[DK PHILLIPS]

Health experts say Americans shouldn't be overly concerned

FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- It was just about three years ago that a strange new strain of flu first appeared in Mexico, then spread across the border to the United States and eventually much of the globe.
The H1N1 "swine" flu strain didn't behave like a "normal" flu, because it proved particularly dangerous to children and younger adults -- the very groups of people who usually have the strongest defenses against seasonal flu.
After a quiet couple of years, more cases of the pandemic H1N1 flu are circulating again where it all began -- in Mexico.
But infectious disease experts says Americans shouldn't be overly concerned.
In January, there were 1,623 cases of flu reported in Mexico, and 90 percent of those cases were H1N1 flu. There were also 32 flu-related deaths, all but three caused by the H1N1 strain, the Associated Press reported.
"It appears that H1N1 in Mexico is circulating at a higher level than in the United States," said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We have seen some H1N1 here in the U.S.," he added, but the more familiar H3N2 strain is predominating here this winter.

 

[MikeG]

So, the first go-around everyone was playing Chicken Little, running around screaming we're all gonna die. It turned out to be a big fizzle except for vaccine makers.
Now this time they say it isn't a cause for concern. Based on the "experts" record, should we be scared to death?

 

[AmmoSgt In Memoriam]

Flu season is very late this year.. normally starts by November... first round of swine flu was killing a very high proportion of kids compared to the number being diagnosed, and had a mortality pattern similar to the 1918 flu , which killed more people than WW1 and the Great Plague combined. Folks were right to be scared back then given the numbers and the pattern .. then alot of cases that did not go to the doctor or hospital sttarted to be confirm as swine flu and the death rate dropped sharply and the pattern didn't hold because of the unreported non lethal cases...

But folks were right to be scared .. if a flu with the kill pattern of the 1918 flu broke out we would lose over 400 Million world wide...

 

[Portholio]

Interesting article. As we're talking diseases, it might be worth reviewing definitions.

Like how "volatile" means "evaporates easily", but is used all the time to mean "dangerous"......"pandemic" largely refers to how easy it is to catch or spread a disease, not how deadly it is. By definition, a lot of flus are pandemic.

 

[greyheadedguy]

When the NiHi Swine Flu came through last time, we had just buried my son-in-law from complications from Chron's disease. My wife and my grand-sons came down sick. Without testing they told my wife she had swine flu (another one for the count). I don't know if she really did or not, but she had the same symptoms as my grand-sons that I was caring for. Lots of Vitamin C and lots of liquids and rest and as much sunshine I could get on them and the boys got right through it. My wife ended up with pneumonia and was sick twice as long as the boys. I ended up with a cold for 5 or 6 days, my daughter stayed healthy. Guess which one of us had taken a flu shot? Yep, my wife was the one who got and gets the flu shots. My daughter called the boy's doctor's office and they told her that if their fever didn't break in a certain amount of time then bring them in.

grey

 

[Billofthenorth3]

When the NiHi Swine Flu came through last time, we had just buried my son-in-law from complications from Chron's disease. My wife and my grand-sons came down sick. Without testing they told my wife she had swine flu (another one for the count). I don't know if she really did or not, but she had the same symptoms as my grand-sons that I was caring for. Lots of Vitamin C and lots of liquids and rest and as much sunshine I could get on them and the boys got right through it. My wife ended up with pneumonia and was sick twice as long as the boys. I ended up with a cold for 5 or 6 days, my daughter stayed healthy. Guess which one of us had taken a flu shot? Yep, my wife was the one who got and gets the flu shots. My daughter called the boy's doctor's office and they told her that if their fever didn't break in a certain amount of time then bring them in.

grey

No disrespect and certainly not trying to start an argument but flus are a virus and pneumonia is a bacterial thing so the flu shot wouldn't have prevented it. On the other hand waiting at the Drs office for the flu shot might have exposed her to the pneumonia.

 

[CW]

It may have weakened her immune system leading to her getting pneumonia. As you mentioned, she might have picked it up at the hospital as well.

 

[greyheadedguy]

No disrespect and certainly not trying to start an argument but flus are a virus and pneumonia is a bacterial thing so the flu shot wouldn't have prevented it. On the other hand waiting at the Drs office for the flu shot might have exposed her to the pneumonia.

She has asthma anyway, I believe the flu on top of the emotions at the time had weakened her and the pneumonia was a secondary infection. She gets the flu shot every year and every year she gets sick.

My point was she was counted as a N1H1 flu and she was never tested. What ever she had, my grandsons had the exact same symptoms. The Pediatrician had no concern with the boys being sick. Was it swine flu? God only knows for sure.