Still more problems as Swine flu seems to be spread to new areas. A very nice post from Pro-med mail looks at why Swine Flu takes this name.
In 1918-1919 the Spanish Flu caused significant death and morbidity in both human and swine populations, although it is likely to have originated from birds. “Swine Flu” is bascially any virus that circulates through pig populations, such as H3N2, H1N2 or the present H1N1. The terms H and N stand for haemagluttin and neuraminidase, which are unique ways influenza viruses infect humans.
This particular strain of H1N1 influenza nicknamed Swine Flu is able to be transferred between persons, without swine contact. Further, there is a lack of evidence showing the initial jump from swine populations to humans. H1N1 also carries a component of bird flu, as well. Thus, simply calling it swine flu is inaccurate.
A number of equally qualified experts are calling for calm, based on a number of carefully conducted studies. To no one’s surprise, they too are being ignored by the media and government planners.
H1N1 can be forcibly inoculated into pigs, but it has been shown not to spread among the pig population. This means that the danger of a swine-based epidemic is small.
There are several strains of this flu virus however, including H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2 and H2N3. What the science has shown is that when the virus passes through the pig, it becomes less virulent—that is, it is less likely to cause serious disease in people. With each passage, it becomes even weaker.
Since this is not the answer that the politicians and mainstream media wanted, they next announced that it is “possible” that the pigs could be infected with both the bird flu (strain H5N1) and the swine flu (strain H1N1), resulting in a mutant, highly virulent strain that could lead to a pandemic.
Note this is pure speculation and that no scientist has ever performed this trick. It is purely hypothetical—like global warming. CDC virologists claim that in the past they performed a similar virological trick, but they never published their results and thus have kept the data close to the vest.
Unfortunately, what is little understood by the general public is that the only reason people die from the flu is that they have either an immune suppressing chronic illness, such as diabetes, direct immune dysfunction, dietary deficiencies of critical immune-supporting nutrients, chronic pulmonary disease, heart disease or cancer.