Is H1N1 "Swine flue" really all that bad?
K, it’s getting a little ridiculous now, people are going by what they heard from friends and in the press to get the be all and end all of definitive answers on a this virus. This isn’t so much a question as an attempt to make people research a little more before panicking. In this day and age with the ability to research at the click of a button we should really not be seeing this. A few points about H1N1. I say this as I seem to be seeing this swine flue crop up so much on the health board.
1. H1N1 does not mean Swine Flue! Swine Flue is a type of H1N1 as are several other types of flue including seasonal flue. The media have decided in some cases to ask idiotic questions such as what is the difference between H1N1 and seasonal flue. It makes no sense, seasonal flue, all variations, Russian flue, Spanish Flue are ALL H1N1. Spanish Flue is one to be worried about which began in 1918 killing more than WW1 itself…it is also a missnomer, it had nothing to do with Spain. Avian Flue was a different type not H1N1 which had about a 60% mortality god knows how bad it was for the rest and the press reports on the cruelty to animals…had it mutated it would have been FAR worse than swine flue.
2. Why does it kill kids more often than old people? it’s down to immunity, older people are more likely to have been around during previous epidemic or pandemics which exposed them to a similar strain and have built a certain degree of immunity to the virus, kids have not. People who have had transplants take immunosurpressive drugs, people with HIV have low immune defences and therefore have a higher chance of dieing. People in the health care system will be more likely to be exposed.
3. Seasonal flue kills far more people every year than we have seen with Swine Flue despite Swine Flue being easier to spread. As much as people want to believe they have swine flue it may well be another type of flue. To know a blood sample needs to be taken otherwise you have no real idea, this practice was stopped due to the sheer numbers therefore the press figures are to say the least unreliable.
4 Safety and the vaccine. The vaccine may have been rushed I do not knwo but it was based on the seasonal flue vaccine AN H1N1 virus. People get side effects from all drugs and vaccines though they never make it to press unless it can cause panic and help sell papers. The media are inherently irresponsible. You would take a paracetemol or OTC drug no problem though if your kid ended up blinded through SJS or worse TENS you’d be shocked though it does happen when given to a pool of millions of people.
5. Mutation of the virus, all viruses can mutate even HIV. Bacteria can mutate too. This can be seen with certain drug resistance. Don’t take the drug as directed? Yes you can be responsible for your own demise. For example we can treat many infections but if someone screws up. In Asia anti biotics may be OTC and due to this people from there in Western countries may be put on other drugs for whatever ails them. Keep screwing it up, p*** it onto someone and somewhere along the way you end up with something that can not be treated.
6. Viruses are a complex thing, in the beginning the media made people think the end of the world was coming without a vaccine followed by a panic over the vaccine. It’s a cl***ic manouvere.
K, I’m done and I hope people can start researching this condition and start giving others a reality check. For starters Google H1N1 and ignore the news results, Wikipedia may be a good start point.
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Gah your spelling is horrific.
Gotta site sources there peaches, people get testy when you dont.
http://vaers.hhs.gov/resources/2009H1N1Summary_Nov9.pdf <– Benign, severe, and fatal reactions to the H1N1 vaccine. This is run by the CDC.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/regular.flu/index.html <– Jan to April number of Seasonal flu deaths, with the CDC’s weekly continued estimate from then until now.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/12/h1n1.flu.deaths/index.html#cnnSTCText <– CDC new death total estimate for H1N1, it is still unconfirmed.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5A25O720091103 <— swine flu is most deadly to those with underlying conditions, and those over weight, and those over 50.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE58E6NZ20090916 <— quick work up explaining how and why Swine flu is less deadly than originally expected.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5824LW20090903 <— Total pediatric death rate due to swine flu this year to date. It also shows how almost ALL of those pediatric deaths were in children were SEVERE underlying conditions such as SP, and MD.
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125791 <— this is a link to the CDC’s flu tracker forum, the second post shows a graph giving the pediatric mortality totals for the seasonal flu for the past few years. This year includes totals of both seasonal flu and H1N1, at a little over 100. But only 36 of those are H1N1, the rest are seasonal flu.
Swine Flu is pretty much like normal flu. It makes you feel tired and drowsy, gives you a headache, temperature and runny nose and all the other symptoms you would expect.
The problem with swine flu is it is very contagious and like normal colds and flus it infects a lot of people. It will only affect your health if you are pregnant, elderly or a young child, because elderly peoples immune systems have lowered over the years and young children havent fully developed yet. If you have a health condition, such as diabetes or asthma or leukamia, it is a lot worse.
It causes death by lowering your immune system, and your bodies natural defences.
If you have symptoms, rest at home, dont work or go to school and ring the NHS helpline.
The vaccine is up to you, how badly your area has been effected and if you are at a serious risk, you will be asked to have the vaccine.
Hope this info has helped
I work in the ICU and I think incidents of swine flu and deaths from it must be under reported. Most of the patients in here have it and are super-critical. We are small and have problems finding beds in larger better equipped hospital because their ICUs are full.