11:09 p.m. - 30 April, 2009
swine flu frenzy
Andrew: "You are the perfect woman."
Anya: "I've often thought so."
~BTVS, End of Days
I'm actually working on a post about my Easter mini-trip, but this post took priority.
I'm rather fascinated by the swine flu/2009 H1N1 pandemic. Yes, I dropped the "p" word because it is global and passing human-to-human at this point. I read that Patient Zero is a five-year old boy from Mexico. I was a little surprised that they pinpointed the case of origin already. The first cases near my area popped up today. (I'm projecting disease rates in my head as I type.) Schools have closed across the country, and there are travel warnings/precautions on a global level. Most of these warnings, consequently, are telling people to stay away from Mexico and the United States. Mexico has closed schools and social/cultural activities for 10 days. It's just a little scary to think about mass closings, isn't it?
If you're wearing a mask to protect yourself, you really need an N95 or N99 respirator mask. Those surgical paper masks that they keep showing on the news only block larger droplets from sneezes/coughs, not the virus itself (viruses=tiny). Handwashing is also verrrry important. Good hygiene can make a huge difference!
Contrary to what the pork industry is saying, this influenza virus is biologically a "swine flu." Six of the eight genetic segments are related to North American (and Eurasian, I believe) swine viruses. There is also genetic evidence of avian and human components. One of my professors used to comment that influenza is very messy when it replicates. Pigs actually make wonderful influenza mixing pots because they're susceptible to avian and human influenzas, which is why it's not inconceivable to have a hodge-podge of three different influenza viruses in one (avian-pig-human). Nonetheless, with the exception of the debate raging over Patient Zero's farm in Mexico, there is no evidence of pigs transmitting it to humans in this outbreak. People cannot catch it from eating pork and pork products, so the culling of pigs in a certain country is rather foolish and presumptive. Honestly, they should be more concerned with enhancing biosecurity measures and pandemic preparedness. Monitoring herds of pigs seems like a better idea, doesn't it? (I'm sure that officials in the culling country were concerned about their endemic bird flu and this current swine flu meeting and reassorting in one of the animal reservoirs. Surely they were worried about the two influenzas producing something a little nastier than what's going around now. It couldn't have anything to do with political-religious reasons, right? **sighs**)
We have seen swine flu in the past. The 1918 Spanish flu was also an H1N1 virus, and there was a swine flu outbreak in the 1970s (mid 70s? 1976ish?). Over the last five years, there have been 12 cases of swine influenza in the United States alone--they just weren't publicized.
Most countries are very fortunate that this influenza virus has been so mild. For some reason, it's been much deadlier in Mexico. I can't believe that limited access to health care and poverty are the only reasons for it. I've been wondering if the virus in Mexico was more virulent in the beginning, but has now mutated into a milder version. One of my co-workers muses that it might be an entirely different virus, heh.
As the media continues to devour this story with a spoon, I find myself heading to bed. Sleep tight, everyone!
