Swine Influenza Update
Written by Jamie Stowe | Tuesday, 19 May 2009 | There is 1 comment
the swine influenza virus killed the Vice Head of a New York City school 
Health officials in America have been making observations about the swine influenza virus and showing how it is different to normal flu viruses. For example they are noting that a far larger proportion of infected people are children and teenagers which is having a big impact on schools around the country. Dr Anne Schuchat from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commented that it was extremely unusual to have so many people under the age of twenty who required hospital treatment with some of them even having to make use of intensive care units.
Reports are also showing that around half of all the severe influenza cases are being diagnosed as being the swine influenza H1N1 strain and the other half tend to be regular seasonal influenza viruses. Concerns were recently heightened when the swine influenza virus killed the Vice Head of a New York City school despite being given antiviral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza. It is important to remember that these influenza medications are only effective if they are taken early.
On the other hand it is important to remember that regular influenza viruses actually kill over 35,000 individuals in America every single year and as many as 500,000 worldwide. Elderly and sick people normally are the ones who succumb to regular influenza viruses. What makes the new swine influenza virus strange is that very few elderly people seem to contract it and that in families the chances of those under eighteen contracting it is greatly increased which has led scientists to believe that older people could have built up some pre existing immunity due to having been infected with some other similar influenza virus some time ago.
Other scientists however say that it could be that elderly people have just been less exposed to it. The reality is however that not too much is really known about the swine flu virus and we will just have to wait and see how it pans out.
