Complications of 2009 Swine Flu
The immune system is the primary weapon in the battle with 2009 Swine Flu, and those with immature or weakened immune systems are at risk for pneumonia and secondary bacterial infections. The very young and old and those with respiratory problems are especially vulnerable.
The flu can bring on respiratory failure and death.
What is disturbing about the 2009 Swine Flu is that more deaths have been reported among young and healthy people contrary to type B and C "winter influenza" fatalities which are primarily the young, the old, and the weak. These 2009 Swine Flu victims are people with presumably strong immune systems. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic did the same thing; more fatalities occurred in the presumably healthy 25 to 45 year old age brackets.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Symptoms: What Happens When You Become Infected With 2009 Swine Flu
The virus can enter through your nasal passages or your mouth but this doesn't mean you're automatically infected. The mucous membranes of your nose and throat trap the virus, as well as dust, foreign bodies, and bacteria, rendering them harmless. The small microscopic hairs, called cilia, that line air way passages sweep over 100 times per minute and can sweep the virus right back out. If a virus does get through and enters a body cell it immediately begins the replication process and that's when the trouble starts.
The body cell, once it’s invaded, sends out a distress signal through MHC, a chemical in every body cell, that recognizes what's foreign to the body and what belongs. This chemical boots the viral protein to the surface of the cell. Killer T-cells, a type of white blood cell, sense the distress call and kill the cell and the virus within by coating the cell with toxic chemicals. The dead cells are cleaned up by macrophage cells which surround and consume cellular debris and pathogens.. Histamines increase the blood flow to the area. More blood flow means more killer T-cells.
At this point your throat really, really hurts because the blood vessels swollen with the increased blood are pressing on nerve cells and pain receptors. The body temperature starts to rise as the number of macrophages increase. Your body aches because your pain threshold has been lowered. Fever increases as the body tries to boost new cell production. You get the chills because your muscles contract to generate more heat. Blood flows away from you skin so you feel cold. You get a headache because of the increasing pressure of the swollen blood vessels in your brain. Now, you could take aspirin to bring down the fever but that's counter productive. The fever is one way your body fights against the virus.
If the virus gains momentum and the T-cells start losing the fight the infection spreads to the lungs. The macrophages that have destroyed the dead cells are in the blood stream and pass eventually through a lymph node. The viral material in the macrophage is detected and triggers more production of white blood cells including T-cells. This increased production causes the lymph glands to swell and become tender.
The T-cells go to the site of the viral infection and start destroying more cells which increases the debris. Coughing is how the debris is expelled from the throat and lungs.
The fight isn't over yet. Another immune cell, single B-cells in the lymph glands, produces antibodies that rush to the site of the infection, trap the virus and prevent it from replicating. Finally the battle turns in favor of the body and the viral infection begins to fade. It's been a struggle but you've won and begin the road to recovery.
Vomiting and diarrhea are not common with most types of influenza but have been reported with the 2009 Swine Flu.
The body cell, once it’s invaded, sends out a distress signal through MHC, a chemical in every body cell, that recognizes what's foreign to the body and what belongs. This chemical boots the viral protein to the surface of the cell. Killer T-cells, a type of white blood cell, sense the distress call and kill the cell and the virus within by coating the cell with toxic chemicals. The dead cells are cleaned up by macrophage cells which surround and consume cellular debris and pathogens.. Histamines increase the blood flow to the area. More blood flow means more killer T-cells.
At this point your throat really, really hurts because the blood vessels swollen with the increased blood are pressing on nerve cells and pain receptors. The body temperature starts to rise as the number of macrophages increase. Your body aches because your pain threshold has been lowered. Fever increases as the body tries to boost new cell production. You get the chills because your muscles contract to generate more heat. Blood flows away from you skin so you feel cold. You get a headache because of the increasing pressure of the swollen blood vessels in your brain. Now, you could take aspirin to bring down the fever but that's counter productive. The fever is one way your body fights against the virus.
If the virus gains momentum and the T-cells start losing the fight the infection spreads to the lungs. The macrophages that have destroyed the dead cells are in the blood stream and pass eventually through a lymph node. The viral material in the macrophage is detected and triggers more production of white blood cells including T-cells. This increased production causes the lymph glands to swell and become tender.
The T-cells go to the site of the viral infection and start destroying more cells which increases the debris. Coughing is how the debris is expelled from the throat and lungs.
The fight isn't over yet. Another immune cell, single B-cells in the lymph glands, produces antibodies that rush to the site of the infection, trap the virus and prevent it from replicating. Finally the battle turns in favor of the body and the viral infection begins to fade. It's been a struggle but you've won and begin the road to recovery.
