[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Oops, should have addressed this in the thread above, but I'd rather requote than edit and copy and paste so here I go.

Originally Posted by flylock shox

The major threat of H1N1 isn't so much that it's more severe, just that it's different, and will increase the load on hospitals beyond what they would see from the ordinary flu infections that appear every year.

Mind you, I ain't no doctor.

You're kind of right on this one. It isn't that it's more sever, it's who it is affecting that's making it different. As I've said a couple times, H1N1 is different in the fact that it is quite severe in people who are otherwise heathy with good immune systems (this is the same reason the Spanis Flu was so deadly). So yeah, as far as elderly and those with compromised immune systems, it is no more or less severe, but for those who would not be affected if this was one of any number of other strains it is quite a bit more severe. That's why there is such a big fuss being made about it, and that's why it is potentially much more dangerous.