We've all heard about the swine flu since it was first discovered in the spring of this year, but many of us have probably not realized the reality of it affecting people our age.
In a recent report, 76 children have already died from the H1N1 virus. Between 46 and 88 children die from the regular flu each year, but swine flu is about to cause these numbers to dramatically rise. There has been a total of 600 deaths, 9,000 hospitalizations, and now 37 states across the U.S. have wide spread cases of swine flu.
I don't mean to be he barer of bad news, but this is something that people our age need to pay close attention to. I think it's important for us to read all information possible and learn exactly what we can to help prevent the virus from attacking our precious immune systems. It is important that we get vaccinated and stay home from school if we don't feel well. Also, don't forget that hand sanitizer is your friend!
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15 comments:
YEAH! First comment! Anyway, I wonder if it is going to be an "oh, so I guess it was a big deal after all" moment. Americans and their secret laboratories where they create dangerous bio-weapons and release them either on purpose or by mistake! (Ask Gaddafi...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLS2H8WxRtQ&feature=player_embedded#
Unfortunately, the swine flu death rate is increasing in a significant amount of numbers. Swine flu is not only spreading across the United States, but it is also spreading around the world. Here is an article i found up-to-date.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1767817/spike_in_us_child_swine_flu_deaths/
It says,"The agency reported on Monday that the global number of swine flu cases has spiked by at least 24,000 in two weeks, and now exceeds 343,000 cases. Deaths from the virus have grown to more than 4,100."
YIKES!
I'm just wondering if hand sanitizer will really help compared to actually washing your hands. Since swine flu is a virus, it doesn't really have any living parts that you can kill with the hand sanitizer, its just a bunch of DNA in a protein shell, is it not? So wouldn't hand sanitizer kill all the bacteria, but leave the virus on your hands? So wouldn't more sense to actually wash your hands to rinse off the virus? Once again, I may be wrong and the alcohol solution that makes up hand sanitizer might actually affect the virus. Just wanted to put my thoughts out there.
Ahh. The swine flu is actually worse than we really think. We're very fortunate that America, compared to Mexico, has decent medical branches in which they can handle the virus. If you think about it, how many people have had the swine flu compared to those who died from the swine flu. Then compare those who got diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, cholera and other pandemics to those who died from such diseases. I'm not saying that the swine flu should be ignored, but there are other diseases that we should be focusing on too.
The more media the swine flu gets, the faster the curing process will become. This is often a result of the increasing pressure from the general public.
I think all diseases should be looked at equally, rather than focusing on one pandemic.
Regarding Victor's comment. I think that washing your hands and using hand sanitizer will probably do the same effect. Washing hands is to rid of bacteria as well (not so much viruses), since they are mostly inside our bodies. However, I do think that washing your hands and hand sanitizer will definitely help lessen the effects of the swine flu. It will probably get rid of the bacteria on your hands (which are most likely harmful bacteria, since they are on your hands by accident and thus have not formed a symbiotic relationship), and free your immune system to fight only the H1N1 Virus. So yeah, I guess to be safe, use hand sanitizer when possible and wash hands when possible as well.
-Henry Zhang
The swine flu is a dramitic issue and it does need to be known amongst many poeple. I heard that it has been speard amongst our school and it is just geting worse. I have also heard that it is really bad in San Francisco and has hit Menlo horribaly. I am just getting sick and I know i am going straight to get my flu shot!
maybe all that purell in the classes wasn't such a bad idea after all. Getting swine flu would kinda suck but then again....
in like 20 years if you got it you could say to your kids, "yep my son I survived the Swine. there was nothing but bacon and disease in the streets and I toughed it out." Sounds pretty glorious to me!
Swine flu killing people at this season is not really news. It always has been killing people every year; it's just now that we are beginning to pay attention (because of what happened to Mexico).
I agree that we should all be wary of Swine and learn what we can to prevent it, especially being students and being around so many sick people all day at school. However, I also think that all this hype about swine flu is a bit exaggerated. I mean the flu kills tons of people around the world every year, and it doesn't help that swine flu first popped up where they didn't have the top technology to eliminate it.
My friend also told me that her doctor said that the vaccination takes a few months to take effect. If this is true it would mean getting the vaccine this year would still practically give you a 50/50 chance of getting the flu sense the shot wouldn't kick in until flu season was around half way over. So we better keep using that soap and water.
Good news is if you catch the swine flu early, doctors have tamiflu and other treatments to help you start feeling better! (unlike other colds and the flu where there is nothing the doctors can do but tell you to go home and rest)
In response to Victor's comment, hand sanitizer does indeed kill the swine flu as well as many other viruses. Unlike an antibiotic, the alcohol in hand sanitizer kills everything, not just bacteria. When you wash your hands, mostly you are not killing the bacteria at all, but rather washing it down the drain. The friction caused by rubbing your hands together forces the bacteria and viruses to go down the drain, instead of staying on your hand. Mostly, doctors recommend that you wash your hands rather than just use hand sanitizer because it physically removes whatever is on your hands and sends it down the drain.
As for the curing process, I don't even know what that means. What I do know is that a widespread vaccine is being circulated as we type. They should be available at your nearest pharmacy within the next month in the form of a needle or a mist that you inhale.
Yes Swine flu is dangerous but I think a lot of the problem is not the swine flu. If you are healthy and you catch swine flu then it sucks. However, the chances of you dieing are very very very low. The danger is of people with pre-existing conditions getting swine flu. For instance if you have asthma or are more susceptible to pneumonia then it is dangerous.
Also on a side note, Catherine mentions that 76 children have died from the swine flu. To put that in perspective: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/medical.htm
On average an estimated 600 people are struck by lightning every year in the US and on average an estimated 70 people die from lightning. Therefore the number of children that have died from swine flu is just a little bit more than the number of people that die by lighning and is nowhere near the number struck by lightning.
I read this article off Slashdot a couple weeks ago and thought it rather relevant.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/study-prompts-provinces-to-rethink-flu-p%3E%20lan/article1303330/
I think Mark addressed my comments rather well, so I'll end here.
Though swine flu is a really serious issue, many people don't realize that thousands of people die every year from the regular flu. Approximately 63,730 people die each year from the flu. The media talks about how many people have died from the swine flu, but it doesn't talk about the deaths from the flu. Either way, we really need to start prevention by using hand sanitizer or washing our hands.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/12/novartis-swine-flu-markets-equity-pharmaceuticals.html
Another article those of you interested might like to read.
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