How Many Swine Viruses Are There?
The news lately is ablaze with recent
news on the swine flu epidemic-in Mexico, the United States,
and perhaps-even your own state or town. You may be wondering what
is this all about and what information do I need to know to keep
myself and my family safe from the swine flu epidemic. Is swine flu
a huge concern, or is it being blown out of proportion? It’s only
natural. To better understand why there is so much concern regarding
the swine flu in our country, it is best to look at how it is
characterized and how the swine flu works as a virus. We offer a
quick overview of the swine flu as a virus below.
The swine flu is actually a
very common flu found in pigs year round. They contract and carry
the respiratory disease as if passing breath, but the swine flu
outbreaks typically occur in the late fall and early winter seasons
of the year. For the most part, the normal strains of swine flu
among pigs cause only illness-not death; and so has never been a
huge concern; until its entrance into the human body. So wouldn’t
the same lack of concerns apply for human versions of swine flu? Not
necessarily.
 Why
would this be? Basically, the nature of a flu virus is volatile and
can spread very easily and quickly. The fact that sneezing and
coughing and sharing drinks, etc are easy ways to contract any human
flu are reasons enough to be worried-no one likes to have the flu
after all. It is uncomfortable.
But the real problem comes in when we
examine the fact that a flu virus is volatile, and can
reprogram itself according to its carrier. What does this mean
exactly? When viruses are transmitted from one species to another,
the flu virus can then create a whole new virus of some arrangement
of bi-species genes-making it incurable. In the case for swine flu,
this is just what is happening: new flu viruses are being introduced
into our environment since humans and swine have shared the original
swine flu strain. And change is constant for flu viruses of this
sort.
Recommended Reading:
What is Swine Flu
(Influenza A H1N1)?
Swine Flu
and WHO's Pandemic Scale
Do I Need Mask for
Swine Flu Protection?
Symptoms
of Swine Flu - Fever, Fatigue, Diarrhea and More
Swine Flu
Prevention Tips
How Does
Swine Flu Spread?
What to Do if You
Think You Have Swine Flu
Swine Respiratory Disease -
Swine Flu in Pigs
Swine Flu
in Humans
How Many
Swine Viruses Are There?
The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic (new)
Swine Flu
Treatment - Tamiflu, Relenza Antiviral (new)
No Swine Flu from Eating Pork,
Safe to Eat
(new)
Cold vs Flu - Major Differences
Between Cold and Flu (new)
|
