Stay Safe From The H1N1 Mexican Swine Flu

The news reports started flooding in from Mexico just a few days ago.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that due to the swine influenza outbreak in Mexico and the Southwestern United States (with a death toll as of midday April 27 of 150 people) it was considering raising global pandemic warning level to 4 out of 6, the highest being a full-blown international epidemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed as many as 100 million people.

The President of Mexico has just declared a state of emergency which allows the Federal government to place widespread quarantines and cancel public events.

Surprisingly, (and frighteningly) the type of virus which is causing the Mexican swine influenza is identical in nomenclature to the one that caused the massive killer Spanish Flu: H1N1. It seems that this old virus has recently recombined with various strains of human and avian, as well as swine influenza, to create a version that could readily spread from person to person like wildfire across the planet, reaching the level of a global pandemic that might kill millions within months or less.

First of all, let's address some basic questions:

What is H1N1?

H1N1 is an infection of the respiratory system caused by an influenza virus known as type A and of subtype H1N1, This virus sparks influenza outbreaks in swine on a fairly regular basis. H1N1's current incarnation can also be transmitted from swine to humans, and from humans to other humans.

Can humans get H1N1?

Yes, but up until now it has not been too common as it is usually restricted to people who are in contact with swine, though there have been some fairly rare medically documented cases where the transmission was human-to-human in a similar manner to more conventional forms of influenza, through sneezing, coughing and other personal contact. Consuming pork products does not transmit H1N1.

How is H1N1 diagnosed and treated?

Diagnosis requires a specimen from the respiratory system of the patient taken during the first four days of infection, and is then analyzed in a medical laboratory.

When was the last H1N1 outbreak?

The last major H1N1 outbreak took place at an army barracks in Fort Dix, NJ, in 1976. There have been no large scale outbreaks of H1N1 recorded since. However, H1N1 is the virus responsible for the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which killed approximately 100 million people.

The ticking time bomb which is the global pandemic medical professionals have feared for so long may finally have been activated. Soon it may wreak unprecedented death and suffering on the entire Earth.

It may devastate cities, bring the greatest countries in the world to their knees and become the single largest pandemic in centuries. Some of the numbers being tossed around have included up to four times the number of dead as the 1918 pandemic. It could decimate an entire generation.

That's what H1N1 did the last time it was set loose to ravage the world. In 1918.

It could reach pandemic status next week, next month or next year. It could start any minute.

A single minute. It’s a TV advertisement. It’s a third of a pop song. It’s the time to make toast. It’s not a very long time.

However, many things can happen in a minute. Many hopes can fade in a minute. Many people can die in a minute. The clock starts. . .