H1N1. 32% of the population will be affected by this?!

[LChoy]

Health Hat:

Pandemic doesn't automatically mean some sort of death flu. It just means that the strain has spread around the world, and is community based.

Right now we are urging people to have good hygienic practices like frequent hand washing with soap and water, or alcohol based sanitizers. Avoid sneezing at people, use your sleeve or kleenex instead

The reasons for concern are:
- It's an animal to human based virus, so people don't normally have the antibodies for it. Being a new virus, the older generation will not be as protected by their antibodies either. The most recent viruses have all been animal viruses (Avian flu, West Nile, Hanta virus,..etc)
- H1N1 has spread really quickly to hit pandemic status. This demonstrates the infectiousness of this strain and maybe an exercise in how globalized we are as a species
- Regular influenza has killed more people every year than H1N1. However, with the coming flu season approaching and the tendency for viruses to combine and mutate into different forms, the fear is that H1NI, which is everywhere, will combine with the influenza virus and become an extremely infection AND deadly flu virus. This was what happened with the Spanish Flu
- The other worrying thing is that while most people who get H1N1 come down with mild flu symptoms, the virus has killed perfectly healthy people. In fact, one of the higher risk population is the 18-24 and healthy population. This is due to a rare condition that the immune response is so severe to the flu, that it ends up causing more damage than the flu itself and the person never recovers
- The government of Canada has ordered 52 million doses of flu vaccine. How they'll distribute it and who's first will remain to be seen. I do recommend a flu shot to help with the coming flu season, and when the H1N1 vaccine comes along, I would recommend it as well

For more information, go here
http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-...enza-H1N1.html

Post or pm me any questions, and I should be able to respond from the government's perspective

lchoy

[TSXCman]

Originally Posted by JD

You stayed home for freakin 12 DAYS and you say it was no big deal??? The very worst sicknesses I've had keep me home for a maximum of 4 days. Was the 12 days because you were trying to avoid spreading it or because you were unwell for that long?

12 days at home was more figuratively. I just did not go and spend hours at a time in populated areas.

that being said, i drove around and got sh*t done in the meantime, just kept stuff to cough into, and lots of sanitizer wipes for stick shifts, doorhandles, etc.

i had a 102-104 degree F for the 12 days and was trying to limit the spreading by keeping away from other people.

But the actual 'sickness' in terms of comfort/pain levels was very very very low, I just didn't want to give someone else the opportunity to have a possible worse outcome.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

What I meant by my comments with respect to the "regular flu" is that H1N1 is going to require a specific vaccine - which will mean multiple shots if you want protection against both H1N1 and this year's version of the "regular flu". A vaccine for one won't protect against the other, at least to my understanding.

That was my point. There is no "Regular Flu" vaccine.
Every year they decide what is likely to be the most widespread/dangerous strain of the flu and they produce vaccines to guard against that. This year H1N1 has obviously been identified as the most dangerous strain that is going around so they are producing vaccines for that. To use your terminology H1N1 is this year's "Regular Flu" It's no different than any other year, this year's vaccine is for H1N1 (among others that they've identified, the flu vaccination you get every year is usually for a couple strains) and next year's will be for something different.

[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.

[Peanut]

Our daughter was in the NICU for 12 days in July and the nurses and doctors in there were taking H1N1 VERY seriously. I honestly wasn't that worried about it until I saw how seriously the "professionals" are reacting to it.

So... I don't really think it's "hysteria". It is something to be concerned about for sure. And since the major preventative measure is washing your hands more often... seems like an easy step to take to be a little more cautious this flu season.

[Wookie]

SARS was a good practice for health care systems in terms of preperation, it turned out to be minimal. This time they are better prepared but it's still scary that vaccines won't be ready until post peak. Hope it's not as bad as some people think it will be.

[Thor]

We freak out about terrorism, we freak out about kidnappings hyped in media, we freak out about new studies on something in our food that could give us cancer.

We actually have scientists really concerned about this strain, everyone wants to tell them its fear mongering and that we should ignore it.

Lets raise our viral threat level to green, "all will be fine."

[icarus]

My girlfriend had it, so that means I probably had or have it but I haven't shown any symptoms. She was quite sick though.

[REDVAN]

I'm no expert, but I think if it's like the other flu and colds going around, then it hits everyone differently- sometimes even no symptoms can present.

I heard somewhere that half of the colds you have, you don't even show symptoms. So maybe some people will get this flu and not really be hit that hard, whereas others will be.

[Burninator]

I read a good blog post the other day about H1N1.

H1N1 is Still a Threat
As the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009 continues we are slowly learning more and more about it. The challenge is that health organizations and governments are trying to optimize their response to this flu strain in the midst of the pandemic unfolding. It’s like preparing for a hurricane as it’s happening, without knowing where it will make landfall, how strong it will be, how much water it will drop, and if the levies will hold. The best option is to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.
...
But as the pandemic unfolds we are learning some more details. Most flu deaths in regular flu seasons are among the elderly or in susceptible populations due to a chronic illness. The current H1N1 flu, however, disproportionately kills pregnant women and young children. Another pattern is also emerging – while in most people this strain causes a mild flu, in about 1% it results in a very severe flu with a 50% mortality rate. The severe cases develop a form of ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) that destroys the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs.
...
The emergence of this severe response in 1% of the population is a cause for concern, not only because half of these people die, but because they are all severely sick and require hospitalization and even intensive care. If this pattern holds up, hospitals could be overwhelmed this flu season by young people needing ventilation.

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=872

Get your flu vaccines people!

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

That was my point. There is no "Regular Flu" vaccine.
Every year they decide what is likely to be the most widespread/dangerous strain of the flu and they produce vaccines to guard against that. This year H1N1 has obviously been identified as the most dangerous strain that is going around so they are producing vaccines for that. To use your terminology H1N1 is this year's "Regular Flu" It's no different than any other year, this year's vaccine is for H1N1 (among others that they've identified, the flu vaccination you get every year is usually for a couple strains) and next year's will be for something different.

I think what the other poster was saying is this:

There are 2 shots to get this year. There is the "normal" flu shot which is for various flu viruses they feel will be most prevalent this year (other than H1N1) AND a shot specifically for the H1N1 virus (IF they actually get formulated, manufactured and delivered in time which I'm not sure is actually known at this point).

I'm not sure of the canadian ones but stateside if you have a younger child they will want the child to have them at the same time because if they get the first shot there will not be enough time between that and the H1N1 shot so they the child will not get a H1N1.

[C-Life]

So when do the vaccines come out?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by C-Life

So when do the vaccines come out?

The seasonal flu shot should be available already.

For H1N1 I don't believe they really expect anything until sometime in October. Some reports have small supplies maybe trickling in end of September but those will likely be earmarked for health care professionals. BUt honestly every week the dates for an available H1N1 vaccine seem to slip out. As of last week the US government was trying to decide if the shot would be effective after one does or if a follow up would be needed. Two shots seems to give better protection but one shot is giving adequate protection within 2 weeks after receiving it. And then you have issues of how the various companies have put together the vaccine. THe Novartis vaccine uses ingredients that have never been used in Canada or the US. SO essentially everything is up in the air at this point stateside.

Again there are 2 shots for this years flu season. The seasonal flu shot you would normally get and the H1N1 flu shot.