H1N1 Swine flu spreading

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Plenty of speculation going on.

Firstly talk of a cure. There is no cure, there are treatments that aid in recovery and there are vaccines. Vaccines are useless if you have the disease already. So don't listen to peope saying there is a cure coming.

I second Torillian on his comment about the time it takes to have a vaccine ready for widespread use.

Not sure why you would use a mask while you confine yourself to quarters if you already have the 'flu. Unless you have other people living with you who don't have it yet?? In which case they should get outta Dodge rather than hang around.

Cases and deaths: Hot off the WHO press "27 April 2009 -- The current situation regarding the outbreak of swine influenza A(H1N1) is evolving rapidly. As of 27 April 2009, the United States Government has reported 40 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection with the same virus, including seven deaths. Canada has reported six cases, with no deaths, while Spain has reported one case, with no deaths."

I've also heard in the media 2200 hospitalisations of suspect 'flu cases in Mexico. And 149 total suspected 'flu deaths. 2200 hospitalisations is waaaay less than the likely actual number of cases so the mortality rate is looking to end up being fairly low.

Other things that the deaths could be caused by: Meningococcal disease presents a lot like 'flu. Various bacterial pneumonias and endocarditises can seem a bit like 'flu. nearly any cause of high fever will be mistaken for 'flu when sensitivities are this heightened.

How viruses kill: They can cause direct damage to tissues and organs leading to eventual system collapse and death (a la Ebola, and other haemorrhagic diseases). Viruses can also elicit significant immune responses which means your body's reaction to the virus can make you sicker than the direct damage the virus is doing to your system. Viruses that can exist in asymptomatic carrier individuals often do their main damage from eliciting a strong immune response. Hepatitis B is a good example of this because there are millions of people who are carriers of this virus yet never get sick their entire lives, basically because their immune system ignores the virus. 'flu does both direct damage and elicits a strong immune response (you only get a fever because your immune system is responding to the virus, and the stronger the response the higher the fever). This is how 'flu kills the strong. But it's deadliest effect out of the two is the immune over reaction. When you take an aspirin (or equivalent) while you have the 'flu (or a cold) you are not doing anything against the virus itself, you are just attempting to keep your immune system in check so that it can fight the disease without killing you in the process. Same as when you take a pseudafed to dry up your nose, you are dampening down the immune response rather than slowing down the virus. A third way viruses kill is also indirect in that your immune system becomes so weakened from trying to fight off the virus that opportunistic bacteria (or other viruses) get in and wreck havoc of their own. There is nothing left to fight these bacteria with so you succumb to massive bacterial infection. Or a localised infection in a really vulnerable place, like the heart, causing cardiac failure. This is how 'flu kills the "weak", the young and the old.