It takes one to H1N1

So with my recent illness and all, I mean I was away from the office for almost two weeks, I kept getting the question "Do you have swine flu?" My response: "No, I don't have swine flu. I have GE flu." (I guess you'd have to work where I do to find that funny, because those are the only people who laught at that.) But with all the buzz going around about swine flu (what scientists call "novel H1N1 virus"), I decided to do a little research to see if I did have it after all.

I started by going to Google and seeing what was out there. The top hit was the website for the Centers for Disease Control, which I already trusted as a reasonably good source of information. And the site (http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa.htm) does have some good info along with links to others sites. Here's an excerpt:

"With seasonal flu, we know that seasons vary in terms of timing, duration and severity. Seasonal influenza can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65."

"So far, with novel H1N1 flu, the largest number of novel H1N1 flu confirmed and probable cases have occurred in people between the ages of 5 and 24-years-old. At this time, there are few cases and no deaths reported in people older than 64 years old, which is unusual when compared with seasonal flu. However, pregnancy and other previously recognized high risk medical conditions from seasonal influenza appear to be associated with increased risk of complications from this novel H1N1."

All very interesting, but notice how they don't give you the numbers? I'm not suggesting that they are hiding anything; it's just that me in my engineering mind was looking for the numbers in order to make a comparison which would lead to an assessment or conclusion. Like I said, there was lots of good info on the site.

Interestingly enough, I found these words buried in the site: "There is no vaccine available right now to protect against novel H1N1 virus." Wait, hold the phone! No vaccine?! "There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza." Gee, that's comforting. And somehow not all that surprising. But here's something on the site that was surprising -- a blurb about swine flu parties. I never heard of these before, so I read on.

"'Swine flu parties' are gatherings during which people have close contact with a person who has novel H1N1 flu in order to become infected with the virus. The intent of these parties is to become infected with what for many people has been a mild disease, in the hope of having natural immunity to the novel H1N1 flu virus that might circulate later and cause more severe disease." And I thought they were doing it for a jolly, you know, like those idiots who inhale compressed air or glue fumes.

Somehow the words of one my former roommates came to mind: The gene pool definitely needs some more chlorine. But wait! There's more . . .

"CDC does not recommend 'swine flu parties' as a way to protect against novel H1N1 flu in the future." No? Really? You can't be serious. "While the disease seen in the current novel H1N1 flu outbreak has been mild for many people, it has been severe and even fatal for others." OK, so it has been fatal, but you won't give us the numbers. "There is no way to predict with certainty what the outcome will be for an individual or, equally important, for others to whom the intentionally infected person may spread the virus." Now there's a surprise. I can't predict with any certainty whether I'll get hit by a bus either.

"CDC recommends that people with novel H1N1 flu avoid contact with others as much as possible." I love the medical community; they have this great way of telling me what I already know and then charging me for the privilege of hearing it from them! "They should stay home from work or school for 7 days after the onset of illness or until at least 24 hours after symptoms have resolved, whichever is longer." Stay home from work? Alright, if you insist. Interestingly, these are the first real numbers I got that are associated with swine flu, and I like them!

Seriously, though, public health officials must be walking a fine line between informing people on the one hand and not creating massive panic and anarchy on the other. I've seen reports of other countries -- now more than 70 with reported cases -- taking this swine flu VERY seriously, lots of people wearing masks and detaining people at airports even. No one in this country is doing that (detaining people -- I have seen a few souls wearing masks). It makes me wonder why. Why aren't we taking it as seriously?


I hear lots of people discounting it, saying it is no big deal based on how many people are sick and how many are getting treatment (gee, I wish they'd share some numbers with me, because I just don't have them from the government or anyone else). Maybe they are right. But my real concern is if the virus mutates and comes back next year with a vengeance. The virus itself is a mutation of already extant flu strains. And we have already seen how quickly the virus can spread. Not a huge problem if the intensity of effect is low. But what if it mutates into a more wicked form, one that we aren't prepared to fight with our current vaccines?

Since I can't get numbers from an official source, I'll make them up. Imagine 30% of the people you work with sick with a stronger version of swine flu. If you are one of the 30%, it sucks to be you. But it also sucks to be you if you are one of the 70% because now you have to carry more than just your own weight. And if you are like me, you are busy enough that you seem to remember this thing called free time but the memories are all fuzzy and fading because that was such a long time ago.

I found lots more with Google, including this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wK1127fHQ4). At first I was totally showing old school colors. This is where you go for trusted information? But hey, lots of reputable sources are disseminating information via YouTube, so why not this? I found the linked video most interesting. It was straightforward, simple, and direct, a good summary of what to look for and precautions to take.


I had to go to the United Nations to get any numbers. I saw a chart from the World Health Organization with numbers of reported cases by country and thought that it would be interesting to see the numbers plotted on a map, but I didn't want to take the time to do it. Then I saw the link (http://www.who.int/csr/don/Map_20090626_0600.png) and realized that someone else had already done it for me. I am just listing the latest one, but if you are really interested, you can access previous updates on the WHO site and compare them to see where and how quickly the virus is spreading. They even have an interactive timeline.

I poked around some more on the CDC site and actually did find some authentic numbers for the US! They are tabulated at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm. But they aren't plotted on a map like WHO did with their numbers; the only may they show is one with relativistic categorizations -- no numbers. And as stated previously, I'm not taking the time to plot it out. But if you do know about this thing called free time, you are free to have at it.

Speaking of the gene pool needing some chlorine, the CDC website had this spicy tidbit in their FAQ section:

"Can I get infected with novel H1N1 virus from eating or preparing pork?"

"No. Novel H1N1 viruses are not spread by food. You cannot get infected with novel HIN1 virus from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe."

I'm not sure that Clorox makes a product strong enough to clean this mess! And then there is this news story (http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=308788) from the Syracuse, New York, area about how people don't need to go to the emergency room just because they have flu-like symptoms. And then this one from the Kansas City area (http://www.kctv5.com/health/19349266/detail.html). These two stories are just examples of what is more common than uncommon. Talk about trying to control panic!

What did I conclude from my scenic Internet detour? I did NOT have swine flu, and from the looks of things, I don't see any reason to worry too much this year. But I thought about the great challenge public health officials must face all the time, and I wondered whether I should be preparing for something next year.