Fear the Flu More than the Flu Vaccine
10.20.09 by Daniel Gaddy
I have previously written on this site about the Influenza A(H1N1) virus and the possibility, however unlikely, of this virus becoming a catastrophic pandemic. In my first post, I was concerned that the general public was being driven toward unnecessary panic by a “media firestorm” of negative “swine flu” news coverage. Now, however, I have fears of the exact opposite. It seems that people may not be taking this virus seriously enough! As I said in my first article, we really do not know how deadly this virus will be, and the truth is that there is nothing about this virus, particularly its genome, that suggests it will be a catastrophic killer. However, influenza is always deadly and it needs to be taken seriously.
It seems that these days people are more terrified of vaccines than the diseases they are designed to prevent. This is, at least partially, due to a massive campaign to convince people that vaccines cause autism. However, there has been absolutely no scientific evidence of a vaccine-autism link. None. In relation to influenza vaccines, people are worried about a variety of issues, not the least of which is the speed at which the vaccine was produced and made available. An article in the NY Times last week by Paul Offit, a professor and expert on infectious diseases and vaccines at the University of Pennsylvania, addressed this and several other myths about the H1N1 vaccine.
…Here are some of those myths, and why they’re wrong:
Influenza A(H1N1)
05.4.09 by Daniel Gaddy
A media firestorm has been unleashed over the last few weeks regarding the so-called “swine flu.” If you pay attention to CNN or any mainstream media outlet, you are bombarded with dire warnings and panic-inducing reports of swine flu deaths and the resulting mayhem. I want to write this post to put things into perspective. Keep in mind that the news outlets have one thing in mind: ratings. The more fear they can strike into you, the more likely you are to watch. This is not to say that there is no reason to be concerned. As with any influenza outbreak, the more you know, the better prepared you are to handle it. However, the media consistently compare the current outbreak with previous pandemics, particularly the 1918 pandemic. The chances of such a disastrous pandemic are rare. Here, I will explain why that is, as well as provide some insight into this disease and some resources that will help you prepare should you come into contact with anyone infected with influenza.
First of all, the nomenclature “swine flu” is inaccurate. I am not saying this because I have been paid by the pork lobby. The truth is, this virus is part swine, part avian, and part human. This description is, in and of itself, probably confusing for a lay-person. Influenza virus biology is too complicated to get into here in real detail. Basically, influenza virus has a segmented genome. These segments are similar to chromosomes in humans, in that they are nucleic acids (RNA in the case of flu) and each segment codes for a different viral protein. The process of segments from different strains of virus (eg. swine, avian and human) coming together to form a new strain of virus is called re-assortment. This occurs when multiple viruses infect the same cell, and a basic example is illustrated in the figure below. This process occurs frequently, particularly in animals such as pigs and birds, but rarely results in super-virulent strains of influenza.
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