Swine Flu - Are We Going to Die?

World Health Organization released a detailed analysis on Swine Influenza. According to WHO, Swine flu is highly contagious respiratory disease. The disease normally impacts pigs, but occasionally humans could catch it from pigs. WHO also went onto say that, if a swine virus establishes efficient human-to-human transmission, it can cause influenza pandemic. They also mentioned that there are no vaccines that are known to contain the current swine influenza virus.

According to UK's Skynews, WHO also warned that the swine virus could mutate into a "more dangerous" strain.

Mexico acted as the Ground Zero for the virus. We have had cases of the virus infection reported in California, Texas, Kansas, New York City, and in all these cases, the victims had traveled to Mexico within the past 3 weeks, or had contact with someone who had been to Mexico. Canada has reported that there are victims of this virus in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Suspected cases have also been reported in France, Spain, New Zealand, and Israel.

Even in its current strain, the virus has proven that it could quickly cross borders and spread from one human to another human. Even it its current strain, the virus has proven that it could create a worldwide pandemic. And any medical expert would vouch for the fact that viruses are known to evolve quickly and that the current swine virus could transform into a more dangerous strain very easily (as appropriately warmed by WHO). All this is scary. We could all be impacted in a way we have never seen before, since 1918.

The 1918 flu pandemic killed close to a million Americans. Back in 1918, people were struck with illness on the street and died rapid deaths. The influenza pandemic circled the globe, killing people across the globe. Let us not forget, back in 1918, the amount of international travel by people were much less, when compared to the amount of international travel that we do now.

Swine virus, in its current strain or in its transformed "more dangerous strain", could spread easily in heavily populated cities like New York City or Los Angeles. It could easily spread to millions visiting those cities. And the visitors may take it back from these heavily visited cities, to their respective home countries, home states and home towns. Thousands in those countries, states and towns may get infected too. And all this can happen in a very short window of time, leaving us with no reaction time.

In Mexico, people are dying, because there is scarcity of doctors and hospitals to treat the patients, and help them with the upper respiratory disorders resulting from this virus. If the upper respiratory disorders are left untreated, the infected person could die, as is what is happening in Mexico.

The question becomes, if millions in our country get infected, do we have enough doctors in our great country to treat us? If millions in our country get infected, do we have enough medicines in our great country to fight the respiratory disorders caused by the virus? If millions in our country get infected, do we have enough hospitals and treatment facilities in our great country to help the victims of this virus and prevent them from dying?

Do we have enough scientists in our country currently, among which, one would end up inventing a vaccine to this virus, within an extremely short window of time that we have? And even if a scientist does happen to successfully invent a vaccine for this, do we have enough resources in our great country to manufacture this vaccine on a large scale, and administer them to our millions of our citizens?

The answer, if you ask any one working in the medical field, to most of the above questions, will be a no. And that is scary!

If the virus is successful in spreading in its current strain on a large scale, we the people of United States (and people of the world) are in big trouble. If the virus is successful in transforming itself into a more dangerous strain , thereby helping itself in its task of spreading more easily from human to human, thereby helping itself in its task of being more lethal to humans, then we the people of United States (and people of the world) are in big trouble.

The Government may say the panic is premature. Well, the fact is, the virus is deadly and lethal. The fact is, the virus has the capacity to infect millions and spread very easily. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue where we have to put our country first and make sure we prevent the virus from winning over us. This is an issue, where the government should be proactive and not reactive in its approach. This is an issue that may actually be helped if our government closes the borders for sometime to prevent the virus from immigrating into our country further.

Ref:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1686555/napolitano_no_active_screening_of_passengers.html?cat=5

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090426/twl-swine-flu-could-become-more-dangerou-3fd0ae9.html