Straightening the Story Out - H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)

Too many people are spreading misinformation. I know this video is a long watch, but please stick around and pay attention, the H1N1 flu is NOT the same as normal flu. Through investigation into the 1918 Flu Pandemic and the actual science behind 'Swine Flu,' I hope to paint a clear portrait of why H1N1 is so potentially lethal.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• H1N1
• swine
• flu
• influenza
• pandemic
• spanish
• 1918
• CDC
• outbreak
• disease

[4implant]

Nicely presented and interesting. My take on H1N1 is somewhat different from yours, and I won't waste space here to elaborate too far. However, consider the following: World War One had just finished at the time the 1918 flu occurred, and because of situations surrounding the war, i.e. reduced quality in overall health care, the number of injured or people with weakened immune systems, the lack of ANY flu vaccines and the quality of science at the time, that outbreak was considerably worse.

[huxtiblejones]

I mean, World War I was certainly a factor, but that's not a well-founded view. First of all, we don't have vaccines for the current H1N1. Seasonal flu vaccines do nothing. The 1918 virus was deadly because some kind of genetic shift made it deadly. Sure, the death rate was enhanced by numerous factors, but the fact of the matter is that the 1918 H1N1 was just extremely deadly. There's a BBC article about scientists who recreated it and infected monkeys, google 1918 virus rebuilt, its from 2007.

[huxtiblejones]

The scientists said that the 1918 strain caused such intense damage to the monkeys' lungs that if they hadn't euthanized them at that point, they would have drown in their own blood. They said the symptoms the monkeys had were very similar to those described at the peak of the influenza.

All it takes is a lucky mutation or recombination for this virus to become as bad as the 1918 killer. The fact that it's globally pandemic only adds to the likelihood of such an event occurring.

[truthseekr4life]

Thank you for the info. Very good.

[4implant]

I see your points, and agree with what you say. But keep in mind that our ability to cope with something like H1N1 is better in 2009 than it was in 1918--not perfect, but better.

Of course,I could get hit by a bus after work today, or a meteor could hit the earth tonight. It is the luck of the draw every day we live.

[jfooj]

Thanks, this was an informative presentation.

[xwidget]

I recall reading the history of the spanish flu during World War I. If a soldier showed symptoms while on board a troop transport they were isolated, as one would expect. The problem was that soon there was no place left to isolate the sick except the ship's deck, which is where many US soldiers died.