Originally posted by: shira
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: miketheidiot
i don't think so, swine flu isn't much worse than normal flu
H1N1 influenza A aka 'swine flu'
IS the normal flu.
This year, at any rate, H1N1 influenza is NOT being lumped together with "seasonal flu". For example, in the CDC website, you'll find the following:
How does 2009 H1N1 virus spread?
Spread of 2009 H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads.
Also, H1N1 influenza appears to be exhibiting an infection profile different from seasonal flu: Infections have occurred at low incidence rates throughout the summer, and high-incidence outbreaks of H1N1 influenza are now starting to occur, at least two months before seasonal flu outbreaks normally occur.
also, the A(H1N1) subtype is not a specific strain, but, well... a subtype.
H1N2 is also endemic in humans. H1N1 has quite a few strains that are endemic.
But here's the problem, specific strains are what you gain immunity to. Not the entire subtype.
This is a new A(H1N1) strain going around, and the last similar strain that might have created immunity to this strain was so long ago basically nobody has immunity.
Seasonal influenza is never a single strain each year, so not everyone encounters a strain they're body has never seen before, and thus a lot of people can come into contact with someone who has influenza and walk away without getting infected as well.
That will not be the case this year - not unless you get a shot, or were fortunate to get the virus in the spring when everyone was making crazy effort to avoid doing anything if they got even the regular flu - for the most part.
And the major "death" concern is a two-pronged concern:
1)
There will be people who need medical attention. Every flu season people need medical attention, and people do die. That's even in years where the total number of people who get the flu are relatively low.
Numbers of infections are going to increase. And proportionally, the number of those in need of medical care will increase. Depending on how much that number increases, there is the risk that hospitals will be overwhelmed with individuals needing the same type of care. No hospital holds a ton of mechanical respirators, for example.
2)
There is concern that this strain of H1N1 is behaving similar to the 1918 strain, which was more virulent in the "healthy older children" / "young adult" / "middle aged" categories, rather the very young and very old categories. The more healthy ones, the ones with stronger immune systems.
That virus caused a cascading overactive immune response in healthy individuals, and it attacked the main location the virus found comfortable for its work - the respiratory system, aka the lungs. The immune system blindly attacked anything and everything in the lungs, including the lung tissue, in an attempt to blitz the virus, and without proper treatment, destroying the lungs and killing the individual in the indiscriminate total warfare blitz by the body.
If the hospitals do indeed become overcrowded with patients needing mechanical respirators to stay alive, many will not receive the necessary treatment due to low available of the equipment. That is what the CDC and WHO are worried about, though I cannot find if they've directly stated that, or hinted at it. They're trying to not create a total panic situation, because that could lead to people staying home in hopes of not crowding the hospitals with unnecessary patients (and then becoming too sick the next day to change their mind on time, as at that point it's often too late even with a respirator).
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