Be AFRAID It’s worse than we think.
3 months ago we were told in South Africa ‘All’s fine. Noting to worry about”
Now———-SA’s H1N1 deaths now 27. 2009-09-01
Pregnancy has been identified as a particular risk factor for severe swine flu.
The number of swine flu deaths in South Africa has risen to 27 and confirmed infections to more than 5 800, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases says.
Washington – Put swine flu in a room with other strains of influenza, and it does not mix into a new superbug but rather takes over, researchers reported on Tuesday.
University of Maryland researchers deliberately co-infected ferrets to examine one of the worst fears about the new swine flu. But fortunately, the flu did not mutate. The researchers carefully swabbed the ferrets’ nasal cavities and found no evidence of gene-swapping.
The animals that caught both kinds of flu, however, had worse symptoms. They also easily spread the new swine flu, what scientists formally call the 2009 H1N1 virus, to their uninfected ferret neighbours, but did not spread regular winter flu strains nearly as easily.
They say it’s no surprise that swine flu has become the world’s dominant strain of influenza. It is not under evolutionary pressure right now to mix and mutate while it has a clear biological advantage over other kinds of flu, concluded the Maryland team led by virologist Daniel Perez.
The Maryland study, financed by the National Institutes of Health, reinforces worry about how easily swine flu might sweep through a country.
Britain could have more than 100 000 cases of H1N1 flu a day by the end of August if the current rate of infection is maintained.
-- "Even small steps makes a distance." (Shawn Phillips, musician)