Vomiting and diarrhea are not common with most types of influenza but have been reported with the 2009 Swine Flu.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
How 2009 Swine Flu Is Transmitted
How 2009 Swine Flu Is Transmitted
First of all it is absolutely not transmitted by eating pork, bacon, sausage or any pork meat product. Even if the pig was exposed to the new 2009 Swine Flu, cooking the meat would kill the virus. Some countries have reacted hysterically to the 2009 Swine Flu by slamming their borders shut against imported pork and pork products from countries where there have been cases of influenza found. There is no basis for the restriction.
As stated above the flu is an influenza virus and can't live long outside the host. Viruses can be transmitted in a number of ways. The HIV virus is spread by direct contact with bodily fluids. Small pox, a virus deadly in the past, is contracted through lengthy exposure to an infected person. The 2009 Swine Flu is spread through respiratory droplets.
Of the cases diagnosed so far none of them have been attributed to exposure to pigs.
To become infected with 2009 Swine Flu you must be standing within about 3 to 6 feet of an infected person. Just passing by someone on the street won't get you infected. The virus is carried through the air in respiratory droplets. The droplets are released through sneezing, coughing or just breathing. These droplets can land on a hard surface and live up to 24 hours or on a soft surface and live less than 30 minutes. The UV exposure of the surface and air temperatures affect how long the virus will live as well.
Even exposure to someone with swine flu doesn't mean you'll get sick. The human body has wonderful defenses. If only a few cells are infected the body produces and secretes something called interferons. These are proteins and are designated alpha, beta, or gamma interferon. These particular proteins interact with the cells adjacent to the infected cells to make them more resistant to viral infection. This natural defense often works to stop the virus dead in its tracks. The interferon does not kill the virus but makes the cells more resistant to the viral invasion. Later on, you may not even have known that you were infected at all.
Sometimes however the virus is stronger and spreads to more cells and you start feeling sick. At that point the immune system begins to fight by killing the viruses that are outside of the cells and the infected cells themselves.
Symptoms start 1 to 2 days after exposure and the person is the most infectious at that point. However the person can infect others before any symptoms show up.
First of all it is absolutely not transmitted by eating pork, bacon, sausage or any pork meat product. Even if the pig was exposed to the new 2009 Swine Flu, cooking the meat would kill the virus. Some countries have reacted hysterically to the 2009 Swine Flu by slamming their borders shut against imported pork and pork products from countries where there have been cases of influenza found. There is no basis for the restriction.
As stated above the flu is an influenza virus and can't live long outside the host. Viruses can be transmitted in a number of ways. The HIV virus is spread by direct contact with bodily fluids. Small pox, a virus deadly in the past, is contracted through lengthy exposure to an infected person. The 2009 Swine Flu is spread through respiratory droplets.
Of the cases diagnosed so far none of them have been attributed to exposure to pigs.
To become infected with 2009 Swine Flu you must be standing within about 3 to 6 feet of an infected person. Just passing by someone on the street won't get you infected. The virus is carried through the air in respiratory droplets. The droplets are released through sneezing, coughing or just breathing. These droplets can land on a hard surface and live up to 24 hours or on a soft surface and live less than 30 minutes. The UV exposure of the surface and air temperatures affect how long the virus will live as well.
Even exposure to someone with swine flu doesn't mean you'll get sick. The human body has wonderful defenses. If only a few cells are infected the body produces and secretes something called interferons. These are proteins and are designated alpha, beta, or gamma interferon. These particular proteins interact with the cells adjacent to the infected cells to make them more resistant to viral infection. This natural defense often works to stop the virus dead in its tracks. The interferon does not kill the virus but makes the cells more resistant to the viral invasion. Later on, you may not even have known that you were infected at all.
Sometimes however the virus is stronger and spreads to more cells and you start feeling sick. At that point the immune system begins to fight by killing the viruses that are outside of the cells and the infected cells themselves.
Symptoms start 1 to 2 days after exposure and the person is the most infectious at that point. However the person can infect others before any symptoms show up.
What's Dangerous About 2009 Swine Flu (H1N1)
This new "swine flu" passes easily from human to human (not from pig to human). There is no vaccine to prevent this new strain of influenza. Vaccinations work by introducing a weakened or dead strain of the virus into the body. The body builds up an immunity to the weakened or dead virus. When the full strength live virus tries to invade the body the body can fight back with the previously produced antibodies.
Antibiotics are only useful for secondary bacterial infections. They have no effect on viral infections. None at all. Nada. Nothing. Don't think taking a series of antibiotics will prevent or treat swine flu, or any other virus for that matter.
While influenza is normally not a serious health risk there have been epidemics that have had fatal and far reaching effects. The influenza pandemic of 1917 - 1920 killed more people than the black plague, estimates range from 20 million to 50 million. Pandemic means that the disease has a wide geographic distribution. Most influenza viruses are air borne within a limited 6 foot range, which means you do not need to physically come in contact with an infected person to be infected yourself.
