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Originally posted by tide88
reply to post by bad man incorporated
Why are you apologizing. We will not see anywhere near 100,000, 1 million, then a billion deaths. Hell there hasnt been any deaths yet except about 200 mexicans. The regular flu kills 34,000 people a year in the US. If they were to monitor the normal flu like they did this one there would be a pandemic every year. The regular flu kills 700,000 a year around the world. The only reason this is even being reported is because it is a new strain. The regular flu is just as contagious as the swine flu.
And this is exactly how it started in 1918....with a mild occurence and then by the fall millions were dying.
[edit on 30-4-2009 by tide88]
Originally posted by tide88
reply to post by bad man incorporated
"Hell there hasnt been any deaths yet except about 200 mexicans."
[edit on 30-4-2009 by tide88]
Originally posted by sickofitall2012
reply to post by tide88
Sorry but I have to mention that this COMPLETELY NEW STRAIN is behaving exactly like the 1918 spanish flu. Began in the spring and hung around till it took hold the following flu season and killed millions.
To OP, I wish there were more people out there like you!!
Star and flag!!!
source
Q: Are there any similarities between the swine flu and earlier pandemic viruses?
A: Flu viruses are classified by two proteins on their surface, called H for hemagglutinin and N for neuraminidase. The swine flu found in Mexico and the 1918 Spanish Flu viruses are of the H1N1 subtype. Both viruses appear to have originated in animals. Researchers believe the Spanish Flu spread to people from birds. The two viruses are not identical, and there are still many genetic differences between them that researchers are studying.
Flu less deadly then other viruses
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health published genetic sequence data Monday morning of flu samples isolated from patients in California and Texas, and thousands of scientists began downloading it immediately. Comparisons to known killers -- such as the 1918 strain and the highly lethal H5N1 avian virus -- have since provided welcome news.
"There are certain characteristics, molecular signatures, which this virus lacks," said Peter Palese, a microbiologist and influenza expert at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. In particular, the swine flu lacks an amino acid that appears to increase the number of virus particles in the lungs and make the disease more deadly.
Scientists have identified several other differences between this virus and its 1918 predecessor, but the significance of those differences is still unclear, said Dr. Scott Layne, an epidemiologist at the UCLA School of Public Health.