Swine flu: The predictable pandemic? (New Scientist)

[Mari333]

THE swine flu virus has been a serious pandemic threat for years, New Scientist can reveal - but research into its potential has been neglected compared with other kinds of flu.

As New Scientist went to press, cases were being reported far from the original outbreak in Mexico. The clusters of milder infections in the US suggest the virus is spreading readily among people. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says this strain is so different from existing human flu viruses that most people have no immunity to it. There are no existing vaccines.

All this means the virus could go pandemic. Or it might not: if the virus spreads less readily than is feared, it might not be able to maintain itself in the human population and could fizzle out (see "What makes flu go global?").

We could have seen this coming, though. This type of virus emerged in the US in 1998 and has since become endemic on hog farms across North America. Equipped with a suite of pig, bird and human genes, it was also evolving rapidly.







http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227063.800-swine-flu-the-predictable-pandemic.html

[kestrel91316]

1. But, but, certain DUers keep proclaiming that this virus "has nothing

to do with pigs".

I would ROFLMAO if it weren't so sadly indicative of the level of medical ignorance in this society.......