Bottom Of The Barrel

H1N1 (Swine) Influenza

With today's report of 28 more confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza, I thought it was time to investigate this worrisome situation. First off, what is Swine Flu anyway? It is a combination of Avian [bird], Human and Swine Influenza all mongrelized genetic mix found in the current Mexican swine flu strain. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus. Ok, but it's just the Flu right? Well yes and no. It is influenza however transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is not common and properly cooked pork poses no risk of infection. When transmitted, the virus does not always cause human influenza and often the only sign of infection is the presence of antibodies in the blood, detectable only by laboratory tests. Therefore flu-like symptoms are being taken very seriously by the US Government and the CDC. So this is out-of-the-ordinary, but is it really dangerous? It doesn't appear to be a killer virus but we should error on the side of caution when you look back at our own history with this kind of flu:

1918: Estimated 70 to 100 million dies from Spanish Flu [H1N1]
1976: 5 soldiers at Fort Dix become infected, 1 man dies
1988: Hundreds infected in Wisconsin, 1 woman dies
2007: Outbreak in the Philippines where 1 out of 10 infected die

Based on this history lesson, we should take this outbreak seriously. So how can you protect yourself? Health officials recommend taking several precautions to avoid getting swine flu. First, they recommend frequent hand washing and trying to stay in good general health. They recommend getting plenty of sleep, staying physically active, managing stress, drinking fluids, and eating healthy foods. They also advise people to avoid touching surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Also, avoid close contact with people who are sick. This sounds like good sound advice! But wait, couldn't we all just take some pill and be ok? According to the CDC, laboratory testing on these swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses so far indicate that they are susceptible (sensitive) to Oseltamivir - brand name Tamiflu® is approved to both treat and prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people one year of age and older. Roche Holding AG said it's current stockpile is 5 million pills includes the 2 million treatment courses held by the WHO and the 3 million treatment courses held by Roche as part of their rapid response stockpile. If a treatment is 10 pills, that stockpile would only cover 500,000 people which is a bit shy of 337 or so million people living in North America.

So know you know why this current epidemic [which could turn into a pandemic] is so important. Stay healthy!

Labels: Medical

posted by TheWino @ 3:04 PM