H1N1 2009: The Swine Flu is Not About the Pigs. It’s About Viral Recombination Possible in Many Animals Including Man, and Can Be Combated with Sensible Precautions & Good Science

The current bout of swine flu, more properly 2009 H1N1,  appears to have originated in Mexico, but neither pigs per se nor Mexicans  “caused it.”

 

Killing  all the pigs, infected and uninfected,  (much as has been mandated in Egypt) and quarantining all Mexico would not stop the further spread of the virus.

 

Uninfected pigs cannot give H1N1 to other uninfected pigs or to humans.

 

Although ironically, infected humans can give it to pigs.

 

Only infected creatures, human or otherwise, can spread it, and only they should be quarantined in all cases.

 

It does makes some sense to quarantine those persons (or pigs) who have been in very close contact with those who are sick.

 

 

And the quarantine times that seem to be working out now for animals or humans that have been in close contact with infected animals or humans appears to be limited: 10 days to two weeks are about the longest spans this author has seen mentioned.

 

Eating well-cooked pork is absolutely not a cause of this so-called swine flu.

 

 

It would seems likely that being a swine farmer, veterinarian,  or pork meat packer who may come into contact with infected pigs is at increased risk.

However, the vast majority of H1N1 cases in the US have come from people infected by other people not by contact with pigs.

 

Indeed, some people may become alarmed at  news reports that tens of thousands of pigs (mainly in Mexican feedlots)  have been found to be affected, but this should be put into the context.

 

Each year over 130,000,000 hogs are processed in the US, and this increasingly centralized industry has an incredible financial incentive to keep their hogs infection-free.

 

Under the current system of raising hogs in the US, a high percentage of hogs are owned by the pork processors or otherwise supplied to pork processors by contract growers who have swine herd veterinarians on retainer precisely to avoid or root out any illnesses that could cause injury to the health of humans or to the sale of pork.

 

The pork industry already is fighting the misconception held by some that pork may be somehow be intrinsically unhealthy when compared to other proteins sources, like chicken breast, hence the “Pork: the other White Meat” campaign. They are on top of this flu situation.

 

 

The cause of this new flu is in essence genetic recombination that happens in nature, whether or not man intervenes.

 

It is now realized that many flu viruses can be in circulation at the same time, in humans and/or  in pigs, and it appears most likely that avian, human, and swine viruses came into contact with one another, and nucleic acid fragments from one or more of these sources apparently interpolated themselves in nucelic acid sequences within individual infected pigs, within larger  pig herds during the span of 2005-2009.

 

Those recombinant viruses then successfully were spread from pig to pig and then from pig to human, and then from human to human , and yes, from human to pig.

 

This H1N1 strain may actually be older than the stated 2009 date of origin.

 

Because kits for its specific testing were not developed, or when available, were not utilized, it was not detected in sufficient numbers to make the headlines we now see, as if it were something entirely unexpected  and unstoppable.

 

How can we put the morbidity and lethality of this alleged swine flu into perspective?

 

If you want to worry about an animal that will cause you harm, don’t look with fear at pigs, look at your neighborhood dog. The CDC reports that annually there are about 4,500,000 reported cases of dog bite in the US. Over 800,000 of them result in trips to the hospital and over 30,000 result in reconstructive plastic surgery.

 

Or, let us compare the lethality of H1N1 with garden variety seasonal flu.

 

In 2009, how many people in the US have died of seasonal flu as of  today(May 13, 2009)? Over 13,000. How many have died of H1N1? 3.

 

And unless you are very old, very young, or suffer from a chronic medical condition that compromises your body’s ability to fight infections of practically any kind, you are very likely to survive an H1N1 infection, should you get it, with no long term sequelae.

 

 

Is there other good news in this story. Sure. While some strains of flu have developed resistance, two drugs appear to be working effectively: Oseltamivir and Zanamivir.

 

Are there still mysteries and dilemmas yet unresolved about H1N1?

 

While there are doubtlessly a great many, there are two being increasingly mentioned.

 

First, it appears that many H1N1 patients are having bouts of severe diarrhea, and that hand contamination  with a potential for virus spreading from repeated toileting  is a concern, that is added to the usual worry about contamination of hands through coughing and sneezing of mucus droplets that contain the virus.

