Swine Flu

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 2:53 pm Post subject: Swine Flu

can someone please tell me more details? how did it start? why is it so much scarier then the chicken pox or the flu? or even a cold??

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 2:55 pm Post subject:

afaik it's because it can be transferred from 1 person to the next just by touch and there is no vaccine for it so far. I could be wrong tho.

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 3:00 pm Post subject: re: Swine Flu

And people don't have a natural immunity to it because it's a mixture of human, bird and swine flues. regular flu or a cold people can naturally fight off many times, apparently not with this though.

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 3:07 pm Post subject: re: Swine Flu

sounds just as bad as chicken pox to me... Shocked

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 3:40 pm Post subject: re: Swine Flu

check out this link cdc swine H1N1 flu

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 3:47 pm Post subject: re: Swine Flu

It's scarier because there's no vaccine, it seems to have a relatively high fatality rate, and it's hit young adults and otherwise healthy people as well as the usual targets (the elderly and chronically ill). Also, it's spread to several countries fairly quickly (not surprising, but somewhat worrisome).

And because we seem to be overdue for a global pandemic, and the last major one started as a bird --> human crossover (as previous posters noted, "swine flu" is really "swine-bird-human" flu).

But don't get too scared... there haven't been very many confirmed fatalities, and a lot of the spread can possibly be stopped through safety measures + regular hygiene. There are drugs and vaccines that help even if they aren't 100%, and there are researchers working on H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines at this very moment.

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 02 2007 Posts: 2715

Posted: Thu, Apr 30 2009, 4:32 pm Post subject: re: Swine Flu

I'm pretty sure it's a different strain in Mexico, much more fatal then the one here. At least that's what I've been told. I asked my professor today if I should be walking around with a face mask since I have a child at home and I ride the subway all the time. S basically laughed at me. She said the only way that that would be affective is if it was a full on oxygen proof mask. Otherwise the disease can get through all the other areas of my face that are not covered by the mask I.e cheeks, eyes etc..
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