As of June 12, 2009 the World Health Organization released the following information:
74 countries have officially reported 29,669 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.
The United States Government has reported 13,217 laboratory confirmed human cases, including 27 deaths. Mexico has reported 6291 confirmed human cases of infection, including 108 deaths.
The very first documented case of 2009 Swine Flu is of a 5 year old boy in Mexico in early April. The boy lived in a small village of 3000 people in La Gloria in the state of Veracruz. Flu outbreak was reported in the village. Only the boy tested positive for swine flu. The village was next to a pig farm owned by the U.S. company Smithfield Foods. None of the pigs tested positive for swine flu or exhibited swine flu symptoms.
A new influenza strain can be dangerous if it spreads quickly and mutates as it goes. The body has no chance to build up an immunity and the medical community hasn't time to develop a vaccine. Since the first case was reported April 2 the 2009 Swine Flu has spread to 4 continents and 11 countries in a little more than 4 weeks. That rate of infection is potentially dangerous. Keep in mind that while there may be less than 1000 cases officially documented there could be 100 times that many people actually infected. There is no regulation or law that says a person must see a doctor if they have flu symptoms or that the doctor must test for the flu. Many cases go unreported.
Previous flu viruses have an average infection rate of one person infecting two other people. Doesn't sound like much does it? Look at it this way: if each person infects two other people within a 48 hour period (average length of time to become infected) by the end of 30 days that one person will have caused the infection of over 130,000 others. Within 45 days the rate accelerates and nearly 17 million people will have become infected. A flu outbreak can quickly reach massive proportions.
Antibiotics are only useful for secondary bacterial infections. They have no effect on viral infections. None at all. Nada. Nothing. Don't think taking a series of antibiotics will prevent or treat swine flu, or any other virus for that matter.
While influenza is normally not a serious health risk there have been epidemics that have had fatal and far reaching effects. The influenza pandemic of 1917 - 1920 killed more people than the black plague, estimates range from 20 million to 50 million. Pandemic means that the disease has a wide geographic distribution. Most influenza viruses are air borne within a limited 6 foot range, which means you do not need to physically come in contact with an infected person to be infected yourself.
As of June 12, 2009 the World Health Organization released the following information:
74 countries have officially reported 29,669 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.
The United States Government has reported 13,217 laboratory confirmed human cases, including 27 deaths. Mexico has reported 6291 confirmed human cases of infection, including 108 deaths.
The very first documented case of 2009 Swine Flu is of a 5 year old boy in Mexico in early April. The boy lived in a small village of 3000 people in La Gloria in the state of Veracruz. Flu outbreak was reported in the village. Only the boy tested positive for swine flu. The village was next to a pig farm owned by the U.S. company Smithfield Foods. None of the pigs tested positive for swine flu or exhibited swine flu symptoms.
A new influenza strain can be dangerous if it spreads quickly and mutates as it goes. The body has no chance to build up an immunity and the medical community hasn't time to develop a vaccine. Since the first case was reported April 2 the 2009 Swine Flu has spread to 4 continents and 11 countries in a little more than 4 weeks. That rate of infection is potentially dangerous. Keep in mind that while there may be less than 1000 cases officially documented there could be 100 times that many people actually infected. There is no regulation or law that says a person must see a doctor if they have flu symptoms or that the doctor must test for the flu. Many cases go unreported.
Previous flu viruses have an average infection rate of one person infecting two other people. Doesn't sound like much does it? Look at it this way: if each person infects two other people within a 48 hour period (average length of time to become infected) by the end of 30 days that one person will have caused the infection of over 130,000 others. Within 45 days the rate accelerates and nearly 17 million people will have become infected. A flu outbreak can quickly reach massive proportions.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
What is 2009 Swine Flu Influenza A (H1N1)
What is 2009 Swine Flu Influenza A (H1N1)
The influenza virus currently called 2009 Swine Flu, influenza A (H1N1), is actually an influenza virus that is a combination of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that derives from one strain of human influenza, one strain of avian (bird) influenza, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origins of this new strain are unknown at this time.
Previous to April 2009 Swine Flu had been limited to pigs aka swine. It is possible for humans to catch true swine flu but it has happened rarely. The human has to be around infected swine on a regular basis. The virus passes from pig to human. There have been different varieties or strains of swine flu through the years. Currently there is a vaccination to prevent swine flu in pigs but not in humans.
Swine flu was first diagnosed in pigs in 1930. Almost 50 years later in 1976, a little over 200 soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey, came down with swine flu. From that time until 2005 there were few cases reported, less than one per year. From 2005 through January 2009 there were only 12 cases reported.
