Swine Flu

[rachandhelen]

Is anybody genuinely worried by all of this?

Or do you think it has been blown way out of proportion?

Another bird flu i say!

i'd like to hear your views

[pat]

i have always been the one out of my seven brothers to get ill so im looking out

[John]

What is becoming apparent is that those with low immune
systems or other health problems are at serious risk.

[John]

Its becoming very apparent that this Government have not
got a clue over dealing with this.

What shall we have to-day? Containment or Treatment?

Flip a coin or is that the policy on our second plus homes...

[Wrinkles]

According to several articles I've read the over 50's are at considerably less risk the most due to partial immunity garnered from previous flu pandemics such as the Mao flu of the 60's and the later Asian flu. I had both of those and very nasty they were too.
It would appear that is nowhere near as severe as previous strains but I suppose time will tell. As with most of these things I often wonder if it natures way of thinning out the population and cleansing the gene pool. 

[Papaumau]

The real worry here has to be that the present weak strain, that is an accepted pandemic by the World Health Organisation, ( WHO ), will come back in the winter as a much more virulent strain. As has been said above, this is what happened with the Spanish flu and the Asian flu.

If we are not protected from the newest - and probably a much more deadly - strain of the H1N1 Swine-flu we may find that the handful of deaths already attributed to the H1N1 in Britain may grow to very large numbers before the end of this winter.

Can we really take that risk ?

Influenza is a very dangerous virus as it is able to mutate and change very quickly from a weak pandemic to a strong one and who is to say that this flu  - which interestingly started as bird flu and which mutated into H1N1 in Mexican pigs - is not about to change again into a world wide killer.

I for one hope that the government can produce an effective vaccination for the next strain of this virus and that all of us are able to get it for free.

Once again...thanks to our valuable NHS, the people of Britain will not need to worry if they can afford to pay for this vaccine as it will be given freely to all who need it.