Posted by
Bill Crawford on Saturday, September 19, 2009 9:12:28 PM
And we should all be wary of it. It is especially worrisome because the H1N1 configuration is similar to the Influenza Pandemic virus from 1918- probably the most numerically lethal disease ever recorded among humans.
The good news is, there are vaccines coming that will help abate the spread- live version nasal sprays and dead version injections, for those who have conditions which obviate the former.
The bad news is, the Swine Flu virus is showing itself to be similar to it's predecessors in two ways. First, by appearing in the Spring, going into a form of remission and reappearing in wider segments of the population in the Fall and Winter, which it seems poised to do. Second, by deviating from normal Flu viruses with it's unusual prediliction for going after humans in their prime.
More bad news is that it will tax the resources of most of the developing countries to handle the outbreak within their own populations. If anything can be done to aid the developing nations in a timely way, I'm all for forking out the money to do so. I doubt you would find a principled Conservative to argue that.
It will NOT be Influenza redux, for a largely unreported reason. The "Spanish Flu" of 1918 was spread in no small part because of the intermingling of large populations in the horrific trench warfare of World War I. These men had never travelled far from home their entire lives before going to Europe, and neither had the Europeans. Their bodies were totally unfamiliar with many of the bacteria that they were now encountering. By many accounts the spread of the disease in the United States started with soldiers returning to Fort Leavenwoth in Kansas.
This state does not exist today. So many people travel by air and return that there are many forms of European and Asian bacteria already in our population bases and we have been doing the antibody thing with them all along.
Finally, it has shown no signs of mutating, so the time and money we are spending on prophylactics are not likely to be overwhelmed by new versions.
So, if it appears, keep your kids out of school as long as it takes, and wait until they are fully recovered plus a few days. I worried about this, but I think we've been spared the worst this Winter.