The 2009 Swine Flu influenza A (H1N1) is different than historic swine flu. In April 2009 the number of reported cases began to rise, causing concern that a serious outbreak of a new swine flu, now called Swine Flu Influenza A (H1N1) might be in its initial stages.
Viruses Are Nasty Creatures
Viruses are structures that only replicate or reproduce themselves within a host cell. Outside a host cell they are dormant. Scientists do not agree on whether viruses should be considered a life form or be classified as biochemical mechanisms. They only "live" for short periods of time outside the host cell if "live" is defined as maintaining the ability to reproduce themselves inside a host cell. Perhaps better terms than live or dead when talking about viruses would be active and de-activated. Viruses are not susceptible to treatment with antibiotics.
Why are viruses so dangerous to the host cells? The virus has a limited amount of DNA information for use in reproducing itself but it doesn't have all the necessary biological materials. Once it enters the host cell it uses that host's material to replicate itself thousands of times, destroying the host cell and invading other cells within the host. The viruses can leave the host cell a few at a time called "budding," or all the viruses can leave at once called "lysis."
The only purpose of a virus is to replicate itself. It can only replicate itself inside a host cell. As it replicates the host cell is destroyed. One virus can replicate itself thousands of times inside one host cell, thereby setting up the destruction of thousands of other host cells.
Every living organism, plant, animal, or bacteria matter, is susceptible to viruses. The saving grace is that specific viruses can only find the genetic material they need to replicate within specific organisms. To make matters worse there may be a hundred different viruses with the capability to infect one specific organism.
The really bad news is that viruses can evolve and mutate. One virus has the capacity to reproduce itself hundreds of thousands of times. Each reproduction can lead to a small change, or mutation, within the virus. Even if 90% of the reproduced viruses are faulty the remaining 10% are functioning. Some of the mutations may mean they can infect other organisms besides the original host. The influenza virus is notorious for doing exactly that. The avian influenza mutated to be able to infect humans in the early 2000's. And that brings us to the 2009 Swine Flu.
The influenza virus currently called 2009 Swine Flu, influenza A (H1N1), is actually an influenza virus that is a combination of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that derives from one strain of human influenza, one strain of avian (bird) influenza, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origins of this new strain are unknown at this time.
Previous to April 2009 Swine Flu had been limited to pigs aka swine. It is possible for humans to catch true swine flu but it has happened rarely. The human has to be around infected swine on a regular basis. The virus passes from pig to human. There have been different varieties or strains of swine flu through the years. Currently there is a vaccination to prevent swine flu in pigs but not in humans.
Swine flu was first diagnosed in pigs in 1930. Almost 50 years later in 1976, a little over 200 soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey, came down with swine flu. From that time until 2005 there were few cases reported, less than one per year. From 2005 through January 2009 there were only 12 cases reported.
The 2009 Swine Flu influenza A (H1N1) is different than historic swine flu. In April 2009 the number of reported cases began to rise, causing concern that a serious outbreak of a new swine flu, now called Swine Flu Influenza A (H1N1) might be in its initial stages.
Viruses Are Nasty Creatures
Viruses are structures that only replicate or reproduce themselves within a host cell. Outside a host cell they are dormant. Scientists do not agree on whether viruses should be considered a life form or be classified as biochemical mechanisms. They only "live" for short periods of time outside the host cell if "live" is defined as maintaining the ability to reproduce themselves inside a host cell. Perhaps better terms than live or dead when talking about viruses would be active and de-activated. Viruses are not susceptible to treatment with antibiotics.
Why are viruses so dangerous to the host cells? The virus has a limited amount of DNA information for use in reproducing itself but it doesn't have all the necessary biological materials. Once it enters the host cell it uses that host's material to replicate itself thousands of times, destroying the host cell and invading other cells within the host. The viruses can leave the host cell a few at a time called "budding," or all the viruses can leave at once called "lysis."
The only purpose of a virus is to replicate itself. It can only replicate itself inside a host cell. As it replicates the host cell is destroyed. One virus can replicate itself thousands of times inside one host cell, thereby setting up the destruction of thousands of other host cells.
Every living organism, plant, animal, or bacteria matter, is susceptible to viruses. The saving grace is that specific viruses can only find the genetic material they need to replicate within specific organisms. To make matters worse there may be a hundred different viruses with the capability to infect one specific organism.
The really bad news is that viruses can evolve and mutate. One virus has the capacity to reproduce itself hundreds of thousands of times. Each reproduction can lead to a small change, or mutation, within the virus. Even if 90% of the reproduced viruses are faulty the remaining 10% are functioning. Some of the mutations may mean they can infect other organisms besides the original host. The influenza virus is notorious for doing exactly that. The avian influenza mutated to be able to infect humans in the early 2000's. And that brings us to the 2009 Swine Flu.
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