The return of Swine Flu

“Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often given, too rarely taken.” - anon

At our recent Scout Pack Meeting, one family emailed to say they could not attend – the family has Swine Flu – (now called H1N1 as our top Cub told me authoritatively.) So on this Day of the Dead (Mexico) or All Saints Day, let's consider the morbidity and mortality of Swine Flu.

Here are 8 Swine Flu Myths that could endanger your life from NewScientist.com

• The symptoms are like regular flu. You've got it if you've got a fever
  False – Up to half the people who get swine flu never got a fever. For many doctors the official line remains: if you don't have fever, you don't have flu. This is dangerously shortsighted - if you don't know you have swine flu you might miss the signs of the severe and deadly form of H1N1: shortness of breath, chest pain or blue lips.
  
• This is just mild flu. The death rates are even lower than for normal flu
  False - Swine flu is killing young people rather than the very elderly, and although winter is just starting, more young people have already died of flu than normally die over the entire winter.
  
• You're safe as long as you're healthy. Only sick, weak people get really ill
  False – see #2. The flu is killing the young and the healthy.
  
• I'll be OK if I just eat organic food, take vitamins, wear a mask, wash my hands a lot and drink plenty of fluids
  False – the article recommends vaccination
  
• The danger of over because we have a vaccine. In fact, we have several
  False – It will be months before everyone in first world countries can get the vaccine. Some poor countries may never see the vaccine in time.
  
• The vaccine isn't safe. Why take the risk to prevent mild flu?
  False – this flu packs a punch and is likely to be wide spread. The flu danger is greater than those of the vaccine.
  
• This virus won't get deadlier – it hasn’t changed much in a year
  False – random mutation is in fact “random”. There is no telling how or when a virus will change.
  
• Once this pandemic is over we'll be safe for another few decades
  False – We got lucky this time that Swine flu is not a super-bug. But an increasingly crowded world with more people with greater mobility makes it far too easy for something new to be created and spread.

Bottom Line
Swine Flu is nastier than your average flu in many ways: it kills the young, it kills the healthy, it is more resistant to heat and lasts into spring and summer. It’s nothing to sneeze at.