Swine Flu

27th April 2009

A new virus pandemic, which appears to have begun in Mexico, is now threatening the world.

The virus has never been seen before and is a cross between the swine (pig) flu, the human flu and the bird flu. It is of the type H1N1 strain of influenza type A.

Unlike the bird flu, the swine flu is easily transmitted between humans and has a very high mortality rate so far of about 7.1%. The Spanish flu of 1918, which took the lives of about 70 million people worldwide, had a mortality rate of only 2.5% in comparison. These figures are of great concern.

So far about 1600 people are suspected to have contracted the flu in Mexico, with over 100 suspected fatalities. The flu has also spread to the United States, Canada and Europe in the last 2 days, further raising concerns of a possible pandemic.

Swine Flu Symptoms

The incubation period of the swine flu is 3-4 days. That is the time taken for symptoms to appear once it has entered the body. The symptoms are the same as for the common flu, so stay calm if you get sick and seek medical tests to determine what the cause is.

• Fever
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
• Coughing
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrea
• Runny nose
• Sore throat

What to do?

It has been shown that early treatment for the flu greatly increases ones chance of survival and antivirals such as Tamiflu and Relenza are showing promise. So anybody suspecting they have the flu should immediately seek medical advice.

Currently the loss of life due to the flu is mainly among younger people, as opposed to the traditional human flu, which mainly affects elderly people. Unfortunately this was also similar with the Spanish flu and gives the possibility that the fatalities are occuring due to the overreaction of the bodys own immune system.

The bird flu and the Spanish flu were causing loss of life in strong people due to a phenomenon known as the cytokine storm, which is when the body's own immune system produces too many cytokines (immune system components) of the TNF-a and IL-6 type, which then causes the fatality as the immune system overreacts and attackes itself. Currently it is unknown if this version of the swine flu is promoting this kind of response in the body, but it is highly suspected due to the characteristics of the people who lost their lives.

It would be advisable to consume foods that suppress the production of the cytokines TNF-a and IL-6 and increase the production of the others, which may be effective against the virus. A list of natural antivirals can be found here.

People should also avoid travelling to the United States or Mexico, and if you live there try to stay indoors and wear a mask and gloves if going outside. Much of the information in the bird flu survival book will also be relevant to this virus, as it includes all the necessary information required to avoid the flu and also treat someone who has it.