It is a very bad virus; not because it is particularly terrible with the symptoms, but because it is a very persistent bug.
It is persistent because it won't really go away. It takes a very long time. And during that time, if people get a respiratory infection from it, they can get bronchitis and then pneumonia...which can be fatal. It isn't a bacterial infection, so it can't be treated with antibiotics.
It is called the "swine" flu because people can get the flu from swine, but it is actually a bird flu that has become changed into a form that people can get through swine. This is not a new thing. Since the '50s when intercontinental transportation became more and more common, these bird flues that people can get have become introduced to the west, and so only the very young have not been exposed to previous strains and may not have some level of resistance already. Also, breast feeding is something mothers less frequently do now, and that also reduces potential resistance. There hasn't been a serious one since the '70s...so those born since then have no resistance and stand the greatest risk of being completely taken by surprise and dying from it. It just depends on their immune systems and how well they take care of themselves in general.
Pigs can get certain bird flues. People cannot get the flu from birds. But, people can get the flu from pigs. Farms in Asia frequently raise ducks and pigs on the same property, and since people raise them, that is how this situation is created. It isn't a new thing, but because the bird flu strains are not common to humans, when one effectively gets transformed though pigs into a form that humans can get, it tends to hit humans pretty hard. Hope that helps someone.
It is persistent because it won't really go away. It takes a very long time. And during that time, if people get a respiratory infection from it, they can get bronchitis and then pneumonia...which can be fatal. It isn't a bacterial infection, so it can't be treated with antibiotics.
It is called the "swine" flu because people can get the flu from swine, but it is actually a bird flu that has become changed into a form that people can get through swine. This is not a new thing. Since the '50s when intercontinental transportation became more and more common, these bird flues that people can get have become introduced to the west, and so only the very young have not been exposed to previous strains and may not have some level of resistance already. Also, breast feeding is something mothers less frequently do now, and that also reduces potential resistance. There hasn't been a serious one since the '70s...so those born since then have no resistance and stand the greatest risk of being completely taken by surprise and dying from it. It just depends on their immune systems and how well they take care of themselves in general.
Pigs can get certain bird flues. People cannot get the flu from birds. But, people can get the flu from pigs. Farms in Asia frequently raise ducks and pigs on the same property, and since people raise them, that is how this situation is created. It isn't a new thing, but because the bird flu strains are not common to humans, when one effectively gets transformed though pigs into a form that humans can get, it tends to hit humans pretty hard. Hope that helps someone.