd bring that up because we were "warned" about terrorists attacks then too!

What is it about this admin that keeps us in *fear* ? But back to the bioterrorist spin, why would our "enemies" attack those of us who are perceived to be "the enemy of the US govt" also ?!?

:shrug:

[shadowknows69]

43. I'm sick of all the people

Jumping on this as propaganda and fear tactics. That may very well be (i hope so) but I and several others are legitimately sick so I'd appreciate a little less cynicism. If you can't do that, perhaps not posting would help.

[MaggieSwanson]

44. THANK YOU. And if anyone IS sick, this is good information to have.

I'm not jumping to any conclusions about what I've got, but if I DO end up visiting a doctor, I will bring up this possibility.

[Catchawave]

45. sorry if I misunderstood your post.....?

"If you can't do that, perhaps not posting would help."

:shrug:


My apologies if my post offended you, but yes I dragged my "rainman" adult child up to Times Square for His Dream. Believe me, it was harder than you know. Bottom line: it was a great experience for him and me, despite the "factory farming shoots" NYC NYPD had in place that night for security.

[mopinko]

52. i always get sick when i travel.

it's hard on me for a lot of reasons, including lack of sleep when away from my "cave"

[blonndee]

54. Yes, I have a sore throat and a cough with phlegm but

a lot of my students do too. I was a little worried after reading the stuff about that tulareim or whatever virus, but remembered that several of my students (and me too) were kind of coming down with some cold-type stuff right before the 24th.

Not to say it isn't real, only that I'm not panicking. Yet.

[NoBushSpokenHere]

55. Since returning home

my ass has been dragging. I have been sneezing, had a rash while in DC, and just not feeling good. But, I came back to a load of work and a medical problem in the family. I think I am just run down and need rest. I am not worried, and will seek medical attention if this continues. I have been taking Zicam thinking if it is a cold, I could prevent it. I believe what would certainly help me is alot of rest. Just wish I could find time to do it :)

[NoBushSpokenHere]

57. kick for those who didn't know about the possibility. n/t