Reexamining Swine Flu

[Mel]

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 2, Issue 12 (June 2009).

Reexamining Swine Flu
By sushi_error

A few weeks ago, I woke up with a sore throat and runny nose. I found myself sneezing (yes, not snoozing) through all of my classes, going through tissue after tissue until I looked like Rudolph, and suddenly half of my hand sanitizer was gone. I had the works of a cold – sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat. It was awful. The next day, I was talking to a friend and mentioned I wasn’t feeling well. Immediately, she asked jokingly, “Do you have swine flu?” Now, when you are sneezing like there is no tomorrow in the wake of a growing flu epidemic, you begin to worry and let your emotions take over. Nevertheless, I took a physical health day and returned to school later in the week, sneeze free and breathing with ease.

Now, I have recovered from my mini cold epidemic, but what about the unlucky hundreds who were recently stricken with swine flu? Can it be prevented? What the heck is swine flu? Why has it struck such immense fear and anxiety into the world?

Swine flu is a respiratory virus caused by influenza Type A. There are various types of swine flu, but the most common type, H1N1, has infected thousands of people worldwide. The first recorded outbreak was in Mexico, prompting Mexican authorities to close down hundreds of businesses and restaurants across the country for several weeks. The symptoms, which may include fever, cough, and body aches, are similar to seasonal flu. It infects pigs annually, however, in some cases; those with the Swine Flu had never come in contact with infected pigs. The virus can spread quickly through coughing and/or sneezing by someone who is infected by it. What makes this particular flu alarming is the fact that it contains both human and animal genetics. In late April, a World Health Organization official said the possibility of this outbreak becoming a pandemic “is very high and inevitable”. In the beginning, the Obama Administration referred to it as ‘Swine Flu’, but later called it ‘H1N1’. The reasoning behind this is that the administration wanted consumers to know that it is perfectly safe to consume pork and pork products. According to the Center for Disease Control, there have been over 6,000 cases of H1N1 with 9 deaths in the United States alone. Currently, most cases of swine flu are being considered as mild, rather than extreme. This flu can be treated if detected early by using antibiotics such as Temiflu and Relenza. Both medications are used to treat seasonal flu, but must be prescribed by a physician.

In the past, there have been major flu pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic which infected at least 40% of the world’s population, killing more than 50 million people worldwide. While in 1957, the Asian flu killed at least 2 million people. Despite the media-produced frenzy behind H1N1, many people are beginning to question whether or not this could be a false alarm. Currently, the pandemic alert level for swine flu is phase 5 (meaning this could be a potential pandemic) according to the WHO. However, a few days ago, WHO officials met in Geneva, Switzerland to decide whether or not to declare H1N1 as a pandemic. There are currently no vaccines to prevent the current swine flu, but scientists are hoping to create one soon. Nevertheless, while I do not think it is necessary to be at the edge of our seats at this time, but we should still be wary. We should maintain a healthy diet, good sleeping pattern, and exercise daily to prevent becoming sick. We should wash our hands with soap and stay away from those carrying flu or cold-like symptoms.