BEYOND PIGS: Despite its name, this strain of swine flu isn't spreading from direct contact with pigs or pork, but rather it is being transmitted among humans.
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Swine flu is sweeping—if not the nation, then at least the nation's media. But what is special about this virus and what, if anything, should ordinary citizens do about it?
The new flu, which has elements of pig, bird and human flu viruses in it, has been circulating for at least a month in Mexico. In the past week, it has popped up north of the border (with 45 cases confirmed in New York City, 10 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as in at least five other countries, The New York Times reported yesterday.
As the number of deaths likely caused by the virus in Mexico reaches beyond 150, researchers and public health officials are investigating intensively and anxious to see what the virus does next.
The respiratory virus, influenza A H1N1, is common among pigs (humans actually first passed it to them after the 1918 influenza pandemic), and the porcine version has been known to infect humans before. But rarely does it make its way from person to person, the way this strain is behaving. The fact that this virus has a sustained ability to pass between people has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to elevate its pandemic alert level to 4 (out of 6, the latter being a full-blown pandemic).
One has only to look back a few years to the 2003 scare over SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which ended up causing about 774 deaths worldwide, for a recent measure of the potential for global pandemic panic. But how does this flu measure up to SARS and to other threatening influenza strains like the H5N1 avian flu virus?
To take the pulse of pig flu, we spoke with Chris Olsen, a professor of public health and head of the Olsen Laboratory, which studies influenza A viruses, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
We know that this is an H1N1 strain, so what can that tell us about the virus?
There is not anything inherent about the behavior of the H1N1 virus. What it is important to understand is the H1 and H3 are the only subtypes that have ever circulated widely in the swine populations. Certainly there would be more concern if this were a subtype that had never been seen before…. This is not the same thing as H5 [which is] bird flu.
Do we know what's happening at the cellular level? Is anyone testing it yet?
We don't know that yet. Once we get through the public health crisis phase of things, that's going to be one of the important research questions: to look at differences in infectivity in one species and another. This virus might become quite an important tool in teasing apart the phases of the infection cycle. Right now, the key is to get through the initial public health phase. That comes first in terms of protecting human health and human lives, then we can address the research side.
How does this compare with other flu outbreaks?
There are a relatively limited number of documented cases of zoonotic [human-communicable] swine influenza in the literature. Usually they're limited events where a person was in contact with a sick pig…. This is by far the most extensive person-to-person spread that we've seen from a swine-origin virus.
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13 Comments
Add Commentis there a cure for this virus,are the people who have it eventually die??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisis there a cure for this virus??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisare the people infected eventually die??
Angda - They can make a vaccine for the virus, but there's currently no cure for the flu. If you take it quickly enough once you start showing symptoms, antivirals such as Tamiflu will lessen the effect of the virus. Otherwise, you're in for a week or so of fever, cough, sore throat, and aches and pains. Then your body will build immunity to that strain of flu. It's mostly really dangerous for people with weakened immune systems - mostly the very young and very old.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs for your second question - yes. (eventually - might take 70 or 80 years in the great majority of cases, though...)
I wonder what is the reason behind the different approaches that the US government and the Mexican government are taking...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOn the one hand the Mexican authorities have taken very expensive and disruptive measures which will cost an enormous amount in terms of economics (as much as 0.5% of GDP by the Mexican counterpart to our US Treasury Secretary). These include shutting down most of modern society.
The US, on the other hand, seems to not be too alarmed (we were far alarmed, for example, on 9/11).
Mexico is a large country, a G20 member, and with very well educated elites, and with a scientific community that shares data and effort with Canada, the EU, and US --with similar training and in many cases even attended the same schools. Though not as many as in the US, the elite research institutions in Mexico are on par.
Yet, US and Mexican governments, and their scientists, are giving distinct and clearly different advice. While Mexico is really preparing for a very serious outbreak, the US seems confident this can be handled with minor inconveniences to the population...
Is this radically difference on approach based on the data, in different interpretation of the data, of politics, or of national hubris?
i think that is wrong for people who did not wash there hands and not do what they were supposed to do. come on now we all should know after you to an animal wash your hands.didnt you learn for the zoo people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow does this compare with other flu outbreaks? I don't think that the question has been answered in the practical sense. We know we can't compare with other swine flu outbreaks. What we need to know is how many people can the virus infect/kill in the next months compared with SARS, or the 1957 outbreak , for example.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissorry, only 13 cases are confirm
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSORRY, ONLY 13 CASES ARE CONFIRM
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKey note:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8030859.stm
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova told the BBC that, based on samples tested, the mortality rate was comparable with that of seasonal flu.
Dr Anne Schuchat, acting deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that although experts were concerned about the possibility of severe cases, the majority so far had been "mild, self-limited illness".
The new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly, another CDC official said. Mr Cordova appeared to agree, saying that the Mexican authorities may, on reflection, have overestimated the danger.
The reason of why there are lots of death in Mexico is because Mexican Government sucks and poor. I am sorry but this is the truth behind it. They are really far behind the latest scientific development and still one of the poorest country in the world. They'd better do something and be a country which value its people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWeb Conferencing lets you telework and AVOID face to face interaction without losing productivity. The VIACK Corporation (www.viack.com) is trying to address this problem head on by offering a 25% discount to any business, individual worker, medical professional, or impacted family member who purchases VIA3 in 2009. Purchasers can use the code fluworker25 at checkout to receive this benefit.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe real truth behind the matter is that this has all been fabricated by leading figures of international authority to keep the middle and lower classes of all society pre-occupied with health risks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes look at SARS fora example that was blown COMPLETELY out of proportion (If you do not believe that then check up on the stats of people who died compared to those who contracted the virus ).
Why would what your saying be true you might be asking yourselves?
Well the truth is that whenever there is a pivital event (either occuring or about to occur) in the world's (or indeed sometimes just america) infostucture there must be some means of keeping people with inquistive natures or just too much time on there hands focused away from the truth.
When you fear you are about to lose your home are you more bothered about that or how people in Iraw are doing? typical and blatant mis-placement my friends physcology 101!!!
The truth is that something is in the pipelines internationally and something big at that. From the dawn of true civilization you can see this pattern frequently.
My estimation is that this accumulation of scares and financial instability will result in something pre-conceived yet completely unpredictable, such as : -
1)Assasination of obama
2) Another invasion of an innocent country at the hands of America (not that my wonderful country of the united Kingdom is any better infact we are slightly worse for being BULLIED into such things)
3)The detonation of a or numerous nuclear warheads
These are put 3 options out of 100's, I hope I havent offended anybody with this however I do feel the vast majority of the worlds population suffer from sheep syndrome ( all concentrating on the big picture and missing the major deatils possibly happening elsewhere)
Please do feel free to email me if I have offended anybody in any way as this was not my intention and I would feel compelled to apologise, also feel free if you have anything to add or any questions for me, I do have stockpiled research on various other events you may find disturbing. Kaiii87@live.co.uk is my email address.
Last but not least I would like to say that President Bush's blatant disregard for the geneva convention AND the human rights of several million people including his own compatriots was outragous and he has permenantly disgraced America AND its vast majority of innocent citizens!!!
Swine flu seems overrated to me - too much press for just a regular type of flu. Here is an interesting article about how swine flu is overrated in the media:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttps://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Health-and-Science/Chicken-Little-and-The-Pig/sl36962307bp306cpp10pn1.html