 

The solution to both  newer and well-established routes of transmission is practical and literally at hand: Vigorous hand washing with soap and water and/or use of alcohol-based cleansing gels.

 

Second, there is some worry that the virus will further mutate and/or  recombinate and return with a vengeance next Fall. This must be recognized as a possibility, and scientists will doubtlessly be on the lookout.

 

But their focus will not be soley on pigs, but on any animal, including humans, within which  this might occur, and on sensible means to contain and counteract it.

 

Tony Stankus, FSLA tstankus@uark.edu Life Sciences Librarian & Professor

University of Arkansas Libraries MULN 223 East

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Altman, L.K. (May 12, 2009). Many swine flu cases have no fever. New York Times www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13fever.html

Baden, L.R., Drazen, J.M., Kritek, P.A., Curfman, Morrissey, S. & Campion, E.W. (2009). H1N1 influenza A  disease – Information for health professionals. New England Journal of Medicine, e-published  ahead of print at www.NEJM.org May 7, 2009 (10.1056/NEJMe0903992)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. Interim guidance on antiviral recommendations for patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and their close contacts. www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/recommendations.htm

 Dharan, N.J., Gubareva, L.V., Meyer, J.J., Okomo-Adhiambo, M., McClinton, R.C., Marshall, S.A., et al. (2009). Infections with oseltamivir-resistant influenza A (H1N1) virus in the United States. JAMA, 301, (10), 1034-1041.

Gooskens, J. JOnges, M., Claas, E.C.J., Meijer, A., Van Den Vroek, P.J. & Kroes, A.C.M. Morbidity and mortality associated with nosocomial transmission of oseltamivir-resistant influenza A(H1N1) virus. JAMA, 301 (10), 1042-1046.

Irvine, R.M. & Brown, I.H. (May 9, 2009). Novel H1N1 influenza in people: Global spread from an animal source? The Veterinary Record, 577-578.

Novel Swine Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Investigation Team. 2009. Emergence of a novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus in humans. New England Journal of Medicine, e-published ahead of print at www.NEJM.org May 7, 2009 (10.1056/NEJMoa0903810)

Shinde, V., Bridges, C.B., Uyeki, T.M., Shu, B., Balish, A, Xu, X., et al. 2009. Triple-reassortment swine influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009. New England Journal of Medicine , e- published ahead of print  at www.nejm.org  May 7, 2009 (10.1056/NEJMoa0903812)

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Comments

[chanel j12]

The blahs continued into the second half, where TFC came out fighting and United, as it has all too often, was hung over and drowsy after the break. Give them coffee Tommy! (And please, no Red Bull.) United woke up for the last twenty minutes, but for a handball in the box they would have lost the game, and that would have felt like a catastrophe. As it was, it felt like an unnecessary, but at least entertaining, tie.

[Harris Meyer]

So it's now January 2010. Where are all the THOUSANDS of people who've died? Oh I know, the medical establishment did such a good job it saved all their lives!

Dr. Harris Meyer
http://www.BodyFocusHealth.com

[How to Prevent the Flu]

It drives me crazy when people think that Mexicans CAUSED the virus.

[Steven]

I don't think there's a greater health risk right now like the h1n1 swine flu virus, the government isn't telling us everything about this pandemic. It will kill thousands more this fall/winter.

[Sujan Patricia]

H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those caused by other influenza viruses. Health authorities across the globe are taking steps to try to stem the spread of swine flu after outbreaks in Mexico and the United States. The World Health Organization has called it a "public health emergency of international concern."

[ACTOne membrane potential]

A very nice information. This information helps the people to think towards the different angle, who are thinking that the swine flu is just caused from the pigs. The are different other factors also involved in swine flu.

[Andrea]

Mexico has always been a top destination for plastic surgery. But with the spread of Swine Flu in the country, it may decrease the number of patients wanting to travel in the country.

Patients can always choose to go to other countries instead. They can choose to have their plastic surgery in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, and other countries in Asia.

[csts]

Not only can't you catch the current swine flu strain from pigs -- it isn't purely swine flu itself! It's a recombinant mix of mostly swine flu virus plus components of both bird flu and human flu. That's one reason calling it swine flu is a misnomer, because no pig ever had this particular virus (until 1 caught it from its infected human pigherder...).