10% of the student population at a Washington State college contracts the swine flu?
Medical professionals, I know you are tired of hearing of the swine flu, but do any of you have any information on this. Why is it attacking the young? Why do they end up acutely ill 24hours after being symptomatic? How did they come up with a vaccine so quickly? In other words, what the H*** is going on? PLEASE 10 points If you care about people you will reply to this question. We are talking about our young children and teens here!
Infectious Diseases - 2 Answers
People's Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
It's attacking the young because younger people have weaker immune systems, as older people most likely have been exposed to something similar to the swine flu in their life, so their body already knows how to fight it off easier. Swine flu is just like the seasonal flu. It is only deadly to those who do not have strong immune systems. In my opinion, I think we are over-reating to the the virus. Mostly due to the media, for it was all they talked about for weeks on end. Hope I helped ^^
Answer 2 :
Hi Diane, Since last March when the strain of H1N1 was identified, the CDC and a host of pharmaceutical companies worked diligently to develop an effective vaccine. Many lay people (in fact the vast majority of the population) thought that once that outbreak was over, that would be the end of it. We (medical Professionals) knew better however, and began warning our patients and media outlets) that as soon as the H1N1 vaccine becomes available, by all means get it. This virus is very much unlike any viruses before. Instead of targeting older patients as is usually the case, the groups at most risk include young children/teens of school age, young adults, pregnant women, those with chronic illnesses and ANYBODY with a compromised immune system. I have been telling people from late Spring throughout the summer that we can expect to see a major epidemic by mid Novemeber, and my contacts at the CDC concur. Your statement, "... If you care about people you will reply to this question." is somewhat misplaced------no less than 50 times per evening the nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals who check this forum and field questions respond. I'm not sure how much clearer we can make it! National and local news outlets (TV, cable, radio, newspapers) provide updates and warnings on a daily basis. But in order for any of these efforts to work, the general population has to use common sense, and if they fall into any of the categories I mentioned earlier plan on getting the vaccine as soon as it becomes available, which should be (according to reports this past week) by the end of the first week or beginning of the second week in October. Thank you for your question and concern.
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