Why Swine Flu dangerous disease??

The current swine flu outbreak is a type of influenza A virus, specifically H1N1. But what makes it more dangerous than the yearly flu epidemic, or is that just exaggeration from the media.

Many people have compared swine flu to avian influenza and SARS, saying that since neither one proved to be a global problem in the end, swine flu is going to be just similar hype. However, we cannot know for sure.

Swine flu is a bigger risk than SARS, because SARS is only infectious after the symptoms have appeared which is most likely what prevented a major epidemic. Avian influenza or the bird flu, on the other hand, was never infectious between humans, at least on a major scale.

What Makes Swine Flu Potentially so Dangerous?

The reason why swine flu is a risk is that influenza is a highly contagious illness. H1N1 influenza is not nearly as deadly as, say, Ebola or other hemorrhaging fevers, but if a pandemic happened, in the worst case up to 1/3 of the population could get sick. In that case even a 5% risk of dying from the illness could mean death of millions.

What may make swine flu more dangerous than a normal influenza season is that like the Spanish flu of 1918, it has killed mostly healthy young people. Usually influenza is only dangerous for the old and sick. This suggests that like with the Spanish Flu, the potentially deadly part could be the immune reaction the body mounts against the virus. As such young people with healthier immune systems may actually be more at risk than the old and frail.

he new swine flu virus that broke out in Mexico is unique and potentially dangerous in one way. It is a virus that has a combination of gene segments from human, bird and swine viruses, and can potentially become infectious in humans that have no immunity to the new strain.

Influenza viruses can change its make-up in one of two ways: Antigenic drift is a series of mutations that cause the virus to gradually evolve over time. Antigenic shift is an abrupt change in the surface antigen proteins that suddenly creates a new subtype of the virus. In the history of influenza outbreaks, antigenic shift is the cause behind pandemics in 1918 (Spanish Flu), 1957 (Asian Flu) and 1968 (Hongkong Flu) because the populations have not developed antibody protection against the virus.

What’s especially unique about this new swine flu strain is that it’s a type A/ strain H1N1 and it hasn’t been previously detected in pigs. Lab tests showed that the H1N1 is susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir and the US government is prepared to use the drugs to treat and prevent infection with swine influenza virus.

Swine Flu Symptoms