Swine Flu

I’m not an alarmist, but this one is scary, people.

For those of you unaware, a new strain of influenza has shown up in Mexico. It is thought to have caused as many as a thousand illnesses with around 60 deaths. The people dying of this illness are young adults. Normally the flu is most lethal in young children and the elderly. This flu bug is following the pattern of the 1918 pandemic that effected half of the worlds population and killed up to 100 million people worldwide. This was the gratest medical holocaust in History. Descriptions of the diseases severity are horrifying. You could have no symptoms and get sick and within hours be too weak to walk. People could die in 24 hours coughing up blood or bleeding out through their bowels. That flu strain was an H1N1 strain. This one is, too.

There have been US cases discovered in California and in Texas. Now there’s a possible outbreak in NYC at a prep school. The CDC says it is too late to contain the virus. The Canadian Government has taken proactive steps and issued a travel advisory. The US government has not seen fit to do so. The WHO says there all set to stop this with Tamiflu stockpiles.

As I said, I am not an alarmist. I don’t think this will amount to a pandemic plague. But I am worried enough to be cautious. Keep your hands clean at all times. Stay a minimum of 6 feet away from anyone who is coughing and appears ill. If you come down with significant respiratory illness with fever or severe diarrhea, don’t delay seeing a doctor. At this time, the CDC is not being very helpful with updates or information, but I will post what I learn as I learn it.